Business Unfiltered Jeff Sauer and Chris "Mercer" Mercer

Welcome back to Business Unfiltered with Mercer and Jeff Sauer today's topic is Announcing ProfitSchool
0:00: Creating a business operating system for small teams. Profit School aims to help small businesses with teams under 15 people operate more efficiently and profitably.
4:10: Freelancing, team management, and profitability. Jeff and Mercer discuss their journey in the business world and how they arrived at their current focus on profit school.
7:25: Business management stages, from wagon wheel to private jet. Mercer describes the 3 management stages: the "wagon wheel" management model, the "pit crew" approach, and “private jet” mode. He emphasizes the importance of creating frameworks and systems to help owners move through the different stages of growth and change their mindset and management structure.
11:22: Measuring brands and outsourcing work to specialists. Jeff and Mercer discuss the challenges of scaling their businesses while maintaining quality and control.
13:12: Scaling businesses with a framework for growth. Jeff and Mercer discuss the growth stages and the recipe for success in an organization, with the same basic recipe but increasing nuances as the organization advances. The framework for success, or OPS, involves the same steps but with different nuances, customizing techniques, and attention to detail to reach the highest level of performance.
17:14: Defining and optimizing systems, operations, and people in business. Mercer defines the OPS framework - Offers, Products, and Systems, emphasizing the importance of systems in gluing everything together.
20:34: Implementing EOS system in a small business with limited resources. Jeff discusses the cost of implementing the Entrepreneurs Operating System (EOS), which was $6,000 per day and $50,000 to $100,000 per year. He struggled with implementing EOS in his 5-person company without a dedicated integrator.
24:15: Creating a system for small businesses to increase profitability. Jeff and Mercer discuss the importance of a clear operations system for businesses, especially those with less than 15 employees. Mercer discusses the profit school framework, which includes DOP systems, RAD products, and MOR.
28:45: Fixing business systems for growth and success. The system is designed to help early pioneers overcome challenges and excel in their businesses.

Welcome back to Business Unfiltered with Mercer and Jeff Sauer today's topic is The Shark Tank Test
0:00: Shark Tank test for businesses, focusing on elevator pitch and valuation. Jeff and Mercer discuss the "Shark Tank test" for entrepreneurs and wonder if their business could be invested in on the show.
3:17: Evaluating the business potential for Shark Tank investment. Jeff Sauer evaluates his business by comparing it to Shark Tank companies, determining if he's on the right track.
6:38: Entrepreneurship, business growth, and Shark Tank aspirations. Jeff needed help to balance supporting his lifestyle with achieving his business goals. He realized he needed to adjust his mindset and expectations to succeed in his business.
11:14: Entrepreneurship, marketing, and choosing the right niche. Mercer ponders how to simplify the elevator pitch for his business, even for non-experts, and how to make it easy to understand. Mercer and Jeff reflect on their decision to enter the niche despite the challenges, with Mercer noting that he enjoyed the work and found it fulfilling.
14:36: Business models, Shark Tank, and growth. Jeff explains the wagon wheel business model, where the founder is the center and everything goes through them. Jeff and Mercer aim to solve the "Shark Tank test" by creating an investable business model.
19:09: Valuation and potential for businesses, with advice on determining and communicating value. Jeff discusses a company's valuation and potential, highlighting the difference between the two. He shares how to determine a company's true value, rather than relying on optimistic estimates.
24:41: Entrepreneurship, valuation, and investment opportunities. Mercer summarizes the Shark Tank experience, valuation, and pitching simplicity. He emphasizes the importance of the elevator pitch with a focus on delivering value simply and consistently.
28:36: Using the Shark Tank test to improve businesses. Jeff emphasizes the importance of benchmarking and learning from others. The hosts encourage listeners to perfect their elevator pitch and pivot if necessary.

Welcome back to Business Unfiltered with Mercer and Jeff Sauer today's topic is Learning More vs Doing More
0:00: Balance between learning and doing in business. Mercer and Jeff discuss the balance between learning and doing in business. They emphasize the importance of practicing skills after learning new information.
2:37: Balancing learning and doing to achieve growth. Jeff suggests quarterly priorities are ideal for learning and implementing new skills, rather than monthly priorities. The synergy between learning and doing is key to growth and staying ahead of the curve.
5:07: Learning and growth through revisiting and applying knowledge. Mercer discusses how he used to prioritize being right over taking action, but now prioritizes being a little bit less wrong. He finds it helpful to reframe his approach to learning and improvement by focusing on being a little bit better than before.
9:40: Entrepreneurship, learning, and growth. Jeff emphasizes the importance of gradual progress (leveling up) rather than rapid growth. Both learning and doing are key to achieving inflection points in business.
12:31: Managing team members who only learn but don't take action. Jeff reflects on past experiences with team members who appear to be learning but not taking action.
15:45: Managing team members, setting goals, and providing constructive feedback. Jeff uses humor to encourage personal development and set expectations for roles within the company. Identifying root problems (e.g., perfectionism, busyness) is key to learning and growth.
22:02: Mastering paid traffic for business growth. At a recent Mastermind Mercer and Jeff realized they struggle with implementing this basic step in their business. They overcompensate with other skills, neglecting paid traffic.
24:59: Overcoming fear and underinvesting in easy opportunities due to past financial challenges. Jeff identifies fear as the root cause of underinvesting in easy opportunities and seeks to overcome it through mastermind support.
27:05: Overcoming fear and taking action to grow a successful business. Mercer shares insights on embracing uncertainty and taking action.

Welcome back to Business Unfiltered with Mercer and Jeff Sauer today's topic is Service Stacking
0:00: Service stacking for business growth. Mercer and Jeff discuss the concept of "service stacking," where service providers offer multiple services in a bundled package to establish a relationship with clients and increase the likelihood of repeat business. Jeff explains service stacking, a technique for expanding services offered to existing clients, starting with low-risk offers and gradually increasing the value over time.
5:48: Scaling a measurement marketing agency. Jeff uses Measurement Marketing as an example and discusses the measurement marketing service, which includes a dedicated measurement person for $5,000/month.
8:59: Scaling a digital marketing business through pricing strategies. Jeff discusses the importance of having a low-risk offer to attract potential clients and then upsell them on higher-ticket services like dedicated measurement marketing. He suggests offering a free value bomb, training, or paid training to attract potential clients and then upsell them on higher-ticket services.
13:25: Scaling a business through service stacking. Mercer suggests starting with a smaller offer, like $2,000, and then gradually increasing the price as the business grows. He also mentions the importance of having a consistent revenue stream for growing a company, and the service stacking model as a way to achieve this.
17:00: Pricing and project management in digital marketing. Jeff discusses the importance of separating low-risk and high-ticket offers in digital marketing services. He explains retainer pricing as three projects: strategy, implementation, and ongoing maintenance.
19:57: Unbundling services and pricing. Jeff explains how unbundling services can help reduce costs and make them more affordable for clients. Mercer agrees that pitching all three at once makes sense and plants the seed for future work.
26:00: Marketing budgeting and securing future projects. Jeff suggests asking for smaller projects or budgets to get started with a company, and then using those wins to secure larger projects later on. He advises being proactive in securing a budget for future projects by having conversations with clients about their needs, and then advocating for increased funding when the time comes.
27:30: Pricing and packaging services for maximum profit. To get started Jeff recommends line-iteming current services to determine what can be scaled up and priced appropriately. He also suggests bucketing services into tactical, strategic, or high-ticket work to ensure senior personnel are working on the most valuable tasks.

Welcome back to Business Unfiltered with Mercer and Jeff Sauer today's topic is Stupid Things Entrepreneurs Do
0:00: Entrepreneurial mistakes, including taking on too much work and not building a strong team. Mercer started a monthly Entertainment Guide newspaper in his early entrepreneurial days but made the mistake of not learning how to manage a team. He quickly learned that entrepreneurs should build a team, not do everything themselves.
4:10: The dangers of assuming success and the importance of learning from failures. Jeff learned the hard way that having a "Midas Touch" doesn't guarantee success, and urges the listener to never fail the same way twice.
6:25: Business mistakes and the importance of recognizing possibility vs probability in decision-making. Jeff shares his failed attempt at dropshipping, losing $15 on each product sold. Mercer reflects on past mistakes, recognizing both the possibility and the probability of being wrong.
11:10: Recognizing and addressing mistakes in work and personal life. Mercer reflects on past mistakes, such as tolerating work that drains his soul.
13:56: The importance of iterating and adapting in business to avoid stagnation and grow revenue. Jeff compares technical debt to anchors, explaining how it can be beneficial at the beginning but become a hindrance later on.
17:23: The importance of self-awareness and growth in entrepreneurship. Mercer shares insights on the importance of self-awareness and growth. Beliefs can be useful or not, and it's important to distinguish between the two.
20:22: Hiring mistakes and how to improve employee management. Jeff’s mistake was trying to teach his way out of problems instead of being an active manager, resulting in confusion and poor performance from team members.
24:40: Common business mistakes and how to learn from them. Jeff admits to not listening to Mercer during a launch, leading to a mistake. Mercer appreciated Jeff’s push to see the potential for collaboration.
29:46: Improving communication and decision-making in business partnerships. Jeff reflects on the value of being wrong and discussing ideas with others and emphasizes the importance of reading the room and presenting in a way that resonates with different people.

Welcome back to Business Unfiltered with Mercer and Jeff Sauer today's topic is The CFO Role
0:00: Integrating CFO mentality in small businesses. Mercer and Jeff Sauer discuss the CFO role in small businesses, exploring how to integrate the CFO mentality without hiring a full-time CFO. They consider options such as using an advisor or CPA to play the role, and how entrepreneurs without accounting background can still adopt the CFO mindset.
2:37: Financial management for small businesses. Jeff discusses the importance of financial management for small businesses, highlighting the need for a bookkeeper to organize financial records and provide valuable insights.
4:43: Outsourcing bookkeeping tasks for small businesses. Bookkeeper helps small businesses by organizing financial data and ensuring accuracy.
5:37: Roles for small business financial management. Bookkeeper: manage day-to-day finances, invoicing, and payments. Virtual CFO/Business Coach: help with financial planning, forecasting, and profitability.
7:37: Financial roles in small businesses. Jeff discusses the importance of hiring a financial controller in small businesses, as they bridge the gap between the CEO and CFO roles and manage financial statements, reports, and expenses.
11:26: The tension between entrepreneurs and controllers in a business. Jeff suggests that CFOs and entrepreneurs often have different perspectives on growth, with CFOs focusing on facts and entrepreneurs looking to the future. Mercer agrees, noting that CFOs are risk-averse and entrepreneurs are more willing to take risks, leading to conflicts in decision-making.
15:32: Financial forecasting and risk management in business. Mercer emphasizes the importance of forecasting in business, citing the need for both marketing and financial control to work together to make informed decisions.
20:01: Financial planning and control for a business. Jeff suggests breaking down financial forecasting into weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual intervals to stay on top of expenses and revenue.
24:28: Financial management and decision-making for a business. Jeff highlights the value of having a CFO or financial professional involved in decision-making, as they can provide objective and unbiased analysis and recommendations.
26:57: The importance of a CFO role in business. Mercer encourages listeners to have conversations within their organization about the CFO role and how it can be implemented, even if hiring a CFO is not currently feasible.