Amplify

Profitability Cheat Sheet --> Where can you focus to increase your profitability? Once a growth model is created, there are four primary areas where profitability can be driven: 1. + Price Per Unit 2. + Throughput 3. - Variable Expenses 4. - Fixed Period Costs For example, an increase of price will drive more revenue per customer potentially, but what happens if demand decreases? We can adjust combinations of throughput and an increase in price to understand how likely it is we'd expect to end up in a more profitable position with increased cash in the bank. #profitability #levers #growth

Inviting any and all advice and expertise here ... Britt and I are gearing up for the EOS Worldwide conference, and we're prepping for our first-ever presenting slot. The details are below, and if you're attending the conference, we invite you to come join us. We would absolutely LOVE to have you as a part of this discussion! My main question is this: In addition to being helpful and informative, what are some details of conference talks you've given or attended that have just gone the extra mile and made them hospitable and generous and fun? What has made you walk away feeling so glad you spent your time at that particular breakout session or that specific talk? Our deepest hope is that the people who come to our presentation are thankful they did and that they walk away with just a little bit of a new perspective on what's possible in their business. We would love any thoughts or ideas! __________________________________ ?? YOU'RE INVITED! ?? ?? Title: Connect the Dots: Build a Scorecard that Actually Hits Revenue and Profit Goals on Your V/TO? ?? Date: Wednesday, April 2 ?? Time: 11-11:45 AM https://bit.ly/3XGf9tR

Clear communication is a beautiful thing. We talk about this all the time with marketing or sales, but do you ever think about how your numbers are communicating? If you have a five- or ten-year stated goal, then your decisions today (hiring, scaling, pricing) are impacting those future numbers in some ways you may know and some you may not. I think that's what I love most about forecasting. It's like shooting a line out into the future and seeing what will happen if we change specific inputs today. My boys recently made a tin can telephone out of big, gold yam cans we had saved them from Thanksgiving (pictured here). If they pull it tight, they can communicate. But if the string is slack and wound up or all over the place, they can't. It reminded me of numbers and just how much good can happen when they're in clear alignment and are directly connected to and "communicating with" future goals. #forecasting #forecastonpurpose #amplifybusiness #eoslife

Last week the Cooper family faced a disappointment. Britt saw some bees buzzing around the entrance to our hive, and after a long week we were so excited to open it up one warm afternoon to see how our colony had fared during the cold Indiana winter. To our horror, every last bee had frozen or starved to death, and our dreams of spring honey were halted at the sight of a mass of huddled, blackened, completely dead bees. "But we're beekeepers," we thought. "What could we have done? What did we miss? What are we keeping now?" It was sickening to see something so vibrant and intricate and full of possibility just completely die out, and our newfound role seemingly with it. I don't want to try and tie a bow on something hard, but our little farming endeavors so often remind us of seasons in our business. Every entrepreneur or business owner knows what it's like to see a dream go off course. And it's a total gut punch. It's also a great reminder that fruitfulness doesn't always look like we hope it will. In our case, we closed up the hive and ordered two more colonies of bees. We'll gather our kids this week and sweep away the dead bees and freeze what honey we have so we can start two new hives in a couple of months. Our kids will be invited into something hard, and we trust the fruit that comes from that in their own hearts and minds. And one day, we hope they'll get to taste the honey from our hives. Won't that day be sweet?

You know that feeling when you go somewhere and every detail has been thought out? It's this level of hospitality what just blows you away and makes you feel completely cared for. Britt and I experienced this recently at Grove Surf + Coffee in Indian Shores, Florida. Every tiny detail from the beauty of the space and intentionality of the food to the vintage postcards they use as their table numbers is aligned with their brand and just immersed us in the whole experience. And we loved it. We sat for two hours in the beauty of the space enjoying delicious food and chatting about the future, dreaming creative dreams for Amplify and our family and our garden. The power of a fully cohesive experience is huge, and it's not an easy thing to achieve. Thanks to the Grove team for sparking our creativity and giving us a beautiful place to rest and dream. And cheers to so many of you who are working to cultivate this kind of hospitable and cohesive brand in your small business!

“It’s P+L time – Yesssss!” OK, OK, if that’s not a phrase you’ve ever imagined saying, you’re not alone. For most business owners, the Profit + Loss is like kale: We know it’s good for us, but it’s not exactly exciting or enjoyable. But what if opening your P+L each month didn’t feel like a chore but more of a ritual? What if it was a chance to discover opportunities for growth, gain clarity and maybe even (gasp!) have a bit of fun in the process? At Amplify, we believe that the monthly financial review shouldn’t be intimidating. Here’s how we’ve helped business owners transform their relationship with their P+L – and how you can, too. https://bit.ly/41kpGMq

Guessing stinks. It just does. If you're running a business, and you're guessing on your numbers, that means you're guessing about when you'll be able to hit your most important goals. It means you don't get to feel like you're in control of what's happening in your business. It means you're probably getting less sleep and carrying more than your fair share of anxiety,. It means you might feel ashamed that you don't know something you believe everybody else knows. And, perhaps worst of all, it means you're just left hoping that this business you've created and built and fought for will be around next year. It just stinks. This is why we love numbers. This is why we love clear and detailed forecasts with easy next steps and simple timelines. And this is also why, for those of you attending this year's EOS Worldwide Conference, you'll find our team standing proudly under a giant banner that simply reads: "GUE$$ING STINKS." We want every business owner to stop guessing and start growing. You can know SO much more than you think. (And yes, we're debuting some cool old school candy machines!) Let's do this!

What keeps business owners up at night is what gets us up in the morning. Ever found yourself lying awake at 4AM trying to untangle a big business decision? You're not alone. This month, I got the chance to chat with my friends at Fathom about how I use their platform to help clients answer the Big Questions that keep business owners up at night. We got to touch on questions like: ? When can I make my next hire? ? When can I open another location? ? What will happen to my cash picture if I raise prices? ? How much can I afford to invest in marketing? ? What are the best KPIs for my business to track and which ones can I ignore? Instead of running these forward-facing questions through the solitary hamster wheel of your 4AM brain, I invite you to check out the latest edition of Fathom's newsletter, The Exchange, and get some insights there that we hope will save you a few winks. Check out below! And, as always, if you want a more in-depth conversation on any one of these questions, feel free to reach out directly. We would love to help you make decisions today that lead to the strategic future growth you want. https://lnkd.in/gfcM9M4k

Excited for this!! Tired of guessing around your numbers? Join us for a fun conversation where we tackle some of the more complicated questions you may be navigating around the growth of your business. Appreciate you asking me to be part of the conversation, Michelle Seay Baker, APR

Are the investments you're making in your business paying off? There’s a simple way to check if your business is using its resources wisely: Return on Capital Employed (ROCE). Essentially, ROCE tells you how much profit your business makes for every dollar you use to operate, showing how well you're using your money to grow and hit your goals. One client we're working with right now has a classic growth story. For the first few years, they were in investment mode—building out facilities, hiring and ramping up capacity. As you can see in the visual, ROCE was expectedly low because they were laying the groundwork. But then, things shifted. Those investments started to pay off. Over the past two years, they’ve been able to serve more customers, generate more revenue and turn their capital into real profit. That’s the story ROCE tells—it shows where you are in the growth journey and whether you’re on track. If your ROCE isn’t where you want it to be, here are three ways you'll know it and three ways you can improve it: ?? How You'll Know your ROCE is Off: 1. Dropping profits – If your ROCE keeps falling, you won't be making as much money as you're investing in your business. 2. Wasted capital – A low ROCE compared to competitors means your money isn't being employed as strategically or efficiently as it could be. 3. Too much debt, not enough return – If you have borrowed a lot but your ROCE stays low, that money isn’t working hard enough or working toward your best goals. ?? Practical Ways to Improve it: 1. Increase Profit Margins – Focus on higher-margin products or services and reduce unnecessary costs. 2. Improve Cash Flow Efficiency – Shorten your sales cycle, speed up receivables and negotiate better supplier terms. 3. Optimize Your Assets – Sell or repurpose underutilized equipment and real estate. Curious about what your numbers say? We're always happy to take a look. #ROCE #BusinessGrowth #FinancialStrategy #StopGuessingStartGrowing