The WorkingPoint Community is made up of small business owners, like yourself, and we want you to get to know each other. We’d like to introduce you to Dawn McKinstry Photography, based in North Central, Florida:

I live in north-central Florida on seven acres with my husband and our crazy pets. I am also very close with my twin sister, who often accompanies me to weddings. If you are lucky, you might get to see us together. 😉

Here’s a sample of Dawn’s work:

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Besides deciding if you have time to take a vacation, what’s the hardest thing about running your business? Probably figuring out the true cost of what you sell. Well, with WorkingPoint you can spend more time on that vacation decision.

Because when you use WorkingPoint, it calculates the current, average weighted costs of all your inventory. So you always have the most accurate cost of goods for your inventory. Sound too good to be true? Try this:

1) Go to your Items List
2) Look at the Avg. Cost column for any item you track inventory for

• Here, WorkingPoint displays the current weighted average cost of one unit of the item.

Look a little closer.

3) Click on the item name to open the item detail page

• The item detail in the top half shows the current inventory information, including the number of units available and the average cost per unit.
• The item activity section in the lower half shows you the history of the item including purchases, sales and adjustments that make up the average cost of the item.

The more time you spend with WorkingPoint, the more ways you’ll find that it can help your business.
For more information on average cost in WorkingPoint, click here.

I introduced Key Success Factors (KSFs) as a tool for managing a small business here a few weeks ago, and followed up with several postings that focused on techniques for growing revenue. The response to this series was gratifying, so were the suggestions of other topics that could be boiled down into KFS.

One of the most popular is the subject of business planning, so here are the Key Success Factors of Business Planning for small business.

If you’re like most small companies, your definition of long range planning is “What’s for lunch?” Most owners have a vision of what they want their business to be, but surprisingly few take the time to create a plan to make it happen. While almost every business owner accepts the benefits to be gained from the business planning process, relatively few turn the thought into a reality, usually citing a lack of time.

True enough; planning takes time – but it also makes sure that you’re using your time to achieve your goals. A solution that’s worked for thousands of companies is the “bite-sized” business plan. Don’t worry about producing a long report (that no one else will read anyway), do this instead:

The next time you stop for coffee, on a single piece of paper, write down

1. Your top three goals for the next 30 days.
2. What activities are required to achieve those goals?
3. What measurement(s) will chart your progress?

That’s it! You’ve just created your first bite-sized business plan! Remember, it’s not a goal if it’s not in writing, and you can’t expect to realize your vision if you don’t track your progress.

In observance of Labor Day, the WorkingPoint office will be closed on Monday, September 7, 2009. According to the US Department of Labor website, “Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.”

For more information on the history of Labor Day, Click Here»

My last few blog postings introduced Key Success Factors (KSFs) for growing revenue. I began by breaking revenue into its component parts:

• Number of customers
• Average revenue per transaction
• Average number of transactions per month

The next two posts, I focused on increasing the number of customers served by your business and increasing the revenue per transaction. In today’s entry, I’ll discuss the importance of the number of transactions per month as a diagnostic tool for growing your revenue.

Let’s start with the obvious; do you know how many transactions you currently do each month? This should be a simple matter of looking at the total listed on your Invoices List.

In WorkingPoint, click the Invoices tab, then filter the list to show invoices for the month you want to view and the Invoices List header will display the number of invoices you created for that month.

Why bother? Well, if you think about it, the total number of transactions is either growing, steady, or shrinking. A steadily growing transaction count is a great indicator of a healthy business, but the other two can be worrisome.

If the number of monthly transactions has been steady, it’s unlikely that you’ve enjoyed a spike in your sales – revenue has probably been flat. If the number of monthly transactions has been declining, the top line of your business is also probably heading that way.

If you’re doing everything you can to attract new customers, then consider the transaction count as your next KSF, and use the following approach to increase it:

• Identify your top customers
• Track the number of days between transaction or invoices to that group
• Set a goal of decreasing the interval between transaction for that group
• Track your progress, and watch your revenue grow!

What is the recent trend of transactions in your business?
For more help on using the Invoices List, visit our online Help Center.

1. It really manages your business.
WorkingPoint is more than just a single function application. WorkingPoint is an online business management system that helps you increase sales, satisify customers, manage inventory, market your company online and run your finances.

2. It sets you free.
You can access your company’s information, and do useful work, from anywhere you have an Internet connection and web browser.

3. It makes your people more productive.
You can give access to employees, sales reps, consultants, your bookkeeper and your accountant, and because everyone is operating with the same up-to-date information, everyone gets more done with less effort.

4. It works on whatever computer you do.
WorkingPoint runs on both PC and Macs.

5. You don’t need an IT expert.
You will never have to install or update WorkingPoint software. We do that for you automatically. There is also no server to manage. We do that for you, too.

6. It’s secure.
Your data is far more secure in WorkingPoint than it is on your own computer, or your bookkeeper’s. Your data is housed in our bank-grade hosing facility, and is continually backed up. (Think of it as free disaster recovery insurance.)

7. We’re behind you.
You get unlimited support at no extra cost.

8. Right behind you.
Our support people are based in the US, and have 10 or more years of small business experience.

9. It keeps getting better.
At WorkingPoint we never stop innovating. Count on WorkingPoint to regularly release new features. And we listen to our users. If there is a feature you want to see added, visit our feedback forum and cast your vote for your suggestion or another user’s.

10. It’s affordable.
WorkingPoint is free for the first user forever! We offer several monthly Account Plans to meet your business needs. You can upgrade, downgrade or cancel your plan at any time.

Starting a new business is a lot of work. We’d like to help.
Sign up for your free account today. Still have some questions? Contact us.

I have been doing startups of one kind or another my entire career and have heard the phrase, “we’re working on something that’s going to be huge but we can’t tell you about it”, many, many times. In each case the founders would have been a lot better served by talking to me and everyone else around them about the idea. There are a number of benefits to “socializing” your idea:

• Honing Your “Pitch”
  Selling the idea or vision behind your company in very few words is critical to its success. If people (potential investors and customers all) can’t understand what you are doing or how it would benefit them then you shouldn’t be doing it.
• Test Marketing Your Product
  You are probably surrounded by quite a few smart people. In total they are certainly smarter than you. But they don’t know about you, your product or your company. Tell them about how your product will benefit them. Then stop talking and listen to what they say. Incorporate their suggestions and repeat this process. Never stop listening and improving your product.
• Introducing Yourself to Potential Partners and Customers
  Every time you talk about your company and product to someone you are introducing it and yourself to that person’s entire social circle. That can be an enormous number of people and can lead to connections and opportunities far beyond what is immediately obvious. Word of mouth still plays an important role in the successful marketing of any company. Social media online makes it easy to broadcast but the mechanism is still the same. One human talking with another.
• Checking Your Sanity
  Many ideas seem to be perfect in every way in the middle of the night. Many even make it through the early morning shower. But few indeed survive contact with a rational human being. This doesn’t mean you should listen to nay-sayers. You shouldn’t. But many ideas have a major flaw that someone else can clearly see. Maybe it’s illegal or regulated or completely impractical. It’s best to find out about structural problems early.
• Focusing on Secrecy Rather Than Execution
  The majority of success is in execution over time not the original idea. Getting things done day by day is much more important than the beauty or originality of the idea that got it all started. If you think your product will sell itself, no matter how good it is, you are very likely wrong. Talk openly about your company and product while working hard to make it work.

A successful mentor of mine went around broadcasting his business ideas. When I asked if he was afraid of having them stolen he replied, “Heck no! Even if they stole the idea and competed with me tomorrow, I could do it far better than they could and I will eventually take back the market they helped me create.” That kind of thinking has stuck with me to this day. And has me look askance when I hear, “I have this great idea but I can’t tell you…”

More on the this topic:

Chris Dixon Says:

There are lots of benefits to talking to people. You’ll get suggestions for improvements. You’ll discover flaws and hopefully correct them. You’ll learn a lot more about the sector/industry. You’ll learn about competitive products that exist or are being built. You’ll gauge people’s excitement level for the product and for various features. You’ll refine your sales and investor pitch. You might even discover your idea is a bad idea and save yourself years of hitting your head against the wall.

Closer to the Ideal goes further:

I’ve worked with entrepreneurs who are obsessed with secrecy about their idea. Some of them ask me to sign non-disclosure agreements, just for hearing the basic idea of their business. This kind of secrecy is always a mistake.

My last blog posting introduced Key Success Factors (KSFs) for growing revenue. It began by breaking revenue into its component parts:

• Number of customers
• Average revenue per transaction
• Average number of transactions per month

The focus of the previous posting was on increasing the number of customers served by your business, and today’s entry will outline methods for increasing the revenue per transaction.

The easiest way to tackle this KSF is by looking at your invoices. What is the average number of line items per invoice? Suppose the average number of line items per invoice last month was three. Adding just one more line item per invoice can have a dramatic impact on your revenue. How can you accomplish this? If you’re a product-based business, start by getting into the habit of asking your customers if they’re interested in adding related items to their order. If you’re a service-based business, consider creating some additional services that complement your primary offering, or testing the sale of books or other products that bolster your service.

The other lever that impacts your revenue per transaction is the average dollar value per line item. When is the last time you reviewed your pricing? If you’re like most small business owners, the usual answer is “not lately”! Most owners feel pressure to keep their prices low – and are surprised to learn that most of their customers are less concerned about prices than they are about the quality of the products and service.

Tackle this KSF by looking at the price of your most popular items. If the prices of your top-moving items are priced competitively, consider raising the prices of your slower-moving products by 10%, and slowest-moving products by a full 20%. You’ll find that this strategy can increase your revenue per line item significantly, which in turn will increase your average revenue per invoice – and your company’s revenue.

Very soon, we will be adding a new video to the Resource page on our website and I wanted to give you a sneak peek.

In this video, we tour the application as it exists today including our widget-friendly dashboard, contact management feature, invoicing section, bills section, inventory management, accounting, and our profile feature that you can use to list your business online. We’ll be adding more videos too. So check back and see what other ways WorkingPoint can help manage your business successfully.

I’m happy to say that my last blog posting generated some lively discussion! Several small business owners contacted me with requests for more information on Key Success Factors (KSFs), which measure progress against specific priorities. In today’s post, I’ll respond to the most popular topic, “KSFs for growing revenue.”

An approach that has been successfully used by hundreds of small businesses is to break revenue into its component parts, and track each one separately. The major components include:

• Number of customers
• Average revenue per transaction
• Average number of transactions per month

Increasing any one of the above components will grow the top line of your business, but which one should you focus on? Which one should be your KSF this month?

Let’s start with the customers count. Tracking this KSF ensures focus on adding new customers each month. Be sure to track total sales to your new customers separately from total sales to existing customers. Why? Because you’ll discover what contribution (in revenue and gross profit percentage) each segment makes to your business.

Suppose, for example, you don’t add any new customers this month, which means that 100% of your revenue and profit comes from your existing base (duh). The implication is significant: the only way you can grow your total revenue is by either increasing the revenue per transaction or the number of transactions.

Techniques to increase revenue per transaction and transaction count will be discussed in a later blog entry, but they may be harder for you to achieve than growing your customer count. Track the number of new customers your business serves on a monthly basis and you create an exciting new lever for the success of your business.