Challenging Times They say that change is the only constant. And the past years have delivered more change than ever, particularly for business owners. There’s no doubt a slowdown is upon us and not every business will make it through. So what can you do
Mark Up and Margin If you’ve heard other business owners talking about the difference between Mark Up and Margin but you’re not sure what that means, then you’ve come to the right place! It all starts with thinking differently about how you price your products
Quick question: Which one are you? The tradie who’s so busy trying to keep on top of everything that you don’t check your prices until you get the invoice and then think “that doesn’t look right? I’ve been charged too much!” Or the tradie who
Not all roadblocks are created equal I really wanted to share with you today three types of barriers that may be getting in the way of your success. Not all roadblocks are created equal, but it’s important to deal with them all and clear your
Buying Groups As trade business owners we all know the more materials we buy, the better deals and discounts we can negotiate. The trick is to meet the order volumes needed to unlock those deals and discounts, right? And until we do, it can be
Is your business adaptable? The question is, Is your business adaptable? Does it have the capability to adapt and change? Personal and business agility is really important these days. It’s not enough to be able to change—you must be able to react. You need agility:
Let’s talk about building alignment in your business A well-aligned business is like a well-practiced symphony orchestra. For any piece of music to sound good the strings, wood instruments, percussion, and every other section must do their part. If anyone is playing out of tune
Client & Prospect Engagement A client was asking me the other day how they could become more persuasive in their messaging. They wanted to engage prospects and clients to take action. And let’s be honest: ‘who doesn’t? The problem is that a lot of people
Making A Decision Making the decision to get help and hand some of your work to someone else is a great starting point. This will free you up to focus on the work that requires your particular expertise and knowledge. The next step is to
“Business As Usual” (BAU) We’re here – it’s a new financial year! It’s the perfect time to achieve extraordinary outcomes. It’s time to look at the short, mid and long-term horizons for the market and our business. Now is the time to step past ‘business
3 Key Elements Today’s business tip is about the three key elements when putting your business plan together.It’s easy to have ideas about the plans and actions we need to take, but it’s harder to put into practice. The three key elements that you need
Action Planning Business owners can get caught up in the ‘doing’ when actioning a plan, but there are three aspects we need to consider first, to ensure we get the most out of what we’re doing to be successful. Before, During and After. BEFORE Before
Decision Making to Free Up Time Making the decision to get help and hand some of your work to someone else is a great starting point. This will free you up to focus on the work that requires your particular expertise and knowledge. The next
Freeing Up Time People often ask, how can I best free up and use my time? When you’re working on your tasks, there are really only four ways to deal with them. Do – These are actions that you need to take for work to
wanting work life balance People often talk about wanting work-life balance, but it’s not necessarily what they’re really seeking. The concept itself is fundamentally unachievable. The notion of work life-balance implies that we have this perfect scale always in-sync between our personal and professional responsibilities.
Business Friction Lets get it sorted Do you ever feel like work is getting harder – both in terms of what you’re doing and how you’re doing it? You’re not alone. We’re talking about the concept of business friction. What do we mean by friction?
The Half Inch Drill Why do you buy a half inch drill? To hang up pictures? To put up shelves? No, you buy a half-inch drill bit to drill a half-inch hole. The point of this is that people don’t buy what you do. They
Three Types of Partnerships Within this post, we aim to delve into the nuances of three distinct partnership models accessible to you and your business. By exploring these models in depth, we aim to provide clarity on their respective characteristics, advantages, and potential implications for
Think Before You Speak Thinking before speaking is a challenge for a lot of people. Especially if you are trying to prove how smart you are. A good tip is to pause before you open your mouth and ask yourself, “is what I am going
Get Your Business Working It’s when you put down the tools that your business starts working…and you work less. The most successful businesses have mastered the art of being at the helm. If you are spending too much time on the tools, you probably know
Questions then silence If you’ve ever led a meeting, this has probably happened to you… You’re wrapping up and you ask your team if they have any questions or anything to add. You wait while your team is silent. After a minute, you might be
Your Primary Cashflow Source Your business’s primary source of cash flow is from your customers. So, when the market’s being choosy about how and where they spend their dollars, your success hinges on your ability to set up, sustain and close sales. We’ve seen evidence
Hiring the right people Many businesses owners’ biggest nightmare, and with good cause, is to have hired the wrong person for the job. Not only is this time-consuming but the pain inflicted on team morale, not to mention your budget sheet, can be high. The
Performance I often hear business owners comment that it is hard to get rid of poor performers these days, but I have to disagree – I have never found it hard to exit a poor performer and if you do it right, they typically jump
Strategic planning With everything that’s happened in the last year, lofty strategic planning has become more difficult. However, there is another way. At the end of the day, strategy is about resource allocation. It defines what we focus on and give our resources to. It’s
leading high performing teams In my career, I’ve had times when things were going really well and times when they weren’t. When it comes to leading high performing teams, I’ve learnt a few things along the way and in recent times, used these learning’s to
There’s a response to a commonly asked question that’s become a conversational crutch. For many small-business owners, sales is one of the toughest areas to master. This is especially true if you sell a service that requires a significant time or financial investment from your
Ask for the sale and then ask again! For many small-business owners, sales is one of the toughest areas to master. This is especially true if you sell a service that requires a significant time or financial investment from your customers. I want to share