Your business in 2011, There Has Never Been a Better Time
As the new year rolled around, there is a fair chance that you all turned your mind to the opportunities the new year offered. A fresh start? An operational re-boot? A new market? More Profit? More Cash?
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..
5 things your business can learn from the Beach
Learning as a part of your development as a business leader, will help your business into the future. Here are 5 ways you and your business can learn from the Beach.
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.
5 things your business can learn from the Beach
Learning as a part of your development as a business leader, will help your business into the future. Here are 5 ways you and your business can learn from the Beach.
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.
3 Keys to business improvement
Do you know the activities that grow and improve your business?
No matter what industry or industries your business operates in, there will be key activities which lead to improving business outcomes.
Those outcomes could be sales, profit, margin, productivity, customer numbers, return rates, staff turnover rates, or any number of other outcomes.
If you want to target improvement in one of these, there are 3 keys:
1. Identify the outcome you want to impact.
2. Identify the activities which lead to an improved outcome.
3. Put a system in place to ensure the appropriate activity levels are achieved.
Of course having appropriate measurement metrics in place so that you have sufficient information available to achieve steps 1 and 2 will make the process simpler.
If you are operating your business, looking for improvements, but without appropriate measures of performance, then your ability to achieve improved outcomes is reduced.
If you would like more information in relation to these performance measures, simply subscribe to our enewsletter by clicking here
Reports that matter – growing your business
If you are committed to growing your business, or even thinking about it, you need to be aware of the axiom “what you can measure you can manage”.
In simple terms this means to actively manage your business, you need to be measuring it’s performance. Not what you would call earth breaking news, is it?
So what will make the difference?
THE RIGHT REPORTS AT THE RIGHT TIME
No point discovering your average daily cash-flow is negative in 12 months time!
You need to identify what information you need to understand your results, and the timeframes you need them.
The right reports:
The reports that you need to help you grow your business will be determined by your individual business situation, and whilst “off the shelf” suggestions may be relevant, understanding how the activities in your business impact on your goals is more powerful if dealt with specifically with you and your management team.
The right time:
There will be reports or key operational metrics you need to know daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annually. The timing will depend on the speed of impact, but to understand if your business has had a great day, week, month, quarter or year in relation to key metrics will help you make the best business decisions.
These reports should have a standard target so you know if you are ahead of the game (or not), and this standard target should be updated based on all information available. The reports should be a part of your management plan, or even better, a key piece of your GROWTH plan.
Trends can be measured, campaigns effectiveness can be measured, and impacts of strategies can be measured even more accurately.
At MBR Group we work with our business clients on what we call the FAB 5: Growth, Profit, Cashflow, Asset Value, and Risk Protection. Utilising reports on key business metrics enables us to assist our clients in a positive way. If you would like to learn more about how great reports can help you grow your business email adam@mbrgroup.com.au
By the way, the right time to do that, is NOW!
To subscribe to our newsletter designed to Add Value to business owners, go to our home page here
The Retail Doctor’s Guide to Growing Your Business: A Book Review
When considering how I can help my clients grow their business, I am constantly aware of the saying that a business is a reflection of the owner, so to grow the business, first look to help the owner grow.
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