Leaky Bucket of Profits

Do you feel like you are on a mouse wheel? You work hard everyday as the days, weeks and even years go by but don't feel any further ahead. You work 60 to 70 hour per week fighting fires and haven't had a day off in weeks because your business would unravel without you. In this episode, Tony Malyk shares how to structure your business to reduce your stress and have more time for friends and family. Every business has five areas of accountability including: Sales, Marketing, Operations, Human Resources, Finance  Administration. Depending on on the size of the business the owner could be looking after some or all of the areas. Tony shares a 7 step process that includes listing all the tasks that need to be done in the business, assigning a value to those tasks and using the information to create job descriptions. With specific roles defined, the owner can now decide which roles to delegate based on the value of the tasks. You will learn a system for delegating to ensure you have a smooth transition as you assign jobs and tasks to your team members. Most small business owners are the General Manager of their business but many don't understand their role as the GM. When there are no fires to fight and the owner finds some time on their hand, they gravitate to their vocation by putting on a tool belt or getting on the forklift to do some "real work". Tony overviews the duties and responsibilities of the GM so you can focus on the high value tasks that will free up your time, reduce stress and allow you to run a more profitable cash positive business.

For most business owners, reading financials statements is like trying to read a foreign language. You might understand the odd word but miss out on the real value of message being communicated. Just like a foreign language, most business owners understand some of the information on their financial statements such as sales and net profit but miss out on the "hidden gems" of valuable information that lies within them. In this episode, Tony Malyk will make you feel like a financial whiz as he explains how to use your financial statements as a tool to identify the areas that are draining cash and profits from your business. You will learn how to properly read and analyze your Profit & Loss Statement and Balance Sheet by doing 9 simple calculations, so that you can take corrective action and make informed decisions to turbocharge your profits and cash flow. Stop guessing and start making decisions based on facts, so you can achieve your income and lifestyle goals.  

Business owners spend a lifetime building their business with the goal of selling it to fund a dream lifestyle and retirement. Far to often they are left disappointed when they find out that their business is worth twenty to fifty percent less than they thought, resulting in their retirement lifestyle being well short of expectations. Business value is often based on a multiple of owner's cash flow or profit which tends to be the owner's main focus when building their business. However, there are several other factors besides financial performance that affects business value most business don't consider. In this episode, Tony Malyk explains the parity between building value in a business and a home. He will cover the three categories that drive the price of a home or business: (1) Fixer Upper (2) Fair Market Value (3) Strategic Buy, and how they can dramatically affect business value. Tony will also cover the eight questions to ask yourself to determine if your business is a fixer upper and how you can fix it. Don't wait until you decide to sell to maximize the value of your business. The time to start is right now!

Cash is King!! We have all heard this before, but what does it really mean? Having a good cash management strategy can mean the difference between making payroll, paying your suppliers or even yourself. Even profitable businesses can struggle with cash flow due to several factors such as not understanding the cash-gap, mismanaging accounts receivable, the invoicing cycle, poor planning and “just in case” management. In this episode, Tony Malyk shares proven real life strategies on how to overcome the major causes of a cash-flow crunch. You will learn how to get money faster from customers, to plan for a possible crunch and to avoid tying up money in the business by stopping “just in case management”. Learn how to manage your cashflow better so you can unlock cash from your business to make payroll and pay your bills without stress, not to mention to live the lifestyle you deserve.

Stop being frustrated with your profits by understanding the story behind the numbers. Too many business owners rely on “beer case metrics” to know how they are doing. Does this sound familiar? You work hard all week and on Friday you collect your customers' cheques so you can run down to the bank to make a deposit. You then run back to the office, pay your suppliers and employees, and if you have enough money left over for a case of beer you must be doing OK. In other words, you don't measure anything and the only way to know if you are doing OK is by watching the bank account. It is crucial that you have timely information on how your business in doing so that you can take immediate corrective action to improve profits before losses mount. How do you do this? The answer is to measure Key Productivity Indicators (KPIs). By measuring productivity performance from the front lines of your business, you will have a much better understanding of what is driving the numbers on your financial statements. In this episode, Tony Malyk explains how a KPI system works by comparing it to the dashboard in your vehicle and gives advice on what to measure and how to set up a KPI system. Knowledge is power, so empower yourself with information so you can run a more profitable business.

Generate more cash in your business by turbocharging your profits. By looking inside your business first, you don't have to spend thousands of dollars in marketing to improve profits. Many businesses already have enough sales to be profitable, they just need to plug the profit holes that drain their business of cash and profits. In this episode, Tony Malyk identifies the causes of low profits and shares eight strategies that can be implemented immediately to improve profits and increase cash flow. The strategies include (1) How to Successfully Increase Prices (2) Resist Discounting (3) Implementing Surcharges (4) How to Right Size Your Labour (5) Lead & Manage for Better Productivity (6) Review Processes to Reduce Waste (7) Account for Every Component in Your Product (8) Ask Suppliers for Lower Pricing. You will hear real life stories of how these strategies helped businesses just like yours, transform into cash-generating profit machines. Learn how to turbocharge your profits and start making more money today!

Businesses lose thousands of dollars of revenue every month because they blow the sale. A ton of money is spent on marketing. A customer finally responds only to have the sale go up in smoke when they say, “I'll think about it”. To try and save the sale, discounts are often given resulting in lower profits and cash flow. Why does this happen? The answer is that most small business owners and their staff have no sales training. They “wing it”. The best way to maximize predictable results from leads generated by marketing is to have a sales system and train everyone to follow it. The current sales model is based on understanding the decision-making process people go through when making a purchase, then guiding the customer through the process so they can make their decision. In this episode, Tony Malyk explains the 8 steps of the sales process and how to turn it into a system. An effective sales system can transform a company's success overnight so it is well worth the investment of time and money.

Click Here to Download Podcast Stop wasting time and money on marketing. You pour tons of money into it expecting the phone to ring or customers to walk in the door only to be disappointed repeatedly when nothing happens. Marketing can work and generate sales growth if you take the time to build a strong marketing foundation. The three pillars of a strong marketing foundation are (1) Dare to Declare Your Ideal Client (2) Craft a Laser Focused Message (3) Get Your Message to Your Ideal Client. In this episode, Tony Malyk explains how to identify your ideal client by with a simple to use process. He then shares the three ingredients of a laser focused message followed by sage advice on how to decide on the best marketing media to promote your business. Stop being frustrated by marketing. Learn the marketing secrets the big guys use to create campaigns that get customers lined up for their products.

Every business owner wants to generate more cash and profits. They don't know where to start and grow increasingly frustrated. It is hard to see the forest for the trees when you are in the middle of the forest. The “Magic Profit Formula” is a process that lifts the business owner above the forest so they can look down and see where the opportunities for improving their business exists. The “Formula” has proven to help many business owners transform their business into cash-generating profit machines. It involves breaking the business down into individual steps such as lead generation, sales conversion, average sales size, gross profits, overhead and net profits. Each step is then analyzed one at a time to determine strategies to improve the performance of that step by 10%. The compounded effect of improving each step by 10% can increase profits by 71% or more. In Episode 5, The Magic Profit Formula, Tony Malyk, the author of Leaky Bucket of Profits, explains the formula and how to apply it to virtually any business.

Strong communication skills are essential for effective leadership. The ability to motivate and inspire people to achieve goals, pursue the company's vision and even correct undesirable behavior is centered around the leader's ability to communicate. The communication gap is evident when we get frustrated with those who are “long winded”, too blunt or constantly fail to deliver on promises. A communication model that is foundational to understanding others is DISC. An acronym for the four basic styles of communication, DISC, according to the author, stands for Director, Influencer, Steady Eddie and Compliance Officer. We all posses a unique blend of the four styles resulting in our own Communication DNA. In this episode, the author explains the strength, weaknesses and quirks of each style and how to leverage this knowledge to improve communication. Great leadership exists in all DISC

Imagine if everyone in your organization showed up to work every day feeling passionate about their job and knew exactly what they needed to do to help your business succeed. Is this possible? Absolutely, when you have a powerful strategic plan. In this episode, the author talks about how to Empower Your Company with a Powerful Strategic Plan, based on Chapter 3 of his book, Leaky Bucket of Profits. A strategic plan is a written document that clearly identifies what an organization wants to accomplish in the long-term. It starts with a seven to ten-year Vision Statement of the impact the leader wants to have on the industry, community or even the world. The next step is to have a Mission Statement that articulates the strategic actions that need to be taken to achieve the vision. This is all bound by an unwavering set of Core Values that will help guide decision making and the expected behaviors of team members. The next step is to conduct a SWOT analysis to determine, Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. With all four areas identified, the team brainstorms opportunities available if its Strengths were leveraged or Weaknesses and Threats neutralized. The team then shortlists the opportunities to three to five items that it will focus on. SMART goals and action items are then set to put the plan in motion. It is imperative that regular strategy meetings are held to ensure that actions are being taken and goals met. The strategic plan needs to be communicated to stakeholders including management, employees and shareholders. It is imperative that “need to know” information is shared so that everyone understands their role and is passionate in helping the organization achieve its vision and goals.

Chapter 2 of the book, "Leaky Bucket of Profits", starts with the author, Tony Malyk, talking about the importance of strong leadership in an organization. He uses an example of how sports teams and corporations are willing to pay millions of dollars per year for a proven coach and CEO. Leadership can make or break an organization. There are three levels of Leadership. They are: Lead Yourself, Lead Others and Lead Your Organization. Each level builds on each other with Lead Yourself as the foundation. It is imperative that a leader is well grounded by being self aware of his or her behavior and communication style. Leading Others is about developing one to one relationships with team members to motivate, direct, and discipline if necessary. Leading Your Organization is inspiring and motivating your organization as a whole. Effective and efficient communication skills are imperative to getting your message across to drive your company culture. Motivation challenges many leaders because they don't have a model to follow. A leadership motivational model called, Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory, is explained to give real context to how to motivate employees. Leaders need to adapt a servant style to gain loyalty and to demonstrate their commitment to their core values everyday or risk being discredited in the eyes of their team. The keys are to attract, develop and motivate the best possible people.

Tony Malyk, the Author of "Leaky Bucket of Profits", shares the story behind the leaky bucket and covers Chapter One in the book, "Build a Winning Culture". It is important that the leader is clear on the type of culture that is desired for the business and takes purposeful action to drive that culture. The foundation to driving culture is to have a clear vision communicated through a Vision Statement and to back it up with a Mission Statement. Defining unwavering Core Values gives direction on the behaviors expected from the team. It is the leaders job to ensure that the desired behaviors are demonstrated while not tolerating undesired behaviors. This Episode begins the journey for you to "Build the Enterprise You Always Envisioned"