Profit

Profit: for better or worse
 
Having a great interest in the triple bottom line (people, plant, profit) and an active conservationist, I am often coming across articles or suggestions that profit is a bad thing or a necessary evil. This is irritating to me because it presents such a limited view on our economic system and the value it has to play in the rest of our values system.
 
What I have come to understand is that the most undesirable and despicable aspect of profit as an abstract is what gets done with them, not with the existence of such. Most objections I have seen or am familiar with have to do with profits being used for things that are perceived as having a negative effect or consequence on society or ecology.
 
Energy companies, especially those in the fossil fuel (non-renewable and emission producing) businesses are often hailed as demonstrations of why profit is a bad thing. They take their profits and use them to explore, drill, extract, pollute, and contaminate the areas they desire to exploit for their business. If there were no profits, they would not be able to expand their operations and thus would slowly shrivel or reinvent themselves to survive without profits (not likely for any company). This is perceived as a positive outcome for those who are protesting their existence and operations.
 
But what about companies that make a profit and use them to benefit their social and ecological influence areas. If it weren't for the profits of conscientious companies, the revenues needed for their impacts would probably be coming through governmental avenues, which do not necessarily improve the outcomes or the process. If profits are used to invest in technologies, resources, and services that are in line with the values of social and ecological improvement, wouldn't we want all businesses to be profitable. If the profits were used to provide education and accessibility to learning systems that are limited by tax revenues, couldn't we be producing a more exceptional set of future leaders? If profits allowed everyone to have a financial security blanket for emergencies, resources to explore their passions and hobbies outside of work, and have the means to enjoy a significant portion of their lives pursuing a higher purpose for society rather than exchanging time for currency, couldn't we have a more fruitful society?
 
While it is often medium sized companies that provide the greatest volume of examples of companies that operate with sustainable principles, triple bottom line approaches, and positive outcomes from their profits, their under-the-radar status is often under whelmed by the megaliths that get the headlines and take our focus off what we want and onto what we don't want. If you want to have the most impact in your social and ecological sphere of influence, create a service or product that generates a profit for you to share and use according to your values.
 
Profits are just a resource that are useful for limitless opportunities. When we shift our focus to what we can do with profits rather than what others are doing with them, we can have the influence and power that previous generations have failed to realize.

The Purpose of Even a Vegan Business is Profit

Read More: business, entrepreneurship, feasibility, Hillary Rettig, mentors, profitability, Small Business Administration, vegan

 

Yes, I know about the evils of profit, and I'm obviously not suggesting you elevate it over all ethical concerns. But if you wish to be in business – which I believe is a valid personal and activist strategy – then you need to focus on profit. Even businesses operating on enlightened triple bottom line principles focus on a Profit metric alongside People and Planet.

A business is a "machine" for generating profit. The machine's parts include production, marketing, sales, financial management, customer service, etc. When they are all operating correctly, the machine hums along and you extract more money from the economy than you put in. That's your profit.

What do you call a commercially-focused endeavor that you invest a lot of time and money in, but that doesn't generate a profit?  If you're lucky: a hobby. If you're unlucky: a heartbreak. I draw a strong line here because I've experienced that heartbreak myself, and have seen others experience it. I want to save you from it. I also know, personally and through the experiences of others, that it's easy to fool yourself into thinking things are doing better than they are, your big break is right around the corner, etc.

Don't settle for a faux business: one that looks profitable but doesn't pay you a decent salary (a "donut" business with an empty hole in the center); or one that perpetually teeters on the edge of profitability without ever attaining consistent and sustainable profitability (a "trundler").

Never think that vegan businesses are somehow special and exempt from the ordinary rules of business operation and growth. They aren't: the vegan rules are added to the business rules, which makes the whole endeavor quite a challenge. Vegan retailers, for instance, often weigh considerations such as fair trade, fair labor practices, and organic/sustainable provision when deciding what to sell. None of that, however, absolves them from having to make the most basic business calculation: "Can I sell it, and at a profit?" (And after you do all that, some customers will still complain or refuse to do business with you. Alas, that goes with the territory of trying to run an ethical business.)

This brings me to a final point: that in business, the entrepreneur's vision is almost inevitably compromised. You enter your business with a passion, and your customers share some of it – but it is your obligation to acknowledge the part they don't share and accommodate it to the greatest extent possible. (Or, put another way: it is not the customer's job to accommodate your needs and viewpoints, but your job to accommodate hers, thus making it as easy and attractive as possible for her to buy.) You shouldn't compromise your key values, but you shouldn't also have so many uncompromisable values that you can't run a profitable business.

This quandary is far from unique to vegan businesses: professional artists frequently chafe at the need to compromise their vision, as do programmers, building contractors, and others. (Of course, those who chafe too much are unlikely to remain in business.) The hardest part of business, I and many others have found, is setting aside your ego and seeing things from the standpoint of the customer.

Profit isn't easy, which is why most small businesses fail. Maximize your odds of success by, (1) getting training; (2) enlisting mentors; and (3) doing an apprenticeship by working in a business of the type you want to start. Most people who fail at business do so not because they are not smart or dedicated enough, but because they didn't lay a proper foundation or ask for help.
 
Originally published at http://www.vegsource.com/hillary-rettig/the-purpose-of-even-a-vegan-business-is-profit.html

Hillary Rettig 

Posted May 30, 2011

Published in Lifestyle

Retail Charge Cards

Most retail credit cards are processed through banks with agreements with the retailers. Very few do their own in house charge accounts, and fewer have their own banks to fund a VISA card program or accounts receivables.

A trade line with a retail charge card can be as much as 10% of a credit score, so it is helpful to have one, especially if you already 2 or more trade lines (credit accounts showing as separate items on a credit report: revolving, mortgage, fixed financing/loan, retail are the 4 most common).

The following applies to those with bankruptcies on their credit reports

In an effort to obtain credit, it is important to first know whether you have a good chance of getting your application accepted so that you don't have an inquiry that doesn't result in credit approval.

Primary questions to ask of an account specialist at the financial institution handling the retail credit program:

1. What is the companies view on bankruptcies appearing on a credit report: for some companies (HSBC/Capital One, being one), a bankruptcy appearing on the credit report results in immediate rejection of the application; for others, it may depend on the other follow-up questions.

2. How long after a BK (bankruptcy) discharge has passed before you will consider extending credit? 2-years is a common term, but shorter and longer are quite probably too.

3. Is there a minimum credit score and/or a desired credit score to consider extending credit? This will probably change the most frequently since the secondary market that purchases or funds the credit changes their guidelines with the market.

4. What credit reporting agency do you use? Let them tell you which of the 3 they pull: Equifax, Transunion, Experian. Since it is possible to get a bankruptcy removed from some credit reports after some time and effort, knowing which they use could help you navigate the sea out there for one that could work for you.

Since credit inquiries, especially those resulting in denial of credit can harm the score and stay on the report for a while, it is important to know which companies will have the highest likelihood of extending credit to you before you even apply. A little research goes a long way in this case.

With consolidation happening in the retail credit marketplace, there are about a dozen primary banks that service all the national retailers in the country. Knowing the policies of the financial institution will help narrow down the search.

One of the best cards to start with is a Target RedCard (a credit card only useful at Target, not the VISA card). They have their own financial organization, and have been known to extend a VISA card to a store card holder after some time of appropriate card usage. Even with the Target VISA card, it still makes sense to have the RedCard as it appears differently on the credit report, and helps with that 10% potential of the score.

A very common financial institution to stay away from is HSBC (being acquired by none other than Capital One--which most of us stay away from anyway). The primary reason to avoid appyling for credit at all is that they automatically deny anyone with a bankruptcy appearing on their credit report. They manage accounts for Best Buy, Fry's Electronics, Menards, Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister, Land's End, Crate & Barrel, J Crew, Trek Bikes, Williams & Sonoma, and Pottery Barn among others.

Be aware that some retailers use different financial companies for their charge card and a different one for their VISA and/or MasterCard programs. It pays to check into both before applying.

How to Get the Feel of Your Business - E-Myth

How to Get the Feel of Your Business

2011 | Sep 14 in Home Page News , Leadership

By Jamison Hollister, E-Myth Business Coach

A Mastery client was telling me he was uncomfortable talking about his feelings. 

He was obviously dissatisfied with the way his business was performing, and was equally disappointed in the resulting chaos it brought to his life. 

So, I asked him an uncomfortable question.

"How do you want your life to feel?"

"What?" He seemed unsure.

I kept quiet.

I also knew that his employees were a perpetual source of frustration for him. I again questioned him, "How do you want your employees to feel about working for you?"

He seemed to be getting annoyed. "Huh?" was all he could muster. I think I heard him scratching his head over the phone. I could feel him squirming, but knew how important this was for him to think about.

His customers complained a lot, and sometimes seemed skeptical about the value they got for their money. So, I asked him, "How do your customers need to feel about doing business with you?"

And, finally, he burst.

"Feelings schmeelings!   I don't want to talk about feelings.  I want to talk about facts!"

Some Facts About Feelings

"OK." I complied, grinning with excitement. We had reached the core issue. "Here are some facts I want you to consider.

•    No matter what kind of business you have, what people are really buying from you is the entire experience of doing business with you – not just the product or service you offer. That experience needs to create a powerful emotional impact, a feeling people want to repeat. 

•    The fact is that people make decisions based on their emotions and whether or not it feels right to them. You've got to care about what feels right to people if you are going to make your business work.

•    The fact about most sales efforts is that too many  business owners work too hard trying to appeal to their customers' logic, reason, and conscious mind, paying little or no attention to unconscious needs and emotions. 

•    And, like it or not, it is a fact that your business is a reflection of you.  So, if you're indifferent about the way people feel about your business, then you risk the very real possibility that people will reward you with that same indifference."

In my experience, it is a rare business owner who genuinely doesn't care. So it holds true that there are many business owners, like my client, who inherently hope that the experience of their business is positive – but don't intentionally do anything to make it that way.

Are You 'In Touch' Or 'Out of Touch?'

"The facts are," I said to my dear client, "that you seem to be quite out of touch with everything you want out of life and business. You're not considering how your business affects everyone who comes in contact with it – including you.  Until you break through that, you will not be able to create a world class company."

•    If you want to live life on your own terms and not just take what life throws at you, then you've got toname those terms and identify what you really want.  You have to renew your commitment to them daily and enlist the support of all of your stakeholders – especially your employees and your customers.

•    If you want a business where people love to come to work and give their absolute best, then you've got to get in touch with what is important to them.  If you don't care, they won't care.  If you care deeply, then surround yourself with others who care as deeply.

•    If you want your customers to be repeat buyers, raving fans, and refer everyone they know to you, then you've got to care about their emotional needs and expectations. They have to feel that you care – and that you truly want your business to work for them.

"Your business must work to be in touch with everyone." I said.

I knew my client knew this, and, ironically, I knew that if he was to remain my client and experience the full success of E-Myth Mastery, I had to demonstrate to him the experience he had been withholding from himself, his employees, and his customers.  He had to experience my caring that he didn't care. 

It wasn't calculated.  It was real.  I did care.  I cared enough to ask him the questions that made him uncomfortable and challenge his responses.  He was my customer and I cared. 

Simply holding him accountable to recognize his feelings about the business really marked a turn.  He soon found that spark that was missing in his life. He worked with his employees to find that spark for themselves. His customers sensed the new-found sincerity and began referring people left and right.

Over the course of the next several months, he began building a whole new level of trust and confidence with his customers and his employees, all because he decided to shift his attention and become intentional about getting in touch with them.

Feel The Change

One thing is certain – there wouldn't have been any change unless he had been courageous enough to face his discomfort. 

You can trigger your own shift of attention by asking yourself the three questions I asked my client.  Write down your thoughts – a short paragraph or whatever few words come to mind.

1.    How do you need to feel about your business in order to be satisfied with it? 
•    What would have to change in order for you to feel that way?

2.    How do your employees need to feel about working for you in order to get engaged? 
•    What must change in order for them to feel that way?

3.    How do your customers need to feel in order to become raving fans? 
•    What more can you do to make them feel that way?

Real change is within your grasp, and like anything else, it comes down to where you focus your attention and your intention. 

If you can simply resolve to pay more attention to the kind of emotional impact your business creates for everyone who touches it, and be brutally honest in your observations, then you can immediately be more intentional in making sure your business leaves everyone feeling cared for.   

7 Reasons Why We Procrastinate: E-Myth

7 Reasons Why We Procrastinate

2011 | Jul 20 in Home Page News , Leadership

By Bobby Burns, E-Myth Business Coach

We'd just begun our coaching call. Don was explaining why he had not kept his word about creating monthly financial statements.  Again.

 In a voice tinged with resignation, he said there wasn't enough time. He rolled out all the things that had gotten in his way in the past two weeks.  He waited for me to change the subject.

I didn't change the subject.  As his coach, I knew that this was The Subject.  And this was a major challenge to Don's getting what he truly wanted for his business and himself.  Don knew it.  I knew it.  And as his coach, I wouldn't be helping him if I let him off the hook.

But I never seem to have enough time!

"Your problem isn't lack of time, Don," I said.  "You had time enough to make client calls. You were able to take an extra two hours on your lunch break to read up on SEO optimization and tweak your blog. You had time for a lot of things, but you consistently put off this one thing that you'd committed to, agreed needed to be done, and wasn't all that difficult.  So what's really going on?"

Don got defensive, saying he'd been prioritizing. Then he caught himself, and said:  "I know this is important, but I just feel so uncomfortable dealing with finance."  This was big for Don to admit and I was relieved to hear him own it. "Not having time" was a red herring and we both knew it.

I assured him that he wasn't alone when it came to procrastination, and we considered a number of places throughout his management and leadership functions where this habit was showing up. We reviewed several other things he wanted that he wasn't getting by allowing this habit to drive him. We had to agree that it was a problem before we could agree to work on it.

Tell Me Why?

There are myriad reasons why we procrastinate. And there are often telltale signs that we are indeed procrastinating even when we think we are being truly productive.

Do you stay busy doing low priority tasks despite the high-level, strategic work that remains undone?

Are you checking and re-checking your email without acting on them?

Do certain items keep getting "carried over" to another day on your To-Do list?

Are you perpetually waiting for a "good time" to tackle certain tasks?

If you answered "Yes" to any of these questions, you may be struggling with this issue.

While there are many underlying causes, here are seven that are particularly common and easily identified:

1. You are feeling overwhelmed by a particular task
2. You are afraid that you will fail
3. You feel unwilling or unable to make a decision
4. You are overworked or too tired
5. You just don't want to do it
6. You are too disorganized and distracted to effectively budget the time
7. You don't want to commit to starting a task unless you know it will be perfect

Deferring some tasks, especially low-level or unimportant tasks, is not necessarily procrastinating. Part of the art of self-management is being able to prioritize and, where possible, delegate.  It might also be a good strategy to intentionally hold off on high-level or critical tasks if you are not able to focus effectively due to fatigue or unavoidable distractions. But that should be the exception, not the excuse.

Don had developed the habit over the years of putting off unpleasant tasks simply because he didn't want to do them. But that didn't make them go away.  They just collected in the background – adding to Don's stress and further distracting him for being able to fully focus on any task at hand.  It was a vicious cycle.  His upbringing and his work ethic made "doing things and being busy" essential, so he would immerse himself in "work."  

But for all the time he put in to being busy, he was perpetually frustrated by his inability to get the results he really wanted.

For some people, the greatest enemy to getting important things done is perfectionism.  If it can't be perfect, it can't be done.  

Okay, so stop that. It's not going to happen. Nothing is perfect and striving for perfection is just another way of putting things off indefinitely.  Sometimes, "good enough" is good enough.  Leave room for improvement and innovation – but give yourself something to start with!

Plan Your Work, Write it Down, and Work Your Plan

The old cliché about planning your work and working your plan is a powerful maxim. I added the bit about writing it down because there is enormous power in putting things on paper. There is an extra force in making your objectives visible and "real."

Getting effectively organized and developing effective time management practices will not happen overnight. But today is a great day to start! Confronting your own particular procrastination demons will not be comfortable or pleasant. So be it – today's a great day to begin! Create a realistic To-Do list each day with only 3 priority tasks.  Put the least inviting one on top.  

Begin.  Experience the pleasure of getting something you'd avoided off your list.  It's a monkey off your back! Move on to the next.  It gets easier with each little success. 

Don did exactly that. It wasn't easy and it did not all turn around in a week. But as I told him then -- it's a process, not an event. Over time he's gained control over his time by gaining control of himself.  By implementing key tools and methods for planning and prioritizing he is winning the battle with procrastination.

Does he still dislike certain tasks? Well, yes. But he's getting them done, and a completed unpleasant task feels a lot better than one hanging over your head.

Becoming an Inspirational Communicator-E-Myth

Becoming an Inspirational Communicator

2011 | Sep 7 in Home Page News , Leadership

By Bobby Burns, E-Myth Business Coach

"I've said it over and over. I've told my people how to carry themselves at work. I've laid out simple guidelines to create a great environment for our customers. But no matter what I say, they seem more concerned with how much they can get away with, rather than how they can contribute." 

Darren spoke quietly. The weight of this subject was literally making it difficult for him to muster the strength to continue.

"I'm at a total loss. When I try to communicate my vision and explain the steps needed to get there, all they hear is a list of the minimum requirements they have to perform in order to keep their jobs. It's wearing me out." 

I understood. As an E-Myth coach I knew exactly what he was experiencing. I could feel his distress and I knew what he needed to hear. But it wasn't easy. 

"Darren" I said, "you spend a lot of time talking to your people, right?"

"Yeah." He agreed.

"Good. That's a great start! But I need to remind you of something. Simply talking to your people is not necessarily communicating with them."


Communicating Like a Leader

Great leaders have been, almost without exception, great communicators – though not necessarily great speakers. The main address at the Gettysburg battlefield dedication ceremony was two hours long, delivered by the best known orator of the day, Edward Everett. But it was the brief speech immediately following, given by President Abraham Lincoln, that is celebrated today as one of the grandest, most sublime and most moving utterances ever spoken. 

Everett was a great speaker. Lincoln was a great communicator.

Effective leadership is vital, but effective leadership can't happen without communication. 


What Did You Say?

Leaders must communicate on two fronts: informational communication and inspirationalcommunication. Both are vital and both are needed; but in order of precedence, inspirational communication has primacy. Inspirational communication is less about style than it is about substance. And even more than substance, it is about spirit. 

Spirit and passion. 

If you, as the leader of your organization, can effectively impart the spirit and passion of your vision, you will have accomplished far more than any amount of information could achieve. This is the realm where so many leaders stall.

The source of inspirational communication comes from the heart, not the head. It is based on the vision a leader has for his business, and it is conveyed on a level that surpasses and transcends the brain. It is more heart than head. More engaging than informing. 

As a business owner who must take on the mantle of true leadership, you must be willing to find your voice – and use it. 

How Do You Find Your Voice?

Would you know your own "voice" if you heard it? 

Maybe not. But, chances are that you've heard it before, regardless of whether or not you recognized it.

Think of a time when you felt inspired by something. Think of a movie you watched, or a charitable deed you did. Think of anything that has happened in your life that moved you. Moved you to laugh. Moved you to cry. Moved you to simply smile in excitement. Whatever it may have been, that feeling you experienced was your "voice" talking to you. 

All you have to do is let that voice out. 

In the privacy of your office, think of the aspects of your business that inspire you. Why does it excite you to add a new product line? Why will implementing a new system create a better work environment?

Record the keywords that pop-up in your mind. It doesn't matter how silly they may sound to you. Write them down and recall them later when you want to inspire your people.

It doesn't matter if your people don't plan to make a lifetime career with you; if you're overflowing with excitement, soon they will be too.

Inspiration is contagious.

There are many books and courses that purport to teach leaders how to "communicate effectively." They offer valuable tricks and techniques. But when all is said and done (and usually more is said than done!)  nothing can replace the improvement that comes from simply "doing it" – practicing and constantly honing your inspirational communications skills.

Here are some essential elements for becoming a more effective and inspirational communicator in your business:

1.    Head and Heart: practice mixing  logic with feeling so that you appeal to your audience's rational minds while also touching them emotionally.  Remember: head and heart.  Tell them a story about an experience you had that epitomizes the theme you want them to associate with.  

2.    Simplify your message: this is not "dumbing down," but rather distilling the essence of your communication so that it is accessible to everyone in your audience.  Avoid cliché or corporate-speak.  Use real words; as you would in a normal conversation.  You will not dazzle people with your business vocabulary; more likely than not, they'll simply assume you don't want them to understand.

3.    Know your audience: Just as you want to know everything you can about your best customers, you want to have an understanding and appreciation for your employees and be able to meet them where they are.  People are not going to listen unless it is clear that you are actually talking to them.

4.    Listen: effective communication is a two-way dynamic, not a monologue.  Mastering the art of listening and truly "hearing" your audience is essential to being heard. Every genuinely great performer acknowledges the critical contribution made by their audience; they are not set apart from one another – they are breathing together and feeding each other with attention.  Don't be afraid to take a breath, look around, "read the room," and resume with fresh focus. 

5.    Be able to share difficult truths: the ability to communicate hard news or challenging situations is key to establishing and maintaining integrity; while it may be difficult, your audience will much more readily trust the message if they trust the messenger.

Purpose, when fueled by a vision and executed with passion, is a powerful tool. What was previously a corporate pep-talk becomes a barely contained torrent of energy and excitement! When you learn to identify, channel and express a passion and a purpose, the words will find their way out. And you will find, often to your own astonishment, that it is not the power of your words that accomplishes the goal, but the power in your words!