281 - Are You Wasting 20% of Your Business Budget? with Duane Deason

Written By Guest User

What if you could immediately add 10-20% to your bottom line without changing your sales strategy? In this eye-opening conversation with cost management expert Duane Deason, you'll discover why most businesses unknowingly waste thousands in unnecessary expenses and how implementing a simple cost management system can transform your profitability. Perfect for contractors who feel the cash flow squeeze but don't know where to start cutting costs.

What You’ll Learn

  • Why most companies waste 10-20% of their budget on expenses that don't improve operations

  • How to identify hidden cash flow issues without becoming a financial expert

  • Simple strategies to create accountability for company spending

  • Why cost cutting should be celebrated, not viewed as failure

  • How to build a culture that protects your profit margins


Time Stamps

  • 00:47 - Episode Intro

  • 02:54 - Introducing Duane Deason

  • 05:42 - Common Cost Issues in Businesses

  • 22:10 - Identifying Cash Flow Issues

  • 22:27 - Engaging Owners in Cost Management

  • 27:05 - Implementing Cost Management Centers

  • 31:04 - Incentivizing and Sustaining Cost Savings

  • 39:36 - Signature Authority

Snippets from the Episode

  • "Most companies I work with have 10 to 20% of their expenses that could be eliminated without changing how they operate, that's low-hanging fruit that goes straight to the bottom line."- Duane Deason

  • "Learn to be comfortable with 'no.' You can't appease everybody. 'No' to things we can't afford yet helps us say 'yes' to what's truly important."

  • - Duane Deason

  • "If you want people to understand what the score is and they're responsible for the score, they need to know how to read the information."- Martin Holland

  • "For every dollar of sales, you may pocket 10 cents. But for every dollar you save in costs, you keep the entire dollar."- Duane Deason

Key Takeaways

  1. Start with Your Disbursement Journal, Not P&L

  2. Create a Cost Management Center

  3. Make Cost Savings Visible and Celebrated

  4. Implement Clear Signature Authority Rules

  5. Restrict Who Can Sign Contracts

  6. Audit Utilization of All Resources

  7. Reframe Cost Cutting as Opportunity Finding

Resources

  • 24 Things Construction Business Owners Need to Successfully Hire & Train an Executive Assistant

  • Schedule a 15-Minute Roadblock Call

  • Check out OpenPhone

  • Build a Business that Runs without you. Explore our GrowthKits 

  • Need Marketing Help? We Recommend Benali

  • Need Help with podcast production? We recommendDemandcast

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280 - Mapping Your Workflows with AI: A Guide to Business Function Charts