Dunkin Donuts has a really funny commercial years ago:  “Time to make the donuts”.  A harried and stressed-out baker would say this as he would get up early, drag himself to work to make donuts all day and come home late at night exhausted.  Then, it was the next morning and “time to make the donuts” yet again.  Clearly, he was on an amusing treadmill day in and day out.  Are you?  Does this sound a lot like your day? Not amusing is it.

Let me tell you one of the secrets of small business success:  Successful small business owners are not on this treadmill.  If you are, time to get off.

What does this treadmill or a business controlling you look like?  Meet a long-time client and friend of mine, Dr. David Zelman, founder of Transitions Institute, Dallas, Texas.  David was an immensely successful coach to celebrities, c-suite executives and some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the country.  Calendar full and in great demand, he was like our baker friend always “making the donuts”.  He had no time to relax, always on the go.  On top of that, while creating a nice life for his family and himself, there were other financial goals he had now and was anxious about the future.  He was on a treadmill and worse, not having the time to make his business work for him: Think about ways to control it and make it give him the life he wanted now and in the future.

I met with him and his wife Karen and found out what the business had to produce to live the way he wanted now but also be able to place aside profit to have the option of not working someday.  The number he had to produce was overwhelming to him.  Some of my advice: You are overwhelmingly busy.  You are in great demand.  Double your fees to clients.  This would produce the cash flow needed for his life now, give him more time off and ensure retirement in not too distant a future.  But double fees??  He was convinced his clients would leave him.

Another one of the secrets of small business success:  Decisions in life are not easy at times.  Doubling fees was not an easy decision for him.  But staying on the treadmill was worse.  So, he tried it with new clients and saw there was no resistance.  In a short time, he doubled his fees and increased them more over the years!  He took the time to control his business, control his life. He enjoys a great life and  is financially independent. While still working, it is his choice.

Having trouble controlling your business?  Is your business not supplying the cash flow you live now and making sure you can retire someday?  The last of many secrets of small business success today:  Get help, learn to control your business.  Stop just “making the donuts”.

If you are ready to take the first steps towards living the way you want now and for the rest of your life, look no further than this book, “Master Your Business Cash Flow.” (Part of the Master Your Cash Flow® series.) Find out more here: https://alzdenek.com/book/