Is Your Business Bucket Leaking
August 12th, 2013 by Diane Conklin under Business Strategy. No Comments.
Most business owners have leaks somewhere in their business…like the leaks in a bucket when it has holes in it. Does your business have holes in it? If you’re being true to yourself, to your business, and to your clients then the answer is yes, you do have areas in your business with holes. Every business does.
So, if you have holes in your business and your business bucket is leaking, what are you doing about it?
Do you even see the leaks? Do you even know they’re there?
The worst thing that happens in your business when you have a leak is you don’t even know the leak is there. You can’t plug the hole because you don’t see it, and maybe you’re not even looking for the leak.
Take a look at where things are in your business, and find the things that aren’t working such as your finances aren’t where you want them, you don’t have as many clients as you would like in your programs, or your list isn’t growing on a daily basis. Examine whatever isn’t working in your business, and find your leaks.
Once you find your leaks, you have to plug them. Sometimes, this is a temporary plug, not that you want the leaks to open again, but sometimes, it’s important for you to do something immediately, as a stop-gap until you can find a permanent solution to the problem.
A business is a quickly moving and always changing entity, so prioritizing which leaks are the biggest and most critical is important. The most critical leaks are the ones costing your business the most money, the most clients, or the biggest cost to your reputation. These are the areas you want to address first.
For example, let’s take a look at the lead generation process. You can continually put new leads in your business bucket, but if they’re leaking out of the holes in your bucket then as fast as you’re putting them in they’re gone. When this happens, all of the work you’re doing on the front end of your business is for naught…and the front end of your business is where the hard work and biggest expense is.
Once you get somebody in the bucket, keeping them there isn’t always easy, but it’s easier and usually less expensive than getting them into your bucket initially.
So, really look at your business and find where the leaks are in your bucket. Then figure out what you’re going to do to stop them. When you do this, your business will flow much smoother, your clients will be more satisfied, and your profits will increase exponentially.
