Two Lessons I’ve Learned After 15 Years as The Profitability Coach, with Bill McDermott, Host of ProfitSense
In this commentary from a recent episode of ProfitSense, Bill talks about two lessons he’s learned in his business after 15 years as The Profitability Coach.
Bill’s commentary was taken from this episode of ProfitSense.
ProfitSense with Bill McDermott is produced by John Ray and the North Fulton Studio of Business RadioX® in Alpharetta.
Transcript
I want to spend just a moment talking about some of my entrepreneurial journey in today’s uncertain economy. It’s more important than ever for business leaders to make the right bets. But how do you derisk your decisions and ensure that you’re making the best choices for your company?
After running my own business for 15 years, I’ve concluded that starting a business is like one big experiment. Looking back, I think there are two important points to be successful. Number one is first fire bullets, then fire cannonballs. This means starting with a small, low-risk experiment to test your ideas.
And once you’ve validated your concept, you can then go all in with a larger investment. This approach helps you avoid making costly mistakes and gives you time to course correct if needed. I believe my bullets which became cannonballs were profitability coaching and then exit planning. The scope of work has increased and my average revenue per client has increased over time.
Number two, find your true calling. This means understanding what you’re truly passionate about and what you’re best at. Start, run a business with those components. Once you know this, you can focus your resources on activities that are most likely to lead to success. Because my desire was to leave a legacy of making business owners better financial managers.
This meant we take time to understand the accounting in their financial statements, what those financial statement trends were telling us, and what course of action we need to take. I love to coach and live for those light bulb moments when financial confusion becomes financial clarity. The opportunity to listen to business owners share their stories of where they are and where they want to go helped me find my true calling.
