Received: from mail-3-166.rch001.net ([52.124.3.166]:55225) by stodi.digitalkingdom.org with esmtps (TLSv1.2:ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384:256) (Exim 4.91) (envelope-from ) id 1gWoUw-0001zo-QA for Lojban@lojban.org; Tue, 11 Dec 2018 12:19:22 -0800 DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; s=k1; d=sc02.rmdlvry001.com; h=From:To:Reply-To:Subject:Feedback-ID:Message-ID:List-Unsubscribe: MIME-Version:Content-Type:Date; bh=rzXTLrNonDhM3XQGnJ34/lQlowUCw81Q32dpMHyEpzs=; b=ePvekSUyeGNkNUvAdRT18j6pOIoXBnVzTrGVeZewUiSC9JkvdgKrXRLmyVJpQUrgSa4kLhT2n36Q 0QNFmU7mWO3fggYklSMBrG8KktPSJfE2NsK2K9KuZS1Z2xdKG8gKynq1vcUcYjTGfpJJI4edXN27 erD0fvtMz3TGN4MxNJ0= From: "Martin Foner" To: "Lojban@lojban.org" Reply-To: Subject: Are You Really Serious to Succeed and Hit Your Goals in 2019?... Or Not? X-BPS1: 6946398 Feedback-ID: 2242093:e3f358ff3e2f409298df36d6dac03a14:marketing:reachmail X-BPS2: 73291 Message-ID: <072b6c4b-c68f-40a3-8566-4984416dfc7d@a.sc02.rmdlvry001.com> List-Unsubscribe: , X-Mailer: RM Mailer (v5.4.923.0) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="=-09VHBk77QuXZtwFj4PqbuQ==" Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2018 14:19:18 -0600 X-Spam-Score: -1.9 (-) X-Spam_score: -1.9 X-Spam_score_int: -18 X-Spam_bar: - This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --=-09VHBk77QuXZtwFj4PqbuQ== Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Having trouble viewing this mail? Click here to view it in your browse= r. http://link.rm0002.net/v/R0WNvmoZKgBvHaL9fcffPQ2 Make sure that you always get our messages: Add martin@ppgcpublishers.= com to your contacts. Click here to unsubscribe or update your email address. http://link.rm0002.net/subscription/?t=3DR0WNvmoZKgBvHaL9fcffPQ2 This email is being sent to Lojban@lojban.org. Use this link to be deleted or to update your email address http://link.rm0002.net/subscription/?t=3DR0WNvmoZKgBvHaL9fcffPQ2 This message was sent by NPL PUBLISHING CONSULTANTS, a Division of Pro= fessional Publishers Group Corporation | POST OFFICE BOX 1010 | VENT= URA, CA 93002 --=-09VHBk77QuXZtwFj4PqbuQ== Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

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Martin Foner’s Publishing Newslette= r

Are You Really Serious to Hit= Your Goals in 2019?... Or Not?

Volume 23, Number 15

Hello, Everyone&he= llip;

Let’s focus on one t= hing this newsletter since it is almost the end of 2018 and we are rap= idly moving into uncharted waters…

IT IS = THE END OF THE YEAR… TWO QUESTIONS… DID YOU EXCEED YOUR = TARGET SALES FIGURE FOR 2018 OR NOT? AND A SECOND EVEN MORE IMPORTANT = QUESTION… HOW DO YOU PLAN TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS FOR 2019 AND BE= YOND?

Read down to P= art Three… where I tell a few real success stories worth readin= g and digesting and understanding and absorbing so you, too, can be su= ccessful in publishing.

PART ONE…

So you made a Plan at leas= t for 2018 and you created some target revenue and profit numbers. Hop= efully, when you did this you also created the Plan that would support= and help to create these numbers.

Now it is Christmas and cl= ose enough to the end of the year, unless your titles are strongly Chr= istmas based and reordered now, to determine if you are going to hit y= our 2018 target revenue figures.

Easy question (and no fool= ing yourself)… yes or no?

If you are, that’s w= onderful, you did your job, worked your Plan, and achieved your goals&= hellip; BRAVO! Now, is the moment to make sure you do it again for 201= 9… make your Plan, set your numbers, create the supporting stru= cture to make the Plan succeed, and get out there for 2019 and kick so= me ass!

Uh… you DIDN’= T hit your goal numbers? Really? Was it because you didn’t creat= e the supporting Plan to ensure you would hit your numbers… or = you didn’t carry out all the work and promos and marketing requi= red to hit your numbers… or are there a half dozen excuses why = the marketplace screwed YOU, distributors screwed YOU, or the marketplace didn’t ‘like’ = a couple of your front list titles?

A post mortem might be in = order, but later… right now you MUST do it right for 2019 or th= ere might not be a 2020 for your business. A solid and successful Plan= is not a difficult thing to do, nor is it time consuming, nor is hiri= ng someone with the expertise who can really help you… consider= ing the alternatives.

The facts are simple and s= tark… a business with a Plan is FIVE TIMES more likely to succe= ed to its fifth anniversary. And it is TEN TIMES more likely to make i= t to the ten year mark. Risk without a Plan and you are swimming again= st the current. You will get there assuming you never get tired.

But why risk all that you = have worked for so far?

This is both a reminder of= your obligation to your business, yourself, and your family, and, of = course a bit of a promo for our Planning Services for Medium and Small= Publishers. In one sentence… We have been planning and consult= ing with publishers just like you for decades to successfully reach th= eir goals. That’s all. Contact me right NOW!… don’t= delay… mfoner@nplcons= ult.com .

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PART TWO…

What is a Publishing Consu= ltant and why do I need one?

If you didn’t hit yo= ur goals for 2018… it is almost 100% likely you won’t do = it again in 2019…and if you miss again… you won’t = likely have 2020 vision in 2020… more likely you will be stavin= g off bankruptcy by then.

So, you need help. No sham= e in that… the only shame is not recognizing and/or not acting = on those needs.

And that help isn’t = your CPA, it isn’t your attorney, and it isn’t the guy dow= n the street or the lady you met at a conference who sells a few books= for publishers… and it isn’t a cousin who has a successf= ul magazine or your whiz niece who is the social media maven and Faceb= ook ad expert.

What you need is…

Someone who has been there, done that, survived and th= rived, succeeded and grown a publishing company from scratch to over $= 6MM in revenues.

Someone who has a “rolodex” (ask your pare= nts) with names of contacts for just about everything related to succe= ss in business… CPAs, Intellectual Property attorneys, printers= who do 5 color die cut covers, that amazing editor who cut a 600 page= tome down to 250 pages of bestseller… those people.

Someone who can read your financials and actually both= make sense of them AND explain what you are doing right and wrong fin= ancially.

Someone who knows what a warehouse is supposed to look= like in real time.

Someone who has a track record of success with other p= ublishing clients who either had serious issues and turned it around o= r were doing fine and wanted to accelerate their growth and exit time.=

Someone who can give you ‘rules of thumb’ = about costs, orders shipped, time on telephones, social media effectiv= eness ratios, email open and click through rates for books, and more.<= /li>
Someone who can do all this and much of it off the top= of his or her head from current, this month, last month, real world e= xperiences.

And why do you need this p= erson?

Because when you begin hit= ting your goals, you can move more quickly to an Exit Strategy and if = you haven’t been hitting your goals, it would be nice to still b= e in business in 2020. THAT is what a real Publishing Consultant does&= hellip; help you to be successful!

    &n= bsp;           =            &nbs= p;          _ _ _ _ _ _ _= _ _

PART THREE…=

A few success = stories…

So, what makes a Publishin= g Consultant worth his or her fees and efforts? Let’s look at th= ree real world examples:

A Three Hour Turna= round… yes, it= took three hours to take this company from the edge of bankruptcy to = renewed health and a sale about 18 months later to a large publisher&h= ellip;

I remember the call&hellip= ; an -ex client of mine. He had invested about $50,000 in another publ= ishing company and they were about to declare bankruptcy and he wonder= ed what I would need to see to figure out if there was some solution t= o salvaging the company.

The next day a FedEx arriv= ed. Three hours later, the solution was obvious and frankly I was surp= rised that the accountants, attorneys, managers, and the Board hadn&rs= quo;t seen it.

In short, the issue was 75= creditors and imminent lawsuits. Revenues were fine to maintain the c= urrent activity levels but these 75 old debts needed attention.

Solution… 74 signed= on to longer term payment plans with interest… one had to be p= aid off. Total management time involved, 48 hours. Crisis averted&hell= ip; but ONLY when you take decisive action…

Post script… the co= mpany was sold to a known NY publisher about 18 months later… a= ll investors repaid in full.

Of course, looking at a co= ndensed version of the story it appears anyone could have come up with= the answer, but again, that is why you hire publishing experience. Ha= d the attorneys and accountants gotten into this, it would have cost t= he company tens of thousands to solve a basic problem. Including my fo= llow up supervision, I billed for a whole day of consult… = and that was the end of it.

    &n= bsp;           =            &nbs= p;           &n= bsp;        _ _ _ = _ _ _ _

A Series of Recomm= endations to Make a Mature Company More Profitable for the owner without taking additional = risks of chasing new business or expanding facilities and staff&hellip= ;

A client of mine, starting= to think about retirement 3 to 5 years down the line, asked me if the= re were ways to improve profitability for the sale without risking add= itional investment, staff, inventory, etc. he was past the idea of gro= wing… he just wanted to keep the program going for another 18-2= 4 months… put the company up for sale, and retire… but i= f possible, be able to continue to show improvements in operations and= profitability.

This takes a bit more unde= rstanding of the specific publishing operation and where the revenues = flow from and the expenses flow to. This was right in my wheelhouse wi= th my financial, accounting, and tax background.

Over the course of about e= ight weeks, we worked to understand and control a number of areas&hell= ip;

Interestingly enough the f= irst was in revenues… raising prices was the first issue as the= y had not been increased in almost ten years. With steady sales, this = increased the top line by 15%.

Inventory control… = a quick ‘years of inventory’ study put red flags on about = two dozen titles that were immediately put on sale to reduce to under = one year… the cash flow wasn’t a bad thing either. Future= printings of all titles would be reduced to maintain one year levels = even if that meant paying fifteen or twenty cents more per unit printe= d.

Expenses… easiest p= lace to make changes. The economy offered an opportunity to renegotiat= e leases downward, reductions in inventory reduced the need for more w= arehouse, more vendors were made to deliver rather than ‘pick up= ’ by the company, reducing one vehicle from service… yes,= small stuff but all in all it reduced the overhead by almost $5,000 p= er month, and when combined with revenue increases, the net impact was= an increase in the net on similar year over year sales of almost $80,= 000.

This translated into almos= t $300,000 in additional selling price when it was time to sell. Notwi= thstanding 2-3 years of an extra $80K before taxes in profits.<= /p>
Total impact: $500,000.&nb= sp; Total cost of consult: $7,500.

Epilog: Yes, you DO have t= o spend a few dollars to make money. Those who don’t… oft= en die a slow, depressing, but expected, death.

    &n= bsp;           =            &nbs= p;           &n= bsp;        _ _ _ = _ _ _ _

An Owner Who Wante= d to Sell Out for a Specific Figure and through some serious analysis and consult, we achie= ved his goal TWO YEARS ahead of his five-year schedule, simply by&hell= ip;

Starting early, knowing wh= at actions impact selling prices of companies, how computations are ma= de by Buyers, and adjusting the company to fit the needs of the top gr= oup of potential Buyers.

This was a long term consu= lt with a client with whom I had been “once a year” going = over numbers. I determined that we could get done in three years inste= ad of five, providing we spent a year really working every week and mo= nth on putting his house in order.

Yes, he invested about $2,= 000 a month in our work for a year. Big investment, but continue readi= ng for his return on that investment.

We did everything one has = to do to put a publisher’s ‘house in order’ from inv= entory streamlining to operations streamlining, policy and procedures,= increasing prices and other revenue enhancement activities, and then = finally the careful scalpel excising of expenses.

In this case there were th= ree distinct activities going on in the company. In doing separate P &= amp; Ls for each activity, we discovered a result just the opposite of= the owner’s beliefs… the one he felt could be dropped wa= s creating all the profits and the one he wanted to push harder was ac= tually losing $10-$20K a year.

So, the losing activity wa= s 90% curtailed but not eliminated, since a small portion of that acti= vity was profitable, and the activity he wanted to drop was supported = and earned even more profits in the interim period before the sale.

Yes, in many cases it is A= LL numbers. But not for a regular accountant type numbers… it t= akes someone not only numbers focused but publishing savvy to read and= see and ferret out the issues that publishers have… and yes th= ey are different for every business and industry… which is why = you really do need a Publishing Consultant to do this work successfull= y. Accountants ask… good consultants TELL!

Bottom line… The co= mpany was sold for $250,000 more than the floor figure the owner set, = and TWO YEARS before his five year plan. Small investment… big = returns.

    &n= bsp;           =            &nbs= p;           &n= bsp;        _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

PART FOUR…<= /span>

Final note… no, not= all consults will yield six figure results. And not all consults cost= five figures to achieve. Here are some guidelines as far as our own w= ork is concerned:

Basic Strategic Plan&helli= p; $1,000-$1,500

Analysis of Titles for Bul= k & Custom Selling Program… $1,000 - $2,500

Sales Growth Strategies an= d Follow Up… $2,500 - $5,000

Acquisition Strategy Revie= w… $2,500

Assistance in an Acquisiti= on, and Assimilation of… $2,500 - $5,000

Turnaround Situation Consu= lt… $2,500

In Advance of a Sale Analy= sis of Company… $2,500 - $4,000

Prepare a Company for Sale= … (90 days of consult)… $5,000 - $7,500

Of course every situation = is different and these figures could be high or low… let us hav= e the opportunity to discuss your situation confidentially and provide= you with both advice and direction.

Contact me directly: mfoner@nplconsult.com <= /p>
Don’t wait… 2= 019 is coming in a few days and you had better be ready OR plan to get= buried again this year.

A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR-ME

If you believe your publis= hing business, or any commercial business you own, isn’t up to w= hat it should be creating or earning… then you should contact m= e at mfoner@nplconsult.com. I can help you grow your company to your goals and then help you ex= it profitably.

If you want to acquire ano= ther publisher, or line, or even a few titles, then you should contact= me.

If you want to sell your c= ompany, or lines, or a few titles, contact me.

If you want to succeed as = a self-publisher… contact me.

If you finally get the ide= a how critical it is to have a Strategic Plan, then for certain and ri= ght now, you should contact me at mfoner@nplconsult.com.

© Martin Foner, 2018.=   mfoner@nplconsul= t.com

There should be an unsubsc= ribe button somewhere at the footer of this email, but if there is not= , simply email me directly at mfoner@nplconsult.com, and I will have you removed from future em= ailings.

While it is considered opt= out instead of opt in, if you don’t unsubscribe, we will consid= er you as approving us to continue to send you newsletters and related= publishing information. If you do not approve, you need to un= subscribe, not mark this spam or do other untoward things… just= unsubscribe is enough.

NPL Publishing Consultants= , a division of Professional Publishers Group Corporation, Post Office= Box 1010, Ventura CA 93002.

www.nplconsult.com www.ppgcpublishers.com
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This email is being sent to Lojban@loj= ban.org.

Use this link to be del= eted or to update your email address

This messag= e was sent by NPL PUBLISHING CONSULTANTS, a Division of Professional P= ublishers Group Corporation | POST OFFICE BOX 1010 | VENTURA, CA 930= 02

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