Small Business Answer Man

Tyler Jefcoat is the Founder & CEO of Seller Accountant where he exercises his passion for helping sellers maximize their businesses. He provides financial coaching for sellers totaling more than $100 million per year in e-commerce sales. Tyler also leads the Sellers Roundtable, an exclusive mastermind group for seven- and eight-figure sellers. Before founding Seller Accountant, Tyler was the Co-Founder and Managing Partner for Care to Continue, a home healthcare company that grew from zero to 100 employees in four years.

The cash flow crunch! How to get money and keep it.

• Many of today's business owners have never run a business in a bear market. Times like right now make companies look closer at the numbers.
• Even though things are more difficult right now, it is also a time of great opportunity. If you can work through the challenges now, you will be set to make great gains.
• Our financial data will tell a story so that you can make good strategic choices. For your number to tell you this story, you have to have correct numbers.
• It's important for you to believe your numbers even if they aren't good news.
• Looking at your numbers should lead you to take action – especially when they are not favorable.
• Every business has 4-6 KPIs that give you a good summary of how you are doing. If you look at these KPIs every week, you will know how your company is doing. Just take 20 minutes a week.
• Winners are carving out time to look at their numbers weekly. It's not enough to have sales. Those sales need to translate to profits.
• Also if you want to win, don't neglect looking at their cash flow statement. Build this into the weekly rhythm.
• Ecommerce can give you the opportunity to do a natural pivot to something you have a special interest in or ability for.
• You should make sure you cash flow is working. It's a bigger deal to run out of cash than out of stock. If you run out of cash the business is dead. If you run out of stock you just tell your customer that the delivery of the product or service is delayed.

Find a tribe or mastermind because it's lonely being an entrepreneur. Also, find a coach. The best athletes have a coach and as a business owner you can benefit from coaching too.

Tyler's podcast: Return on Podcast

Website: selleraccountant.com

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As chief of staff of Navitas Wealth Advisors, where he provides strategic counsel to the executive team and oversees day-to-day operations. He has worked in key leadership roles in the software and telecom industries and served as a pastor and a missionary in South Africa.

How to maneuver the seasons of change that are constantly bombarding us in our business and personal lives.

• Steve has had a lot of change in his life. He was caught up in the dot com bust in the early 2000s. This led to a lot of reflection and then led to him and his wife moving to South Africa to work as missionaries. That led to another big change. They adopted a 20-month-old baby from South Africa. Then in 2012, his wife was diagnosed with cancer and he lost her in 2015. He then became a single dad. We all go through change.
• Navigating the season of change can be challenging. Steve has created a framework to look at change as a puzzle to solve. Some changes we choose and some we are faced without our choice.
• Every change comes with loss and the stages of grief.
  • The first stage of grief is shock and denial.
  • The second step is anger.
  • Next comes the bargaining.
  • The next stage is depression and some level of anxiety.
  • Finally we reach acceptance.
• We often cycle through this over and over again until the change becomes normal and we settle in.
• One of the important things is to be self-aware and to realize what you are going through.
• When you are beginning a change at your company be sure you are convinced that this change is necessary because it is going to be difficult and you are going to encounter resistance.
• Make sure you have a clear path forward.
• Be authentic in your communication. You will hit bumps along the way and if you try to sugarcoat the challenges, your team will see you as not being authentic.
• Communication is key!
• Celebrate -Celebrate 1% improvements. If you improve 1% a week your company will have a 50% improvement in a year.
• Don't be afraid to adjust the path.
• Steve's 5 steps are:
  • Act on your convictions.
  • Keep outlining a clear path to the ultimate change.
  • Be authentic in your communications
  • Celebrate your wins.
  • Don't be afraid to change.
• For all you do, you've got to get up in the morning and execute.
• Go to stevekinsley.com for a free resource.

Get the book Working Without a Net: How to Survive and Thrive in Today's High Risk Business World

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Mario Lanzarotti is a TEDx speaker with nearly 1 million views & he is a High Performance Coach focused on helping entrepreneurs make more money in half the time through building an unstoppable Mindset.

How to make more money. How to scale it and grow it in less time.

• To help avoid self-sabotage, you need awareness. You can't change anything without being aware of what is going on. Look at yourself with a lens of compassion when trying to be aware. You can learn a lot about why you avoid certain tasks by really looking at them.
• Are your actions speaking towards what you actually want to happen or are you saying one thing and doing another?
• Too often business owners operate from willpower.
• Things to do to make more sales:
  • It is counterintuitive but you first need to slow down. You need to take time to do an inventory of what you are doing.
  • You need a coach. You have blind spots for your own behavior and a coach will help you see them. There are things you don't know that you don't know. A coach will help you see these.
  • Who vs. How. Instead of asking how to do something, think of who you know that can be a resource.
• Clarity: The challenge with clarity is that a lot of entrepreneurs are trying to get to a place of clarity while they are stressed so they have difficulty seeing clearly. First, they need to move from this place of stress.
• Once you determine what you want to accomplish, you work backward to figure out the steps you need to do to get there.
• Mario sees too many entrepreneurs working from a place of fear.
• Many times they just try to grind through it.
• It's important to realize that more is not always better. You need to set boundaries with yourself and your business.
• Link to Mario's info: https://www.mariolanzarotti.com/welcome-sbam/

Don't wait for the money to give you peace. Peace is found within yourself by accepting who you are and when you have peace, you make better decisions.

Book: Strategy Sprints

Website: mariolanzarotti.com

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Simon Severino helps business owners discover how to be able to run their company more efficiently which results in sales that soar. He created the Strategy Sprints® Method that doubles revenue in 90 days by getting owners out of the weeds. Simon is the CEO and founder of Strategy Sprints which is a global team of certified Strategy Sprints® Coaches which offers a customized strategy to help clients gain market share and work in weekly sprints which results in fast execution. He is also a Forbes Business Council Member, a contributor to Entrepreneur Magazine, and a member of Duke Corporate Education.

Time and money. When you are running a business you don't have time to solve your problems. Simon will help free up time for you to improve your business.

• He began as a strategy consultant to big name companies. He fell in love with this work.
• Simon began his company but then realized he was the bottleneck. He then hired the employees he needed.
• A business owner may not realize he's the bottleneck. He may be saying things like: "I don't have the bandwidth", "I'm running out of steam", "I'm too busy".
• When you feel you are running out of time, you need to sit down and do an inventory of where you spent your time. Then take one of your tasks and delegate it.
• Secondly, you need to ask yourself: "If I would live more freely and more intentionally, what would I do tomorrow."
• It is the entrepreneurs job to look at the big picture and then delegate to finish solving the problem.
• We only have control of our own habits. Three habits:
  • Daily habit: Write down what you are going to delegate and what new item you are going to do tomorrow to live more intentionally.
  • Weekly Habit: Getting a report about the week's sales number (deals closed), marketing number (subscribers) and operations number (referrals or satisfaction rate). Track these 3 numbers.
  • Monthly Habit: Strategic analysis and then rebudgeting according to where you are winning.
• Many entrepreneurs get distracted and start something new instead of focusing on what they are winning at and optimizing that.
• Three things to consider if you want to double revenue. Increase these by 25% and increase revenue by 90%.
  • Sales frequency
  • Price
  • Conversion Rate
• The best teams think in weeks and months and not years. It makes them more agile.
• Protect your vision from temporary volatility.

Turn your fixed costs into variable costs. Go to your biggest costs positions and see how you can pay according to profit and not a fixed amount.

Book: Strategy Sprints

Website: strategysprints.com

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Marie Zunda is a certified high-performance coach, teacher, and speaker. Her focus is on inspiring and empowering you to become who you always wanted to be! Marie helps others transform by giving them permission to connect with their inner authentic self, to believe in their own power and possibilities for change, to dream and create and rewrite their soul story to become their full potential...Igniting their Best Self and Living their Best Life!

Work on the question of how to solve your work-life balance as a business owner and how to move from being a human doing to more of a human being.

• "Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself." George Bernard Shaw
• First, we need to be aware. We need to disconnect and find time to really ask ourselves questions.
  • Who are we?
  • What do we want?
  • Who and what do we value the most?
  • How do you define joy, peace and fulfillment for yourself?
  • What is your definition of success?
  • What kind of business do you want to have? (Do you want a small or large business – what size is your sweet spot).
• Second, we need to have perspective. Taking time to step back and look at things is important to give us this perspective.
  • "If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change." – Wayne Dyer
• Lastly is legacy.
  • What do you want to be known for?
  • How do you want your kids to remember you?
  • Where do you want your business to go?
• When we are on the hamster wheel, we don't have the opportunity to think.
• Thinking about these things makes you stronger and the stronger you are as a person, the better you will be for your business.
• It's important to have intention to be able to bring peace into your life.
• To be intentional, you need to block off a portion of the day for just you. Marie starts her day off on a positive note. She starts with meditation, reading, journaling and having quiet time.
• The second thing to do is exercise. It helps clear your head.
• Lastly, have the intention to start your work day positively as well.
• Make a note to not engage in negativity or drama.
• "Your beliefs become your thoughts. Your thoughts become your words. Your words become your actions. Your actions become your habits. Your habits become your values. Your values become your destiny" – Gandhi
• The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Don Miguel Ruiz
  • Be impeccable with your words.
  • Don't take anything personally.
  • Don't make assumptions.
  • Always do your best.

Don't forget about your self-care. The better you are, the better your business is.

Free "Stress to Peace" Guide: igniteyourbestself.com/stresstopeacefreeguide

Website: igniteyourbestself.com

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Aaron Marks has nearly two decades of marketing leadership expertise, focused on digital and inbound marketing. From commercializing high-profile VC-backed startups to driving measurable growth at Fortune 500 companies, Aaron has helped companies of all sizes strategize and deliver marketing success.

What problem do you solve? How to grow your business with digital marketing.

• Aaron has grown up in the digital age. He was the computer nerd growing up, and he started his first company in his teens in the early 2000s. Aaron's first company was building websites which was the first digital marketing arena.
• The buyer's journey is not linear, and that is something that we need to be aware of. Most businesses are good at the part of the journey that talks about what you do. If you can capture your potential customer early on, you have a better chance of staying connected.
• You may want to start with a Just 3 Content Grid.
• Your marketing strategy comes from your business strategy. What are you trying to accomplish as a business and who are your buyers?
• 3 pillars of marketing strategies:
  • Outbound marketing or push marketing. Can be valuable and effective. The biggest challenge is that people have become effective at avoiding email and calls. This type of marketing may not be reaching customers at the right time
  • Inbound marketing: It has been mastered by Hubspot. This type of marketing is very directed to your potential customers' current needs.
  • Account based marketing is like spearfishing vs. the above 2 which are more like casting a net. Account marketing is directed at specific customers and really targeting them and their needs. You may have a dream 20 or dream 100 in this type of marketing.
• If you try to speak to everyone, you end up speaking to nobody.
• You really need to understand who you are marketing to, and you need to understand what their goals and what their challenges are. You need to learn where their watering holes are and you need to focus on answering their concerns and questions. Finally, you need to give high quality resources to them.
• It is important to excel at creating valuable, thoughtful content to bring to your potential customers.

Don't participate in random acts of marketing. Make sure what you do aligns with what your customer needs.

Link to download the "Surefire Marketing Strategies" playbook: https://bit.ly/3JChK0o

Website: aspiremarketing.group

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Pouya Haidari has been in business for 12 years, 7+ industries, consulted multi-billion dollar companies and celebrity entrepreneurs, and generated $100M+ in client revenue.

What problem do you solve? The sales question. "Sales solves all."

• Pouya started in sales very young. He learned from Jim Rohm that formal education can make you a living but self education can make you a fortune.
• He decided if he could learn sales, he could work himself up the corporate ladder and also learn on someone else's dime. He worked for a number of companies and learn a great deal across industries and now he helps others.
• Many business owners start their company because they have a great widget or product but don't have a sales background. Some other entrepreneurs do come from a sales background.
• For those that don't come from sales, they prioritize everything but sales. It's important to realize that sales is the main thing.
• It's important to build systems instead of having a one-time offer which leaves money on the table. When you have systems and processes in place you can start to predict your sales. Another benefit of systems and processes is that you can duplicate yourself and expand out.
• Everyone is in sales. Some people may have natural inclinations that help them in a certain area, but everyone needs to realize that they need to do the work to develop skills that make them successful.
• When you compartmentalize sales, you are limiting yourself. You need to be good at everything from lead generation & acquisition, to prospecting, to qualifying, to presentation and demonstration, to proposal or offer, to closing, to following up. You need to know the whole thing from top to bottom. If you want to be good at sales, you need to be good at all of the above.
• Delivering a high quality product or service can separate you from the competition and is critical to growth of the business.
• Create relationships! "This is where our relationship starts"
• Book, show and close ratios are helpful in looking at sales. Tracking these percentages can help you find bottlenecks.

Prioritize sales! Client acquisition and client retention are critical. Without sales, you just have a hobby, not a business.

Website: pouyahaidari.com

Liz has a 90-day training. Find out more at lizchism.com/vsl1665360757632

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Liz Chism is an experienced Business Operations Coach. Her entrepreneurial journey began when she founded and operated an award-winning craft brewery with her husband. Currently, she helps small businesses organize and streamline their business operations.

What problem do you solve? Business owners often complain about lack of time, and the best way to combat this is to create processes. Liz can show you how to create these in 10 extra minutes a day.

• Liz started with the operations mindset and organization as a child of a large family. It gave her a start in organizing.
• She also put her strengths to use in her and her husband's brewery business. They realized they needed to put SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) in place to get their business to run well without putting in excessive hours.
• Liz and her husband's business thrived and they were able to be away from it without worries while they were gone.
• The challenge is that most business owners are visionaries but they don't enjoy or excel at putting systems and processes in place.
• It is easier to get a system in place when you start with the end in mind.
• It's important, when you are building an SOP, that you consider what the end result is every step of the way.
• There are 2 parts to documenting your SOPs
  • Make them easy to access and use and post them everywhere
  • Have a discussion within your document. Liz uses Google Docs so that it is easy to track the evolution of the SOP. You can also track the history comments.
• The business owner needs to remove themselves as the bottleneck.
  • Delegate and create leaders.
  • It's also a mindset issue. The business owner needs to learn to lead and let go of their ego.
• One of the biggest things to start with is the curiosity game. Consider how things would go if you put change in place. Use curiosity instead of judgment.

• Use 10 minutes every day.
  • Put the 10 minutes on your calendar and then remove all of your distractions
  • Make sure your employees are working on this too.
  • Decide on Monday what one simple process you will work on and what your end vision and goal is for this process. If it is successful, what will happen and what will it look like?
  • On Tuesday, write down all the tools, programs, and software related to this particular process.
  • Wednesday you will write a bird's eye view or a summary of the process.
  • On Thursday, you add any necessary detail. You expand on what you wrote on Wednesday, and you may want to add videos or other details.
  • On Friday you add feedback. You will set a test date of the process and fix any issues.

Really home in on the 80/20 rule. What is the 20% you do that gets you the 80% of your results? Focus on that.

Website: lizchism.com

Liz has a 90-day training. Find out more at lizchism.com/vsl1665360757632

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Kevin Davis is a Physician Assistant who has been in practice for over 25 years. He brings his experience to help you find the root of your problems so you can optimize your health. Kevin is the author of the book Young & Strong at 40 & beyond.

• Kevin wrote a book titled Young and Strong at 40 and Beyond. In his book he discusses 4 pillars of heath.
  • The first pillar is Diet. Kevin had found that he was eating like traditional teaching had recommended but was still not feeling great as he got older.
    • Limit sugar.
    • Limit processed foods.
    • Change the way you eat and the way you feed your body.
  • Exercise and building muscle is key to maintain weight loss.
    • If you concentrate on building muscle you are more successful than if you try to lose fat.
    • "You can be the youngest person at the nursing home or the oldest person at the gym." You choose. It is important to increase muscle mass to stay healthy.
    • Sleep is critical to building muscle because growth hormone is released during sleep.
  • Another pillar is prayer.
    • Kevin also takes deep breaths during prayer to help with relaxation.
    • Prayer before meals also helps with digestion.
  • The forth pillar is sleep
    • This pillar is the hardest one to take care of.
    • If you are having trouble sleeping, the first thing you should do is get up in the morning and go for a walk to help reset your circadian rhythm.
  • Kevin's book gives a lot of information on things to do and when to seek help. He wrote the book to help others and share the different things that can help people.
  • Kevin does health coaching.

Don't wait to start to improve your health. Changes now can make a big difference in how you feel in the future.

Website: kevindavishealth.com

Kevin's book Young and Strong at 40 and Beyond

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Doctor Marisa Lee Naismith has had a highly successful career within the performing arts industry as an award-winning vocalist, voice teacher, researcher, author, music industry mentor and hosts her own popular podcast A Voice and Beyond. A few years ago, she found herself in a love triangle as her husband of thirty years was slowly being seduced by his business and she had to navigate the road to redemption beyond this love triangle.

What problem do you solve? Solving the problem of how to successfully manage your relationship with your business so that your personal relationship isn't damaged

• You need to watch for signs that your business is seducing you.
  • Initially, there begins to be a breakdown in communication.
  • Conversations start to become one-sided and distant.
  • Mood swings may cause fights.
  • Also, changes in personality or priorities may happen.
  • The business may start to give you a sense of power and elevated value. It then gives the business owner the feeling that they are above their spouse.
  • The business owner becomes distant and spending more time away.
  • They may start to miss family events.
  • A lack of intimacies happens.
  • The business owner begins gaslighting.
  • Finally betrayals begin.
    • Secrets begin.
    • Financial decisions happen without communication.
• A business "affair" is hard because the spouse feels there is no way to win.
• The spouse questions themselves and they feel isolated.
• Marisa started to get help for herself and empower herself. She established boundaries and stepped away from being treated poorly.
• You need to determine if you still want to redeem your relationship and you have to decide what your boundaries are.
• The business owner may need therapy to help determine their priorities.
  • It may help you determine if your self worth is coming from the wrong place and it can help with regulating emotions.
  • It can help bring your communication with your spouse back to where it needs to be.
• Start dating again so that you can have fun together again.
• A five-minute timeout is helpful to help reset.
• It's important to communication goals.

Always try to maintain balance between your work and personal life to maintain long, healthy and sustainable personal relationships.

Website: drmarisaleenaismith.com

Find Marisa Lee Naismith's 4 Self Lessons at drmarisaleenaismith.com/small-business-answer-man

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