Tag Archive for: Future Strategy

What Do I Do Now?

A lot of businesses, especially in the dairy industry, have run into cash flow problems during the past 18 months. Of course, this has also put negative pressure on their working capital position, i.e. the amount of short-term inflows of cash minus their immediate obligations for outgoing disbursements.

Much of this negative financial pressure could have been avoided, but sometimes politicians overlook the “unintended consequences” that can accompany their efforts at “vote buying…” Unfortunately, with the advent of excessive stimulus money, we were rewarded with increased inflation and higher interest rates from the Fed, as they attempted to rein in the effects of inflation.

As a result, most businesses were hit with higher costs, including labor. Of course, workers also need to survive financially, necessitating higher wages. Regardless, this is where we are currently.

So, “what do I do now” is a question many producers are asking today. Should I sell out while asset values are elevated to new highs? Will there ever be a better time to exit?

These are both great questions. However, I believe a better question to ask is this: “Is it sustainable? Can you cash flow, given the current & expected economic variables?”

For example, in the dairy industry of 2023, milk prices were average at best, and feed costs were exorbitant. Add to that the rising costs of supplies, repairs, labor and fuel, and we are in a perfect storm of negative cash flow and weakened working capital, as described earlier.

The problem is that for most businesses, they cannot borrow their way out of this, and even if they could, banks have been unwilling to provide the necessary refinancing needed. Thus, we need to look at the sustainability of these operations. I would invite you to look at the Cash Flow Analysis tools offered at https://success-strategies.com/shop/ to help you in your measurement. There you can run your YTD Cash Flow Analysis & complete some “What If” scenarios. For example, what if I could lower my labor expense by one Full Time Equivalent (FTE)?

If your operation is sustainable, at least at more normal Revenue & Expense levels, is it still something you want to do? Alternatively, do you want to exit and capture the Equity that you have built up over the prior years? Please take the time to truly consider your “Why?”

Believe me, if you know your “Why,” the “How” part becomes more straightforward. Is your “Why” for the family to continue for many more generations, is it to put your children through college or some other reason? This answer is crucial for you to reach.

To recap, to answer the question of “What Do I Do Now?”

  • Consider the business’ sustainability.
  • Really identify your “Why.”
  • Then, if you wish to move forward, study every Revenue source, potential new ones, and opportunities to diversify your operation.
  • Finally, study every cost & ask yourself, if I needed to cut my costs by 5% to reach break-even levels, could I do it? What would I reduce? Your answer will follow this process naturally.

This should provide you with methods to find financial relief for your business. What is the Next Step for you? Please let me know if I can assist you. You can reach me at john@success-strategies.com, and consider the following advice:

” Some men have thousands of reasons why they cannot do what they want to, when all they need is one reason why they can.”

Willis R. Whitney

Let’s take your business to the Next Level!

How Do You Spell Relief?

The last few years have been fairly challenging in terms of inflation, the resulting higher interest rates, considerably higher operating costs and only average revenue streams to offset these higher expenses. It’s been a classic “Cash Flow Squeeze.” I imagine that the sales of Rolaids are higher as a result…

While this has been challenging, we need to set a course of action that will be beneficial to you and your business. As prices received start to rebound and some costs begin to decrease, it’s crucial that we put a plan in place. Here are five suggestions:

  • Talk with your vendors about price relief or better payment terms. Remember, they only thrive if you survive. Customers going out of business are of no help to any vendor. Their policies, while they may seem tough, were put in place because of customers who went broke &, hence, left the vendor unpaid. The same policies were not necessarily set up for you, so communicate with your supplier.
  • Build your banking relationship through better reporting, closer monitoring of your cash flows and then communicating with your loan officer, rather than surprising them with unwelcome news at the last moment.
  • Diversify your operations when it makes sense. I know, someone is going to say that they diversified their operation by adding almond & walnut orchards to their dairy, and now they are all hurting. However, you must admit that this scenario is rather unusual. They will bounce back. Methane production may fit your dairy facility, positioning you to take advantage of the growing demand for energy.
  • Is expansion the answer? Greater efficiencies and economies of scale can be positive factors as your industry rebounds.
  • Are you following the advice of your CPA, your Attorney or other Consultants you use? Why pay for their advice and then do nothing? I believe that is the definition of insanity – doing nothing and then expecting different results.

This brief list provides you with several ways to find financial relief for your business. What is the Next Step for you? Please let me know if I can assist you. You can reach me at john@success-strategies.com, and consider the following advice:

“Everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was.”

Richard L. Evans

Let’s take your business to the Next Level!

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How Do You Prefer to Spell It?

I was recently thinking about two words that are quite similar. Those words are Creative and Reactive. They contain the same letters but have different meanings. In business, as in life, they represent vastly different approaches.

Let me provide you with some real-life business examples:

  1. Your bank emails you and suggests that your Inventory Report is late. You react by finally submitting it to them. The creative approach would be to already have submitted the report. Hence, in response to their request, you forward the completed report that you’ve already submitted 2 weeks earlier. Check mate!
  2. In a reactive state, you wait until you have substantial Accounts Payable past due over 120 days and then attempt to figure out how you will ever get them caught up… A more creative approach might be to discuss the tight cash flows with some of your vendors to see if you can get better payment terms or talk this over with your banker, in anticipation of upcoming budgetary challenges. Then, you will be prepared through a credit line increase or a possible real estate refinance.
  3. A reactive borrower waits until interest rates are supposedly at the absolute lowest point, even though the Prime Rate has been at 3-3.5% for 15 years. A creative borrower looks for a fixed rate that he can live with, in terms of his budget, and gets it locked in before rates climb 5.50%, as they have during the past two years.
  4. A reactive person asks, “Why put pricing options in place? Why spend the money for options when prices are so good?” A creative person considers putting a floor under his prices as a form of insurance to protect his margins in good times and in periods of low prices, rather than just in times of calamity.
  5. A reactive businessperson simply calls 911 when a worker gets hit with a heart attack or other serious ailment & hopes for the best. A creative one sets up protocol to not only call 911, but they also have employee meetings where workers can learn about safety issues and even learn CPR.
  6. Going back to fixed rate loans, when rates were lower & times were better, the reactive person suggests they can always fix rates later. The creative borrower watches rates closely, because you never know when an industry can be hit with a downturn, low revenue streams or higher input costs, as we have seen during the past 24 months. He fixes rates when it makes the most sense, not in the middle of  a cash flow squeeze when banks may be reluctant to offer new financing.

As you consider these comparisons, which one best describes you – Reactive or Creative? This is a crucial question for you to address. Your future success depends upon it. Please let me know if you would like some assistance at john@success-strategies.com, and consider the following advice:

“You, too, can determine what you want. You can decide on your major objectives, targets, aims and destination.”

W. Clement Stone

Let’s take your business to the Next Level!

What If They Left?

About five years ago, I suggested that banks were making it more difficult to acquire operating lines of credit, especially in the dairy industry. In fact, I predicted that within ten years, they may not offer these credit lines.

I wish I had been wrong, but the reality is that it is becoming more challenging to acquire these lines of credit, especially given the challenging profitability levels throughout agriculture these past several years.

In all fairness to the loan officers who provide these lines, they have a tough role to play. They are caught in a difficult balancing act of serving the needs of their bank customers for loans, while also protecting the assets (loan dollars) of the bank from default.

What can you do? If you can acquire these lines of credit, be prepared to provide monthly inventories & position reports. Does this sound like a lot of work? It may be, but it also represents the best way to protect your Balance Sheet. One of the biggest shortfalls I’ve observed in operations with financial challenges is negative Working Capital.

For example, the past 18 months have seen high prices for feed & commodities, hurting the profitability of dairies, and pushing their Loan-to-Value % up on their lines of credit. This may also have happened with dairy operations on their Herd Loan LTV %, as they bred with more beef semen and thus maintained fewer dairy heifers. The resulting feed costs are lower, but LTV % may suffer.

What’s the answer? Monitor these items every month, and if you see a deteriorating trend, do something about it. This is all part of protecting the Balance Sheet of your operation. This, combined with a regular monthly Cash Flow Analysis, will build your business profitability and also boost the relationship you have with your banker.

This tripod of developing a stronger Balance Sheet, protecting your Cash Flow, and growing your bank relationships will help position you for greater success.

As you consider these challenges, do you have a plan in place? Please let me know if you would like some assistance at john@success-strategies.com, and consider the following advice:

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”

Winston Churchill

Let’s take your business to the Next Level!

What’s in Your Future?

Today, we hear a lot about the advent of automation in our business operations, especially with the introduction of Artificial Intelligence and other new technology. I find it interesting that Warren Bennis, professor of business at U.S.C., offered the following thought back in the early 1980’s:

“The factory of the future will have only two employees, a man and a dog. The man will be there to feed the dog. The dog will be there to keep the man from touching the equipment.”

This sounds like a fully automated system. Are we approaching this point with the introduction of more and more automation & technological advances? Quite possibly.

My first Client to automate a major task was through using a robotic machine to push up feed throughout the day. I believe at the time it cost about $40,000. However, it replaced one full-time employee, paying for itself in less than one year. More significantly, it enabled them to complete a task that was not being completed consistently. As a result, the Client’s milk production per cow has climbed by ten pounds per cow per day, offering an even bigger payback.

Comparing the Labor costs on dairies with robotic milkers vs. conventional milking setups is eye-opening. Our experience is that it is 1/3 of the cost of the conventional setup. Additionally, there is little cost for the robot’s time, there is no overtime pay and they don’t require Worker’s Comp or Benefits coverage. I estimate that the payback on these units is easily within 5-6 years, to say nothing of the improved production, herd health and other benefits.

The point is this. Automation is becoming more and more available. Fortunately, it is surfacing where I hear the most common complaints from Clients – in the challenges of Labor.

My advice? Take positive action today and check out the payback on these automation options. Warren Bennis alluded to their benefits 40 years ago, and now we are there.

Are you prepared for this challenge? Do you have a plan for overcoming its obstacles?

I’d love to visit with you more about my work with other Clients on these areas and how you, too, can achieve an improved outcome. Please let me know if you would like some assistance at john@success-strategies.com.

Let’s take your business to the Next Level!

Are You Caught in the Great Meltdown?

Recently, I was reading a book by my Business Coach Dan Sullivan entitled The Great Meltdown. In it, Dan describes how our entire world is experiencing a “meltdown” in which bad news of high costs of Money, Energy, Labor and Transport (MELT) are wreaking havoc on many operations’ results.

Dan states that “the costs of MELT determine economic growth and progress or decline and collapse. Their combined, interactive costs are one simple, helpful indicator of the direction of economic performance in any market or industry. In short, when the cost of the four MELT factors goes up, progress goes down.”

He goes on to say that “when the MELT costs rise, there’s a dramatic separation between people’s circumstances.”

With that factor in mind, what’s your plan? As bank financing gets tighter (and more expensive, what are your options?

  • If borrowing Money becomes more challenging, can you shift some of your short-term loans onto longer term assets such as real estate? Loans with a longer amortization period can help immensely with your cash flows, by lowering your monthly payments.
  • Energy has become more expensive for all businesses. Part of this has been caused by government restrictions on oil exploration in the U.S., and part of the increase is a result of the transition, successful or not, to new forms of “green energy.”
  • On Labor, we all know that the cost is increasing (just to keep up with inflation), but what about productivity? Are we making gains there? The cost per hour is unlikely to drop in the short term, so unless the “productivity” per hour jumps, we will be faced with some genuine problems…
  • The cost of all Transport has been rising as result of both the Energy & Labor costs climbing. This has become clearer as we require 5 days to simply deliver a letter that used to arrive in two days and as we observe that the time & costs of getting equipment parts has grown considerably.

As you consider these challenges, do you have a plan for overcoming them? This is not a task that can be overcome in one meeting. However, I do believe that if you measure these items, you can better understand them. If you understand them, you can undoubtedly gain more control over them, and if you can start to control them, you will be able to improve them.

I’d love to visit with you more about my work with other Clients on these areas and how you, too, can achieve an improved outcome. Please let me know if you would like some assistance at john@success-strategies.com, and please consider the following advice:

“Let our advance worrying become advance thinking and planning.”

Winston Churchill

Let’s take your business to the Next Level!

How Would They Know?

In a recent interview in www.golf.com, Michael Phelps, the U.S. swimmer who won 23 Gold Medals, offered some great advice for business success. He said that one of his keys to success involved having one big goal and then breaking it into smaller steps. He feels it is important to establish this process & work through it consistently.

He also suggested that we need to avoid “over-thinking” this process. The best way to accomplish that is to only focus on the items that you can control. Another key benefit of this focus is that the key employees in your operation would be provided with their “next steps.”

If you died or were totally paralyzed in an accident tomorrow, would your Team know what to do next? My approach with Clients is to establish an Objectives & Challenges chart to clearly outline two items:

  • Your Top 3 Objectives this year.
  • Your 3 Biggest Challenges to overcome.

Once you’ve identified your Top 3 Objectives, work with your Team to identify the most prominent obstacles to each one, potential strategies, who will work on this and a deadline for its achievement. Then track your progress regularly. Are you getting closer to the goal? If yes, fantastic! If not, what needs to change?

On the 3 Biggest Challenges side of the equation, list the most optimal strategic response to these issues, who is best suited to implement those steps, and then establish a deadline for doing so.

If you would like a copy of the Objectives & Challenges format that I use with Clients, just email me a brief request for O&C Form. You can reach me at john@success-strategies.com.

Whether you use my format or one of your own, your results will undoubtedly be improved vs. simply going with the flow of life. As Carl Frederick stated:

“Knowing where you’re going is all you need to get there.”

Let’s take your business to the Next Level!

Are You Waiting for the Easy Bus?

Recently, I was listening to a short speech by Kara Lawson, Head Coach for the Duke University women’s basketball team where she explained to her players that life can be challenging.

Yet, the best lesson that she shared was that it is always better to accept that life can be challenging and then move forward with a plan to make it better. Lawson describes this process as learning to “Handle Hard Better!” However, she points out that this requires a mental shift on our part. Instead of complaining, as a Client of mine did recently, about how the bank was being unreasonable, the feed company was becoming aggressive, and the IRS was being difficult, we need to make this mental shift to handling hard better.

Let’s face it. Life is full of challenges for all of us. If you could hear the noise just outside my office right now, you would realize how I know this first-hand. Our contractors were preparing to put the roofing material over our patio cover yesterday, but we received 4” of rain suddenly, and that did not work out too well for the tongue & groove boards underneath. So, they are currently replacing the warped boards. As a result, I am learning how to handle hard better.

Matthew McConaughey says, “Life is not easy.” He adds that “it never was, it isn’t today, and it never will be.” As a result, he recommends that we get over it & get on with it. This advice certainly aligns with Kara Lawson’s speech.

Finally, Coach Lawson cautions her players (& us) to not be “waiting for the easy bus.” She adds that when we stand around, doing nothing, just waiting for the easy bus to arrive, nothing good happens. In fact, unfortunately, the easy bus never comes. That is why we need to learn to “Handle Hard Better!” Let’s heed her advice this year and remember:

“The two most important days in your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why.”      Anonymous

Let’s take your business to the Next Level!

Are You Playing by the Rules?

I recently reread Tim Ferriss’ first book entitled The 4-Hour Workweek and noted a special recommendation that he made. It was based upon an old Chinese Proverb, which advised us to always know what we are getting involved in ahead of time and went something like this:

  • Always know the Rules of the Game.
  • Know the Prize for which you are competing.
  • Know when the Game Ends.

As I read those words, I started thinking about how they also apply to business dealings.

For example, before you enter any loan agreement with your bank or another institution, it’s critical that you know what the “Rules of the Game” are. What is expected of you in maintaining a satisfactory loan relationship? What are the loan covenants? What can happen if you don’t fulfill all of the covenants? Is there a reasonable remedy that you can provide if this occurs? I would expect that after last year’s challenging financial results, there will undoubtedly be some covenant violations…

Knowing what the prize is at the end of the “game” can be helpful, especially if you are being faced with profitability and covenant challenges. Sometimes, borrowers can let their pride get ahead of the potential prize at the end of the game. Often, this can lead to getting over-extended on loans in terms of Debt Service Coverage. Hence, the need for accurate Cash Flow projections & ongoing measurement (https://success-strategies.com/).

Finally, know when the game ends. When has your objective been reached? Perhaps, more importantly, know when enough is enough… Obviously, the game ends when you pay the loan off in full, but what happens if you run into problems before the loan is paid in full? Will your banker work with you to resolve the challenge you are facing? This is always good to know ahead of time, because, as some borrowers are facing today, their bank’s workout group has become more of a “kick-out group.” While it is admirable to get refinanced elsewhere, the current lender does not need to make it a painful process or one lacking support.

On the contrary, let’s put strategies in place to assist the borrower to make the necessary changes, possibly sell some assets and get themselves back on track financially. This is never an easy process and as George Bernad Shaw suggests below, it may not even seem reasonable, but it is definitely worth pursuing:

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” George Bernard Shaw

Let’s take your business to the Next Level!

Are You Familiar with the Seven Laws of Success?



Recently, I read an article by Joshua Becker entitled
“The Seven Laws of Success.”

In it, he stated:

“Success, in my opinion, is
controlling what I can (my actions) and dedicating my life to the right things.
If I can do that, I’ll be pleased with how I choose to live. And I will
consider my life a success – regardless of the results.”



To accomplish that objective, the author lists his Seven
Laws of Success:



·      
“Choosing Our Own
Values – Rather than chasing the latest fads in life or in business, let’s
focus on what is most important now. Former Notre Dame football Coach Lou Holtz
calls these WIN’s – i.e. “What’s Important Now.”



·      
Aligning Resources
with those Values – This process will guide us to always focus on what really
matters. It will assist us to stay on course and target the items that are essential
to our life and business success.



·      
Not Measuring Life
with Someone Else’s Ruler – This is essential when we make business
comparisons. While it may be helpful to compare your business with others in
your industry, it is even more crucial that you compare yourself with how you
have done historically. This will help propel you to higher levels of success
& avoid the “trap” of comparing yourself, unrealistically, to other
operations that may be far larger or newer than yours.



·      
Committing to
Continuous Growth – This is applicable to our businesses & our lives. We
can always strive to be better. It is what Tony Robbins refers to as CANI,
Constant & Never-Ending Improvement.



·      
Controlling Your
Attention – It is so easy for us to get distracted by outside variables.
However, it is imperative that we focus on what really matters and, more
significantly, on the items we can control.



·      
Living for Others –
Here, he is referring to being selfless and striving to help others. For
example, build your business to serve your Family, your Church or your
Community.



·      
 Doing the Next Right Thing the Best Way We
Know How – As Theodore Roosevelt stated, ‘Do what you can, with what you’ve
got, where you are.’” This will undoubtedly lead to success. Lou Holtz added
that you should always “Do what’s right. Do the best you can. And treat others
the way you want to be treated.” That sounds like a real success plan to me!



Let’s take your business to the Next Level!