2025: Organized confusion or strategic planning? How you can experience new highs, instead of new lows. Get it together now or endure a tough 2025! Do NOT wait on the economy to change and come to you--attack and determine your own economics!

Right out of the gate, I’ll say that if you aren’t HIGHLY focused on new areas of opportunity within your business, and you’ve stayed the course of expecting big results from the same old areas, then you’re in an eternal struggle of trying to push a rope instead of pulling one. Also, if you aren’t determined to take action to become a “champion” in the weak parts of your game, then you struggle with profitability. You cannot rely on the best parts of your old game to carry the day anymore. Get the broken parts of your business up to 110% to find new profits that you didn’t think we’re possible before.

Across America, the first 2 months of 2025, have posted up highly mixed results across varied industries. It seems the only constant in the universe currently, is the high price of eggs… I’m tired of hearing about the friggin’ eggs–just quit eating them! Which illustrates where I’m going with this article. If something isn’t working for you–QUIT DOING IT!

*Doctor, it hurts when I bend over, turn my head hard to the right and reach back to scratch my ass–the Dr says “then don’t do that”..

I posted up an article last year imploring people to find NEW areas of profitability because the dynamics of retail business have changed. IT DOES NOT MATTER what your profits were last year, or 2-3 years ago for comparative purposes–because how you got it then, that’s gone now. The ability to make adjustments moving forward is KING. Forget ancient history (the last 2-3 years). Plowing forward with an entirely new focus is the only way to win. Now, to be clear, I don’t disagree with basic blocking and tackling and consistent training–you still have to do those things without fail no exceptions, but the retail consumer is actively re-arranging their budgets and spending habits–they’ve moved on from eggs! Have you? Cool Hand Luke is the only person who still wants to eat 50 damned eggs!! And Cool Hand Luke is the only way I want to hear about eggs again! Babalugats! Got a bet here!

I do NOT believe in dropping prices to compensate for a negative climate with consumer spending–in fact, historically, I always RAISED prices during tough economic cycles, thereby the transactions that I did book, would more than make up for the potential decline/volume in transactions. Folks, the profits have to come from somewhere, don’t they?

In other words “volume is for vanity, gross is for sanity”.

2025: Customer satisfaction is 5 times more important in rough waters than when it was during smooth sailing. DEMAND and EXPECT a PERFECT consumer experience from your employees. Your customers could care less if someone is sick, had a bad day, or if your business is short on help–it’s NOT their problem! It’s time to double down on the customer experience and get things tightened up–quickly. If you have employees who can’t or won’t grasp/deliver outstanding customer experiences–FIRE THAT PERSON POST HASTE. They are methodically destroying your business 1 client at a time… What a nightmare!

If I’m in a restaurant paying 100 bucks for a bone in ribeye and 20 skrilla’s for a house glass of wine, the service had better match the costs! If the service is good, I’ll be happy and I’ll be back, but even if the food is great and the service is lackluster, I won’t be back period. I’ll pay through the nose and not blink twice, but it had better be a wonderful experience.

For business’s that carry inventories, you better micromanage who is ordering it and not end up with a pathetic mix that can’t be sold or given away.. What are you suppose to do with a lousy inventory mix? Lose your ass on every transaction, but make up for it with volume?? I’m amazed when I find out that a low cost or inexperienced person without sales experience, is in charge of ordering MILLIONS of dollars of inventory–what?? Bullshit! Your most experienced and highly successful sales personnel in your company should be ordering inventories!! Not a clerk or a nerd. WORSE YET is leaving A.I. or algorithms to order inventory!! To HELL WITH THAT! Bad inventory mix equals bad sales and gross profits period! Do NOT buy into all the A.I. hype–it’s far from perfected and you can’t count on it to properly control inventories or future trends. What are you paying senior management to do??

The early results of the new Presidency are not a factor yet in consumer trends, but opinions are forming. If the Federal Reserve cuts fund rates based on negative 1st quarter GDP results, we will have a nice rally in markets and the second half of 25 will pick up. In one my past articles I mentioned that heavy cuts in planned Government employment reductions will definitely have residual affects–we will see some negativity from the sweeping agenda, but the greater overall consumer trends are bigger than that. So, it all comes down to confidence and Trump does excel in economics. Love or hate him, he does understand the consumer and he gets it when it comes to what manufacturing does for the middle class and trade imbalance. If tax cuts are passed, we are off to the races, and if DOGE sends $5,000 checks to all tax paying households, that will be an immediate stimulus overall.

This is interesting: I talk with people daily coast to coast in a myriad of business’s and I am amazed how many senior managers don’t know their basic numbers right off the top of their head–the usual answer is “let me look that up” which takes a few minutes to pull a report and read it back–unacceptable! A senior manager should know every damn day what their production and numbers are without needing to pull a report. How can that be? If you want to know what the daily mission is, you need to know what the hell you have accomplished up through yesterday! All of it in detail off the top of your head! Get your shit together!

At A.D.O. Consulting, our clients are expanding, working new angles on profitability and training their employees to transcend daily issues and provide a higher level of customer satisfaction as well. Is there any other choice? No.

I remain an optimist for 2025 as long as business owners are open and dedicated to becoming CHAMPIONS in their current areas of weakness.

Some of the success stories we are seeing at A.D.O. CONSULTING defies current trend analysis–we are knocking the cover off the ball and posting all-time record results inclusive of the covid era.

Challenge to all: pick the least productive and toughest part of your business and build a plan to become a Champion in that area and post up record profits! If you need help, call A.D.O.!

ALL THE BEST TO EVERYONE!

Bruce Daugherty

Owner/President

A.D.O. CONSULTING GROUP