Unless you regularly review pricing, tender with other suppliers, review team performance and numerous other business best practices – you won’t ever know the answer to this question.
Most businesses don’t prioritise time towards Protecting Profit.
My three suggested key focus areas are:
- Review the last 12 months’ expenses versus the previous year. Then prioritise targeting the areas that increased by more than 3%.
- Identify your top 10 expense areas. Focus on the variable areas, within your control and review how you can save in these areas.
- Labour spend. Review your teams, who are the most and least productive, and then meet with those less productive, provide them feedback, and support them towards achieving greater productivity. Labour is most businesses’ largest expense area, ensure your teams are productive.
There are so many opportunities to protect profit – across:
- Income
- General expenses
- Productivity
- Finance
I encourage all businesses to put aside some time this week or next, to strategise how to Protect Profit. If a business was a sporting team and you are the coach, it’s your defensive play!