How Dealing with Problems Can Make Your Business More Profitable

One of the best ways to make more money in your business is to stop losing money in the first place. In this article, I will demonstrate how having a good plan for dealing with problems, specifically when an employee was stealing, helped a business get back $20,000. This real-life story shows why it's so crucial for small business owners to think ahead and anticipate future conflicts. I'll also briefly discuss how the Power6 leader framework can help you learn leadership skills and create plans to protect and grow your business.

Why Planning Ahead Is So Important

Think about how buildings are designed with safety in mind. They have things like fire alarms and sprinklers, not because people expect a fire but because they want to be ready if one happens. In the same way, business owners need to have plans for dealing with problems. If they don't, preventable things like losing large amounts of money due to theft can happen.

A Real Example: Getting Back Lost Money

Here is an example of how having a plan can help you deal with a crisis when it arises. When I worked with a 7-Eleven store owner, one of their employees stole more than $20,000! They were doing this by not ringing up coffee and cigarette sales. I was always curious how the employee could afford expensive clothes and premium rims for his car based on his pay. Luckily, I had ways of finding out when someone was stealing, and a process for helping business owners hold accountability when employee theft was identified. Because of this, we caught the employee on camera not ringing sales and got much of the business owners' money back. Having a plan for dealing with problems if they occur can help you navigate challenges more efficiently and effectively.

How Leaders Should Handle Problems

But dealing with problems isn't just about catching people. How a leader handles an issue is essential. Problems will happen in any business, especially when you work with many people. The key is seeing these problems as chances to learn and improve. Instead of blaming people, leaders should be curious and work together to find solutions. Being solution-focused builds trust and helps everyone move forward.

When I talked to the 7-Eleven owner about the theft, I focused on solving the problem together. I helped him see what he could have done differently to catch the theft sooner and how we could stop this from happening again. Working towards a better future helped fix the problem and strengthened our relationship.

Understanding and Managing Emotions

Problems often cause strong feelings like anger, sadness, or fear. These feelings are helpful because they tell us something is wrong but can make it hard to think clearly. On the other hand, expansive feelings, like peace, power, and joy, can help us be more creative and find better solutions. Changing your mindset from closed to open can help you find solutions when dealing with conflicts.

In the case of the 7-Eleven owner, I knew I had to help him find power, peace, and joy in this situation. I didn't want to tell him what to do. Instead, I explained how finding the theft was a good thing. He had been working hard to grow his business, but he did not see the profits he expected. By keeping better track of sales, removing the employee from his operations, and recouping the stolen money, he could improve his business and make more money. My main goal was to help him see that this was a fixable problem and that we would be stronger and better when we got to the other side of this crisis.

Feeling Wheel

Key Ideas for Solving Problems

To sum it up, dealing with problems effectively means doing three things:

• Plan ahead: Consider what problems might happen and create plans for dealing with them.

• Be collaborative: Work together to find solutions instead of blaming people.

• Focus on solutions: Find ways to fix the problem and improve things.

Why a Positive Mindset Is Important

It's important to remember that business relationships can be complicated. People make mistakes, and emotions can get in the way. But if we try to find the good in difficult situations, we can make our businesses stronger and more successful.

Getting Help with Difficult Situations

If you're facing a challenging problem and need help finding a solution, please contact me for a consultation. I'm here to help you work through the situation and find a positive way forward.

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I'm not just a writer; I'm also a father, husband, executive coach, and former retail executive. My 21 years of experience leading operations, sales, and marketing teams have given me firsthand knowledge of feeling stuck, undervalued, and underappreciated.

But I also know the transformative power of professional development, the strategies for climbing the corporate ladder, and the profound satisfaction of finding fulfillment in your work. Your career path is a unique journey of discovery. Each opportunity builds upon the last. At Your Path Coaching and Consulting, we're dedicated to helping you gain clarity, accelerate your professional growth, and unlock your full potential.

We offer personalized coaching and consulting services to empower you at every career stage. Our expertise includes:

Executive Coaching: Guiding leaders to enhance their leadership skills, communication abilities, and team dynamics.

Business Consulting: Helping organizations optimize strategies, foster growth, and build high-performing teams.

Career Coaching: Assisting individuals in defining a career path and building the skills, network, and competencies needed to maximize their potential.

Our holistic approach combines proven techniques with a deep understanding of your needs and aspirations.

Connect with us:

Website: www.yourpathexecutivesolutions.com

Email: dcunion@yourpathexecutivesolutions.com

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Accelerate your business growth by delegating tasks.

Every small business owner hits a point where their business stalls. No matter how hard they work, progress slows, and they begin to feel like they are working too hard for the results they are getting. When your progress starts to stall, it is a great opportunity to reassess who is responsible for different tasks within your business.  Shifting tasks off your to-do-list, and giving them to your employees helps everyone grow within your business. Your employees can gain new skills, take on higher-level assignments, and become more invested in the company’s success. You gain more space to think strategically and allocate your energy toward activities that can accelerate business growth. 

Delegating tasks triggers business acceleration.

When I was a Business Consultant working with 7-Eleven, I had a Franchisee who was looking to expand to a second location. For this story, we will call him Tom. Tom had been a single store operator for 10 years. He wanted to expand to a second location but could not pass 7-Eleven’s multiple franchisee requirements. Within the 7-Eleven system, you must consistently operate your store at a specific level for over 6 months to qualify for an additional store and demonstrate that you have the infrastructure to support multiple locations. Tom’s biggest challenge was not trusting his employees to order products or make decisions without him being involved. Tom was intelligent and had high standards, but he did not feel his employees could be trusted to do things as well as he could. 

Get out of the trap.

At the time, Tom did not realize he had built a trap for himself. The trap was that he had to be in the store six days a week for the store to run well. The store's image and customer readiness dropped when Tom took time off of work. The leadership at 7-Eleven believed that Tom was not ready to run more than one location because of the performance inconsistency. He had to learn how to delegate and empower his team to do more. This would reduce business risk because the store performance would not be directly linked to Tom being in the store daily. It would also free up his time and energy to do things outside the store, like network with the community and spend more time with his family. He was spending too much time on low-value tasks that someone else could do. 

Change of mindset

When I first told Tom that he was not approved for a second location, he was emotional. He knew he was one of the top-performing franchisees in Baltimore. His staff was friendly, his store was clean, and he felt he did everything we asked. Tom was 90% correct. The one thing he failed to see was that he did not invest in developing his employees. It was not until he traveled overseas for two weeks and came back to a store that was a complete mess that he understood 7-Eleven’s point of view around business infrastructure. Once he accepted that he needed to build more infrastructure, it became easier for him to devise a plan for delegating more tasks to his employees.

Identify the solution

Shifting tasks to employees was a multi-step process for Tom. First, he had to assess his employees' capabilities and determine which tasks they could take on. Next, he needed to outline what he wanted them to do. Then, he had to provide them with training, communicate his expectations, and guide them on what to do if problems arose. Finally, he needed to identify how he would follow up to ensure tasks were completed. 

Solicit help

Tom and I developed a plan for transferring more tasks to his employees. I encouraged him to start small. We identified low-value tasks that people could do without harming the business. We allowed them to execute those tasks for two or three weeks before we layered in higher-value tasks. This process worked for two reasons.

1. The employees were new to making decisions and executing tasks without direction. They needed a safe learning environment, the opportunity to fail, and coaching to help them build confidence.

2. Delegating tasks was new to Tom. He had to learn how to access employees' capabilities, explain his expectations well, provide learning space, and step in when needed.

Going slow allowed Tom and his employees to become comfortable with change and build momentum towards the ultimate goal of delegating all non-financial tasks to employees. 

Reap the rewards

Delegating tasks to your employees is one of the most beneficial actions you can take as a leader. When you delegate, you have the opportunity to master new skills, free up your time, and expand the capabilities of your organization. Research shows that employees want to be developed. When you teach them something new and trust them to do it, their confidence, self-esteem, and self-efficiency grow. They will make mistakes sometimes. That is part of the learning process. However, even a mistake provides a teachable moment where you can help them grow professionally and develop a trusting relationship with your employees. Tom went on to become a 3-store multiple Franchisee. One of the first employees he developed into a store manager became a 2-store multiple Franchisee. One person can only accomplish so much. When you are willing to share your workload, teach, and inspire others, you unlock their potential and yours. 

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Thank you for reading this blog. If you have any questions about leadership, please email me at dcunion@yourpathexecutivesolutions.com. Becoming a better leader is easier when you have a guide. To learn more about my coaching and consulting programs, schedule a call.

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Your Path to Business Success #15: Three Fundamentals of Business

When I was a little boy, my mother would take me and my sister to church every Sunday. Church within my home was an all-day event. We would wake up early on a Sunday morning; one of my parents would make a big hot breakfast, and I would put on my dress shirt, tie, slacks, and fancy shoes. I would come downstairs, eat breakfast, and listen to gospel music during our 30-minute drive to church. As a child, I had mixed emotions about going to church. It was long; I had to sit quietly and still for longer than any child should be asked to sit, and I frequently found the sermons boring. Church did have its benefits. I loved the rhythmic gospel music, awe-inspiring stories, and, most of all, being the Sunday School Treasurer.

Even at a young age, I loved numbers. Numbers made sense to me. You could add, subtract, multiply, or divide them, and they always came out the same. They never lied. Because I loved numbers, my mother encouraged the Sunday School Superintendent to let me be responsible for taking the offering plate around to collect money, count it, and report to everyone how much was given.

My time as the treasurer taught me three fundamental lessons about business that I carry forward today. When I was young, I did not truly have the words to describe my learning, but as I have matured as a business owner, those lessons ring true within every business, non-profit, or church I have ever helped financially.

3 Fundamentals of Business

The more people you serve, the more potential you have to earn.

All people do not contribute the same.

Prior experience influences future behavior.

Lesson 1: The more people you serve, the more potential you have to earn.

If you have ever been a regular churchgoer, you know that all Sundays are not created equal. Special Sundays like Easter, Mother's Day, and Christmas tend to have more attendees. On these Sundays, there was always more money to count. If you think about it, it makes sense. If you have more people in church, there is great giving potential. The same is true in business. If you want to earn more money, focus first on serving more people.

Lesson 2: All people do not contribute the same.

Every church has a few people who give more than others. You might assume that wealthy families give the most, but this is not always true. Individual decisions to give are based on many variables beyond than wealth. The people who appear to be the most wealthy often have the least liquid cash. Also, part of the reason they appear wealthy is that they spend money.

In contrast, the people who give the most have the most liquid cash (potential) and faith that giving will positively impact their lives (incentive). Knowing people's spending potential and incentives are essential variables business owners should consider when picking customer segments to pursue. Just because someone has money doesn't mean they will see value in giving it to you. To hit your revenue goals, you need to find people who believe they will benefit from your product or service and have the disposable income to pay for it.

Lesson 3: Prior experience influences future behavior.

When we first started attending our church, it was a small country church. Over the years, it grew. The Pastor modernized many things about the church. We began to have guitarists and drummers, TVs were added to the sanctuary, and young, dynamic ministers were brought in to provide new ministries. Our membership grew as the church evolved, and more people began attending Sunday School. As our membership grew, many people saw more value in the church, and offerings increased.

When people enjoy their experience with your business, two things happen: One, they come back and spend more money, and two, they tell others about your business. Providing exceptional customer service has to be a business's #1 priority. Your company makes revenue by fulfilling people's needs and desires. The more value you provide your customers, the more value they will provide to you.

Find what your passion is.

Throughout your life, you have been the same person at your core. For me, I have always been someone who loves numbers. As I got older, I went to school for business, earned my MBA, got a job as a business consultant, worked my way up the corporate ladder, became an executive, and then launched a mental health and coaching business with my wife. The advanced degrees and experience gave me fancy words, frameworks, and better ways of communicating, but I am the same person at my core. I love serving others. I love dealing with numbers. I love helping organizations grow.

If you want business success, you need to rediscover your passion. Looking back over your career:

• What made you want to get out of bed?

• What has pushed you to keep going when others stopped?

• What have you incurred pain pursuing because you knew accomplishing your goal would be the effort?

Running a business is one of the most challenging things you will ever do. It will have peaks that bring you some of the highest highs and valleys that make you feel insecure and unworthy. For you to persevere, you need to be willing to go through pain today so that you can have joy tomorrow. In pursuit of this passion, you will experience trials and tribulations that will give you the clarity and strength that you need to grow your business.

I hope you have enjoyed this 15-part series. Next week, I will take a break from writing something new, but I plan to summarize the material I have shared over the last 15 weeks. I hope you have seen value in these writings. Each is a step towards improving the profitability of your business. I know these steps work because I have helped over 1000 Franchisees throughout my professional career and the hundreds of independent small business owners I coach, mentor, and consult. Running a business is complex, but having frameworks and support can make it easier. What I have provided you over the 15 weeks is a do-it-yourself manual for growing your business.

If you have started using this knowledge and feel stuck, schedule a call with me. Within 30 minutes, I will help you determine if my coaching and consulting can help you accelerate your business's growth.

Let's talk business

I wish you the best. I am cheering for you and here if you need me.