- Customers
- Goods/Services
- Cost of Goods/Services

Before thinking about strategy to attract more customers customers we need to understand the two main drivers which leads to a customer.

- How many people know about your business and the good/services that you provide?
- How many of them can you attract to become your customers?

Once a small business has acquired a customer, the obvious next step is how much money do we make from this customer. To understand this we need to understand the two drivers of revenue or gross income.

- How much does the good/services sell for?
- How many good/services does the customer buy?

Another way of seeing this is:

- How much value in a basket of good/services?
- How many times does the customer purchase in a given period?

In short, to find out how much revenue is generated per customer we need to know how much and how many.

Lastly, once a small business finds out how much revenue each customer is bringing for the business they need to understand their cost of acquiring the customer, goods/services. The driver for this is:

Profit Margin

Obviously the higher the better, but businesses in certain industry group or businesses that sell certain type of goods/services will tend to have different margin. auto-manufacturers have lower margins compared to online business selling ebooks.

Summary

The five key drivers to small business profits are:

- Leads
- Conversion
- Revenue per Transaction
- Number of Transactions
- Profit Margins

A foundation is a fulcrum on which a house sits. This foundation holds the house in place. For a house to be strong, first, the foundation has to be perfect.

There are two prominent types of foundations. First let us consider the slab-on-grade foundation. A simple concrete slab is poured below the structure to give it a strong base. It is purported to give the structure solid flooring. It can move as one structure. It does not get fragmented. This is a shallow foundation that will often shift from season to season as it is impacted by seeping water an also by the root systems of local plants. Slab-on-grade foundations are akin to the root systems of grass or shrubbery.

Another type of foundation usually employed is Pier and Beam foundation. They are deeper. They can be used in areas where snow and frost fall. It will sink below the frost line. This type of foundation can include a basement. The frost line is generally located between 5 and 8 feet below the surface. These types of foundations are always used in residential and commercial properties. The guidelines for using the foundation are decided by the period and style of the building besides the soil conditions and the requirements of the property owner.

According to Jeffery Ellison, an acclaimed expert in repair construction, there are three advanced methods of foundation repair – concrete press piling, steel press piling and bell-bottom piers. Bell-bottom piers before the hydraulic depress piling systems were invented. The concrete pilings are 6 inches in diameter whereas the steel pilings are less than 3 inches in diameter. Compared to concrete pilings, they can penetrate more through the stiffer soils.
The steel pier method is rated as the best of the lot. Due to its long lasting support factor. According to Granite Foundation Repair, the robust steel pier is drilled into rocky terrains at pressures of up to 10,000 PSI and depths up to 60 feet. Normally, the type of foundation repair takes three days to get completed. Pressed pilings are graded as the quick solution. The pilings are hydraulically drilled by employing an installation force of 5000 PSI. This operation will acquire support strength of twice its installation force in a short period owing to the soil mechanics of friction and compression. As per website, “The system consists of pressed concrete pilings topped with a pier cap, blocks and shims”.

Another economical foundation repair is drilling or pouring concrete piers. This is performed by drilling holes to depth of 9 to 12 feet below the surface and then filling with steel and concrete. Concrete which has been poured is added with concrete spacers and shims. At the initial stage, a structural engineering company has to be pressed into service for testing the soil. They will recommend which foundation would be the most suitable for that particular soil. After the initial formalities the engineer can decide on the design of the specific slab for the evolving soil conditions. As Ellison quotes, many persons do not resort to this operation as they are reluctant to make any extra payment. Even though the house owner pays a maximum amount of $800 to obtain the service of any qualified and efficient engineer, that is a worthy expenditure considering the long term prospects.