<FONT color=blue>Online Extra</FONT>: 4 Resolutions for a More Successful Business in 2008

Editor's note: January PCT included the feature Resolve to Become a Wealthy PCO written by Jim McHale, Dan Gordon and Jonathan Yee, principals of PMP Wealthbuilders, Newton, N.J. In the following online extra, McHale, Gordon and Yee share four business-related resolutions for PCOs to consider in 2008.

• Set a goal of selling a set number of service contracts, next month, next quarter or next year. These contacts should be standard, understanding both how many hours of work each contract will require and what the revenue per hour should be in order to make them profitable. If you can execute this plan, you will be able to know what your personnel needs will be.
• Set a goal of creating a job description for each functional area in your company. For a growing company these jobs include technician, salesperson, customer service representative and manager/supervisor. The job description needs to outline clearly and concisely what responsibilities and tasks each job entails. It also should indicate key qualifications of the job and the attributes that underlie superior performance in it.
• Set a goal of mapping out the workflow in your office from when a phone call comes in to who handles that phone call to who schedules the technician or salesperson to what paperwork is given to him/her and what paperwork comes back. It’s extremely important to understand how all of this is done in order to scale your business into one that ultimately builds your wealth.
• Set a goal of meeting with your accountant to ensure that all of these areas of accounting are addressed. Make sure your accountant has the time and skills to help you handle your expected growth. If he can’t, find a new accountant.