I hope you’re well and surviving these challenging times…
Your response to COVID19 will depend on your industry, business structure and level of resources and I’m sure that you have addressed the most pressing issues and have locked down your business to weather the storm (if required) but where to next?
As our Governments start to contemplate lifting restrictions and “kick starting” the economy, now is the time to ramp up your marketing activity and start building momentum for the future.
Do not wait for the restrictions to be lifted to begin your recovery – START NOW! I am finding that people are looking beyond COVID19 and are starting to build resources and contacts to help them through the Recovery Phase so you need to be building your profile.
Marketing typically has a lead time to start producing results – so start your activity now and build momentum.
What sort of things should you be doing?
1. Get your post-COVID19 Business Strategy sorted – for many businesses COVID19 has been a catalyst for changes in how we: operate, deliver our products and/or services, manage teams, working locations, pricing models, etc. What changes will you hang on to? What old practices will you discard? Why? What will your business look like post-COVID19?
2. Ramp up your marketing activities – once you are clear on your strategy, then its time to double down on your marketing and sales activity.
Its important that you start this ahead of the curve as marketing has a lead time. If cash is still tight then think of all the free and low cost activities that you can do.
Your marketing activities should be focused on our 3 point Promotion Model: Networking, 1-to-1 and Broadcast Activities.
The emphasis you put on each element will depend on your specific business. Some potential activities could include:
Join some networking groups – most are 100% online at the moment so you can expand your geographic reach quickly and easily – Click here for networking resources – https://shifft.com.au/business-networking-resources/
Revise your website and social media presence – take the time to upgrade your website and/or social media profiles. If cash is tight, then change the content on your website not the layout. If you don’t have a website then now is the time to get one!
Ramp up your activity on social media – Pick one or 2 social platforms that fit with your target market and start adding regular content and interacting with your connections.
Build content that demonstrates “capability” – write blog articles, produce videos and add content to your website that demonstrate that you are an expert in your field. “5 top tips for xxxx” articles, etc. Watch our video on how to convert your blog into a video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_bq3pRSvog
Share this content with your clients and prospects – Send copies of your new content to your mailing lists – post content on social platforms – rework popular content and post it on authority sites to increase SEO
Explore online advertising – If your budget allows then consider advertising on Facebook, Google Adwords, etc. With less competition for key words on Google you may find that your funds go a lot further. Engage professional help to get better results or be prepared to learn on the run.
Connect with your Referral Sources – make contact with your “Centres of Influence” and rekindle relationships that may have gone cold over the last few months.
Ramp up your 90 Day Contact Program – most of these activities should be part of a structured 90 Day Contact Program for your business. If you don’t have a 90 Day Contact program in place or have let it slip – now is the time to re-ignite it. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN DO TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS – You can download a free copy of the Program here – https://shifft.com.au/90-day-contact-program
So, now is the time to ramp up your marketing activities as we build towards a relaxation of restrictions and our economy starts to recover. Don’t wait for the recovery – be proactive and start working on it today.
Russ
P.S. Our FREE Training Program offer is still available. Through our partnership with Mindshop (www.mindshop.com), I am able to offer you and your team 2x business online training programs (from our suite of 26 courses) for FREE. This offer is open to anyone who would like to take it up. You can select the courses that you would like to do and you will have 6 months to complete them. Limit of 2 courses per person.
P.S.S. If you would like to have a 30-minute, no cost, no obligation, no “sales pitch” discussion with me about navigating COVID19 in these trying times, then please use the link to find a mutually convenient time for a zoom call. We’re all in this together and I’m happy to help – https://calendly.com/russellcummings/30-minute-call
The term “Family business ” usually refers to a small or mid-sized company that has a local focus and is plagued with a familiar set of dilemmas such as succession. In spite of that very simple description, family businesses have played a powerful role in the world economy and have included, through the years, big businesses worldwide. Some examples in Australia of successful family businesses are linFox, smorgon group, cooper’s brewery and there are plenty of others.
Most of the time, the key to success of a family business lies in its unique ownership structure that allows them to plan and thrive in the long-term. But other researchers believe that it is also this structure that causes many of them to fall. So what’s really the case?
In a recent article from Harvard Business Review, What You Can Learn from Family Business by Kachaner, Stalk and Bloch, presented a rigorous analysis of how family businesses and non-family controlled businesses differ in management and performance.
And from this article, we’ve derived seven points on how family-run businesses manage for resiliency and how business managers can benefit from these principles.
1.Family business is frugal in good and bad times.
In most cases, family businesses view their money as “the family’s money” which is why they often do a better job of keeping expenses under control. This can be a weakness as often, to save a buck, they invest with shorter timeframes in mind rather than thinking of the long term.
2.a family business keeps their bar high for cAPEX.
Family-run firms have a simple rule when it comes to capital expenditures – they make sure they do not spend more than they earn. They often run “leaner” than their corporate cousins.
3.a family business has little debt.
Family businesses, because of their close-knit and simple structure usually associate debt with fragility and risk, and tend to avoid it. They usually have very strong balance sheets.
4.Family business make few and small acquisitions.
Although an acquisition can transform a company and pay large rewards, it can carry a high risk. And this is why family businesses shy away from large acquisitions and prefer to make few of these deals and only favor companies that are close to the core of their existing businesses.
5.a family business is diversified.
In this day and age, diversification is important to keep a business alive and it is no different with a family-run business. Diversification has become one of the key ways to protect family wealth. In fact, the Smorgon Group in Australia is an example of a diversified family business that went from meat to steel, and paper.
6.a family business is more international.
Contrary to what most people know, family businesses are ambitious about expanding overseas. In fact, they often generate more sales out of the country (USA) than other businesses do.
7.a family business is better at keeping talent.
Businesses that are family-owned prefer to extol the benefits of longer employee tenures thus creating a stronger culture.
With these seven points, we can conclude that despite its small and simple structure, family businesses have shown to be resilient in times of economic uncertainty. I think this is largely driven by a strong sense of ownership of the brand and finances. Yes, they are not without pitfalls, the largest being inter-generational transfer but they survive through the years by focusing more on resilience than performance.
The flipside of “success” is “failure” and it’s the latter that every business owner and manager strive hard to avoid. By definition, the term “business failure” refers to the cessation of a company’s operations following its inability to generate enough revenue to cover expenses without adequate reserves.
In the recent times, there are many examples of strong businesses that have failed to adjust to the changing markets and economic times or to take advantage of opportunities – and this has ultimately led to their downfall.
Based on my 26 years experience working closely with business owners, here are my 9 key tips to avoiding business failure:
1. always ensure that you target your marketing.
Too many businesses have an undifferentiated product/service offering and fail to understand who their target customer is and what they require. Don’t be undifferentiated, make sure you’re speaking the right language and using the right channels and/or media in targeting your main group of consumers. Focus on delivering exceptional value. ACTION:Develop a structured Marketing Plan for your business and revise it regularly.
2. always plan ahead.
Talk about what you want to do next and where you’d want your business to go by preparing strategies that will help you focus on your business goals and objectives and to make sure that appropriate and sufficient resources are in place. Be rigorous in your planning and hold yourself and your Team accountable. ACTION:Develop a 5-year Strategic Plan supported by Annual Plans. Have 90 Days Actions. Cascade your plans so that everyone in your business is part of a plan.
3. have great business models.
It is a fact that most businesses fail because of poor business models – a business model describes you will engage your target market to profitably generate revenue. To avoid this, make sure that you have great and well-thought pricing models and economic cost models that will help your business focus more on creating, delivering and capturing value needed by your customers. ACTION:Understand your Business Model – there are some great tools to do this.
4. have effective processes.
All businesses are driven by processes. However, few businesses have well documented processes. Many businesses fail to have any continuous improvement processes and have a well entrenched view that they are already efficient. The reality is far from this and many businesses can improve productivity by up to 30%. The challenge is to avoid waste in: time, resources, opportunities, materials, etc. caused by inefficiency – this results in higher than necessary costs and lower margins. ACTION:Apply simple Process Improvement Tools, like 7 Wastes to your business on a regular basis. Never stop searching for improvement.
5. engage your team.
As a leader, you should be a good example to your team. Teach them how to own issues, take responsibility, be accountable and model proper engagement, not only with their customers and clients, but also with each other. An effective team will overcome most business obstacles and enable your business to seize opportunity, when required. ACTION:Engage your Team by improving communication and feedback.
6. have great sales processes.
Sales is the engine that drives your business. Most businesses that fail do not have effective sales processes in place. So with that said, make sure you have great processes that your salespeople can follow. ACTION:Clearly define your Sales Pipeline and develop a Sales Model that delivers.
7. ensure you have adequate cash buffers.
“Cash is fact – Profit is opinion!” This great quote from Andrew Russo (Master Accountant) gets straight to the heart of the matter. Ensure you build adequate cash reserves in your business to ride out changing markets and economic conditions. Cash reserves also allow you fantastic flexibility when looking at opportunities. ACTION:Develop a plan for how you can build cash reserves in your business. Engage your Coach or Accountant in this process.
8. avoide uncontrolled growth.
Uncontrolled growth is often a pre-cursor to business failure. When business growth is “out of control” often cash flow is uncontrolled. Rising sales are barely enough to cover rising costs and cash is at a premium. Cash flow, staff, customers and production are all stretched often to breaking point. Avoid this by “taking your foot off the accelerator” – be more discerning in taking on clients – engage strategies that will slow demand (like lift your prices) – say “No” to opportunities that aren’t in your sweetspot – and introduce tighter financial controls and KPI’s. ACTION:Monitor key drivers in your business and ensure that you have the capability to meet demand. Develop strategies to maintain control.
9. take early action.
Too many businesses fail to “take effective action” until it is too late. Act early and avoid the Receivers! Set up effective monitoring systems. Plan for different scenarios (revenue, cost. Market conditions, competition, etc) and define “trigger points” – bank balance, sales$, profit %, market KPIs, etc – that will cause you to evaluate your options well in advance. These options should include plans for how you will address the challenge – reduce staff numbers, cut costs, close non-performing divisions/products, etc. Make these decisions now rather than trying to make them when under pressure. aCTION:Develop plans to address particular scenarios with effective trigger points.
Focus on ensuring that you have all 9 elements covered and you will do more than stave off failure you will be on the road to success.
What is the element that has the highest priority for you? Pick one and start working on it now.
In my latest blog, Planning for Success in 2012, I shared a simple process that can help you think about the importance of taking time to prepare and make a start for the New Year. If you’ve read that, I bet you’ve already planned and set new goals and objectives for your business. But if you haven’t started and are having trouble getting ideas, I should tell you that one of the best ways to start is by setting New Year’s resolutions.
Why New Year’s Resolution?
As everyone may already know, New Year’s resolutions are commitments made at the beginning of the year to reach certain goals or projects in life. Usually, a resolution is geared towards a personal objective such as reforming a habit, but it can certainly be used in a business point of view because of the enormous amount of effort and a high level of commitment people exert for it.
With that said, did you set any New Year’s resolutions for your business? If not, here are some you should highly consider.
Set Targets for 2012
As business owners, it is crucial for you to set targets for 2012. This is to increase productivity and performance, to provide context, focus, etc. for decision making and strategy development. The direction your business takes this year will very much depend on your targets. And as the leader, it is your responsibility to set these goals as early as now.
Give Back
Get involved in a Community Organization or Charity and donate your time to make a difference. It is amazing what this will do to for your confidence and sense of well-being which will have flow-on effects for your business. As the saying goes, it is better to give than to receive.
Build Your Team
Devote 20% of your time to building your team especially in times like these where many leaders have lost the art of developing and growing their teams. Don’t be like most modern managers that manage their teams with pressure and fear. Go back to the basics. Be a great mentor and coach your team to success. Build skills, knowledge and change behaviors when necessary.
For more ideas on how to build your team, read my recent blog – The Lost Art of Management.
Stop Doing Things
You can never do everything by yourself which is why this year you should pick out at least 3 things that you will “stop doing.” This will free up available time to do some of the other activities on this list. Depending on what kind of activity you’re going to stop doing, you can choose to do 3 things: cease the activity, delegate it to someone in your business or family, or outsource it.
Get Physically Fit and Active
As the business owner, it is important for you to have enough energy to be up and running. Use a Personal Trainer or go to the gym, that is, if you’re disciplined enough. Cut out refined carbohydrates, have alcohol-free days. This will help with energy levels and your body as well as your business, will thank you.
Get Mentally Fit
Buff up your mind too by turning off the TV and reading a business book or biography instead. Set a target for books per annum and read it. If you don’t like reading, get audio books. Make the most of your time in your car – turn off the radio and listen to podcasts or audio books (free from iTunes) that are related to your field of business or your expertise. Use an iPod or something similar.
Be Decisive
Make decisions and stick to them. Don’t vacillate. Do your research and do your thinking. Make a good decision and implement it.
Get Your Priorities
Think of the 3 most important things you must do for your business or for yourself as a business owner in 2012 – no excuses? Take note that these things should be large in scope and must have a large impact on your business. Getting your priorities right will give your business the right start it needs for the New Year.
Make Time for Family & Friends
Focus on your life balance and aim to correct any imbalances. This may mean that you will need to dramatically improve your time management or “stop doing” things more. Find a balance between your family, friends and your business.
Formalise Your Support System
Make sure you formalise your personal Support Team. These are the people who support you and help you (usually not employees). This can be your spouse/partner, Business Coach, Professionals, Mentors, friends, counselor, priest, AA sponsor, etc. Define who they are and let them know that you will be working with them to help you achieve your goals.
You might say, after reading all this that it’s tough to get these resolutions done. It may be at first, but I say it’s doable. The important thing is to set your mind to achieving these resolutions and remember that you’ve got the whole 2012 to do it! Good luck!
There’s no better way to start the year than by thinking about your plans for your business in 2012. With that said, I want to take you through a simple planning process that will help you make a start, and to help you get it going with a rush.
The model we’re going to talk about most importantly is the Now, Where and How. This is one of the most basic models in planning and problem solving. When creating a plan, it is really important that we have a look at where we are now, where we need to be (which is probably the most important component of all), and then finally, how are we going to get there? Where are we NOW?
Talking about the NOW means looking at where your business right now. It’s time to sit back and take stock of your business. Take a good hard look of what you’re doing. I get my clients to think about doing this in 6 key headings.
Profits
This is about your finances, your profitability and those sorts of things. Just use it as a general heading to think about and write down some dot points such as:
How profitable has your business been?
Where are you in terms of sales, costs, profits, debts?
Customers – Who are they?
The next heading then is Customers. This is where you think about:
Who your customers are?
How they’ve been going?
What sorts of customers do you have?
What sorts of customers do you attract?
What sorts of customers would you like eventually?
Products and services – how have we performed?
The third thing to think about then is your Products and Services. If you’re a service business then you won’t have products maybe. But anyway, things to write notes about under this heading are:
What do you deliver?
What do you deliver to?
What is the quality of your delivery?
How do you compare against our competitors?
Core processes & systems
After establishing points for our products and services, talk about the Core Processes and Systems being used to deliver your products to your customers. Talk about your core processes – what are they and how do they operate in your business?
Our People & Teams – Internal and External
In order to deliver your products and services to your customers and then collect some cash, along the way you need to have engaged your team (internal and external). Make sure you have a great, quality team to work with – start thinking about your people and write down some comments about them.
Promotions
The final heading would be Marketing and Promotions. Write down some notes about how well your marketing and sales programs are working.
So that’s a quick summary of the NOW. You don’t need to spend a lot of time doing it, but I suggest that you do. Then the next thing I’d like you to spend some time on is the WHERE.
Define the WHERE – Explore your future
Use the same six headings we used for the NOW and be aspirational.
For Profits, set some targets – financial targets, for what you would like to achieve in the coming year. You might be planning for a longer period but just start with 2012.
What level of sales would you like to have?
What level of profitability you would like to have?
What sorts of volumes would you like to do?
Same with customers – think about what sorts of customers you would like to acquire in 2012. Do you want to maintain your current client base, Do you want to grow them or get some extra ones? Think about those things.
For Products and Services, think about what you need to do about these – how do you change them in 2012?
For Core Processes, again, think about what you need to do with your core processes. Be more efficient and more effective.
Then, think about your People. They are the enablers of your business and they are absolutely critical. What are your retention policies on people? How are you going to retain good quality people? How are you going to attract them and recruit them? These are really important.
And then lastly, it’s very important that you think about your Marketing and Sales because this is the engine that drives your business from the top end. It is really important to put some time and some thought into your Marketing and Promotional activities.
So there, we’ve done a quick summary for the WHERE to determine where you want to be. Now you have to think about how you’re going to get there.
The HOW – How will you move from NOW to WHERE?
The HOW is all about understanding what’s required to move from where you are now to where you want to be. What are the things you want to do?
Here are the things I would like you to do:
Think about the barriers – what are they? Thinking about the barriers will help you focus on some of the priority actions you need to take.
Brainstorm and come up with 3 or 4 MUST DO’s that you need to do in the next 12 months if you’re going to achieve your targets. These are “big chunks” like moving to bigger customers or launching of a new product or service.
So think about the MUST DO’s, about 3 or 4 normally, any more than that you start to get a bit out of focus. Remember it’s a 12-month time frame.
Break up your MUST DO’s
Then for each of those MUST DO’s, I’d like you to put some timelines. Start to break them up into when you need them delivered, who’s going to do them, what are the priority actions? Start thinking about those and then group them up into 90-Day Actions.
What are the 90-Day Actions?
The 90-Day Actions refer to the things you need to do within the next 90 days if you’re going to achieve our 12-month goal? Focus on those, set some Project Teams up for your business if that’s what you need to do. (These are small teams that are focused on actually delivering outcomes for you). So set up some Project Teams and make it happen.
Okay, so that the HOW part.
To summarise your plans, I suggest you use a One Page Plan tool, there’s actually a template for this online on my website on the blog, so you should be able to download it. If you can’t, just please contact me through the blog and I’ll send you a copy.
The One Page Plan is really simple. It contains a quick summary of the NOW, WHERE and some of the targets you want to hit. And then down the bottom, the strategies and the must do’s and then the action plans – the 3 or 4 things you need to do to get things moving.
So that’s the basic process. Work out where you are NOW, work out WHERE you’re going to be in the future and then lastly, plan HOW you’re going to get there. Summarise it all into a neat plan, set yourself some 90-day actions, be really clear on those actions and get you and your team motivated and off to a successful 2012.
Now is the time to get in and develop a plan for 2012 before you get too far down the track. Just do it – for most people this is a 20 min to 30 minute exercise.
One of the key issues that impacts on most business owners and managers is the issue of Life Balance.
This issue is relevant at all times in our lives and if the area has not been reviewed recently, is an invaluable exercise to undertake when life-changing events such as retirement are contemplated.
One of the tools that can be used to assist us to answer the question “How do I know if I am successful?” is to undertake a review of Life Balance. There is no definitive answer as to what constitutes success and each person needs to define the key elements for themselves however the model that we use contains 6 key areas:
Family
Health
Social Life
Money
Mental
Personal Philosophy
Success in each of these area is important however is more important that success be balanced between all areas. If these are considered to be segments of a wheel, that wheel won’t be able to turn unless that balance exists.
You will note that we dont include Work as one of the elements but consider it the road that this Wheel travels along, and which can provide many of the Life Balance elements.
Imagine a zero at the centre and a ten on the circumference and then subjectively score where you stand in each segment.
If you score very well in some segments but low in others it indicates a need to develop strategies to lift your score in those areas to bring the wheel into balance.
Don’t score yourself based on the time involved but rather the quality of each area. If for example you did not score well in the area of Health, what action plans can you put in place?
A Medical Checkup
Sign Up With The Local Gym
Commence A Diet
Regular Walking Program
A Combination Of Any Of The Above
It is up to you to select something that you are comfortable with. Why not involve a friend or family member? Not only does it provide a wonderful support mechanism, it also means that you can work on two Life Balance areas at the one time.
It is important though that specific measurable targets be set. Deciding that I will exercise more is likely to be of little help. Set a specific measurable target. I will walk for 40 minutes at least 4 times per week. At the end of the week it is easy to know whether or not you have achieved your objective. Why not chart your progress? Remember it takes about 12 weeks to form a habit.
