Maybe you’ve heard the story about the bearded lady and the circus clown who met and fell in love. They decided to get married and start a family.
Within a year, the bearded lady was expecting their first child. A few weeks before her due date, the circus ring-master and the bearded lady were talking.
“How’s it going?” the ring-master asked.
“We’re very excited,” said the bearded lady, “We have so many plans for the baby. We want to be excellent parents.”
“That’s nice,” said the ring-master, “Do you want a boy or a girl?”
“Oh, we really don’t mind as long as it’s healthy,” replied the bearded lady, “And it fits into the cannon.”
Too many builders take the Cannon Approach to profitability. They have great plans for their company and expectations for growth, but then they shoot holes in their bottom line by thinking, “I don’t really mind if I don’t make a profit as long as I’m selling houses.”
While building homes is a noble calling, your company is more than a manufacturer of good homes. Your first priority must be to make a profit. All other decisions should fall in line behind this one because, if you aren’t a profit-making company, it doesn’t really matter what else you make.
Helen Keller once said, “Life is either a daring adventure or it is nothing.” I’d like to paraphrase that: Selling homes is either about making a profit or it is about nothing.
