Business

10 Areas of Operation Your Business Needs to Improve

Published

5 years ago

September 23, 2020

Most businesses operate inefficiently in at least some ways, but how can you tell which areas need improvement, and how can you improve them? Identifying these problem areas and working to fix them is vital if you want your business to succeed.

In this guide, we’ll discuss how to improve the areas of your business that are struggling the most, and the areas that can most benefit from improvement.

How to Improve a Business

In the next section, we’ll discuss 10 of the operating areas most likely to need improvement. But how can you plan to improve something you didn’t even know was inefficient?

According to Chicago management consulting firm AArete, one of the most important concepts is quantification. You need to be able to quantify your goals, measure your current performance, apply changes, and measure how your performance changes; if you can objectively measure an improvement, you’ll know your strategies were successful. Quantification is easier in some contexts than others; for example, you may be able to increase sales from $2 million per year to $2.8 million per year, or you may be able to cut hours wasted from 100 per week to 40 per week. In any case, you’ll need to have some way to track your performance, before and after your strategic changes.

As for the specific tactics meant to “improve” a certain area of your business, those will vary depending on the area you’re working on and what you’re trying to achieve.

Key Areas to Improve

These are some of the most common areas of operation that businesses need to improve:

Goals and strategic imperatives. First, you may need to address your high-level goals and strategic imperatives. Oftentimes, businesses struggle simply because they don’t have direction—or because their direction is poorly defined. For example, let’s say your business has been stagnant for a few years, seeing little to no growth; which goals are you trying to meet, and which strategies are you applying to achieve those goals? If you have a lack of specificity, or if your goals are somehow untenable, the stagnation is unsurprising.
Expense management. Chances are, your business is spending more money than it needs to in at least one area. You may have hired too many people too quickly, you may be overpaying for your lease or your utilities, or your cost of raw materials may be exorbitant. Identifying and trimming down these expenses will help you operate in a lean (and profitable) way.
Financial tracking and monitoring. Most businesses have an accounting department responsible for keeping track of their spending and revenue, but that’s not a guarantee that you’re tracking things correctly. If you’re not actively looking at the right trends, or if you’re not tracking every dollar precisely, it could come back to hurt you.
Marketing and advertising. One of the most reliable ways to grow a business is through marketing and advertising, but there are a lot of ways your marketing strategy can go wrong. You can pursue the wrong target audience, invest in the wrong strategies, or simply overspend on your campaign, ruining your ROI. It’s important to take a critical look at your marketing and advertising strategies, analyzing them for effectiveness and bottom-line value to your business. Weed out the tactics that don’t work and keep experimenting with new ones.
Data analytics. Data is becoming increasingly important for modern businesses, thanks to competitive pressure and more accessible technology. But to use data effectively, you have to gather the right data, use the right tools, and apply the right types of analyses. For inexperienced businesses, this can be overwhelming; inaccurate data, poor analytics, or incomplete tools can compromise an otherwise promising data analytics strategy.
Competition analysis. Most businesses start out with a business plan that sketches out a competitive analysis, but your competition analysis shouldn’t end here. In fact, you should be analyzing your competition constantly. If you’re not actively watching what your competitors are doing and finding new ways to outcompete them, you’re quickly going to become outclassed by your rivals.
Sales. Depending on the nature of your organization, you’ll also need to worry about sales. How are your salespeople spending the hours of their day? How many sales are they closing, compared to how many leads they’re getting? How can you help your team land more sales while simultaneously improving their time efficiency?
Employee morale and motivation. Employee performance is important, but so is employee retention. Too many businesses neglect employee morale and motivation as critical factors for success. What are your employees thinking and feeling? Are they satisfied with their working conditions and with their potential for the future? How can you make them feel better about their positions?
Communication efficiency. Few organizations are operating at peak communicative efficiency. In some cases, businesses are plagued by poor communication habits, from time-wasting meetings to emails without subject lines. In other cases, the root cause is a lack of access to the right tools and technologies to support good communication. No matter what, it’s your job to improve communicative efficiency, reduce miscommunications, and ensure nothing gets lost in the process.
Inter-departmental collaboration. Too often, departments within large organizations turn into isolated silos; the people within those departments become self-contained, and each department develops its own micro-culture and communication styles. Accordingly, departments find it more difficult to collaborate and communicate with each other. Some departments, like sales and marketing, need each other to thrive, so it’s imperative to break these silo barriers down. You can do this with a mix of strategies, including cross-training, hybrid roles, and departmental blending.

Even after addressing these common areas, there will always be room for improving your business. There will be old inefficiencies to address, new techniques and technologies to experiment with, and inventive ways to transform your business. The most successful companies are the ones that remain perpetually adaptable, constantly evolving in response to new conditions and improving their overall functionality.

Business

13 Reasons Investors Are Watching Phoenix Energy’s Expansion in the Williston Basin

Published

3 hours ago

April 23, 2025

Matthew Wiles

As energy security becomes a growing priority in the United States, companies focused on domestic oil production are gaining attention from investors. One such company is Phoenix Energy, an independent oil and gas company operating in the Williston Basin, a prolific oil-producing region spanning North Dakota and Montana.

Phoenix Energy has established itself as a key player in this sector, expanding its footprint while offering structured investment opportunities to accredited investors. Through Regulation D 506(c) corporate bonds, the company provides investment options with annual interest rates ranging from 9% to 13%.

Here are 13 reasons why Phoenix Energy is attracting investor interest in 2025:

1. U.S. energy production remains a strategic priority

The global energy landscape is evolving, with a renewed focus on domestic oil and gas production to enhance economic stability and reduce reliance on foreign energy sources. The Williston Basin, home to the Bakken and Three Forks formations, continues to play a critical role in meeting these demands. Phoenix Energy has established an operational footprint in the basin, where it is actively investing in development and production.

2. Investment opportunities with fixed annual interest rates

Phoenix Energy bonds offer accredited investors annual interest rates between 9% and 13% through Regulation D 506(c). These bonds help fund the company’s expansion in the Williston Basin, where it acquires and develops oil and gas assets.

3. Record-breaking drilling speeds in the Williston Basin

Phoenix Energy has made significant strides in drilling efficiency, ranking among the fastest drillers in the Bakken Formation as of late 2024. By reducing drilling times, the company aims to optimize operations and improve overall production performance.

4. Expansion of operational footprint

Since becoming an operator in September 2023, Phoenix Energy has grown rapidly. As of March 2025, the company has 53 wells drilled and 96 wells planned over the next 12 months.

5. Surpassing production expectations

Phoenix Energy’s oil production has steadily increased. By mid-2024, its cumulative production had exceeded 1.57 million barrels, outpacing its total output for 2023. The company projected an exit rate of nearly 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by the end of March 2025.

6. High-net-worth investor offerings

For investors seeking alternative investments with higher-yield opportunities, Phoenix Energy offers the Adamantium bonds through Reg D 506(c), which provides corporate bonds with annual interest rates between 13% and 16%, with investment terms ranging from 5 to 11 years, and a minimum investment of $2 million.

7. Experienced team with industry-specific expertise

Phoenix Energy’s leadership and technical teams include professionals with decades of oil and gas experience, including backgrounds in drilling engineering, land acquisition, and reservoir analysis. This level of in-house expertise supports the company’s ability to evaluate acreage, manage operations, and execute its long-term development plans in the Williston Basin.

8. Focus on investor communication and understanding

Phoenix Energy prioritizes clear investor communication. The company hosts webinars and provides access to licensed professionals who walk investors through the business model and operations in the oil and gas sector. These efforts aim to help investors better understand how Phoenix Energy deploys capital across mineral acquisitions and operated wells.

9. Managing market risk through strategic planning

The energy sector is cyclical, and Phoenix Energy takes a structured approach to risk management. The company employs hedging strategies and asset-backed financing to help mitigate potential fluctuations in the oil market.

10. Commitment to compliance

Phoenix Energy conducts its bond offerings under the SEC’s Regulation D Rule 506(c) exemption. These offerings are made available exclusively to accredited investors and are facilitated through a registered broker-dealer to support adherence to federal securities laws. Investors can review applicable offering filings on the SEC’s EDGAR database.

11. Recognition for business practices

As of April 2025, Phoenix Energy maintains an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and is a BBB-accredited business. The company has also earned strong ratings on investor review platforms such as Trustpilot and Google Reviews, where investors often highlight clear communication and transparency.

12. A family-founded business with a long-term vision

Led by CEO Adam Ferrari, Phoenix Energy operates as a family-founded business with a focus on long-term investment strategies. The company’s leadership emphasizes responsible growth and sustainable development in the Williston Basin.

13. Positioned for long-term growth in the oil sector

With U.S. energy demand projected to remain strong, Phoenix Energy is strategically positioned for continued expansion. The company’s focus on efficient drilling, financial discipline, and structured investment offerings aligns with its goal of building a resilient and growth-oriented business.

Final thoughts

For investors looking to gain exposure to the U.S. oil and gas sector, Phoenix Energy presents an opportunity to participate in a structured alternative investment backed by the company’s operational expansion in the Williston Basin.

Accredited investors interested in learning more can attend one of Phoenix Energy’s investor webinars, which are hosted daily throughout the week. These sessions provide insights into market trends, risk management strategies, and investment opportunities.

For more information, visit the Phoenix Energy website.

Phoenix Capital Group Holdings, LLC is now Phoenix Energy One, LLC, doing business as Phoenix Energy. The testimonials on review sites may not be representative of other investors not listed on the sites. The testimonials are no guarantee of future performance or success of the Company or a return on investment. Alternative investments are speculative, illiquid, and you may lose some or all of your investment. Securities are offered by Dalmore Group member FINRA/SIPC. Dalmore Group and Phoenix Energy are not affiliated. See full disclosures.

This article contains forward-looking statements based on our current expectations, assumptions, and beliefs about future events and market conditions. These statements, identifiable by terms such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “intend,” “may,” “expect,” “plan,” “should,” and similar expressions, involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. Factors that may impact these outcomes include changes in market conditions, regulatory developments, operational performance, and other risks described in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and Phoenix Energy undertakes no obligation to update them except as required by law.