Cash flow is a key measure of the value that you and your business deliver to other people’s lives.
If you’re not making enough money, or if your company is not producing enough profit or generating sufficient cash, then it’s possible that you and your company are not delivering sufficient value.
Think about it for a minute. What is it that the most consistently profitable, cash rich and successful companies have in common (other than a competent finance director!)? The answer is they give massive value which means that existing customers come back to buy from them again and again.
New customers are regularly attracted as these companies provide the goods and services that people want. Think Apple and the Apple Mac, the iPod and iTunes, the iPhone and most recently the iPad.
The only way to keep customers long term is to consistently deliver massive value.
But if your company is not generating the cash your efforts deserve, it doesn’t always mean that you, or the product or service you provide is not hugely valuable. It may be you’re not leveraging this value to the widest audience. Perhaps you’re not getting your message out.
If potential customers either don’t know of you, or don’t understand what you do and how you can help them achieve their goals, be these personal satisfaction or financial success, then you will not be making the money or profit that you should be.
Put another way – you will get everything in life and all the cash you want, if you help enough people to get what they want!
So think about what you or your company are doing now. Be honest with yourself. Are you being the best you can be in terms of what you give your customers? If not, what more could you do?
What are the most successful companies doing that you’re not?
If you have a bunch of satisfied customers who love what you do, but you’re still not making money, then the chances are you are not spreading your message widely enough. There are more customers out there who want what you’ve got, but they don’t know you exist.
Alternatively, have you undervalued your product or service and set your prices too low? Are you charging a “me too” price for something that is greatly superior to anything offered by your competitors?
The more you come up with good answers to the above questions, the more cash will flow in the right direction for you.
Speak soon…
