Debbie Mayo-Smith: How to make your business more delightful and profitable

To make your business more profitable and satisfying, I suggest that you examine your these three P's. Photo / 123RF

When you run your own business, it's often hard to maintain balance. Especially if you try to do everything yourself with not a lot of resource. You can become overwhelmed with the volume of work you have on plus all the different hats you wear.

And for many, side by side with the business, is that fact that you have the responsibilities of being a parent and a partner.

So to make your business more profitable, manageable and satisfying, I suggest that you examine your 3 P's.

Your 3 P's:

• Passion
• Pleasure
• Profit

Let's use someone with their own 'trade' business as an example. Builders. Plumbers. Carpenters. Electricians.

I'm sure you're PASSIONATE about your business and the industry. Baring everything else, this should give you the get up and go and joy of doing it everyday. Let's assume you are passionate about your business.

The next three steps are critical strategies.

First examine your income producing activities/sources of income:

• Commercial clients

• Consumer repairs

• Margin on parts

• Industrial clients

• Residential clients

• Maintenance contracts

• Construction contracts

Next narrow the list to the income producing activities you like.

The ones you enjoy doing or sending your team out to. The ones that give you PLEASURE doing in other words.

For example do you hate having to go out and quote on domestic repairs on rental homes? Do you hate having your margins squeezed by the large developments you work on? Do you love those nice, simple maintenance jobs for commercial clients that don't bicker about things?

Finally and most importantly. From these pleasurable income producing activities, narrow the list again to the ones that are the most profitable. These should be the new focal point of your business.

If you find that maintenance contracts are easy, profitable and you like them, then focus your marketing and business development activities towards getting more of them. In other words

Don't spin your wheels doing the wrong things.
Or allowing you to say yes to all the work that comes in.

In most circumstances it takes the same amount of time and energy to market, to develop new business, to bring in repeat business for that cheaper, harder services you don't enjoy as it does for your more profitable one that you enjoy doing.

In summary:

1. Focus your business on doing something you're passionate about.

2. Examine your income producing activities. Determine the ones you like the best, the pleasurable ones.

3. Pinpoint all your business development on the most profitable of your pleasurable business activities.

Written by Debbie Mayo-Smith www.debbiespeaks.com, One of New Zealand’s most in-demand speakers, trainers and bestselling authors. Debbie works with companies that want more effective staff. For more tips and business ideas sign up for her free monthly newsletter www.successis.co.nz/newsletternzh.html