Ok, so on with the rest of the 10 Commandments of Business.



Commandment # 4: Work on your business not in your business.

Great, so what does that mean?

It means putting down the hammer, or the computer, or stop driving the truck or airplane and work on where your business is going to go. Doing the work can be hired out. Deciding what work to do can only be done by the owner or the CEO.



This doesn't mean one does it in a vacum, one uses the best brains available.



Too many CPA firms flounder because the owner is busy with the eye shades on from December to April, takes a rest after the 15th, and then starts the cycle again. But he never gets new clients because he is too busy doing the work!



So take time to work on your business, not just in your business



Commandment #5 Guarantee Satisfaction

Sounds simple or hard depending on your business. There are all kinds of ways to approach this without fear of going broke or being sued. What matters is if you have a service or a product.



Services

If you offer services, the way to offer the guarantee is to repeat the labor for free or a reduced fee to resolve the problem.



Products

With products you can offer performance guarantees which reflect parts and labor for a specified period of time for their replacement.



Key point: If you aren't willing to stand behind your product or service then your customer will hestitate and begin to look for new options.



Commandment # 6: Review your profit/loss statement weekly

With the advent of computer aided accounting systems the ability to develop a cogent dashboard with practical metrics has never been easier. One just must know what the cash flow is.



The CEO of Terex www.terex.com , Mr. Ron DeFao, told me this about profits, margins, and cash flow:

"Profits for the investors, margins for the ego, and cash flow for the CEO." We were talking at the enormous construction equipment show, Intermat a few years ago. An interesting perspective from a CEO who specializes in taking failing family construction equipment businesses, buys them up, paints the products white, and starts marketing them again. When Ron comes calling, your family business should pay attention. I know of one 90+ year old construction equipment manufacturere who arrogantly showed him the door. Their plant burned down, and they are still milling around trying to figure out what to do two years later.



Review the company p&l statement at least weekly and take appropriate action.

Check back for the next three commandments. They are comming soon!