FCB #040: What Is Your Product?

Introduction

When I ask my appraisal business owner coaching clients what their product is, their response is usually "My appraisal reports!"

Now, don't get me wrong -- your appraisal reports ARE important -- but they are NOT your product -- your BUSINESS is.

Yes, working on improving your appraisal reports is important, but if you aren't working ON your business, you're missing the boat!

The most important thing you can do as a business owner is to focus on improving your real product -- your business!

And you do that three ways:

1. Work On Yourself
2. Work On Your Business
3. Work On Growing Your Business

In this 40th edition of our weekly newsletter, I'm going to delve into each of these three ways of improving your real product -- your business -- in more detail.

Work On Yourself

To work on yourself, you need to focus on three things:

Your Mindsets

Ask yourself which of these four mindsets or roles you are focused on most of the time when you're working?

• Clerical - I'm an Administrator. I handle the finances, office paperwork, and administrative tasks.
• Technician - I'm a Doer. I work on producing high-quality appraisal reports, delivered on time.
• Manager - I'm a Builder. I build systems, hire staff, and train them on how to run our business systems.
• Entrepreneur - I'm a Visionary. I see endless opportunities and come up with innovative ways to capitalize on them.

Most appraisal business owners possess all four of these mindsets, but spend most of their time in clerical and technician roles.

The key to success in business is to move out of the clerical and technician roles and focus more on manager and entrepreneur mindsets.

One of the tools I use to help appraisal business owners get clarity on how they are spending their time is our "Laser Time Tracking & Analysis" tool.

It helps owners determine how much of their time they are spending in each of these areas and the five options they have for dealing with each of their daily tasks. They can:

• Kill it,
• Keep it,
• Delegate it,
• Systemize it,
• &/or Automate it.

Your Management Skills

If you want your business to change, YOU have to change.

You need to change your focus from "chief cook & bottle washer" to effective manager and business leader.

You need to learn what professional management is and implement it in your firm:

• Vision & Values
• Strategic Planning
• Effective Meetings
• KPIs and Scorecards
• Business Systemization
• Organizational Structure
• Hiring/Training/Delgating
• Project/Task Management
• Performance Management
• Communication/Collaboration

Most of us were not taught professional business management in college.

We certainly didn't learn it through our professional organization.

That doesn't give us a pass in this critical business management area though.

Your Entrepreneurial Capabilities

Your business is a crucible which will refine you and your leadership skills.

When you embark on transforming your company, you end up transforming yourself.

Read "Dream No Little Dreams" by Clayton Mathile (IAMS pet food company) to learn more.

Some common characteristics of leaders of award-winning organizations include:

• Humility
• Perseverance
• Value Feedback
• Confident Leadership
• Personal Involvement
• Serving As Role Models
• Continuous Improvement Focus

Becoming a great leader should be the goal of every entrepreneur.

Work On Your Business

You work on your business by systemizing all aspects of it:

• Leadership
• Management
• Marketing & Sales
• Recruiting & Training
• Fulfillment and Delivery
• Finance & Administration

You document all important recurring processes.

You learn how to train on these systems and delegate effectively.

Whenever possible, you learn how to leverage:

• Business Plan & Model
• $ Investments In Growth
• Knowledge & Experience
• Marketing & Social Media
• Networks & Relationships
• Technology & Automation

Working ON your business means building a business that is:

• Systemized & Automated
• Owner-Independent
• Smooth Running
• Crisis-Free
• Valuable
• Sellable

Work On Growing Your Business

In order for your business to be really valuable it needs to be constantly growing and improving.

You need to hone in on and take advantage of five major growth levers:

• Marketing - Who your ideal customer is, what your promise is to them, and generating leads.
• Sales - Converting those leads into customers, then clients, and ultimately into raving fans.
• Recruiting - Finding and hiring "A Players" that are a good fit for your company's culture.
• Training - Training them on your business systems: your unique way of fulfilling your brand promise.
• Innovation - Developing a culture of innovation and continuous improvement.

Each of these represents a major business system which needs to be thought through carefully and fully developed.

The keys to growth boil down essentially to three things:

1. Getting and retaining new customers and improving their lifetime value.
2. Hiring and retaining A Players and improving their contribution.
3. Systemizing, automating, and improving business processes.

Conclusion

I know this is a lot.

It's much more than just your appraisal reports.

It's about working on your:

• Mindset,
• Strategy,
• Systems,
• Delegation,
• Automation &
• Business Value.

Doing this on your own can be daunting.

It doesn't have to be that way!

Get an accountability coach.

If you're struggling, reach out.

Don't stay stuck. Help IS available.

= = = = = = = = = =

If you like these newsletters, please forward to other appraisal business owners you  know.

At Founder2X, we help appraisal business owners double their income, time off, and business value while cutting their stress and worries in half.

We do this by teaching them (1) professional management, (2) business systemization & automation, and (3) how to enhance the value of their businesses.

There are three ways I can help you and your peers:

1. Subscribe to Newsletter - Go to www.CalvinCummings.com and click on the Subscribe Now button. Every week I share strategies and tactics to help you grow and scale your business and help it become more valuable and sellable.

2. Book a Free Consult Call - Go to www.CalvinCummings.com and the Coaching page and click on the Book a Consult button. I will spend 60 to 90 minutes in a free strategy session with you, doing my best to give you the most strategic and tactical value I can for free.

3. Join Appraiser2X Course - I'm currently building an online course to teach appraisal business owners the most important lessons and skills I learned from the 10 years and $100,000+ I spent on high-end coaching. If you'd like to get on the wait list and secure a substantial "Early Bird" discount, go to the Course page at www.CalvinCummings.com and click on the Join the Waitlist button. You'll be added to the wait list and I'll let you know when the pre-launch webinar is going to be held.