What Needs Fixing?

When running a business, one often finds themself wondering what they should focus on at that moment. There is always a laundry list of tasks to be done to keep things going, in addition to actually doing the service or creating the thing that you sell. 

I want to share a concept from the book Fix This Next, by small business writer, Mike Michalowicz, which outlines the "Business Hierarchy of Needs." I've found this concept to be very helpful and I hope you do as well.

The Business Hierarchy of Needs (BHN) functions like Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs by stating the essential elements needed for a business to run successfully. It establishes that a business must first have sales (the core focus), then profit (keeping your costs down and feeling the impact of those sales) and order (the ability to run efficiently and effectively so that you are not spinning your wheels). From there, a business can survive and has what it needs to make an impact and a legacy.

Business Hierarchy of Needs: Fix This Next, Mike Michalowicz, https://mikemichalowicz.com/the-business-hierarchy-of-needs/

At Operate Well, I help businesses that are directly and indirectly focusing on various aspects of the BHN. (Note, that Michalowicz does not recommend focusing on one aspect while abandoning the others but rather that one will be the most pressing at a given time). 

1. Sales: Does your business have enough cash flow to support itself, you and its employees? If not, what do you need to be doing to get more sales? 

2. Profit: Are you earning more than you are spending? If not, how can you reduce your expenses? 

3. Order: Are you running your business as efficiently as possible? Are repeated tasks automated? Easy to do? Are you utilizing well thought-out systems to maximize your impact in sales, delivery and finances? It is important to set up efficient operations from the get-go, but it's even more important when you have sales and profit. This is where Operate Well can come in and help you the most.

We offer packages to assess your processes and streamline operations. Perhaps there is one point in your delivery process, be it some time-consuming manual data entry or unclear project planning within your team, which is hanging you up every delivery and preventing you from having more time for customers. There are systems available to help, and Operate Well has the expertise to assess and direct the improvements you need.

Book a discovery call today. 

At your Service,

Marissa Mosunich
Operate Well Consulting
www.operatewell.com
info@operatewell.com



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Catching up with Operate Well

In the winter of 2020/2021, I launched Operate Well Consulting to help make small business owners’ lives easier. Throughout 2021, I learned a ton and was privileged to meet and work with many entrepreneurs, consultants, and small business owners. While my LLC remained active between 2022 and 2023, I took a hiatus from working with my clients while focusing on gaining experience at a firm, LTD Global. This opportunity was incredibly beneficial for my professional learning. As Program Manager, I gained more project management experience, worked with larger organizations, especially non-profit organizations, and learned more about integral aspects of operations, including accounting, billing, forecasting, and customer success management. I am grateful for all I learned at LTD Global and the opportunity to contribute to a team. In August of this year, I had the opportunity to return to school - this time for an online Master of Arts in Organizational Development and Leadership with Fieldin
Read more

More than Efficiency

          Ideas of efficiency and productivity were at the front of my mind when I started Operate Well Consulting in 2021. These are essential concepts in the manufacturing and Industrial Engineering fields from which I came. However, while I knew that these concepts are critical for an organization’s improvement, I still had questions vital for my work as a consultant if I was to help clients truly “operate well.”             What are we overlooking when we focus just on producing at maximum efficiency?          Worse, are we harming organizations, people, society, and the environment when we focus too much on productivity and efficiency?             I entered the  Fielding Graduate University Organizational Development and Leadership program  with these questions in mind. Without putting efficiency and effectiveness by the wayside, I wanted to know what other important factors and values leaders must hold in order to guide their organization in doing work that is sustainable, impac
Read more

There's an AI tool for that

Image
Four years ago, I wrote a blog post outlining my take on small business software solutions. Forbes published an interesting article about this a few months ago, including a helpful list of "A few tools to try." As Forbes notes, a recent report from the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council indicates that 67% of small businesses they surveyed anticipate using AI in their business in the next three years. Further, as you've undoubtably noticed, software companies are rapidly adding AI to their offerings.    Revisiting my prior post about software solutions for small businesses, many of my suggestions are similar: It is easy to sign up for too much software, thinking that it will be the fix that you need. Remember that even if a software application meets a business need, you still have to figure out how to use it, fit it into your current processes, and continually invest time and money into it. This is your reminder not to go for the shininess factor. Assess your
Read more