Full Description

Watch Making Money and learn:

• 9 things you can do to raise prices now
• 6 predictive indicators of future performance you should monitor
• How to avoid the common mistakes that lead to poor cash flow
• Things to consider if you’re thinking about selling your firm
• 14 things you can do to make your ownership transition program more effective
• 10 ways to improve your firm’s recruiting
• 5 ways to keep chargeability high

Let’s face it, we all know money doesn’t fall from the sky. It takes ambition, dedication, and good old-fashioned hard work to make money in any business. But it also takes something more in the A/E/P and environmental consulting industry—it takes specialized knowledge of how to increase revenue and reduce costs, awareness of the right metrics to watch in order to prevent trouble, an understanding of how to maintain and increase cash flow, and a firm grasp of the relationship of staffing to profitability. And you also need to know what to do when another firm comes knocking, looking at you as an acquisition target, as well as how best to go shopping for firms to expand your own business when the time is right. Most of all, if your firm is in need of a turnaround, you need to know exactly what to do, when and how to do it to pull it off and put your business back on the path to profitability.

That’s why you’ll want to watch A/E management guru Mark Zweig and financial expert Ian Rusk as they present their acclaimed seminar, Making Money in the A/E/P and Environmental Consulting Business, to two of the principals and the marketing director of a typical A/E firm struggling to increase its profitability, grow, and make money for the owners. This five-hour video presentation on three DVDs is the perfect way to quickly get the benefit of the full-length 1.5-day seminar that Zweig and Rusk have presented in conference centers all over the country for firm presidents, CEOs, CFOs, owners and partners, principals, and vice presidents. Making Money will teach you proven methods to build value in your firm, boost your bottom line, and make some well-earned money in this industry.

Making Money will teach you how profitable firms in the A/E/P and environmental consulting industries can be. You’ll learn the best way to do your firm’s strategic business plan and 10 things you can do immediately to improve the planning process. Find out how to cut costs, charge more, and improve your firm’s cash flow without causing upheaval among employees or clients. You’ll learn 10 things you can do to raise your prices now, how to avoid the mistakes firms commonly make that negatively impact cash flow, and 20 areas where you can cut costs and add to the bottom line.

To be successful in today’s business climate, firm leaders need to understand the differences between capital and debt equity. Do you know the costs and risks of each? How about ways to craft a more efficient ownership transition strategy? Making Money will teach you 14 ways to make your firm’s OT plan significantly more effective, and you’ll hear about firms that do it right and firms that do it wrong. And have you thought about either selling your firm or buying another as part of your wealth-building strategy? Making Money will show you the three best reasons why you ought to consider one or both, and it will offer suggestions to make your acquisitions much more successful.

This video seminar will also give you a thorough explanation of the best ways to distribute profits and what returns shareholders should expect to receive. Most firm leaders don’t realize that they’re not doing their business or employees any favors by following the old-fashioned performance-based bonus system. But Making Money will teach you the fallacies behind the old way and show you how to change to a truly effective bonus plan.

In this business, everything depends on good people with high utilization/chargeability. Making Money will give you 10 ways to improve your firm’s recruiting and 5 ways to keep your firm’s chargeability rate high. And if your firm is in need of a turnaround, you’ll learn how to diagnose the problems, pull your business out of crisis, and manage a long-term turnaround effort…because there’s nothing wrong with making money and your life should be getting easier, not harder, as your firm becomes more successful.

The Making Money video presentation, offered exclusively on a three-DVD set, comes packaged with a helpful workbook that allows you to make notes and keep good track of all the knowledge you’ll be receiving. This convenient format can easily be viewed individually or with a group, and the DVD set makes it easy for you to increase your knowledge while traveling with a laptop computer or relaxing at home. And it’s the most economical way to share the combined experience and expertise of both Mark Zweig and Ian Rusk! With the 3-DVD set, you don’t have to worry about the hassle and cost of travel and hotel stays in order to benefit from the extensive presentation that Zweig and Rusk have created for firm leaders who want to do something right now to make more money.

Contents

Introduction & industry statistical review

• Learn how profitable firms in the A/E/P and environmental consulting industries can be
• Overview of industry statistics, trends, and practices

Business planning

• Where firms go wrong with planning
• What should go into your business plan
• 10 things to do right now to improve your planning process and get your firm on the track to improved profitability

Creating a corporate culture that makes you money

• The psychology of making money
• How to create a culture in your firm that stresses the importance of profitability

Cutting costs

• Manage costs to immediately improve profits
• 20 areas to cut that you might not have thought about

Charging more

• Charge more and get away with it
• 9 things you can do to raise prices now

Predictive financial metrics

• Look forward, not backwards, to really know how your firm is doing
• 6 predictive indicators of future performance that every firm should monitor

Cash flow

• Why cash flow matters so much
• Common mistakes that lead to poor cash flow

Capitalization and prudent use of debt

• The costs and risks of debt versus equity capital
• How much debt is too much for your firm to carry
• How to optimize the balance of debt and equity in your firm

Ownership transition strategies & case studies

• How to avoid the typical ownership transition problems in A/E firms
• 14 things you can do to make your ownership transition program significantly more effective
• Case studies of firms doing it right and doing it wrong

Buying and selling

• 3 good reasons to sell your firm to outsiders
• What to consider if you’re thinking about selling your firm
• The reasons why acquisitions should be part of your wealth-building strategy
• Suggestions for making your acquisitions more successful

Sharing the wealth

• How to distribute profits
• What sort of returns should shareholders receive?
• The fallacies of individual performance-based bonuses
• How to create a truly effective bonus plan

Staffing and profitability

• 10 ways to improve your firm’s recruiting
• 5 ways to keep chargeability high

Strategies for turnarounds

• How to manage a turnaround, from diagnosing the problems to getting out of a cash flow crisis
• Recognize the barriers to long-term turnarounds and how to get around them

Wrap-up

• 10 concepts about making money to internalize
• Great advice from the great bumper sticker philosopher