April 24, 2024 • 23 mins
Unlock the secrets to propelling your home business forward with Jim Swan of Pine Tree Partners, a maestro in the realm of small business expansion. Prepare to be enlightened on the transformative impact of incremental price hikes and strategic pricing risks, as Jim lays bare his philosophy that surmounting any obstacle is possible through revenue amplification. Our conversation traverses the landscape of revenue growth, providing you with the tools to cultivate new products and services, establish fruitful partnerships, and understand the cumulative power of modest revenue upticks.
Embrace the journey of marketing and public relations tailored for the compact enterprise, as we dissect the nuances that set apart the strategies of smaller ventures from the behemoths of industry. I share our audacious promise to clients: generate enough revenue to pay for our services or get the next month free, a testament to our confidence in delivering results. Through tales of businesses that have scaled from modest beginnings to seven-figure sales, we seek to inspire and guide you in nurturing your own home business toward unparalleled freedom and independence. Join us and seize the keys to unlocking the potential awaiting within your entrepreneurial spirit.
Website: https://pinetreepartnersllc.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jrswan
Be sure to visit BizRadio.US to discover hundreds more engaging conversations, local events and more.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Hank (00:06):
Welcome to the Home Business Success Show.
Join us as we speak to homebusiness entrepreneurs for tips,
tricks, do's and even don'tsfor running a successful home
business.
Welcome everyone, I'm Hank Eder, also known as Hank the PR Guy,
(00:26):
and you're listening tobizradious all entrepreneurs all
the time.
This is the Home BusinessSuccess Show.
We'll meet our guest rightafter my two-cent marketing
minute.
Did you know that SEO isconstantly evolving?
It's no longer about bundledkeywords.
(00:47):
Now branded quality content isking.
Keep your content relevant toyour audience and to their
unique problems.
Don't ignore your keywords, butdon't try to plaster them all
over your pages.
That's just tacky.
Just keep adding value for youraudience.
(01:08):
Today's guest, jim Swan of PineTree Partners, has more than 20
years of experience as a smallbusiness owner, entrepreneur,
award-winning author, strategistand consultant.
Jim brings his experience as asurvivor of success and failure
to the world of businessstrategy and consulting.
(01:30):
He's turned his years ofbusiness experiences, personal
values and a belief in the powerof transformative energy into a
laser-focused professionalobjective to support small
business owners as they expandinto medium-sized businesses
(01:50):
through revenue growth andprofit expansion.
Jim says he believes there's nochallenge that a small business
owner faces that can't beresolved by more money coming in
through the front door.
Does Firm guarantees newrevenue or they work for free?
Welcome to the show, jim.
(02:11):
Thank you, hank, it's great tobe with you.
Oh, you're welcome, you'rewelcome.
That's quite a guarantee thereYou'll find more money or we
work free.
We'll get more into that in afew minutes, but if you would
please tell our audience reallywhat it is that you do.
Jim (02:29):
Certainly happy to do that .
Frank Hank, excuse me, the workthat we do is focused solely on
helping small business ownersgrow and become medium-sized
businesses.
If they want to grow and becomelarge after that, that's fine
with us too.
We'll keep on working, but thegoal is to find people who have
small organizations.
(02:49):
Sometimes it's a solopreneursituation, where it's just one
person doing all the heavylifting, but they have an idea,
they have a passion, they have amessage that they want to get
out into the world, and our jobis to come in and help create
unique opportunities where, inspecific areas of business focus
, they can grow revenue and,through the magic of compounding
(03:13):
numbers, watch that revenuegrowth grow in a way that brings
meaningful new revenue to smallbusinesses.
Last year, our businesses, theclients we worked with, averaged
a little over $120,000 of newrevenue, and for small
businesses that's meaningfulmoney.
For anybody that's meaningfulmoney.
Hank (03:32):
Yeah, $120,000, as my mother used to say is nothing to
sneeze at.
Exactly so there you go.
What made you choose to do thiskind of work?
Did?
Jim (03:43):
you choose to do this kind of work.
Wow, it wasn't so much a choiceas just following a path.
I was a small business ownerfor many, many years, had a
successful business in LosAngeles and we ran up against a
(04:10):
brick wall that didn't want tobudge, and that was the economy
going sideways in 2008.
And our client list and rosterof A-list 1% clients couldn't be
seen spending money, and so ourfirm of 14 dwindled down to
just myself and finally, eventhat had to be closed up.
So that business went away andI needed to do something.
So that business went away andI needed to do something.
We had had extreme, extremelypositive success in growing our
(04:32):
business as early adopters withsocial media and some of the
platforms that we're quitefamiliar with today Facebook,
instagram and Twitter and Ibegan initially consulting in
the world of digital marketing,sharing the stories of how we
had grown our business.
And then, as the digitalmarketing world began to change,
as paid advertising sort ofstepped to the forefront, my
(04:55):
focus began to shift, and overthe years it's continued to grow
and shift until it's become thework that we're doing today,
and that is to help bring newrevenue into small businesses so
they have the options that theyneed to grow as big as they
want to grow.
Hank (05:09):
Right, right.
Well, what are some of the days?
Some of the days?
You probably spend a lot ofdays, but what are some of the
ways that you help smallbusinesses grow?
Jim (05:20):
Well, we've built up a library of over I think we're up
over 40, maybe 41 strategiesthat we've implemented over the
years, with different successrates and different situations
with different clients.
So we draw on that list andit's everything from the rather
simple, straightforward, we caneven call it low-hanging fruit
(05:42):
of when did you raise yourprices the last time?
I mean, I'm quite fond ofasking that question when I
speak to a room full of businessowners and it's fascinating to
me the look of terror thatflashes across their faces.
As small business owners, we'resomehow trained to believe that
we can't raise our prices, thatwe're going to lose our client
(06:03):
base if we do, whereas bigbusiness Wall Street they're
pretty good at it, they do it onsometimes a weekly basis to us
and seem to be perfectly finewith it.
No, we're not Not advocatingrecklessness in that regard, but
I propose to my business owners, when we're working with them,
what would a 5% price increaselook like for you?
(06:26):
And we do the math and in manyinstances that 5% can represent
$15,000, $20,000, $25,000 over acalendar year Again, meaningful
money.
And then we work backwards.
So if let's say it was $20,000,hank, how many clients would
you have to lose, to offset that$20,000 of new revenue and
(06:49):
bring you back to exactly whereyou are today no worse off than
you are today.
And again, when you do the math, we discover that often that's
18, 20, 22% of your client basethat you would have to lose.
And then I ask the reallysimple question If you went into
your favorite restauranttonight and sat down to order
(07:10):
your favorite meal and that $30meal had gone up by 5%, can you
really honestly tell me that youwould get up and leave that
restaurant without ordering andnever go back?
Hank (07:21):
That's a really good point , because that 5% isn't really
all that much and you're not toolikely Did you mention 18%?
You're not too likely to lose18% of your business by raising
your revenue by 5%, not yourrevenue by raising your prices.
Your prices, yeah, yeah, by 5%.
So you know, it's a question ofgetting past, I guess with a
(07:45):
lot of business owners, the fearfactor, the uncertainty, and,
yeah, small businesses do havethis mindset that they have to
not be too expensive.
But at the same time, you know,somebody that I work with quite
a bit, who's taught me quite abit, has pointed out to me on
any number of occasions thatwhen you raise your prices, you
(08:07):
also attract a better degree ofclientele, a higher degree of
clientele.
And yeah, so it almost seemscounterintuitive to a lot of
business people that raisingtheir prices will bring them
more business.
But there are people who arereluctant to do business with
those whose prices are too low,and I think we'd be surprised at
(08:30):
how many of those really are.
Jim (08:32):
Well, I think the word you just used surprise is what
consistently happens with theclients that we work with on
this issue, because we neveradvocate just plunging ahead
recklessly.
We do the homework, we crunchthe numbers and we get to a
point where, okay, if you'rewilling to take this chance,
let's give it a try.
And the business owner says,yes, let's do it, and without
(08:56):
fail, and I can go back and showyou the records the clients who
have gone ahead raised theprices.
If there has been a client loss, inevitably it's that client or
two that they really didn'tlike doing work with in the
first place, and seeing themleave made room for more and
better and, as you pointed out,a higher caliber of clients, and
(09:19):
that's the kind of surprisethat I'll take any day of the
week, and our clients feel thesame way.
Hank (09:24):
That's very cool.
Are there other ways that youcould share that you find other
sources of revenue for clientsor help them find other sources
of revenue?
Jim (09:34):
Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, the list is pretty long, but the things that jump out
are things like creating newproducts and services.
So let's look at what you'redoing successfully with your
clients and even drill down alittle bit deeper.
What is your top 10% of yourclients?
What's the service that they'regetting that they're raving
(09:55):
fans about, and how can you takethe focus of that product or
that type of service and createsomething that is going to
address an adjacent concern orproblem that those same clients
have?
What is an area in yourphysical region or what is an
area in the market sector thatyou're working in that is gone
(10:19):
unaddressed?
I was on a call yesterday with acouple talking about coming
together and working together,and they dropped a simple
question having to do withcouples working together, and it
opened up for me an entirelynew sort of facet of work that
we might be able to address insome of the challenges that
(10:42):
couples who work together in abusiness might face.
So things like that what newproduct, what service could you
bring to the marketplace?
And we always remember, hank,that we're not looking for an
overnight get-rich-quicksolution by implementing any of
these changes.
All we're looking for is 5%growth, 7% growth, maybe 10%
(11:07):
growth.
I mean we were really going tobe aggressive about it.
Do you think, by introducing anew product or new service into
your business, mr or Ms Client,mr or Ms client, that your
(11:28):
revenue could increase by 5% orby more than 5%?
And that's the goal that wehave.
And we consistently realizethat success in achieving those
goals.
And then we move on to the nextstrategy, do the same type of
thing and then, with that magicof compounding numbers, when you
start compounding the firstsuccess, the first growth of new
revenue, with the secondstrategy and the third, and by
the time we get to the end ofthat first 12 months that we're
(11:49):
working together, those numbersstart shifting the dial in a
really meaningful way and ourbusiness owners are quite
excited and quite happy with theresults.
Hank (11:59):
So say, a small business represents solving a problem in
a small you know of a reasonablysmall niche, but one that works
for them, for their idealtarget audience who has a
certain type of pain point, andthis small business is great at
addressing that and has a trackrecord of being able to solve
(12:20):
that.
Is great at addressing that andhas a track record of being
able to solve that.
So then what you're saying is,if you come across some kind of
a I don't want to call it asister problem, but an adjacent
issue that maybe if you've gotthis issue, you might also have
that issue and we can addressthat as well.
Jim (12:37):
Absolutely.
I mean, and for many of ourbusiness owners, they're busy,
they're buried deep in theirwork, they're doing the work day
in and day out and in someinstances they've never had the
time to just sit back and lookat a 20,000 foot view of what
they're delivering to theirclients.
And when they do that, theysuddenly see things that they've
(12:58):
never noticed before.
Oh well, we're solving this,and they have this problem right
adjacent to it.
What would it take to do thattoo?
And that, along with a numberof other exercises, can open the
door for a new product.
Or maybe you decide thatdeveloping a new product isn't
(13:18):
right for you, but maybepartnering with an adjacent
business and creating a bundleof unique product and services,
where you're just taking anexisting product or service,
bundling it with a product orservice that not a competitor,
but someone who is serving thesame clientele as you, something
(13:38):
that they can deliver, deliver,combine the two because it's a
unique combination.
No one else in the market isdelivering that.
So you don't have the thetypical constraints.
There's no way they're going toshop you because no one else is
delivering this combination ofproduct or services.
So you're able to put a premiumprice tag on it and you've got
something that you can sell andyou can move the dial rather
(14:00):
quickly, often within 30 days.
Hank (14:03):
That's pretty remarkable.
Do you help, then?
Do you help the business, thesmall business owner, with the
logistics of getting thattogether, maybe teaming with the
other company, and what theagreement would look like and
what the revenue streams wouldlook like.
Jim (14:20):
We try to advise within the parameters of our areas of
expertise.
I have other team members thatI can draw on and we'll bring
them in and involve them, andthen in some instances, my team,
we're sort of out of our leagueand that's where I'll say to
the business owner you know whatI've got this professional who
does this type of work.
(14:41):
I've worked with them before.
So I go to my Rolodex, I find areferral.
We introduce them to theproject and then allow the
business owner to do businesswith them and it becomes a
win-win.
Whatever needs to happen tomake the project a success is
what we'll do.
Hank (14:58):
Interesting, and what you just brought up is something
that I think small businessowners should keep in mind that
they can and should affiliatethemselves with others not just,
you know, not competitors, asyou say, but people who maybe
are in a niche that complementswhat they do and to have, if not
(15:19):
specifically, a team I believeeverybody should build teams but
if not specifically a team, atleast have a network of
associates that you could callon to get things done.
And I think that's an area thata lot of small business people
miss Because, as you mentionedearlier, you know they're
putting out all their individualfires every day, so they don't
(15:40):
get to look at the wider view.
Jim (15:42):
Yeah, running a small business can be a lonely
endeavor.
It can feel very isolated.
So any opportunity that we haveto encourage our clients to
beyond just working with us, Imean we love that interaction of
course.
But in your community, in yourindustry, develop relationships,
develop alliances that can behelpful and supportive of you,
(16:05):
even if it's just somebody to gohave a cup of coffee with and
sort of you know, vent over arough day.
Those are really important tothe mental health and to the
emotional health of a business.
Hank (16:17):
Yeah, that's something that a lot of people don't think
of either, and sometimes itcan't be somebody's spouse or
significant other.
You actually sometimes need tocommiserate with somebody who is
either right in your niche orvery close to it.
Exactly, and you mentioned areturn of about $120,000,
(16:42):
$125,000.
Is that like a typical kind ofscenario, what happens when you
work with companies?
Jim (16:51):
So we work with three different types of companies,
and so the answer will varydepending on what type of
company they are.
The first is startup.
So we have two projects we'reworking on right now where, when
we came into the project, therewas no revenue, so we had no
benchmark to start with otherthan zero, and so any growth is
(17:11):
going to be positive from there.
We have other clients, andthese are the ones that I think
those numbers are most tied to,or these last two.
These are somewhat establishedbusinesses.
They've been in business threeto five years.
They've got anywhere from oneto maybe three employees.
They've got revenue fromquarter of a million up to maybe
(17:32):
a million dollars, and so thatkind of growth is typically
found in that segment.
And then slightly largerbusinesses.
We don't do too much of thosebecause we really find a niche
and feel like we're reallyhelping the smaller guy grow to
become the medium-sized business.
But that's how those numberswould be most accurately
(17:53):
associated.
Hank (17:54):
You know, it's like the other day.
I see where you're coming withthat.
For my own company.
I work with small businesses,you know, and medium-sized
businesses to some people can beconsidered big businesses.
It depends on what it is thatyou're dealing with, but I work
with small businesses.
And someone asked me you know,do you have any experience
working with, like Fortune 100companies?
(18:15):
And I said well, no, I've notworked with Fortune 100
companies, and the reality of itis, you know, I'm a small PR
firm, but I also do all thoseother things that involve
marketing.
But I said the reality of it,though, if a Fortune 100 company
wants to hire a PR firm, theygo to Madison Avenue, they don't
come to me.
So I don't expect that I everwill work with a Fortune 100
(18:38):
company.
But you know what?
That's all right, because Ithink that the resources that
one would need to work with afortune 100 company are beyond
the ken of what I provide, andthat's all right too.
Jim (18:52):
Yeah, yeah, there's a slot for for every size business,
whether you're asking for theservice to be provided or
whether you're providing service.
It's a big marketplace outthere and lots of opportunity.
Hank (19:06):
Yes, it is.
Now I'd like to ask wementioned before that you have
this guarantee if they're notmaking money, then you will work
for free.
Could you tell us a little moreabout that?
Jim (19:17):
Sure, so we put this in place.
So one of the things we workwith our clients on is
developing an irresistible offer.
Offer a client something thatthey would be foolish to turn
down.
And in that work we came upwith our irresistible offer, and
that is that when we get intothe implementation phase with
(19:37):
our clients which means we'veselected the 10 or 12 strategies
we're going to implement overthe coming 12 months, and we've
now picked the first one and nowwe're actively implementing
Once we're into that work, if ina given month, the strategies
that we're working on don'tgenerate at least enough new
revenue to cover our fees, thenwe'll work the next month for
(20:01):
free until that turns around andthose numbers come up.
The reason, the only reasonpeople hire us I mean beyond our
charming personalities andgreat wit is to generate revenue
.
And if that ain't happening,then you know somebody's
something, something's notworking right and and yes,
(20:24):
there's responsibilities thatthe owner and their team have,
and we know, we're very clearabout communicating that.
But if the team is functioningand we hit a month where gosh
guys, we just didn't hit thenumbers, we're going to work the
next month for free until thatturns around.
Hank (20:37):
Well, that's really walking the walk, you know,
because there's a lot of peopleout there.
There's a lot of coaches I meanI'm not denigrating coaches.
I mean I know some reallyawesome coaches that help people
do amazing things in theirbusiness but there's also
coaches that you know.
I came across a 19-year-oldlife coach who, you know, took a
course online and got certifiedas a life coach.
(20:59):
But when you're 19 years old,what do you really know about
life in general?
Not that there's not some oldsouls out there there really are
but the point I'm making isthat a lot of people don't walk
the walk, you know, and theydon't make those kinds of
guarantees.
So that's pretty remarkable.
If you could give smallbusinesses one bit of advice to
(21:22):
grow, what might that be?
Jim (21:25):
I think there is an obsession that we have as a
culture, and certainly asbusiness owners, that bigger is
always better, and there'snothing wrong with building a
big enterprise.
Don't get me wrong, butunderstand the numbers that
you're looking at.
I worked with a gentleman awhile back who was very proud of
the fact that he had built aseven-figure business.
(21:50):
He was very proud of the factthat he had generated over a
million dollars in sales and wewere thrilled.
I mean, how exciting, that's sowonderful, great.
Now let's pull out the numbersand let's look at what that
looks like on paper.
And long story slightly shorter, when we looked at what his
profit, what he as the businessowner, was able to put into his
(22:10):
pocket at the end of the day, hehad made $61,000 at the end of
that year.
Hank (22:17):
Right and he probably could have scaled his business
that he could have made $61,000without running himself ragged.
Well you know, jim, I hate tocut this off, but time has flown
by.
I've had a really good timewith this, oh my gosh, and now I
have to ask you that finalquestion.
Please tell our audience thebest way to contact you.
Jim (22:46):
I think a lot of people that are listening really need
to know some of the things thatyou teach and would really
benefit from your programs.
Well, I'd love to hear fromthem.
They can go to our website,which is pinetreepartnersllccom.
You can reach me by email atjim at pinetreepartnersllccom,
and you can always find mekicking around LinkedIn under
Jim Swan.
That's an easy one too.
Under Jim Swan that's an easyone too.
Hank (23:02):
Jim Swan yeah, excellent.
Well, thanks for being herewith us today, jim.
And to our listeners, tune inevery Wednesday for the Home
Business Success Show here onbizradious.
Remember, you can achievesuccess, freedom and
independence in your ownhome-based business.
I've done it freedom andindependence in your own
home-based business.
I've done it, jim has done it,and you can do it too.
(23:23):
See you again next Wednesdayhere on bizradious.
This is Hank Eder, wishing allof you a fabulous day of home
business success.
Welcome to the Home Business Success Show.
Join us as we speak to homebusiness entrepreneurs for tips,
tricks, do's and even don'tsfor running a successful home
business.
Welcome everyone, I'm Hank Eder, also known as Hank the PR Guy,
(00:26):
and you're listening tobizradious all entrepreneurs all
the time.
This is the Home BusinessSuccess Show.
We'll meet our guest rightafter my two-cent marketing
minute.
Did you know that SEO isconstantly evolving?
It's no longer about bundledkeywords.
(00:47):
Now branded quality content isking.
Keep your content relevant toyour audience and to their
unique problems.
Don't ignore your keywords, butdon't try to plaster them all
over your pages.
That's just tacky.
Just keep adding value for youraudience.
(01:08):
Today's guest, jim Swan of PineTree Partners, has more than 20
years of experience as a smallbusiness owner, entrepreneur,
award-winning author, strategistand consultant.
Jim brings his experience as asurvivor of success and failure
to the world of businessstrategy and consulting.
(01:30):
He's turned his years ofbusiness experiences, personal
values and a belief in the powerof transformative energy into a
laser-focused professionalobjective to support small
business owners as they expandinto medium-sized businesses
(01:50):
through revenue growth andprofit expansion.
Jim says he believes there's nochallenge that a small business
owner faces that can't beresolved by more money coming in
through the front door.
Does Firm guarantees newrevenue or they work for free?
Welcome to the show, jim.
(02:11):
Thank you, hank, it's great tobe with you.
Oh, you're welcome, you'rewelcome.
That's quite a guarantee thereYou'll find more money or we
work free.
We'll get more into that in afew minutes, but if you would
please tell our audience reallywhat it is that you do.
Jim (02:29):
Certainly happy to do that .
Frank Hank, excuse me, the workthat we do is focused solely on
helping small business ownersgrow and become medium-sized
businesses.
If they want to grow and becomelarge after that, that's fine
with us too.
We'll keep on working, but thegoal is to find people who have
small organizations.
(02:49):
Sometimes it's a solopreneursituation, where it's just one
person doing all the heavylifting, but they have an idea,
they have a passion, they have amessage that they want to get
out into the world, and our jobis to come in and help create
unique opportunities where, inspecific areas of business focus
, they can grow revenue and,through the magic of compounding
(03:13):
numbers, watch that revenuegrowth grow in a way that brings
meaningful new revenue to smallbusinesses.
Last year, our businesses, theclients we worked with, averaged
a little over $120,000 of newrevenue, and for small
businesses that's meaningfulmoney.
For anybody that's meaningfulmoney.
Hank (03:32):
Yeah, $120,000, as my mother used to say is nothing to
sneeze at.
Exactly so there you go.
What made you choose to do thiskind of work?
Did?
Jim (03:43):
you choose to do this kind of work.
Wow, it wasn't so much a choiceas just following a path.
I was a small business ownerfor many, many years, had a
successful business in LosAngeles and we ran up against a
(04:10):
brick wall that didn't want tobudge, and that was the economy
going sideways in 2008.
And our client list and rosterof A-list 1% clients couldn't be
seen spending money, and so ourfirm of 14 dwindled down to
just myself and finally, eventhat had to be closed up.
So that business went away andI needed to do something.
So that business went away andI needed to do something.
We had had extreme, extremelypositive success in growing our
(04:32):
business as early adopters withsocial media and some of the
platforms that we're quitefamiliar with today Facebook,
instagram and Twitter and Ibegan initially consulting in
the world of digital marketing,sharing the stories of how we
had grown our business.
And then, as the digitalmarketing world began to change,
as paid advertising sort ofstepped to the forefront, my
(04:55):
focus began to shift, and overthe years it's continued to grow
and shift until it's become thework that we're doing today,
and that is to help bring newrevenue into small businesses so
they have the options that theyneed to grow as big as they
want to grow.
Hank (05:09):
Right, right.
Well, what are some of the days?
Some of the days?
You probably spend a lot ofdays, but what are some of the
ways that you help smallbusinesses grow?
Jim (05:20):
Well, we've built up a library of over I think we're up
over 40, maybe 41 strategiesthat we've implemented over the
years, with different successrates and different situations
with different clients.
So we draw on that list andit's everything from the rather
simple, straightforward, we caneven call it low-hanging fruit
(05:42):
of when did you raise yourprices the last time?
I mean, I'm quite fond ofasking that question when I
speak to a room full of businessowners and it's fascinating to
me the look of terror thatflashes across their faces.
As small business owners, we'resomehow trained to believe that
we can't raise our prices, thatwe're going to lose our client
(06:03):
base if we do, whereas bigbusiness Wall Street they're
pretty good at it, they do it onsometimes a weekly basis to us
and seem to be perfectly finewith it.
No, we're not Not advocatingrecklessness in that regard, but
I propose to my business owners, when we're working with them,
what would a 5% price increaselook like for you?
(06:26):
And we do the math and in manyinstances that 5% can represent
$15,000, $20,000, $25,000 over acalendar year Again, meaningful
money.
And then we work backwards.
So if let's say it was $20,000,hank, how many clients would
you have to lose, to offset that$20,000 of new revenue and
(06:49):
bring you back to exactly whereyou are today no worse off than
you are today.
And again, when you do the math, we discover that often that's
18, 20, 22% of your client basethat you would have to lose.
And then I ask the reallysimple question If you went into
your favorite restauranttonight and sat down to order
(07:10):
your favorite meal and that $30meal had gone up by 5%, can you
really honestly tell me that youwould get up and leave that
restaurant without ordering andnever go back?
Hank (07:21):
That's a really good point , because that 5% isn't really
all that much and you're not toolikely Did you mention 18%?
You're not too likely to lose18% of your business by raising
your revenue by 5%, not yourrevenue by raising your prices.
Your prices, yeah, yeah, by 5%.
So you know, it's a question ofgetting past, I guess with a
(07:45):
lot of business owners, the fearfactor, the uncertainty, and,
yeah, small businesses do havethis mindset that they have to
not be too expensive.
But at the same time, you know,somebody that I work with quite
a bit, who's taught me quite abit, has pointed out to me on
any number of occasions thatwhen you raise your prices, you
(08:07):
also attract a better degree ofclientele, a higher degree of
clientele.
And yeah, so it almost seemscounterintuitive to a lot of
business people that raisingtheir prices will bring them
more business.
But there are people who arereluctant to do business with
those whose prices are too low,and I think we'd be surprised at
(08:30):
how many of those really are.
Jim (08:32):
Well, I think the word you just used surprise is what
consistently happens with theclients that we work with on
this issue, because we neveradvocate just plunging ahead
recklessly.
We do the homework, we crunchthe numbers and we get to a
point where, okay, if you'rewilling to take this chance,
let's give it a try.
And the business owner says,yes, let's do it, and without
(08:56):
fail, and I can go back and showyou the records the clients who
have gone ahead raised theprices.
If there has been a client loss, inevitably it's that client or
two that they really didn'tlike doing work with in the
first place, and seeing themleave made room for more and
better and, as you pointed out,a higher caliber of clients, and
(09:19):
that's the kind of surprisethat I'll take any day of the
week, and our clients feel thesame way.
Hank (09:24):
That's very cool.
Are there other ways that youcould share that you find other
sources of revenue for clientsor help them find other sources
of revenue?
Jim (09:34):
Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, the list is pretty long, but the things that jump out
are things like creating newproducts and services.
So let's look at what you'redoing successfully with your
clients and even drill down alittle bit deeper.
What is your top 10% of yourclients?
What's the service that they'regetting that they're raving
(09:55):
fans about, and how can you takethe focus of that product or
that type of service and createsomething that is going to
address an adjacent concern orproblem that those same clients
have?
What is an area in yourphysical region or what is an
area in the market sector thatyou're working in that is gone
(10:19):
unaddressed?
I was on a call yesterday with acouple talking about coming
together and working together,and they dropped a simple
question having to do withcouples working together, and it
opened up for me an entirelynew sort of facet of work that
we might be able to address insome of the challenges that
(10:42):
couples who work together in abusiness might face.
So things like that what newproduct, what service could you
bring to the marketplace?
And we always remember, hank,that we're not looking for an
overnight get-rich-quicksolution by implementing any of
these changes.
All we're looking for is 5%growth, 7% growth, maybe 10%
(11:07):
growth.
I mean we were really going tobe aggressive about it.
Do you think, by introducing anew product or new service into
your business, mr or Ms Client,mr or Ms client, that your
(11:28):
revenue could increase by 5% orby more than 5%?
And that's the goal that wehave.
And we consistently realizethat success in achieving those
goals.
And then we move on to the nextstrategy, do the same type of
thing and then, with that magicof compounding numbers, when you
start compounding the firstsuccess, the first growth of new
revenue, with the secondstrategy and the third, and by
the time we get to the end ofthat first 12 months that we're
(11:49):
working together, those numbersstart shifting the dial in a
really meaningful way and ourbusiness owners are quite
excited and quite happy with theresults.
Hank (11:59):
So say, a small business represents solving a problem in
a small you know of a reasonablysmall niche, but one that works
for them, for their idealtarget audience who has a
certain type of pain point, andthis small business is great at
addressing that and has a trackrecord of being able to solve
(12:20):
that.
Is great at addressing that andhas a track record of being
able to solve that.
So then what you're saying is,if you come across some kind of
a I don't want to call it asister problem, but an adjacent
issue that maybe if you've gotthis issue, you might also have
that issue and we can addressthat as well.
Jim (12:37):
Absolutely.
I mean, and for many of ourbusiness owners, they're busy,
they're buried deep in theirwork, they're doing the work day
in and day out and in someinstances they've never had the
time to just sit back and lookat a 20,000 foot view of what
they're delivering to theirclients.
And when they do that, theysuddenly see things that they've
(12:58):
never noticed before.
Oh well, we're solving this,and they have this problem right
adjacent to it.
What would it take to do thattoo?
And that, along with a numberof other exercises, can open the
door for a new product.
Or maybe you decide thatdeveloping a new product isn't
(13:18):
right for you, but maybepartnering with an adjacent
business and creating a bundleof unique product and services,
where you're just taking anexisting product or service,
bundling it with a product orservice that not a competitor,
but someone who is serving thesame clientele as you, something
(13:38):
that they can deliver, deliver,combine the two because it's a
unique combination.
No one else in the market isdelivering that.
So you don't have the thetypical constraints.
There's no way they're going toshop you because no one else is
delivering this combination ofproduct or services.
So you're able to put a premiumprice tag on it and you've got
something that you can sell andyou can move the dial rather
(14:00):
quickly, often within 30 days.
Hank (14:03):
That's pretty remarkable.
Do you help, then?
Do you help the business, thesmall business owner, with the
logistics of getting thattogether, maybe teaming with the
other company, and what theagreement would look like and
what the revenue streams wouldlook like.
Jim (14:20):
We try to advise within the parameters of our areas of
expertise.
I have other team members thatI can draw on and we'll bring
them in and involve them, andthen in some instances, my team,
we're sort of out of our leagueand that's where I'll say to
the business owner you know whatI've got this professional who
does this type of work.
(14:41):
I've worked with them before.
So I go to my Rolodex, I find areferral.
We introduce them to theproject and then allow the
business owner to do businesswith them and it becomes a
win-win.
Whatever needs to happen tomake the project a success is
what we'll do.
Hank (14:58):
Interesting, and what you just brought up is something
that I think small businessowners should keep in mind that
they can and should affiliatethemselves with others not just,
you know, not competitors, asyou say, but people who maybe
are in a niche that complementswhat they do and to have, if not
(15:19):
specifically, a team I believeeverybody should build teams but
if not specifically a team, atleast have a network of
associates that you could callon to get things done.
And I think that's an area thata lot of small business people
miss Because, as you mentionedearlier, you know they're
putting out all their individualfires every day, so they don't
(15:40):
get to look at the wider view.
Jim (15:42):
Yeah, running a small business can be a lonely
endeavor.
It can feel very isolated.
So any opportunity that we haveto encourage our clients to
beyond just working with us, Imean we love that interaction of
course.
But in your community, in yourindustry, develop relationships,
develop alliances that can behelpful and supportive of you,
(16:05):
even if it's just somebody to gohave a cup of coffee with and
sort of you know, vent over arough day.
Those are really important tothe mental health and to the
emotional health of a business.
Hank (16:17):
Yeah, that's something that a lot of people don't think
of either, and sometimes itcan't be somebody's spouse or
significant other.
You actually sometimes need tocommiserate with somebody who is
either right in your niche orvery close to it.
Exactly, and you mentioned areturn of about $120,000,
(16:42):
$125,000.
Is that like a typical kind ofscenario, what happens when you
work with companies?
Jim (16:51):
So we work with three different types of companies,
and so the answer will varydepending on what type of
company they are.
The first is startup.
So we have two projects we'reworking on right now where, when
we came into the project, therewas no revenue, so we had no
benchmark to start with otherthan zero, and so any growth is
(17:11):
going to be positive from there.
We have other clients, andthese are the ones that I think
those numbers are most tied to,or these last two.
These are somewhat establishedbusinesses.
They've been in business threeto five years.
They've got anywhere from oneto maybe three employees.
They've got revenue fromquarter of a million up to maybe
(17:32):
a million dollars, and so thatkind of growth is typically
found in that segment.
And then slightly largerbusinesses.
We don't do too much of thosebecause we really find a niche
and feel like we're reallyhelping the smaller guy grow to
become the medium-sized business.
But that's how those numberswould be most accurately
(17:53):
associated.
Hank (17:54):
You know, it's like the other day.
I see where you're coming withthat.
For my own company.
I work with small businesses,you know, and medium-sized
businesses to some people can beconsidered big businesses.
It depends on what it is thatyou're dealing with, but I work
with small businesses.
And someone asked me you know,do you have any experience
working with, like Fortune 100companies?
(18:15):
And I said well, no, I've notworked with Fortune 100
companies, and the reality of itis, you know, I'm a small PR
firm, but I also do all thoseother things that involve
marketing.
But I said the reality of it,though, if a Fortune 100 company
wants to hire a PR firm, theygo to Madison Avenue, they don't
come to me.
So I don't expect that I everwill work with a Fortune 100
(18:38):
company.
But you know what?
That's all right, because Ithink that the resources that
one would need to work with afortune 100 company are beyond
the ken of what I provide, andthat's all right too.
Jim (18:52):
Yeah, yeah, there's a slot for for every size business,
whether you're asking for theservice to be provided or
whether you're providing service.
It's a big marketplace outthere and lots of opportunity.
Hank (19:06):
Yes, it is.
Now I'd like to ask wementioned before that you have
this guarantee if they're notmaking money, then you will work
for free.
Could you tell us a little moreabout that?
Jim (19:17):
Sure, so we put this in place.
So one of the things we workwith our clients on is
developing an irresistible offer.
Offer a client something thatthey would be foolish to turn
down.
And in that work we came upwith our irresistible offer, and
that is that when we get intothe implementation phase with
(19:37):
our clients which means we'veselected the 10 or 12 strategies
we're going to implement overthe coming 12 months, and we've
now picked the first one and nowwe're actively implementing
Once we're into that work, if ina given month, the strategies
that we're working on don'tgenerate at least enough new
revenue to cover our fees, thenwe'll work the next month for
(20:01):
free until that turns around andthose numbers come up.
The reason, the only reasonpeople hire us I mean beyond our
charming personalities andgreat wit is to generate revenue
.
And if that ain't happening,then you know somebody's
something, something's notworking right and and yes,
(20:24):
there's responsibilities thatthe owner and their team have,
and we know, we're very clearabout communicating that.
But if the team is functioningand we hit a month where gosh
guys, we just didn't hit thenumbers, we're going to work the
next month for free until thatturns around.
Hank (20:37):
Well, that's really walking the walk, you know,
because there's a lot of peopleout there.
There's a lot of coaches I meanI'm not denigrating coaches.
I mean I know some reallyawesome coaches that help people
do amazing things in theirbusiness but there's also
coaches that you know.
I came across a 19-year-oldlife coach who, you know, took a
course online and got certifiedas a life coach.
(20:59):
But when you're 19 years old,what do you really know about
life in general?
Not that there's not some oldsouls out there there really are
but the point I'm making isthat a lot of people don't walk
the walk, you know, and theydon't make those kinds of
guarantees.
So that's pretty remarkable.
If you could give smallbusinesses one bit of advice to
(21:22):
grow, what might that be?
Jim (21:25):
I think there is an obsession that we have as a
culture, and certainly asbusiness owners, that bigger is
always better, and there'snothing wrong with building a
big enterprise.
Don't get me wrong, butunderstand the numbers that
you're looking at.
I worked with a gentleman awhile back who was very proud of
the fact that he had built aseven-figure business.
(21:50):
He was very proud of the factthat he had generated over a
million dollars in sales and wewere thrilled.
I mean, how exciting, that's sowonderful, great.
Now let's pull out the numbersand let's look at what that
looks like on paper.
And long story slightly shorter, when we looked at what his
profit, what he as the businessowner, was able to put into his
(22:10):
pocket at the end of the day, hehad made $61,000 at the end of
that year.
Hank (22:17):
Right and he probably could have scaled his business
that he could have made $61,000without running himself ragged.
Well you know, jim, I hate tocut this off, but time has flown
by.
I've had a really good timewith this, oh my gosh, and now I
have to ask you that finalquestion.
Please tell our audience thebest way to contact you.
Jim (22:46):
I think a lot of people that are listening really need
to know some of the things thatyou teach and would really
benefit from your programs.
Well, I'd love to hear fromthem.
They can go to our website,which is pinetreepartnersllccom.
You can reach me by email atjim at pinetreepartnersllccom,
and you can always find mekicking around LinkedIn under
Jim Swan.
That's an easy one too.
Under Jim Swan that's an easyone too.
Hank (23:02):
Jim Swan yeah, excellent.
Well, thanks for being herewith us today, jim.
And to our listeners, tune inevery Wednesday for the Home
Business Success Show here onbizradious.
Remember, you can achievesuccess, freedom and
independence in your ownhome-based business.
I've done it freedom andindependence in your own
home-based business.
I've done it, jim has done it,and you can do it too.
(23:23):
See you again next Wednesdayhere on bizradious.
This is Hank Eder, wishing allof you a fabulous day of home
business success.
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