We’ve been talking about meetings, efficiency, and how California small business owners simply have to stay laser-focused on tasks that will bring them and their business towards actually achieving their goals.

Especially with all of the political and cultural chaos we’re experiencing in this particular moment, it’s worth emphasizing that staying on point is a battle worth fighting.

We can get so bogged down with what’s happening around us, or on the small, picayune details of life.

But what I’ve seen when working with my California business-owner clients is that when you focus on something enough — however small — it becomes “big” and crowds out room for the truly significant issues.

The client service coordinator focuses on moving the paper, ticking off the tasks in the software, getting the phone answered … and maybe focusing just as much on the person in the next room she doesn’t like, the chair that squeaks … and on and on.

We all need to be brought back to what’s important in business. Over and over.

It adds purpose to what we do. It’s also the magic ingredient that separates the good from the great.

And I’m here today to remind you (and perhaps your staff, now!) of it…

Keeping Your California Business Focused On Revenue Growth and Customer Retention
“It is not fair to ask of others what you are not willing to do yourself.” -Eleanor Roosevelt

What are the most important tasks in your business?  Taking care of customers and growing revenue.

Add any trendy business philosophy you want on top of that, and it still gets down the same thing.

So … EVERYONE on your team should either be adding revenue or helping to control expenses.  I suggest you (constantly) ask your staff — and yourself — what they can do to help:

1. Get more customers
2. Keep customers longer
3. Increase the amount of each transaction
4. Control expenses
5. Get more referrals
6. Get good online reviews
7. Make operations more efficient

So, in that vein, here’s a discussion you can have at your next staff meeting:

* Review and discuss these 7 issues
* Ask everyone to write down the things that would help them do their job better (or obstacles that are in their way)
* Ask everyone to write down ideas for each of the 7 issues between now and the next staff meeting
* Review everyone’s first draft privately or as a group in your next staff meeting

Everyone in your business must be involved in growing revenue or controlling expenses.  They must see their role in that part of the business.  And YOU — the business owner — must keep that discussion alive and dynamic.

Good luck!

Again, I don’t pretend to be a “guru” … I just see what works, and I pass it on.

I’m grateful for our partnership, and for your referrals.

Feel very free to forward this article to a California business associate or client you know who could benefit from our assistance — or simply send them our way? While these particular articles usually relate to business strategy, as you know, we specialize in tax preparation and planning for California families and business owners. And we always make room for referrals from trusted sources like you.

Warmly,

Kyle Spiewak
(760) 873-5800
Torrey Pines Advisors & Accountants LLP