Business coaching for tradies
By: Alexandra Cain
August 18, 2010
Andrew Pride coaches helps his clients take a different look at their business practices.
Efficient business processes and tradespeople are not always synonymous terms. But smart tradies are increasingly using the services of business coaches to help them improve productivity and maximise profits.
Andrew Pride of Smart-BIZ Consulting is one such coach. A former mechanic, Pride works with numerous ‘chippies’, ’sparkies’ and ‘fridgies’ to help them improve their businesses.
Pride says when it comes to working with tradespeople, there are a number of standard stumbling blocks he has to overcome before he can start focusing on leveraging the business’ potential.
To read the full article follow this link:
http://www.smh.com.au/small-business/coaching/business-coaching-for-tradies-20100729-10xg6.html
In Small Business, Cash Flow is KING so it is extremely important to understand and manage your Cash Flow effectively and efficiently. Many Small Business Owners go into business undercapitalised and eventually run out of money and go broke as a result of poor Cash Flow Management. I find that this can be extremely prevalent in the Trades and Service Industries as the problem is also compounded by a lack of discipline concerning credit terms and collecting monies owed in a timely manner. So here are a few of my top tips to assist you with managing your Cash Flow in your small business…
Tip 1 – UNDERSTAND your Financials…
It is important in any small business to monitor and understand your Key Financial Indicators and manage your business accordingly. Cash Flow is critical to your business so it is important to understand the Cash Flow Cycles that impact on your business, and take action in advance should an undesirable situation be looming. For example if your business is Seasonal, you need to understand the pattern and allow for the down times by putting aside sufficient funds when sales and profits are good. You should also work closely with a GOOD Accountant on at least a quarterly, and preferably a monthly basis to make the right decisions. The money will be well spent if they are doing their job properly.
Tip 2 – Your CREDIT Terms & Collecting Money…
I encourage my clients to implement the tightest terms of credit possible within their business and industry. It’s no use making the sale if you don’t get paid and often extended terms lead to bad debts, and bad debts can lead to bankruptcy especially if you have tight margins. Often with the right implementation strategies it is possible to tighten up terms quite considerably
For Example… Ask for payment up front at least for the materials component of the sale. A Credit Card Authority will ensure that you will get paid even if it does cost a few dollars. Ensure that the terms your client signs when accepting your quote gives you a solid legal right to being paid, our, and if you do have to offer credit try for 7 to 14 day terms at worst and see how you go. In this day of modern technology we can verify deliveries and transfer funds in a matter of minutes, and no longer need weeks to correspond by mail and arrange and post cheques. Don’t let your customers use you as an Overdraft Facility! Chase ALL overdue accounts promptly and ruthlessly!!!.
Tip 3 – Managing Your Stock, Products and Services…
If your sales fluctuate regularly due to monthly or seasonal demands such as Agriculture, Air Conditioning or Heating, you need to find ways of smoothing out these fluctuations. For example you could bring in a product or service that is in demand in your off season. For example a Landscape Supply client of min now sells and delivers Fire Wood in the cold months when people don’t want to do gardening, and an Air Conditioning client offers maintenance programs outside of the peak demand months, and Gas Heating in winter.
With regard to stock, you need to rationalise the products you hold so that you only invest in products that turn over regularly. This avoids having precious funds tied up in stagnant product which deteriorates on your shelf and may become unsaleable. It’s also a good idea to investigate what products can be bought in bulk for a reasonable saving provided it can be resold in a reasonable timeframe, and funds from dead stock can be redirected to these more profitable lines.
Tip 4 – Your Overheads and Staffing…
As a general rule in my experience it is a great idea to reduce your fixed overheads in your business and go for Variable Costs where ever possible. The problem with fixed costs is that they need to be paid every month regardless of your income levels, so if you have a quiet month or go into your off-season, the bills still needs to be paid, resulting in many sleepless nights and possibly radical decisions you wish you didn’t need to make. A much better solution is to take on variable costs wherever possible so that they can be factored into your quotes and profit margins and only need to be paid for when funds are available. For example, many of my clients run a core employee complement that they know will be kept busy all the time, then they supplement these people with Sub-Contractors for job specific overload periods. Other examples are hiring equipment and on charging the costs when its usage levels or charge out rates in the business can’t guarantee that it will pay for itself by way of Lease of HP.
Kind Regards,
Andrew Pride, Principle – Smart-Biz Coaching and Consulting
If you would like to discuss this topic or any other areas of your business with me call 0412 895 599 during business hours or visit www.business-advice.com.au for more information.
Copyright Smart-BIZ 2010 and must not be reproduced in whole or part without written permission of the author.
And before your mind starts wandering too much, let me clarify! Do you have time to still be PASSIONATE about your business? Or do you find that you spend more time running your business than you would like, and you don’t get time to do the things that you LOVE; the things that made you start your business in the first place.
I know how much is involved in running a small business, because like you, I am a business owner. And I know how easy it can be to get bogged down in the administration and management of a business, to the point where you no longer have time doing the things you enjoy, and it stops being fun.
Think back to the reasons you started your own business. I’m betting that most people will say they started their own business so that they could make money doing something that they enjoyed. It might be baking cakes, or making clothes, or building houses. Whatever the business, I can pretty much guarantee that you didn’t start your own business so you could spend all your time doing admin and chasing your tail. But so often that’s the position small business owners find themselves in.
If you’ve ever found yourself overwhelmed by the myriad of tasks that you need to get through in order to keep things running smoothly, and you don’t have the ability to hire staff to help you out, then perhaps you should consider using a Virtual Assistant. A Virtual Assistant can give you back the time you need to do what you LOVE again.
A VA is an independent business owner. We specialise in different areas of business, including administration, marketing, social networking, and business development. We cover all of our own expenses, including taxes, insurances, superannuation, hardware & software, training & development. And we partner with other small-medium businesses, individuals and entrepreneurs to help them with the many aspects of their business.
If you’ve ever wondered how a VA could help you, here are a few suggestions:
Manage your diary: Give your VA access to your calendar and have them make appointments for you.
Manage your Blog: If you have a blog, you know how important it is to maintain it, and how easy it could be to neglect it. Your VA could manage your Blog for you – research topics, create a blogging schedule, format & upload posts, approve comments and set up Google alerts.
Create a contact database: enter all the details from those business cards you’ve been collecting for years into a database, to assist with relationship management
Follow up any enquiries: phone potential customers, respond to emails, send out marketing material for you
Arrange your travel: if you travel for work, let your VA book your flights and accommodation for you.
Assist with your accounts: chase debtors, send invoices, record payments
Manage customer relationships: after that database is set up, get your VA to send birthday cards to clients, organise your Christmas card list, and arrange gifts for your best clients.
Client entertainment: make lunch and dinner reservations for you, manage events and product launches.
Business development: get your VA to do some telemarketing to follow up warm leads, or even some cold calling if appropriate (not all VA’s offer this service, find a specialist if this is something you require).
Organise your life: If you’re just overwhelmed by the day to day tasks involved in operating a business, or running a family, then speak to a VA about helping you with general tasks.
To find out more about how a VA could help you and your business, visit www.day2dayva.com.au or call or email Lia for a chat on 0404 00 9876.
Till next time,
Lia…
Copyright Day2Day VA 2010 and must not be reproduced in whole or part without written permission of the author.
Is YOUR Trade or Service business SUFFERING from Workflow System STRESS?
- Are you sinking under the stress of managing and processing the daily paperwork trail?
- Are Unbilled Parts and Labour costing you a fortune in lost PROFITS each month?
- Do your invoices seem to be going out later all the time?
- Is Mobile Stock Control a nightmare with team REGULARLY running out of CORE Items?
- Are you having trouble complying with your on-site OH&S Obligations?
If so, here is some IMPORTANT INFORMATION to help you FIX Things…
Almost every Trade and Service business I come across suffers to some degree from what I call Workflow System Stress. This situation costs the owners a fortune in lost Productivity and Profitability, not to mention significant STRESS and FRUSTRATION from dealing with problems on a daily basis.
However there is some GREAT NEWS… I have PROVEN Many Times that by implementing some rather Simple Systems and retraining staff in how to use them so that everything gets done in the correct way a significant improvement can be achieved. From this point for businesses with more than 2 or 3 service team, there is an EXTREMELY SIMPLE and Cost Effective Electronic Job Management System available which will lock in all your good work with a fully automated and paperless system. It will also take care of Allocating your Jobs, Automating your Quoting process, Managing your Projects and keep them on budget look after your Time Billing, Service Work and on-site OH&S Obligations.
So Where Should You Start? Well the ultimate goal should be to go paperless for most, however the old saying Garbage In = Garbage OUT it totally TRUE, so it’s best to get your core processes and team in order first. Here is how I would attack the problem in your typical business.
- Implementing a Logical Part Numbering System for everyone to use will help to minimise mistakes and avoid confusion as well as account for everything that needs to be billed out.
- Structuring Your Paperwork properly will ensure that all parts and Labour are accounted for correctly and passed on promptly for processing. This will make a HUGE DIFFERENCE!
- Implementing a simple Stock Control System for your Warehouse and Mobile Units based on your Logical Part Numbers will avoid endless unnecessary and un-billable visits to suppliers.
- Regular Structured Meetings will keep the Team on track and focused on helping to improve your business with you.
- Finally for more than 2 or 3 team, The RIGHT Paperless Business Management System can be the BEST DECISION you ever make to lock in your processes and achieve MAXIMUM PRODUCTIVITY! But beware, some may not suit your business or be a money pit with hardware and upgrade costs and / or be totally unsuited to trades and services.
If you would like to discuss these or any other ideas for your business please visit my website at www.business-advice.com.au for more details, or contact us for a FREE Phone Consultation TODAY!
Copyright Smart-BIZ 2010 – This article may not me reproduced in whole or part without the express written permission of the author.
Here are some further tips for creating Big SUCCESS in your small business…
EFFECTIVE TIME MANAGEMENT: As a small business owner the success of your business is ultimately up to you, and more specifically to a large extent, how you “INVEST your TIME”… Most business owners are so busy doing the work and reacting to the day to day problems and demands that they spend almost no time proactively IMPROVING their BUSINESS!
You will see in the Testimonials on my www.business-advice.com.au website that my clients achieve some pretty SIGNIFICANT RESULTS with my help and guidance, however the honest truth is that by getting them focused on freeing up some time to work ON their BUSINESS during the initial months is a significant factor in the end results they achieve.
My TIP is to reserve 3 to 4 hours every week to work ON your business. This could be an hour every second day or whatever suits your situation best. During these times avoid all distractions and focus on things like improving your marketing, developing a sales system to increase conversion rates, and developing simple systems…
SIMPLE SYSTEMS: Will help you to free up your time and minimise mistakes in your business. They will help you and your people to handle things effectively and efficiently so you don’t need to worry about them. Now I don’t mean a 500 page operations manual that sits on a shelf, you need simple checklists, flowcharts and specific trays to handle workflow effectively. These systems become the control mechanism which avoids mistakes and problems and ensures that your people work effectively and efficiently every day. When your mind is free of worry you can happily focus on more important things for the future good of your business…
Would you would like to discuss this topic or any other areas of your business with me? Visit www.business-advice.com.au to send an email or call 0412 895 599 during business hours.
Copyright Smart-BIZ 2010 and must not be reproduced in whole or part without written permission of the author.
In Australia over 80% of all small businesses fail within the first five years of operation according to a recent survey by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. That means that only 20% of small businesses have what it takes to succeed long term. So why do some succeed and not others? Well in my opinion is got a lot to do with how the owner thinks and spends their time. Here are just a few of the common mistakes I come across as a Business Coach of over 10 years…
PRICE COMPETITION: Many businesses start out doing well, but at some point in dime things are bound to get a little tough, and because they have no strategies in reserve to attract new business, most resort to the only tactic they know which is to compete on price to attract enough income to pay the bills. Unfortunately this strategy is doomed to almost certain failure because in a price war everyone looses, the only question is by how much??? You see the problem is that every dollar you discount, is a dollar LESS PROFIT, and in fact many business owners don’t even know their true break-even point, selling below true cost and eventually going broke…
EFFECTIVE MARKETING: Learning and implementing EFFECTIVE MARKETING STRATEGIES and SALES PROCESSES in your SMALL BUSINESS allows you to generate QUALITY ENQUIRIES and convert more of them into PROFITABLE SALES! This means that not only will you become busier with more profitable work, but also SAVE MONEY on your Advertising bill in the process.
In Part 2 I will discuss some more ideas to help you create BIG SUCCESS in your Small Business…
Would you would like to discuss this topic or any other areas of your business with me? Visit www.business-advice.com.au to send an email or call 0412 895 599 during business hours.
Copyright Smart-BIZ 2010 and must not be reproduced in whole or part without written permission of the author.
There are two things that business people often find very challenging: thinking ahead and doing things in order of importance. Doing these two things successfully often make the difference between succeeding in your business, surviving or even going broke. Most people have heard of the Pareto Principle, more commonly known as the 80/20 Principle. Roughly stated this says that in most businesses 80% of your business comes from 20% of your customers.
So… when it comes to your priorities, 20 percent of your priorities will give you 80 percent of your productivity and results, so IF you INVEST your time, energy, money and personnel on the top 20 percent of your priorities, you can easily achieve a 400% or fourfold return in productivity. Think what this would mean in your business!
Unfortunately in my experience, 80% of business owners I meet pretty much do the opposite, by spending most of their time on everything other than the 20% they SHOULD be! Every business person needs to understand the Pareto Principle as it applies to the areas of Marketing, Sales, Customers, team and leadership.
In the area of MARKETING - You must work out by “Testing and Measuring” which 20% of your marketing investment produces 80% of your leads (Believe me in most cases this sort of proportion is very true to reality). Once you know, you can focus your investment and effort on what works, and save your money on what doesn’t.
In the area of SALES - You need to determine what sales approach or process produces 80% of sales. If you only have one approach, you are probably an ‘Order Taker’ rather than a true Sales Person, and need to develop an EFFECTIVE sales process.
In the area of CUSTOMERS - It is vital to identify the top 20 percent who account for 80 percent of your business. These are your “A Grade Clients” and strategies must be put in place to care for them and nurture them appropriately.
As for your TEAM - You must identify your top 20 percent of producers. You then need to spend 80 percent of your people time with these people to develop them to their full potential, then use them as your resource to work with in developing the rest of your team.
In LEADERSHIP - Take an honest look at the question “What do I have to do that no one else can do?” Remember a leader can give up everything except final responsibility. You can decide whether you will be reactive or proactive when it comes to the use of your time. The question is not “Will I be busy?” but “How will I invest my time?” It’s not “Will my calendar be full?” but “Who will fill my calendar?” It’s not “Will I see people?” but “Who will I see?” Do this and watch your productivity and personal satisfaction rise to new heights!
If you would like to discuss this topic or any other areas of your business with me visit www.business-advice.com.au to send me an email or call me on 0412 895 599 during business hours.
Updating your website content doesn’t have to be expensive. If your website needs constant changes such as event dates, price changes etc. Consider an Content Management System (CMS). A content management system is a powerful tool for businesses and is a cost-effective way of maintaining an up-to-date presence online. You don’t need to own a corporate business and a huge websites to covert your website into a CMS. Below I have answered some questions regarding Content Management Systems.
What is a Content Management System?
In a nut-shell, a content management system in a website (or software installed on your computer) that allows you to connect to your website and make changes to the content while preserving the overall look.
I already have a website, Can I use a CMS?
Content management systems can be intergrated will any website so you don’t need to start from scratch.
Is a Content Management System Expensive?
A CMS is definately more cost effecient that contacting your website developer to make changes every now and again so you need to weigh up how often your website will require content changes.
What are The Benefits of a Content Management System?
- Changes can be made from anywhere in the world as long as you have an internet connection
- CMS sites are great for Google and other major search engines, increase your chances at high page rankings
- A CMS site attracts visitors because it can be constantly and rapidly updated
- The design of the site template is separate from the content. This allows you to change the design any time without affecting the content stored on the site.
- You can have multiple authors who can make updates and changes
Be in control of your website content, keep your content fresh and save money with a content management system.
Give us a call on 02 4571 1331 for a freindly, no-obligation chat and to find out what website solution is best for your business requirements. You can also visit our website for all your website development and website marketing needs at www.fxdesignstudio.com.au
Do YOU have an Effective SALES FUNNEL in your business? Or are you so busy spending money on Advertising and Promoting your business that you have never really looked at the idea. If so, then you aren’t alone, in fact most small business owners I meet are in exactly the same situation… So what do you do about it??? Let me suggest a few ideas…
Firstly, I suggest that you look at how you generate leads for your business. Where do the good ones come from (Do more of this). Where do the not so good ones come from (Do less of this), and even more importantly, where are you spending money for no benefit at all (Save your money here)… Obviously, to solve these questions you will need MEASURE your leads by asking people how they found out about you and keeping a tally sheet
Step 2, You need to measure your Sales Conversion Rates to determin which leads ore good and which are not so good. You also need to us the data to help you come up with new and improved ways to comvert more leads to sales and improve your score. For Example you could Build a Sales Kit to help you in the sales process, Learn DiSC Personality Profiles to help understand your clients much better, and Learn how to sell more effectively by educating your clients in the value of your products or services.
Step 3, Develop innovative ways to keep in touch with your qualified Prospects and past Clients until they buy or buy some more. I have helped many clients double and tripple their sales just by refining the above steps into an effective Sales and Conversion System which I like to call a Sales Funnel.
If you would like to discuss this topic or any other areas of your business with me visit www.business-advice.com.au to send me an email or call me on 0412 895 599 during business hours.
Kind Regards,
Andrew Pride.
How many truly successful business owners have you met with a Negative ATTITUDE??? My guess is very few! In fact during my 17 years of senior management positions and business improvement consulting and coaching, I haven’t met any! Not a single one!… Big statement? Maybe but totally true. In fact almost without exception, the most successful people I have ever had the privilege to meet have also been the most positive about their business. They expect great things and great things happen with amazingly regular frequency. Now for those of you who have seen “The Secret” you will understand what I am talking about, and for those who haven’t, here is a link: www.thesecret.tv and I strongly suggest you DO!
Generally in life you get what you think about most, and the same is true in business. I dont know about you but I personally cant think of too many time when I have woken up in the morning expecting to have a totally crap day, and end up having a cracker! It just doesn’t happen too often does it??
So here are a few basic tips that I think will make a big difference not only in your business, but also your life.
- Decide on your top 3 to 5 most important goals for the short, medium and long term and write them down in a positive tone. NEVER write down what you don’t want, always what you DO want!.
- Once you have your goals documented read them EVERY DAY and review them monthly or quarterly, changing them as necessary. As you read them, visualise them as being real, while becoming emotionally attached to them as if they are with you here and now. This is a very powerful part of attracting what you want in your life, and a common habit in one form or another, with every truly successful person I know.
- When you wake up in the morning, visualise your goals and all the GREAT THINGS you would like to happen in the day. Again disregard any worries you may have about things you don’t want to happen, just focus on the positive and almost EXPECT it all to become reality.
- When negative tings do pop into your day, remind yourself that there is ALWAYS a POSITIVE side to everything… The problem is that most people get so consumed by their problems that come up through the day that they dont even try to look for the positive side of the situation… So from now on whenever you find yoursef in this situation try to break the cycle by taking a breath, looking at the situation from an external perspective, and asking yourself “What could be GOOD about this situation”? How can I work it to my advantage, and what do I need to DO to make it happen…
- At the end of the day, review your goals, think about all the good things that happened during the day with appreciation, and again take the time to visualise how you would like tomorrow to unfold for you.
- Make some rules in your business to pass on a positive mindset to those around you. Its rather hard to stay positive if your whole team are bitching about each other and focusing on all the things that might go wrong in the day, so build a culture in your business to make that sort of thing “Not OK”
I hope these points inspire you to make some POSITIVE changes in your business and even your life in general. Often my clients tell me how much they value the “POSITIVE REALIGNMENT VALUE” and “ENTHUSIASTIC FOCUS” they get from my regular coaching sessions with them, and what a difference it makes in their business. I would like to think that this article is at least a starting point for you to enjoy the same.
If you would like to discuss this topic or any other areas of your business with me visit www.business-advice.com.au to send me an email or call during business hours.
Kind Regards,
Andrew Pride.