Hi, my name is Byron Hebert, and this is another quick Tool Time update by PKF Entrepreneur Playbook. What I want to talk to you today about is the sustainable competitive advantage and strategic planning.

A lot of people talk about strategic planning but they really don’t know where to start. Where you start is with your sustainable competitive advantage. What is that one thing about your company that separates you from your competition? That’s what you want to focus on. That will drive your marketing; the promise that you’re going to make to the marketplace about what your company can do.

That, in turn, will drive your operations so that you can deliver on the promise you’ve made to the marketplace. Now what drives that? That’s driven by your people, your innovation, and money.

Let me give you an example right here in town. Mattress Mack, a great entrepreneur. His sustainable competitive advantage is if you buy today he delivers tonight. Well, that is his marketing. That is the promise he makes. Everybody’s heard that. His operations have to support that. You go to his business, you buy a mattress today, he’s going to deliver it that very day. I assure you he will do that. So as soon as that purchase goes in, someone is loading that on a truck and trying to figure out the logistics of how to get to that to you by the end of the day.

So think about that, how that, that will operate in your business. Use your sustainable competitive advantage to drive your marketing, your operations, and then people, innovation, and money to drive your operations as well.

All right? Thank you. This is Byron Hebert. This has been another quick Tool Time update brought to you by PKF Texas Entrepreneur Playbook. If you’d like to learn more about the Mind Shop Tools and how we can help you in your business, please call PKF Texas.