Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:10):
Welcome to The Water Trough,where we can't make you drink,
but we will make you think.
My name is Ed Drost of The SmallBusiness Doctor, and I'm really
excited you chose to join mehere as we discuss topics that
are important for small businessfolks just like you.
If you're looking for ideas,inspiration, and possibility,
you've come to the right place.
Join us as we take steps to helpyou create the healthy business
that you've always wanted.
(00:43):
Welcome back to the watertrough.
This is Ed draws to the smallbusiness doctor at the end of
each of my podcasts.
I wish you a healthy business.
And I imagine people areprobably wondering, why do I
wish you a healthy business?
Well, for starters, I am thesmall business doctor, and it
(01:04):
would follow that doctors areconcerned about well being about
health.
And in my case, because mypatients, my audience, are small
business people and they'rebusinesses, I am concerned about
the health of those smallbusinesses.
But what exactly does it mean tohave a healthy business?
(01:26):
Well, a healthy businessnaturally is a business that is
doing what you intend for it todo.
And let me Be clear about that.
Success is not the same foreveryone.
Some people think of success ashaving tremendous amounts of
money.
Some people think of success ashaving considerable notoriety,
(01:48):
being known by many, and beingappreciated and recognized by
many.
And still others see theirbusiness success as being
something related to the servicethat they provide for others,
where money is less importantand the outcome or the benefit,
(02:10):
if you will, for the recipientsof the services and products
being offered by the company arethe focal point.
Each of these forms of successare valid forms of success.
And in each case, To achievethese things, a business has to
attain a certain level ofwellbeing, okay?
(02:33):
And that's where the idea ofhaving a healthy business comes
in.
Now, there are naturally avariety of markers for the
wellbeing of a company.
But there are three inparticular that I consider to be
of tremendous importance.
(02:54):
And those are the environment,people, and financial matters.
The environment, people, andfinancial matters.
So let's begin with theenvironment.
What do I mean by environment?
Microphone (Yeti Stereo Mic (03:12):
The environment, very broadly
speaking, is all of theoperations, all of the
activities, all of the thingsthat are going on outside as
well as inside your businessthat have some impact on it.
For example, let's say thatyou're in the business of
shipping materials via, and foryou, One of the environmental
(03:39):
concerns, or one of theenvironmental challenges, is the
cost of fuel.
Needless to say, the higher thecost of fuel, the greater your
expenses.
And as a result, you're going tohave a significant impact on
your business.
It may require that you raiseyour rates.
It may require that you cut backon certain shipping routes.
(04:03):
The environment is allencompassing.
And the environment consists ofthose things that are within and
also outside of our control.
The environment is notnecessarily ours to manage.
There are components of theenvironment over which we have
(04:24):
absolutely no control.
Our best case scenario is toanticipate the things that are
coming down the pike and to beable to respond to them
accordingly.
But our environment also.
Are those things that can happenwithin the business, the
business environment itself.
And these sorts of things we dohave control over to some
(04:48):
degree.
Business environment, internalenvironment can include things
such as the culture within thebusiness, the operating
conditions, the space in whichone works.
And so on and so forth.
Environment is important, butit's often overlooked, because
(05:10):
we tend to think of those thingsthat are within our immediate
control, and we say, those arethe things that matter.
And while many environmentalfactors are, within our control,
more often they are outside ofour control.
And as a result, we tend toignore them.
(05:31):
But the truth is the environmentand our ability to anticipate
the effects that it has on usAnd our ability to mitigate the
effects of the environment areextremely important.
Let's move on to people.
people include things like ourcustomers, our employees, our
(05:54):
suppliers, and probably mostimportantly, Ourselves,
particularly if you're asolopreneur, if you are working
for yourself by yourself, thecustomer is your second most
important factor, but you, youyourself, your ambition, your
(06:15):
desire, your level of knowledge,your enthusiasm for what you're
doing is a critical driver ofthe well being of your company.
Now, if you have employees,naturally, you know, and I know,
you can't do it all alone, butnor are you expected to.
(06:38):
Employees are a critical part ofour business well being.
We cannot have a healthybusiness if we have unhappy,
unmotivated, dispassionateemployees.
We cannot have a healthybusiness if we ourselves are
(06:59):
unmotivated, dispassionate.
We need these things to be inworking order.
We need these things to be, ifyou will, healthy, in order to
have a healthy business.
And then of course thecustomers.
Now, the customers we have nocontrol over per se.
(07:24):
Yes Lola,, I hear you, thankyou.
Microphone (Yeti Stereo (07:26):
That's my birdie in the background.
You'll have to forgive her, butshe does like to get involved
every now and then.
We have considerable controlover ourselves, We have control
to a lesser degree over ouremployees, but as far as
customers are concerned, ourcontrol is pretty much focused
(07:47):
on our ability to provide whatthey're looking for and to
respond to the things that theyask, the things that they
question, the things that theyneed after having either a.
Purchased from us or be whilethey're inquiring and trying to
decide if that's the path theywant to go.
(08:09):
People are very, very, veryimportant in maintaining a
healthy.
business.
The third thing is finances orfinancial matters.
You might think that financialmatters are first and foremost
in this equation.
Yes, you need to have adequatecash flow in order to have a
(08:31):
business.
But let's not forget there arepeople for whom cash flow is
really not an issue.
Now, you might be laughing heregoing, well, who does not need
money to have a business?
Rest assured, there are peoplethat are in a sufficiently self
sustaining state that the moneyis the least of their concerns.
(08:53):
Financial matters are criticalnonetheless because We all need,
no matter the source, no matterwhere it came from, we all need
the cash flow in order to getthings done.
To purchase our raw materials,to advertise, to market, to pay
our employees, to build ourproducts, to further develop our
(09:16):
services.
Cash flow is necessary for allof these things.
And in order to have cash flow,a healthy financial environment
within our business.
Most importantly, we have to beaware of what our financial
condition is.
We have a variety of documentsthat are available to us,
(09:37):
balance sheets, P& L, so on andso forth, that tell us a lot
about the business.
And even a solopreneur needs tohave control over the flow of
cash.
We need to understand where it'sgoing, where it's coming from,
and what we have at any givenpoint in time.
(09:59):
These things allow us then topredict and plan accordingly for
future endeavors.
The three of these thingstogether, the environment,
people, and finances.
All contribute to our businesswell being.
They all are components of ourbusiness health.
(10:24):
And so I ask you to considerthese three things.
And rest assured, there areothers as well.
I see these things as the threepinnacle components of having a
healthy business.
But ask yourself about these.
Look at your environment.
Look at your people.
Look at your financialinformation.
(10:46):
Ask yourself, Where you stand ineach of these places and take
the necessary steps to maintainControl over each of these
things if you can do this youwill then set the stage For
creating a healthy business.
(11:07):
This is Ed draws to the smallbusiness doctor and Once again
until next time I want to wishyou a healthy business
Welcome to The Water Trough,where we can't make you drink,
but we will make you think.
My name is Ed Drost of The SmallBusiness Doctor, and I'm really
excited you chose to join mehere as we discuss topics that
are important for small businessfolks just like you.
If you're looking for ideas,inspiration, and possibility,
you've come to the right place.
Join us as we take steps to helpyou create the healthy business
that you've always wanted.
(00:43):
Welcome back to the watertrough.
This is Ed draws to the smallbusiness doctor at the end of
each of my podcasts.
I wish you a healthy business.
And I imagine people areprobably wondering, why do I
wish you a healthy business?
Well, for starters, I am thesmall business doctor, and it
(01:04):
would follow that doctors areconcerned about well being about
health.
And in my case, because mypatients, my audience, are small
business people and they'rebusinesses, I am concerned about
the health of those smallbusinesses.
But what exactly does it mean tohave a healthy business?
(01:26):
Well, a healthy businessnaturally is a business that is
doing what you intend for it todo.
And let me Be clear about that.
Success is not the same foreveryone.
Some people think of success ashaving tremendous amounts of
money.
Some people think of success ashaving considerable notoriety,
(01:48):
being known by many, and beingappreciated and recognized by
many.
And still others see theirbusiness success as being
something related to the servicethat they provide for others,
where money is less importantand the outcome or the benefit,
(02:10):
if you will, for the recipientsof the services and products
being offered by the company arethe focal point.
Each of these forms of successare valid forms of success.
And in each case, To achievethese things, a business has to
attain a certain level ofwellbeing, okay?
(02:33):
And that's where the idea ofhaving a healthy business comes
in.
Now, there are naturally avariety of markers for the
wellbeing of a company.
But there are three inparticular that I consider to be
of tremendous importance.
(02:54):
And those are the environment,people, and financial matters.
The environment, people, andfinancial matters.
So let's begin with theenvironment.
What do I mean by environment?
Microphone (Yeti Stereo Mic (03:12):
The environment, very broadly
speaking, is all of theoperations, all of the
activities, all of the thingsthat are going on outside as
well as inside your businessthat have some impact on it.
For example, let's say thatyou're in the business of
shipping materials via, and foryou, One of the environmental
(03:39):
concerns, or one of theenvironmental challenges, is the
cost of fuel.
Needless to say, the higher thecost of fuel, the greater your
expenses.
And as a result, you're going tohave a significant impact on
your business.
It may require that you raiseyour rates.
It may require that you cut backon certain shipping routes.
(04:03):
The environment is allencompassing.
And the environment consists ofthose things that are within and
also outside of our control.
The environment is notnecessarily ours to manage.
There are components of theenvironment over which we have
(04:24):
absolutely no control.
Our best case scenario is toanticipate the things that are
coming down the pike and to beable to respond to them
accordingly.
But our environment also.
Are those things that can happenwithin the business, the
business environment itself.
And these sorts of things we dohave control over to some
(04:48):
degree.
Business environment, internalenvironment can include things
such as the culture within thebusiness, the operating
conditions, the space in whichone works.
And so on and so forth.
Environment is important, butit's often overlooked, because
(05:10):
we tend to think of those thingsthat are within our immediate
control, and we say, those arethe things that matter.
And while many environmentalfactors are, within our control,
more often they are outside ofour control.
And as a result, we tend toignore them.
(05:31):
But the truth is the environmentand our ability to anticipate
the effects that it has on usAnd our ability to mitigate the
effects of the environment areextremely important.
Let's move on to people.
people include things like ourcustomers, our employees, our
(05:54):
suppliers, and probably mostimportantly, Ourselves,
particularly if you're asolopreneur, if you are working
for yourself by yourself, thecustomer is your second most
important factor, but you, youyourself, your ambition, your
(06:15):
desire, your level of knowledge,your enthusiasm for what you're
doing is a critical driver ofthe well being of your company.
Now, if you have employees,naturally, you know, and I know,
you can't do it all alone, butnor are you expected to.
(06:38):
Employees are a critical part ofour business well being.
We cannot have a healthybusiness if we have unhappy,
unmotivated, dispassionateemployees.
We cannot have a healthybusiness if we ourselves are
(06:59):
unmotivated, dispassionate.
We need these things to be inworking order.
We need these things to be, ifyou will, healthy, in order to
have a healthy business.
And then of course thecustomers.
Now, the customers we have nocontrol over per se.
(07:24):
Yes Lola,, I hear you, thankyou.
Microphone (Yeti Stereo (07:26):
That's my birdie in the background.
You'll have to forgive her, butshe does like to get involved
every now and then.
We have considerable controlover ourselves, We have control
to a lesser degree over ouremployees, but as far as
customers are concerned, ourcontrol is pretty much focused
(07:47):
on our ability to provide whatthey're looking for and to
respond to the things that theyask, the things that they
question, the things that theyneed after having either a.
Purchased from us or be whilethey're inquiring and trying to
decide if that's the path theywant to go.
(08:09):
People are very, very, veryimportant in maintaining a
healthy.
business.
The third thing is finances orfinancial matters.
You might think that financialmatters are first and foremost
in this equation.
Yes, you need to have adequatecash flow in order to have a
(08:31):
business.
But let's not forget there arepeople for whom cash flow is
really not an issue.
Now, you might be laughing heregoing, well, who does not need
money to have a business?
Rest assured, there are peoplethat are in a sufficiently self
sustaining state that the moneyis the least of their concerns.
(08:53):
Financial matters are criticalnonetheless because We all need,
no matter the source, no matterwhere it came from, we all need
the cash flow in order to getthings done.
To purchase our raw materials,to advertise, to market, to pay
our employees, to build ourproducts, to further develop our
(09:16):
services.
Cash flow is necessary for allof these things.
And in order to have cash flow,a healthy financial environment
within our business.
Most importantly, we have to beaware of what our financial
condition is.
We have a variety of documentsthat are available to us,
(09:37):
balance sheets, P& L, so on andso forth, that tell us a lot
about the business.
And even a solopreneur needs tohave control over the flow of
cash.
We need to understand where it'sgoing, where it's coming from,
and what we have at any givenpoint in time.
(09:59):
These things allow us then topredict and plan accordingly for
future endeavors.
The three of these thingstogether, the environment,
people, and finances.
All contribute to our businesswell being.
They all are components of ourbusiness health.
(10:24):
And so I ask you to considerthese three things.
And rest assured, there areothers as well.
I see these things as the threepinnacle components of having a
healthy business.
But ask yourself about these.
Look at your environment.
Look at your people.
Look at your financialinformation.
(10:46):
Ask yourself, Where you stand ineach of these places and take
the necessary steps to maintainControl over each of these
things if you can do this youwill then set the stage For
creating a healthy business.
(11:07):
This is Ed draws to the smallbusiness doctor and Once again
until next time I want to wishyou a healthy business
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