Tom Gosche, Accounting
630-675-8971  tomg@goglm.com
http://www.goglm.com/
Schedule a 30 minute meeting with me over Zoom: https://calendly.com/tomgosche/30mi

Matching Ideas with Resources 
I'd like to introduce you to David Telisman, an experienced writer and content creator, who works with businesses to inspire their customers to buy from them. David believes that his clients deserve to feel proud of how their content marketing looks and what it says, and he delivers by providing expert copywriting and digital marketing solutions. You can visit his website where you can find testimonials and his portfolio of work. Please let me know if you're open to having a conversation with him. Thank you.

What (Specifically) do you do?
David Telisman is a content writer and creator.
 
How do you do it?
Website copywriting, design, and hosting.
Blogs, articles, email marketing, and social media marketing
 
What is a “Typical Situation” people are in when they realize they need your help?
They need a new website because theirs is old and static. They need to tell their story better and make sure it gets to the right people.
 
What is something someone might say that would lead me to think of you?

• “I need marketing help. I have no idea what I’m doing.” 
• “I hate my website.” 
• “My messaging is decentralized and all over the place. I need something consistent to push out to my customers and audience.”

My dad came across the Financial Statements of his dad's business from April 1946. I scanned a page of it to the right. The way QuickBooks currently prints a Profit and Loss Statement, you have the Revenue at the top and then Costs of Goods, then Expenses and finally the Profit at the bottom, but this statement has all the Expenses, then the Revenue THEN the Profit. 
 
The numbers are interesting. As you could guess, it is a bar, a few blocks away from Wrigley Field. In 1946 the average family income was about $2,600 per year or $216.66 per month. The profit for this month was $155.78. Previous month's profits averaged $670. 
 
Why was this month so low? As I looked at the details of the financials, I saw that he bought additional beer this month. Maybe there was a deal, or added a new brand.
 
Having monthly financial statements are important for a business. They answer questions you might have. Can you take advantage of a suppliers' deal? Will purchasing equipment be a better advantage this month or next? 
 
What is your business worth? I did a quick Valuation of my Grandfather's business, based on the financials we found. At the beginning of 1946, it would be worth about $28,140. In June 1946, it would be worth over $40,000. What do you think a major factor was in the increase in the business value in those first 6 months of 1946? (Hint: When was the last time the Cubs were in the World Series?)

You save money on expense by streamlining your processes. As we begin the Eighth month of 2020, let’s take a look at your business process.
Let’s look at an example:

Quote: A quotation is generated in Microsoft Word and sent to the customer for the work to be done. Quote includes estimate on materials, shipping and scheduling.

Purchase Order: Once the customer agrees and signed the quote, a Purchase order is generated in Microsoft Works to the vender. This starts the Job Expense Sheet in Microsoft Excel. It includes specifics on materials, shipping and scheduling.

Vender Bill: Now the job is done, and the vendor bills you. Your company then has to run it through a Tax Worksheet (in Excel) to calculate sales tax, and Services. After doing the Tax Worksheet, they enter the amounts on the Job Expense Sheet.

Freight Costs: Make sure the freight costs are entered onto the Job Expense Sheet.
 
Invoice to Client: The invoice is prepared in QuickBooks from the Job Cost worksheet and Emailed to the client.

This maybe the process you have been using for years. Maybe it started simple enough, but then new steps needed to be added along the way. Let’s say this process takes about an hour per sale.
Streamline the process to use one program instead of 4. Sure, the initial set up may take some time, but the change in the long run saves you both time and money. If you notice, the sample company does use QuickBooks to do their invoicing. We can also assume they track their expenses in QuickBooks in order to be able to come up with financial statements.

After some training by a certified QuickBooks advisor, the company could use QuickBooks for:

1. Quoting the Client
2. Generating Purchase orders to venders,
3. Receiving the job from vendors, and paying that bill, set up the sales tax, adding freight cost,
4. Generating an invoice to the Client.

 
The company would enter the info into QuickBooks and the bookkeeper would check it and follow up on invoices. After a 3 hour (or so) QuickBooks Training and Set up, the whole process may only take about 15 minutes per sale, as opposed to the hour it previously took. Thus saving both time and money!

Improve your process and improve your business!

"By his own count, Kendall, 81, wrote a total of 740 columns for the two Daily Herald Media Group publications. His "On Small Business" columns focused on guiding small business owners and entrepreneurs through complex issues. He tapped into the expertise of suburban experts, many times sharing their personal stories of how they were able to overcome obstacles." Richard Klicki wrote in the Daily Herald today. Rich Klicki, a great business columnist in his own right, wrote a nice article in the Daily Herald today:

https://www.dailyherald.com/business/20200726/daily-herald-business-columnist-jim-kendall-dies?cid=search

I (Tom Gosche) enjoyed his articles through the years. He focused on interesting topics AND businesses in the Suburbs of Chicago. In 2017, Jim contacted me after getting my newsletter about questions you need to ask when buying a business. He later wrote an article featuring those questions and quoting me!
https://www.dailyherald.com/article/20171022/BUSINESS/171029971?cid=search 

He looked everywhere in the suburban business community for ideas.A week after 2015 Business Taxes were due, he reminded everyone to look forward to 2016 taxes. Below is an interview with our CPA Greg Galla in 2016 discussing Business Taxes:

https://www.dailyherald.com/article/20160320/BUSINESS/160329985?cid=search

As today's article states:

"He is survived by his wife Sharon, daughter Tracey, son-in-law Robert, and granddaughters Melinda and Gretchen. He was predeceased by his parents, Harry and Mary Kendall.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Kendall's name may be made to the Bradley Fund, Bradley University, Peoria, IL, or to the Friends of the Wheaton Municipal Band, Wheaton, IL. Granddaughter Melinda is a member of that summer band."

Just over half way though the year, it is always a good time to check on how you are doing compared to your business plan. This year is a bit different then other years. Things happened beyond your control, but as things over up, grab your plan and make sure you are doing what you did earlier to become successful.
 
It is said doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is the definition of insanity. Yet business owners continue to do business as usual year after year.

Business planning is very important to help change the status quo. Whether you are having a great 2020 or not, putting together a business plan is a big part of making those changes.

It starts with asking yourself some questions.

Where are you now? Actually writing it out what the situation you are in currently helps you to see and read the situation better. It is easy to keep the information in your head and know where you are however, once you write it, you can realize where you are. You can also share it, so you can get help from others.

Where are you 5 years from Now? Go crazy and dream big with this. When someone has trouble thinking about this, I ask them to imagine they are at a banquet in their honor 5 years from now and someone is introducing them as “Person of the Year.” What are they saying?

What are your strategic objectives? This is more specific then the above question. They can be financial or growth goals. It could also be specific strategies you want to have implemented in your business or life.

What are your Strengths? This is what you are currently good at doing well. Maybe you are good at getting appointments with prospects. It could be you are great with financial analysis. List them and write about them.

How can you build on those Strengths? We are already strong enough to overcome any obstacle by working on improving what is already strong. It is easier and more fun to become better at something you are already good at doing. If you wake up in the morning dreading what your weaknesses are and working on improving that, you tend to not work as hard. If you wake up in the morning and know you are already good at something and you just want to get better, you tend to do it with more enthusiasm.

This is just the beginning of can become a great workable business plan.