“How To Build A Better Business— The Easier Way”Accountants/...W elcome to the very irst issue of our ‘Build A Better Business’ Customer Newsletter.The goal of our monthly

Welcome to the very irstissue of our ‘Build ABetter Business’ CustomerNewsletter. The goal of ourmonthlynewsletterissimple…to help you build a betterbusiness. Yes, we’reaccountants, but we’re alsoexperts in helping people togrowtheirbusinesses.

Remember, we’re businessowners too. We understand thechallenges you face, theproblemsyouencounterand theday‐to‐day realities of running abusiness. It’s NOT easy andanyonewhosays it is,haseitherneverrunabusinessbeforeorisoneoftheveryfewluckyones!

We believe there are just threecore components of anybusiness—PROCESS (how youdeliver your product or servicetothecustomer),MANAGEMENT(thisincludestheaccountingandbookkeeping,administrationandstaf ing) and MARKETING (how

you acquireand retain customers). We’lldiscussvariousbestpracticeandadvancedtechniquesacrosseachof the three disciplinesthroughout each issue of TheBusiness Builder. Plus, I’mdelighted to announce that eachmonthSteveHackney,oneoftheworld’s leading business growthexperts, will provide one hardhitting article on strategies tohelp you grow your business. Inthis issue he talks about theimportance of managing yourtime to get huge productivitygains—thisisfascinating!

So we promise to ill each issuewith great content that will beeasy to apply to your business.But we want to give you morethan that.Wewant tohaveabitof fun too, so we’ll also includepuzzles, cryptic questions,cartoons (making fun ofourselvesinthemain!)and

continuedonpage2…

“How To Build A Better Business—The Easier Way”

SumitAgarwal

P1: Thought Of The Month

ANY QUESTION? WANT HELP? NEED SUPPORT? CALL THE TEAM ON: 03300 886686

How To Build A Better Business—The

Easier Way

P2: Why Growth STOPS

P3: Dumb Criminals

P5: Time Management

P6: Brain Tracker

P8: Bet You Didn’t Know

Why Businesses Stop Growing And

What You Can Do About It

This Month’s Incredible Dumb Criminals

True Story

5 Simple Time Management Strategies

To Increase Productivity & Growth

Pit Your Wits Against This Month’s Brain

Tracker Challenge

January 2017

“Happyarethosewhodreamdreamsandarereadytopaythepricetomakethem

cometrue.”LeonJ.Suenes

Continuedfrompage1...

other interesting stuff (likeour ‘Dumb Criminals’ sectiononpage3and ‘BrainTracker’on page 6). Running abusiness is tough, so somelight‐hearted pieces I’m surewillmakeyousmiletoo.

We want this to be yournewsletter, so please let usknow if there is anything inparticular you want us tocover,andwe’llplanitinforafutureissue.

And inally…

I justwant to say thatduringthe last few years, it’s clearthat having a successfulbusinessisaboutmakingsureyoudedicatetime,energyandeffort to the 3 components Imentioned earlier andanothervitalingredient…

...having a great team tosupportyou.Thatmeansyourstaff and your businessadvisors. Having a greatsupport team around yougives you a ‘comfort blanket’and aprotective shieldwhichwillserveyouwellduringthegrowthofyourbusiness.

Enjoy!SA

To understand why growthslows or stagnates in anybusiness, we irst need to lookat how a typical businessevolvesandwhythefrustrationstarts to mount as this growthslows.We call this the ‘GrowthRoller‐Coaster’.

Take a look at the illustrationbelow.Thestartingpoint is thebeginningofabusiness,usuallycreated by a sole proprietor ora small partnership/directorship. Typically, theowners are very hands‐on atthis stagewith few, ifany, staffand modest resources. In theearly months and years thebusinessgrowsverywell.

Customers receive a highdegree of director attentionwith high levels of expertiseand customer‐care as a result.Costs in the modest operationare relatively low and thebusinesscanrespondquicklytocustomerandmarketneeds.

Word is spread by customersand referrers about the great,

cost‐effective products orservices and new business iseasily gained. The businessquickly expands to a peak atpoint A, driven by thepersonalities and skills of itsowners.

In an ideal world, twoconditions will now be met.Firstly, the directors willrecognise that they havereached the pinnacle for apersonality‐driven businessand secondly, the business andinancialperformancewillbeata level thatcompletelysatis iesthem. In reality, neither is thecase.

Whathappensintherealworldis that the owners continue todrive forward. However, withgrowthproblemsmaterialise…

Staff and resource levels havebeen increased to serve thegrowing customer base,increasing costs and tying updirector time. The ownersthemselves come underincreasing timepressure,being

“Havingagreatsupportteamaroundyouisvitalinthisneweconomy”

Why Businesses STOP Growing

2


torn between customer, staffand business needs. Fallingservice levels and rising costssee the growth constricted anddissatisfaction around thebusinessgrowsinitsplace.

Haveyoueverheardyourselfora colleague say, “This was somucheasierintheearlydays!”

Now the owners indthemselves at point C. Rightnow, you are likely to be atsomepointbetweenAandC.

Reality has dawned and thebusinessisatacrossroads.

Do you remain a personality‐drivenbusinessandattempt toclaw yourway back to point Aby downsizing, cullingcustomers and laying off staff,and try and raise point A to ahigherpoint?

Or, do you undertake theinvestment(mostly intimeandeffort) required to moveforwardandbecomeasystems‐based business at point C. It’shighly likely this is what youwanttoachieve.

Interestingly both types ofbusinesscanbesuccessfulwiththe right planning andmanagement. But too manybusinesses ind themselvesfalling into the trough inbetween simply because theydidn’t consider early enoughwhat their fundamentalstrategiesandgoalsshouldbe.

Instead emphasis is placed onthe process functions of thebusiness, like delivering theproductor serviceand supportto customers, essential

marketing and management ofthe business is overlooked.Growth, consequently, islimited.

Let’slookthenatthehigh‐levelview of your business (whichcan be any business). Webelieve it has three keycomponents…

1.Process

The mechanics by which anybusiness ‘produces’ its saleableproducts or services. This ishowyougenerateincome.

2.Marketing

The generation of newcustomers, the retention ofexisting customers and themaximisation of customervalue. This ishowyouacquireandretaincustomers,

3.Management

The running of the business –its performance management,strategies and goals, aswell asthe inancial management ofyourbusiness (wherewecomein!).Thisiswhereyougeneratepro itandwealth.

When a business is growingsteadilyandreachingtheowner‐managers’ objectives, the 3functions work together tocreate a harmonious cycle (seediagramonpage4).

In reality, the majority ofpeople in business are taughtPROCESS skills from schooldays,throughskillstrainingandonwards.

Wearetaughthowtoreadandwrite. How to follow

instructions and answerquestions. How to replicatewhat we learn. You developexpertiseinhowtodo‘things’.

Inotherwords,yourexpertise

continuedonpage4...


DumbCriminals

So, it’s been madeunderstood that men onlywant one thing… a nice, red,juicy… steak. And some willstopatnothingtogetone. Ina mad attempt to create aromantic dinner for him andhislucky(youbethejudgeofthat!) lady, a man in Floridashoplifted four steaks and acouple of candles. But beingtheuttergenius,hehidthemin…his…pants.According toHuf ington Post, he tried torun away after being caughtby an employee. Just onemorereasontogovegan!

3


and skills invariably lie in thePROCESS function.Consequently, with the skillsandknowledge loaded towardsthe Process function,businesses can only growwhilst there is capacity withintheProcessfunctiontodoso.

But without the same relativedevelopment in themanagement and in particularmarketingfunctionseitherside,growthbecomeslimited…

The cycle now starts to lookvery different (see diagrambelow).

Sothesolutionissimple…

Youneed to startputtingmoreeffort into the marketing andmanagement functions of thebusinesstorealignthebalance. This doesn’t mean you neglect

theprocessfunction.

Itjustmeansyouworksmarterand allocate your time andeffort better to include thesetwo crucial areas of yourbusiness.

So, there is little doubt as towhy most businesses do notachieve the growth objectivesthe directors or partners havesetandwhynowisthetimetomake the transition from aprocess‐led business to amanagement‐ and marketing‐ledbusiness.

Our goal is for you to have asystems‐based business that’sset up to achieve yourobjectives. In each issueof thisnewsletter,we’lldoourbest togiveyoueverythingyouneedinordertoachievethisgoal.


Howyourbusinesslookswhenthingsaren’tgoingwell(interimgrowthperiod)

4


Howyourbusinesslookswhenthingsaregoingwell(growthperiod)

One thing that constantly amazesme is how quickly each yearpasses. The days, weeks andmonths seem to roll intoone, andbeforeyouknowit6monthshavepassed. You’re left wondering,‘Wheredidthetimego?’Now that’s okay as long as youplanyouryearout.However,mostpeople spendmore time planningtheir holidays than planningTHEIRYEARAHEAD.If you plan ‐ you get more done,muchmoredone.Ifyoufailtoplanand set goals it’s surprising howlittleyou’llaccomplish.All the high achievers andsuccessful people in this worldidentify planning and goal‐settingas a major contributor to theirsuccess.Why?Becauseinadditiontogivingthemaclearroadmap,italsohelpsthem plan their daily/weekly/monthly schedules and witheffective management of time it

enablesthemtogetahugeamountofworkdone.For example, many people whohave observedmewill say, ‘HowdoesStevegetsomuchdone?’ It’strue,Igetmoredoneinadaythanmost do in a week. It takesdiscipline, but there are someproven tricks and strategies I useto achieve very high levels ofproductivity, and that’s what Iwanttotalktoyouabouttoday.Effective time management issomething that isn’t oftenassociated with growing abusiness, but effectivemanagementofyourtimeisaverypotent weapon (and converselypoormanagementoftimecanbearealbusinessgrowthinhibitor).Thegoodnewsisthat it’snotthatdif icult to improve your outputmassively if you followmy simple‘5KeyTimeManagementTipsForHigh Performers’. Like everythingin this newsletter, none ofthese things are dif icult or evenearth‐shattering,buttheydomakea signi icant difference as long asyou start using them! So here aremyKeyTimeManagementTips…1. Planning: Plan each monthandtheneachweekandtheneachday based on your goals. The keyhereistoestablishwhatyouneedto do each month to accomplishyourgoals.Thenbreakthesetasksdown to weekly and then dailytasks. You must always prioritisethese ‘goal‐orientatedtasks’above‘generaltasks’.

continuedonpage7…

“5 Simple Time Management Strategies To Increase Productivity

& Accelerate Your Growth”

Cryptic Puzzle Of The Month

1. Johnny’smotherhadthreechildren. The irst child wasnamed April. The secondchild was named May. Whatwasthethirdchild’sname?

2. A clerk at a butcher shopstands ivefeetteninchestalland wears size 13 sneakers.Whatdoesheweigh?

3. Before Mt. Everest wasdiscovered, what was thehighest mountain in theworld?

4.Howmuchdirtisthereinahole that measures two feetbythreefeetbyfourfeet?

5. What word in the Englishlanguage is always spelledincorrectly?

ANSWERSONPAGE6!

SteveHackney—Helpingyoutoquicklygrowyourbusiness

5


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“I am very happy with theservices extended to me byDNS.“The approach of the entireteam is very professional andsupport is very timely. Kindlyshare these comments withSumit Agarwal. I wasapprehensive to begin thecontract but I have been verypositively in luenced.“A special mention for Sahil,who has always beensupportive and a patientlistener.IfDNShasmorepeoplelikehim,yourteamwillgoveryfar.”SudeepMathurPGSMConsultingLtd

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Brain Tracker: How Many Words Can You Find?

Using the BrainTracker gridbelow, howmanywords canyou ind? Each word mustcontain the central F and noletter canbeused twice,but,the letters do not have to beconnected. Proper nouns arenot allowed, but, plurals are.Can you ind the nine letterword?

Excellent:28words.Good:22words.Average:19words.

CRYPTIC PUZZLE ANSWERS

1.Johnny.2.Meat.3.Mt.Everest.Itjustwasn’tdiscov‐eredyet.4.Thereisnodirtinahole.5.Incorrectly(exceptwhenitisspelledincorrecktly).

You’re probably thinking—thiswill takea lotof thoughtandtimeto plan out. You’re right. It does.That’s why so few people do it.That’swhy so fewpeople succeedinlife.Donotunderestimatethepowerofcarrying out this irst step—it isthekeytoyoursuccess.2. Work During Your HighPerformance Times: You’ll getmuch more done in times whenyour body is alert and active. Formany this time is 6am‐1pm and8pm‐11pm(butyou’llknowwhenyou’re at your best). The worsttimes are generally after eating!It’sduringthesehighperformancetimes you should carry out your‘goal‐orientated tasks’. This onestep alone will improve youroutputsigni icantly—somakesureyou only allocate this time to theimportant tasks! Use the lessproductivetimesfor‘generaltasks’andmeetings.

Here’swhy…

(1)Since our minds are moreactive and fresh we can get moredone.(2)Concentrating on the task athandismucheasier.(3)Our creative juices are lowingwhen our minds are more activeandalert.3. Block Out Your HighPerformanceTimes: Next makesure you block out your highperformance times and under nocircumstances let other things getin the way. Again this is key toyour success. Treat your highperformance times as compulsoryappointments(inotherwords,youcan’tcancelthem). If you have a secretary orP.A. make sure they understandthese ‘appointments’ are never tobe broken and replaced withanythingelse.

4.ResistAllDistractions:Duringyourhighperformance times turnoff your mobile, take your of icephoneoffthehookanddon’topenyoure‐mailprogramme.Evenone interruption can setyouback an extra 15‐30 minutes notincluding the time of theinterruption.This does take a high level ofdiscipline. In the early days youwill ind the temptationof leavingyour phone or email programmeon hard to resist, but I promiseyou, this will slash youreffectivenessbyatleast50%.Onceyou force yourself to reduce yourdistractions to zero, you’ll ind itveryliberating!5. Tell Staff (and family): Youmust explain to staff and familythat unless it’s an emergency youare not to be disturbed duringyourhighperformancetimes.

By adhering to these 5 Key TimeManagement Tips I guaranteeyou’llgetsomuchmoredone.Thistranslates to greater income andmore success—worthy outcomesdon’t you think? See you nextmonth.SH

“Turnoffyourmobilephoneandyouremails”

Time Management Strategies...

Implementthesestrategiesandcreatemoretimetogetstuffdone!

7


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Bet You Didn’t Know

52%ofpeopleadmittoforgettingtheirpartner’sbirthday.

The most preferred profession by someonelookingforadateisachef.

InthesummertheamountofwaterpouringoverNiagara falls each second could ill 13,000bathtubs.

It only takes two thin spokes to make a wheelstrongenoughtoholdtheweightofarider.Therest are spares but are required under a lawdrafted in the 1920s which has never beenrepealed.

The earliest recorded case of a man giving upsmokingwasonApril5,1679,whenJohanKatsu,Sheriff of Turku, Finland, wrote in his diary “Iquitsmokingtobacco”.Hediedonemonthlater.

Eachkinginadeckofplayingcardsrepresentsagreat king from history: Spades – King David,Hearts – Charlemagne, Clubs – Alexander, theGreat,Diamonds–JuliusCaesar.

The largest number of children born to onewoman is recorded at 69. From 1725‐1765, aRussianpeasantwomangavebirthto16setsoftwins,7setsoftriplets,and4setsofquadruplets.

In Shakespeare’s time,mattresseswere securedonbedframesbyropes.Whenyoupulledontheropes the mattress tightened, making the bedirmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase…“goodnight,sleeptight”.

·Ifyousneezetoohard,youcanfracturearib.Ifyou try tosuppressa sneeze, youcanruptureabloodvesselinyourheadorneckanddie.Ifyoukeepyoureyesopenbyforce,theywillpopout.

· In the early days of the telephone, operatorswould pick up a call and use the phrase, “Well,are you there?” It wasn't until 1895 thatsomeone suggested answering the phone withthephrase"Number,please?”

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“How To Build A Better Business— The Easier Way”Accountants/...W elcome to the very irst issue of our ‘Build A Better Business’ Customer Newsletter.The goal of our monthly