[jwholden]

OK, here's the scenario.

You are told you have only one year to live. If you can work 55 hours a week and make the same money you are currently making next year your contract is renewed and you get to live another year. The following year the bar will be raised to earning 10% more to stay on this planet, and so on and so on. If you can't earn the same money working 55 hours you have to meet your maker.

What do you do?

[Stonehenge]

First, let's get some ground rules .... Define 'make the same money.'

[jwholden]

Whatever you are netting now. Net again. Or perhaps I should say maintain the same lifestyle next year as this year.

I'm not concerned with growing your business some ficticious percent, maintain your quality of life and ONLY work 55 hours a week. But hey, you overacheivers can make the business grow a gizillion times and dominate the world, but you can ONLY work 55 hours a week.

The key point to this question is:

ONLY WORK 55 HOURS A WEEK

[Paul]

I haven't found a small business owner that will only work 55 hours a week. They don't exist.

[Stonehenge]

55 hours for one business, right?

After all, this is what I like to do...no sense curtailing enjoyment.

If I had to, the first thing I'd do is raise prices. Second thing is open up the budget a little on marketing, but do a better job on screening the potential clients that result from the marketing.

I wouldn't do much to the employee setup; 10% is not that much of a jump, and making drastic changes there could put the short term goal in jeopardy. Keep them there, keep them relatively happy.

As for having to do that year after year, I dunno. At some point you will have maximized the production potential of the people on board and hit the maximum price the market will bear. The only way to make the next incremental increase is to take the leap, invest in more equipment and manpower...problem is, they have to be extremely productive in year one, paying for at least the amortization of the new equipment that year, plus their own salaries, plus the additional marketing expense, etc.

I guess I'd have a three year plan for finding Joe Black in a dark alley and taking care of business that way.

Increasing 10% per year under the threat of death would provide me with more motivation to tweak what we already do; too risky to try to make a bigger jump than that - make a mistake and >poof< You're an . Or not .

[Stonehenge]

JW, you know that if you increase your biz 10% each year, in 7 years, cumulatively you'll have doubled your total business. Another 7 and you'll double it again. Before you know it, you'll be dominating your market.

[jwholden]

LOL