580: Would you bet on your business? KY Derby edition

My Business On Purpose

Hey, y’all Brent Perry with Business on Purpose.

Legally and hypothetically speaking, of course, but the question to ask yourself today is this, would I bet on my business to be profitable this year? Hopefully, your answer is yes, but the more business owners I have the privilege to talk with the more I realize there is uncertainty in that answer.

Now I am not asking if you want your business to be profitable. Or if you are hoping to be profitable this year. I am not even asking if you have been profitable in the past. Again, this is a legal/hypothetical question, if you actually had to bet real, hard-earned cash out of your pocket, would you bet on your business to be profitable this year?

This past weekend was the KY Derby, and wow, what a race it was. I will be the first to admit that I am not a huge horse race kind of guy. I do love riding, and I love sports, I just don’t follow the world of horse racing that closely. Luckily I have some friends who do. And as we gathered on Saturday to celebrate the Derby, they were telling me about the field of racers this year. Apparently, it was a fairly stacked field, with 5-6 horses with similar odds to outright win the race.

These horses would be considered the favorites, if you will, to bet on. The horses thought to have the best shot to win the race…aka the ones most people were betting on. These horses were the thoroughbreds, the ones with incredible pedigrees, the horses who have actually won some races in the past, and were being picked to take home 1st place.

Now, let me tell you about the horse, Rich Strike.

Rich Strike had an 80–1 odds to win the race, making it the second-longest shot to win in Derby history, per the NBC broadcast. Rich Strike started in the worst possible position out of the gate. And Rick Strike won the Kentucky Derby.

This horse pulled off the win against some of the other favorites like Epicenter (one of the horses I mentioned earlier), who entered the race with the best odds and finished second on Saturday.

Not only were his odds incredibly low, and his starting position the worst, Rich Strike wasn’t even slated to be running the race until the Friday before the derby and he was signed up 30 seconds before the deadline.

This is not the horse most people take a bet on. But this is the horse that won.

One of my favorite quotes from the Horse's owner, Eric Reed stated, “This horse is just getting good … getting better every race.”

That’s enough about horses, let's get back to your business.

I don’t know how you are feeling this year about your business. Again, the question I am asking today is about profitability.

Are you one of the favorites that before this year began you would have bet on? Only to be slowing down and watch others around you pass you by.

Are you one of the 80-1 odds that nobody gave a chance, but now you are seeing business grow and profit come easy?

Or are you simply somewhere in the middle of the pack?

The good news is, that it is not too late to change your race!

And 2 quick tips, it starts with

• Vision

• Your bank accounts!

If you want your business to be profitable you have to know where you are heading, and why you want to get there. Your vision has to be detailed and has to be shared with others.

You also need to have diversified bank accounts and a system to track your money (both incoming and outgoing). We recommend 5 and one of those accounts, you guessed it a profit account!

If you want some more information and thoughts about your vision or your banking strategy, please feel free to reach out to us at Business on Purpose. We absolutely love these kinds of conversations. And we love seeing your businesses profitable.

Thanks for listening.

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