Getting Your Business to the Next Level

Purchase the physical book at https://www.createspace.com/4127903

Exploring the many positive benefits of Next Level Thinking

John F. Ellsworth
Version 1.0 Edited by Spencer J. Ellsworth

PREFACE
You may be wondering why, at this point, I have decided to write this book. Yet, with the recent amount of dairy operations, which we are seeing exit the industry, I felt it was time to offer some direct assistance to those who have opted to remain, or would it be more appropriate to suggest those who have survived? While it has been sad to observe the devastation of so many, who have left the dairy industry (not necessarily by their own choice), I suppose, to some extent, it was inevitable in any capitalistic society. I would also likely be remiss to not offer this information in an effort to help those, who would welcome such guidance. Some state that some things are just out of our control. However, after consulting with producers these past fifteen years, I am not one to generally accept this conventional wisdom without questioning it to some extent. That is probably the very reason I was always (and still am) uncomfortable with the one way, hierarchical communication that takes place within financial institutions. If I had not challenged some of the conventional wisdom in the marketplace, I suppose I could have been burdened with a tombstone that bears the epitaph that I most hope to avoid:

John F. Ellsworth 1956-2013 He would have done some really creative things, but his boss wouldnt let him.
Please do not give me that label (and kindly erase the 2013, while you are at it). There are far too many positive opportunities for us to explore. How I would prefer my tombstone to someday read:

John F. Ellsworth 1956-Whenever He offered a different perspective and helped so many others to win.
However, to accomplish this feat, you need a system, a Success system, if you will. It will be one that can guide you to ever higher levels of accomplishment. Try it. Do it for yourself. It will likely change your thinking in some areas of your business. Far better to change than to resist these forces and be faced with an outcome, described by U.S. Armed Forces Chief of Staff Eric Shinseki, when he stated: If you dont like change, youre going to enjoy irrelevance even less. Take what you can from this text and use it to
3

your fullest benefit. I hope that you find this information helpful in developing your own Success Strategies. John F. Ellsworth

Contents:
Introduction 1. Where are you headed with your business? 2. How can you change your thinking? 3. Knowing what your Starting Point is! 4. Taking advantage of the Optimal Debt Structure 5. Maximizing your Cash Flow 6. Goals & Disaster Agenda 7. Vital Acronyms MTM & FTM 8. Summary & Proposed Actions

Having a plan for success requires that you think through what your strategy will be, and needs to be, for each and every part of your business operation.

Introduction
All of the business clients with whom I have had an opportunity to work, during the past twenty years, have had one characteristic in common. They have each had at least one area in which, if we developed and maintained a serious focus, we could boost their overall profitability. In fact, I am willing to bet that, if we look beneath the surface of your operation, we would be able to identify additional profit opportunities for your business, as well. This is the beauty of a process that I call Next Level Thinking. If you make a concerted effort to follow each and every one of the steps that make up Next Level Thinking, I can assure you that you will be rewarded directly for your efforts.

You know that it is possible for you to make more money than you have in the past, if you develop a plan to do so. However, this requires some caution. Having a plan does not mean simply saying. "Hey, I want to be rich." As a matter of fact, that is not a plan at all. Those words are simply a dream, which may or may not come true, as you move forward. Having a plan for success requires that you think through what your strategy will be, and needs to be, for each and every part of your business operation. A success plan also entails knowing what steps will take you closer to your ultimate goals for your business. This will require you to often ask yourself one of the most important questions that has ever existed: "Will this action actually help me to get closer to my Business Goals?"

Chapter 1

When people start to lose hope because they do not know what to do next, those without a plan often choose the worst options available to them

10

Where are you headed with your business?

Where do you want to go with your business? Within several months of developing a plan for your business, you can become more profitable and start heading toward your ultimate goals. Just as significantly, this will place you in a better position to avoid the disasters that some producers have encountered over the past several years. The dairy industry has presented new obstacles for even the most successful producers, during the past 10 years. Many dairymen, who have built large equity stakes since 1980, have found themselves getting caught off guard and being confronted with obstacles, which they have never seen in prior years. Some examples are
11

feed or milk contracts, which turn against them as the markets change; milk buyers, who literally fail (leaving producers with no milk check); new government regulations with which to comply; or lenders, who disappear from the market place or simply become impossible with whom to deal. Having a detailed plan for your business can assist you in reaching your long term goals, paying down your overall debt levels, and, if desired, expanding your business operations. On the other hand, not developing a plan for your business, either because you do not feel it is necessary or because it seems like too much trouble, can force you to wander aimlessly for a long time without ever reaching your desired objectives. I am sure that you will agree that this scenario in and of itself would be bad enough.
12

Unfortunately, as the old saying goes, "When it rains, it pours." One example I can think of is a Client, who initially came to me because he was being harassed by his lender. During my first meeting with this new Client, it became readily evident to me why the lender was pushing him so hard. With prices so low, this producer was also being burdened with the lowest milk production per cow he had ever experienced. Please understand that neither the low milk prices nor the low production per cow were the fault of the banker. Yet, when business is not running the way you want it, kicking the dog is not going to help change the outcome. Similarly, kicking the Client is not likely to help either. The key is finding out what is actually causing the problems in this example: the low milk production. As we studied the problems closer, we determined that the real problem began with the breeder, who was having family difficulties. This in turn had impacted their Heat
13

Detection and Pregnancy Rate. With these falling short, this producer had gone six months with far fewer fresh cows. As you probably already know, milk sales pay the bills, more milk comes from fresh cows, fresh cows result from having a greater number of pregnancies, and those pregnancies come from running a tight reproductive program. Thus, in this example, getting to the root of the problem was the key to finding their solution. We replaced a few cows and over a period of time got this dairy back on track, expanding it in two phases. As this example shows, running within the guidelines of a solid plan is difficult, but it can be even more challenging, when a really tough year hits. At that point, producers without a contingency plan can get into real trouble, primarily because they have given no prior thought to the ways in which to deal with such obstacles!
14

When people start to lose hope, because they do not know what to do next, those without a plan often choose the worst options available to them, such as selling out in a down market or trying to reorganize their finances at the last moment by way of Chapter 11 proceedings, when their bank seems least cooperative. Let us examine some better alternatives that can help you take your business to the Next Level.

15