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Remember that the goal of business is profit. It's not being liked, or social media...

by Joe Mobley
20 replies
Remember that the goal of business is profit.

It's not being liked, or having a huge social media presence, or having amazing products that nobody buys.

It's not having a beautiful website, or perfectly crafted email newsletters, or an incredibly popular blog.

In larger businesses, this is called accountability to shareholders.

Business is not a popularity contest. The CEO doesn't get away with saying "But look at all these people that like us on Facebook!" Shareholders will not accept that.

You are the majority shareholder in your business, and you have to protect your investment.

You have to make sure that your recurring activities are as directly tied to making money as possible.

There's nothing wrong with having a hobby, but if you want to call it a business, you have to make money.

Naomi is right: On any given day, there are all kinds of things you can do that have nothing to do with making money...
Page 165 of The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau.

This is something I have to keep reminding myself of all the time.

Joe Mobley
#business #goal #media #profit #remember #social
  • Profile picture of the author Paul Hooper-Kelly
    Congratulations, Joe, you're right on the money.

    After all, you can stay in bed for nothing.

    Copywriter god, John Carlton, relates an incident when he was working with the late, great Gary Halbert, that sums it up perfectly.

    Folks kept coming into his office with problems ... taxes where due ... the rent was past due ... the photocopier needed replacing ... et cetera ...

    Halbert ushered them all out and locked the door to his office.

    Then he and Carlton spent the next six hours doing the only thing that counted: writing sizzling copy to bring in the bucks to solve all those pesky problems in a flash!

    So, never lose sight of what business is about - one hundred thousand, two hundred thousand, three ...

    Paul
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    • Profile picture of the author androifield
      Originally Posted by Paul Hooper-Kelly View Post

      Congratulations, Joe, you're right on the money.

      After all, you can stay in bed for nothing.

      Copywriter god, John Carlton, relates an incident when he was working with the late, great Gary Halbert, that sums it up perfectly.

      Folks kept coming into his office with problems ... taxes where due ... the rent was past due ... the photocopier needed replacing ... et cetera ...

      Halbert ushered them all out and locked the door to his office.

      Then he and Carlton spent the next six hours doing the only thing that counted: writing sizzling copy to bring in the bucks to solve all those pesky problems in a flash!

      So, never lose sight of what business is about - one hundred thousand, two hundred thousand, three ...

      Paul

      Hey Paul! John and Gary called it "Operation Money Suck". Just forgot where I heard it. But yes, that's a great lesson on what we should be doing. So if what we're doing is not bringing in money to the business, it's not worth doing.
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  • Profile picture of the author WillR
    Originally Posted by Joe Mobley View Post

    Remember that the goal of business is profit.
    Not always. Look at charities. The goal of your business and many others might be solely profits but that doesn't mean everyone is the same. Plenty of people get a real kick out of helping people and so their sole goal is not just profits.

    Each to their own though.
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    • Profile picture of the author Young Financier
      Originally Posted by WillR View Post

      Not always. Look at charities. The goal of your business and many others might be solely profits but that doesn't mean everyone is the same. Plenty of people get a real kick out of helping people and so their sole goal is not just profits.

      Each to their own though.
      I'm not sure how charities work in Australia, but in America, charities and non-profits are pulling in more money than most Fortune 500 companies...and hardly any of it is going toward the things they claim. I'm not talking down on them, not even mad at them, just stating facts. Claiming to be a charity or a non-profit is solely a tax benefit in America, but profit is their motive.
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      • Profile picture of the author WillR
        Originally Posted by Sean Tudor Carter View Post

        I'm not sure how charities work in Australia, but in America, charities and non-profits are pulling in more money than most Fortune 500 companies...and hardly any of it is going toward the things they claim. I'm not talking down on them, not even mad at them, just stating facts. Claiming to be a charity or a non-profit is solely a tax benefit in America, but profit is their motive.
        I'm not talking about big charities like that.

        Anyway, my point is the same. Not everyone is all about the bottom line.
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        • Profile picture of the author Anonymous Affiliate
          Originally Posted by WillR View Post

          Not everyone is all about the bottom line.
          Not *everyone* is about the bottom line, but *every business* is indeed about the bottom line, and that's precisely what we're discussing here: business.

          I agree with the OP: sometimes we get too caught up in Social Media, likes, re-tweets, shares, comments, backlinks, followers, and other ratios that may or may not have a direct link to what truly matter for every business: someone swinging a credit card!
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        • Profile picture of the author Kay King
          my point is the same. Not everyone is all about the bottom line.
          Charities large and small are run like a business due to legal requirements. Without profit in the form of donations the charity has nothing to give away.

          If you run a business without caring about the bottom line - chances are someone else pays your bills in real life. What the OP is saying is the "appearance" of success" isn't the same as profit in the bank every month.
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          • Profile picture of the author Michael Meaney
            Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

            Charities large and small are run like a business due to legal requirements. Without profit in the form of donations the charity has nothing to give away.

            If you run a business without caring about the bottom line - chances are someone else pays your bills in real life. What the OP is saying is the "appearance" of success" isn't the same as profit in the bank every month.
            Completely agree.

            I used to work for a charity once upon a time, their were fierce and entirely focused on profit. Rightly so. Even the regional managers wore Armani and drove Mercs, because the charity only employed savvy people to manage things, and they come with a price tag.
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  • Profile picture of the author ronrule
    You're on the right track, Joe - Just don't make the mistake many people think and think that because those things aren't the primary goal that they aren't important. It's all part of the "brand essence".

    Facebook is a great example here. In spite of what many "marketers" tell you, Facebook isn't a marketing platform - it's a consumer engagement platform. Those who try to use Facebook's interest-targeted ads to get direct sales usually wind up posting here saying "Facebook ads don't convert", but the reality is they're using Facebook in the most ineffective manner. Facebook lets your brand build a relationship with its customers and future customers, and I've found the most effective way to use them is to focus on getting people to Like the page, then run the ads showing them to people who already Like the page and their friends.

    Your shareholders will understand brand messaging, provided it's part of an overall brand strategy and not just "being popular".
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    Ron Rule
    http://ronrule.com

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    • Profile picture of the author ksmusselman
      The goal of the business may be to make money and make a profit, but getting there requires that people know, like and trust you first.

      Read "Think and Grow Rich" and watch the movie, "The Secret" and you'll probably change your perspective in a heartbeat.
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      • Profile picture of the author MKCookins
        Originally Posted by ksmusselman View Post

        The goal of the business may be to make money and make a profit, but getting there requires that people know, like and trust you first.

        Read "Think and Grow Rich" and watch the movie, "The Secret" and you'll probably change your perspective in a heartbeat.
        Exactly this...

        Of course at the end of the day we all want to make money -- but this can only be accomplish once we get people to know, like, and trust us.

        While some people will not want to hear this -- this can take time. You need to learn to create good copy, attractive websites, and learn to drive traffic.

        Once you learn how to connect with people, provide them with massive value for free, the profits will naturally start to come afterwards.

        So in the end, the more you help people, the more you will be rewarded with.
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        • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
          Originally Posted by MKCookins View Post

          Of course at the end of the day we all want to make money -- but this can only be accomplish once we get people to know, like, and trust us.

          While some people will not want to hear this -- this can take time. You need to learn to create good copy, attractive websites, and learn to drive traffic.
          In a business setting, forging a know-like-trust business relationship IS a profit-centered activity.

          Scan the whinier threads on the forum, and see where people take a wrong turn.

          "I have a gazillion and three likes on my Facebook page, but no one buys my stuff..."

          "I got 48 jillion clicks to my landing page, but no one subscribes to my list..."

          "I have umpteen thousand people on my list but most of them ignore me and the rest never buy anything..."

          "I have a PR9 and daily visitors bigger than some countries, but no sales..."

          Some of them are simply incompetent, which can be cured. Some are busy trying hard to get likes, clicks, opt-ins or traffic, but then they treat those people like commodities.

          I'll say it again - doing the things that foster a know-like-trust business relationship is a profit oriented activity.
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      • Profile picture of the author Michael Meaney
        Originally Posted by ksmusselman View Post

        The goal of the business may be to make money and make a profit, but getting there requires that people know, like and trust you first.
        I've never fully agreed with the whole know, like and trust thing.. although I'm sure it makes getting the sale a whole lot easier.

        The reason I don't completely agree with it is because I've bought from people I didn't like.. but I felt they were competent enough to deliver, even if I didn't enjoy dealing with them.
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  • Profile picture of the author Istvan Horvath
    I don't consider charities to be "business". It's a different kind of organization with different goals: conf. the alternate name - non-for-profit.
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by WillR View Post

      Not always. Look at charities. The goal of your business and many others might be solely profits but that doesn't mean everyone is the same. Plenty of people get a real kick out of helping people and so their sole goal is not just profits.

      Each to their own though.
      The point is still valid. Charities may not call it "profit", but having more money to work with, expanding reach or depth of service, etc. all require watching the bottom line.

      That's why the big boys (and girls) use professional fundraisers that end up eating half or more of what they bring in. The part left to the charity is enough to get things done.

      That's why little boys (and girls) partner with local businesses to sell the business's products or services for a piece of the pie, and the business forgos immediate profit in the hope of building goodwill and future profits.

      Fortunately for most charities, pursuing profit and doing good are not mutually exclusive...
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      • Profile picture of the author fin
        You mean someone was lying when they told me it was about finding your voice, reaching out to your tribe, and getting lots of tweets?
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        • Profile picture of the author Joe Mobley
          Perhaps some may have missed the point of the OP.

          Originally Posted by Joe Mobley View Post


          Naomi is right: On any given day, there are all kinds of things you can do that have nothing to do with making money...

          Again, let me give credit where credit is due.
          Page 165 of The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau.


          Joe Mobley

          I have no financial relationship with Chris.
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          • Profile picture of the author Joe Mobley
            Originally Posted by Joe Mobley View Post

            I have no financial relationship with Chris.
            Doh! Except that I bought his book...

            Joe Mobley
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  • Profile picture of the author trader909
    Superb point. I see companies obsessed on G. rankings but is it a worthwhile game to play?
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  • Profile picture of the author jasondinner
    Originally Posted by Joe Mobley View Post

    Page 165 of The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau.

    It's not being liked, or having a huge social media presence, or having amazing products that nobody buys.
    Business is not a popularity contest. The CEO doesn't get away with saying "But look at all these people that like us on Facebook!" Shareholders will not accept that.
    I get what he's trying to say, but he must not know how to truly harness the power of social media.

    There are hundreds of businesses who generate large sums of money as a direct result of their social media presence.

    Just sayin
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