So why use a jet charter instead of flying mainstream? The benefits are numerous, and all easy to grasp. Because of the size of the aircraft (a lot smaller than the big carriers can use profitably), they can takeoff and land from much smaller airfields. This means that you can often fly a lot more directly than having to go to a large airport and then take a possibly long transfer to where you want to go. In addition, because of the fact that a smaller airfield is being used, security is not such a hassle – quicker turnaround for all parties concerned. Finally, because of the fast nature of the jet being able to get in and get out of the landing area (you do not have to wait for any other passengers except yourselves), you can easily fit in multiple destinations in a short period of time.

One of the absolute largest reasons for chartering jets is return on investment, which was touched briefly on earlier when costs were mentioned. When flying one of the big carriers, you need to adhere to their schedule, their baggage allowance – even their dress code when flying in business or first class! You will find it physically impossible to get as much work done in a day as you would having your own chartered aircraft. If you need to fit in four meetings throughout different geographic locations in the country, then it is not a problem. Let the pilot know, arrange for ground transportation (your pilot will have people from the chartering firm that can do this for you), and sit back and do some work in the quiet, spacious cabin.

As can be seen, there are specific reasons why using this for of transport can reap benefits far in excess of any potential added cost. The next step is to give it a try!

There are several areas into which you can expand your business.  Consider adding carpet cleaning, floor buffing, window-washing, landscaping, heating and air conditioning, or lighting.  Before you choose which services to add, try polling your current clients to see which ones they would be most likely to use.  This way you do not end up purchasing expensive equipment only to find that no one wants that service.  You may also want to choose just a few services that require fairly basic, inexpensive tools.  Window-washing is a great place to start.  You need a ladder, rags, a squeegee and some razor blades, and then you are ready.  For just $300 or so, you can be ready to add another service to your list.  The other advantage to adding window-washing is that, while most of your janitor services will be provided in the evening or early morning, window washing can be done during the day.

Once you know which additional services you will provide, offer introductory packages to new clients and bundling options to current clients.  Even if you discount your services by packaging them together, you will still make a significant profit, and your clients will feel like they are getting a good deal. Offering introductory prices to new clients will help establish your business in that particular category.  This is especially important if you are branching out into something less related to janitorial work, such as landscaping or heating and air conditioning.

Adding services to your business expands your market, lowers your advertising costs, and raises your per customer revenue.  By adding just a few extra options, you will quickly see your profits increase.

Also see starting a janitor service.

One of the great benefits of starting a construction company as a one man operation is that you can start out small, and choose projects that are within your abilities, and then gradually work your way up acquiring more equipment as you go. Very basic tools are all you need for small renovation jobs, and what you don’t have can easily be hired on a daily basis. If we are talking simple projects you can really get by with just a hammer, drill, handsaw, and a few other bits and pieces.

The key skill that most one man businesses don’t start out with is business sensibilities. These can certainly be learned, but financial management is one thing you will need to work on straight away. Reinvest a portion of all your earnings into your business, so that you can grow as you gain experience and reputation. There are lots of extras that will make your life easier and let you earn even more money.

Advertising and branding, construction business cards, and just your whole company image is a powerful tool to improve your reputation and get more customers. Physical plant like transport, equipment, and even an office or shop front are all in your future. Hiring additional staff is when you can really grow your business, as you can focus your energy on selling yourself and bidding on tenders while your staff do the day to day tasks that used to eat up your time. As we looked at, contractors can save you a lot of hassle in the early stages, as can external agencies for things like branding your business effectively while you work to your strong points.

Of course, all of this is in the future. But as you grow your business, keep them in mind! The sooner you can grow, the more money you will make in the long run and ultimately the more satisfied you will become with your own companies achievements.

When the day came around to pick up the truck, I had my wife drive me to the pick-up location. She waited in the car while I went inside to finalize the paperwork. After about 20 minutes she came in to see why I hadn’t driven away in our reserved truck. We found out that the location that was supposed to have my truck didn’t have one in stock. I didn’t expect this because I gave U-Haul my credit card number when I reserved the truck 2 weeks prior to that day.

This wouldn’t have been a major problem if I had lived in a big city and could have just gone to another pick-up location, but at the time I lived in a small town which was 2 hours from the next U-Haul site. This now became a major problem because I had arranged for laborers to help load the truck.

To make a long story short, 5 hours later I pulled up to my house with the truck.

The lesson I learned:

A seemingly “good system” doesn’t work if it’s not predictable. Predictability in systems instills confidence in employees, customers and all end users. In my case, U-Haul had an online system that was easy to use. However, their system for fulfilling on their orders was unpredictable. I lost confidence in their “easy system” because of the unpredictable outcome.

If you are a fan of sports, you can learn a lot of lessons that can be applied to your business. There are a lot of similarities with corporate teams and sports teams.

Structure is important. A team leader must emerge. Improvement of team practices happen by suggestions from within the team but also from the sideline. It’s important to get an outsiders perspective on operations. It’s the small victories (2 points) that make you a winner. Well executed plays and a strong strategy set you apart from your competition. A loss today doesn’t mean you can’t win tomorrow. Momentum is power. Dedication is addicting. Everyone plays an important role. Double plays or big sales, usually involve more than just you.

Here are a few of my favorite sport quotes about teams.

“Michael, if you can’t pass, you can’t play.” – Michael Jordan’s 9th grade Coach.

“One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team.” – Kareem Abdul-Jabbor

“The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime.” – Babe Ruth

“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.” – Michael Jordan

“Individual commitment to a group effort, that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work”. – Vince Lombardi

As the team captain of your organization, you are responsible for your team’s success. Make sure you know the playbook by heart. Utilize all the talent that has been recruited for the purpose of winning. Lead. Enjoy Victory.

One that I use frequently is the template section on Microsoft online. The web address is http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates. I literally have to monitor my time when I am on this site because there is so much to see. If you spend some time on the site, you will see that there are templates that can be downloaded for expense reports, time sheets, budgets, calendars and a hundred others.

You can create a number of small systems for your business by downloading some of these templates and putting them into place. Some of my favorites are those that can be downloaded into Excel. But they have templates that have created for any Microsoft product. I prefer Excel because it’s very easy to manage and create multiple worksheets within one file. It’s a great way to leverage someone else’s time to develop some effective and simple systems.

This is a repeat post…

It only takes 30 minutes to 1 hour a day MAX, for most small business owners, to update their accounting records. This pre-selected time will ensure you have accurate records and will help you make better business decisions during the year.

I had a bookkeeping client a few years ago that didn’t keep up with his records. He operated a very small retail shop in my home town and only recognized about 10-15K per month in revenue. His books were in shambles and it didn’t take long before I realized he had been losing money. When I started, he handed me 2 years of bank statements and a box full of receipts. Fortunately for me, he didn’t use cash for any of his purchases so the receipts were duplicated in the bank statements and I didn’t have to rummage through the box to try and make sense of the mess. After about a week I had his books updated.

When I sat down with him to go over the financial statements, he immediately noticed that one of his major reseller accounts wasn’t being recorded. After a little investigation, we realized that this reseller had been selling my client’s products for 2 years. My client would drop ship the product(s) and then was supposed to invoice the reseller. Once the invoice was received, it was paid and the cycle continued. My client hadn’t invoiced the reseller for 2 full years.

The amount of money that should have been collected was about 1K per month, which isn’t a staggering number by itself, but is mind-boggling when compared to the total revenue collected each month. It represented about 5-10% of his total revenue.

Lucky for me, I approached the reseller and brought this to his attention. He had no idea. I offered to clean up the mess and consequently got another bookkeeping client. If the accounting records for both parties had been maintained each month, my first client could have collected an additional 1K per month and my second client wouldn’t have been stuck with a 24K bill which was due in full and not spread over 24 months.

Chalk this up for a lesson learned and keep up with your bookkeeping.

Stay tuned for easy to understand lessons on bookkeep for the small business owner.

Here’s why…

Accounting can be seen from 2 different views. The first is from the eyes of the non-accountant. Words that enter their minds are boring, mundane, an expense, required, structured, records, paperwork, confusing, taxes, CPA’s, nerds (I can say that, I’m an accountant), etc. For the average free-spirited and creative entrepreneur, accounting rubs the wrong way.

The second set of eyes is from the accountant’s point of view. Again, words that enter OUR minds are important, decision making tool, structure, decision making tool, analyze, decision making tool, accountability, decision making tool, etc. We are nerds. I will be the first to admit it. I’ll also be the first to admit that all of us, in some form or fashion, have at one time, wanted to cross over to the dark side of entrepreneurship but our structured and nerdy ways of thinking won’t let us. It’s best if we leave that side of the biz to the creative type.

The non-accountants, however don’t have that luxury. You have to cross over and see our world at some point. It’s just the way it has to be. If you take some time to learn how to account for your transaction, you can literally turn your financial statements (the reports created from record keeping) into powerful… I really mean powerful decision making tools.

Here’s how this blog is going to go from here on. In the next post, I’m going to share some examples of poor business decisions that could have been avoided if proper analysis had been done on the Finance statements. After that, I’m going to teach about some bookkeeping essentials that will be easy to understand and apply. Believe me, you don’t have to have a degree in this crap or be a genius to understand this. I’m going to make it easy. I’m going to make bookkeeping exciting and fun…okay maybe I’ve gone to far. I’m going to make it easy.

Stay tuned!