The coming new year of 2023 may be bringing you a fresh start regarding your business adventures. You may even be looking to start your next adventure on your own terms.
Why not make the coming year your year to start a business?
Understandably, you may have concerns and trepidation about the process (particularly amidst current economic uncertainty). However, an excellent start to a business should consider strategising, planning and development.
Starting a successful business requires three things:
However, with the challenges many businesses faced over the last few years, particularly those who were finding their feet and starting up, having just those three things to face 2023’s business environment might be a little daunting.
That’s why having a strategy in place for your business and a plan for its path in the future is of paramount importance.
An idea for your business is a great starting point, but articulating that idea to your investors with a solid foundation is even more critical.
Think about the questions that your investors might ask you about critical elements of your business, including your target audience, the competition in the field, your company’s goals and your potential marketing strategies, as well as potential questions investors might ask you about each of those aspects of your business.
Having solid answers in place will give your investors (and you) a better picture of the idea and your potential as a business innovator.
Having a physical business plan that includes all the elements you brought forward to your investors or partners will help you as you move forward on your business trajectory, but also gives a map of your business goals.
Creating a business plan should be fairly easy as it is simply putting in writing what you have already discussed ahead of time with your investors.
You may also be able to speak with us about creating business plans at the beginning of your business and throughout your business’s lifetime.
It might be tempting to shell out for the best and the flashiest equipment that your business could have a use for all at once, but it’s best to plan out your expenses. Determine your needs upfront and invest in them. Are you planning to have a physical space for your business, or can operations be conducted remotely? Putting the extra money into the critical resources and equipment that your business needs at the start may help you to produce a quality product and earmark your business
Marketing is one of the most important business growth strategies but is often neglected or overlooked by new businesses. Use social media, create a website, set up a blog or create email campaigns to bring awareness to your business.
An accountant is specially trained to manage your finances and keep them in good order.
While you might be able to keep track of your finances in the early stages of the business’s growth, we’re equipped to help when things start to pick up speed.
Start a conversation to find out how we can help your business today.
Posted on 19 December '22, under Uncategorized. No Comments.
Setting the right salary level for your employees is essential to finding the right people to help you run your business. However, it can be difficult to determine the most appropriate level based on your business and what it can afford while also being attractive to prospective employees.
When setting pay levels, particularly for advertising new positions and interviewing candidates, there are many factors to consider to ensure that you are attracting skilled personnel with the desired amount of knowledge and experience to perform well within your business.
Some of the first things to consider when determining a salary level are the skill set and amount of experience necessary for the performance of the role. If on-the-job training is provided, likely, a specific skill set is not required, and the rate of pay can be lower to offset the cost of the necessary training. Conversely, if a certain amount of industry experience is essential for performing duties within the role, you may need to offer a higher remuneration level.
Education and qualifications can also influence the rate of pay that you should offer; for example, if a specific university degree in Business or Accounting is required for the position, you will have to offer a higher salary level to attract people who have put in the time and money required to attain these qualifications.
You should have a good idea of what salary ranges other organisations within your sector are offering for similar roles. The best way to establish the going rate is to monitor job advertisements, both online and in newspapers and trade journals. There are also several online services designed to help employees determine what their skills and experience are worth within the workplace. Using these services, often found on recruitment websites, you can input the necessary characteristics for the position and calculate what an appropriate salary might be.
Other factors specific to your business may also help in determining the right salary level for your employees. Consider the size of your business and the amount you can afford to offer to attract and retain the right person. Also, think about the region that the position is in – if it is in a large city with a high cost of living, it might be necessary to offer a higher pay rate than in smaller communities.
If your business is restricted in the amount you can offer as a salary, think about what you have to offer other than money.
Often the right candidate will be attracted to an organisation that helps them to maintain their work-life balance by offering flexible working hours or extra holiday leave.
Showing potential employees that your business considers their personal needs as well as what they can offer you, possibly by providing them with a company car, access to private study cover or assistance with childcare considerations, can often be more valuable than a dollar amount.
To make decisions regarding salary levels easier for you in the future, it can be a good idea to implement a formal structure that will apply to all employees and positions. This would be particularly useful in larger businesses or those with a lot of movement within the company or high staff turnover. Such a structure would need to consider all of the above factors and be applied universally to all employees and candidates in the future.
Alternately, for smaller businesses, or ones where roles are more fluid, it can be more beneficial to offer salaries on a case-by-case basis. The lack of a formal structure would allow you to tailor remuneration packages to suit the needs of individual employees, possibly attracting specific people to a role or helping to retain valued employees within the company.
However you choose to set and review your salary levels, you must remain consistent. Salary levels should be set to reflect the skills and experience of the employee that is necessary to the performance of their role while being mindful of the strictures of your business while being careful not to discriminate against specific employee groups.
If you require assistance with reviewing your business’s performance, employee salaries or business cash flow, accountants like us are equipped to assist you. Find out how by starting a conversation with us today.
Posted on 28 November '22, under Uncategorized. No Comments.
One of the greatest complaints small employers have is how difficult it is to find good employees. But there’s one place they often fail to search for new job applicants – the families and friends of their best employees.
After all, current employees who have great work attitudes probably have brothers and sisters with great work attitudes too. Before rushing headlong into hiring family or friends, consider the ups and downs.
Family members and close friends often come into a business with a strong commitment to the company, more so than the average employee.
Because relatives may think of the company as an extension of the family, they may be more likely to be flexible and work into the evening and over weekends when needed, anticipating that they will personally benefit from the long-term success of the company.
You know family and friends well and are familiar with their capabilities and shortcomings. This may enable you to place them in just the right position. Also, your familiarity may allow you to train them more quickly than other new employees.
A relative may take advantage of family status, knowing that it’s hard to fire them when you’re sitting down at the dinner table with them that night.
Other employees may see the hiring as nepotism, especially if the family member is given preferential treatment or given a position without having the appropriate experience or training.
Family problems can be brought into the workplace. It’s one thing to have a family disagreement at night and be able to leave it when going to work in the morning. But it is entirely different when you’re facing the same person at work; the strain may affect the entire business.
Hiring friends and relatives is tricky. If not handled well, it can sour the work environment. But there can also be great benefits, as long as you proceed carefully.
Do not hire someone’s relative just because they ‘need’ a job. If someone has trouble holding a job, you don’t want them either. Write a detailed job description. Make it clear that if the relative or friend doesn’t perform as expected, he or she will be let go. Hire on a probationary basis, establishing a two-week or month-long period to see how things work out.
Ask specific, detailed questions about the relative’s qualifications before you agree to interview them. People rarely see their relatives clearly. They’re likely to make comments such as “He’s a wonderful guy” or “She’s so smart.” That doesn’t tell you if they’ve had relevant work experience or training. While you want to hire people with the right attitude, leave yourself an out: “I’m not sure Chris has the right computer skills we need.”
It is advisable not to have relatives reporting to one another or working too closely together. It’s one thing to have siblings work for the same company in different areas, but if they work together on the same project, you’re likely to see old family patterns emerge. If something goes wrong, don’t be surprised if you hear: “He started it.” “No, she started it.”
Spouses or domestic partners working together can present many difficulties. There can be:
The dynamics of a couple’s relationship are stronger (and usually less comprehensible) than a boss/employee relationship. Moreover, in a small, new, or very risky company, having both breadwinners work for the same company puts a lot of stress on a family and their budget. That’s a lot of extra stress on you.
Be the toughest on your relatives. It is essential to set ground rules so that relatives are clear they are not entitled to a ‘free ride.’ It is also important for other staff members to see this strategy in place. Before hiring a relative, make it clear to them that they will have to prove themselves and be held to the highest standards. Never supervise a relative directly.
Make sure all the rules apply to all employees. Everyone has to be qualified, and they have to do their jobs well. Otherwise, they will not be hired, or they’ll get fired. Even if they’re your mother.
Posted on 7 November '22, under Uncategorized. No Comments.
Simply put, marketing your services should consist primarily of four steps:
Here is a simple ten-point strategy for achieving these objectives:
Making people aware of your existence is fairly straightforward. It is largely a matter of advertising revenue. What takes skill is implementing the last three steps. Most businesses ignore these and concentrate on the first.
By establishing a unique marketing sector for your business, you are making your solution to the client’s problem or needs unique. If you are the only firm providing that solution, you will never need to discuss fees. Without a niche, your only option is to compete on price.
To convince prospective clients to sign with your services, you need credibility in their area. You need to be able to demonstrate familiarity with their sector by showing you have a good track record in it. Inform prospects of other businesses in similar positions for which you already act and convince them that you have the necessary expertise.
Businesses often try to convince prospects by talking in detail about the services they can provide. This is of little interest to the prospect. What they want to hear about are the benefits you will bring to them. This is what a good salesperson will emphasise. For your business to excel in sales, staff sales training is essential.
To build up a database of genuine prospects, you must establish a coherent system for identifying them. You should identify target areas, begin a series of selected mailings to them, carefully monitor the results, and record these results on your database. Your long-term prospecting activity should focus on those who respond positively. As you gradually build up a prospect profile, you can target him or her with a precisely focused sales strategy.
Making a specific proposal is a critical stage in the sales process. It is essential that the solution you propose be tailored to the prospect’s specific needs. Get to know what the prospect has in mind, who is the real decision maker, what are the company goals, what are the individual’s goals, and who the competition is.
Once you are sure what the prospect is looking for, present your proposal by beginning with an analysis of the problems and outlining the possible solutions you can offer. Be clear about your fees for each option and discuss the various pros and cons with the prospect.
However, from the beginning, you should know which options you would like to see implemented and gradually steer the prospect in that direction during your presentation.
After the presentation, ask the prospect directly if they agree that this proposal covers the points they want to be addressed. Obtain explicit agreement that he or she will run with your business, and will engage you to implement a specific solution.
Often the prospect will raise objections to your proposal, and you should be prepared with considered responses. For crucial meetings, it is a good idea to rehearse the encounter with a colleague beforehand. Have your colleague play devil’s advocate and throw objections at you. If you cannot give an immediate and convincing response, prepare one before you go to the meeting.
A positive attitude is not shallow optimism but a constructive outlook that enables you spontaneously to transform setbacks into opportunities. To win at sales, you have to be doggedly positive in both your thoughts and actions.
Posted on 17 October '22, under Uncategorized. No Comments.
Providing your business with insurance is like providing a safety net to a trapeze artist. You hope that you won’t need it, but having it in place adds security and protection if the worst-case scenario should occur.
Your business may require certain types of insurance, depending on the circumstances. These may be because it is required by law (such as workers’ compensation insurance) or because people you deal with may require it to provide something to you.
Other types of insurance are your choice but can be an important way to reduce business risk and protect things like your:
Some forms of insurance are required by law.
Other forms of insurance may be necessary for your business’s needs to provide you with security in the event of incidents (and keep you from having it taken out of your pocket). Keep in mind the following for your business’s purposes.
These are personal insurances that cover things that could happen to you. These may include income protection or disability insurance, life insurance, business interruption or loss of profits insurance, or even employee dishonesty.
If you have important business assets, property, stock or products you can’t afford to lose, these types of insurance provides cover. This may include building and contents, tax audit, transit goods, farm insurance, etc.
Liability insurance protects you if you are liable for the damage or injuries sustained to another person or property. This is mostly optional, but it’s highly recommended for your business if the possibility of legal action is high. For some industries, liability or professional indemnity insurance is mandatory.
Insurance cover is required to protect against emerging technology risks within businesses. This may include:
Examine each type of insurance and consider if it’s something your business needs. Talk to a licenced insurance broker, business advisor or insurer for advice.
Posted on 26 September '22, under Uncategorized. No Comments.
Starting a successful business requires three things:
However, with the challenges many businesses faced over the last few years (particularly those who were finding their feet and starting up, having just those three things to face the pressures of the business environment might be a little daunting. That’s why having a strategy in place for your business and a plan for its path in the future is of paramount importance.
Think Through Every Element Of Your Startup (From Top To Bottom)
Having the idea for your business is a great starting point, but articulating that idea to your investors with a solid foundation behind it is even more important. Think about the questions that your investors might ask you about critical elements of your business, including your target audience, the competition in the field, your company’s goals and your potential marketing strategies, as well as potential questions investors might ask you about each of those aspects of your business. Having solid answers in place will give your investors (and you) a better picture of the idea and your potential as a business innovator.
Draft A Business Plan
Having a physical business plan that includes all of the elements you brought forward to your investors or partners will help you move forward on your business trajectory and also gives a map of your business goals.
Creating a business plan should be easy as it simply puts in writing what you have already discussed ahead of time with your investors. You may also be able to speak with us about creating business plans at the beginning of your business and throughout your business’s lifetime.
Put Your Money Into The Resources You Need (Not The Ones You Want)
It might be tempting to shell out for the best and the flashiest equipment that your business could have a use for all at once, but it’s best to plan out your expenses. Determine your needs upfront and invest in them. Are you planning a physical space for your business, or can operations be conducted remotely? Putting the extra money into the critical resources and equipment your business needs initially may help you produce a quality product and earmark your business.
Don’t Skimp On The Marketing
Marketing is one of the most important business growth strategies but is often neglected or overlooked by new businesses. Use social media, create a website, set up a blog or create email campaigns to bring awareness to your business.
Hire An Accountant
An accountant is specially trained to manage your finances and keep them in good order. While you might be able to keep track of your finances in the early stages of the business’s growth, we’re equipped to help when things start to pick up speed. Start a conversation to find out how we can help your business today.
Posted on 7 September '22, under Uncategorized. No Comments.
It’s a wonderful feeling when you have reached a point where your business is so successful that you need to upscale. Whether hiring more people or moving location, upscaling has its unique challenges. What can you do to ensure that you are hitting the ground running while upscaling?
Businesses should set realistic and actionable small goals which they can work towards, rather than broad goals which provide no direction. Setting broad and unrealistic goals is demotivating and makes any progress made seem insignificant. Every person in the business should be given a target to meet over a reasonable timeline, contributing to achieving a larger goal.
Small businesses can make the mistake of ‘doing things as they come’, but this means that as the business grows, adjusting to high-scale tasks is difficult. To avoid this, businesses should standardise all processes of work. Any individual placed into a role should be able to follow standardised procedures and yield a product that is of similar quality to the previous one. Investing money into automation tools is worthwhile for this procedure. This can include automating social media management, email, and customer relationships. Both of these will contribute to creating structures that support growth.
Recognising the strengths and weaknesses of one’s business is essential. Strengths will allow businesses to hone in on their unique qualities, giving them a competitive advantage. Weaknesses will reveal which areas require growth so that changes can be made before upscaling takes place.
Businesses should continue to develop relationships with service providers, sales channel partners, suppliers and customers. Keeping an open mind about partnerships or potential collaborations could open up different avenues of business growth.
No matter how prepared you feel, any change in an organisation will require a period of adjustment for the rest of your team. Give them time to recognise the need for change and accept this opportunity’s challenges. More importantly, they need time to understand their roles in the bigger picture of your organisation’s plans to scale and determine how they can make the most of their skill sets and add value to the company. Make sure to consider adjustment protocols and allocate a reasonable period for such adjustments in your scaling plans and process.
As the business increases in stature, there will be a lot more little and frustrating tasks, meaning that you can’t focus on what’s important. Outsourcing components like payroll or marketing to companies with the professionals to do it effectively means that you can focus on upscaling the business.
Upscaling can be very stressful, but whether it’s making changes to your business’s technology or outsourcing things in the short term, to upscale a business means focusing on what is best for your business.
To get to this point, you’ve made a success of it, so it’s important not to lose your identity in the process. Upscaling your business is taking what’s great about your current operation and building it outwards.
If you are looking towards how your business can take itself to the next level, business planning for any eventualities can be of benefit. Consulting with a trusted adviser can be of great help when moving forward in your business’s upscaling endeavour.
Posted on 15 August '22, under Uncategorized. No Comments.
With client needs and team capabilities constantly changing within the business world, we recommend you pause and reflect on your own critical business processes to see if you can spot opportunities for improving efficiency and reducing waste.
There’s no better time to do this than at the beginning of a new financial year.
Get your team together in a room or a Zoom meeting to brainstorm the processes or work that:
Then, you should examine how you might be able to automate these processes to improve your business’s productivity and output better.
Business automation can occur in order to improve external performance and experience of the business for your clients, OR it can be used to improve upon the internal processes of your business.
For example, communicating with your employees is one constant in your business. This is obviously important, but you know it could be improved. You don’t need to have as many meetings as you are now. You should be able to share feedback faster. So how can this be improved?
Automated business processes can be split into four basic types outlined below.
Basic automation refers to the most straightforward jobs that need to be performed, like creating a centralized place to store a mix of related information. This can be automated through a project management tool that prioritises collaboration and communication to seamlessly pull together a patchwork of data into a single platform.
This tool should automatically organise all of this information to make it understandable and usable.
Process automation involves a dedicated network of software and apps used to document and manage your business processes, such as budgeting or project management.
Integration automation allows machines and software to monitor and analyze how employees perform tasks and imitate them. You simply define the rules of operation.
An example would be your project management software integrated with your customer support software. A customer complaint comes through, but instead of waiting in an inbox for someone to process it, the integration automatically sends it as a task to the person assigned to handle them.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) automation is when you combine AI with your integrated software tools for faster, smarter decision-making. The system can now make choices on your behalf with the data it’s presented (such as sample data).
Some general examples in which your business could benefit from automating key processes could include:
Posted on 25 July '22, under Uncategorized. No Comments.
Understanding how and preparing your business for the impact of inflation is a critical element of business planning that now more than ever needs to be addressed.
Interest rates rising are putting a strain on businesses across the country, as the costs for running these businesses rise in turn. Further spikes in inflation could provide additional challenges for businesses and their owners who are struggling to prepare for them.
With interest rates forecast to increase exponentially over the next year, here are some methods you can employ to address the risk inflation may pose to you.
Now is the time to review processes and output and look at ways to improve or streamline your operations, such as automation of processes including business software.
This could include
Review your current service providers and contracts such as telecommunications and internet providers, commercial property leases and service contracts, and compare the current market. You may find that there are better deals or options that allow you to minimise costs without impacting your business’s performance and options overly much.
However, be mindful not to cut marketing spending or communications capabilities which could cost you business in the long term.
Look beyond your short-term needs and make sure that the interest rate on your business loans is competitive and weigh the benefits of variable and fixed rates.
Rather than a price increase, look at ways you can leverage or bundle your existing goods and services.
If you are selling products, understand that there is a link between your client relationship and your pricing. Pricing too high all of a sudden could impact how your business is viewed by customers, but pricing too low will be detrimental to your business.
It could be cheaper for your business to offer a discount on upfront or prompt payments, rather than maintain an overdraft that accrues higher interest rates.
Overseas markets are volatile at the moment, so consider reducing risks by finding a domestic supplier which could also slash the costs of freight and storage. Create backup supply chains to mitigate the risk of having a ‘singular’ supply chain that could be impacted by market disruptions.
The labour market is competitive, and you want to keep talented staff. Consider offering flexible work arrangements, offering nine-day fortnights rather than pay increases, and looking for training and development opportunities, particularly those that are subsidised by the government.
If an employee is not providing value to the business (such as working in a redundant position or failing to meet work expectations that are reasonable to expect from them), it may be better for the business to let them go.
Are you concerned about how inflation could impact your business? Speaking with a trusted business adviser (such as your accountant) may assuage some of those concerns, as they can provide you with a formulated plan that targets your business’s year ahead.
Posted on 4 July '22, under Uncategorized. No Comments.
What is the origin story of your business? Why did it begin?
Many people might say publicly that they went into business to make a better future. Others might say that they began the business to pursue a passion. You may have simply wanted to earn money on your own terms, and create a better world for yourself.
More money, more free time, and more control or flexibility around your own work are often the reasons that people go into business. In a perfect world, you would have that control over your own work, be working fewer hours and have more money while pursuing your dream job and career goal. This may sound perfect, but it is rarely the outcome that people get from their own business.
In most instances, people may find that their hours increase, their income drops and though they now possess control, may also find that their business now also has control over them. The amount of work that may need to be done as a business owner can be overwhelming, but it must be completed. Instead of having one boss to answer to, all your customers are now your boss.
Owning a business can grant you more control, but it also comes with these heavier responsibilities and obligations. Being prepared is why consulting with a trusted business adviser can allow you to take the fear out of ‘impossible situations’ for the business, and give you choices.
There are many tasks that now require your focus to keep your business in operation – but to everyone else, it probably seems like you are living the high life as a business owner, answering to no one (if only they knew).
Your business probably started with a dream – a dream that probably did not include becoming a slave to your business or earning less than what you did in your previous job. What was that dream? What was your motivation?
Take stock of the situation you have found yourself in with the business. Relax, reflect, and consider what direction you want it to move in. Where do you want to go? Once you have a general idea, you need to put a little bit of time into planning how you are going to get there. Determine where you want your business to be in five years, or even ten years’ time.
Benjamin Franklin is believed to have once said, “if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.”
It does not matter what stage of the business you are at, revisiting the business planning stage, even midway through the business, can be a useful strategic tool. Every business needs regular planning. This cannot be stressed enough. The chances of achieving your business goals are improved dramatically if there is a formally noted business plan.
A good business plan outlines your strategy for the next couple of years. It may be used to help support an application for business finance or business grants. Or it could be just for your own use as a roadmap for the growth of your business.
The components of a business plan explain your objectives and the actions required to get your small business from where it is now, to where you want it to be.
The process of creating your business plan will help you focus, crystallise your ideas and identify priorities, saving both time and effort. Your business plan will give you a clear sense of direction and a benchmark enabling you to measure progress.
In the approach to the end of the financial year, the best time to prepare a plan to use for your business over the next twelve months is now. Developing your five- and ten-year plans is also highly recommended. For assistance in preparing or developing your business plans, you can come and speak with us as trusted business advisers.
Posted on 13 June '22, under Uncategorized. No Comments.
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