FEATURE STORY
By Jim Yount
Five keystone pillars of profit:
Ageless formula
for success
PART ONE: Success or failure and the American Way
I
t is a brave person who walks away
from his job, lays aside immediate
financial security, and starts his or
her own business. Many will live
daily from the proceeds produced
while dreaming of a better future. In freeenterprise America, about the only thing
required to open a business is ambition,
a dream and a little money. We've
all witnessed such events as the auto
mechanic, trained by a dealership, resigns
and opens his own auto service center,
and the experienced waitress opening her
own deli or café. The good news: We need
no one's permission to start a business.
The bad news: Although these new
business owners may provide excellent
operational job task skills, their business
failure rate is extremely high.
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The first and most serious question to
ask, "If these business owners possessed
excellent operational job task skills, why
are their failure rates high?" Regardless
of how excellent they are at generating
revenue, which is the first priority of
business, the owner must remember the
only way to keep score in business is
to count the money. The administrative
activity of counting and managing the
money for positive flow is the business
side of business management, and
it's of the highest priority. For without
the knowledge and business side of
business management skills, any business
— regardless of size can outspend
—
its revenue/earnings. The answer to
the question: Owning and managing
a business for the purpose of earning
OUTDOOR POWER EQUIPMENT
a profit is a learned skill and cannot
be inherited. Without business side of
business management skills, failure is the
destiny.
In my mid-20s, a friend and I started
our first business. We were sure it would
carry us to the promised land. We had
loads of fun buying, flying, selling, and
working on private aircraft. After threeand-a-half years, the business closed
because we failed.
The only way to keep
score in business is
to count the money.
www.outdoorpowerequipment.com
Image ©istockphoto.com/ozgurdonmaz
First article in a series
