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The characteristics of successful leadership in business

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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The 5 life-cycle stages of a business

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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How to gain Sustainable Client Referrals

There is a gold mine of new opportunity in your existing client base – you simply need to know where to look.

Business is very much about sustainability – the sustainability of new client opportunities/leads along with good sustained profit and cash flow. Drawing these together makes for a very profitable business operation in the short term, and fosters strong enterprise/business value over the longer term.

So, how do you tap into this sustainable flow of new opportunities?

One way, is via referrals from your existing client base. 

Referrals from people who already know and value what you do … Read More

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Business Risk during the Festive Season

As we take the run into Christmas, most business are focused on getting things finished so they can wind down for a bit of R ’n‘ R over the Christmas & New Year period. Naturally, those in Retail are still geared up until after the post Christmas sales and Hospitality, will run hard until the holidays finish, but….there is another group who are gearing up for a busy holiday season.

This group, would officially be on the “naughty list”, as this group have only one objective – to rob you.

What’s normally left off the pre-Christmas “to do … Read More

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Business Sale Values

Increasingly with the transition of the Baby Boomers into retirement, more and more business owners are considering the sale of their business. This is a very important event, as it allows them to unlock the investment which they have built up in their business over time and assists with funding their retirement. The key question is generally – “how much is it worth?”

We have appraised many businesses as part of our business brokering – so we know that there are many different “value” numbers in use in the market. They include;

  1. The wish value – the value
… Read More
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Sale of Business Value – every business is saleable

Essentially every business is saleable; it’s simply the sale value and terms which vary. The issue faced by many business owners is that the sale value/terms available, are significantly lower than they had hoped for.

So if you are seeking a sale exit from your business – you really have the following options available;

  • Sale to the Open Market
  • Break up and sale of the components (essentially a liquidation of the business for its raw assets)
  • Sale to associated entities / employees

Each of these have merit, but come with different costs and benefits which need to be carefully considered … Read More

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Why you should consider more than just the Easy Option

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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Succeed with Business Succession

Succession is an inevitable bridge that needs to be crossed for all businesses. For some, the decision is made in a millisecond – whereas for others, it can be an all-consuming dilemma. This article is to help those struggling with this dilemma.

It is important to recognize that succession can be a very difficult and sensitive issue for the business owners to confront. Regardless of whether they founded the business or succeeded into the business themselves – the notion of handing over the reins to someone else can raise all manner of concerns.

Confronting the issue of needing to plan… Read More

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The One More Thing for business success

Whether it be in sport or business, the difference between success and failure can often be simply doing one more thing than the competition. The extra phone call, one more prototype, another sales approach, an additional quality check, a larger focus group, an extra tier of service etc etc…..any of these can be the secret ingredient to business success.

A few qualifiers;

– know your competition as this will provide some form of benchmark. This is not to say that your competition is setting the right pace, but as a minimum it provides a starting point.

– work from … Read More

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10 Commandments of Business

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
… Read More
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What do I need to prepare my business for sale?

Business Sale Building Blocks

The prospect of selling a business, or at least positioning it so it can be sold, will be confronted by all business owners eventually. It may be for 20 years down the track (rare) or to sell now (more common), but the simple reality is that all businesses will have a change of ownership at some point.

The burning question for most owners is, “what do I have to do”?

Selling a business can be a relatively easy process, providing of course – you have a business which is worth buying (from a buyer’s perspective) and … Read More

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The Cost of being Tolerant

Business owners tolerate a lot, whether it is poor performing staff, process problems, cash flow, IT and the like. In doing this, the level of stress or pressure on the owner (and in many cases – the business) rises in direct proportion.

The two questions I pose are why…….and…..what is the cost?

In general terms, things are tolerated because of either a perceived lack of alternative or an inability to implement change. History shows me that there is always an alternative, albeit it may be painful, costly or difficult – but there is always a choice. The implementation of a … Read More

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10 Mistakes to avoid when Selling your Business

With lots of blood sweat and tears, you have built a business over time which is worth something…. and now you want to sell it.

  • Some would say that the hard work has been done, but you can’t take your eye off the game at this crucial time – as it could blow up in your face and cost you a lot.

Selling a business is unfamiliar territory for most business owners, so a couple of poorly timed comments or a lack of preparation could result in a material change to either the sale price, its terms or even … Read More

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My Business is Up for Sale!

The sale of a business is typically an emotive situation for the business owner…… and in the majority of cases, something that they are very unfamiliar with. So if you are thinking of selling your business, then consider the following 6 ingredients for a good business sale experience.

Clarity on why you are selling

  • This is normally an “ice-breaker” question which comes up in the first few minutes of discussion – so have an answer. Some owners try to be smart and give “the right answer” for why they are selling, but I personally advocate a clean honest response. Be
… Read More
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Business Decisions – play them forward three hands

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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