“Why Do Some Businesses Grow” Part 5
Last time I continued with our series of articles on the 5 factors that impact on a businesses growth. In particular I talked about the importance of capital requirements within a business which is no. 4 on the list below. How did your spend your $2 million?
Improving your business systems (Part 1), Leadership skills in your business (Part 2), The importance of Marketing (Part 3), Available Capital in Business (Part 4)External Experts (Part 5)
This time I will share with you about the importance of ensuring you have appropriate suitably qualified external support to help you achieve your commercial objectives.
So who are the people you need on your business success team, as I like to call them?
Let’s run through a quick checklist of your present advisors for:
1. Business Planning
2. Goal Setting, Monitoring & Goal Attainment
3. Taxation & Accountancy
4. General Management issues
5. Staffing matters
6. Product & Service knowledge
7. Sales & Marketing
8. Legal issues
9. Asset Protection
10. Wealth Creation/Financial Planning
11. Your Exit Strategy/Succession Planning
12. Insurance – business, income protection, trauma, life etc
How did you go?
Yes to be successful you do need more than an accountant and lawyer on your success team.
Would you or your business benefit by having an advisor, consultant or coach to hold you personally accountable for achieving greater results from the business?
If your answer is yes…then you should make a forward booking to have an initial conversation for possibility with Tibor Mackorfrom Better Business Strategies a Business Growth Specialist.
No matter where you are located in New Zealand or Australia we have Business Improvement Specialists available that assist business owners to take their business to the next level.
(For clarity we have people within our trusted network that can assist you with every one of the twelve areas mentioned above).
Of course, you could also do nothing…….and nothing will change.
Personal accountability is not something that is particularly popular these days. So often people in their personal, professional or business lives are looking for a scapegoat to push the blame onto rather than having a good, hard, long look in the mirror and accepting that personal changes need to be made.
What about you?
Now remember if you have the right people on your success team they will make a quantifiable difference to your bottom line. There will be no mistaking the positive impact they have.
I dare say if you cannot identify where your current advisors are making a difference to your bottom line – then you need to ask yourself why and probe to identify if they are value adding to your business.
If they are not – find another advisor who can and does value add.
A typical example I use for illustrative purposes is Accountants.
Now like all professions there are those that are good and those that are not.
Some accountants are what I call “rear vision” accountants”. They will tell you how your business went last year (after the event). It’s too late then to affect the trading results of last year.
Now this is not a beat up on accountants – after all I am a member of NZICA [although I choose to coach and consult for my clients].
Many see their role as providing some tax planning and attending to the compliance issues of their clients which are important and necessary.
Yet many in the accounting profession will lament their inability to do both the compliance work as well as actively get involved in coaching and consulting with their clients to ensure that their business thrives.
It is my contention that what your business needs is an external advisor that will hold you and your team accountable to make changes in your business now that will affect the current week/month’s trading results and those week’s/months into the future so that your current & future trading results and the return on your investment can be optimized.
This requires working together collaboratively. It is not something that magically occurs with a meeting once a quarter.
It also requires time, energy and commitment on your part as the business owner to follow through and the willingness to be held accountable and perhaps even to be told things that you may not want to hear.
Your homework:
1. Who do you need on your success team that is not currently in place? Why?
2. Are your current advisors making a quantifiable difference to your bottom line? If not, why not?
3. What areas of your business would you like to optimize in the September 2008 quarter? How do you intend to do it?
Meanwhile you might want to give some thought to this question:
As a successful business owner what is your time worth to you or your business? (I want you to come up with an hourly rate).
Invitation & Challenge for progressive “forward vision” Accounting Firms
If you are the principal or managing partner (or you know the principal/managing partner) of a “forward vision” accounting practice serving the small to medium sized business community throughout New Zealand that is passionate about helping your (their) business clients achieve maximum returns on their business(es) AND you (they) are willing to work collaboratively with a network of Business Growth Specialists for the benefit of their clients then I extend an invitation for you to have a confidential discussion in the first instance with me.
