Belk On Business

God as my CEO with Glenn Stromberg with Stromberg Investment Group Glenn for four decades has been a leader in manufactured homes on land, “the best kept secret in real estate investing” changing the conversation and paradigm of how investors and homeowners view mobile homes. Additionally, Glenn works with investors in building and maintaining wealth through real estate. 1. You are originally from the Chicagoland area. This area is known mostly for having hard-working, blue-collar workers. Your dad instilled in you a work ethic that you took with you into your entrepreneurship journey. Please tell us about your journey from Chicago to starting your investment company. 2. You are known for leading with authenticity and trustworthiness. What core values should a business owner possess if he or she is going to succeed for decades in business? 3. What can you share from your journey to help an entrepreneur that is struggling to see a profit? 4. What can you share from your journey to help an entrepreneurship that

Tom Laune with Bulletproof Wealth – Tom is described as “The leader in guiding real Estate investors to become their own banker”. He does this by solving the problem of low returns and increased taxes when storing money in a traditional bank by creating a line of credit using specially designed life insurance. We hear a lot about legacy strategies but a lot of misunderstanding as it relates to what this actually means and what such things as “overfunded life insurance” or “infinite banking” mean and how they work. 1) What is infinite banking? 2) Who should be using this strategy? 3) IRA/401(k)s can be used to lend to others but can’t be used in my own company without serious tax implications. How does this strategy allow me to use my cash to grow my company? 4) Besides lending to my company, what are the other ways I can use the money? 5) What are the tax implications both with the premium payments (both the premiums and paid in additions) as well as the principal and interest loan repayments? 6) Your Bulletp

Conversation with Andrew Cordle as we discuss the reasons businesses and business owners succeed or fail, hurdles a business owner must face to scale a business and the use of media for branding. Andrew is among many things an entrepreneur, speaker, author and wealth strategist. Host of Money Is podcast and a owner of a number of different types of companies from tech, collectibles to real estate. His number one strength is building relationships and connecting people. Connect with Andrew on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrewcordle/ Subscribe on these platforms: Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/2Zp6hgj Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gcWDnFZ Stitcher: https://bit.ly/34aRgO2 YouTube: https://youtu.be/jbYZkAFbjnU #belkonbusiness #business #joshbelk #podcast #andrewcordle #success #scale #branding #socialmedia #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship

Rules to Determine if Employee or Contractor  - Business owners attempt to avoid the additional work of paying someone as an employee as well as making FICA contributions and unemployment tax by classifying workers as contractors instead of employees.   - The penalty for misclassifying a worker as a contractor instead of employee can be up to 35% of the payments made to the wrongly classified worker plus interest.   - Independent contractors paid over $600 must be issued a 1099-NEC by January 31 each year.  A business should be collecting a W-9 from the contractor before paying the contractor so to have the contractor’s name, social security number or employer identification number and address.  A 1099-NEC should be issued to all individuals, partnerships or LLCs taxed as a disregarded entity or partnership.  - To determine how an individual should be classified, the IRS has a form to assist in determination.  IRS Form SS-8 provides factors the IRS uses to determine how an i

Enhancing Brand Awareness   1) Focus your efforts on your niche’ – have you identified your audience?  Do you know your audience?  2) Social media content should be short and relevant to your audience whether written content, videos or infographics  3) Use blogs and newsletters to provide longer form content to get into the details of what you’ve learned that can help your audience  4) Write articles for industry publications  5) Manage your online reputation.  Ask for reviews.  If you produce content, people will criticize you and even troll you.  Don’t respond.  Allow for those you receive value and are your fans post reviews.    6) Speak at events that reach your audience, whether at a local meetup or larger national stage.  This places you as the expert and forces you to improve your craft and fully develop your thought process and implementation of ideas.    7) Produce educational videos and webinars.  8) Sit on advisory boar

The Intersection of Business and Personal   Your personal life effects your business and to be effective in using your business to make a personal impact, one must manage the business and personal effectively.  There is no such thing as work – life balance, only work – life fluidity f - How you show up effects your culture – bad culture results in high turnover, poor attitudes and poor performance.    - The areas in your personal life that has a direct impact on your business performance and culture are:  a) Adequate sleep  b) Proper diet  c) Regular exercise  d) Healthy relationships - - To be effective in impacting employees, clients and even vendors, the extent of your ability to coach them on how to practically use the skills you’ve developed will determine the extent of your impact.     - Many business problems stem from the personal.   If you can’t manage your personal finances, it will result in you draining your business of cash.  I

Depreciation for Real Estate with Tom Olson - Belk on Business - Episode 121   Active Turnkey Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbD9r69ntVcU8KEiGNUEODg/videos    Subscribe to Belk on Business on these platforms:     Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/2Zp6hgj​​​​​​​​​​​​ ​  Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gcWDnFZ​​​​​​​​​​​​   Stitcher: https://bit.ly/34aRgO2​​​​​​​​​​​​   YouTube: https://youtu.be/MUpfWdZVW_8  #belkonbusiness​​​​​​​​​​​​ #business #joshbelk #tax #accounting #finance #realestate #realestatetaxation #passiveincome #activeturnkey #podcast #depreciation

Profit First with David Richter – Belk on Business – Episode 120 - What is profit first? - What mistakes to business owners make consistently? - What does it mean to “know your numbers”? - What numbers should a business owner by looking at? - What are a couple things a business owner should start doing today to improve the financial health of their company? David’s book “Profit First for Real Estate Investors” can be ordered online on Amazon. Link to David’s Simple CFO Solutions website and more information on the book: https://simplecfosolutions.com/profit-first-david-richter/ Subscribe to the Belk on Business podcast on these platforms: Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/2Zp6hgj​​​​​​​​​​​​ ​ Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gcWDnFZ​​​​​​​​​​​​ Stitcher: https://bit.ly/34aRgO2​​​​​​​​​​​​ YouTube: https://youtu.be/DysTicWo7jA #belkonbusiness​​​​​​​​​​​​ #business #joshbelk #podcast #profitfirst #entreprenuer #entrepreneurship #numbers #finances #financialhealth #davidrichter #simplecfo #simplecfosolutions #lodestar #l

Don’t Eat the Fruit   “Don’t capture the spoils of your wealth.  Eat some fruit, save some fruit, give some fruit and plant seeds”   1) Cultivate the tree – tree needs water and sunshine.  Water by developing and investing in yourself and the skillset of you and your team.  Sunshine represents self-care, getting proper rest and exercise.   2) Personal financial principles … Post tax … budget, save, give, and invest.  Within the investing percentage – apportion to aggressive, moderate, conservative.  Diversify with investments   3) Businesses can take a similar approach – budget, save, give, invest. Budget to include owner salaries, operation costs, inventory needs and planned expansion or scaling.   Saving should include funds needed to expand or scale beyond planned expansion in the budget.  Plan for giving.  Investments should be diversified.        Subscribe on these platforms:       Appl

Mindset to Exit   1) Humility – ability to take direction to address leadership weaknesses (internal) and issues related to the business (external)  2) Holistic understanding of all aspects of the business – management, marketing, operations and finance   3) Honesty as to performance – numbers don’t lie - in time all strengths and weaknesses will be identified and it’s best to be transparent about them.     Subscribe on these platforms:       Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/2Zp6hgj​​​​​​​​​​​​ ​   Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gcWDnFZ​​​​​​​​​​​​    Stitcher: https://bit.ly/34aRgO2​​​​​​​​​​​​    YouTube: https://youtu.be/wTGa9AogWv4   #belkonbusiness​​​​​​​​​​​​ #business #joshbelk #podcast #mindset #exit #exitstrategy #humility #leadership #holistic #management #marketing #operations #finance #honesty #performance #numbers #strengths

Deeper into the Numbers   • Cash - Were internal controls related to cash followed?  Was spend approved following internal processes?  No one should have unilateral control over cash…different person for approval, spend and reconciliation processes.  Is there a cash overage or shortage based on projections?  Review spend against budgeted thresholds.  Review spend on the balance sheet.  • Inventory balances – Were internal controls related to inventory followed?  Purchase orders approved, random verification of items purchased either on the floor or sold or obsolete.    • Review collection cycle – aged accounts receivable balances Review accounts receivable.  Is the collection cycle improving or lengthening?  Is our sales and collection process clear?  Do we need to send clients to collection?  Do we have the right clients?   • Review debt (short term and long term) – Review credit card balances, lines of credit as well as long term deb

Money Is ... with Andrew Cordle   1) What Money Is  2) What our spending tells us about ourselves  3) The love of money  4) Simon the Sorcerer  5) What money can't buy  6) The results of greed  7) The fallacy of generational wealth   Subscribe on these platforms:      Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/2Zp6hgj​​​​​​​​​​​​ ​   Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gcWDnFZ​​​​​​​​​​​​    Stitcher: https://bit.ly/34aRgO2​​​​​​​​​​​​    YouTube: https://youtu.be/x6kY-KxB6UI   Full Money Is interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQfKwq0INMc #belkonbusiness​​​​​​​​​​​​ #business #joshbelk #podcast #success #andrewcordle #moneyis #greed #wealth #money #spending

Why Business Owners Succeed w/ Andrew Cordle   Subscribe on these platforms:       Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/2Zp6hgj​​​​​​​​​​​​ ​   Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gcWDnFZ​​​​​​​​​​​​    Stitcher: https://bit.ly/34aRgO2​​​​​​​​​​​​    YouTube: https://youtu.be/wxUn8ROn6SQ   Full Money Is interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQfKwq0INMc   #belkonbusiness​​​​​​​​​​​​ #business #joshbelk #podcast #success #andrewcordle #moneyis   

Client Onboarding     1. Consistent and comprehensive process for the team  2. Relevant and comprehensive to the client  3. Timely – schedule soon after sale   4. Organized – script and process for the meeting  5. Personal feel for each client  6. Exceed client expectations   Subscribe on these platforms:       Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/2Zp6hgj​​​​​​​​​​​​ ​   Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gcWDnFZ​​​​​​​​​​​​    Stitcher: https://bit.ly/34aRgO2​​​​​​​​​​​​    YouTube: https://youtu.be/JxrB0qDZ3oM   #belkonbusiness​​​​​​​​​​​​ #business #joshbelk #podcast #client #onboarding #relevant #comprehensive #timely #organized #process #scheduling #expectations

Financial Metrics for Scaling   1. Product/service deliverability – speed which work is completed and customers receive deliverable within expected time…measure of efficiency  2. Inventory turnover ratio = cost of goods sold over average inventory  3. Payback period = customer acquisition costs over monthly revenue times gross profit percentage  4. Client margin =  revenue – employee wages – other direct costs divided by revenue  5. Brand demand and brand trust (lifetime value of customer increasing, monthly recurring revenue increasing, retention increasing, customer acquisition costs decreasing, conversion rate increasing)  Subscribe on these platforms:       Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/2Zp6hgj​​​​​​​​​​​​ ​   Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gcWDnFZ​​​​​​​​​​​​    Stitcher: https://bit.ly/34aRgO2​​​​​​​​​​​​    YouTube: https://youtu.be/CYpdLWNyNmI  #belkonbusiness​​​​​​​​​​​​ #business #joshbelk #podcast #finances #metri

Financial Metrics for the Profit Phase   1. Retention rate and churn – Retention rate - customers that keep using your product or service over an extended period of time and make repeat purchases. Net negative churn - the revenue gained is higher than the revenue lost from churn. A business that can’t replace customers or revenue faster than it loses customers or revenue will eventually become unprofitable  2. Gross profit percentage – the revenues need to be growing at a higher percentage than the cost of producing the product or service  3. Operating profit percentage – Gross profit less operating expenses – if increasing, profit is increasing  4. Owners pay at a reasonable level that supports lifestyle and tax exposure  5. Tax exposure - tax exposure and strategies analyzed quarterly  6. Financing costs – impact of interest and collection costs monitored monthly and reviewed quarterly or annually depending on the type of business  7. Average revenue and profit per custome

Branding   1) What exactly is a brand and how is it different than marketing?    2) I happen to like my branding, how do I know when I need to update my brand’s image?  3) What questions do I need to have answered when developing a brand? (mission, core values, color theory)  4) What role does my company’s story play in my brand image and messaging? (tell story in video)  5) What role should my customers play in my brand image and messaging? (brand is for the customer, ask good questions, how do you feel about the people, the brand)  6) How do I know if my brand is communicating the message I want it to deliver? (by its success…strong following such as Apple, Starbucks, etc.)  7) How do I increase brand recognition? (make client feel like they connect with the brand…do they feel like they connect?) 8) When do I need a personal brand or should I just use my company’s brand on everything I do?    Manny can be contacted at https://www.crownmediagroup.com/  

Financial Metrics for the Growth Phase   The growth phase is the second phase or stage of business’s life cycle.  Sometimes called the perseverance or survival stage.  The main problem a business in this stage faces is understanding the relationship between revenue, expenses, and cash flow.  The entity usually has enough revenue to match expenses but struggles with enough cash flow consistently to cover debt obligations and finance growth.  Returns on time and capital are marginal and the owner is still filling many seats in the business. The primary KPIs a company in this phase needs to monitor are KPIs that drive growth – how are we reaching prospective customers and how are we monetizing them? From a financial perspective, some of the most metrics a company in this phase should be monitoring:   1. CLV:CAC – lifetime value of the customer to customer acquisition cost ratio.  Generally, this ratio, in many industries, needs to be 3:1 for sustainability.  Determine what

Financial Metrics for the Startup Phase  1. Budget to actual spend.  The business in the phase needs to establish a budget on how it is going to spend the funds invested or raised for the timeline the owners have established for this phase.    2. Revenue – this includes not just top line revenue but also measuring monthly recurring revenue.  How much revenue is needed to make this business profitable and how much revenue and revenue growth is needed to reach the point to where this enough revenue to cover costs?    3. Burn rate – how much cash am I spending each month  4. Cash runway – the length of time which a company can remain solvent.  Answers the question… how long can we operate with the cash we have?   Calculation (cash/burn rate)  5. Customer acquisition costs – how much does it cost to acquire a customer?  6. Customer lifetime value - what revenue will be generated from each new customer?  If recurring, monthly recurring revenue c

Reaching Customers through Emotion - Belk on Business - Episode 108 Foundationally, a business to succeed in the long term must deliver to the customer what they want. To either help them tell their story or add value to their story. In my accounting firm our goal is to “serve clients by helping them develop and understand their financial story in a holistic manner”. If we are going to reach our prospective customer, we need to first determine how we are going to insert our product or service into the customer or client’s story. If our client is value driven, that conversation and method of reaching the customer is going to look a lot different than one that needs more personal attention and is willing to pay a higher price. Bottom line, are you looking for a transaction or a relationship with your customer? This will determine how you will reach your customer. When you build relationships and properly cultivate them, referrals come easy, and you don’t need to spend much on traditional advertising methods. If