No business is stable; you are growing or shrinking. Money is an accelerant; it does not care if your business is growing or shrinking. It will make either one happen faster.

1. IF YOU ARE NOT
GROWING YOU
ARE SHRINKING
FROM “FIRE SOMEONE TODAY”
BY BOB PRITCHETT

2. THERE ARE TWO KINDS
OF BUSINESSES
1. Growing
2. Shrinking
A business is like a hot-air balloon
• It is going up or it is going down
• It is never standing still

3. GROWING
BUSINESSES
You know when it is happening:
• New employees
• New customers
• More money

4. SHRINKING
BUSINESSES
The shrinking can be invisible in the early stages
• People think there’s a temporary downturn
• People think it’s a seasonal variation
• People blame the economy
• People think things are “stable”
• There are no stable businesses

5. A STEADY TOP-LINE IS A
SHRINKING BUSINESS
Steady top-line revenue doesn’t offset rising costs
• Competition erodes margins
• Your customers want to pay less
• Your competitors want more of your business
• You may not be getting more efficient, but someone is
• Inflation continues
• Even a couple percentage points a year adds up over time
• Employees want raises
• Employees can increase in cost faster than inflation
• More experience, education, and ambition gets more pay
• Growth creates new internal job opportunities
• Stable businesses have to absorb cost or turn-over staff

6. DON’T BUILD
PRICING WALLS
Retain the ability to change prices quickly
• Be careful what you label and how
• How long does it take to re-price everything?
• Do you have to scrape sticky tags off every item?
• Avoid overly-memorable price points
• If you have a “99 Cent Menu”, you’ll have a hard time
changing pricing to reflect a 3% increase in costs.

7. GROW PROFIT AND
CASH
You can grow in lots of ways:
• Gross revenue
• Employee headcount
• Product line
• Floor space
• Customer base
• Locations
• Vision
All good growth should be growing profit and cash, too
• Profit is why
• Cash is how

8. MONEY IS AN
ACCELERANT
Money doesn’t help a business grow
Money helps a business move faster
• The money doesn’t care which direction you are moving
• Money helps growing businesses grow faster
• Money helps shrinking businesses shrink faster
• Make sure the plane is aimed up when you accelerate it
Money is like gasoline
• In an engine, gasoline means more power and more speed
• In a building, gasoline means more fire
• Your building burns down faster

9. WANT MORE?
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http://about.me/bobpritchett