10. Keep your ‘well of happiness’ full This should be something you focus on all the time. Just as the flight attendants tell you to put the oxygen mask on yourself before helping others, it’s the same in business - you need to look after yourself at all times. What are the things that fill your ‘well of happiness’? These are activities that restore your energy and resilience levels and help you face challenges in your business. It could be dancing, yoga, mountain biking, reading, weightlifting, cooking, or meeting friends for coffee. Most likely, they’re the things you just don’t feel you hav ..read more

9. Monitor your progress to reach your targets When you’re driving, there are certain things on your dashboard that you keep an eye on - your speed, your fuel level, and the engine’s temperature. It should be the same in your business. You should have a business dashboard with 3-5 key things you’re monitoring regularly. Use this four-step process to create your own dashboard: 1. Determine which Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) should be on your dashboard. These KPIs should have the greatest influence on you achieving your goals. For example, it could be the average hourly rate invoiced, your ..read more

8. Build strong networks to generate referrals Referrals are the easiest way to generate new business, and building strong networks is a great way to generate referrals. Networking and referrals are cost-effective ways to grow your business, as the return on investment can be huge. Think about the types of networking you can undertake and encourage your team to do the same. Five ways to maximise referrals from your networks: 1. Consider the lifetime value of a new customer. Calculate the revenue you’re likely to generate from a new customer, then consider ways you could reward them to show app ..read more

7. Get someone independent to hold you to account Have you ever set a New Year’s resolution and then reset the same one again the following year? It's widely recognised that approximately 80% of New Year's resolutions fail. How can we increase our chances of successfully achieving our goals? Accountability. The most foolproof way of ensuring you complete the actions you’ve committed to is to give someone nagging rights to follow you up. This may be your personal trainer at the gym who makes sure you show up at 6am, or it could be your accountant who checks in on you every 90 days to make sure ..read more

6. Be a better leader; build a strong workplace culture Being a better leader and building a strong workplace culture is crucial to having a better business. Have you ever considered whether your workplace is toxic? With the average person spending more than 40,000 hours of their life at work, a workplace should be an enjoyable place to be. We all have bad days, but if the following bells ring… your workplace may be toxic. 1. A lack of trust between owners and the team. Is there a sense of ‘us’ and ‘them’? Everyone should feel part of the team. 2. No Core Values. Or, worse still, Core Values w ..read more

Turning a profit will be high on your list of goals as a business owner. And if you want to generate the best margins, that means keeping an eye on the money that’s going out of the business, as well as what’s coming in. So, how can your accountant help with this? The days where your accountant just did the bookkeeping, compiled your accounts and filed your tax return are well and truly over. Modern accounting firms are far more interested in helping you with your financial performance, your business strategy and offering flexible value-add services that put you in better control of your finan ..read more

5. Get your organisation structure right Your ideal structure will allow your business to become more efficient and achieve economies of scale. This increases your bottom line returns at a greater rate than your revenue. Your organisation structure should allow your revenue to increase without creating bottlenecks. An organisation structure should show all ten departments in your business, who is responsible for what, and how the hierarchy works. Each department should have only one leader. The same person can lead more than one department, but two or more people can't lead the same department ..read more

4. Make a plan You know what you want from your business; now it’s time to plan how to get it. Start by deciding what you want personally from your business. For example, if you need $100,000 p.a. to cover your living costs and a family holiday, and your overheads are $100,000, your gross profit needs to be $200,000. If your current gross profit margin is 50%, then your annual sales need to be $400,000. Make sure your plan is linked directly to how you’ll achieve what you want personally from the business, e.g. $100,000 and a six-week holiday. Follow these rules to create a solid plan and achi ..read more

3. Define exactly where you are now This crucial step is so often overlooked. But without knowing your starting point, you don't know what your path to success looks like. It sounds obvious, but many business owners plan for the future without fully understanding where they are now. Answer the following questions honestly to help define where you are now (warts and all): 1. How aligned are the owners / leaders of your business? If asked independently, would the leaders have the same vision for the business? Conflict must be addressed and thinking aligned before we can plan the future. 2. What ..read more

Define what success looks like for you What exactly does your better business look like? Be crystal clear on what you want from your business; it's there to serve you, not the other way around. The average person spends 40,000 hours at work over their lifetime and life is simply too short to be stuck doing things we don’t enjoy. Make the most of your time and do what you love doing. To build the vision of where you want to be in the next 12 months, answer the following questions on a piece of paper. 1. Who do you need to be right now? Stop having a mindset of ‘when I have this, I will do tha ..read more