The Curriculum Question

Why do business owners still struggle, even though millions of business podcasts, books, and other resources exist in the world? You can search any topic, find ample information for free online, and pursue anything you want to know. Yet, they still must fight to stay in business.

Many business owners still need to reach their biggest goals and be where they want to be. Why are they still tackling some areas of their business, like building the right team, being profitable, or getting enough of the right clients?

You may have created a monster

One problem is that too many messages from so many messengers can create what my friend Ellen Rohr calls the “Frankenstein Factor.” This describes the phenomenon of adding too many ideas to a project, resulting in confusion and a lack of direction. You may inadvertently create a monster when you put random parts together haphazardly as you go along!

Rohr led Benjamin Franklin Plumbing from zero to US$40 million in franchise sales (through conversions) in less than two years. After leaving the business, she became a highly paid consultant.

That’s when I met her. I call her Wonder Woman.

Rohr is a master business builder in many aspects, but her superpower is in the financial arena. At the time I met her, my company had built up a tremendous amount of debt. My service company was generating $2.5 million in revenue but still struggled to pay all the bills. After hiring Rohr, we realized we were underpricing and our labor rate was too high.

We went to work on a pricing system and our compensation program and became profitable. Because of the work Rohr began in my company, I became debt-free. My companies are debt-free, and I only carry real estate debt. I’m blessed to say that we could quickly pay off all our properties and still be financially sound. I went from being deep in debt to debt-free because of Rohr.

A curriculum is key

At that time, my training business taught me what we were good at, like marketing, sales, and systems. We didn’t have a program for the financial area. I then hired Rohr to work with some of our coaching members, and they had the same miraculous results.

Unfortunately, most small business owners have never been adequately trained in the five areas of business: leadership, marketing, sales, operations, and administration. Instead, they get some information here and a little information there, and they end up with a business that doesn’t operate like it should—a Frankenstein business! A Frankenstein business is unpredictable, unreliable, and downright scary!

Now, please understand that I read every day—I’ve read over a thousand books. I am an avid consumer of content and consume content in various forms daily. I’m also a teacher every day, which means I must have the information to share.

But information alone does not transform. People say, “Content is king.” But content is not enough. You need a curriculum, not just a collection of content. Organized content—content that has been vetted and put into a curriculum is the key. You need to have systems designed to work together.

What do you need to learn?

It’s about the questions. Continually ask yourself questions to determine what you and your business still need to learn.

For example, let’s return to my previous article from the September/October Cleanfax issue: The Conflict Question: What is your biggest challenge? What did you discover from that article? What area do you need the most help in?

Here are the five areas of business, followed by another question to help you determine where to focus:

1. Leadership: Everything you do to communicate your vision. Are you clear on your vision? Is your team engaged?
2. Marketing: Everything you do to attract prospects. Are you generating enough of the right kinds of prospects?
3. Sales: Everything you do to convert prospects into paying customers. When you get a prospect, are you and your team effectively closing the sale?
4. Operations: Everything you do to serve your clients. Do you have systems allowing your team members to deliver the most outstanding service experience daily?
5. Administration: Everything you do to track your progress. Do you have a process where you know where you stand financially?

What is the most pressing issue in your business right now? Unfortunately, most business owners and their teams are never trained correctly in these discipline systems.

Training breeds confidence. Learn the proven systems of a successful business and implement them. Content alone won’t get you where you need to be. To build a phenomenally successful business, you need a curriculum that will train you and your team on the proven business systems step by step.