Mike is back with us on the show again! For Mike and Dr. Sabrina, success in business, in your personal life, and with your goals, is all about small wins. So in today's episode, Mike and Dr. Sabrina are talking about getting unstuck and creating big wins with small steps. They are also talking about planning for profit for 2019. Mike shares a roadmap to plan for profit and explain how to build it into your business. Many of us are inspired to implement changes in our business at the beginning of January. However, by the time that February comes around, we can be so caught up in the rat race again that all our good intentions are left by the wayside. So today Mike and Dr. Sabrina are discussing how to not feel guilty (or overwhelmed) about not acting on the plans that you made at the beginning of the year. They explain how you can take a few steps back, realign your goals, focus on the small wins, and then take baby steps forward, to achieve the kind of success you'd really like to have in your business. They conclude with offering their own definition of breaking even. Show Highlights:   How is a successful entrepreneur like a good Valentine?  Taking baby steps towards your goal. We can't just put everything in our business off until the end of the year and hope that it all washes out well. Creating big wins with small steps. Mike urges you to create a list of all the things you really know you need to work on. Establishing a schedule for achieving the small wins. Dr. Sabrina gives some of the fundamentals behind achieving small wins. How to move along and get unstuck. Thinking back about your success over the past year, to create success going forward in the next year. Thinking about the one big thing that you can do right now that will make everything else easier and better. How to deal with feeling overwhelmed with all you have to do. Make a plan for the way that your business will be profitable and take care of your lifestyle. Establishing the break-even for your business. Creating a break-even that allows your business to thrive. Look at your numbers and then face the reality of where you really want to be. Taking the level of risk you bare into account when setting prices. Are you planning for debt, or are you planning to thrive? It's never too late to start establishing your goals. Links: Profit by Design Podcast: www.profitbydesignpodcast.com  Profit by Design Facebook group Email: sabrinaandmike@profitbydesignpodast.com Apply at www.profitgift.com to be selected for a profit audit of your business. Dr. Sabrina's Four-Week Vacation Jump Start Video Guide: www.drsabrinastarling.com/jumpstart  Resources: Recommended books: The One Thing by Gary W. Keller and Jay Papasan Good To Great by Jim Collins                                     Mentioned in this episode:TapthePotential.com/assessmentWould you like to have your own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities, the things that you know with confidence? If I focus on this area, it's going to improve the ease of doing business and the profitability of our business. Not only that, it will improve your quality of life. You can take our Better Business, Better Life assessment at TapthePotential.com/assessment, and you will have the opportunity to receive your very own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities. Plus, we will also send you a signed copy of my book The 4 Week Vacation™. Head on over to tapthepotential.com/assessment.

On today's Profit by Design, you're going to get some great ideas that are really going to get your wheels turning. Dr. Sabrina will be talking to Tom Antion, an internet multi-millionaire who has never had a job. He has been a professional speaker and entertainer since 1988. Tom has a really outrageous hiring method that takes guts to implement. Dr. Sabrina verifies, however, that it's a good method to use, and that it will work.  Tom is the founder of The Great Internet Marketing Retreat Center, the only licensed, dedicated internet marketing school in the country, with the only facility of its kind in the world. People come from all over the world to study internet marketing there, in the lap of luxury. Tom also has a new podcast, called Screw The Commute, where he teaches people how they could live pretty much two for the price of one, if they didn't have to sit in their car on the way to work, making other people rich.   Show Highlights: Tom talks about his documentary that will soon be coming out. Tom talks about how he worked as a freelance charter pilot, made and lost a lot of money, and how he's been in gun-fights, knife-fights and even had a biker gang after him!  Tom shares the one life-lesson that he has carried forward. How Tom got his outrageous idea for an entertainment company, Prank Masters. Tom explains how he got back up, kept humor around him, and started all over again when things fell down for him. Tom talks about how he got into the speaking business. Tom had to learn how to become a great, professional public speaker. Tom realized that if you try to be excellent at something yourself, people will notice and they will often ask you to teach them.  Tom used what his Dad had taught him about being excellent when the commercial internet came along, around 1994. For Tom, the overriding principle is to be really excellent at what you do so that other people will ask you to teach them how to do it. This is how he got to be a big internet guru. Although it's good to have long-term dreams, you have to do the step-by-step and your emphasis will change over time. Some tips for keeping up with the constantly changing internet, for the online portions of your business. Tom discusses the ins and outs of his outrageous, street-smart hiring process. Why it's best to pay young people for the job, rather than by the hour. Tom explains how to place a hiring ad his way. Tom's ads are unprofessional, yet they really work. Tom's hiring process will help you to filter the wrong people out and speak to the right people. Dr. Sabrina's book, How To Hire The Best, ifeatures interviews with real-life entrepreneurs about their hiring practices. Tom gives his thoughts, as an entrepreneur, about what he has learned about being intentional and he also explains how he designed his business and how he runs it.    You can keep your costs low by learning and doing as much as possible yourself. Only delegate once you know what you're doing. How to make your hobby legitimately tax-deductible. Tom discusses what inspired him to start his podcast and he gives some of the topics that he gets into. Tom gives some great tips from the training he does on how to do a $50, 000 video production for pennies on the dollar. Tom talks about his e-book on how to automate your business. It contains all the techniques he uses to work more efficiently and be highly responsive to customers. He normally charges $27 for the book, and is giving it to our listeners. Tom explains how you can use Shortkeys.com (www.shortkeys.com) for a PC and Keyboard Maestro (www.keyboardmaestro.com) for a Mac to save yourself millions of keystrokes and to provide lightning-fast customer service. Resources: Get Tom’s e-book How to Automate Your Business ($27 value) free at https://www.ScrewTheCommute.com/profitbydesign    Profit by Design Podcast: www.profitbydesignpodcast.com  Profit by Design Facebook group Email: sabrinaandmike@profitbydesignpodast.com Apply at www.profitgift.com to be selected for a profit audit of your business. Dr. Sabrina's Four-Week Vacation Jump Start Video Guide: www.drsabrinastarling.com/jumpstart  A link to get to Screw The Commute Podcast/Profit by Design Podcast and to get access to Tom's free e-book:  Tom's website: www.antion.com  Shortkeys.com: www.shortkeys.com Keyboard Maestro: www.keyboardmaestro.com Mentioned in this episode:TapthePotential.com/assessmentWould you like to have your own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities, the things that you know with confidence? If I focus on this area, it's going to improve the ease of doing business and the profitability of our business. Not only that, it will improve your quality of life. You can take our Better Business, Better Life assessment at TapthePotential.com/assessment, and you will have the opportunity to receive your very own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities. Plus, we will also send you a signed copy of my book The 4 Week Vacation™. Head on over to tapthepotential.com/assessment.

How do you select a business coach? This is a great question for all business owners! It is not an easy task but there are best practices and things to look out for in choosing the right coach. Once you find the right coach, it’s important to understand what they will do for your business.  Back from a 4-week vacation, our host Dr. Sabrina joins us today to discuss what you absolutely need to be aware of in the coaching industry. We will also hear how to be a great client when you have a business coach. Having an ongoing coach is very important as they can help you with overcome your worst tendencies. Listen in today and discover the difference between mentors, coaches, and consultants. Show Highlights: Difference between a mentor, coach and consultant and their definitions What we want to avoid with business, blind spots An analogy Dr. Sabrina shares with her trainees  Something Dr. Sabrina personally struggles with Programs and systems and why they are important when you choose a coach Always look at the list of clients and see if they resemble your business Check that coaches have specific results ICF and gold standard in coaching What goes into being a great coaching client The Pumpkin Plan – listen to episode 6 if you have not yet Dr. Sabrina is master certified with a system, Profit first How to hire the best system program Feedback Dr. Sabrina received from a survey of frustrating coach stories A thing Dr. Sabrina has struggled with in the last year What makes coaching effective What does it mean to be coachable Resources Check out the conversation between Mike and Dr. Sabrina that 95% of entrepreneurs never have at the Profit by Design website. Profit by Design Podcast Website Profit by Design Facebook group Email: Dr. Sabrinandmike@profitbydesignpodast.com Sponsors: Tap the Potential Leadership Bootcamp Program Tap the Potential website Contractor Business Solutions - Small Business Consulting Group Website Tap the Potential Application to win a spot of 5!Mentioned in this episode:TapthePotential.com/assessmentWould you like to have your own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities, the things that you know with confidence? If I focus on this area, it's going to improve the ease of doing business and the profitability of our business. Not only that, it will improve your quality of life. You can take our Better Business, Better Life assessment at TapthePotential.com/assessment, and you will have the opportunity to receive your very own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities. Plus, we will also send you a signed copy of my book The 4 Week Vacation™. Head on over to tapthepotential.com/assessment.

Today Dr. Sabrina is answering a question from Heidi Adams, one of our listeners in rural Wyoming. Heidi’s business has been growing faster than she expected and she needs a process for hiring.   Heidi is not alone! In fact, most small business owners typically don't have a system for hiring. So when it's time to hire someone, you write a quick job description, think of some interview questions and hope the right person shows up. Usually they don’t!  On the show today, Dr. Sabrina shares a system for attracting A-Players AND a system for hiring that will ensures you hire A-players and not just warm bodies! Show Highlights: Clarify your immutable laws or your core values because those drive the culture of your business. The first few team members you hire are going to be key to the culture of your business. Dr. Sabrina goes in-depth into figuring out your immutable laws in her free masterclass, which is available at  www.howtohirethebest.com A quick way pointer to your core values, which will lead you to discover your immutable laws. There are two systems that you will need to put in place in your business- the first is an employee attraction system, and the second is a system for hiring. What you need to think about to attract the best employees to your business. Identifying what you really need the person to do for you. You're looking for someone with the personality traits to be successful in the required role, with core values that align with your own. How being in a rural area becomes an advantage for attracting A-players to a team. A-players hang together. Describing the specific kind of person you're looking for. A-players aren't usually looking for work. Places to start networking when looking for A-players. You need to think one or two years ahead, in the hiring process for your business, so Dr. Sabrina gives Heidi some tips for doing this. It's wise today, with employment rates so low, to make it easy for people to apply to your business, and then to put filters in place. The threat of a reference check should be one of the first filters that are put in place. How the threat of a reference check can help you, as a future employer. Dr. Sabrina recommends the book Who by Geoff Smart and Randy Street, for a robust, laid-out interview processes. The interview process, as outlined in the book, Who. Some questions to ask in the screening interview. You're looking for patterns in the interview process. The Topgrading interview is more in-depth than the screening interview. It's ideal to have someone to interview with you for this one, to watch for the non-verbal signals while you ask the questions. You can also confer together, after the interview. The value and power of taking interviewees back in time during an interview. You want people on your team who are coachable. Doing the reference checks. Some things to listen for during an interview. The scorecard is really key in the hiring process. Why Dr. Sabrina recommends laying out your whole interview process ahead of time. Some important things to bear in mind, and to do, when making an offer to an A-player. Resources: Profit by Design Podcast: www.profitbydesignpodcast.com  Profit by Design Facebook group Email: sarbinaandmike@profitbydesignpodast.com www.profitgift.com Apply at www.profitgift.com  to be 1 of the 5 business owners Dr. Sabrina works with in 2019 to triple profit, identify your business Sweet Spot, and put the team and systems in place so you can take a 4 Week Vacation. www.drsabrinastarling.com/jumpstart For Dr. Sabrina's free masterclass go to www.howtohirethebest.com Books mentioned: Topgrading by Brad Smart and Geoff Smart                              Who by Geoff Smart and Randy Street  Mentioned in this episode:TapthePotential.com/assessmentWould you like to have your own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities, the things that you know with confidence? If I focus on this area, it's going to improve the ease of doing business and the profitability of our business. Not only that, it will improve your quality of life. You can take our Better Business, Better Life assessment at TapthePotential.com/assessment, and you will have the opportunity to receive your very own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities. Plus, we will also send you a signed copy of my book The 4 Week Vacation™. Head on over to tapthepotential.com/assessment.

The guest on today's episode of the Profit by Design is Dr. Christine Allen, a Workplace Psychologist and Executive Coach. Dr. Chris and Dr. Sabrina discuss what small business owners need to know about using psychological assessments effectively in the hiring process. When used properly, psychological assessments dramatically increase chances of hiring right. Yet, there are pitfalls that come up with psychological testing that small business owners should be aware of.    Dr. Christine Allen is a board-certified coach, a distinguished fellow of the New York State Psychological Association, past president of the New York State Psychological Association-Division for Organizational Consulting and Work Psychology, and she's co-chair of the Leadership Institute for the New York State Psychological Association. She's also an official member of the Forbes Coaches Council. Dr. Allen has been providing executive coaching, team building, talent selection and assessment, and other training to senior leaders since 2009. As a result of Dr. Allen's twenty years of experience as a clinical psychologist, she's is an excellent listener and she quickly grasps the underlying issues with which individuals and teams struggle. As a licensed psychologist, she is particularly skilled in using assessments for hiring and selection.    Show Highlights:   Dr. Chris shares some of her background with us and she talks about how she came to be working with personality assessments. Why Dr. Chris chose to work in the area that she does. What a 'bad hire', using the traditional hiring process without the use of assessments, could end up costing you in the long term. According to the Harvard Business Review, 80% of employee turnover is caused by bad hires.  The leading cause of failure for executives and leaders is a poor cultural fit in the organization and personality problems like selfishness and narcissism. Destructive personality traits that could come up with people in leadership roles. Some of the ways that narcissists tend to behave when placed in leadership positions. The benefits of using psychological assessments during the hiring process. Using psychological assessments in combination with the strategies of a recruiting process can add about 40% to your odds of hiring the right person. The assessments that Dr. Chris’ organization has to offer can do a lot more than just screening someone during the hiring process. They can provide essential information that allows for the ongoing development of the individual throughout their life with the organization. These assessments supply valuable information that allow employees to be more effective, productive, and successful in the workplace. The most effective way to use assessments in the hiring process.  Some common mistakes that business owners tend to make with assessments.   Dr. Chris prefers to use a few tools that look at both emotional intelligence and personality. Looking for people's patterns when doing their assessments. The different kinds of pre-hire and post-hire assessment tools.  How personality makes a difference in job performance. Checking the validity of the personality assessment you intend to use. Some of the assessments and tools that Dr. Chris recommends that are normative, EEOC compliant, and should be used pre-hire.  Looking at people's values and what they want to get out of work, to ensure that they will be happy and a good fit for the workplace culture. Dr. Chris explains how business owners can find the right consultant to assist them with the personality assessment process. The way that interviews work, with the support of a consultant. Paradigm Personality Labs have consultants all around the world who are certified in The Workplace Big Five. Dr. Chris talks about what you will find in her newsletter.  Resources: Profit by Design Podcast: www.profitbydesignpodcast.com  Profit by Design Facebook group Email: sabrinaandmike@profitbydesignpodast.com   www.profitgift.com Apply at www.profitgift.com to be 1 of the 5 business owners Dr. Sabrina works with in 2019 to triple profit, identify your business Sweet Spot, and put the team and systems in place so you can take a 4 Week Vacation. www.profitgift.com   Dr. Sabrina’s Roadmap to Creating A Highly Profitable Great Place To Work: www.TapThePotential.com/Roadmap   Dr. Sabrina's Four-Week Vacation Jump Start Video Guide: www.drsabrinastarling.com/jumpstart    Dr. Chris’ links:   Email: chris@insightbusinessworks.com Website: www.insightbusinessworks.com _ You can sign up to get her newsletter here too.     Christine's recommended assessments that are normative, EEOC compliant, and should be used pre-hire:   - Hogan Workplace Big Five and The Hogan Values Assessment  - Paradigm Personality Labs - The Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQI 2.0) - Daniel Goleman's tool (ESBI) - The CPI 260 (A coaching report for leaders)     Books: The Leadership Challenge and The Leadership Practices Inventory by Kouzes and PosnerMentioned in this episode:TapthePotential.com/assessmentWould you like to have your own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities, the things that you know with confidence? If I focus on this area, it's going to improve the ease of doing business and the profitability of our business. Not only that, it will improve your quality of life. You can take our Better Business, Better Life assessment at TapthePotential.com/assessment, and you will have the opportunity to receive your very own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities. Plus, we will also send you a signed copy of my book The 4 Week Vacation™. Head on over to tapthepotential.com/assessment.

Dr. Sabrina is getting ready to leave for her 4 Week Vacation! She's been preparing since early March, and systemizing her business to run without her for the next four weeks. This means that her it will have to go through a complete business cycle without her being around. In today's episode, Dr. Sabrina shares the things she learned while getting her business ready for her to confidently take her 4 Week Vacation.   Quite a number of Dr. Sabrina's clients are actively working on taking a 4 Week Vacation in response to the 4 Week Vacation Challenge she issued at her retreat back in March. Dr. Sabrina is writing a book, The 4 Week Vacation, and documenting their experiences, from the time they commit to taking the 4 Week Vacation, to the time they made it happen. So today, on the show, Dr. Sabrina will also be talking to us about what she has been learning from these business owners.    Show highlights:   The most important thing about a 4 Week Vacation. A little question in the back of her head that has helped Dr. Sabrina to get more systems and training in place than she would have had, had she not committed to taking a 4 Week Vacation. A whole different way of thinking about how things get done in the business. We are all about creating sustainable businesses. Dr. Sabrina is automating her pipeline system. Her business is in a much stronger place at the end of 2018 than it was at the beginning of 2018. There are two coaches training to facilitate groups in her absence. The thoughtful way in which Dr. Sabrina picked her 4 Week Vacation dates.  Dr. Sabrina chose not to go away during the height of a busy season.  How you can set up and run "vacation tests". Dr. Sabrina is a strong believer that we all need the space to turn things off for a while and relax and unwind. So Dr. Sabrina and the team will not be available between Christmas and New Year.  Dr. Sabrina intends doing a six-week vacation later in the year! 4 Week Vacations don't always go perfectly. What Dr. Sabrina intends doing on her 4 Week Vacation. It's important to look at how things are set up for the team for when you're away, to avoid the possibility of causing anyone stress. How to know your business is ready for you to start working on a 4 Week Vacation. Some things that are critical for you to put in place for your business to be able to sustain a 4 Week Vacation. A tool called Our Roadmap to Creating A Highly Profitable Great Place To Work. Why you have to have a clear 'sweet spot' in your business. Putting systems in place to support your sweet spot is very important. Putting a full implementation of a full Profit First system will indicate that your business is ready for you to take a four-week vacation. How to select the best members for your team. You need to delegate decision making to your team members to build your confidence in them, and theirs in themselves. Having key performance indicators in place in your business. Why you really have to learn to get out of your own way. About Dr. Sabrina's Four-Week Vacation Jump Start Video Guide. Resources: Profit by Design Podcast: www.profitbydesignpodcast.com  Profit by Design Facebook group Email: sabrinaandmike@profitbydesignpodast.com   Apply at www.profitgift.com to be 1 of the 5 business owners Dr. Sabrina works with in 2019 to triple profit, identify your business Sweet Spot, and put the team and systems in place so you can take a 4 Week Vacation. www.profitgift.com   Our Roadmap To Creating A Highly Profitable Great Place To Work: www.TapThePotential.com/Roadmap   Dr. Sabrina's 4 Week Vacation Jump Start Video Guide: www.drsabrinastarling.com/jumpstart      Book mentioned: Lingo by Jeffrey ShawMentioned in this episode:TapthePotential.com/assessmentWould you like to have your own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities, the things that you know with confidence? If I focus on this area, it's going to improve the ease of doing business and the profitability of our business. Not only that, it will improve your quality of life. You can take our Better Business, Better Life assessment at TapthePotential.com/assessment, and you will have the opportunity to receive your very own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities. Plus, we will also send you a signed copy of my book The 4 Week Vacation™. Head on over to tapthepotential.com/assessment.

The guest on today's episode of the Profit by Design Podcast is Nathan Shields, the host of the Physical Therapy Owners Club podcast. Nathan has made some really interesting choices when it comes to both lifestyle and business. And he is with us on the show today to share his experience about making the kind of lifestyle choices that are sustainably profitable. We tackle some really juicy topics with Nathan today, about getting out of comfort zones, creating successful partnerships, and investing in ourselves through coaching. We also discuss trying to implement things that we've read on our own, versus getting help and bringing in an expert or a coach to help with our business.    Nathan is a Physical Therapist and he and his partner, Will Humphreys, co-founded Rise Rehabilitation Specialists in Arizona in 2002. They merged and sold Rise Rehabilitation Specialists in 2018 to form Empower Physical Therapy, which now has 20 plus PT clinics across 3 states. Nathan co-founded Rise Diagnostics in Alaska in 2014 and he is currently CEO. In conjunction with his extensive training and experience in orthopedic physical therapy, Nathan is an APTA Board-Certified specialist in Clinical Electromyography (EMG/NCS) and is proficient in Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Diagnostic Testing (MSKUS). He is one of only a few physical therapists across the nation who perform these diagnostic services.   Show highlights:   Nathan shares his story about building a business, selling it, moving to Alaska, and starting a new business there. What Nathan did in order to start pulling himself out of his business. The indicators that showed Nathan that he needed to pull out. He saw that staying in his comfort zone would ultimately not serve either him or his family. Working on his vision and mission, and building a team. Nathan brought on a truly visionary partner. What got Nathan to Alaska. The difficulties Nathan experienced around making new choices in his life. Nathan offers some sterling advice around creating successful partnerships. The importance of a potential partner having values that are in alignment with your own. Some of the best business practices that Nathan teaches on his podcast. Nathan shares some tips and strategies for growing a really profitable business. There's a significant return on investment when it comes to investing in yourself through education, coaches, and consultants. Dr. Sabrina shares an experience from when she was first starting out in her business, where she invested a third of her business revenue into coaching and her business revenue doubled the next year and continued to grow.  Nathan and his business partner also paid for some of their executives to get coaching and consulting as well. It pays off in multiple ways to train your team up very well. Making the mistake of thinking you can implement the ideas that you have read in a book into your business by yourself.  Why it's so hard, as a business owner, to make applicable the things you have learned from books without the help of a coach. Nathan talks about the kind of books he likes to read. You're never done with growing a business. How moving to Alaska has helped Nathan to grow. The importance of family in Nathan's life- he has six sons and a daughter! Nathan is looking forward to his next big venture. Looking at the things that energize us. Dr. Sabrina recognizes the importance of having the time to really be there for your family. Nathan would have encouraged a younger version of himself to overcome fear by getting coaching, training, or consulting, and networking more. Resources: Profit by Design Podcast: www.profitbydesignpodcast.com  Profit by Design Facebook group Email: sarbinaandmike@profitbydesignpodast.com Apply at www.profitgift.com for a Profit Audit of your business.   Apply at www.profitgift.com to be 1 of the 5 business owners Dr. Sabrina works with in 2019 to triple profit, identify your business Sweet Spot, and put the team and systems in place so you can take a 4 Week Vacation. Books: E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber             Good To Great by Jim Collins             The Four-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris             Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey             Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill   Get in touch with Nathan: Nathan's podcast: www.ptoclub.com Nathan's email: nathan@ptoclub.com  Nathan is also on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathan-shields-ptoclub/Mentioned in this episode:TapthePotential.com/assessmentWould you like to have your own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities, the things that you know with confidence? If I focus on this area, it's going to improve the ease of doing business and the profitability of our business. Not only that, it will improve your quality of life. You can take our Better Business, Better Life assessment at TapthePotential.com/assessment, and you will have the opportunity to receive your very own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities. Plus, we will also send you a signed copy of my book The 4 Week Vacation™. Head on over to tapthepotential.com/assessment.

Steven Bousquet joins Dr. Sabrina on today's episode of Profit by Design Podcast after returning, very relaxed, from a 4 Week Vacation vacation. (He made the 4 Week Vacation Pledge at the last retreat held at Dr. Sabrina's home, The Entrepreneur's Retreat Centre.) And the truth of it is that this wasn't even his first 4 Week Vacation. He's had many of them before! So, as you can see, Steven is doing a lot of things right in his business and there's a lot we can learn a lot from him. On the show today he talks to Dr. Sabrina about how he has grown his business quite considerably over the last few months, by acquiring another business. And how, with all of this going on, he still managed to take a 4 Week Vacation.   Steven describes himself as a blue-collar executive and his business is American Landscape and Lawn Science. He founded S&B Lawn and Garden Care in 1983, while still in high school. After graduating from college with a BA in Economics, he changed the name of his landscaping company to American Landscape Service. In 1991, Steven added Lawn Science to the company to form American Landscape and Lawn Science LLC.    Today, Steve and Dr. Sabrina have a though-provoking conversation about getting out of your way in business. Steve talks about how he is continuing to improve his business by making sure that it is not dependent on any one person. He also shares the changes he has made in his business over the last three years, based on what he's learned from the books such Profit First and Pumpkin Plan by Mike Michalowicz. Today's show is going to be a real eye-opener for you!   Show Highlights: Dr. Sabrina is writing a book, The 4 Week Vacation, documenting what happens in a business from the moment that a business owner commits to taking a 4 Week Vacation until the time they take it. She will go deeper into what's involved in a later episode.  You can download Dr. Sabrina's 4 Week Vacation Jumpstart Guide right now. Go to www.drsabrinastarling.com/jumpstart. Steve talks about the 4 Week Vacations he's taken before, the first of which was not a “vacation” but rather an extended absence following an injury. Steve discusses what his business was like back when he had to take an unplanned six weeks off work in 2014.  The preparations and plans that Steven made, and why he made them,  before taking his unplanned six week vacation. How Steve's business grew 6% without him being around. Steve is still working on getting out of the way. The way that Steve implemented Pumpkin Plan and Profit First. The difference that having things clearly defined and money properly managed made to Steve's business. This time around, Steve took his 4 Week Vacation after growing the company by acquiring another business. Successfully doubling the business and integrating new team members smoothly at the same time. Steve's secret to keeping his staff for a really long time. Traveling to ten different businesses across southern America to get a different perspective and to get out of the way of his peoples' talents. The benefits of taking time off from your business.  How to start getting out of your own way in your business. Bringing in new people to train for unique roles and key functions and working through the pushbacks. The things that became really clear to Steve after taking four weeks off. The struggles that come with running a small business.  Always keep your eye on your mission. The importance of understanding the numbers. Hitting profit targets every year by implementing processes. Steven got really serious about watching his numbers in 2012 by using only three books- Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profit by Greg Crabtree, Accounting For The Numberphobic by Dawn Fotopulos, and Profit First by Mike Michalowicz. Tripling his company profit since the 2008 recession due to understanding the numbers. Resources: Profit by Design Podcast www.profitbydesignpodcast.com Profit by Design Facebook group Email: sarbinaandmike@profitbydesignpodast.com 4 Week Vacation Jump Start Guide: www.drsabrinastarling.com/jumpstart   Apply at www.profitgift.com for to be 1 of the 5 business owners Dr. Sabrina works with in 2019 to triple profit, identify your business Sweet Spot, and put the team and systems in place so you can take a 4 Week Vacation.   Books: Profit First and Pumpkin Plan by Mike Michalowicz             Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profit by Greg Crabtree            Accounting For The Numberphobic By Dawn Fotopulos   Connect with Steven Bousquet: https://www.lawnscience.com/ https://www.facebook.com/AmericanLandscapeLawnScience/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyVEOUwoxflVaH94JTtLNoAMentioned in this episode:TapthePotential.com/assessmentWould you like to have your own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities, the things that you know with confidence? If I focus on this area, it's going to improve the ease of doing business and the profitability of our business. Not only that, it will improve your quality of life. You can take our Better Business, Better Life assessment at TapthePotential.com/assessment, and you will have the opportunity to receive your very own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities. Plus, we will also send you a signed copy of my book The 4 Week Vacation™. Head on over to tapthepotential.com/assessment.

Are you a business owner that would like to retire one day and be able to pass off an excelling company? Then today’s show is just for you! Creating a one-page business plan that any business can use to get their company in order. Dave Sullivan has his own podcast “The Roofer show”, where he helps teach others to grow their business, make more money and have more free time.   In 1979, Dave graduated from the top-ranked business school at the University of California. His plan was a long summer of travel and adventure before joining the family roofing business. He was looking forward to working with my father and learning the ins and outs of running the business. And he was looking forward to his retirement and finally relaxing and traveling himself. Something he could never do while he was “chained” to the business. But those plans were all cut short when he suffered a heart attack from the long hours and stress of running the roofing company for all those years. Suddenly, Dave had to step up take the reins of the family business. Now he was a contractor. But without his father’s “real world” guidance, it didn’t take him long to run the business into the ground. He knew he needed help but like so many contractors, he let his pride get in the way. After finally setting his ego aside he started the long climb out of the hole he had gotten into. But he didn’t do it alone. He hired a business consultant and it changed his life. With his help they designed a plan to take Dave where he wanted to go. He knew he didn’t want the stress of doing everything himself and grinding out a living working 14 hour days. He’d seen first hand how that works out. He wanted to travel while he was still young and have the time to watch his 3 boys grow up. Essentially, he wanted to be able to do whatever he wanted to do. He wanted to enjoy life. He wanted to have a business that worked for him. Not just a job where he worked for his business. And that’s exactly what he did. Over the years he built a wildly successful roofing business that allowed him to step away from the stressful day to day decision making and live the life he wanted.   A generous gift from Dave Sullivan: Check out his website to download his one page business plan!   Show Highlights Dave’s rough start and what lessons he learned early on in the business What Dave realized he needed to help him with his problems The one-page business plan, and what you need to make the plan Focus on what your company does well, that is when Dave’s business finally took off 8 step plan and actually convincing someone they need a business plan Step 1 - Start at the end, at the destination so you can reverse engineer a roadmap to get there Step 2 - Who, what, where and why about the customers Step 3 - Mission Statement, an elevator pitch that focuses on what problem you solve Step 4 - The SWOT - Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of your company Step 5 - Operation, the key to business, sell work, do work and keep score Step 6 - The process, having systems in place so you can get out of the way Step 7 – The action, what is the most important thing we can do Step 8 – The view, what it will be like when you are at the end, exiting your business Resources Check out the conversation between Mike and Sabrina that 95% of entrepreneurs never have at the Profit by design website. Profit by design Podcast Website Profit by design Facebook group Email: SabrinaAndMike@ProfitByDesignPodast.com   Check out and Subscribe to Dave Sullivan’s “The Roofer Show” Podcast website   Sponsors: Tap the Potential website Contractor Business Solutions - Small Business Consulting Group WebsiteMentioned in this episode:TapthePotential.com/assessmentWould you like to have your own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities, the things that you know with confidence? If I focus on this area, it's going to improve the ease of doing business and the profitability of our business. Not only that, it will improve your quality of life. You can take our Better Business, Better Life assessment at TapthePotential.com/assessment, and you will have the opportunity to receive your very own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities. Plus, we will also send you a signed copy of my book The 4 Week Vacation™. Head on over to tapthepotential.com/assessment.

Wouldn’t it be nice to be a part of a working team that feels like family? On today’s Profit by Design Podcast, Dr. Sabrina speaks with Chuck Parmely and Scott Mason of Overhead Door Co. of Riverton / Lander. For Chuck and Scott, it’s not only about having employees feel like family - they are also creating a great place to work.   According to Gallup, 87% of employees are unengaged or actively disengaged. 92.31% of Chuck and Scott’s employees are highly engaged currently, that is phenomenal! Tune in to today’s show to discover what really goes into creating a great place to work, and what it is like to be a business owner who knows your work culture is not the culture you want it to be but you’re not sure quite how to go about getting to that great place to work.   Chuck moved to Riverton to run the Overhead Door Co. of Riverton / Lander in 1979 for his Dad. In March of 1998, Chuck and his wife Cynthia became sole owners. They have grown from a one-man shop into a full line glass and door shop with 16 employees, sales of 3.6 million and the best profit ever thanks to Profit First. Scott moved to Wyoming in 2006 from the Bay Area in California with his family. Two weeks later he joined Overhead Door Co. of Riverton / Lander as an Inside Sales Associate. Over the years, with his love for people, their customers, their staff and the business, Scott was promoted to General Manager.     Show Highlights Chuck gives a glimpse into his mindset in 2009 and how that created an unfriendly atmosphere at work. Dr. Sabrina reads employees survey comments that contrast the change that has taken place at Overhead Door.  Chuck and Scott share their secrets in creating the best environment for their employees Not being judgmental, being curious and learning how to talk to employees with different personality types An example of using judgment and why you should not be judgmental Chuck shares an approach to employees making decisions, not agreeing with it, but being curious instead of judgmental Strengths of Chuck and Scott in the business. How they compliment one another. Pleasing your customers to have them come back again Navigating as a team, transitioning to Scott taking more leadership Advice from Chuck on raising leaders to take over Advice from Scott making it easier to be a leader in the company Resources Profit by design Podcast Website Profit by design Facebook group Email: sarbinaandmike@profitbydesignpodast.com   Connect with Chuck Parmely and Scott Mason: Overhead Door Co. of Riverton / Lander Website Email: scott@overheaddoorriverton.com   Social Media for Scott Mason: Facebook Linkedin Instagram   Sponsors: Tap the Potential website Contractor Business Solutions - Small Business Consulting Group WebsiteMentioned in this episode:TapthePotential.com/assessmentWould you like to have your own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities, the things that you know with confidence? If I focus on this area, it's going to improve the ease of doing business and the profitability of our business. Not only that, it will improve your quality of life. You can take our Better Business, Better Life assessment at TapthePotential.com/assessment, and you will have the opportunity to receive your very own personalized list of $ 10,000-an-hour activities. Plus, we will also send you a signed copy of my book The 4 Week Vacation™. Head on over to tapthepotential.com/assessment.