1. Superannuation. Yep, it still rocks as a tax saver. You get to spend money that goes toward your retirement and save tax at the same time. And, a simple tip is to pay your staff super pre 30 June too. You have to pay it in July anyway, so bring it forward and save tax this year.

2. Made a capital gain this year? If so, check your portfolio for investments which have lost value.  You can offset realised losses against your gains and, yep, save tax.

3. Small assets. Under the simplified tax system, small businesses can write off assets costing less than $1,000 this year.  So if you are considering buying an iPad, now might be the best time.

4. Consumables. We run an accounting business, so we might stock up on paper, pens, business cards, letterhead, envelopes.  If you are a manufacturer it might be glue, or wrapping materials.

5. Prepayments. If you have a loan, you can check with your bank if you can prepay interest.  You are going to pay it anyway, so if you can save tax this year, worth considering. Same goes for operating expenses such as rent.

6. I said 5, but here is a bonus (super powerful) sixth tip: Call your taxation advisor! You owe it to yourself to have the best information at this time of year, and the right decision can be extremely valuable.

Want to check your options? You can call or text me direct 0418 142 562, or send me a message.

If you purchased an existing business, then that business reflects what you saw as an opportunity, and it took your action in purchasing it to make it yours.

If you have built your business from scratch, then it is a culmination of many actions over the course of time.

If you are only a part owner, one key action that had to occur was that you had to agree to share ownership. This could have been by merger, acquisition of part interest, or sale of part interest.

To develop your business further, it will be the actions you take that determine the future.

You may think it is your strategies which matter most. I disagree. The best strategy in the world today is nothing without action.

So do you know where you want to be in 12 months, 2 years and 5 years? Do you know where you want your business to be?

And more importantly, if you know that, have you identified the actions required to take you and your business from where you are to that desired future?

Do that, and the reflection noted above will be brighter and much more attractive to you!

This is just one of the ways we work with our clients to help them grow their business and bring a brighter future to the fore. For more information, you can subscribe to our newsletter, or email me today at adam@mbrgroup.com.au

Do you want a brighter future?

With the new year 3 weeks old, now is a great time to ask what actions have you taken to bring those opportunities toward reality?

If you have let those 3 weeks slip by (or have been enjoying holidays), have you got an action plan in place?

The best decisions in the world are simply dreams without action!

We have already been working with our business clients on their action plans, all designed to improve their business results even more.

If you want to turn your decisions and dreams into actions and results, we can help you!

And if you know what you want in your business, but are not sure how to get there, we can help with that too.

Please don’t let 2011 be the year of missed opportunity. Contact our office today for a complimentary 60 minute YOUR BUSINESS DREAMS & GOALS meeting.

You can call our office on (03) 9385-7700 or email me direct on adam@mbrgroup.com.au start.

So now is the time for action, NOW..

And what if I told you that this tool can do that by helping you focus on what’s important in your business by motivating you to take action to drive the performance improvement of your business?

This tool will act as a foundation for the performance reporting and management of your business.

This tool will help you to fund the operations and the growth of your business, and this tool can help you identify opportunities to invest.

So it sounds like a pretty special tool. And yet time and again I hear from business owners:
“Why do I need a cash flow budget? I know where my cash is. I know what I’m going to do with it when it comes in.”

So let’s explore in a little more detail those key features of cash flow budget that can help business owners to grow and improve their business.

Firstly, we focus. The cash flow budget can help business owners focus on the game of business, what’s really important in their business.

Because a cash flow budget provides a foundation for the performance reporting for business owners from a key performance indicator perspective, identifying priorities and monitoring general operational management, cash flow budgets can be a real cornerstone on which to base operational strategies.

A cash flow budget can motivate business owners in a way that may not otherwise be obvious, because a cash flow budget can communicate and quantify the positive outcomes from taking a particular course of action in a way that business owners understand.

So the motivation for business owners by seeing what that result can be, will help drive them to grow and improve their business.

A cash flow budget can also be used to help fund the business growth aspirations of business owners, because it can be used as a key leverage tool when visiting financiers or exploring other ways of funding.

Not only that, it identifies where the needs are from a funding perspective. So if there is going to be cash shortfalls at any particular period in time during the year, a business owner by having an up-to-date cash flow budget will know in advance of when that is going to happen and then can plan and prepare and address the funding requirements as appropriate.

A cash flow budget is a great way of managing the risks in a business because it maps out when a particular cash risk might occur to the business. And again, that is a case of knowing in advance, being able to plan for it, and being able to take action to address the issue before it becomes mission critical or a true risk for the business.

The other really powerful way that every business owner can use a cash flow budget is as a means of identifying opportunities to invest surplus cash flow that a business will have from time to time during the year, either inside or outside of the business.

So if there’s going to be surplus cash flow in particular periods during the year, the business owner can see that and can plan to invest in property, in additional equipment for the business, or even in a personal share portfolio.

Whatever that investment may be, by identifying it up front and tagging it for investment use minimizes the risk of wastage of the cash surpluses being soaked up into day-to-day operations or unnecessary costs within the business.

So why would a business owner want a cash flow budget?

If as a business owner you are truly committed to growing and improving your business, hopefully what I have pointed out here explains why a cash flow budget is a vital cornerstone of your business improvement strategy.

Now at MBR Group, we love working with our clients to develop their cash flow budgets, and then use that as a basis for developing their business improvement plans.

And one of the things that we at MBR Group love doing is getting out with our clients and showing them how this can impact on their business.

So, if you’d like us to come and visit you at your business to explain how a cash flow budget can help your business growth plans, get on the phone now, call (03) 9385 7700 and book an appointment with me or one of our other business improvement specialists to come and spend some time, quality time with you, identifying the opportunities for you to grow and improve your business.

Our “Cashflow Snapshot Session” is normally valued at $497, but will be complimentary for the first five businesses to call our office and quote “cashflow blog”, so call now!

1. CHANGE
Whilst the waves continue to roll in, the size of the tide and the currents change continually. Your business needs to be aware of the changes in customer needs, wants, and the market around it. Adaptability to change will determine the ongoing success. So how do you keep yourself aware of change in your market?

2. DANGERS
The crowds flock to the beach, we love the whales and the dolphins, but we need to be aware of the sharks. To be successful means going as hard as we can when the surf is up and the whales are out, but having an eye out for the sharks will enable your business to grow in a sustainable way. Cashflow today is king, and it is possible to have profit without cashflow, so making sure the two go hand in hand will keep the shark from the bay. Are you aware right now of the marginal cashflow in your business?

3. TO MARKET
In small surf bodysurfing or bogie-boarding might be best, in big surf a decent longboard, or if sped is of the essence, a jet ski might be more appropriate. In your business you should ensure that the vehicle you use to go to market in is the best for the conditions. That might mean the management structure, your team, your location or even your website. Is there anything about your business vehicle that needs an update?

4. INSURANCE
Beach shelters, wetsuits and sunscreen provide various forms of protection on the beach. In your business, your insurance, your currency hedging, your interest rate management, and even your commodity risk exposure provide your business with protection. If they all work together, your protection is therefore optimised. Are you sure your protection is as complete as it should be?

5. SUPPORT
On the beach a lifeguard provides great protection provided you swim between the flags. Even competent swimmers have drowned by venturing outside the flags and the protection of the lifeguards. Your business should surround itself with the best possible lifeguards. At MBR Group, we focus on helping our business clients grow. We have developed a professional network to ensure our clients have the best resources. If you would like to discuss our support, call Adam on 03-9385-7700 or email adam@mbrgroup.com.au now.

PS. The inspiration for this article was an overcast afternoon at Ocean Grove, having the time to think about how we support our clients grow and improve their businesses, and some of the keys to success we see every day. The crashing waves were darkened by the clouds, but the outcome on the beach was as magnificent as ever.

1. CHANGE
Whilst the waves continue to roll in, the size of the tide and the currents change continually. Your business needs to be aware of the changes in customer needs, wants, and the market around it. Adaptability to change will determine the ongoing success. So how do you keep yourself aware of change in your market?

2. DANGERS
The crowds flock to the beach, we love the whales and the dolphins, but we need to be aware of the sharks. To be successful means going as hard as we can when the surf is up and the whales are out, but having an eye out for the sharks will enable your business to grow in a sustainable way. Cashflow today is king, and it is possible to have profit without cashflow, so making sure the two go hand in hand will keep the shark from the bay. Are you aware right now of the marginal cashflow in your business?

3. TO MARKET
In small surf bodysurfing or bogie-boarding might be best, in big surf a decent longboard, or if sped is of the essence, a jet ski might be more appropriate. In your business you should ensure that the vehicle you use to go to market in is the best for the conditions. That might mean the management structure, your team, your location or even your website. Is there anything about your business vehicle that needs an update?

4. INSURANCE
Beach shelters, wetsuits and sunscreen provide various forms of protection on the beach. In your business, your insurance, your currency hedging, your interest rate management, and even your commodity risk exposure provide your business with protection. If they all work together, your protection is therefore optimised. Are you sure your protection is as complete as it should be?

5. SUPPORT
On the beach a lifeguard provides great protection provided you swim between the flags. Even competent swimmers have drowned by venturing outside the flags and the protection of the lifeguards. Your business should surround itself with the best possible lifeguards. At MBR Group, we focus on helping our business clients grow. We have developed a professional network to ensure our clients have the best resources. If you would like to discuss our support, call Adam on 03-9385-7700 or email adam@mbrgroup.com.au now.

PS. The inspiration for this article was an overcast afternoon at Ocean Grove, having the time to think about how we support our clients grow and improve their businesses, and some of the keys to success we see every day. The crashing waves were darkened by the clouds, but the outcome on the beach was as magnificent as ever.

Expanding knowledge is one of the keys to personal growth, and so reading books is a powerful way for a business owner to grow. And in the tech world we live in, we can read a paperback, hardcover, ebook on a kindle or other electronic device, or listen to audio books. We really have no excuse for not developing ourselves by reading.

Over the last week I have been enjoying the style of Bob Phibbs, aka “The Retail Doctor” and his book “The Retail Doctor’s Guide to Growing Your Business”.

This book has been written in a way that will allow Retail Business owners to pick it up and start using the strategies within hours, and the practical tips and suggestions will ease the implementation process.

Of course, a book alone will not grow a business (du-uh!).

So here are some of the key reasons to read the book, and then most importantly, ACT!

1. Know your numbers. Along the lines of “what you can measure you can manage” simply means you should have a strong grasp of where your business is at now. If not, go to it!

2. Merchandising. The art of not only displaying sale items, but store layout, shelf heights, and more. Importantly your merchandising should be tailored to YOUR market.

3. Employees. Unless you sell everything in your store yourself, deliver it yourself and follow up all of your customers yourself, you are going to have employees. These are your team-mates in the game of winning business, so make sure your team knows where the goals are, and you have the right people in the right positions.

4. Selling. You need to understand your sales process, and then stretch your process to maximize the effectiveness. Different products and markets require different processes, but without a process that results in sales, it’s all over!

5. Training. Once you have an effective process, and the right people in the right positions, then training them to ensure they are doing the right things is what will really provide you with leverage. Get this right, and the reliance on you to sell yourself is gone.

6. Coaching. As an owner it is my belief we should all have coaches, but your team needs a coach too, and that might have to be you, or it might be an external resource. Either way, coaching will lift their performance to the next level.

7. The Internet. You just have to know what it means now to your business, and now is the time to be planning what it will mean tomorrow, and how you are going to make sure it helps your business grow.

8. Your turn. So over 200 pages of strategies, tips and suggestions. But if all you do is read them, then the pages will have little impact. It is you deciding to act that will drive growth, so how are you going to commit to actions. Coaching makes you accountable to your decisions and plans, so that is a great way to drive the growth in your business, get a coach.

And then Bob gives his list of 13 steps to being a top salesperson. This list is a great summary of the key points in the book, and could form your checklist moving forward. If you have salespeople today, and you give them this book, then the 13 steps can form part of their performance measurement.

So this book gets a recommendation from me for all business owners, as if you own a business, someone is selling something for you (or you are doing it yourself). An easy read, 230 pages plus index of practical suggestions and strategies that can help your business grow.

If you would like to understand how the power of coaching can turn these strategies and others into actual results in your business, email me now adam@mbrgroup.com.au for a copy of our business growth magazine and the opportunity to attend a 3 hour Business Grow session.

Also don’t forget to register for a free copy of our e-newsletter on our home page

For you or your management team, here are 4 keys to effective communication in business:

1. Commitment to a culture of effective communication from the top down.
2. Policies and procedures in place (enforceable) to support that culture.
3. Technology is only an enabler of communication (even if it is a powerful one) and is no replacement for a supportive culture and committed management.
4. Building culture (re communication or anything else) requires trust, and trust can be easily broken if management are not walking the talk.

Is there an opportunity for your business to improve its communication? If you would like the opportunity to review your Communication Culture, contact our office for a Business Health Check.