Growing Your Business? Change the Lightbulbs HOW SMALL SAVINGS CAN MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE
If someone asked you to name five types of small businesses, odds are “traveling magician” wouldn’t make it onto your list. That said, magicians are entrepreneurs, too, and they need just as much business planning advice as tech geniuses, lawyers, and dentists. When magician Vince Charming connected with Brandon in 2017, he was able to adapt our plan successfully. “One of the things that really made me trust Brandon’s advice is that he had built a business with an exit strategy, which means he was able to scale up the business and sell it. That made me confident that this was a proven method,” Vince says. “Of course, I’m not copying directly what he’s doing himself because business is different for everybody, but I felt good about the fact that he was established and it was qualified advice.” Since he started working with us three years ago, Vince’s business has changed and diversified. In 2018, he formed an LLC and added an additional form of business insurance under Brandon’s guidance. This helped him settle into his niche serving the college and corporate market, the former with larger stage shows and the latter with close-up magic displays. With Brandon’s help, Vince realized that his business is “a vitamin, not an aspirin,” meaning it’s a luxury, not a necessity. That helped him reshape his business plan and position himself for success! “Businesses sell three things: services, information, and products, and I was only selling services, not capitalizing on the other two,” Vince explains. “Now I’m starting to sell goods. I have products available online, and I sell them in the back at a table after the shows to make a little more money. It’s not where the bulk of my sales is, but it is supplementary cash. I haven't started selling information yet, but that will be more like a PDF or video download of me teaching a trick because some of my clients like to learn magic, too.” Vince travels all over the country performing magic and has ambitious plans for growth. We can’t wait to see what trick he pulls out of his hat next! To learn more about Vince and his business, visit VinceCharmingMagic.com. A STUDENT SUCCESS STORY Meet Vince Charming, Brandon’s Most Magical Student
Sometimes, a little change can go a long way. Walmart illustrated this perfectly when the megachain decided to switch to using more energy-efficient lightbulbs and cheaper floor wax. Those two simple substitutions have cut the company’s annual costs by $220 million. Of course, with thousands of stores nationwide, even the smallest savings will have a multiplying effect for a corporation like Walmart, but this lesson can still be applied by small-business owners looking to grow. As a business owner, it can be tempting to lose yourself in the big picture. Milestones like helping more clients, launching new marketing campaigns, and opening another location are the exciting investments that really get a CEO’s blood pumping. But beneath each of these major decisions, there are many minute changes that could save your company time and money. What standard operating procedure (SOP) needs to be made more efficient before you bring on a larger client load? Which social media site will give you the most bang for your marketing buck? How much more will you be spending on toilet paper with two locations? It’s tempting to overlook the minor details, but tackling these inefficiencies could save you more than you expect. If you aren’t one to pore over every expense report and crunch the numbers, you’re not alone. The good news is that most likely, there are members of your team with the perspective and knowledge to help you out. This is especially true when it comes to day-to-day operations. Employees are great at noticing redundancies in SOP, underutilized spaces in the office, and other areas where money may be wasted. Empowering your team to speak up when they notice these money-saving opportunities can do wonders for your bottom line. Saving a few hundred dollars per year on things like lighting and floor wax may not sound impressive, but that’s money you can put toward improving your employee retention, customer experiences, and marketing effectiveness. In today's competitive market, even the smallest changes can give you a vital edge.
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