Building Your 2027 Strategic Plan in Q3 - Powerful Business Strategies

0:04 Hi, you live, don too censure. W C WOW for. You your. Once again. This is the Pipe Main here on the Adventures Pipe NW four cy Radio and we're on our powerful Business Strategy mission today with Michael Barbarita next step CFO and we're on a mission for our twenty twenty seven strategic plan. So let's talk about Michael, Thank you, Thank you Dean. What happens is there's a lot of business owners stopped planning for the following year, if at all, by the way, in November and December.

0:48 And what is that like the New year's resolution rather than a plan. Yeah, it's similar to that, and that's what it ends up being essentially, because twenty twenty seven ends up being the year is twenty twenty six. So starting a strategic plan and you're planning for twenty seven in Q three allows you to allows you the time to be able to make better decisions and to be able to understand the plan or get help with the plan. So because I see what happens a lot is there's a lot of planning that goes on in November December for those who do it, by the way, there's some people who never plan. So that that's gonna probably stay on forever.

1:33 But those who do plan should consider starting in Q three because they have a they'll have more time to strategize, they'll have more time to really understand what's happened in the first half of twenty twenty six to be able to really negotiate their their their game plan. And what ends up happening is the quality of the plan ends up much better and the probability of implementation increases with the longer the longer time frame for planning. And so even if you just stop once a week, uh and and and set and put an hour aside once a week for the twenty twenty seventh plan, you'll be that much more ahead of the game. Come whenever you normally do it firstus whenever you normally do it. So it's just really a great way start stop early because a lot of business owners they for those who do it at all, uh, they just cram it in. They cram it in and it and it's just not a it.

2:39 It just doesn't work well. And what happens up happening is the year ends up being the same as it's always been. Hmm. So what other advice do you have to give people? So that they could be fully prepared for twenty twenty. Well, there's a couple of things I want to I want to talk about uh and and it to the planning component, and that is what I find is best known beats best product every time. So if you look at McDonald's, they don't have the best burger. Domino's doesn't have the best pizza. Doctor Phil isn't even the best psychologists in the world. He's not if you ask. I have asked multiple psychologists about doctor Phil's skill in psychology.

3:29 It's really low. It's really low. But I'm not so okay, he's. The highest paid psychologist in the world. Yeah, and he is because he's best known. And there's only one reason for that. You know the reason, right. That's right? Yeah, you know he he was personally groomed by Oprah to be who he is. But I can say that he probably isn't ranked as one of the top psychologists. He's definitely not. If by the way surveys have already been done, he's not even the top thousand. Wow. Yeah, I mean surveys among peers have been done. He's not in the top thousand. So right, but he's the highest paid because he's the best known, and it has to be you have to be known. It's not really how the quality of your product. Domino's pizza people don't.

4:25 A lot of people don't. If you had a rank pizzas, Dominoes would probably not be, not even close to the top three. Yet they're very wide. You know, you know, they're tremendously successful. But they but they but they're one of the reasons why they are successful is their best known and they have compelling offers like the one that they did for the college kids were thirty minutes will deliver it or it's free. You know, those types of compelling offers obviously help them to become best known. So anyway that best known will be best product every time. So that's number one I want us to share. The second thing I wanted to share is something that business owners never think about. Never a lot of business owners when they started their business, they filled out credit applications with suppliers. Many of those credit applications included personal guarantees. Yes, what I'm saying is is that business owners who have been in business five years or more need to go back to those suppliers and get them to waive the personal guarantee in writing that the personal guarantees signed five years ago, ten years ago, fifteen, twenty twenty five, thirty years ago is now waived. Why well, the reason for

5:57 the personal guarantee is, you know, you consider just starting out, you're considered a poor credit risk. But having paid for five years on time or more ten fifteen, twenty twenty five, it's time now to waive the reason why you had a personal guarantee. And let me tell you why you have to do it. If for some reason you sell the company, you're going to be sued that if the new company is not even though it's a different company, different name, you're gonna get at least sued, if not pursued legally for guaranteeing the debt. Granted it was a guaranteeing the debt of an old company, but you're still going to be pursued. You don't need it. You don't need it. You've got to go back to your suppliers and if you forgot whether or not you filled out an application, or you forgot whether or not the application included a personal guarantee, because some don't, you still have to ask the supplier if they can come up with that application because you want to review it mm hm.

7:03 And you're not out of trouble. Nothing's no trouble. That's just a question to the supplier. And if there's a personal guarantee, you need it waived period of report because you're proven that you could pay that you pay your bills on time, and there's no need for them to have a personal guarantee on you anymore. Yeah. I could tell you that. My uncle was a very prominent attorney and the first business I ever started, he said to me, don't ever sign a personal guarantee. Now, in today's day and age, I think a lot of times they require everybody to in the beginning, you know, well for sure, yeah yeah, But before it used to be you could just say no, you know, and you might still get the loan. But I was always told never to do that for a lot of reasons that you're talking about, right, And you.

8:00 Know, business owners. I had a client who was in business twenty five years, thirty years, and he he signed, you know, I had him go back to all his supply he's wanted to sell his company. I had him go back to all his suppliers to get the personal guarantees waived, and so he did that, and there were like, out of the ten suppliers that he thought he had prepared applications for at the very beginning, seven of them he actually did prepare applications, and five of them had personal guarantees that he got way. And so he's now with the new buyer. He's eliminating any hassle for his wife or any his heirs or himself, eliminating any hassle. Yeah, because he does no longer has personal guarantees with suppliers.

8:55 Because whoever buys the company, if they do a Mickey mouse job, or if they're not good operators and they take the company, he can get exposed. I have seen it. It sounds impossible, but it isn't. No, it's not. And and my uncle said to me, you know, one of the problems with it is is the whole reason you have a corporation is to not have personal liability. So what's the point if you're going to sign a personal guarantee of having the corporation, if you're going to be personally liable anyway? That's right. Yeah, So how do people reach out more for more information from you in this area or any other powerful business strategy area.

9:40 Yes, well, they go to NEXTSTEPCFO dot net. They can on the right hand upper right hand corner. There's a diagnostic they could take. Takes less than five minutes. It identifies three strategies that your competition isn't doing, along with the financial impact of each, an explanation of the strategy as well, and how to go about implementing it. They can also download a copy of my book called Powerful Business Strategies. It's on the website on the left hand side upper corner in an orange button as well, and they can download that book for free, and also if they'd like to do a book interview, because we're always updating the book and we'd love to get industry insight.

10:22 It's thirty minutes on zoom. I present strategies for my book, and then I ask one question at the end of each strategy, if a business owner in your industry would implement the strategy, what kind of impact would it have? I documented for the book. And that's it nice and they go to NEXTEPCFO dot net forward slash contact, fill out the contact form and in the description put book interview. Any final words you want to leave our listeners with Michael. Don't keep doing what your competition is doing. Oh there, it is no wiser words right there. Thank you everybody. Make sure to check out Next Step CFO.

11:03 Talk to Michael Barberita. He can help your business and amazing ways. And thank you for once again listening to the adventures of Pipe Man powerful business strategy segment right here on W four CY Radio. Thank you, Jam. Thank you for listening to the adventures of Pipemin on W for CUI Radio.