Are You Working IN Your Business, or ON Your Business?

Shannon Register

Broker / Owner, Register Real Estate Advisors

Owner, RREA Media

Host, “Houston Real Estate Radio” on NewsRadio 740 KTRH

Small Business Forum

2/17/15

Agenda

• The predictable life cycle of a small business

• What do you want to be when you grow up?

• Becoming expendable

• What working on your business looks like

• Resources

THE PREDICTABLE LIFE CYCLE OF A SMALL BUSINESS

“As unique as we all think we are… we aren’t.”

–Matt Register

• You get into business because you love what you do

• You hit the capacity of your ability to do it alone

• You hire employees and add overhead to increase your capacity

• You no longer get to do what you love

• You hit the capacity of the yellow legal pad

**SPOILER**

Nobody likes admin.

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?

“If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there.” –Lewis Carroll

What does success look like to you?

• Grow, sell, retire?

• Grow, pass to next generation?

• Stay where you are, make a nice living, and shut it down? (lifestyle business)

• Pass to your employees?

• A combination of the above?

• What’s your number?

BECOMING EXPENDABLE

“All mangers are losers. They are the most expendable pieces of furniture on the face of the earth.”

–Ted Williams

Can you take 3 weeks off without it having a detrimental impact on

your business?

Avoiding the “Hit by a Bus” Problem

• Knowledge Management

– Training

– Manuals

• Delegation

– Tactical vs Strategic

– Cross training

– Most tasks can be delegated

– Some can only be done by leader

WHAT WORKING ON YOUR BUSINESS LOOKS LIKE

“Success isn’t owned, it is leased. The rent is due every day.” –JJ Watt

“It's supposed to be hard. If it were easy, everyone would do it.”

-Tom Hanks, A League of Their Own

Working ON Your Business

• Building systems

• Know your value

• Understand your environment

• Follow your mission

• Measure your marketing

• Maximize training

• Leverage technology

• Inventory your assets

• Utilize your database

• Lead

Building Systems

• Measurable metrics – find yours• Manuals• Database• Accounting / costing• ERP/MRP (computer systems)• Accountability• Training• Marketing• Payroll• Hiring

Know Your Value

• What is your value proposition?

• What do you do better than anyone else?

• Why do customers choose you?

• Who has a problem that you are uniquely qualified to solve?

Understand Your Environment

• Customers

• Vendors

• Competitors

• Regulations

• Political

• Social

Follow Your Mission

• What is your mission?

• Do your employees know it?

• Power of everyone pulling as hard as they can in the exact same direction

Measure Your Marketing

• 1 million ways to burn money in marketing

• Find what works

• No magic bullet

• Constant effort

Maximize Training

• Insource or outsource?

• Frequency?

• Certifications?

• Cross training

CFO asks CFO: “What happens if we invest in developing our people and then they leave us?”

CEO to CFO: “What happens if we don’t, and they stay?”

Leverage Technology

• Website

– Online brochure or communication platform and lead conversion machine?

– Who has a problem that you are the solution for? What are they searching for to solve their problem? Are you found?

• Better, faster, cheaper

– Manual machines -> cnc

– Kingdom Dog -> text to database

Inventory Your Assets

• Barter– Some things are better than money– HRER -> home shows– HRER -> Christmas lights

• Find customers for expansion– RREA Media -> drone

• Media– Make their job easy in exchange for coverage

• Alliances– RREA -> home builders

Utilize Your Database

• How big is your database?

• How do you use it

• Opt-in database is absolute gold in today’s online world

• Communicate

• Inform

• Educate

• Be a trusted and valuable resource

Lead

• Inspire

• Lead by example

• Hire to your weaknesses

• Demand excellence

• Understand personality styles

• Position yourself as a thought leader

FREE RESOURCES

“And will you succeed? Yes indeed, yes indeed! Ninety-eight and three-quarters percent guaranteed!” –Dr. Seuss

• Greater Houston Partnership – houston.org

• Goldman Sachs 10K Small Businesses –10ksbapply.com

• Lone Star Small Business Development Center Evolve – Lonestar.sbdcnetwork.net/lonestar

• Score Houston – ScoreHouston.org

QUESTIONS?

Shannon Registers@rrea.com