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Small business articles contributed by a diverse range of small business experts with a diverse range of skills, knowledge and experience.
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Let’s Talk Business
1
Let’s Talk Business Back To Basics Business Solutions - Support for Small Business
Attempts To Reduce Anti-Competitive
Behaviour In The Marketplace
Is Not Supported By All
Professor Graeme Samuel, former ACCC Chairman
Inside this issue
Cover Story - Attempts To
Reduce Anti-Competitive
Behaviour …......................2
The Eight Keys to Effective
Interviewing
Dr Tim Baker …..….............3
Biz Snippets …………….......4
Marketing for Success
Dennis Chiron………...........5
The Two Great Myths
Geoff Butler ………………..6
How Do You Increase Your
Sales, While Charging More
Than Your Competition?
Dan Buzer ……..…………...7
How to Choose Your Perfect
Web Designer
Karen Ahl ……..………..….8
The Principles of Accident
Prevention
Ron Court …..…….…...…...9
Cashflow Management for
Your Business
Jo-Anne Chaplin………….10
Editor’s BizTips ……….….11
LTB Objectives …..........…12
Volume 2 Issue 21 - August 2014
Let’s Talk Business
2
Attempts To Reduce Anti-Competitive Behaviour In
The Marketplace Is Not Supported By All
Economists have expressed serious
concern about calls from farm advocacy
groups for a legal provision that could
prohibit big businesses from engaging in
behaviour that would substantially
lessen competition in marketplaces.
In its submission to the Government's
Competition Policy Review, the
National Farmers Federation has
proposed a hybrid version of the 'effects
test'.
The current law maintains that big
businesses with market power can't
misuse it with the intent or purpose of
substantially destroying a competitor.
Professor Graeme Samuel, from
Monash University's Faculty of
Business and Economics, and the
former head of the competition
watchdog, says an effects test, in theory,
would go one step further.
"Some regulators have said that it's too
hard to prove that there's an intent or
purpose that will drive a competitor out
of the market," Professor Samuel said.
"And thus what they want is to change
that to a test of engaging in any conduct
that is not misusing your market power
but simply engaging in any conduct at
all that would have a substantial anti-
competitive purpose or effect.
"It will impede economic growth, it will
impede the ability of big business to
engage in normal, economic behaviour,
but most importantly it will have no
impact on the sort of behaviour that the
farmers complain of, which is the
behaviour of big retailers and big
processors dealing with them."
Professor Samuel is concerned the NFF
and other rural lobby groups are
misinformed about the benefits of an
effects test for farmers.
"If a small farmer is done over by a big
business that's not going to substantially
lessen competition in a market," he said.
"I think the focus towards the effects test
is entirely misplaced. And it's not the
NFF's fault.
"Politicians have, for decade after
decade, promoted amendments to the
misuse of market power provisions,
which is the provision that the effects
test is being focussed on, thinking that
that's the one that will deal with the sort
of complaints of the constituents.
"Well, no, it's not. It has no application."
Chairman of Frontier Economics, Philip
Williams, agrees a change from a
purpose to an effects test provision
would have little benefit for farmers and
small businesses owners.
"If all that happened was that the word
'purpose' was cut out and the word,
'effect' was left, my guess is that there
would be very little change at all in the
conduct that the courts would find
illegal," Mr Williams said.
"That third limb of the test, the
'purpose', is not a barrier to litigation
at the moment.
"So I think the people that say, 'We're
having trouble proving it so let's
substitute or add 'effect' to the
'purpose' limb, are really missing the
point.
"The litigation that fails, fails not
because of a failure to establish
purpose but because they fail to
establish the taking advantage, this
causal connection."
Mr Williams says farmers who tried to
prove the effects test against big
businesses allegedly misusing market
power would most likely be
unsuccessful.
"Farmers would still have to establish
that the reason they're in trouble is
because of the market power of the
supermarket," he said.
"They'd have to establish it's not due
to their inefficiency or them being too
small (a business)."
"Markets are tough, unpleasant and
difficult places to operate and I think
businesses who look to competition
legislation to protect them against
unfairness are basically looking in the
wrong direction.
"What competition law does is say,
'Provided you're competing on the
basis of efficiencies there's no
protection from the legislation'.
**From a story from Lucy Barbour,
ABC Rural
Professor Graeme Samuel,
Phillip Williams
Let’s Talk Business
3
The costs of hiring the wrong
employee and the opportunities for
hiring the right ones is often a result of
the quality of the interview process.
What are the fundamental do's and
don'ts that are critical?
Here are eight do's and don'ts that are
vitally important.
Do's
1. Open-ended questions
Ask questions that allow the candidate
to elaborate and expand on their
responses. Questions that begin with
Why, What, Where, Which, Who, and
How are the best question openers. In
contrast, asking leading or closed
questions should be avoided.
2 Behavioral questioning
Ask the candidate for examples or
critical incidents from the past
experience to back up their responses.
For example: How would you go about
dealing with a difficult team member?
What examples can you site from your
past experience?
3. Rhythm
Rhythm is a process that starts with a
question, followed by a comment and
elicits more information. In contrast,
interrogation is question, answer,
question, answer. This model prevents
the candidate from elaborating on their
answer. It is best to ask the question,
then make a comment such as "go one",
"tell me more" or repeating key words
from the candidates previous response
such as "you were stressed" after they
have said something like: "It was a
difficult situation I was in, I felt
stressed"
4. Putting the candidate at ease
Remember, the idea of an interview is
to put the candidate at ease, not to put
them under pressure. There is enough
pressure already; you don't need to add
to this. Your job is to bring the best out
of the candidate. Smile. Adopt a
friendly attitude. Nod. Give the
candidate time to respond and so on.
Don'ts
5. Not allowing the candidate to
elaborate
Silence is powerful. Let the candidate
finish what they are saying before
launching into the next battery of
questions. Silence will be filled by
the candidate if you keep quiet and
allow them to expand on their
response.
6. Ask tricky questions
Asking a candidate to explain their
worse habit is not a good question.
They are unlikely to tell you, and if
they do, they will give you a very
mild version of that habit. Stick to
the script. Ask questions related to
the role only.
7. Plan questions
Spend time with the panel and get
agreement on the set of questions to
ask. Be consistent. All candidates
deserve to be asked the same set of
quality questions, otherwise the
process is unreliable.
8. Don't write too much
Make eye contact and don't take
copious notes. While you are busy
writing all the responses, you are
missing vital non-verbal ques.
Listen to their responses. Be
attentive. Write your notes at the
end of the interview and allow for a
full interaction to take place.
There are many other do's and
don'ts, but these from my
experience will go a long way
towards a quality interview.
Dr Tim Baker is an international
consultant and author of The
End of the Performance Review;
A New Approach to Appraising
Employee Performance.
www.winnersatwork.com.au
Dr Tim Baker
Managing Director
WINNERS AT WORK Pty Ltd
www.winnersatwork.com.au
www.about.me/tim.baker
Telephone. +61 7 3899 8881
The Eight Keys to
Effective Interviewing
Editor’s Note:
Dr. Tim Baker is an international consultant, successful author, keynote speaker, master trainer, executive coach, university lecturer and skilful facilitator.
In a nutshell, he has conducted over 2,430 seminars, workshops and keynote addresses to over 45,000 people in 11 countries across 21 industry groups.
"“Dr Baker leads the world in
offering an innovative new approach
to appraising employee performance.
His research and energy in the
specialised field of performance
management is evidenced by his
international profile as a renowned
speaker, management consultant and
facilitator". Stephen Hartley,
Australia’s leading expert on project
management and author of "Project
Management: Principles, Processes
and Practices.
Let’s Talk Business
4
Lost Balloonist
A man is flying in a
hot air balloon and
realizes he is lost. He
reduces his altitude and spots a man
down below. He lowers the balloon
further and shouts: “Excuse me, can
you tell me where I am?”
The man below says: “Yes, you’re in
a hot air balloon, hovering 30 feet
above this field.”
“You must work in Technical
Support,” says the balloonist. “I do,”
replies the man. “How did you
know?”
“Well” says the balloonist,
“everything you have told me is
technically correct, but completely
useless.”
The man below says: “You must be
in management.” “I am,” replies the
balloonist, “but how did you know?”
“Well”, says the man, “you don’t
know where you are, or where you’re
going, but you expect me to be able
to help. You’re still in the same
position you were before we met, but
now it’s my fault.”
Worker with
Imagination
Several weeks after a
young man had been
hired, he was called
into the personnel
director’s office. “What is the
meaning of this?” the director asked.
“When you applied for this job, you
told us you had five years
experience. Now we discovered this
is the first job you’ve ever held.”
“Well,” the young man replied, “in
your advertisement you said you
wanted somebody with imagination.”
Quick Thinking?
Deciding to
surprise her
husband, an
executive’s wife
stops by his office.
As she walks in unannounced, she
finds his secretary sitting on his lap.
Without hesitating, he begins to
dictated a letter… “And in
conclusion gentlemen, budget cut or
not, I cannot continue to operate this
office with just one chair.”
Ambition is a poor excuse for not
having enough sense to be lazy
Do not underestimate your
abilities. That is your boss's job
An expert is someone called in at
the last minute to share the blame
For maximum attention, nothing
beats a good mistake
I have to work hard because
thousands on welfare depend
upon me
If we knew what we were doing
it wouldn't be called research
The light at the end of the tunnel
has been turned off due to budget
cuts
Funny Business
Lazy Workers
A quote from an
interview with the
head of a growing
company. Journalist asks: “So how
many employees are working in your
company”
The boss replies: “Approximately half
of them”
HUMOUROUS SIGNS
QUOTES & QUIPS
Let’s Talk Business
5
Marketing for Success
Dennis Chiron Marketing Means Business
0451 184 599 www.marketingmeansbusiness.com
[email protected] Skype: dennis.chiron2
Every business owner I know shares
one thing in common: they all have a
strong desire to create a stable, steady,
successful business that achieves
profitability and grows over time. But
not every business owner knows the
“recipe” that makes this possible.
So what is the recipe – the formula? In
a word, it's marketing.
But what does the word 'marketing'
mean? It means a lot, lot more than just
getting the word out about your
business?
In its most complete form, marketing is
about so much more than simply letting
people know that your business exists
(although that's an important piece of
the puzzle.)
In fact, in many ways, getting the word
out is one of the last steps in a good
marketing plan.
In order to succeed, you must establish
relationships with customers.
The strong, lasting relationships that
will ensure your success are built on:
Establishing trust and rapport
Understanding customers' needs
Providing real benefits
In many ways, these three essentials all
reiterate one central concept:
The relationships between successful
businesses and their customers depend
on careful understanding and reliable
fulfillment of human needs.
The business owner understands what
people need, and does everything he
can to meet those needs.
A strong marketing campaign is much
more intense, and it provides many
benefits that help you attract customers
at the same time as you clarify
achievable goals and create realistic
plans to meet them.
At its best, a strong marketing
campaign and plan helps you
understand:
Your business
Your target customers
Your competition
The full range of opportunities
available to you
The best way to attack those
opportunities
Appropriate pricing
The marketplace in which you
operate
… and a whole host of other issues that
will help your business grow to achieve
the success you wish for.
Whether you own a small or large
business, if you're in the game to
succeed, a well thought out marketing
campaign and plan is one of the best
tools you can employ along the way.
Understanding Customer Needs
Most business owners have an intuitive
understanding of their customers’
needs -- but that intuitive understanding
becomes a much more powerful tool if
you articulate and analyze it.
Only then can you fully understand
how to most effectively build the kind
of customer relationship that will help
your business succeed over time -- this
principle is central to many marketing
and business coaches.
As a starter step in your planned
marketing campaign, you should ask
yourself the following questions:-
Who are my customers?
Who are my potential customers?
What kind of people are they?
What are their incomes? What are
their needs?
Where do they live?
Can they buy? Will they buy?
Am I offering them real benefits,
when and how they want them?
Is my business in the best place?
Is my pricing right?
How do customers perceive my
business?
Who are my competitors, and
what is my edge on them?
How does my business compare
with my competitors'?
Customers always have expectations
when they walk into a business, and
those businesses who provide the
highest level of service will know how
to identify those expectations and meet
them to the customer's satisfaction (or
beyond).
By focusing on your customers needs
and developing a culture of pro-active
and responsive customer service in your
business, you can enhance relationships
and build customer loyalty and
customers will want to come back.
The quality of your customer service is
almost wholly determined by your
ability to meet your customer
expectations, and understanding your
customers needs and wants.
Let’s Talk Business
6
It’s my belief that we as business
owners have been sold two great
myths of the twentieth, and now the
twenty first century.
The first of these is that Time is
Money. What you say! We’ve
always been told that time is
money, and to some extent that is
correct. Time is money for our
staff, and all good leaders and
managers absolutely need to
measure how effectively our staff
are generating income within their
paid time.
However, for us as business owners,
it is absolutely imperative that at
some point we are able to disengage
our ability to earn money from time.
After all, how much is enough
money? For most of us it’s just a
bit more than we have now, and
then when we get that we find we
still need just a bit more.
If our ability to increase our income
is directly linked to time, it
ultimately means that we just end
up spending more and more time at
work, which probably isn’t the
reason we went into business in the
first place.
Tom Poland, a high end executive
mentor calls it the Sophie’s Choice
of life.
You may remember the famous
movie about a young Jewish mother
at the gates of a death camp that
was given the choice of which of her
children lived and died. A very sad
story that ultimately resulted in her
going mad.
The equivalent for all of us is if asked
to give up one thing out of money,
health and relationships, I can
guarantee that almost everyone will
say they would give up the money.
But what happens in reality? People
give up their health, and their
relationships with family and friends
in pursuit of the holy dollar, and then
pay them off with some kind of
cheque book love but buying them
gadgets to make up for our absence.
You first and only job everyday in
your business is to make yourself
redundant, because until you do, it
will be reliant on you being there
more and more. If you stop, it stops,
and if you try and sell it no one will
want to pay much for it.
In the end, you need to disengage
your customer’s relationship with
you personally, and replace it with an
equally strong relationship with your
brand, knowing no matter who they
deal with in your business, they will
have same experience.
You also need to have in place the
structures, system and measurement
so you can manage it strategically,
and not just operationally.
The second myth is that Bigger is
better. We are constantly bombarded
by people, the government and media
telling us that the only way to
succeed is growth.
To my way of thinking, bigger is only
better if it satisfies two important
criteria. Firstly, if it gives you better
economies of scale. This means being
able to buy at better prices, improve
your efficiencies by batching
production or investing in more
technology to improve output.
Secondly, and just as importantly,
growth is only better if you can
maintain the efficiency of a small
tightly managed business. It’s a sad
fact that as any business gets bigger it
becomes more inefficient. This means
that it takes more sales to generate
profit.
When we start our business we know
where every dollar is, and where they
go because there are generally so few
of them.
Unfortunately, as businesses grow we
tend to lose this tight control and costs
creep, wastage increases and
efficiencies suffer.
Once again structure, systems and
measurement will be your saviour if
done well. Remember, when it comes
to business Size isn’t everything!!
Geoff Butler FAIM AP, MAITD MACE
Principal/Business Improvement & Implementation Specialist
Business Optimizers
Mobile: 0414 943072
Fax: 3036 6131
Email: [email protected]
Skype: business.optimizers1
The Two Great Myths
Let’s Talk Business
7
How Do You Increase Your Sales,
While Charging More Than Your Competition?
The better your business communicates
your products or services deliver
benefits the customer wants, in a way
that they want it - the higher the price
you can ask.
When you take the time to understand
the needs and wants of your target
market you can establish your
uniqueness in the market place.
‘A Grade’ customers prefer to pay
more for benefits. If your customers
baulk at prices, they either don’t care
about the benefits you are offering or
they simply are NOT ‘A Grade’
customers. ‘C Grade’ Customers
(Challenging) tend to want cheap, not
extra benefits.
Think of the car manufacturer, Ferrari.
Why can Ferrari sell its cars for up to
twenty times the price of many cars on
the market?
Is a Ferrari twenty times faster, more
fuel efficient or more comfortable than
other cars on the market? The answer
is no. So why does Ferrari have the
ability to charge twenty times more
than most cars?
Because Ferrari is unique!
Ferrari focuses on developing a
reputation of a unique, high quality
brand.
Their USP of excellence is not only
reflected in the cars they sell. Ferrari
demonstrate their USP of obsession
with quality to every area of their
business.
For example; Who they sponsor and
how they present themselves, their
website, letters, brochures, show room
floor, customer service and even their
factory floor!
Your USP should be so powerful and
identify with your ideal customers so
clearly that you can confidently “shout it
from the roof tops”.
Your USP should be on your stationery,
signage, vehicles, banners, business
cards, radio ads, TV ads, promotional
material, etc. Your USP could even be a
headline to your advertising.
Some successful businesses
have even used their business
name to share their USP!
What is unique about your business that
your customers would consider a
fantastic benefit?
Here are some examples to consider …
Absolutely, positively overnight! Get it first time or get it free! At your door in 30 minutes or it’s
free! If we waste your time the
appointment is free AND we’ll pay you $50 for wasting your time!
Coke is it! 11 Secret Herbs and Spices
Once you have established your USP,
the next task is having a strategy to
integrate it into your business.
Some things to consider are …
How will you insure that your
market place knows about the ways
that make you unique from your
competitors?
What systems need to be adjusted to
make sure your USP is being
delivered consistently?
When will you ‘check in’ with your
customers to make sure your USP
is perceived as being an important
factor to them?
Your USP may stay the same for the
life of your business, or it may change
regularly. Develop a system to monitor
the effectiveness of your USP.
Take the time to get this right. It is a
key element to your sales, marketing
and business success. Your USP is your
unique businesses identity.
How do I know my
USP is not working?
Answer … you compete on price! If
you drop your price to make sales,
something is not working the way it
should be.
The goal is to continually innovate and
find ways of adding value to your
customers so that they are happy and
willing to pay more for the experience
of dealing with your business.
If you would like to experience a
complimentary review of your business
that takes less than an hour, call me on
0414 567 188.
I’ll rush to you an easy to understand
Business Diagnostic Tool!
Remember … “Business is More Fun
When There’s Profit!”
(PSSST … that is our USP J)
Dan Buzer
Profit Mechanics
0414 567 188
www.profitmechanics.net/ [email protected]
Let’s Talk Business
8
Many small business owners have
never had a website created for
them. Most people wouldn’t even
know where to start.
Think about what you want your
website to look like as well as what
you want it to do for your business.
Start with asking yourself these
questions!
What features do I need/want? Will you need a shopping cart,
online payments, slide show,
member’s area, blog or just
information?
Look at competitor’s websites to get
some ideas. Make a features wish-
list. You can always start small and
add features as your business grows.
How many pages do I need? 3
pages may suit you for starters. How
many pages may you eventually
require?
Who am I aiming at? E.g. age
range, gender, interests, education
level etc.
Do I want to update my site
myself? Updating your own website
can save you time and money.
What have I got to spend? Define
your budget. Work out what you can
afford upfront, monthly and
annually.
Now that you have a rough idea of
what you are after, you now have
enough information to get an
accurate quote.
Most web designers will ask some of
these questions anyway so it is
always good to be prepared.
Now, turn the tables. You need to
ensure you are going to be working
with the right web designer. Web
designers are not always created
equal!
12 Questions you should ask your
web designer
Planning for your website can be
tricky enough. Choosing the right
person/company to work with can
make this process; less stressful and
more cost effective.
Here are some basic questions to get
you started and to help you better
understand what they can do for you:-
1. How many websites have you
created?
2. Can I see some live/published
websites that you have done?
3. Have you done any websites for
businesses in my industry?
4. Is this your full-time job & what
are your Office Hours?
5. Will I have access to my website
to make changes like upload new
images and change text?
6. Do you provide training/support?
7. What monthly/ annual fees should
I expect & what do they include?
8. How much of my website will you
build yourself/outsource?
9. How long will my website take to
go live?
10. Does your price include Online
Marketing or SEO (Search Engine
Optimisation)?
11. What information/images/graphics
do you require from me?
12. If I want to add a blog or shopping
cart later, will I need a new
website?
Getting to know your web designer,
what they are capable of and if they
are as passionate about your business
as you are is important. Achieving the
right match will ensure the overall
success of your website. You want a
website that will HELP you stay in
business for a long time.
Look out for hidden fee and
unnecessary bells-and-whistles.
Consider how easy it is to
communicate and if you feel
comfortable dealing with them.
#1 TIP: Get more than one quote!
Good luck in finding your perfect web
designer.
For further information, please feel
free to email Karen ~ The Webgirl.
Karen Ahl Bac. Bus (Mark, Man), TAE40110,
Cert IV IT Caboolture, Queensland
Ph 0415 142 178
www.web-sta.com.au [email protected]
How To Choose Your Perfect Web Designer
Let’s Talk Business
9
and indirect costs associated with
accidents can endanger a company's
competitiveness.
For instance, financial losses due to
increased insurance premiums, lost
production or disruption to production
schedules, damage to equipment and
plant, loss of time for other employees
(eg, supervisors) during the accident
investigation, training of replacement
employees and the possibility of fines
and adverse publicity are all issues to
consider.
Whilst it is possible to insure against
some of the expenses associated with
injury, ill health and damage to property,
the hidden uninsurable costs could well
exceed the insurable costs.
In the increasingly competitive market
place, it is becoming common for clients
to request companies to provide safety
records as part of tender analysis
processes or pre-qualification.
A number of beliefs are crucial to the
success of the accident prevention
process:-
People are our most important asset.
The majority of accidents and
incidents are not caused by "careless
workers", but failures in control
(either within the organisation or
within the particular job), which are
the responsibility of management.
The preservation of human and
physical resources is an important
means of minimising costs.
Control of health and safety is
achieved through co-operative effort
at all levels in the organisation.
Competence in managing health and
safety is an essential part of
Ron Court, AMC, Dip (Funerals) ,Cert IV OH&S, Cert IV Training & Assessment TAE, MQJA, JP (Qual)
OH&S Advisor
0419 679 619 [email protected]
The Principles of
Accident Prevention
professional management.
All accidents, ill health and
incidents are preventable.
Health and safety; and quality,
are two sides of the same coin.
Three basic steps
All employers, employees and self-
employed persons have a duty of
care towards their own, and others'
health and safety at their workplace.
Additionally in some cases,
ongoing OHS performance
evaluations are conducted on behalf
of the principal contractor
*Identifying the Hazard - involves
recognising things which may cause
injury or harm to the health of a
person, for instance, flammable
material, ignition sources or
unguarded machinery.
*Assessing the Risk - involves
looking at the possibility of injury
or harm occurring to a person if
exposed to a hazard.
*Controlling the Risk - by
introducing measures to eliminate
or reduce the risk of a person being
exposed to a hazard.
You can get information about your
OH&S obligations and other
valuable OH&S resources both in
hard copy and online from their
websites.
http://www.deir.qld.gov.au
Always seek independent legal
advice on what is applicable to your
situation.
Every accident has one or more
identifiable causes.
The employer is responsible for
ensuring a safe system of work is in
place and therefore must take action to
prevent accidents from occurring or
recurring.
For some, this concept still causes
difficulty. The term "accident" suggests
that an event occurred itself, with some
degree of chance and it implies no
blame or responsibility.
Some people associate or equate an
accident with injury or damage, when on
many occasions accidents do not result
in injury or damage.
These events are often termed "near
misses".
Determining where, why and how
accidents occur is fundamental to
understanding the causation and
implementing preventive measures.
Once the circumstances and causes have
been identified, effective measures can
be taken to prevent similar occurrences.
An employee who is injured is likely to
suffer financial loss and either
disfigurement, disability, pain or in
extreme cases death.
The effects of an injury may not always
be temporary and can have devastating
long-term consequences on an
individual's personal life, social and
other activities.
There may also be a significant impact
on the injured person's family and
friends.
The employer should be concerned with
accident prevention because the direct
Let’s Talk Business
10
Jo-Anne Chaplin
Tax & Superannuation Professionals Pty Ltd
PH 07 3410 8116 / Mobile 0457 960 566
Email : [email protected]
Web: www.taxandsuperprofessionals.com.au
I am a qualified Accountant and will celebrate my 20th anniversary as a
Registered Tax Agent this year. During my time in Public Practice I have
assisted clients to achieve business growth and prosperity. My earlier career
included positions in banking, manufacturing, construction and retail. My
particular interest is in promoting a culture of using local industries and
business in order to build a strong community.
Management of your business cash
flow is incredibly important. Here are
a few tips which you can employ to
get control of your business cash
flow:
Prepare a cash flow budget for the
next twelve months.
Using a spread sheet or analysis pad
with at least 15 columns across, list
your income sources and then your
expenses down the left hand column.
Leave a couple of rows between the
income and expenses that can be used
as a total amount. Head up the
columns across the page for the
months ahead.
Enter estimates of monthly sales and
other income. Using historical sales
as a guide will assist you in
identifying trends and volume of
sales. Also build in special events that
relate to your business eg, Christmas
sales, holiday period sales, end of
financial year etc.
Next, enter the known costs of your
business, i.e. fixed costs such as rents,
insurances, loan repayments and other
expenses which are the same every
month. Then enter estimates of the
non-fixed costs – replacement of
stock, wages, advertising etc.
To calculate your cash flow total each
column’s income and expenses and
write the surplus/shortfall at the
bottom of the page. It should be
15% of gross sales is enough to meet
these commitments.
Use appropriate software for your
business so less time is spent on
administration.
As a small business, you need to be
sure that your invoices are going out
on time, and your debtors are paying
on time, and your business activity
statements are up to date.
The software should provide you with
streamlined invoicing of clients,
recording your expenses and liabilities
and due dates for payments, provide
you with sales, debtor and creditor
analysis as well as a payroll system if
you have staff.
Also important is the correct
calculation of GST liabilities.
Use the services of an Accountant
If you don’t have one, you should find
an Accountant with whom you can
discuss business issues at any time of
the year. Professional fees vary widely,
and most advisors are happy to provide
fee estimates prior to accepting a
client. Obtaining advice in relation to
the structure of your business, the
recordkeeping requirements, staff
issues, tax issues and cash flow and
general management issues is
paramount in making sure you
succeed.
instantly clear which months are slow,
and which are profitable. Examine
your figures to see where savings or
adjustments can be made to increase
the surplus or minimise your
shortfalls.
The process of budgeting can be quite
time consuming at first, but once a
workable budget is in place, it can be
easily updated regularly.
Have a strict policy for collection of
debtor accounts.
Be sure to have a strict collections
policy, and make your clients aware of
this at the point of sale. Contact the
debtor as soon as possible after the
trading terms have been exceeded to
see if an oversight has occurred, or
whether an arrangement can be made
to clear the debt.
Set aside funds on a regular basis to
meet GST/ PAYG commitments
Transferring a percentage of your
gross sales into a separate bank
account will mean that you will have
enough cash to meet your BAS/Payg
commitments when they fall due. This
method can also be applied to amounts
deducted from employee wages. There
are a wide variety of bank accounts
which offer high interest on at-call
balances which can be used to hold
monies required to meet GST and
payg instalment commitments.
Usually a percentage of about 10% -
CASHFLOW MANAGEMENT
FOR YOUR BUSINESS
Let’s Talk Business
11
Apologize, Don't Debate
If a customer has a problem,
apologize and fix the problem. Make
sure to let customers vent their
grievances, even if you are tempted
to interrupt and correct them. Then
give them a refund, new item, or
whatever will fix the problem.
Debating or haggling over a refund
creates ill will. Repair mistakes
immediately. Keep in mind that a
complaint about your company is an
opportunity to turn the situation
around and create a loyal customer.
Obviously, there will be some
customer requests that are too
outrageous to comply with. If that's
the case, do your best to offer a
moderate, appealing alternative.
Feedback Keeps You Focused
Ask your customers to rate your
service on a regular basis. This can
be done via a short questionnaire
included with every product sold or
mailed to key clients.
Keep the questionnaire short so that
it is not a burden for customers to
complete, and make sure they know
they can decline to participate.
Always let customers know the
purpose of the survey is to serve
them better.
If they fill out the survey and have
no problems, it is a reminder of what
good service you offer. If issues do
arise, they can be addressed.
Stay Flexible
You must be flexible when it comes
to your customers and clients. This
means doing a project for a client in
a pinch, having an early morning
meeting even if you like to sleep in,
and meeting on Saturday even if you
usually reserve your weekends for
yourself.
Estimate that a job will cost more
than you think, and bring it in lower.
Many small businesses make the
mistake of reversing this maxim -
over promising and under
delivering. This is a true recipe for
disaster.
You may get the business, but your
level of service will make it difficult
to compete. If 24-hour turnaround is
excellent service in your industry,
don't promise it in 12 just because
the customer requests it.
What Makes You Different?
Why should customers buy from
you and not from someone else?
What does your attitude and actions
say to your customers? Do you
make your customers feel welcome
and wanted? What lasting
impressions will your customers
have from purchasing your products
or using your services?
Make the experience for your
customer a memorable one and let
them remember your for your
superior customer service.
Concentrate On Service
The businesses who thrive in
increasingly competitive markets
are those that focus on service.
Give free reign to your experienced,
knowledgeable salespeople to
convey their passion for your
products, and encourage them to
build relationships with your chosen
customers.
Be a wealth of information to
customers, and advertise your
experience by offering seminars or
workshops. When feasible, offer to
order hard-to-find items and sizes.
Flexibility can also mean getting
information for your client, even
though it may not be in your area of
expertise.
Say, for example, you're catering a
wedding and your client needs
information on Irish wedding customs.
It's just as easy to make a call to your
local library and fax the information to
your client as it is to say "I don't know
anything about that."
And making that extra effort will
ultimately pay off with a very satisfied
customer.
Always Say "Yes!"
This doesn't mean giving up your
personal will to your customers but it
does mean finding a way to help
customers with their requests.
If you run a gift business you might
wrap a present for an important client,
even if you don't usually provide gift
wrapping.
You might stay up late to finish a
project if a client suddenly has a
deadline moved up, or travel in a snow
storm to meet a client even if it means
an unpleasant trip for you.
Always saying yes, means the words
"that isn't possible" should be forbidden
from use in your business. You cannot
afford to use them.
If this sounds expensive and
inconvenient, it is, but it is less
expensive than losing a customer and
having to spend money and time
landing a new one.
Under Promise, Over Deliver
Make your customers believe they are
important to you by always appearing
to go the extra mile. Build a little
cushion into a deadline and deliver
early.
Dennis Chiron Marketing Means Business
0451 184 599 www.marketingmeansbusiness.com
[email protected] Skype: dennis.chiron2
Let’s Talk Business
12
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