Get Your Business Back on Its Feet

The Smart Way

Do you remember that wonderful feeling when you were very young, and you were desperately waiting for Santa to come on Christmas Eve? Children see the world through a different lens. Their beliefs are untainted by the process of growing up. Their cups are still ‘full to overbrimming’.

As we grow up, we are educated about the ‘real’ world, where life is tough, where you have to work hard, where nothing is free – and over time, for most of us – that lens changes. It lacks clarity and focus, and we can’t see what is truly important anymore.

We lose sight of what really excites us, what we are really passionate about.

There is a flame in each of us that reflects who we really are, what we love doing, what are passions are – it is our authentic self. It is where we find our real desire to succeed, our motivation to keep going whatever the circumstances – where we find happiness, peace, and calm – where our cups are truly full.

The last few years have been a challenge for so many people. But 2012 can be different if you start to see it through a different lens. Decide what you really want, what you love doing, what your passions and enthusiasms are – and start fanning that flame so that it becomes a roaring fire.

If you move forward with a new sense of passion and purpose you can do amazing things if you really want to.

To your success.

Alistair

Get Your Business Back on Its Feet

The Smart Way

Any living thing left to its own devices will grow – be it plants, animals, or human beings. It is part of a natural cycle – but sometimes growth needs a helping hand. It should never be held back.

A business is an extension of its owner. It’s part of you – your values, your beliefs, and your dreams. If you don’t help it to grow, it will fade away through lack of attention, or an economic climate that takes no prisoners.

I don’t believe that there is any option but to pursue, or even ‘chase’ the path of business growth. Customers are constantly looking for better products and services, for better value – and for lower prices. If you are not growing, then you are standing still – and that means that you are vulnerable if you lose customers, your costs rise, and you are not better than your competition.

Business growth challenges you to spend more time focusing on business development – and that’s where increased margins and profits can be found. Sell more of your existing products or services, or be more creative – innovate, diversify, and differentiate.

Look at 2012 as the year when you look to grow your business. Times might be tough, but often that is where the real gold is to be found.

To your success.

Alistair

Get Your Business Back on Its Feet

The Smart Way

Think of all the war films you have seen. There is usually a point when the general meets with all his commanders, and they plan the strategy for the coming battle. They try to cover every scenario, determine best options, and establish the ground rules for fighting and managing the battle. When the battle begins ‘headquarters’ manages and monitors the progress of the battle. They are in constant communication with the field commanders, and they are able to adapt and evolve the original strategy as events unfold – just as the field commanders constantly adapt and evolve their part of the strategy – as they fight the actual battle on the ground.

The general and his staff are macromanaging the overall strategy of the battle, and the field commanders are micromanaging the battle on the ground.

Your need to be able to adapt and evolve, to monitor and manage your business, as you implement your Business Strategy. You do this by integrating the macromanagement of your overall business strategy, with the micromanagement of the daily tasks and activities of the business.

Whilst you should always have an eye on your overall business strategy or the ‘big picture’, as you run your business each day, you also need to formalise this process by holding a Monthly Management or Board meeting.

The purpose of the Monthly Board Meeting is to:

1. Take time out from the daily running of the business, and spend time ‘Working On Your Business’ instead of ‘Working In Your Business’
2. Review Monthly Management Accounts
3. Review and compare Monthly Management Accounts against Budget
4. Use Key Performance Indicators to monitor and manage progress towards your goals
5. Adapt, Evolve, and Manage your Business Strategy as necessary to keep it on track

Tips for holding your ‘Board Meeting’:

1. Set an agenda and stick to it
2. Set a start time and a finish time
3. Have all documents prepared and distributed at least a couple of days before the meeting, so that they can be read and ‘absorbed’
4. Set and agree meeting dates for the next six months – and ‘set them in stone’
5. Prepare and distribute simple minutes of the meeting, particularly detailing decisions, responsibilities, and deadlines that have been agreed

The ‘Board Meeting’ is a fantastic tool that will take your business to the next level. It forces you to focus on producing financial and management information, to determine what are the key drivers in your business so that you can measure, manage and control them – and so much more.

To your success.

Alistair

PS

If you want to know more about how to set up your own ‘Board’ Meeting, or how to create the information and systems necessary to manage and control your business, contact me using the details below.

Telephone: 01875 830568
Mobile:       07981 107914
email:         a.summers@how2businesscoaching.com
Web: www.how2businesscoaching.com

Get Your Business Back on Its Feet

The Smart Way

It’s hard to believe that it’s the 1st December already. Where has 2011 gone? Have all your good intentions been translated into tangible, positive results?

Whilst we all know that there are certain Limiting Factors that hold us back from achieving our goals, we do not always identify the Key Limiting Factor or Factors that are the real culprits. A Key Limiting Factor is a problem ( or it can be seen as an opportunity ), that once resolved, enables you to move quickly and solve all the other problems that appear to be holding you back – and achieve your results.

So often we focus on treating the symptoms, and not on identifying where the real problem lies. Once we have identified the problem, then we can focus all our efforts on solving it.

Your light bulb may not be working, but it does not matter how many new bulbs you buy, if there is a faulty connection.

Alistair

Get Your Business Back on Its Feet

The Smart Way

I have always liked the example of the ‘pipeline’ when describing marketing. Turn on the tap and water flows out. The problem is when your tank is empty you have no water. The same applies to your business. Customers are the lifeblood of every business – without them there is no business. You need to have a system that ensures that your tank is always full, and another series of systems that ensure that once you have made the sale you can deliver what you have promised – every single time.

So her are a few points to consider if you are wondering why your tank is not always full:

1. Have you identified your Target Market
2. Have you defined your Ideal Customer
3. Have you determined the Demographics and Psychographics of your Ideal Customer
4. Do you understand the relationship between leads, prospects, and conversion rates
5. Do you know the cost of converting each customer
6. Do you know what happens when you vary conversion rates, sales price, number of transactions per customer – this gets pretty exciting when you do this exercise
7. Do you know about cross selling and upselling

Take a piece of paper and answer each question in turn. If you can’t, then find the missing information.

You might find you are significantly better off at the end of the excercise.

To your success.

Alistair

Get Your Business Back on Its Feet

The Smart Way

My clients, friends, and family are probably fed up with me as I keep using MasterChef Australia as an example of: passion, enthusiasm, pursuit of excellence, pushing the envelope, stretching way outside your comfort zones, fun, discipline, constant learning and improvement, creativity – to be the best.

They not only meticulously follow tried and tested recipes and techniques that work, but they also innovate and create new recipes and techniques when necessary. You can feel the energy and the passion from the contestants and the judges, as they embark on an incredible journey of highs and lows, of learning new skills, learning what works and what does not work – and learning that they are capable of achieving more than they thought was possible.

The judges expect only the highest standards from the contestants. The bar is set high and continues to be raised every day of the competition. And you know what? The contestants rise to the challenge every time, and sometimes they exceed all expectations.

Think about what you have just read for a moment. What if you ran your business like that? To be the best, to pursue excellence, to follow best practices but innovate when necessary, to have the right attitudes, to always set the bar high and expect to push it higher – now that’s a pretty good recipe for success.

To your success.

Alistair

PS

I have a recipe that you can follow to help you achieve that success – It’s my MasterClass Programme and the recipe is up to MasterChef standards. Contact me to have a chat and find out more.

Telephone: 01875 830568
Mobile:       07981 107914
email:         a.summers@how2businesscoaching.com
Web:          www.how2businesscoaching.com