Ten Practical Street-Smart Tips To Ensure The Next Twelve Months Will Be The Most Successful Of Your Business Career!
Special Report By Damien Parker
This Report Has Been Written Specifically For The Clients & Associates
Of Tony Simpson at Madilach Investments
Introduction
Here are ten vital points that will determine just how successful you and your business will be over the next twelve months. But, the points are given with a very important caveat:
knowledge of itself has no value; it only takes on value when somebody does something with it.
Re-Kindle The Dream – Fall In Love With Your Business Again
Sadly, many thousands of small/medium enterprises (SME’s) have long forgotten why they went into business in the first place. They’ve fallen out of love with their business. Perhaps they’ve become disillusioned with the long hours and the stress of our “do more with less” business environment. Maybe they need a new challenge or at the very least, a deliberate break, whereby they recharge their batteries and regain the “fire in the belly”.
Are you still passionate about your business and the mission you aspired to when you initially commenced?
If you answered NO, please understand that both you and your business are “on-hold”, a fact that is more obvious to your staff, customers and suppliers than you may think.
The choices are clear-cut, fall in love again, or move on and let somebody else have a go at instilling the required passion and perseverance.
If you’re not sure where you stand on this issue, contact us, and request a meeting.
Whatever you do, don’t do nothing because all you’ll get is what you’ve already got and perhaps, this does not excite, so change is inevitable.
Commitment And Responsibility
Have you ever wondered why some people are successful and others are not?
Yes, luck plays a part as does the desire to work hard. However, the single most defining difference between the success “haves” and “have-nots” can be attributed to just one word, commitment.
Successful people make a full commitment and when commitment is made, responsibility follows and when responsibility is assumed a result is more than likely.
Are you really committed to your business and its future?Are you prepared to go the extra mile in order to achieve your goals?
Again, if you cannot honestly answer YES, you’re impeding progress.
Set The Journey For The Year
We all know we should plan our destination, yet very few of us actually do. Why?
Answer: A lack of commitment and a willingness to allow a whole series of other issues get in the way of one of the fundamental jobs, which we, as business leaders, need to undertake.
In a way, when we don’t plan our future because we are too busy putting out fires or tending to other minor matters we are effectively putting other people and circumstances in front of ourselves. That’s just plain dumb.
What would you think of a person who just hopped in their car and started to drive? Put another way, they had no set direction, they just drove.
There are many people who do this with their business. They have no plan, no direction; they just do the same-old, same-old every day.
Do you have a pre-set written plan for your business over the next year?
If No, should you?
Advise The Team (Staff)
Think of your staff for a minute. Do you think they enjoy being part of business that lacks direction and focus? Absolutely not.
They want their business leader to be perfectly clear on the game plan. They want their leader to be decisive, determined and passionate about the mission.
Also, they appreciate the leader who shares the dream and the plan with them. Truly, the days of staff being content to be a mushroom are long gone. Today’s staff members want involvement, participation and if you engineer it carefully, you will get staff to voluntarily give the one thing that will make a HUGE difference to your business – their commitment!
Does your staff know where you and the business are going?
Do you actively seek the direct commitment from each of your staff?
Be Accountable For Your Dream And Your Journey
One of the prime reasons why small business operators do not achieve their true greatness is that they don’t have anyone to whom they are truly accountable. Consequently, they are not pushed in any way. They go easy on themselves.
This is one area where a properly trained business consultant/coach who understands the psychology and disciplines of coaching can assist greatly.
As the manager of your business, do you have someone to whom you are directly accountable for the results you deliver?
Note this person mustn’t just be a “rubber stamp” type person. S/he must really hold your feet to the flames and push you.
If the answer is No, ponder this for one minute. Why is it that every professional athlete worth his or her salt has a coach?
Answer: They want that person to push them, to keep them focused, to hold them accountable, to act as a sounding board, to be a motivator and to tell them truthfully the way it is.
Treat The Business And Yourself As Priority #1
This is the most important rule in business and don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise.
When our creator made us, the strongest instinct we were given was the self-preservation instinct. We are number one. Heck, even the airlines get this one right when, during the safety drill, they tell us to put on our own oxygen mask before we assist others.
The business, and we who own it, are priority number one, got it!
That means devoting our time to maximising our position by being good managers who are alert, planned and detailed in our execution of tasks. We are focused on the goals as set. Of course we deeply respect the people (customers, staff, suppliers) and the processes that will assist us to achieve our goals. In fact, we will work with them to make our goals and theirs become a reality.
A person who follows this law closely does not let the silly little things get in the way of the plan. They won’t allow the day-to-day issues throw them off course. They are prepared to be ruthless when it comes to dealing with issues. They constantly ask this question of themselves
“Is this task, function or person really getting me towards my goals?” If the answer is no, they immediately move on.
Make Small Improvements To The Key Areas Of Your Business
This is a most critical rule to follow and if you do, you will be staggered at the profit improvements that can occur. I (Damien Parker, the writer of this special report) call this my 5% formula and broadly speaking, if the average business, (which shows a 30% gross profit and a 10% net profit) was to look for improvements of just 5% in the key areas of sales, costs of goods sold, and overhead expenses, the improvement in the bottom line profit dollar will be a massive 61.75%!
Pay Yourself First, Not Last
This is a crucial rule that will ensure you never have to wonder where you profits went. I am suggesting that you need to pay yourself first and not last as presently 99.9% of SME’s do…and regret. You need to pay yourself first for these reasons.
Your business owes you a decent commercial wage. Are you presently getting this from your business?
If No, be honest, who is to blame here?
Your business owes you a decent commercial return on your investment. Are you presently getting this from your business?
Again, if the answer is “No”, who is to blame?
I think you already know who is responsible for all these issues. Yes, it’s that smiling face that beams back at you when you look in the mirror!
So, pay yourself first, and then worry about how you will pay everybody else. If nothing else, it will force you to operate your business bank account lean and mean.
Protect Your Hard Won Gains – Use A Separate Bank Account To Quarantine Business “Wins”
Truly, your business bank account is like a big fat lazy dog, it will eat every bit of cash you put in the bowl and then still be hungry.
Challenging Question: what would happen if you received a $10,000 cheque from the Tax Office and the matter related to something that happened over ten years ago?
Yes, this is absolutely unexpected revenue and of course you would bank it into the business bank account, wouldn’t you?
Okay, let’s move forward a year. If I was to then ask you where the $10,000 was what would you say?
Most people would respond that it has simply disappeared in the system somewhere.
Look To Systematize Your Business – Beat The “Wheelbarrow Blues”
Many SME owner/managers are operating “wheelbarrow” businesses in that if they stop, so too will the business. That explains why they never take holidays and are stressed to the max.
In many instances this is a self-inflicted situation in that the SME owner/manager is unwilling to delegate and/or implement worthwhile systems that will allow others to share the load.
Contrast this with a typical McDonald’s franchise that is competently operated by twenty-year-old managers who are in charge of sixteen year old's undertaking their first job. How can this be so? Answer, at McDonalds, the people follow the systems and the system drives the business.
It really is worthwhile systematizing a SME business. For starters, the owner/manager gets to share the load amongst others, profitability is better and, an often overlooked fact; investors looking to purchase a business will pay more for a systematized business than they will for a wheelbarrow business.
Can you improve the systems of your business?
If yes, when are you going to do something about this?
Summary
Here are the ten “must follow” rules that will see your profits literally take off faster than a bushfire on a gusty day!
• Re-kindle the dream. Fall in love with your business…again!
• Make the commitment – accept the responsibility – expect the result.
• Set the journey for this year. What are we going to achieve? How? When? Who?
• Advise the team (staff). Get them to commit and share responsibility.
• Be accountable for your dream and your journey.
• Treat the business and yourself as priority #1.
• Practice the 5% model – make small improvements to the key areas of your business.
• Pay yourself first, not last.
• Protect your hard won gains – use a separate bank account to quarantine business “wins”
• Look to systematize your business – beat the “wheelbarrow blues”