Category: Consulting

Part 3 (Final For Now) Steve Pohlit's Response To Patsi Krakoff's (The Blog Squad) Question: Is Social Networking A Wast of Time?

In Part 1 the size of the social networking market today was introduced with specific reference to the rapid rise of Facebook in just over three years. Successful social networking includes opening the doors to your life. This seemed natural for the early adopters of social networking, but for many others today,it is not and is still not natural. I pointed out the leadership role John Reese has taken to introducing Facebook to his huge list and beginning to share parts of his previously well guarded life. John’s posture as well as others has a ripple effect on the business community.

In Part 2 I disclosed that relationships are the primary reason I feel social networking is a valuable use of time. I remind myself and share this view with you that in any relationship, you have to do your part. I accept total responsibility for those relationships that have fallen by the wayside in my life. I am not repeating those mistakes including ones developed in my world of social networking. People active on the social networking sites are giving and giving and giving more. That is real positive energy circulating. I have chosen to be with that energy flow.

In the last of this series I am opening the door to the more notable of my experiences in just three weeks of being active on Facebook. I am not holding anything back. There have been many wonderful experiences. I didn’t maintain a list and will probably remember others after this is published. These will provide you a good view of my experience in a short time. Sequentially:

1. I posted pictures of an event in Orlando and immediately a person who I have tremendous respect for messaged me and asked “Steve where is the car?” I then knew that John Reese was following certain information I was posting. The car was John’s Lamborghini. I have a picture of me and John with his car from that event. I found the picture and posted it. That brief communication reinforced for me that I wanted to make sure that everything I was posting would be viewed in a positive light by whomever decided to read it.

2. Travis Greenlee published a series of videos on growing your network on Facebook. He did a terrific job and I spent 30 minutes watching his series and taking notes. I developed an action plan tracker from those videos that I posted to the Action Plan Tracker site. I began working those action steps. Travis liked it – I am not sure that many of the 2,000 people in his network paid that close attention to his work . Welcome to the world of social networking. You can put the value out there but most people will not pay attention to it. We still live in a “give me the magic pill” society. I digress.

3. I developed the site Prosperity Tip. This is the front end for The Prosperity Now Program under development and the associated Prosperity Tool Chest which is the most powerful tool for transforming your life if that is something you want to do. That background is important because right about the time I was becoming active on Facebook I was finishing the book The Moses Code by James Twyman. There are no coincidences and one of my new friends was talking about Facebook Groups. So I thought I would look up The Moses Code group and it wasn’t formed. I formed it immediately. The next morning there were maybe 6 members with me and my daughter representing 2 out the 6. One of the other members is the author – how cool is that? You can join a group on Facebook reflecting your interests and start one of your own. I notice that there are a huge number of groups. Many are started and few are that active and stay on topic. If you start one, stick to the original purpose.

4. Authors I highly respect are in my network: Joe Vitale, Deepak Chopra, Joe Sugarman, John Assarof, James Twyman to name a few. Of course there are experts who are not on Facebook but many are. Do not hesitate to approach anyone to network with you. Sending them a note that you enjoy their work goes a long way to receiving a reply.

5. Nikhil Satija and I became Facebook friends. One day I noticed a short post from Nikhil and checked out what he was doing. That led to a unique joint venture for promoting a high ticket product. There is more information at his group Million Dollar Business on Facebook and at the page I webpage I set up to introduce people to this idea. ( Click Here ) Today we are working together on developing traffic flow and that is fun.

6. Another post led me to Bubble Ply . Now imagine the likelihood of paying attention to a name like that. Well this post from a FB friend led me to that site and all I can say is wow. I posted an article about this or should I say I demonstrated this technology in a post Titled “Nobody Is Talking About This …Is This off The Charts or What? ”

(Remember I am writing about things that have happened in just the last three weeks of being active on Facebook)

7. I learned about Twitter and can follow some of the activity of interesting people. Just this week I learned how to sync Twitter with Facebook using an application on Facebook called twittersync. Guess where I learned that? Correct a Facebook friend led me to that solution. Candidly I am sure about Twitter but I am active with it and I will likely write about Twitter at some future date.

8. My friends introduce me to games and applications that I never would have given any thought to. Realistically I decline many of those invitations. While they may be interesting, like many other people I make choices as to how I will use my time. However, several of those recommendations I am experimenting with and one of them looks to be very powerful and is in the category of “I can’t believe more people are not in a buzz about this!” What is it? See the next item on the list.

9. One of my newest friends is Michael Wolf. He is CEO of a UK based company that has developed a very fascinating application that assists people in 1.) Promoting their expertise 2.) Finding people for projects and 3.) Researching a question or issue. Currently this is a Facebook application. It appears to be very new as there are some technical challenges still being worked out. I am in touch with Michael and have given him details that may help his company work out the remaining issues. I will be writing an Action Plan Tracker on this application when the technical issues are worked out and I have more experience with it. What is interesting to me is that this application falls within the scope of another business model idea I had developed within 24 hours of Michael contacting me to be his friend. A great example of the Law of Attraction working.

10. I wrote about this in Part 2 and clearly this last item is the number one reason I am active with Facebook. I have 400+ more direct connections around the world than I had three weeks ago. I feel that I know a number of them quite well and our relationships are growing closer. This connection feels real good to me. One of the key principles I have taught in The Prosperity Now Program is that to me our main goal is being at peace. Yes we deserve all this world has to offer but I we are not at peace with who we are and what we have, all the money and what that can buy means nothing. At some point all of us leave all the stuff behind and what remains is our footprint on the soul of others.

Patsi, you are a wonderful lady and thank you for asking the question. I had no idea my answer would lead to a three part series, but I loved sharing this with everyone.

The close of this series is one that I use for my Prosperity Tip readers:

May you experience your pure potentiality and live the life of your dreams.

Steve Pohlit, Business Development Consultant and Coach
http://www.stevereports.com

Part 2: My Response To The Blog Squad’s Question Is Social Networking A Waste of Tme

Consider there are a lot of people who are not on social networking sites and don’t even know what you mean when you mention it. At a recent meeting of 70 people in the age range of 20-75 with most in the age group of 40-60, I was mentioning Facebook and asked how many knew what I was talking about? 20% maybe knew and 10% used it. I think that number is representative for that age group and there are reports issued validating the number of users is growing each month.

Here is a peak at my experience with growing a network on Facebook. In literally three weeks my friends on Facebook grew from 9 to 389. In my network I estimate more than 90% of the people are most concerned about what they do and have no interest in what I do after we are connected. Many (and I have done this when I started) use the Facebook system to add numbers of “friends”. When I scan my friends list and the friends of a friend list I notice very few people have posted any recent news. This tells me there is a huge group of people not very active on Facebook – maybe 90%. I am a great example. I have been a member of Facebook for about two years and have been active for three weeks.

My conclusion is that the majority of people on line are not aware of social networking sites and of the people on these sites the majority are not active. That leads me to think that for people interested in developing business, spending time on social networks is a total waste of time like Patsi suspects. But wait a minute…

Social networking on line is only a little over three years old. The initial crowd was mostly college students and to some extent people in counter mainstream niche markets. That has changed. If you do a search on your favorite author, entrepreneur, spiritual leader or celebrity, you are likely to find they have a profile on a social networking site like Facebook or MySpace. Every author and speaker that interests me has video clips on YouTube. Every artist that I have every researched on YouTube has videos of concerts and more on YouTube. I love what is available to me based on my interests. I also feel very good about my growing network.

Many of those people and I share the same professional and personal interests. How do I know that? I have formed a couple of groups and people join. They wouldn’t do that if they didn’t have an interest.

Today there will be over 400 people who can view my profile, see a few pictures and understand my professional and personal interests. I have reviewed the profiles and commented no many of them. Every new person in my network receives a detailed message from me that includes a sincere offer to help them with ideas if I can. I have received almost zero notes in response to my offer.

I also openly tell everyone I am interested in building my client base and an ideal client for me falls into one of two categories: First a company in the retail, manufacturing, distribution, hospitality, construction or transportation industry that has 25 or more employees. Companies fitting that profile are ones where I use my on site program The Profit System for increasing their revenue and profit by 30% or more in 90 days or less. Second: for smaller businesses I am offering a coaching program that leads them through many of the same processes used for the large companies, only I am doing more of that work remote so it is affordable for the small business owner, entrepreneur and solopreneur (a term I learned on Facebook) And more than 400 new friends are recognizing that I offer very nice referral fees for new business.

By the end of May my network will be greater than 1,000 and there will be an increasing number of people from countries outside of the US who are Facebook friends with me. Will all of this mean more business? I have no idea. What is most important to me are the relationships I am forming. Do I have a relationship with each person in my network. Yes but the relationships just like anywhere else vary based on our respective interests and points of view.

I will tell you an interesting story about the lady who asked the question that resulted in me writing this series …Patsi Krakoff. I have known of Patsi for a couple years because I am a subscriber to The Blog Squad Blog (and you should be too  Click Here ). As new friends on Facebook I noticed several videos Patsi  posted for her Facebook friends network  and… well let’s just say a bright, articulate, attractive woman gets the attention of this single man. So I sent her a polite message that included the question: are you married? Patsi’s reply was wonderful. I truly felt she was flattered that I asked and then she let me know that she was very happily married. Of course I  wish her and her husband bliss forever.  Patsi and I are now a little bit closer from sharing that communication. You just never know what might happen on a social networking site.

I know from personal experience that for anything to develop, personally or professionally it is important for a person to be out there, sincere and have it in their hearts to contribute to the development of the community. With that posture the energy that returns is wonderful. I believe if you sit on the sidelines you are going to witness the spacecraft take off and not be on it.

In Part 3 I will conclude my response to Patsi’s question with information on a number of experiences in just three weeks of being active on Facebook. Remember this is just one site. You are not going to want to miss this article since what I have to share actually is quite stunning even for me to think about yet alone write.

Don’t miss Part 3 and all the future editions of Steve Reports. Subscribe to my blog (top right hand corner of this page) and the articles are delivered right to your email. How cool is that?

Until then consider this:

“The significant problems that we have cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them. ” Albert Einstein

Steve Pohlit, Business Development Consultant and Coach
http://www.stevereports.com

Part 2: My Response To The Blog Squad's Question Is Social Networking A Waste of Tme

Consider there are a lot of people who are not on social networking sites and don’t even know what you mean when you mention it. At a recent meeting of 70 people in the age range of 20-75 with most in the age group of 40-60, I was mentioning Facebook and asked how many knew what I was talking about? 20% maybe knew and 10% used it. I think that number is representative for that age group and there are reports issued validating the number of users is growing each month.

Here is a peak at my experience with growing a network on Facebook. In literally three weeks my friends on Facebook grew from 9 to 389. In my network I estimate more than 90% of the people are most concerned about what they do and have no interest in what I do after we are connected. Many (and I have done this when I started) use the Facebook system to add numbers of “friends”. When I scan my friends list and the friends of a friend list I notice very few people have posted any recent news. This tells me there is a huge group of people not very active on Facebook – maybe 90%. I am a great example. I have been a member of Facebook for about two years and have been active for three weeks.

My conclusion is that the majority of people on line are not aware of social networking sites and of the people on these sites the majority are not active. That leads me to think that for people interested in developing business, spending time on social networks is a total waste of time like Patsi suspects. But wait a minute…

Social networking on line is only a little over three years old. The initial crowd was mostly college students and to some extent people in counter mainstream niche markets. That has changed. If you do a search on your favorite author, entrepreneur, spiritual leader or celebrity, you are likely to find they have a profile on a social networking site like Facebook or MySpace. Every author and speaker that interests me has video clips on YouTube. Every artist that I have every researched on YouTube has videos of concerts and more on YouTube. I love what is available to me based on my interests. I also feel very good about my growing network.

Many of those people and I share the same professional and personal interests. How do I know that? I have formed a couple of groups and people join. They wouldn’t do that if they didn’t have an interest.

Today there will be over 400 people who can view my profile, see a few pictures and understand my professional and personal interests. I have reviewed the profiles and commented no many of them. Every new person in my network receives a detailed message from me that includes a sincere offer to help them with ideas if I can. I have received almost zero notes in response to my offer.

I also openly tell everyone I am interested in building my client base and an ideal client for me falls into one of two categories: First a company in the retail, manufacturing, distribution, hospitality, construction or transportation industry that has 25 or more employees. Companies fitting that profile are ones where I use my on site program The Profit System for increasing their revenue and profit by 30% or more in 90 days or less. Second: for smaller businesses I am offering a coaching program that leads them through many of the same processes used for the large companies, only I am doing more of that work remote so it is affordable for the small business owner, entrepreneur and solopreneur (a term I learned on Facebook) And more than 400 new friends are recognizing that I offer very nice referral fees for new business.

By the end of May my network will be greater than 1,000 and there will be an increasing number of people from countries outside of the US who are Facebook friends with me. Will all of this mean more business? I have no idea. What is most important to me are the relationships I am forming. Do I have a relationship with each person in my network. Yes but the relationships just like anywhere else vary based on our respective interests and points of view.

I will tell you an interesting story about the lady who asked the question that resulted in me writing this series …Patsi Krakoff. I have known of Patsi for a couple years because I am a subscriber to The Blog Squad Blog (and you should be too  Click Here ). As new friends on Facebook I noticed several videos Patsi  posted for her Facebook friends network  and… well let’s just say a bright, articulate, attractive woman gets the attention of this single man. So I sent her a polite message that included the question: are you married? Patsi’s reply was wonderful. I truly felt she was flattered that I asked and then she let me know that she was very happily married. Of course I  wish her and her husband bliss forever.  Patsi and I are now a little bit closer from sharing that communication. You just never know what might happen on a social networking site.

I know from personal experience that for anything to develop, personally or professionally it is important for a person to be out there, sincere and have it in their hearts to contribute to the development of the community. With that posture the energy that returns is wonderful. I believe if you sit on the sidelines you are going to witness the spacecraft take off and not be on it.

In Part 3 I will conclude my response to Patsi’s question with information on a number of experiences in just three weeks of being active on Facebook. Remember this is just one site. You are not going to want to miss this article since what I have to share actually is quite stunning even for me to think about yet alone write.

Don’t miss Part 3 and all the future editions of Steve Reports. Subscribe to my blog (top right hand corner of this page) and the articles are delivered right to your email. How cool is that?

Until then consider this:

“The significant problems that we have cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them. ” Albert Einstein

Steve Pohlit, Business Development Consultant and Coach
http://www.stevereports.com

Part 1: Response To The Blog Squad’s Question Is Social Networking A Waste of Time

I enjoy blogs and one of my favorite sites is operated by Denise Wakeman and Patsi Krakoff professionally known as The Blog Squad.

Their latest post addresses the value of social networking sites. If you are not exactly sure what social networking sites are look at Facebook, Twitter, My Space, You Tube for starters. I read that Facebook gets more traffic per month than Google and has an estimated value of $15 billion. Facebook started in 2004 so in less than four years having an estimated value of $15 billion is a great success story.

Valuation is not the important topic today except that it is an indicator of worldwide demographic trends of people connecting with people. If you spend any time at all on Facebook, MySpace or the other popular sites you will quickly understand that people are opening their previously private lives to the world. Of course there are text profiles, website links and more. What is really interesting are the pictures being posted and personal videos. Just yesterday John Reese, a very successful business professional and expert in the field of Internet marketing whose work I value tremendously, published pictures of his home inside and out. John has been very private about his personal life but is now cracking the door open on social networking sites.

Books and courses are being written about the value of social networking sites. However Patsi from The Blog Squad suggests this may all be a waste of time. She writes in part

“Last year at BlogHer Business, we heard about
Twitter. Just for fun, we both set up an account.
But it never caught on, or at least it didn’t for
me. Then I go over to Biz Tips Blog and find out
Denise has been sucked in. Even Leesa Barns of
Podcasting fame is in love with Twitter. Again,
I’m not convinced.

Curmudgeon and introvert, I’m now accepting new
friends into Facebook even though I’m not
convinced yet it will bring big business rewards.

So Denise and I are in two camps on these new
social sites for now: She’s convinced it’s worth
it, I’m still skeptical and am waiting to see how
it all shakes out.”

Patsi raises the question that has been in a lot of people’s mind. Is time on social networks time well spent? My answer is a resounding yes it is time well spent. The reason for my answer is likely to surprise you. In Part 2 of my response, I open the doors as to why social networking is very valuable. If you want this delivered right to your email you will subscribe to my blog

Until then consider this “The significant problems that we have cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them. ” Albert Einstein

Steve Pohlit, Business Development Consultant and Coach
http://www.stevereports.com

Part 1: Response To The Blog Squad's Question Is Social Networking A Waste of Time

I enjoy blogs and one of my favorite sites is operated by Denise Wakeman and Patsi Krakoff professionally known as The Blog Squad.

Their latest post addresses the value of social networking sites. If you are not exactly sure what social networking sites are look at Facebook, Twitter, My Space, You Tube for starters. I read that Facebook gets more traffic per month than Google and has an estimated value of $15 billion. Facebook started in 2004 so in less than four years having an estimated value of $15 billion is a great success story.

Valuation is not the important topic today except that it is an indicator of worldwide demographic trends of people connecting with people. If you spend any time at all on Facebook, MySpace or the other popular sites you will quickly understand that people are opening their previously private lives to the world. Of course there are text profiles, website links and more. What is really interesting are the pictures being posted and personal videos. Just yesterday John Reese, a very successful business professional and expert in the field of Internet marketing whose work I value tremendously, published pictures of his home inside and out. John has been very private about his personal life but is now cracking the door open on social networking sites.

Books and courses are being written about the value of social networking sites. However Patsi from The Blog Squad suggests this may all be a waste of time. She writes in part

“Last year at BlogHer Business, we heard about
Twitter. Just for fun, we both set up an account.
But it never caught on, or at least it didn’t for
me. Then I go over to Biz Tips Blog and find out
Denise has been sucked in. Even Leesa Barns of
Podcasting fame is in love with Twitter. Again,
I’m not convinced.

Curmudgeon and introvert, I’m now accepting new
friends into Facebook even though I’m not
convinced yet it will bring big business rewards.

So Denise and I are in two camps on these new
social sites for now: She’s convinced it’s worth
it, I’m still skeptical and am waiting to see how
it all shakes out.”

Patsi raises the question that has been in a lot of people’s mind. Is time on social networks time well spent? My answer is a resounding yes it is time well spent. The reason for my answer is likely to surprise you. In Part 2 of my response, I open the doors as to why social networking is very valuable. If you want this delivered right to your email you will subscribe to my blog

Until then consider this “The significant problems that we have cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them. ” Albert Einstein

Steve Pohlit, Business Development Consultant and Coach
http://www.stevereports.com

Stop Blaming The Economy..Or Anything Else For That Matter

I was using Comment Kahuna to build some back links recently. One of the most valuable features of this free program is that it surfaces some pretty cool high PR sites. Well one of the top financial market blogs had an article by an educator with all the credentials for teaching at a top B School. The article detailed the statistical difference between profit growth and cash flow growth in 2007. The conclusion was that another indicator was pointing to economic doom and gloom.

My response was that this was a perfect example of information that is likely to be completely accurate and totally useless. This is content designed to fuel negative thinking.

The facts are there are successes all around us and we can find them in any country and any economy. There are also companies in trouble and going out of business in any economy. Personally I have worked with business doing extremely well in a recession and ones on the brink of extinction in a booming economy. What are the key characteristics of success in any economy?

Success companies:

1. Have a very clear definition of their customer base and target market

2. Have clearly established performance goals for the company that are then redefined as goals and action plans for each function within the company.

3. Assign accountability for the action steps required to achieve the goals at the functional level.

4. Measure actual vs. plan on a timetable that makes sense based on what is being monitored. Cash position for example may be monitored daily.

5. Act quickly on variances from positive and negative variances from plan.

That is about it and while there is more detail at http://www.10minutemba.net , these five steps apply to every business and the emphasis is on every.

People fall into two categories. They either manage the business using the above five steps or use excuses like: it is the economy, or the dollar, foreighn competition, I don’t feel like it, I can’t expect them to do their job today; or “we’ll get to it soon” Do you want to find the successful businesses? The next time you meet a person who has makes no excuses, doesn’t complain about external factors and is generally on purpose, ask them what business they are in. I’ll bet it is a very successful one.

Steve Pohlit, Business Development Consultant and Coach
http://www.stevereports.com

The Exact Steps Required To Turnaround A Business That Is Cash Flow Negative (In Trouble)

I have led companies in the retail, real estate, transportation and restaurant industries from  near catastrophe to stability and profitable growth. Companies find themselves in a dire straits position for a multiple of reasons when the economy is strong as well as weak … more so when weak.

The current business climate is tenuous and an increasing number of businesses find themselves in a profit and cash flow crunch. If you or someone you know is in that position, time is of the essence. Literally every hour that passes is critical when a company’s profit and cash flow are on a downward trend. The faster action is taken to restore the business to a positive cash flow position, the more likely it can be further strengthened to renewed profitable growth.

The following steps are the major ones that I have guided clients through who have been in this situation:

1. Stop issuing checks until Step 2 and Step 3 are completed. The exception would be payroll and any utilities if you are at the point of being shut off if the bill is not paid. If you have a trucking company you have to buy fuel. If you are a restaurant you have to buy food. If you don’t have the funds to pay “life support costs and expenses” there are still options but they would have to be addressed on a case by case basis. You want to avoid getting to the point of not being able to pay the must have expenses.  There is a wide variation of the definition of must have items. The clients I have helped were very surprised at the literal definition of “must haves” but they thanked me later.

2. Be certain as to your exact cash and liquidity position. You need a very accurate snapshot of the free cash in your bank account, the quality of accounts receivables and a precise accounts payable listing that includes all invoices. You would be surprised as to how many companies do not know their actual cash position, ignore problems in their accounts receivable balances and forget that oftentimes there are bills sitting in unopened mail and desk drawers.

3. Develop an eight week cash receipts and disbursements forecast and don’t leave one cent off of the disbursements list. If you are not sure how to do this, there is an example at 10 Minute MBA This is a core schedule that I implement with all clients and is very valuable when used properly.

4. Document an organization chart with each person’s position and compensation.

5. If the business sells a physical product, it is important to evaluate the inventory. You cannot sell what you don’t have and you can’t replenish inventory if vendors have shut you off.

6. If there are debt agreements in place understand all debt compliance covenants.

7. Identify all critical support functions. For example, the company’s internet connection, maintenance agreements on machinery and equipment and key licensing agreements if any.

The goal is to have an accurate picture of all the facts no matter how dismal they are. I can’t tell you how many times I have been blind sided by additional pieces of information that were very important in finalizing the turnaround plan.

What Actions Are Typically Taken Once There Is An Accurate Picture of Situation?

1. Cut all non- essential spending and payroll.

2. Implement a temporary reduction in pay for as many people as possible. That is always difficult and may be impractical if there is a union or a large hourly workforce. Every situation is different but normally payroll has to be cut and it is often delegated to the outside consultant to handle.

Note: many of these steps are implemented quickly. Even while the entire picture is still being developed. That is where experience with these situations is very valuable. Experts with turnaround experience know how and where to act fast.

3. With people you want to take the action one time and then meet with those that remain and explain to them what is going on and how it is going to be fixed.

4. Vendors on the accounts payable list will need to be called and given a date when they can expect a workout plan. This is not fun work even for an expert consultant. However, whatever needs to be done to save the business and restore profitability should be addressed.

5. If there is a sales staff, look to move those people to full commission status and if possible add to the staff with full commission as the compensation package. Be careful if out of pocket expenses are paid. They have to be limited and per diems in place.

6. Assign clear accountability for collecting receivables and put in place a three step collection process. In certain cases discounts are negotiated for paying early.

Notice all the emphasis at this point is on cutting expenses and build cash once that process is in place then

Work on your building business and profits plan. Make sure it is realistic and focused on the next 90-180 days. When that is drafted including the financial projections you are now in a position to negotiate with bank debt holders, capital equipment lease venders and other long term lease agreements in place.

Some clients may need to file for chapter 11 reorganization. This should be avoided at all costs since it is very expensive, time consuming and a major distraction. However sometimes it is the only available option other than shutting your doors. Chapter 11 is usually the best answer where selling assets, selling the business or parts of the business is part of the the turnaround plan.

I hope this helps and while it addresses many points there are always more depending on the business. The following is right from my Turnaround Consulting Site

Do you worry about running out of cash?
Do most of your key vendors have you on COD?
Have checks issued by your business bounced?
Are revenue trends decreasing and accounts payable increasing?
Have any of your valued employees left for a “better opportunity”?
Are you spending all of your time fighting fires?
Do you wake up at night fearing you will be out of business?
Do you fear you will not have enough cash to meet your next payroll? What about the next?
Are you thinking or have been advised that a reorganization of your business under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy code may be the answer?

“If You Answered Yes To More Than One of These Questions, Then You Need To Call Steve Pohlit at 727-587-7871 Right Now. That Is My Direct Line. I Will Personally Determine If I Can Help You Solve Your Business Problems or Refer You To Someone Who Can. This Call Will Cost You Nothing and May Well Save Your Company.”

____________________________________________________________________

There are two reasons why companies ask me for business consulting assistance:
1. They know what to do but want an independent third party experienced business development consultant to drive the process as that approach demonstrates management’s commitment to achieving the goals.
2. Management understands the need for improved performance and understands they do not have the experience to implement what is required.
3. There is actually a third reason and that is where a business is in a crises situation and turnaround business consulting procedures need to be implemented fast. Nobody likes that situation, even the consultant. However, many companies can be salvaged with the right action. Think of the what goes into action when a person has a heart attack. Timing and action are the differences between life and death.

Be Well and Prosper,
Steve Pohlit
Business Development Consulting
Steve Pohlit has more than 20 years experience running very large and medium sized companies. Steve consults with clients to design and implement processes that will deliver improved business performance for the long term. Learn more about the process of Increasing Profits by 30% or More In 90 Days or Less by visiting 10 Minute MBA or you can call 727-587-7871 and speak with Steve directly. Have a question? Click Here To Visit Ask The Consultant

The Exact Steps To Increasing Profits In A Challenging Economy

There is a very important fact to understand that applies to every business…”nothing stays the same”. The current business environment in the United State is one where the real estate market in general is one with declining property values, the value of the dollar is declining, and revenue for many companies is under pressure.

So!!!

Companies struggle because they continue to do the same things while everything around them is constantly changing. Every business, in theory, has a primary goal of increasing revenue and profits. The process of achieving that goal is no different in an economy that is experience major challenges in key sectors than in one that is vibrant. The introductory lessons in my 10 Minute MBA Program gives away the roadmap.

There are a huge number of examples of companies thriving and failing in both strong economies as well as weak ones. The only thing that matters for your business is what is happening in your business in relationship to the clearly defined performance gaols you have set. You have clearly defined business performance goals correct? These goals are in alignment with your own personal mission and lifestyle goals correct?

I am injecting the point about personal mission and lifestyle goals since I realized one of the key differences between many business successes and failures is the passion of the company’s leadership for the business and there is a direct link between the level of passion and the individual’s view of how the business contributes to the achievement of their personal mission.

For the record this goes way beyond achieving personal income objectives and includes: how much you really enjoy the business model; is your position one where you know you are using and developing the talents and skills you are passionate about and does your position fit in with how you want to develop the family, friends and community relationships that are important to you? I am now very focused personally and with clients on addressing the total picture of satisfaction and not just the business goals. Join the growing Prosperity Tip List that is FREE and you will be surprised at what this material will do for you personally.

Here is an example of a common situation that I have found in business. Business leadership will say, when the profits improve or when the cash flow improves or when this acquisition is done, or we fill this open position, or etc. then I will spend more time with my family or fishing or restoring my favorite antique or …well you get the idea. I submit to you the personal activity, whatever it is, never happens for those people even when those business milestones are achieved. If you are spending a lot of time with your professional mission, I hope you really love it. If you do not and you are frustrated because you are not spending time with your family, if you are not exercising like you should, if you are not enjoying your home, your car, your boat or your fishing pole then there is no way you will optimize the performance of your business. The negative personal energy will transmit throughout your organization and you will not consistently optimize your performance. If you have lifestyle issues, they need to be addressed. How do you think I know that?

Back to delivering what I promised with the headline of this article:

The Exact Steps To Increasing Profits In A Challenging Economy:

1. Set clear clear measurable performance goals for the next 12 months. For example: Revenue and profit goal is an increase of 30%.
2. Understand and instill in the culture that performance goals for the next 12 months are achieved by what happens today. All parts of your business need to be in sync with achieving the goals for the company. As and example what do sales need to be this week and this month to hit the 30% growth goal? What does gross margin need to be and with what expense structure for the 30% growth in profit goal to be achieved?
3. Each function within the business must have clearly defined performance goals and defined accountability for achieving those goals.
4. An objective performance monitoring process must be in place to identify quickly any areas of unusually positive as well as shortfalls in performance. For the revenue, gross margin and expense driver areas of the company this usually means a formal weekly meeting along with informal daily monitoring. There are exceptions and one is where there is a cash crunch situation. Cash flow is then monitored very closely daily.

There are two reasons why companies ask me for assistance:
1. They know what to do but want an independent third party experienced business development consultant to drive the process as that approach demonstrates management’s commitment to achieving the goals.
2. Management understands the need for improved performance and understands they do not have the experience to implement what is required.
3. There is actually a third reason and that is where a business is in a crises situation and turnaround business consulting procedures need to be implemented fast. Nobody likes that situation, even the consultant. However, many companies can be salvaged with the right action. Think of the what goes into action when a person has a heart attack. Timing and action are the differences between life and death.

Be Well and Prosper,
Steve Pohlit
Business Development Consulting
Steve Pohlit has more than 20 years experience running very large and medium sized companies. Steve consults with clients to design and implement processes that will deliver improved business performance for the long term. Learn more about the process of Increasing Profits by 30% or More In 90 Days or Less by visiting 10 Minute MBA or you can call 727-587-7871 and speak with Steve directly. Have a question? Click Here To Visit Ask The Consultant

Great Question Posed To Joel Comm On What Resources To Subscribe To – Not So Great Advice From Joel

If you do not know Joel Comm, just type Joel Comm into your search screen and you will soon learn Joel is an Internet marketer known for his work on Adsense and has now expanded the scope of his work. He is no longer betting the destiny of his business on one business model.

One of Joel’s newsletter subscribers recently asked advice on what newsletters he recommended. Joel produced a You Tube video to answer this question. First I love videos but I don’t want to watch one for an answer I can get in print in about 15 seconds. If you want to use video for a question and answer format then provide both print and video options.

Joel’s response to this question was to pay attention to what you feel is valuable and then stay subscribed to those newsletters. My view is that this is incomplete advice. I recommend you seek out the clear experts in your field of interest and subscribe to their newsletters. All they write about may not be of immediate interest and value to you. However, I am confident their material will have long term value for you.

There are a lot of people I pay attention to but only a few who have a big impact on me long term. I suspect you will discover this is true for you as well.

I welcome your comments.

Are you a business owner with revenue in excess of $5 million annually wondering if you are on the right track? Email Me to schedule a FREE 30-60 minute Consultation

Be well and prosper
Steve Pohlit

Stephen Pierce Talks Ballistic vs. Guided: My Talkback With Stephen

I highly recommend you subscribe to the blog updates by Stephen Pierce. This is the link to Stephen’s latest post Click Here The following is my response to his topic:

Being Guided

Great topic Stephen and Step 1 is very critical. Step 1 is “Clarify Intent and Purpose” Many of us seem to feel we know our intent regarding a specific task or project but when we sit back and look at all of our activities and pause, often we discover that these actions are not really satisfying us.

Defining your purpose can be challenging for many – it has been for myself. In fact I am consistently monitoring my feedback system regarding the direction I am moving. I believe the best feedback system is your feelings.

Let me clarify this. Stephen is absolutely correct in outlining the steps to staying on course for say performance in a job or on a project or in your business. I have consistently advised companies as part of my 10 Minute MBA training program to have a trusted advisory board. Public companies are required to have a board of directors. Many private companies, in fact most, do not have an advisory board. At the job or project level, feedback systems can be created with people outside the immediate project group or chain of command. Within that professional environment monitoring your feelings about progress is also very important. Your guidance system within is a powerful benchmark. This guidance system is best used for your life’s purpose first.

There is a process to follow in order to reach a higher level of guidance linked to your life’s purpose. It has been my experience that even with the answers within immediate reach, many people are not interested in doing the work required to get to the answer. I start professional and life lesson projects with the same question: what is the goal? For me the goal is being at peace with the direction I am moving.

I remind you the reader of the same lesson I offer people in The Prosperity Now Program If you have a desire for to jump out of airplanes for your leisure activities you can be at peace doing that if that is part of who you are. I for one do not seek such thrills at this point. Peace comes for me with being on purpose. The entire Prosperity Now program is designed to help us be on purpose with our lives. When we on purpose my experience has been that daily work, relationships, health and manifesting dreams and desires fall into place.

Thank you Stephen for another outstanding topic

Steve is an expert at helping companies achieve consistently increasing financial performance. Steve continues to consult on maximizing revenue and profits and now is teaching prosperity in life which is based on how he discovered how to crack the code of The Secret (Law of Attraction).

Steve Pohlit
Prosperity Now

Cracking The Secret To The Law of Attraction For You and Your Business

I have been developing a new part of my consulting practice that works with you on how to achieve optimal personal development while showing you how to dramatically increase your business results. I have never had anyone ask me if I felt I was on purpose in what I was doing. If they had and if I understood how to answer that question for myself, I am likely to not have done some of the deals I have done.

Recently we celebrated Valentine’s Day. Many people I know including myself have looked at a day like Valentine’s day and felt obligated about the day. The obligation crowd have their profession, jobs, or companies and know this is the day to purchase a gift, make dinner arrangements and tell someone close to them they love them. In the process the feeling often expressed is: whew – got the gift and dinner is set. Now I can get back to my work for awhile — oh my —I got to get out of here or I will be late and that will really upset my _______.

To The Point:

You cannot optimize your business performance if you are out of balance in your personal life. I know this from experience. My program now addresses the steps needed to maximize the performance of your business and your life. This enhanced direction will cause some people to leave my list, possibly limit my client base and my circle of influence. So be it. I have always been focused on what I believe to be the optimal formula for my clients. Nothing has changed except I have grown in my own personal life and I am showing others who are interested how I am doing it.

Dare To Discover The True Meaning And How A Thought Can Transform Your Business and Your Life.

Explore the meaning of unconditional love. It is likely to shock you? Some find this entire discussion frightening. If you dare please Click Here.

Once you have visited this topic. contact me. All my contact information follows.

Be Well and Prosper,
Steve Pohlit
Business Development Consulting
Steve Pohlit has more than 20 years experience running very large and medium sized companies. Steve consults with clients to design and implement processes that will deliver improved business performance for the long term. Learn more about the process of Increasing Profits by 30% or More In 90 Days or Less by visiting 10 Minute MBA or you can call 727-587-7871 and speak with Steve directly. Have a question? Click Here To Visit Ask The Consultant

How To Transform Your Business To An Accelerating Cash Profit Producing Machine

Are you a business owner, entrepreneur, direct marketer, internet marketer, network marketer or a person looking for the keys to success? If so this is must read information. Of course you don’t have to and you may not even “buy into” what I am presenting. I repeat: this is must read and must follow information.
——————————————————
Something has been missing. While I developed, implemented and proven the effectiveness of my 10 Minute MBA program, I knew that in a number of cases the success was not sustained. I rationalized this as a natural process of business owners slipping into to their previously established comfort zone.

In a way I used this seemingly natural regression as an opportunity to promote follow-on business consulting services. Now I understand that while ongoing services are valuable, the real reason for business performance to slip went deeper than the obvious failure to follow the established game plan that had been proven to work.

I also could see that in many instances that even when my Profit System was actively implemented and the business was hitting or even exceeding established milestones, something was missing.

When you are faced with a question where you don’t have the answer with confidence, what do you do? Well there is research of course and I did research this issue. Hundreds of hours of research. I also looked very carefully at those situations where people were hitting and exceeding the numbers consistently. I studied the contrasts.

I didn’t discover what I now feel is the answer until I examined my own experiences. I have been taught and influenced by my parents, my daughter, teachers, billionaires, priests, ministers, authors and very by all outward measures, successful internet and direct response marketers. There have been many other influencers but you get the idea. With all of this experience being taught and implementing a lot of what I was taught I found myself experiencing significant negative life situations. So I went to work to find out why. I went to work on myself.

This is not the forum for a description of the extent of that work. However, what I discovered literally transformed my life. This is an introductory article. I am suggesting you consider that if you are not on purpose there is no way for your business or you job to be satisfying – no way. Alternatively if you are on purpose and you use all the tools available to you, then not only will you be achieving your professional goals but more importantly you will be healthy, happy and at peace.

I suggest to you that being on purpose is more important than all the money you believe you want to make. Don’t misunderstand me. I want me and you to have all the abundance available for us while we are on this physical plane. I firmly believe there is unlimited abundance and I like that idea as much as anyone. At the same time, I remember the story about Andrew Carnegie in the book The Five Wishes. He was asked if his life was a success. He said he would give up all his money to have a truly happy marriage.

What is it that you wish for when asked if your life has been a success?

In this series of articles I will explore with you how personally being on purpose will make a dramatic difference in your life and your business. We will review a number of typical real life business examples and look at various outcomes as determined by the mindset of the person in the example. You will learn how to turn your business into a profitable cash producing machine.

Until the next time:

“If you get to thinkin’ you’re a person of some influence, try orderin’ somebody else’s dog around.”

Be well and prosper,

Steve Pohlit
Business Development Consulting
Steve Pohlit has more than 20 years experience running very large and medium sized companies. Steve now consults with clients to design and implement processes that will deliver improved business performance for the long term. Most projects are self-funding within 90 days. The client then experiences a very high return on investment. Learn more about the process of Increasing Profits by 30% or More In 90 Days or Less by visiting http://www.stevepohlit.com or you can call 727-587-7871 and speak with Steve directly. Have a question? Click Here To Visit Ask The Consultant

Sometimes It Is Helpful To Pause

Old Farmer’s Advice:

* Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight, and bull-strong.

* Keep skunks and bankers and lawyers at a distance.

* Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.

* A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.

* Words that soak into your ears are whispered…not yelled.

* Meanness don’t jes’ happen overnight.

* Forgive your enemies. It messes up their heads.

* Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.

* It don’t take a very big person to carry a grudge.

* You cannot unsay a cruel word.

* Every path has a few puddles.

* When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.

* The best sermons are lived, not preached.

* Most of the stuff people worry about ain’t never gonna happen, anyway.

* Don’t judge folks by their relatives.

* Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

* Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll enjoy it a second time.

* Don’t interfere with somethin’ that ain’t botherin’ you none.

* Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.

* If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin’.

* Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.

* The biggest troublemaker you’ll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin’.”

* Always drink upstream from the herd.

* Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.

* Lettin’ the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin’ it back in.

* If you get to thinkin’ you’re a person of some influence, try orderin’ somebody else’s dog around.

Be well and prosper,

Steve Pohlit
Business Development Consulting
Steve Pohlit has more than 20 years experience running very large and medium sized companies. Steve now consults with clients to design and implement processes that will deliver improved business performance for the long term. Most projects are self-funding within 90 days. The client then experiences a very high return on investment. Learn more about the process of Increasing Profits by 30% or More In 90 Days or Less by visiting http://www.stevepohlit.com or you can call 727-587-7871 and speak with Steve directly. Have a question? Click Here To Visit Ask The Consultant

Does Rich Shefren Want To Be David Copperfield and Why ….

Why is Sterling Valentine hyping the link to the Power of Focus from Rich Shefren? Why is Rich Shefren moving to a Las Vegas style image with his promotions? I know Sterling and I don’t know Rich. Right up front I think both are terrific talent. Sterling is very bright and driven. He is, or at least he has been “on purpose”. Rich is a former Arthur Andersen consultant and an excellent marketer. I have read some of Rich Shefren’s material and feel his advice is very good.

Now you should ask: ” why do I care what Steve Pohlit thinks of Sterling or Rich Shefren or anyone else for that matter?” Good question and here is the answer. I am a very experienced businessman and not only have I bought, sold, started from scratch and consulted with companies large and small, I have a terrific track record doing so. All the details don’t matter but this does: my work continues to confirm that we as business people, marketers, Internet Marketers and more have a responsibility to share our talent and do so in a way that larger numbers of people can duplicate the principles we demonstrate.

For the past two months I have led a small group once a week in an in-depth study of some live principles. Make no mistake about this: I did this for me. What those people got out of this process was entirely up to them. I worked harder than I did for my best paying clients and I worked for no pay. I used all the talents I didn’t even know I had and more. All of this material was posted on a special web site. There is audio and wonderful material for the participants to use whenever they want. Soon there will be another series and there will be video.

“Givers Gain” is the theme of a national business networking group. I gotta tell you that after 7 weeks, I feel better than ever and I just celebrated my _ _ birthday. (The age does not matter because I have learned it is possible to become younger and I am working on that.) I gave all of my talents and in the process what happened? Members of this group are now my friends and they have asked me to expand the leadership to another topic. I will do this and we are now working on having more people benefit from this process.

I remember like it was yesterday – the first JV Alert. It was organized by Ken McArthur in Philadelphia and there were 20 people there. There was no fee – or maybe a small one that I don’t remember. We paid for our transportation to Philly, our room and meals. By the way that room was the most marvelous room I experienced in a long time. And I stay in a lot of rooms. I digress. The idea that launched Sterling incubated that weekend. Ken says he was very grateful for how without asking Sterling kept asking “how best may I help” since Ken was doing all of the heavy lifting. I rember saying to Ken – ” I don’t feel good coming to a meeting about how we can be more successful with the host driving back and forth from home because you don’t want to spend the money on a room.” Ken ultimately worked with Sterling on a historic program which as of today I don’t thing anyone has challenged. Ken also went on to further develop JV Alert and he no longer drives back and forth from home.

So you ask what is my point? I submit to you that doing business is easy. I submit to you that many people create smoke and make it seem like business is hard. When I go to Vegas I want a show – I want to be immersed in the magic. Business is not magic. It is easy to understand what works. You think I am kidding? Do you think a double cheeseburger with king sized fries is healthier than steamed vegetables with some grilled wild salmon? You know what works. If you are in business or starting a business you already know. Does this mean that Rich, Sterling, Frank, Ed, Jason, Ken, Ken. Dan, John and others should be ignored. No- do you ignore God even though you know the difference between right and wrong? I hope not.

I am saying stop all the hype. Stop the smoke and mirrors. Keep it simple. I remember one of the first System seminars organized by Ken McCarthy. I learned it is all about traffic and conversion. Many years earlier at a shareholders meeting led by Les Wexner, Chairman of The Limited who I am grateful for allowing me to work with his company, Les said “nothing ever happens in our business until a customer says: I’ll take it”

Ladies and gentlemen business is simple: whether it is on line or off line give the customer what they want. How do you know? Ask them! Right now I am working with a very successful eCommerce based company and do you know we just sent out the first marketing newsletter to a small test group and we don’t even have the survey finished. We are still guessing as to what they want and this is a hugely successful business that just happens to do a great job of selling a lot of products on line.

We don’t need David Copperfield to magically demonstrate an image that few can duplicate. We need to take our wisdom and simplify, simplify, simplify and help more people realize their potential.

May you and yours experience permanent prosperity in all areas of you life – Sterling and Rich included.

Steve Pohlit

Steve Pohlit has more than 20 years experience successfully running companies large and small. Steve now develops and implements processes that will deliver improved business performance for the long term. Learn more about the process of Increasing Profits by 30% or More In 90 Days or Less by visiting http://stevepohlit.com or you can call 727-587-7871 and speak with Steve directly. Have a question? Click Here To Visit Ask The Consultant If you want to learn how to use a blog to build your business then register for the the free mini-course “Blogging for Profits” at Steve Reports and Blogging For Profits. Did you know you can make a ton of money by referring a business that converts to consulting project? Just thought I’d mention that.

Just one more thing…did you know I am now working with Randy Gage? No! Who is Randy Gage? Visit International Success