Business Strategies for Christmas and New Year: A Guide for Small to Medium Enterprises

As the festive season approaches, the small to medium business sector (SMBs) face unique challenges and opportunities. The period leading up to Christmas and the New Year is crucial for maintaining momentum, managing resources, and ensuring a successful transition into the new year. This article outlines essential areas that SMBs should focus on to position themselves effectively for both the silly season and the year beyond.

Must-Do Strategies for Christmas

1. Manage Cash Flow

Cash flow management is paramount during this period. Increased consumer spending can lead to higher sales, but it can also strain your finances if not monitored
… Read More
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Characteristics of Successful Leadership in Business: A Comprehensive Guide

Leadership is one of the many buzzwords used in business today. Yet, when you challenge someone to define what they call leadership, often there is nothing but silence. When you look around the world at some of our pronounced leaders, leadership is perhaps the last word you would use to describe them. Unfortunately, this is also very true in many business operations. As individuals, business owners, business coaches, employers and employees, we have a collective responsibility to define leadership for our collective benefit.

Characteristics of successful leadership

From my experience in small, medium and corporate businesses, the best leaders I … Read More

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Mastering Business Life-Cycle Stages: A Comprehensive Guide

Businesses are not static beasts, they change and evolve over time – and as they do, their needs vary. By understanding the different life-cycle phases of a business, owners have the ability to position themselves differently and focus on different facets which will drive enhanced returns.

Broadly, there are 5 distinct life-cycle stages;

  • Start-Up
  • Growth
  • Established / Expansion
  • Mature
  • Exit

All of these naturally share some characteristics, but each life-cycle has its own identity.

Start-Up

It starts with an idea and then a business is born. The barriers to starting a business are pretty low, so many businesses start … Read More

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Breaking Down Phone Barriers for Greater Business Success

In business, the humble phone is such an important tool – yet many business owners will not dial a prospect or debtor. The reasons for this span from; a simple lack of purpose, through to a real phobia or fear, however the outcome is the same – the call is not made – and this is what costs business.

For the bulk of people, the avoidance of making critical phone calls can be overcome by following some practical steps along with some honest perseverance. For the smaller group who still find issues, then face into the issue and seek some … Read More

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Ready to Launch Your Business? Here’s What You Need to Know

I want to run my own business, so now what?

I’ve heard this line on many occasions over the years. Bright eyed and highly energised potential business owners with a concept for a business that they want to run. Of course, as every experienced business owner will tell you, it’s actually not that simple to run a business – successfully and profitable. There are many pitfalls and in most cases – you need to spend a few dollars before you can turn a dollar.

For those serious about setting up a business for long term success – this article … Read More

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Optimizing Staffing: The Blueprint for an Effective Business Structure

As every business owner will have heard, the greatest asset in your business is your staff… In many ways I support this comment – having benefited from having some truly exceptional people work with me, and for me, over the years. However, the evolution of business over time has meant that the traditional staffing structures now are getting questioned – and they need to be challenged in many businesses to ensure the viability of the business.

The traditional business structure surrounded itself with paid full-time staff, supplemented with part-time and then casual staff, and for the rare occasion – … Read More

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The Small Business Conundrum: Navigating the Danger Zone

Being seen as “small” can cost you business.

That’s not saying that the service or the quality of a small business product is poor – (often it is the exact opposite), but a common perception encountered by small business is that “big” is better or safer. In a world where you are competing with “the bigger guy”, then this perception can easily cost you business – especially in the initial marketing phase.

So the answer is simple…… don’t “look” small!

In my varied dealings with business over the years, I have noted that there are 7 indicators which signal… Read More

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Critical Components of a Good Job Description

Job descriptions are a valuable tool for both staff and employers and unfortunately, they tend to be absent in many businesses.

For the staff member, a good job description provides clarity around the role, what the core responsibilities are, outlines the accountabilities/delegations and shows the associated performance criteria.

For the employer, it provides important boundaries for the staff members to operate within, noting that they are only one staff member in what is typically a larger group. Frequently, it’s only the owner/manager who has full line of sight of all roles, so clear definition of “who is … Read More

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Strategies for Business Improvement in the Year Ahead

Christmas Day has been and gone and New Years is settling in, but when you sit back in the comfy chair – wherever that may be, on the beach, by the water, camping or even just at home……now is the time to take a quick “stocktake” of the year that has past.

For those in business, often there is little respite as you run from one; sale, job, project, customer, site, state, transaction, employee, etc…..to another.

So when you consider the following – think to the positive as well as the negative, and give yourself a pat on … Read More

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Mastering Effective Business Reporting

To run a business efficiently and profitability takes more than just luck. In addition to having a good service or product, successful businesses typically have a strong management information framework in place to ensure all of the critical elements of the business are running correctly.

I often liken this information to the dashboard instruments in a car – where you have a range of information to let you know how you are travelling and the condition of the car. A good management information pack does the same for a business.

Every business has “key elements” in it … Read More

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Unveiling Business Trends & Patterns: A Simple Game or More?

Business trend analysis is a serious analytical technique used in countless different forms of analysis. Yet for most business owners, finding the time to complete a simple Sudoku puzzle is hard enough – let alone undertake any form of formal business review.

My point – and the point of this article, is that if you do have the time to complete a simple Sudoku puzzle, then you also have the ability to transfer some Sudoku disciplines into a more effective business management process.

Skeptical? – read on for a few minutes and then I’m happy for you to … Read More

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Beyond the Easy Option: Why You Should Consider More

In a world where speed appears to be everything, often the compromise that is made is to take the generic or easy option. This has become so common in business, that the generic option is often the only one put forward – whereas there is generally many ways to skin a cat.

Now whilst I have no issue with a simple, cheap option when you can get it – the critical point is ensuring that it’s the right option.

When you are next looking for a solution to a problem or need – pause for a moment to … Read More

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A 9-Point Test for Evaluating Viable Product Ideas

We have all had them, the “business epiphanies” or “golden ideas” which come to us over the weekend whilst swinging a golf club, doing laps in the pool or just mowing the grass. In the moment….. these new product or service ideas are the perfect combination of simplicity, profitability and marketing brilliance.

By Monday morning these moments of creative thinking have….started to tarnish….with some more considered thought seeing a gap or two appear. By Wednesday, most of these ideas have been discounted and by Friday, are all but forgotten.

Would we have been better off not having … Read More

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Is Business Change Possible? Exploring the Possibilities

Is business change possible? – absolutely unequivocally yes…but it takes action. A great man once said, “If you always do what you’ve always done, then you will always get what you’ve always got” (Henry Ford) – so…..if you don’t like the outcome you’re getting at the moment…..then you have to change something!

It’s at this point that that the problems normally start.

“We have always had the ideas – but getting something to happen has been the problem”

This is the classic catch cry of many in business when confronted with the need to change. Frequently the ideas of … Read More

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Making Sound Business Decisions: A Strategic Guide

In all businesses, small or large, actions are often taken in the moment – reacting to a symptom rather than making a fully informed decision based on the cause.

Symptom management is a very frequent occurrence, with the management decisions based at a superficial level to arrest what is the perceived cause which in the bulk of cases is not the true underlying driver.

An example of this was with an electrical contractor who we once met – we will call them ElectroInc.

ElectroInc had been operating for several years with a number of electrical teams on the road … Read More

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Choosing the Right Information to Run Your Business

It’s that moment where you are sitting amongst a pile of information – numbers, graphs, returns, production numbers, stock levels, customer surveys…….all with seemingly important information……but what does it all mean……what information should I use to run my business?

These are the questions which are being raised more and more with the rise of technology, as we tend to have an unending supply of data and reports available. The secret to all of this is to understand what material is relevant to the business operations and then, to understand what the information is telling you. From this point, it’s … Read More

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Maximizing Business Time Management for Efficiency

How many times have heard the immortal catch cry, “I don’t have enough time” and then….the more scary question – how many times have you been the one to utter it?

The lack of time is really the combination of our perception and tolerance. Perception, because busy is how we see our collection of activities – for some, 8 hours of engagements is very busy, yet for others they are wondering what you going to do with the other 2/3rds of the day. For those who immediately thought of “work” when I said “8 hours of engagements” – … Read More

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Navigating Business Growth Costs Effectively

Often the objective of most businesses is SALES GROWTH, but it comes at a cost…. so the real question is – how growth ready is your business?

A basic principle of business is to generate sales (product or services) to return a profit. The natural flow on from this is to generate more sales to achieve a greater profit – but…what does this take and how prepared is your business for growth?

Listed below are five key ingredients required for successful sales growth;

Personnel

Increasing sales invariably requires more of your personnel, whether it be in the creation, … Read More

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The 10 Commandments of Business: Guiding Principles for Success

Many business owners are time poor and simply don’t find the time to read the more comprehensive articles. So if you are looking for a bunch of potent tips for your business – then this short article is for you. 

Aptly named the 10 Commandments of Business, these are 10 activities which will add bottom line value to every business.

Thou shalt…

  1. … plan for the business. This should be aligned to a clear vision of what the business is seeking to achieve, along with its key strategies and measures to get there.
  2. … understand your cashflow. Cash is
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New Year’s Resolutions for Business Success in the Coming Year

The start of the new year is traditionally when we pledge resolutions for the New Year ahead – resolutions around how we are going to do things differently…do things better and often…..change a bad habit from last year.

So in lifting the bar for a better outcome, why not make some positive differences for your business at the same time – by making some New Year Business Pledges. 

But where, how, doing what?

Over the past year we have met and worked with many different businesses – small ones, large ones, ones with only a couple of staff and then … Read More

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The Importance of Having a Business Plan: Avoiding Failure

“Fail to plan is planning to fail” – Winston Churchill.

Even though this well used line receives universal acceptance in conversation……. few businesses “walk the talk”.

If fact, based on a number of recent business reviews it’s obvious that more planning goes into an overseas holiday, than many business owners put into planning for the success of their business.

Few businesses were actively “not planning”, with the majority either not having the time or seeing it as a low yield activity. This finding did not just apply across business planning, but equally to marketing, employees, sales and cashflow … Read More

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Identifying Surefire Business Killers: Strategies for Prevention

Operating a business has its challenges due to the many and varied issues drawing on the owners time – people, product, sales, collections, just to name a few. Thus it’s no wonder that many business owners operate “in” rather than “on” their business – which has its dangers.

Heading the list of dangers is the loss of sight of the “whole of business” picture, because as the business owner, you are too close to just one element. It’s like falling in love with the look of a shiny red sports car because that’s all you see – whereas if … Read More

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The Factor of Time: Understanding its Role in Business Success

Time is a precious commodity and one not to be squandered. Often time…..is the critical factor between success and failure.

In prior blogs I have made references to how important time is in finance, and then more generally – to business viability. If your business is running tight – with losses or cashflow gaps starting to show, then this article will provide you 10 reasons to take corrective action now.

– Interest 

The greater the duration of a loan, the larger the interest cost to your business. Miss a payment or exceed your approved limited you only increase your interest … Read More

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Playing Business Decisions Forward Three Hands: A Strategic Approach

Many strategies and decisions are made “in the moment” – considering only todays issues with little thought given to the flow on effects or impacts.

Consider for a moment what this could look like in a practical business context;

Problem: Business is going well with a large volume of short term contracts driving the existing business resources very hard.

Solution: Hire some additional staff to do the excess work – problem solved!

At a high level the problem is solved, as the problem of having too much work for the existing staff has been covered by bringing … Read More

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