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We write a lot about gross profit in this magazine, but judging from some of our survey results, a lot of readers are still fuzzy on the concept. The calculation is simple — gross profit equals revenue minus direct costs — but as with so many other financial concepts, the devil is in the details.
What was your total revenue last year? It's a simple question, but you'd be surprised how different the answers can be. To establish meaningful benchmarks it's important to always compare apples to apples — or at least red apples to green apples instead of some other fruit. That means agreeing on...
When employees work overtime, you are obliged to pay them time-and-a-half. That sounds expensive, but OT hours don't really cost 50% more than regular hours. In fact, under normal circumstances, overtime costs about the same as straight time.
Remodelers around the country are finding the current economic climate difficult at best; most are scrambling to find ways to maintain what they had previously thought was secure — their net profit.
Any amount of slippage, if consistent, will quietly and effectively kill your year. Some slippage is just bad luck, but here are eight causes that you can control.
Chances for success increase when company owners focus on what they like to do and what they do best.
When remodelers fall short of planned margins, it's usually caused by labor overages. Some of the problem can be traced to things like having to replace work that wasn't done right the first time, or employees who take 45 minutes for a 30-minute lunch. But underestimating the cost of labor is the...
Most small business owners can't find enough hours in the day to do everything that needs to be done. They know they should assign their tasks to employees, but which ones? To help in those decisions, take a look at the Skill/Value/Time (SVT) matrix.
Financial performance is only one measure of what makes for a Big50 company, but it's an important one. Strong profits enable a company to be selective about its work, and make it possible to offer good benefit packages to its employees. How does your company measure up?
Building a client base is a process that involves your entire marketing and sales system. After marketing delivers your message to the target prospects, the sales steps are like workstations on a conveyor belt; each one adds time, money, and energy to the initial marketing effort.