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  #1  
Old February 27, 2021, 12:49 PM
MikePT MikePT is offline
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Default A CHALLENGE TO Gordon: 10 Ways To Grow Your Business?

Gordon,

I have your "10 Ways to Make Money Without Starting a Business" and "Gordon reply to: The Fastest Way To Make Money" saved on my iPhone notes and and time to time I recheck them. ( http://www.sowpub.com/forum/showthread.php?p=41448 )

Now, I would like to "challenge" Gordon, to share his


• "10 Best Ways To Grow Your Own Business,
";

• And why not too "The Fastest Way To Grow Your Business"?;


I am excited to see Gordon reply .

Thanks!
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  #2  
Old February 27, 2021, 06:58 PM
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GordonJ GordonJ is offline
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Location: West Palm Beach, FL
Posts: 3,471
Default Well 10 sizes won't fit all...but, in general.

10 Best Ways to Grow Your Business...

More than likely depends on two things, YOU, and what kind of business. Right?

OH, and grow, what does that mean? Some would measure growth by number of employees, such as Ben Suarez having over 750 full timers when I worked there.

Or by gross profit, growing to a 100 million dollar a year business.

Or by Net profit, growing from 250k net to 500k.

Or by number of customers.

Using my two basic standards for: Big Business --SCI at peak, 1000 employees and 100 million a year selling over 1200 different products to millions of customers.

Or Harvey Brody, representing the one man band, kitchen table operation, having only 125 customers, yet selling millions a year and having high net profits without all the employees, headaches, etc.

And everything in between.

So, I'll start with increasing dollars. And NET profit, because for me, it just doesn't make sense to spend a lot of money for small profits, let alone the time, work and energy to do so.

MORE net profits come to a business with increased profit margins, the first place to look, and within that; the supply chain, marketing, fulfillment/delivery and overhead, etc. Any reduction in the costs of these necessities could increase Net profits.

Also, through increased sales. These could be an increase of dollar amounts per sale, or through repeat sales, or one off special offers. Or by selling more of whatever, increasing the number of customers.

Small operators may hit a ceiling and have to add employees or help in order to be able to handle some of these increases...getting more products to sell, in SCI case, meant having the space for them. and with a 150,000 sq. ft. warehouse Ben Suarez had room.

With Harvey Brody, it was easy to add more products, since he doesn't handle or touch anything, doesn't ship or worry about delivery, his customers do all the work. So adding the pistol grip to his Zoom Spout Oiler, and increasing profits required little extra effort, just a little more bookkeeping.

See?

So one has to have a good grasp of how their profits are coming to them and examine each area to see if A) Costs can be reduced or B) Margins can be increased. By the way all the formulas for this can be found in 7 Steps to Freedom II.

More...

So it would be pert near impossible for me or anyone to give across the board ideas to grow a business, eh?

But just to keep things short and sweet.

Add more products, increase product line.
Increase profit margins by reducing costs.
Charge more per product.
Sell more products together, via bundles, sales, combos.

I don't know if I have a 10 BEST ways, as explained above, it would depend on the business and type of growth wanted.

I would tend to stick with tried and tested, in the market proven ways to grow a business. One in particular is to "go to the well that gives you water", or to take care of your customers and increase their lifetime value. Stay in touch with the old, and ask them to bring you the new. Referrals.

So, in list form:

1) Referrals from current and past customers.
2) Special offers like sales, BOGO, exclusives, limited time offers.
3) Raise prices and lower costs/expenses.
4) ADD products or services.
5) Establish expertise, write a book, report, be the GO TO PERSON.
6) Joint Ventures and mutually beneficial relationships, either ongoing or one off.
7) Targeted Advertising.
8) Spin off businesses, or Co-op ventures.
9) Take on partners.
10) Buy out others.

The fastest way to increase profits, because I don't know what grow means to you...

the fastest profits come from offers to current and past Customers, joint ventures and targeted direct response advertising.

If you care to be more specific, about what business, what type of growth and maybe, my answers will change or be more targeted to those questions, fair enough?

Gordon

Quote:
Originally Posted by MikePT View Post
Gordon,

I have your "10 Ways to Make Money Without Starting a Business" and "Gordon reply to: The Fastest Way To Make Money" saved on my iPhone notes and and time to time I recheck them. ( http://www.sowpub.com/forum/showthread.php?p=41448 )

Now, I would like to "challenge" Gordon, to share his


• "10 Best Ways To Grow Your Own Business,
";

• And why not too "The Fastest Way To Grow Your Business"?;


I am excited to see Gordon reply .

Thanks!

Last edited by GordonJ : February 27, 2021 at 07:22 PM.
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  #3  
Old February 28, 2021, 06:49 AM
MikePT MikePT is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2018
Posts: 179
Default Re: A CHALLENGE TO Gordon: 10 Ways To Grow Your Business?

As expected, a great reply.

Grow a business = I mean net profit, cash on the pocket from my business.

In my own case, being a Solopreneur, I sell different physical products online only. So Harvey Brody, representing the one man band, is what I am looking for.

Your 10 BEST WAYS and your FASTEST way to GROW a business I consider it answered.

But any additional comments from you will be appreciated.

THANK YOU !

MikePT

Last edited by MikePT : February 28, 2021 at 07:14 AM.
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  #4  
Old February 28, 2021, 11:02 AM
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GordonJ GordonJ is offline
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Location: West Palm Beach, FL
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Default Physical products.

Lower costs, sell more.

With physical products, unless the seller is the source, as in books, reports or study guides you have to look at the supply side.

Where do you source your products? Are you getting their lowest prices, do they offer volume discounts if you buy more? Are they bought in bulk or by single units?

Examine the costs of the item to see if it can be reduced. Or check for different suppliers. Do you use drop shippers? Or could you?

Here are some general questions about selling products and comments too.

There are those who BUY products first, as we see in retail, or the thing about buying in lots. By the pallet; overstocks, returns, end of runs. This is one way to go about it. Find a source and BUY.

As a one man operation, this means you have cash invested (or credit extended) and inventory. Inventory doesn't make you money, this month FEB. is traditionally the time when stores try to lower their inventory, which is why Washington's Birthday Sales used to get full page spreads.

So this BUY PRODUCTS then resell them, is one of the ways, maybe the main one for most sellers.

The other, less popular, but maybe better for the NET profits is to find BUYERS first, then supply them with products, pretty much the foundation of Remote Direct Market, isn't it?

NET profits increase from lowering the costs of customer acquisition, and so the idea of a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush sort of thing. Your list of BUYERS is a critical area to find Net profits, nothing beats a satisfied customer.

So, you want to add customers and sell to the ones you have.

Is there DEMAND for your products? Where do you see that DEMAND? How can you fulfill that DEMAND?

And SUPPLY. How secure and available is the supply? Who else supplies these types of products?

What is the competition? Can anybody sell these products? Is the supply available to all wholesalers? Do you have any exclusivity? .

Take sunglasses. A product anybody can sell. They are everywhere. Cheap commodity. Yet Joe Sugarman made a fortune selling his BLU BLOCKERS, and it wasn't due to a superior product, NO WAY, but through his advertising.

So can your products be marketed different from the other people selling these kinds of products.

Sales, promotions, limited time offers can often bring in FAST profits, if the margins are good.

Sustained NET PROFITS growth happens from building customer lists and then as my "mantra" has been for decades, go to the well where you got the water.

When I was at SCI, they had 6+million JEWELRY buyers on the house lists. And that list got hit with OFFERS, OFFERS, OFFERS...so how many offers are you making to your buyers?

A lot of costs associated with even the simplest physical product, the delivery of it to the customer, RETURNS (although I'd bet the % with Zoom Spout Oil was extremely low), inventory storage, overhead and the cost of the product itself.

It is WHY I basically quit selling physical products and went into information or services. (Caveat: as a business, Chatteling done as a person).

But for you, to increase net profits, do either a spread sheet or mind map and SEE on paper: COSTS and PROFIT margins. Then ask yourself how to lower the first and increase the second.

I suspect, for you MikePT, as for many others, BETTER marketing might be the fastest way to increase net profits via better advertising and promotions.

Anything else?

Gordon


Quote:
Originally Posted by MikePT View Post
As expected, a great reply.

Grow a business = I mean net profit, cash on the pocket from my business.

In my own case, being a Solopreneur, I sell different physical products online only. So Harvey Brody, representing the one man band, is what I am looking for.

Your 10 BEST WAYS and your FASTEST way to GROW a business I consider it answered.

But any additional comments from you will be appreciated.

THANK YOU !

MikePT

Last edited by GordonJ : February 28, 2021 at 11:51 AM.
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  #5  
Old February 28, 2021, 11:28 AM
MikePT MikePT is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2018
Posts: 179
Default Re: A CHALLENGE TO Gordon: 10 Ways To Grow Your Business?

Yet Joe Sugarman made a fortune selling his BLU BLOCKERS, and it wasn't due to a superior product, NO WAY, but through his advertising.

I suspect, for you MikePT, as for many others, BETTER marketing might be the fastest way to increase net profits via better advertising and promotions.


That's my main focus: superior advertising and new offers to my list.

Thanks for sharing your opinion Gordon.

MikePT
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