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The Danger of being a SMALL Business

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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Business Sales Activity in your Prospect Pipeline

Businesses with strong consistent sales, typically are the same ones who have a deep prospect pipeline. Regardless of the type of business or product, those who have the depth of opportunity in their sales pipeline, are also the ones who have less stress and typically better margins.

When you only have one or two prospects in your sales pipeline, there is the pressure to progress those opportunities quickly – perhaps with even a level of desperation. Whether these opportunities are ready or worthy – they are still progressed.

I have often used the analogy and comparison of a sales … Read More

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Business Efficiency in Small Business

Improvement in efficiency has been an age old quest in business, as it has enabled either more to be achieved with less effort, or for the same amount of effort, but faster with more profit.

For many reading this article, the phone or tablet you are using provides you with a more effective use of your time – as you can read this on the run. Five years ago, you would have needed to be at a computer, 10-15 years ago you would have needed to go and buy a magazine.

Increased efficiency has a variety of potential benefits, including; … Read More

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Business Data – “is it a valuable asset or an expensive handicap?”

It’s well recognised in many corporate environments that data quality is a large and expensive issue. 

For banks & insurance companies with risk data, retailers with stock, marketers with poor lists, and countless others who rely on accurate financial info – poor data quality is an issue as it breeds inefficiency, increases expense and robs capital. For the big boys, the cost of this can generally be absorbed as they have the scale to cover it. It’s the smaller players in the SME market who I find get knocked around the most by poor data quality.

Don’t think that … Read More

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Business Improvement for 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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Business security – thieves won’t be taking a holiday

With just on a week to Christmas, businesses are generally finalising last minute sales, delivering product orders, sorting through end of month accounts, preparing for New Year sales, confirming the staff leave roster, and even…. finalising the details for a staff Christmas break-up!

What’s normally left off the pre-Christmas “to do list” is security – physical and virtual.

Make no mistake, thieves will NOT be taking a holiday over the festive season – in fact, they will be working hard exploiting the combination of business closures and peak retail activity.

The risks to business vary significantly accordingly to industry, but … Read More

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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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Business Trends & Patterns – a simple game or is there more to it?

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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What information should I use to run my 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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What if I didn’t read the business contract?

Have you ever heard, “…what if I didn’t read the business contract before I signed it?” Unfortunately I have, with my default response being, “the devil is always in the detail”. So if you have not read your document, then the chances are that the “detail devil” will cause you trouble.

Experience has shown me that when faced with a lengthy document or contract to review, most people skip the read and get by on the verbal overview provided to them – choosing to act in the spirit of what they believe it means. For the few … Read More

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Maximising your Business Time Management

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 through of “work” when I said “8 hours of engagements” – … 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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Clear Business Process + Strong Execution = Great Savings

Regardless of whether you are selling burgers to a young family with three tired kids or producing “O” rings for the space program – there is always a cost when your process fails – it’s just the magnitude that varies.

For a minute, let’s consider the more trivial of these two examples and look at the world through the lens of a parent with three children under 10. It is a warm day, the kids have been running wild all morning and at 2pm, it’s going to be a late lunch.

You place your order at the local fast food … Read More

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Business – when Good Times go BAD

How much risk are you carrying in your business – do you know……and what are you doing about it?

Someone once explained Operational Risk to me as the classic, ‘good times gone bad’ situation, where one or more of the things which have made the business successful, suddenly go wrong – and often….very wrong!

Perhaps a clearer or simpler description of operational risk is; a failure in the people, internal processes or systems of the business, or an external event that could have financial or reputation impacts.

For a typical SME business this could look like –

    • Poor password
… 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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3 Strategies to Energise your Bottom Line

There are three key strategies available to energise your bottom line, with then an infinite number of tactics which can be used to support them – customised to your business and its current situation.

The three key strategies are;
•    Revenue – increase
•    Direct costs – control
•    Operating costs – reduce

Each of these strategies has relevance for every business, and can be used either in isolation or combined depending on where the business is currently positioned. But, before jumping onto any change program, it is essential to understand where your business is presently at; what is working … Read More

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But I didn’t see it coming!

All too often this is the catch cry after a major incident…..a show stopping incident…..a business crippling incident…

But after the dust has settled and the emotion has been removed from the discussion, the real question is “WHY didn’t you see it coming?”  Show stopping incidents in business – the ones that have the ability to cripple or kill a business, can be predicted.

These risk events will normally fall into either being a Credit, Market or Operational risk event. A common Credit risk event for small business is a major bad debt, which more often than not will have … Read More

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