In order to manage your business effectively you need to be sure that it has enough cash to keep trading and that it is running profitably. To ensure this happens, I recommend you review your financial status at the start of each and every business week. You will have financial records, probably in one of the most popular accounting software packages such as Sage, QuickBooks or Xero. Either your own staff or your accountants will use these to prepare VAT returns and the other legal requirements such as the annual accounts required by Companies House. These accounting systems can also produce many of the essential figures you need to review on a weekly basis. Additionally, you need to forecast which clients are likely to pay their invoices this week. This is often not the same as those who should pay this week. Accurately forecasting your weekly cashflow is a skill every business needs to master. Not all of the figures in the list below will apply to all businesses. You … [Read more...]
How to continuously sharpen your company’s competitive edge
The use of the word ‘continuously’ is purposefully placed in the title of this blog article. Why? Because I fully believe that if a company does not continuously sharpen its competitive edge, it won’t be long before they do not have one in today’s ever-increasing pace. I’m sure we can all think of examples of companies who have been market leaders and no longer exist or have had to sell assets and/or shrink in size to survive. Eastman Kodak is a prime example. Kodak began to struggle financially in the 1990s when digital camera technology hit the retail market. Only recently they have emerged from bankruptcy, after selling many of its patents to current giants including Google, Apple, Samsung, Microsoft. Woolworths is another case in point. It used to be one of my favourite stores for spending my pocket-money. A few pence went a long way in Woolworths – a child’s paradise. Several months before they closed their retail outlets in the UK, I recall walking in and out of Woolworths, … [Read more...]
Why you need to focus on values and behaviours for business growth
In my experience of working with MDs of their own companies over the last 14 years it doesn’t take very long before they start talking about why they set up their business, what is important to them in running the business and keeping it solvent/profitable, the differences that exist between them and other Directors and shareholders or conversations that start about a manager who just doesn’t get it. There are many insightful stories and anecdotes. Passions and frustrations run high in equal measure. So in a very conversational way, the values of the MD become very clear i.e. what really matters to them. With a bit of gentle probing, it doesn’t take a lot to get an MD to define the behaviours that enable success in their business. ‘If only people did this, we would be even more productive.’ When the MD set up the business, working with a small team, direction, focus, consistent behaviour was all a lot easier because everyone could see what was happening, everyone was involved in … [Read more...]
4 top tips to successfully secure business growth funding
Very few businesses are lucky enough to be able to bootstrap their way to success, most rely on securing business growth funding. Getting funding at the right time is critical to surviving yet alone thriving and growing. Without funding it is much harder and slower to grow and expand into new territories or markets. Here are my top four tips for successfully securing business growth funding. Know where to look and what type of funding is the best match There are numerous sources of funding from Bank Loans to Crowdfunding and Equity investment to Trade Finance, Grants and R&D Incentives for innovative companies. Often a growing business will need to draw on a mix of sources. Depending on the stage of growth and type of business some will be more suitable than others. Each type comes with its own positive and negative aspects for example if you’re seeking a bank loan, you will probably have to give a personal guarantee and of course pay back the loan with interest. If it’s equity … [Read more...]
Why you need to improve your listening skills!
It’s not often that I write an article for business people telling them to do something. Typically, if someone tells me to do something, my urge is to do the opposite! Due to that fact, I avoid telling others to do something unless I feel very strongly about it. I feel very strongly about the importance of possessing excellent listening skills and have yet to meet someone who couldn’t improve theirs, however good they are (or think they are). Why? Because they are essential! Listening is the key to understanding, whether in conversation with a business partner, an opponent, a sales call, trying to close a deal, figure out why a staff person is unhappy or demotivated, or what’s really going on at your child’s school. It is all through your listening skills. What isn’t being said? It’s not just about what the person says, but what the person isn’t saying. There are clues in their word choices. Are they being evasive or direct? Are they hesitant? Having you used language that allows … [Read more...]
Is your brand positioning clear enough?
Do you truly know how your customers perceive your brand? When running a business, it can be all too easy to get caught up in day-to-day operations and to lose sight of what your customer is thinking. Unfortunately, if you’re not actively working to shape and communicate your brand position, the customer will simply make his or her own decision as to what you stand for. If your brand positioning is not clear, your business will suffer from some or all of the following issues. You try to sell to everyone, and end up attracting no one in particular Customers don’t understand the problem you’re solving or the want you are meeting Unique features of your product or service will not be realised or understood Benefits you offer in comparison to other competitors will not stand out Reasons to believe in your brand are not crystal clear As an example, a crack garden landscaping team may do a great job on the ground, but their website and marketing material undersells their particular … [Read more...]
Is your business stuck at a crossroads? Time for a strategic review.
Many businesses reach a stage when they are at a crossroads about the direction to take next or are “stuck” without a clear strategy. It may be a crisis point or it could be an opportunity to take a different path. Directors may no longer be aligned with the planned company direction, and this can cause friction. Rather than putting off hard decisions, it makes sense to face up to the challenges and opportunities, have a strategy review and then put an implementation plan in place. Reasons for a strategic crossroads could include: Change in market dynamics that impact growth or profit potential.Increased competition forcing new approaches.Loss of important customers or contracts.New product or service opportunities possibly requiring research and development.Recognition that the business is too reliant on a small number of key customers.Macroeconomic/political changes such as Brexit.Divergence of what Directors want from the business.Planning for exit / opportunities to … [Read more...]
How to pick the best candidate for your Technology business C-Suite
With the current skills shortage in the technology sector and ever-increasing demand it is simply not enough to broadcast a role when you are recruiting for your leadership team. Placing an advertisement or hoping a quality candidate will alight upon your website will rarely succeed. You deserve and require the very best of candidates. Invariably, finding great people requires a more proactive approach. The best candidates are not looking for your role The best of candidates, or targets, are probably fully committed to working for a competitor, supplier, customer or possibly currently working overseas and not actively looking for another role. Alternatively, they may be restricted via a compromise agreement, garden leave or clause in their current contract – all of which can be the subject of further negotiation and equitable determination. A discreet approach A thorough, comprehensive, discreet and confidential first approach to the targets is required for a … [Read more...]
Case Study – Part-time Financial Director helps growing business to meet the audit threshold with confidence
Background Following a period of rapid growth, the business had outgrown its finance systems, processes and controls. The business was approaching the audit threshold and quarterly corporation tax payments, so cash control and forecasting needed to be reviewed much more frequently. The MD required more experienced commercial and financial support to help drive growth and assess future options while ensuring that customer focus remained at the heart of the business. Searching for a solution Following an introduction from a strategy consultant who had already been working with the company, we met with the MD so that they could outline their need and discuss how a senior Finance Director would restore confidence, professionalise the finance function and contribute to commercial issues and challenges with regard to growth. Fundamentally, the Finance Director needed to introduce: insightful management reporting and analysis of performance to enable the MD to make … [Read more...]
Is your Sales Report doing the job it’s meant to?
Sales, sales and yet more sales……….PLEASE A simple innocuous request a month ago to a client of ours got me thinking! I had simply asked that at our next monthly meeting if they could give me a “Sales report” for the previous month. I did not think any more about it. When we came to that point in the meeting the following month, the report was produced!! Lo & behold I was presented with a list of all the beers that they had sold the previous month, a long list of different beers, in cask, keg, can etc. To them, sales simply meant the beer that they sold. To me it meant the outlet –Pub, Bar, retail etc. I believe this is a crucial tipping point for a brewery or any other business, when sales becomes about the outlets buying product or service and not simply about the amount you have sold! Knowing who bought and, equally importantly, why they bought can provide insights you can replicate elsewhere. For your Sales to fly, they have to be driven by metrics and … [Read more...]
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