Inspiration and Wisdom

“Delay Pleasure for the Win!”

- Dave Ramsey

Can you delay gratification, so you can keep your business or your retirement fund building, or do you have poor impulse control and “have to have it now?”

“Delay Pleasure for the Win!”

Personal and Business Finance
Depreciating vs Appreciating Assets

The average car payment for a new car is $700, and $525 for a used car. $700 a month invested wisely in mutual funds for 30 years is about 1.9 million dollars. $525 a month invested wisely in mutual funds for 30 years is about 1.4 million dollars. Would you trade being a millionaire for buying a used car? Many people do, EVERY DAY.

You can trade working for your money, to having your money work for you.

Depreciating vs Appreciating Assets

Starting and Scaling Your Business
The 10th Absolute to Starting and Scaling Your Business is Your KPIs (What You Will Measure).

Key Performance Indicators, or KPIs, are vital in business. Like the gauges on your car’s dash, they indicate the current condition of your business. Which ones should you measure?

The obvious ones:

Gross Revenue (Sales)-Monthly, Quarterly, and Yearly

Overhead total in dollars per month

Overhead as a percentage of Sales

Cost of Goods Sold (C.O.G.S.)

Labor costs as a percentage of sales

Gross Profit Margins

Cash Reserves / Working Capital

Accounts Receivable if that applies to your business

Accounts Payable if that applies to your business

“Whatever gets measured, gets improved.” You have to decide what you will measure, then measure it without fail-month over month, quarter vs. same quarter last year, and yearly vs last year. Then always look for ways to improve your metrics.

The 10th Absolute to Starting and Scaling Your Business is Your KPIs (What You Will Measure)

Tech Talk
POS or Credit Card Processing Systems

You will need a Point of Sale (POS) and or credit card processing system, depending on your business. There are many service providers and vendors for these systems.

I used Costco for my credit card processing services for years. Prices were good and service was excellent.

Special Offers for Pricing for Costco Members | Credit Card Processing for Costco Members at costcopaymentprocessing.com Special Offers for Pricing for Costco Members | Credit Card Processing for Costco Members (costcopaymentprocessing.com)

Blackfish makes a POS system for a bar or restaurant. All White Tablet Bar Restaurant POS System - Blackfish POS

You will also want Apple Pay for people devoted to that system.

POS or Credit Card Processing Systems

Spotlight on a Business
Entrepreneur Creates Recipe for Success with Best Ever Granola

Sarah Kaminski admittedly made a bunch of bad homemade granola over the years. But when the perfect batch of vegan, gluten-free granola sweetened with pure Pennsylvania maple syrup popped out of the oven, she dubbed it Best Ever Granola. Seriously.

Turns out, a lot of shoppers and retailers agree with Kaminski. Her scratch-made, bagged granola now is found at the Steelers’ South Side Kitchen Smoothie Bar, and at more than 90 retailers in five states.

Kaminski’s success on the shelves is a far cry from her humble beginnings as owner and sole employee with no experience in the grocery or packaged goods business. Her granola business rose during the pandemic which sidelined her career as health coach.

“I had my home kitchen inspected by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, and was baking about 10 pounds of granola, bagging it and placing laser-jet-printed stickers on each bag,” she explained. “The granola was a natural pivot from my health business, where I created plant-based recipes for clients wanting to eat and feel better.”

Kaminski knew she had a special product and started sharing it. “Everyone in the local food scene was excited as there was no specialty granola in Pittsburgh,” she said. “I focused on creating brand visibility, attending pop-up events and farmer’s markets and meeting with my locally sourced suppliers and food vendors.”

Business was brisk. Kaminski was renting commercial space in mere months – nearly 80 percent of her sales now are through wholesale distribution.

Navigating the many facets of running a small granola company had Kaminski visiting the SBA’s (U.S. Small Business Administration’s) Women’s Business Center at Chatham University’s Center for Women’s Entrepreneurship. WBCs offer one-on-one counseling, training, networking, workshops, technical assistance, and mentoring to women entrepreneurs. They’ll help you decide if starting a business is right for you, find funding for materials and supplies, help you market your business and increase revenues by selling to the federal government.

The former teacher took advantage of the WBCs one-on-one mentorship sessions that helped Kaminski take her product to the next level with professional packaging.

“I received the first pallet of packaging in November 2021,” she said. “I was now really committed in doing this because I had 10,000 bags to fill with product.”

Armed with Chatham’s WBC marketing skillset, Kaminski focused on her premium product and its suppliers targeting local vendors to begin bagging a fan base. “Because we were in a pandemic, many food vendors temporarily pivoted to a home grocery delivery service model and included our granola offerings, which also really helped us get our product into the hands of more people.”

Kaminski started making regional connections, personally contacting specialty food stores, neighborhood grocers, coffee and gift shops. “I made about eight calls a week and delivered tons of samples,” she added. “That’s how I grew the foundation. You have to be okay with hearing a lot of ‘nos.’”

Today, Kaminski’s vision of creating a healthy granola packing in the power of simple ingredients is paying dividends. She and four part-time team members now bake approximately 400 pounds of granola each week.

SBA Western Pa. District Director Dr. Kelly Hunt is pleased her agency is helping Kaminski share her granola. “When entrepreneurs, like Sarah, know they have a unique product that fills a void, we’re here to help,” she said. “It’s amazing that within a few short years, her granola went from a personal recipe to fast becoming a staple throughout the region.”

Kaminski credits her success to believing in herself, coupled with a desire to learn and never being afraid to pivot. “We rely on the power of simple ingredients, creating really delicious products that give you energy to fuel your day.”

Entrepreneur Creates Recipe for Success with Best Ever Granola

Marketing Magic
The Window

Imagine you are walking past a building on the sidewalk and right next to you is a window on the side of a brightly colored building. You stop and glance through the window to see whether what is inside the building on the shelves in the store is reason enough to enter the building or not.

Now, picture your advertisements - in any format they are in - as the window into your business. Your first job as a marketer is to get people to look through that window into your business. Your window has to catch the attention of your potential customers, or they won’t stop walking to look through it. That means in everyday terms they won’t stop sorting the mail, deleting emails, or scrolling through search results to even see your value proposition.

How do you do this? You do this with outstanding visuals, copywriting, or other means. Once you get them to press their faces to the glass, what do you need to show them next? Your value proposition.

Remember, money is what you receive, and value is what the person who paid you gets in return for the money they gave you.

• What will be of value?

• What will make their life better, easier, more luxurious, or improved in another way?

• How will you give them more than they expect to get?

• Why should the spend their money at your business when there are other options?

• What guarantee do they have that the quality of your offerings match what you say they will be?

Think of your marketing programs as the windows into your business, and the value propositions as the items on the shelves that people will study to see if they want to enter your e-commerce or brick-and-mortar store, or not.

The Window

The Boss Sauce - Managing
Perfection is the Enemy of Profitability

You have to look for ways to cut costs (the enemy of businesses) always and thinking that only you can do things keeps overhead high, and margins and profits low. Remember also that a very common mistake is to not put a value on your time. You think you are saving money by doing everything yourself, but if you hired it out the changes to your business would be done much faster and then you would avoid lost opportunity cost.

Perfection is the Enemy of Profitability

The Last Word

"The best way to change the world is in concentric circles: start with yourself and work your way out from there."

- James Clear

If you're ready to start your business - let us help you! We have many affordable coaching options: Business Coaching

Already started a business but growth has stalled? Don't worry, we can help you with that as well: Scale Your Business Coaching 

We're excited to announce the launch of our latest self-paced course, "How to Start a Business," and to celebrate, we have an extraordinary offer just for you!

Limited Time Offer: First 10 Registrants Get an Unbeatable Deal! In celebration of our latest course launch, we're offering an extraordinary deal to the first 10 registrants. Experience our comprehensive $799 course for the exclusive price of just $99. It's a one-time offer to experience top-tier education at an unbeatable value.

Don't Miss This Opportunity! This exclusive offer is available to the first 10 registrants only. Secure your spot now and embark on a journey of learning, growth, and entrepreneurial success. Click here and enter code ZT8EKN3 at checkout to receive your discount! Hurry now! This is only open to the first 10 registrants. If you receive an error with the code that means the 10 spots have been taken! Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.

We can't wait to see you start this journey!

Thanks for reading The Hub, your source for small business knowledge!