Читать книгу Small Business Revolution - Barry C. McCarthy - Страница 21

When you ask the tough question of why you want to be in business, and if you decide that you do want to make a reasonable profit from it, then you need to ask yourself three other questions:

1 Is there truly a market for what I'm doing?

2 If there is a market, can I deliver the products or services profitably?

3 If so, how long will it take me to get to that profitability from where I am today?

Those are tough questions! Here you're already operating a business; am I really suggesting that you need to step back and ask these fundamental questions at the same time? Yes. You'll have the best chance of meeting your goal of making a living from your business if you have a brutally honest review at this stage.

In the case of Ellen's Bridal & Dress Boutique in Season 1, Episode 3, owner Lisa Downs was able to get a handle on the size of her potential market by finding out how many marriage licenses were issued in Wabash County each year.

When it comes to the second question of profitability, this is where you need to know your numbers, even if some of them were from your hobby days. If you've been making a profit at times, that's great. What have been your most profitable products or services? What were the least profitable? As we discuss in Chapter 3 about crucial numbers to know, do you have a handle on the maximum profitability of your operation as it exists today?

That third question requires a tough assessment: What are the numbers telling you, and are they moving in the direction of crossing over into regular profitability?

It's not the end of the world if they're not showing profitability—if you are willing to make changes.