MFBT

Finance For Small Business – Any takers?

admin — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 03:49:04 +0000

Risk taking for SME’s is still out of vogue. Banking giant Westpac has been more than willing to lend money to SME’s, but it seems that the only companies who are keen to take the bait is medium-sized businesses where demand for lending has increased by ten per cent.

Head of retail and business banking, Rob Coombe, was surprised by the reluctance of SME owners to take part in the drive that began in March which aimed to lend more money to small business owners and was propped up by attractive incentives…

Read the full article at Smart Company

Improve Your Leadership Performance

admin — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 07:16:22 +0000

Multi-millionaire by age 25 and ready to retire at 27, Kirsty Dunphey shares her top tips on what makes a great manager. Seek anonymous feedback from staff, recognise employees in a meaningful way, and put to use the skills that you have learned through tertiary education. For helpful advice from our own Telstra Young Business Woman of the Year visit:

http://tinyurl.com/3p3b379

Exit Strategies – Selling Your Business

admin — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 07:13:37 +0000

Most business owners take the term ‘selling up’ rather lightly. It is surprising how many businesses are sold without being given a rigorous once over. Evaluating every nook and cranny may seem like a lot of hard work but in the long run, it’s more than worth it. It may make or break you – or, it may be the difference between a comfortable lifestyle and one that you’ve always dreamed of.

Read more at: http://tinyurl.com/3no8lwe

Workaholics beware of the small business!

admin — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 05:47:30 +0000

Does the thought of going on holiday fill you with dread? Not just the actual holidaying itself of course. But the leaving behind of your pride and joy – your business. Because of course, you have everything under control, you know where everything is and no-one can do it better than you can. Sound scarily familiar? Read on for more information on how to free yourself from the ball and chain of self-employment.

http://tinyurl.com/4y5n5bc

Sell, sell, sell

admin — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 05:30:00 +0000

You’ve made a decision and you’re selling up. The trouble is with selling, is that you can never be sure whether or not the value of your business is going to be attractive to prospective buyers. There are a number of ways that you can get your business ‘market ready’ and most of them are cheaper and less time-consuming that you might think.

http://nyreport.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Feature.showFeature&FeatureID=266

Pick me!

admin — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 05:27:38 +0000

You may see the value in your business idea but it is hard to show investors that the true value of what your idea is worth. There are specific areas that they look at and you may not be aware that you are exhibiting weaknesses in key areas. To get the inside scoop on what investors really look for, check out:

http://www.theage.com.au/small-business/managing/blogs/young-gun/10-reasons-why-investors-steer-clear-of-startups-20110808-1iiq4.html

Recession Busting

admin — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 05:23:13 +0000

Have we stopped addressing other areas of our businesses because we are waiting for the economy to improve and solve all of our problems? Although most of us realise that the market isn’t static, few of us are willing to accept that the only secure thing in business, is that markets are most definitely not secure.

Check out these great recession buster tips for your small business:

http://tinyurl.com/3cljrwb

Give your business the opportunity to grow

admin — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 05:57:28 +0000

Statistics tell us that 70% of new businesses wind up within five years from commencement. Why does it happen to some of the best technicians in their field.They work long hours to get everything done and find that they have more business than they can handle ….

Michael Gerber’s E-Myth states that most businesses start by an Entrepreneurial Seizure. The technician has had enough of working for someone else and decides to start their own business. What most of these technicians don’t realize is that it is far harder working for yourself than for someone else when you have just created a JOB for yourself.

The technician soon finds out that there is a lot more to running a successful business than just doing the technical work whether it is carpentry, plumbing, electrical, technical writing, naturopathy, hairdressing, etc. You need to prepare quotes or proposals for work to be done, prepare and send invoices, talk to customers, order materials and equipment, chase up customers to pay their bill, keep records, administrative work, advertising, marketing, etc.

What happens when you get more customers than you expect – what do you do? Do you have the systems and the structure to expand, or will you sub-contract to other technicians. What about the quality? What do you want out of the business? Most business owners look at the work that must be done from a tactical view rather than a strategic view, but all the functions that make for a successful business must be managed.

How to avoid this situation:

A successful business must have VISION, STRATEGY, SYSTEMS, and PEOPLE/RELATIONSHIPS. It is what the bigger businesses do but the smaller business generally don’t. Develop your business into an asset. Always start a business with an exit strategy and with great systems so that the business runs without you. For example, if the technician had employed 15 subcontractors or employees and had successfully sustained this over time then he has built an asset that has a saleable value. Invest in training to run the best business that you can. Don’t forget that you probably had training for the technical skills for the work to be done in your business. Isn’t it just as important to invest in the training or coaching to help you create a great business?

Learn to delegate – don’t be the best worker in your business. Customers should be buying the ability of the business – not your ability to give them what they want. Develop Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) so that you know where you are (going forward or backwards) as you delegate your tasks and monitor the numbers.

Create your vision

admin — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 05:53:29 +0000

In today’s fast-paced world, it seems that we are so busy with what’s happening today that we often forget about the future. Remember to allow yourself the time to think about where you want your business to be 3-5 years down the track. Build a clear vision of what YOU really want. Let’s face it – if we don’t know where we are going, then how can we plan how to get there? Time involved in planning is time well spent and if done properly, will contribute a lot when it comes to ensuring success. Be creative in the process of creating your vision. When your mind knows where it is going, then you can develop steps to get there. Just remember if you don’t know where your life is going, how can you live it?

To obtain information to build your vision – do your research. Visit other businesses that you find appealing and talk to the owners or staff if possible.

Now take a moment just for yourself. Close your eyes and have a think about the following:

• How do you want your life to be?

• What business are you in?

• Will you be working in the business, or will you have passive income?

• Who are the customers?

• How many people are employed?

• How do you go about getting customers?

• What makes your business unique?

Vision is not immediately imminent. Take time out each day to picture your vision and confirm that this is what you really want. The clearer your picture the more it will motivate you. Ask yourself is this really the life that you want to live, is it challenging enough, is this what makes you happy, is it in aligned with your values and ethics as a person?

Your vision will give you energy and motivate you to build the business of your dreams. You owe it to yourself to dream big. Decide where you are going and then don’t let anyone take it away. Develop friendships with others with positive visions and picture your vision each day to make it real.

It is from this vision that we can then decide where we want to be in one year’s time and then what we need to be doing now.

Winning in Business

admin — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 05:52:51 +0000

Leadership skills in the next decade will considerably impact on the success of a business. As Jenny Brent, Leader, People and Organisational Change for the National Australia Bank stated at the ICF conference, change is always going to happen so learning the skills to manage change and understand employees is vital.

The skills of leading a values based business together with being able to select, retain, motivate and empower good staff, continually improve the skills of the staff, being emotionally intelligent, ability to create systems, delegate and communicate effectively are all vitally important to managing change.

I would also add the importance of monitoring and determining the effect of any change on the KPI’s is vital. There are variables within business that constantly change and the ability to understand the impact of a change in a particular variable on a result is important. The more staff employed in a business, the more important the monitoring. A business that is constantly up-to-date with their KPI’s can make vital business decisions. They are alerted that change is on the way and have warnings to change their operations or plan for success moving forward. When there are more staff employed and there is no monitoring of the correct KPI’s, it is amazing how quickly a business can go from being extremely profitable, to running at a loss, and suddenly wonder what has happened to the bank balance.

Just remember that developing leadership skills is a journey and it is not something that you learn overnight by just reading a book. Training, coaching and mentoring plays a vital role in developing leadership skills, as first of all you need the knowledge of how a good leader acts and then quite often it is easy to see ourselves in a different way to how others see us. Awareness is the key. Once you are aware of something, you can work at changing it.

Invest in the leadership ability of yourself and your staff with an accredited management qualification from Pollard Institute or a Moving Forward Business Coach and you will soon be reaping the benefits as you begin to apply these new skills to your existing business model.