Belk On Business

“When we are motivated by compassion and wisdom, the results of our actions benefit everyone, not just ourselves or some immediate convenience” – Dalai Lama 1. Owner must take ownership – owner must lead with compassion and respect if the owner expects the employee to feel valued and in turn work to bring value to the client or customer. The business must be run with its core values in mind…consistently 2. Compassion and respect can be shown in helping employees with their needs - An employee needs to be valued, developed, managed well, encouraged and motivated - A employee that feels valued will receive constructive criticism well - Notice when an employee isn’t feeling well - Notice when an employee needs time off - An employee needs to feel secure - An employee needs to be listened to actively Three studies have shown that when an employer values his or her employees, there is a healthy flow of communication in the workplace, there is improved employee retention, reduced stress and a more loyal, secure and

Developing a savings plan 1) Know where you are spending your money.  Document all spending for past 30, 60, 90 days 2) Build budget for spending 3) What cost can be cut or reduced? 4) Set savings goals based around priorities 5) Have a short term and long term savings plan

Debt can cause your business to become over leveraged, result in selling ownership to raise capital, selling golden eggs in the business, cripple future business plans, limit the ability of the business to scale and erodes profit. 1) Always pay principal and interest on secured loans monthly 2) Pay off unsecured debt monthly 3) Generate a debt elimination plan  - Where am I at now? - Elimitate all non-essential spending - pay off debt in a manner that works (debt snowball) - have an accountability partner

Principles of Financial Success - Part 1 - Giving | Belk on Business - Episode 44 #belkonbusiness #joshbelk   Give of talent, treasure, time: 1) What is your purpose? 2) Everyone has something to give - who can you influence? 3) What skill set do you have that can be used to help and influence others? 4)  Have a weekly time you choose to give of your time 5) Set goals of financial giving

Building Your Business in 2020: 1) Visionary leadership, self management and self discipline 2) Planning 3) Accountability 4) Coachable and committed talent and teams 5) Unique processes 6) Ability to integrate and leverage technology

Joy of Christmas | Belk on Business - Episode 42 #belkonbusiness Subscribe on these platforms: Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/2Zp6hgj Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2ZmJtxz Stitcher: https://bit.ly/34aRgO2 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYx1W1zTGED_m_99bqHWA7A

Preparing for a New Year 1) Revisit processes - where do we have bottlenecks? 2) Revisit clients - with whom do we want to continue working and who should be referred elsewhere 3) Indentify capacity - have a point person responsible for client interaction and manages the process 4) Get started earlier - be proactive with communication and setting expectations 5) Plan out the year - plan quarterly meetings, marketing and content plans, corporate development and project timelines

Effective Client Relations How can we be effective in our client relationships? 1) Managing a delivery on the client’s expectations. Clients expect your advice, insight, decision support and guidance – even if they don’t ask for it 2) Understand the client’s vision and core values 3) Understanding what the client does and does not want to do 4) Understanding the technology that they use or need to improve efficiency or get the work done 5) Collaboration that is active to move their business forward 6) Understanding what can be done in house and what is better outsourced

“All dreams come true if we have the courage to pursue them” Walt Disney One limits their ability to pursue opportunities by the following: 1) Fear mindset 2) Entitlement mindset 3) Employee mindset 4) Disbelief 5) Lack of discipline 6) Education/skillset

The context of pay we have with the client’s range depending on whether we are discussing the reasonableness of an owner’s salary, tax strategy or just a practical approach in the context of personal finances. In the context of determining if a business is profitable, many business owners pay themselves last or sometimes not at all. If this is the case, you don’t have a functional business. The owner’s pay isn’t a separate checking account or part of an accounting hack. It is a practical component of a business’s operating budget. Some items to consider when determining the salary amount: 1) What would it cost to replace your duties in the business? This isn’t the same as replacing you in the business as this would be a component of both salary and net income or profit. Determine what those duties are and look to other businesses as a point of comparison. Look to statistics as to what owner’s get paid in your type of business as compared to gross receipts and net income (usually ranges from 40-60% for most sm

1) Set aside one hour per week during which you think about your future and the future of your business. Discuss your thoughts with a mentor or group of advisors. Advisors can include a member of small business groups or mastermind groups that can help you analyze and organize your thoughts and plans. 2) Have an accountability call regularly. This can be a once a month call with a mentor or advisor to discuss progress and barriers both personally and in business. This can include conversations regarding family life to business culture to progress on debt reduction or revenue goals. 3) Attend a meeting or conference monthly that motivates you to improve in some aspect of your life and/or business. Attend a mastermind group quarterly in which you can be a help to others and receive help as well in these areas. 4) Invest in improving existing skills and developing new skills. This may include marketing ideas and strategy, data analysis, financial analysis or leadership principles. Always be reading a book and re

Having an objective team is one that has the following qualities: 1) Creative 2) Able to evaluate situations effectively 3) Able to analyze data 4) Able to apply practical principles to real-life business situations 5) Has the skill set necessary and cognitive ability to grow and adapt to change As business owners, we can use tools to assist with some of these but practically, we can be active to help a team member grow in their position. 1) Allow different team members to sit in on meetings. This will help avoid groupthink, allow for new insight as well as assist in the development of team members 2) Welcome curiosity and allow for feedback to cultivate creativity 3) Own mistakes. Vulnerability results in trust and connection so situations can be evaluated effectively 4) Look to other industries for answers 5) Listen to understand, not to tell (listen for objective data to help analyze the situation and provide solutions). Walk them through your decision-making processes

Key elements of business include process, people and purpose. Improving processes would include the following: 1) Define the process – assess the current state of the process. Map out the process asking, “how are we doing it now?” 2) Measure key elements of the process such as time, resources, etc. to identify inefficiencies. 3) Analyze the process for insights beyond financial. Use visualization tools such as, cause and effect (fishbone diagram), use the “five whys” technique to determine the root cause. 4) Improve the process - this requires problem-solving, negotiation, critical thinking and critical judgment. Many times, problems can be solved by acquiring resources whether to make a small change or major overhaul. This can include change at the people level or utilizing technology like software. 5) Control – how do you manage the process going forward while allowing the flexibility to move quickly to adapt to change. This is the implementation and communication stage. Sometimes it is prudent to run the o

When hiring, don’t hire people just like you.  Different age groups bring different ideas, different methods of interaction, different methods of work and how work is managed. Hire for culture and attitude.  Screen people for the right personality. Allow other team members to be involved in the hiring process.  They can help the candidate know what a day looks like.  Allow members of your team to spend one on one time with the candidate.  This will help with the buy-in. Want your people to win.  Provide a challenging environment that allows team members opportunity to meet their goals inside and outside the workplace Find out what your people are passionate about in the community and get involved.  This could be your best referral source.

Whether coaching, training or mentoring there are parts of the skillset that need to be continually worked on.  These include the following: Asking good questions.  The goal is to determine where you can help them in alignment with their goals and vision.   Asking the right questions will give you the information needed to be able to guide them to an accurate assessment of their true self and if is in alignment with their ideal self. Listening to understand, not to reply.  Operate with an 80/20 rule.  Try to let them do 80% of the talking.  Put aside your own biases, assumptions, and experiences. Build a caring, compassionate relationship.  When you operate from a position of compassion, compassion becomes contagious and a culture of servitude and helping will result. Be able to utilize different techniques to maintain progress.  Individuals learn in different manners but also progress in different ways.  Allow for room for reflection, effective comm

For groups to work effectively they must have the following: 1) Good information. Bad information will result in bad results. Good, factual information is essential as a foundation for making good decisions. 2) Trust – the individuals must be able to trust each other, be vulnerable yet able to keep the end in mind. Should be able to disagree agreeably for the betterment of the whole 3) Be honest about past performance, both successes and failures 4) Be honest about what isn’t happening 5) Be honest about expectations as individuals and as a group

1. IRA contribution limits $6k/&7k if over 55 – have until April 15, 2020 (no extension) 2. 401(k) limits $19k/$25k 3. HSA contribution limits $3,500 individual/$7k family – have until April 15, 2020 (no extension) 4. SEP contribution – up to 25% of salary or $56,000, whichever is less for employees. If self-employed business owner, up to 20% or $56,000. 5. Medical expense deduction if you itemize increased to 10% of AGI 6. Individual mandate penalty removed (some states still have penalties – NJ, Massachusetts & DC) 7. Alimony deduction has been eliminated 8. Get with accountant/preparer to make estimated tax payments 9. Last year for 15% increase in basis for investment in qualified opportunity zone property 10. Home office – simplified method or use an accountable plan to be reimbursed if not a sole proprietor (single-member LLC). It can allow for more business miles if you work from home. 11. Break apart travel meals, promotional meals, meals provided on-premises for the convenience of the

Have an “always be learning” culture- Have a strong professional development program investing in your team to develop or polish the skillset related to their position in the company, improve communication skills, lift their leadership lid Regularly be analyzing processes and improve when needed to increase efficiency Always be looking forward towards possibilities.  Learn from past mistakes but don’t dwell on them.  Learn from the mistakes of others. Operate in an abundance a mindset.  Scarcity is a fixed mindset whereas abundance is a growth mindset. Effective leaders have four “C” elements Creativity – new possibilities with the ability to analyze and develop plans to execute Communication – ability to converse in a way that builds and maintains good working relationships between team members, customers and vendors alike. Clarity – ability to explain complex matters and solutions in a manner that is easily understood Consistency – steadiness need

Does my product or service bring greater value than my competitors? Does my pricing reflect my value and is it affordable to my avatar? Does the combination of my avatar, product/service, pricing and costs align to a model that is profitable? What are my steps/hurdles to get to my goals? What are the steps/hurdles my customer/client have in reaching their goals?

When looking at business costs, especially for a business that is struggling or looking to improve its margins will want to look at costs as bringing us one of three things: Identifiable ROI (investment in the business) Increases value to the client Improves the culture of the business or life of the team When looking at the balance sheet, one common issue we see is not comprehending the interaction of book value of assets, loans and equity.  Negative equity results for a variety of reasons.  A few: 1) Loans using LTV (FMV) percentage and excess cash either pulled from the business or spent on overhead 2)  Paying interest only on loans 3) Loans amortizing over a longer period than the depreciation timeline of the property (27.5 vs. 30) 4) Refinancing to pull cash 5) Obtaining debt to pay for operations - using other loans for operations