Chuck Mulberg of Mulberg and Associates, PLLC

Do you know that there are only 4 ways to grow your business?  Ever thought of how to get more customers or how to get them to come back more often?  Ever wonder how to get more value out of each sale or how to improve your processes to decrease your overhead?  At Mulberg & Associates we have the tools; resources, skills and consulting knowledge to help you build a better business.

We work with you to identify areas in your business that are not realizing their full potential and help you improve them to build a stronger, more profitable business.

So what are the 4 Ways to Grow Your Business?

The first way is to increase the number of customers of the type you want to have.  So tell me, how do I increase the number of customers of the type that I want to have?  First off we need to think of our ideal customers.  Who are they?    Are there any attributes that stand out?  Perhaps they’re friendly, pay timely, and have other similar attributes.  So let’s make list of our best clients or customers and ask them why the come to us.

The second way is to increase the number of times customers come back.  So how do we get our customers to come back more often?  Do we know how often our customers come to us?  There’s the old Peter Drucker adage that what you can’t measure you can’t manage so first we need to measure how many times our customers come to us and then look for ways to increase the number of times they come back.  Some of the examples we see almost daily in our lives are the loyalty programs; whether it’s a loyalty card for a free coffee or sandwich after 6 visits or discounts on future purchases.

The third way to grow your business is to increase the average value of each sale.  So do we just raise our prices? Not necessarily.  An example I think of is the way fast food chains started to offer meal deals and supersizes.   Amazon.com uses profiling to offer discounts with additional purchases.  When you go to buy a gallon of milk, do you find it in the front aisle? No, it’s all the way in the back of the store.  Then we you come back to pay and you find all sorts of impulsive buys at the cash register while you stand in line.  When people hand you a cart when you enter the market are they just being nice or are they helping you buy more?  You can definitely carry more in a cart.  Let’s figure out how we can increase the average transaction value.

The fourth way to grow your business is to increase the effectiveness of each process in the business.  So how do we do that?  First off, we need to look at your processes and see if we can remove any redundancy.  Are we processing in batches or doing things one at a time?  We want to look at overall expenses and see what we can reduce.  We want to work smarter.  Is it more productive to close my office door for a period of time each day and have my calls go to voicemail to focus on key tasks?  Do we want one person at the cash register and one person preparing the food?

What is truly amazing is what results we can produce together by just a slight improvement in all four categories.  Looking at the sample company in the handout you can see that through a slight improvement of just 1% the company realized a 480% increase in profits which translated into $52,621.  Could you use an extra $50K?  Many companies focus on just one of these four ways and miss out on the huge profit growth opportunities.  By applying all four ways to grow your business you will achieve a synergy where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

When you look at this handout you will also notice the 4 ways to grow your business and see the small increment of 1% in the change column.  Of course the numbers could be changed and the percentages could be changed.  This is just an easy, simple representation of the how large the effect is on the bottom line can be by making small improvements in the 4 major areas of your company.

Again, by focusing on all four ways to improve your business;

1. Increasing the number of customers of the type you want
2. Increasing the number of times customers come back
3. Increasing the average value of each sale
4. And by increasing the effectiveness of each process in the business you can significantly grow your profits.  In our example this translated into a 480% increase in profits.  If you or someone you know would like to learn more please contact me.

Please contact Chuck Anytime:

(206) 922-2409

3350 Monte Villa Parkway, Suite 220
Bothell, WA, 98021
chuck@mulbergcpa.com

or visit our other website at:
www.MulbergCPA.com

Josh Curtis, Attorney at LUKE, CASTEEL & OLSEN, PSC

Josh discussed 4 Basic Options available:

1) Foreclosure 2) Short Sale 3) Deed in Lieu 4) Loan Modification

Foreclosure – lender gets property back and can’t go after homeowner for the deficiency (non-recourse) on 1^st mortgage. The 2^nd mortgage lender can still sue for the deficiency

Short-Sale – Lender agrees to accept an offer even though it’s less than what’s owed on the property. The 2^nd mortgage lender also has to agree to release their lien. (often for as little as $3,000) but they can still sue the borrower for the deficiency. The short sale gives you an opportunity to negotiate with the 2^nd mortgage lender to completely settle the debt for less than the full amount.

Deed In Lieu of Foreclosure – only appropriate when you only have one loan. Basically expedites the foreclosure process. Borrower is released from liability. Also appropriate for condos where there is a special assessment. The mortgage debt forgiveness release act allows an exemption for forgiven debt. Normally, taxes are due on the debt that is forgiven. The law is only in effect until the end of this year.

Credit Score: will be affected by 100-130 points with a Short Sale and 150 points by a foreclosure.

Target Market: Real Estate Agents, New families, growing families, anyone who purchased a home in 2005 – 2007, condo owners, Seniors & investors.

Questions: People starting a business,” How do I get out of my underwater mortgage?”, “I need a will”,

For more information contact: 

Joshua G. R. Curtis, Attorney

LUKE, CASTEEL & OLSEN, PSC
Attorneys at Law
Alderwood Business Center
3400 188th Street SW, Suite 484
Lynnwood, WA  98037
425 744 0411 (phone)
425 771 3490 (fax)
jcurtis@lukecasteel.com

Join us all on February 22nd from 7am to 9am, for Small Business Networking like you’ve never experienced before!

At PNA, we’re a fast-growing group of like minded small businesses that gather together each week to learn about each other’s needs, desires to grow, and we help each other reach those goals.

Sound good? Need more customers? Need to expand your sales/ workforce by 20+ members?
Come visit PNA and see a group in action that lives up to it’s Mission Statement!

All you need to bring is a pile of business cards, your smiles & enthusiasm!
Breakfast is optional, and paid for by you. Coffee will be offered by PNA as a thank you for attending!

When: February 22nd 7-9AM

Where: Denny’s on 228th in Bothell, WA

Feel free to RSVP via Meetup.com

Eric Metzger WeHoneyDo.com

Eric started spent many years accumulating business running experience at Terminix. Eric used that experience to establish and develop “WeHoneyDo.com“.  Basically, they can do anything construction related or maintenance that involves a residential structure. Here’s a list of “verbs” that they get paid to do . . .

Install, Clean, fix, replace, rebuild, maintain, repair, upgrade, add to, remove, certify, inspect, control, redo, demo, dispose, strip, refinish, etc etc etc.

WeHoneyDo.com is the hub of the wheel. Call Eric and, as the general,  he will contract with subs to do whatever work you need to have done and you won’t pay any more than you would if you went to the subs directly. The benefit is that you don’t have to talk to 3 or 4 people to find the one you need to do the job. Eric has already done that. And he stands behind their work.

Target Market: Property managers, homeowners, real estate agents.

Contact information:

Eric W. Metzger

Ph:             425-775-6123

e-mail: eric@wehoneydo.com
website: www.wehoneydo.com

Eric Larson w/ Kanobe, Inc

businesses here in the Northwest since 2005.

What Kanobe can do for your company:

1. Business Telephones: Our Hosted VoIP system or SIP Trunking solutions will cut your costs and increase your communication efficiency.
2. Business Broadband: Kanobe will get you the fastest Broadband for your money. We have multiple bonded ISP options that increase your speed and uptime without breaking the bank.
3. IT Managed Services: Our IT support plans will keep your computer systems and networks running smoothly for a fraction of the cost of a full time IT guy. If your IT guy needs help but can’t afford to add to the team. Our Downstream IT plans add real muscle to the existing IT guy’s abilities.
4. Data Backup Solutions: Whether onsite, offsite or cloud based multi sites are needed. Kanobe has got a plan for you.
5. Colocation and Hosting: Whether you own the server equipment or simply want to lease it. Our World Class Data Center and NOC team will ensure business continuity and availability of your hosting needs.
6. Exchange Email Hosting
7. Anti-Spam filtering
8. Application Hosting (QuickBooks)
9. Network Monitoring
10. Technology Consulting

Contact us today and we will be happy to get you a better solution for the best price.

Eric.Larson@Kanobe.Com | VP Sales & Business Development

Tel: 425-686-7700×2211 | Fax: 425-686-7701 | www.kanobe.com

David Hope the Growth Coach Business Coaching

be more effective. Davids presentation today “related” the fact that there are distinct personality types and that, in order to be effective in selling, we need to be able to identify and “sell to” the type of personality that we are relating to. To do that, we need to ask questions, read body language and “model” our client. The four basic personality types are “D – Dominant”, “I – Influencer”, “S-Steadiness” and “C-Conscientious”.

Contact information phone: 425-582-2646
e-mail: d.hope@thegrowthcoach.com
website: www.thegrowthcoach.com

Professional Networking Business Referrals

Even in the slow summer months, PNA delivers!

Here you can see a healthy stack of Business referrals delivered at our last PNA meeting.

PNA prides itself on being a much more comfortable atmosphere than competitive organisations (LeTip, BNI)

Still this Great group of people is constant source of revenue generating business referrals!

John Harding "Low Stress Loan" Consultant

Our speaker this week was John Harding of Axia Financial (aka; low stress loans). John gave us the latest on reverse mortgages.  A few basic prerequisites to qualify for a reverse mortgage the applicant must: be 62 or older, It must be their primary residence, The residence cannot be vacant for more than 12 months, still need to pay taxes & insurance.  You can receive the money in a fixed rate lump sum, line of credit or monthly payments (tenure payment).  The homeowner would never be ‘upside down’.  John also does home loans for home buyers and refinancing.

~ Perfect candidates for John: seniors, first time home buyers, renters, cash poor home rich fixed income homeowner.

~ Key phrases: sick of renting, getting worried about growing old and wanting to stay in my home, can’t pay bills, we are/I am thinking about buying.

Paul gives clients a free initial consultation and, if you’re a Veteran, he’ll give you a 10%

Paul Hanson Attorney

discount.   Paul has an AVVO Rating of 10.0 which is considered “Superb”.  Paul communicates with his clients throughout the process so they’re never “in the dark” and, having previously been a prosecutor, he knows the system and the judges extremely well.  His target market is car owners, parents of teens and anyone who gets a ticket or a DUI.

Contact information: 425-778-7339 or email attypaulhanson@aol.com

Albert's Auto Repair (Seattle)

Quality ~keeping your car in tip-top shape. James is a third generation auto repairman. Some things his company does: Preventative maintenance, accurately describes job & communicates with his clients, commitment to quality work, assurance the parts they use are top notch, belts, hoses, engine work, technical, best in the business warranty. His company is ASE Certified and a certified Washington State emission specialist. Albert’s Auto Repair are also honest, polite and go out of their way to make sure their clients are happy people that will refer them to other happy auto owners. Jim often travels to customer breakdown sites quicker than triple A. He also offers vehicle pick up for service.

Offers for those in attendance today: coupon for $10 off oil change, 10% off fuel system service and 10% off tune-up special.
~ Target market for James at Albert’s Auto Repair: fleet vehicles (landscape company with several crews, etc.), any friend, family, neighbor or anyone that leaves an oil spill when they park in your driveway.

Albert’s Auto repair operates out of North Seattle and services all makes and models of cars/trucks.

Contact information Ph: 206-459-5330 or email albertauto@gmail.com