Page 214 - Midas Touch

3. Become predictable.

The more predictable the business, the more valuable it is. Businesses
need to be able to predict earnings, expenses, growth, and forecast future
revenues and profits. Many of the companies mentioned in this book are

masters at predictability. In some cases, they are public companies that are
required to forecast. Predictability is why you often hear on market
reports, “Apple beat expectations and the stock has hit an all-time high.”

But predictability also means consistency of brand experience. Once
again, McDonald’s is the master of this. No matter where you go in the
world, the service, the taste, portion control and the surroundings are very
predictable. One problem with S-quadrant businesses is that the

entrepreneur is the business. That makes the business very unpredictable.
What if the entrepreneur gets sick, injured, burned out or just plain old?
The company’s ability to continue becomes questionable, and
predictability goes out the window. Unpredictability also hits S-businesses
when they begin to expand. They often lose control of the little thing they
do well. Then predictability declines, and chaos follows. Predictability is

not just a nice-to-have. It is critical to securing financing for your
business.

Ask yourself: “How far off is my business from becoming predictable, and
what must I do to get there?”

4. Become financeable.

Once a business can prove its ability to leverage the little thing the
business does better than anyone else, investors begin to take notice. When

a business proves it can expand and grow, investors become very
interested. Once a business achieves predictability, the sky is the limit.
That is why Walmart, McDonald’s, Apple, Microsoft, and Google are the
darlings of the stock markets.

Ask yourself: “Do I have all the pieces in place to make my company
financeable? If not, what pieces am I missing?”

The Most Important Thing

Given all the gifts and the little things entrepreneurs can use as
foundations to build global businesses, there is one little thing that every