The small business Every Day's a Holiday strategy

Question: which days of the year do small business owners make the most of their time?
Answer: the days just before they go on holidays.

We all know the fenetic feeling just before you leave to go on vacation. So much to get through, and so little time. You've got a huge list. There are staff or outsourcers to organise. Orders to be put in motion. Contingency plans for who's going to make decisions while you're away. Because this time you've decided you really are going to switch off your phone.

The thing is, we really should make every day an 'I'm going on holidays' day. Here are a few ways I'm trying to make this happen:

* Write the list like I really have to get it done.

* Prioritise my time as if I only have a few hours left before I walk out the door for a couple of weeks.

* Chunk down my remaining time into 10 minute blocks. The sense of pace and achievement is amazing.

Happy holidays!

Margie

Business Success: Golden Nugget #3

Rates are up all over the shop in Australia. Our dollar's rate is shoulder to shoulder with the US dollar. Our interest rates have just gone up another notch. But what about your rate as a small business owner?

We often don't put ourselves into the equation because we are our businesses. But now's the time to take stock of your own inputs and use my Golden Nugget #3 of Small Business Success to reassess things:

Rate yourself

* Look at what you do every day in terms of an hourly rate. If someone asks you to do a job, what would you charge yourself out at? Then apply this rate to everything you do through the day. It'll make you think about what's really important to your business's bottom line and what can be outsourced or left till later.

* Think of yourself as the brain surgeon of your business. Would you pay a brain surgeon to unpack the scalpels and mop up after the operation? Then don't do it in your business.

* Set your priorities: plan your day in a list, and tick things off when you get them done. It helps you stay focussed, and actually achieve things.

* Handle each piece of paper only once.

* Trust that others can do just as good a job as you. Empower those you employ and others you outsource tasks to with extra tasks you've always done. It's a bit unnverving at first, but liberating too.

Every success!

Margie

Unique selling proposition 101

I've been talking a lot about unique selling propositions USPs) lately. These USP's are the thing that makes your product or service king.

The trouble is, a lot of small businesses can't articulate why their product or service is different from the rest. They think they know, but they can't tell you in 20 words or less. So they blend in with their competitors and miss out on market share, on new business.

The key to marketing power is to be specific about why your business is unique. Why you're the best, and why people need to buy from you over someone else.

How do you do this? Ask yourself the one question your customers will ask: why should I do business with you over anyone else?

Answer this, by spending the time drilling down on your selling proposition, and you have your unique point of difference.

Being specific will bring you success.

Margie

Small business success: Golden Nugget #2

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

So too in your business. It really does pay to carefully plan how you're going to tackle the enormity of your enterprise, know which measured risks you're prepared to take, and have a finger on the pulse of your customers.

The trouble is, so many business owners I've worked with 'think' they know what their customers are looking for, but they've never actually asked them. This might be fine for a while, but if your customers' tastes and buying habits change, you'll be left, literally, floundering on the shelf. Which is why I'd like to share with you my second Golden Nugget to Small Business Success:

Golden Nugget # 2: Know what your customers want.

This comes down to spending time researching your market. Not just in the start-up phase, but at regular times of the year. Write down the answers to these questions:

1. Which particular group of people needs a product or service like yours?

2. How big is this group? Have they changed?

3. What would they pay today for your product or service?

4. Can you see any of these things changing in the next six months? 

Doing some basic market research can reduce your risk: you’ll be in the business of knowing what your customers want, and the best way to give it to them.

There are many online tips on doing market research that means something (there’s a comprehensive list in my book). One that’s particularly worth looking at is from the Queensland Government’s site called Smart Skills (go to www.sdi.qld.gov.au/virtual and click on ‘Marketing and promotions’).

Get to know more about your customers today!


Margie

Small business success nuggets

I recently wrote an article for Kochie's Business Builders, giving readers my 3 Golden Nuggets of Small Business Success. The article generated a lot of interest (it was rated four and a half stars), so I thought I'd start a series of Golden Nuggets for Small Business on this blog.

If there's anything in particular you're desperate to know about making your small business more successful, make a comment and I'll create a Golden Nugget just for you.

Golden Nugget # 1: Planning for success
The majority of small businesses don’t plan to fail, they just fail to plan. The humble piece of paper that is your business plan can help you cement your goals. Look at your customers, how you communicate to them, your competition, and your future production plans. Write it all down. (One I like is at )

Remember, though, that the most useful business plans are living, breathing documents. So once you’ve written down what you want from your business, don’t just file and forget it. Drag it out every six months or so to see how you’re tracking against your original goals.

Has your market changed or your costs increased?  Go over your playing field so you know the state of your game.

Margie

Small Business SWOT

Ideas are the lifeblood of small business owners. You have ideas for start-ups, growth, new products or services, how you want your business to run...

What many of us fail to do, however, is to regularly take stock of our ideas. It's a time thing to analyse what's worked and what hasn't, what we really want to achieve, and how our ideas will help us achieve our goals.

That's why I've come up with the Small Business SWOT. It takes 10 minutes and it'll help you quickly identify your strengths (S), weaknesses (W), opportunities (O) and threats (T). Here are the questions to ask:

Strengths: What advantages do I have over my competitors?

Weaknesses: What could I improve? Do these two things reveal any opportunities for my business?

Opportunities: Which areas offer the best chance of growth?

Threats: What are the obstacles I face, either within my business or from my competitors? Could I turn them into opportunities?

If you want to take longer on the Small Business SWOT, feel free. But the simple process of going through this quickly can help you do business with your eyes wide open, in good times and bad.


Do it now!

Margie

Switched on small businesses

Small business owners are particularly guilty of always being switched on. Our mobiles, Blackberries and laptops are on all hours of the day and night. We're in constant contact with customers, clients and everyone else, whether it's a Monday or a Sunday.

However, the hope of achieving a work-life balance is often a reason people set up a small business in the first place. You’d be in control of your time and, as the boss, you could juggle things so that both your personal and professional lives were fulfilled.

The reality is often that it’s busier than you ever imagined. You end up working harder, and longer, than you ever have.

But why not make time to set up some boundaries between your work and private life?

Pencil your personal life (exercise, catching up with friends or the family) into your diary as mental health moments. If you have it written down, you're more likely to make it happen.

And share your strategy with your family because they can support you and even hide the work phone on you on the weekends if necessary.

Let them be your conscience.

Margie

Booming small businesses

There are lots of different ways the business world measures success.

You might rate success in terms of size. You’ve built your business from nothing, and now you’re about to employ another 10 people. Wow, you must be doing well.

Or maybe your order book is bulging: surely you’re successful because everyone wants your product or service. Just be aware that a growing business isn’t always a successful business.

“If you’re wanting to get bigger, make sure it is the best outcome for your business,” says Dr Graham Godbee of the Macquarie Graduate School of Management, who I interviewed for The Small Business Success Guide.

Spend the time thinking about it before you do it. “Then, if you decide the time is right, make the growth sensible and controlled,” adds Godbee.

If you’re set on expanding your business, you have to work out the sort of growth you want.

Go back to your original goals for setting up your business. If one of your aims of setting up your small business was to have more free time, does going even more gang-busters achieve this?

Think it through.

Margie

Invest in #1

A broken foot has laid me up. Luckily a lot of my business can be done sitting down. However, the challenge of slowing down has opened another door: to be able to invest in myself for a few weeks.

It's not often small business owners get the chance to look at what they could learn, and then be forced to take the time to learn it. But it's something we all should do more.

What you can learn:

1. Things can happen in your business if you're not there. Your staff will love taking the reigns. So leave them to it.

2. There are things to learn. Any time you spend improving your knowledge or your investing in yourself, is time well spent.

3. Systems are important. By putting procedures in place in your business, you'll be able to take time out without the sky falling.

This week, I've dragged out the inspirational books and CDs. I'm revved up and ready to go with lots of bright ideas for my business!

Try it.

Margie

Outstanding customer experiences

I went along to an internet seminar yesterday, just for the fun of it. There's nothing quite like a rev-up session (and those online marketers are good at it) to get you thinking about issues that are bigger than you.

I came away from it with a head full of ideas. But also feeling like I'd been battered around the head. At the end of the day, the promoters were a bit desperate for their "customers" to part with a hefty amount of cash in return for the 'secret formula'. The pressure during the final product flog was immense. I ran away.

What I did get out of it, however, was clarity about the two things that matter most when it comes to my customers:

A question of service
Every now and again you need to step back and think about your "customer experience". Is the service they receive outstanding? Is it honest? Would they recommend it to their friends?

A question of relationships
How do people feel when they walk out of your business? Have you connected with them? Do you nurture the relationship from the moment a customer or client walks in the door until they leave, whether they buy anything from you or not?

Superior service and nurtured relationships are two of the crucial ways that small businesses can define themselves.

So be outstanding today.

Margie

Small business emails

Email addresses and websites are now just like phones and answering services: everyone has them but not everyone uses them well.

So many small businesses I come into contact with still have their internet service providers (you know, Yahoo) as their email addresses. To me, it smacks of a couple of things:

a) They haven't realised that this looks pretty amateurish when they communicate with their customers (or they don't care)

b) They're not taking their email and internet strategy seriously (or they don't have one)

However, in our search engine seeking world, you just can't afford not to be leveraging the power of your brand.

The Australian Government's e-business guide suggests you ask yourself the following questions:

1. Does the domain name support the branding of your organisation?

2. Would your target audience guess the domain name and email address?

3. Do the domain name and email address stand on their own and make sense?

4. Is the domain name or email address too long, awkward to type or repeat verbally to people?

5. Can the name be confused with an existing popular domain name?

Even if you've had your domain name for a while, that doesn't mean you can't revisit your strategy.

Think it through today.

Margie

Small business risk alert

Torrential rain and trojan viruses: there's a lesson for us all in a couple of small business calamities I encountered on holidays.

Scenario #1: the local tennis pro, whose business is built around the fun and frivolity of outdoor activity, cops the most brutal rain since Noah launched his ark. Okay, the former stopped after 24 hours (Noah's lasted longer), but it was enough to seriously stifle the roll-up for a three-day tennis clinic.

Scenario #2: a business consultant downloads photos from a friend's USB onto his laptop and ... wham! His computer is the new home of a violent trojan virus. Even a panicked check of his virus scan updates can't save all the data on his computer from the malicious infection. 

While the tennis pro took the rain in her stride (she hastily organised some indoor activities for a shortenend session), and the business consultant was able to retrieve the essentials for an impending presentation from his email, both scenarios reinforce why we should all mitigate our business risks.

How? Firstly, planning is crucial. Ask yourself: what are the biggest risks to my business? Is it your health, technology, weather, production or staff hiccups? Some of these are within your control, while others aren't. But that doesn't mean you can't plan for what you'll do if they ever crop up.

Secondly, put systems for your record keeping and information back-ups in place so that your business can weather any storm.

Regular attention to these details will help you sleep at night.

Margie

Small business success

It's always great to get a recommendation. Word of mouth is one of your most powerful marketing tools, regardless of the type of small business you're in.

So make every bit of feedback count. Share it!

Here's the latest feedback after a the owner of Human Link PR read my book:

"I have recently set up my HR Consultancy & Training & Development business and Margie's book The Small Business Success Guide was an invaluable resource. It is an easy-to-read guide where I have continued to pick it up depending on what phase I am in operating my business. Great tips, good level of detail, plain english speak and very practical. A must for anyone running their own business, and not just for those in set-up phase."
Jo Perkins, owner, Human Link

Thanks Jo. All power to you!

Margie

Cash flow success

Money, money, money. It's what makes our businesses go around. We all know it, but how many of us treat our business cash flow with the respect it really needs?

According to a recent report from the credit reporting agency Dun & Bradstreet, the cash flow situation has deteriorated in Australia, with more businesses having their risk profile downgraded.

Simply, this means that more of us are having trouble paying our bills on time. We're not capably balancing exactly how much money is coming in and out of our businesses, and being able to pay our debts by the due date.

"It's an important sign that risk remains prevalent and firms must be constantly vigilant," said Dun & Bradstreet CEO, Christine Christian. But how?

Cash flow forecasts are the key, according to Dr Graham Godbee, of the Macquarie Graduate School of Management. He thinks that if you do a cash flow forecast and know your exact cash position at any given time, you'll know when you should be chasing funds, when to pay your bills, or if you can afford to give a customer credit.

In The Small Business Success Guide, I give business owners an Action Item: Cash Flow Forecast Template. There are many of these tools online, but I like this one from the Northern Territory Government because it's a simple one-page version of a cash flow forecast. And the less complicated these things are, the more likely I am to use them. How about you?

Have a look at it, and fill in the blanks. Keeping track of your cash flow is such a vital part of your small business success strategy. So get started on your forecasts, and keep them up to date.

Your business will thank you!

Margie

Small business succession

The David Jones shake-up of last week highlights how important it is for business, big and small, to think about their succession plans.

Who will take the reigns of your business if you decide you've had enough? Surely you haven't put all this effort into your business to simply shut up shop?

While every business is different, and every succession plan is different, it all comes down to planning. Here are some common questions you should ask yourself:

• Who can take over? Do you want a particular staff member to take over? What about someone in your family? Or the kids? Or should you be targeting a competitor to step into your shoes?
• How are my systems and processes? By setting up watertight systems and processes in your business, you have more of saleable commodity. Simply, someone else can easily see how they could do what you do.
• What skills will be needed? Once you've identified someone who could take over the reigns, look at the skills they may need to learn before you leave. And start the training now.
• How will it happen? Set the timetable for the transition to power. Then make sure everyone knows how it will happen and how you will one day phase yourself out of your business.

A smooth succession depends on you answering these four questions. Write down your answers.

It's never too early!

Margie

Getting your name online

I've just been trawling on the internet to find a name for a new business idea. It's one thing to know what you want to call a business. It's another to know for certain that no-one else has thought of your name too.

So having spent an innordinate amount of time now trying to find a domain name that fitted the business idea, and that hadn't already been snapped up, I thought I'd share my story as a way to help anyone else through the maze.

First stop is The Australian Business Registry, an Australian Government initiative where you type in your name to make sure no-one else is trading under that name.

Okay, you're right. Your name hasn't been registered. But before you get all excited, it pays to check the other realm of business activity, the World Wide Web.

It's one thing to have a business, it's another to have an operating business and not be able to use that name online as it's already been registered by someone else.

There are lots of domain providers that you can use to find out if a particular business name is available as a domain name. I like going to Crazy Domains as it's quick and easy to navigate. You simply type in the name you want for your business (or already have) to find out if the domain name is also available.

There really can be no worse moment when the name you've had your heart set on, or (worse) already have been trading under, has been registered by someone else. In my case, the name of choice, which has been available for months, has just been snapped up. Literally from under my nose!

But I'm not alone. I've even heard of an artist who doesn't own her own name as a domain because she inadvertantly allowed a dealer to use it on her behalf a few years ago. There are ways to contact whoever owns your name to see if they're open to you buying it off them. They may or may not, and prices vary.

There's also the added complication if you want your profile to appear more global. What you have to do is find an available name for a .com.au and then try to match it with the same name but with a .com prefix. Seems that so many of the good names have already been taken in the realm of .com. It's really the quick or the dead.

So my tip for any small business is to go online to make sure your business name, or personal name if you're a sole trader, is available to own as a domain name. Even if you're not yet developing a web presence (which you really should be), it's a peace of mind exercise.

Just get in quick!

Margie

Success strategy #1: Think through your journey

Successful small businesses know exactly where they want their businesses to go and how they’ll get there. From the word go they have a roadmap. Then it's something they continuelly revisit, dodging roadblocks and finding shortcuts along the way.

It doesn’t have to be a convoluted process, but you do have to set aside time to actually think about where your business is going, and if you're happy with the direction.

How do you start? A good place is to ask yourself some key questions:

1. Who are my customers?

2. What products or services do they want to buy and what are my competitors offering?

3. When do they want these products or services: daily, weekly, monthly, seasonally or yearly?

4. Where are my customers located?

5. Why would they buy these products or services?

6. How do I deliver on my customers’ expectations?

Answer these questions and you’ll have a better grasp on exactly what your business is, and where you want it to go.

Enjoy the ride!

Margie

How KPD is your business?

A weekend sporting injury has created a pain in the butt for me this week. Literally. So as I sit here gingerly in front of the computer, doing enforced downtime, I'm reminded of one of the perils of running a small businesses: that being Key Person Dependent (KPD) can impact your performance.

KPD is a particular danger for micro and solo businesses, where you, the owner, do much in the business. If you're not there, things just don't happen. But it's also a factor of every small business because when we hire people, most of us rely on them to do specific tasks that no-one else in the business knows how to do.

Ask yourself: if I took a tumble, would someone else know what needs to happen in my business today? Or if your admin manager got hit by a bus, could people still get paid? If your foreman doesn't show, does anyone else know where the projects are up to?

My tip for small businesses is to make sure that everyone knows how to do another person's job. Develop a mentoring program as an essential part of your strategic and staff development. It's a simple way to mitigate your KPD risks, protect your intellectual property and, as Professor Ian Williamson states in The Small Business Success Guide, it "allows for the cross-fertilisation of ideas".

Basically, if your staff are mentoring each other, you won't be left high and dry, and you'll guarantee that your IP isn't tied to an individual.

And if your business is a micro operation, or just you? Make sure you outsource certain tasks and organise back-up services in the event that you're flat on your back.

You don't want KPD to make your business suffer too!

Margie

Teams under pressure

Watching MasterChef Australia tonight, it was amazing to see how the teams handled being put under pressure. As in any business, some people handle it, and others don't.

In small business, it's so important to know who in your team can and can't handle the heat in the kitchen. If you push someone the wrong way, their performance, and your product or service, will suffer.

So what's the key to getting a team to cook up a storm together? Here are my top two tips (there are more in Chapter 21 of The Small Business Success Guide):

1. Every month, ask your team for their suggestions on how you can do things better. It's an inclusive way to lead and you might be surprised by what comes out of a positive brainstorming session.

2. Lead by example. Be fair and honest in all your dealings with staff. And create a work environment where everyone knows your vision and that flexibility is a bonus to be worked for. If you've had a win, go home early, and allow your team do the same. Create an environment that doesn't just pay lip-service to the notion of work-life balance. It's a great motivator.

You'll be amazed at the results.

Margie

Can I make my accounts easier?

Accounts are often the bane of small business. When do you find the time to keep your accounts in order and manage your filing and reporting requirements? After dinner? On the weekend? Later? Not until it's tax time?

Having just been rapped over the knuckles by my accountant for not being more on the ball in my accounts department, I've gone scurrying back to The Small Business Success Guide to get myself in shape for the upcoming end-of-tax-year turmoil.

The words of Dr Graham Godbee, of the Macquarie Graduate School of Management, jump out of Chapter 9: 'If you cannot measure it, you cannot manage it'. So right!

To get myself back on track, I'm going to adhere to these top tips from my book from now on, I promise:

* Do daily backups of data: it's your accounting insurance policy.
* Do your filing: get things organised from the moment it comes in.
* Schedule time to do the books during the work day: it might feel like pulling teeth, but it will keep you in check with your business' pulse.
* Reconcile your bank accounts, loans and debtors every month: by doing it this regularly, you'll never fly blind in terms of your cash position.

Wish me luck!

Margie

Small business phone matters

Calling a small or micro business can tell you a lot about how the business is run. This morning, I had the pleasure of speaking to a business owner's teenage daughter. While she tried her best on the phone, she had to ask her mum, who obviously was standing in the same room, to confirm some of the details I was after. How much were they charging? "Mum, how much is it?" What quantities I could order? "Mum, what size does it come in?" Can your dad give me a call? "Sure, what was your name again?"

Allowing kids to answer the phone is often a home-based business hazard, and it's a particular gripe of mine. Call me old fashioned, but it just sends the wrong professional message to potential clients.

However, dodgy phone etiquette isn't just a home-based business problem. Small business owners often forget to train their staff to answer the phone professionally because they're never on the other side of the phone. How often have you called a business to hear: "Hi. Can I help you?"; "I just need to find a pen"; "It's really busy here at the moment, can I put you on hold? Beep, beep, beep..."

Some things to remember:
* The phone is your company's front line, no matter how big or small your business is.
* If a customer gets a poor first impression because of the way your work phone is answered, they get a poor impression of your business.
* Take the time to train every staff member, and yourself, in answering the phone in a professional, pleasant and helpful way.

I outline more tips in The Small Business Success Guide, and you can also find some good tips from companies such as Vodafone. In fact, there's a heap of information online about business telephone etiquette. There's really no excuse.
Make every call count!

Margie

How familiar are you with your customers?

A small business in tough times is one thing: a small business owner who happily shares their woes with customers is entirely another.

Today, a chapter from my book, The Small Business Success Guide, literally sprang to life. I'd just stepped inside a small business to have a casual browse of their wares when the owner introduced herself and gave me a quick rundown of her shop. I walked around for a few minutes (without my author hat on), and then she came over and offered this: "Business isn't great thanks to my partner."

Okay. "We've been in business together for a couple of years and for the last six months we've been doing it his way," she continued. "And it's not working!"

Had I asked for this rundown of her fortunes? No. Could I empathise? Absolutely. But as a potential customer, should I have had to?

There's a fine line between you and your customers, and I go into this in my book. The idiom "familiarity breeds contempt" was created for a reason: the more people know about you, the more likely they are to make a judgement call.

And their judgement could impact on their purchasing. It did for me today: I hightailed it out of the shop. It was my day off!

My tip is to keep it professional at all times. If this means keeping things to yourself, no matter how bad a day you're having, then do it.

Your customers will thank you.

Margie

How safe is your workplace?

Seems to be the week for workplace accidents. In just the last few days I've heard from three of my clients who've had an employee injured at work. Simple things like one woman tripping, hitting her arm on a table  and breaking a bone!

Every year in Australia, according to Safe Work Australia, it's estimated that more people die from workplace accidents and injuries than on our roads. Then there are thousands of people who have time off work because of sickness or injury incurred.

As a small business owner, you are legally required, under Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) legislation, to adrere to specific regulations and codes of conduct. The expectation is that you have to make every effort to keep you and your team safe and healthy at work.

It's vital that you're OH&S compliant, no matter how big or small your business is. In The Small Business Success Guide, I run through where to start with OH&S issues.

My top tip is:
* Talk to your staff: "If people are expected to carry out tasks in a certain way, they should be given a say in the procedures," says Dr Maree Bernoth, an OH&S researcher and lecturer at Charles Sturt University.

Once you identify what's needed, you can organise training through your state WorkCover organisation (see my book for a list of contacts).

How safe is your workplace?

Margie

Top tips for networking

There are lots of ideas out there on how to make the most of networking events. In fact, as I was about to post this blog, ChefMumu had a great Twitter on the subject at http://twitpic.com/1p156e

Adding to this is the fact that, for me, networking is also about developing relationships and opening your small business, and yourself, up to opportunities. To do this, go in to an event with one question top of mind: How can I help the person I'm speaking with?

But remember, every networking event is an investment in your time and money.

Don't waste either your time or your money by talking to just one person, or sticking next to someone you already know. The idea is to talk to lots of people at an event and pick up general and specific market intelligence that could benefit your business. Otherwise, why are you there?

Collect as much information as you can, and the contact details of every person you speak with. Then, after the event, you'll have a reason to reconnect. It might be as simple as pointing them in the direction of something interesting you've read online that will help them.

Call it your right-time, right-place strategy. Look at networking as an investment in your future business and you'll get the most out of every event.

Every time!

Margie

Workcover gets social?

It's one of those, I never thought I'd see the day moments. What? WorkCover NSW has a Facebook page! Blow me down.

Just goes to show the power of the social media network when an organisation like this has a presence.
And the WorkCover Facebook page isn't bad, either. Not only is it a good forum for employees hearing about other workers' stories, and getting advice, there's advice for business owners in the Talking Safety section. Worth a look.

When it comes to WorkCover, it pays for small business owners to be informed. I heard a terrifying story just yesterday of one business being found out for not having paid up their workers' compensation. The only way anyone found out was when an employee had to claim for an injury. Stay tuned for the drama.

You owe it to your employees and your business to be up on the latest in workers' comp and what you have to legally do with all your employees' entitlements.

Sites like WorkCover NSW offer some good information for anyone who does, or is thinking about, hiring staff (you'll find similar info on every state workers' comp organisation's website).

Take their advice on board!

Margie

Who's stressed?

The good days in small business are great. The bad days, when everyone wants a piece of you and you have no time to do anything properly, can seem like a whirlwind.

You go home and you feel swamped by the demands on your down time. And then you wade into the sea of paperwork that awaits your every night. There just doesn't seem to be an end to what you need to do.

Now, don't get me wrong: some stress can be good for you. It can give you the boost you need to blitz a client presentation, or to achieve a deadline you never thought possible. It can help you rise to the occasion and juggle the demands of business and family.

The flipside is that the physical effects of all this stress can be a negative in your life. As a small business owner, you owe it to your business, and to yourself, to be in the best health you can be.

So keep your stress levels in check, and recognise when you really do need a break.

Margie

All this tax talk has got me going

Honest and reasonable. They're the three words the Australian Tax Office advise all small businesses to live by.

If you run your business honestly, and do your best to have accurate records, you're considered to be toeing the line when it comes to tax time.

All this talk in the Federal Budget about small business and tax made me remember I'm still to file my tax return from last year. Luckily, my record keeping system is fairly organised (one business owner's chaos is another's calm), so it doesn't take me long to pull it all together.

Here are some tips from The Small Business Success Guide that I live by:
* Keep good records: The ATO admits it focuses on small businesses that it thinks haven't taken 'reasonable care' with their record keeping systems. So do it right from the word go.
* Be honest: If you've made an honest error in your books, get on the phone to the ATO and let them know about the discrepencies before they find them.
* Know the norms: The Tax Office offers some benchmarks of what's acceptable when it comes to tax in your industry sector. Stay within these.

Happy sorting.

Margie

Kickstarting your cashflow with that extra 2%

Great news in last night's Budget that in 2012 small business will benefit from a reduction in their company tax rate.
The hope is that the drop in rate from 30% to 28% will give you some extra funds to throw back in to your business.
After all, cash flow is probably one of the biggest stresses of owning a small business.
So how can you best use that 2% for a cash flow boost?
In The Small Business Success Guide I outline the best ways. Here are a couple of tips:
* First, do a cash flow forecast. Dr Graham Godbee of the Macquarie Graduate School of Management, who I interviewed for this chapter in my book, is a big believer in these forecasts. Simply, they look at how much cash your business has access to (now and in the future) and then how much cash it takes to keep your business operating on a daily or weekly basis (wages, rent, consumables and utilities, both now and in the future). Make your forecasts as accurate as possible, by taking into consideration what would happen if your sales increase, or you buy new equipment, or if your costs rise.
* Once you've done this forecasting, you'll have an accurate picture of how your business sits in terms of its cash flow, both now and in 2012 when you get that extra 2%. Then you'll be able to accurately work out when will be the most effective time in your business cycle to make the most of it.
Don't waste the opportunity that this extra cash will give your business.
You've got time to plan it wisely.
Margie 

Who asked for advice?

I had a particularly frustrating discussion with my business advisor/mentor yesterday. Frustrating because I wasn't prepared for the questions he was asking about a new business I'm formulating. Why didn't I have the answers? Because the idea is still so new you virtually can see its umbilical cord, and I'm not sure I'm ready to set it off into the big wide world on its own.
It's something every small business owner feels when they're about to step into a new venture or product line. New business always comes with expectations, worries and dreams. Facing them can be daunting.
So a word of advice about advice: to make it work, you have to be clear from the word go about your expectations. I run through this Question 7 of The Small Business Success Guide ("Where do I look for advice and how much will it cost?"), so you'd think I would know!
Be clear on the outcomes you want, and the time frame you want these to happen in. And go into any discussion about your business armed with all your information.
It'll save you a stack of frustration.
Margie

Can Small Business Owners Go On Holidays?

Having just been on holidays, the first real one in about a year, it was interesting to see how many people were sitting around the resort's pool taking work calls.
One of the hardest things, as a small business owner, is to switch off. But for this recent holiday, my family made me promise that I would not take work calls or check emails.
It was probably the toughest week in terms of feeling I was missing something professionally, but the most rewarding personally because I really did get a break from my business, and spend some long overdue family time with my husband and kids.
How did I do it?
I simply followed the advice I'd discovered when writing Chapter 48 of The Small Business Success Guide:
* Advise customers well in advance that you're going to take time away form the office. That way you can both plan to get things done before you go on holidays.
* Let people know that you won't be contactable because you really do need a break (they will understand), and who they can contact while you're away.
* Set up your voicemail and email so people get a professional out-of-office reply, with your return date and a contact number or email in case of emergency.
* Get your family and friends to jump on your work phone if it rings and run!
Everyone needs to take a break and have some down time.
You owe it to yourself.

Margie

Think like a bank

There's been a fair bit in the media in the last few days about Australia's major banks getting tough with small business. But if you, as the small business owner, can start to think like a bank, you'll have a better chance of riding out this storm.

Just business
The banking business is actually the risk management business. At the end of the day they’re lending money to you based on a risk calculation: a) can you repay the loan; b) do you have the security if you can’t repay the loan; and c) where will the money be coming from on an ongoing basis.

Increase your value
To increase your value in the bank’s eyes (so that if you do need them one day, they might listen), you can bundle a whole range of your business’ payment services, such as payroll, super, insurance and personal loans, through the one bank or lender. “If you do this, make sure you also get quotes on what you’ll pay for unbundling these services, in case you want to or have to in the future,” says Graham Godbee of the Macquarie Graduate School of Management in The Small Business Success Guide. “And get rid of any covenants: personal security and guarantees don’t do your small business any favours.”

Protect your business by thinking like a bank. It's not hard.

Margie

Who should you listen to?

Everyone's an expert when it comes to small business. Of course, we often open ourselves up for scrutiny by asking friends and family what they think of an idea or a drama in our businesses.

But why do people have to be so honest? Because they think they can! However, as I mention in The Small Business Success Guide, there's an old cliche: 'you know what you know'. It might be worth remembering next time you're listening to a friend's well-meaning guidance.

Think about the realms of this person's experience, and whether it's relevant to your business. And then surround yourself with other business owners you respect, as well as professional advice from a range of experts who can become your brains trust.

Just remember, you're still the one who knows your business best.

Margie

Getting on the Green bandwagon

Okay, Earth Hour. Banish me to the salt mines. I forgot. However, like lots of small business owners, I do try to do my bit for the planet on the other 364 days of the year. At least, I do now since I researched the whole Going Green in Business for a chapter in The Small Business Success Guide.

Why bother? Research from Edith Cowan University in Western Australia suggests that the combined carbon footprint of the small business collective is estimated to be as much as 70% of global pollution. And according to GreenBizCheck:
* Leaving a computer screen on for just one night uses up enough energy to microwave six dinners.
* A computer left on 24/7 costs approximately $95 a year to run. If this PC is switched off before going home and at weekends, this can be reduced to $20.
* Increasing the air-conditioner temperature in your office by 1 degree C in summer and reducing the temperature by 1 degree C in winter will save about 10% off your energy bill.

Easy ways to make a difference
Here are a few tips from GreenBizCheck:
* Switch things off. About 10% of the total global electrical appliance energy consumption is wasted on stand-by energy. Turn everything off at the power point.
* Unplug charges. They're using up energy even when they're just plugged in.
* Work from home more. A commute of two hours a day means that in 40 years you'll have spent 2.3 years commuting. Think of those fuel costs!

Every little bit helps.

Margie

Social media success story

There's a lot of hype about social media, and you shouldn't underestimate its relevance for small businesses. I've just listened to an interesting webinar from Trump University, and it's brought home some of the social media strategies I speak about in my book, The Small Business Success Guide.

Firstly, there's no point as a small business owner saying that social media isn't for your business if you've never checked it out. Ask people you know, including your clients, about the sort of social media they use. Then have a play yourself and start nurturing online relationships with people, who may in the future pay for your product or service.

Give them information or updates on what you're up to. Make it interesting and relevant. "It's how business is being done," says Michelle Gamble of Marketing Angels. "It's quick, it's targeted, it's instantly measurable and it's free."

A great one to look at, which is also featured in The Small Business Success Guide, is Sydney's Mumu Grill. Owner Craig Macindoe has set a cracking pace in his online presence, and it's reaping the rewards. In fact, he says his business is "up 30 to 40 per cent on last year, and at least half of that is due to social media".

You can alwyas take a small business friend along for the ride. Social media and marketing expert John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing says you can create a blog and then get a group of similar professionals to join forces and share their expertise.

In The Small Business Success Guide, he talks about a plumber, electrician, lawn-mowing service and heating and cooling company who would make a killer home tips blogging team.

Who'd be on your team?

Margie

When should I expand my business?

Somehow, "bigger is better" has become the accepted measure of small business success. If you're not growing, surely you must be doing something wrong?
But just remember that success is absolutely in the eyes of the beholder. And while the mythical Land of Lots of Opportunities is an exciting place, it's often not all it's cracked up to be.
So be prepared. "If you want to get bigger, make sure it is the best outcome for your business," says Dr Graham Godbee of the Macquarie Graduate School of Management. Think about any growth and the implications it's going to have for you and your business. How does expanding your business fit in with your business goals?
"If you decide the time is right, make the growth sensible and controlled," states Godbee in Chapter 43 of The Small Business Success Guide.
Take the time to consider exactly how your business is going to expand: is it a new team member, new premises, new production capabilities?
As Kathryn Conder, partner of executive and business mentoring firm Carnegie Management Group, adds in The Small Business Success Guide: "Companies that expand successfully have done the planning and are prepared to work hard.
"If you haven't spent the time forecasting and costing your plan, and considering the whole process, don't grow."
Wise advice!
Margie

Training your staff

Staff training is something a lot of small businesses don't do, often because of a lack of either finance or time. But if your business doesn't invest in its people, no matter how small your team, you can be sure they're not going to be loyal to you.
"Positive social interaction is core to peoples' work value and identity," says Professor Ian Williamson of Melbourne Business School, in Chapter 21 of The Small Business Success Guide.
"Essentially (staff) have to appreciate the benefits they get out of your business or they will leave."
According to research quoted on the Australian Government's training portal, staff who receive formal training can be 230 per cent more productive than untrained colleagues who are working in the same role.
And a business that invests in targeted training can have an increase in labour productivity by as much as a 30 per cent return on their investment.
"Don't make training an entitlement, it's an investment," adds Professor Williamson.
So plan how you can invest in training your staff, with some firm business-related outcomes in site. Do it well and your employees will feel good about themselves and about your company. This can only have a positive impact on the way they work and communicate to customers.
A definite win-win.
Margie

Time for tough questions

Rising interest rates this week have been a hot topic of conversation for small business owners. Many I've spoken with are wondering how this latest slug will effect consumers' spending power. Sure, the economy is growing again, but will consumers ever get back to spending what they used to pre-GFC?

Smart small business owners aren't waiting to find out. Instead, they've used the GFC and each ensuing day to really reassess how they do things. They're asking pertinent questions: How well do I know my customers? How effectively am I communicating with them? How effective is my operation and cost structure? How accurate are my cash flow forecasts?

I outline all of this in the easy-to-understand Q&A format of The Small Business Success Guide. If there's one thing you can't afford to forget, it's your customer. A quote in my book from Kathryn Conder of Carnegie Management Group is particularly apt: "Strong leaders know 'that it's six times more profitable to sell to an existing customer than to find new ones."

Testing times call for decisive leaders who are prepared to take a good, long look at their businesses. Then they plan a way to successfully turn things around. Have you set your business some realistic goals, and written them down? This sort of planning will help you feel in control of your destiny.

So give it a go.

Margie

Keeping your eye on E-security

It's never funny when you get an email message that you may have been phished or that a spam email you've been sent could contain a virus. But for small business owners, it's akin to being slapped in the face with a dead fish. All you can think about is the information you have on your computer that's vital to your business: the customer lists, the tax stuff, the orders. Disaster.

As I write in The Small Business Success Guide, a national survey by the Australian Institute of Crimonology found that computer security breaches affected 13 per cent of Australian small businesses in 2007. The most common incidents involved viruses and malicious code attacks (known as worms) and in 40 per cent of cases computer hardware or software was corrupted. The average cost to small business was $360. Medium-sized businesses were hit with damage averaging $2757.

The way to thwart damaging online activities is to be vigilant with everything your business does online, including finances and external orders.

I list a heap of strategies to help you out in my book, such as installing firewalls, updating antivirus software, securing all your payments, and changing passwords to make them more complicated (so cyber crims have a harder time cracking your code).

But there are two more e-security essentials that you can instill in your business today:
* Back up, back up, back up: If you don't back up your computer system every day, you really are asking for trouble. It takes a few minutes, but it will save you months of headaches. And keep all back up files in a different spot to your computer. Take them home if you have an external office.
* Never open suspect emails: It's a good idea to independently check out any link you're sent (even on Twitter). And never give out your name or password, regardless of which friend has supposedly "sent" you the link. If you're wondering whether an email is suspect, go to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's SCAMwatch site for more information or to report it.

Be aware and reduce your e-security risks.

You owe it to your business.

Margie

The big deal about business plans?

Most people start their small businesses without a formal business plan. They know what they want to achieve, so why write it down? Even many long-standing business owners boast about doing well without ever having put a plan down on paper.

However, surely running a business is no different to any other adventure in life? If you check a roadmap to make sure you know where you're going on holidays, and that it's the quickest route, why not do the same in your business?

It's also worth thinking forward to the day you'll want to sell your business. Even the keenest purchaser will want to know they're getting a good buy. If you have all your business thoughts written down, it will help them see how easily they could replicate what you do.

Much of the small business denial over business plans is in the perceived formality of it all. But it doesn't have to be a stitched up thesis. It could be a document that simply lists your business goals for the next 12 months, and how you think you'll achieve them.

I list a few handy online business plan templates in The Small Business Success Guide, plus I give you a "Writing a Business Plan" template in my book (on sale at bookstores and online now). Think of it as a living, breathing reflection of your business. Review it regularly so that you don't suddenly find yourself dodging falling coconuts when a storm (new competitors, rising costs etc) whips through your entrepreneurial paradise.

Remember, the majority of small businesses don't plan to fail, they just fail to plan.

Don't be one of them!

Margie

Juggling your time

When you're wearing so many hats as a small business owner, it's hard to keep everything you need to do in perspective.

I write about this conundrum in Question 2 of The Small Business Success Guide (get your copy online via Booktopia). You're head of sales, marketing, production and customer service accounts for your business. You hire staff, often do your own Business Activity Statements (BAS) and organise your own business trips, as well as all the other things that go into running your business.

As your business grows, you tend to keep all these same hats on because that's what you've always done. Yet most small business owners I speak to complain about never having the time to look up to see where they're going because they're too busy trying to keep track of all the balls they have in the air.

However, it's vital you make time to control your juggling act. Plan your day. Allocate a specific time to follow up on account queries. If someone calls outside this time, tell them you'll call them back. And schedule 15 minutes a day for this purpose only.

By planning your day in chunks of time, you'll be sticking to your schedule, not someone else's, and you'll be amazed at how much more in control you'll feel.

While you're at it, think about allocating just 15 minutes in your day as "big picture time" where all you think about, and write down, are things to do with your vision, goals and strategy. Do this five days a week for 52 weeks a year and you'll have spent 65 hours ON your business!

Go for it.

Margie

Taking your business online

I'm in the process of creating a website for The Small Business Success Guide. Having an online presence is such a vital marketing tool for all small businesses, and my book is no different.

The words of two of my 'brains trust' from The Small Business Success Guide keep ringing in my ears. "Consider where you want to be in five years' time and try and make sure that the website will grow with you," said Sharri Boucher of Jakiti Design. Then this from Michelle Gamble of Marketing Angels: "If you don't spend time on it and do it properly, it's a bit like having the TV turned on with the sound turned down."

So before any designs happen, I'm intent on working out how my online strategy fits in with my broader business goals. Using a dynamic website as my 'shopfront' and then social media elements such as this blog and Twitter to spread the word, will certainly stand my business in good stead for a sustainable future.

Stay tuned!

Margie

Thinking strategically

Strategic planning is the key ingredient to small business success, according to research from the Small and Medium Enterprise Research Centre (SMERC) at Edith Cowan University in Western Australia. However, it's something most small business owners just don't do.

Why? Because many of us start small businesses because we either get to a stage where we need a work/lifestyle change, we want to be our own bosses and have a really good business idea, or we're forced into business for ourselves after being made redundant. And so we jump in to business, without really having an eye on a goal. (Check out the SMERC research at: www.business.ecu.edu.au/schools/man/smerc/research).

However, there's another group of small business owners who SMERC's Professor Beth Walker refers to as "operators in business to achieve financial goals". They're the ones who've gone in to business wanting to make a financial difference to their lives. They have their eye on the bottom line, and the money they want to make. As a result, they make up the majority of successful small business owners. They think strategically because they know it's what will bring them financial success.

The good news is that it's never too late to start thinking strategically about your business. Remember, it's not enough just to be in charge of the steering wheel. You have to know where you're going (otherwise how will you ever know if you've achieved anything?).

How do you start? Think strategically doesn't have to be convoluted. It's really just about taking the time to consider your big picture and how your business fits into it.

I give you many strategic thinking tips in my book, The Small Business Success Guide (you can buy a copy online, and listen to my first podcast, at http://www.booktopia.com.au/the-small-business-success-guide/prod9781742169590.html).

Here are a few things to ask yourself to get you going:
* Who are my customers?
* What products or services do they want to buy?
* What are my competitors offering?
* Where are my customers located?
* Why would/do they buy my products or services?
* How do I provide the products or services and how do I deliver on my customers' expectations?

The great thing about running your own show is that you have the power to make your small business as great as it can be. So start analysing what you do and why you do it, and get more strategic in your scope.

Here's to your success,

Margie

Value your time

As small business owners, we're notoriously bad at valuing our time. There's always a fire to put out or fairly menial tasks that always need doing in our businesses, so we may as well do them. What we should do, however, is regard our time as a cost to our businesses.

I cover this thought in my book, The Small Business Success Guide, but it was brought home to me yesterday as I was speaking with a small business owner friend. She mentioned she was spending part (if not all) of her work day finishing off painting a room in her house in preparation for the impending arrival of out-of-town visitors.

I couldn't help but smile at the image of her balancing the phone under her chin to answer calls from clients, with the paint tin precariously lodged on the ladder, as she schlopped the paintbrush against the walls.

I think we all need a friendly reminder now and then that we are the brain surgeons of our businesses. We're the ones with all the ideas and the expertise. Is your business paying a brain to lay out the scalpels and mop the floors (or paint the walls) after an operation?

If someone asked you to do a job for them, what would you charge yourself out at? Take this rate and start applying it to everything you do during your working hours. When you start applying the concept of your time being a valuable commodity to your business, you'll be on your way to working on your business, not just in your business.

Ask yourself: is there something else you should be doing that will really benefit your business' potential today?

All success,

Margie

At a bookstore near you!

The purpose of the Small Business Success Blog is to share some of the tips I've discovered from researching my book, The Small Business Success Guide (pictured at left). You can pick up your own copy from all good bookstores, such as Dymocks, as well as online from sites such as Booktopia (http://www.booktopia.com.au/the-small-business-success-guide/prod9781742169590.html). In this blog, I'll be sharing a few of the proven strategies so that you can fast-track your own small business dream.

Wishing you every success,

Margie

Inspiration

Owning a small business is a spectacularly individual adventure. Your efforts span all industries, geographical locations and operational sizes. You have different levels of entrepreneurial experience and gauges of success from the small business owner next to you.

What you do know is that there might be a few things you could do better or smarter. That's where my book, The Small Business Success Guide, comes in. Your questions about business form the basis of this book. The answers are presented to you in easily digestible parts, complete with lots of ideas to action and current websites so you can check out more information yourself.

After all, you're in the driver's seat of your business. While you know it better than anyone, you also know that you're kicking around as many balls as you can, and you often don't have time to look up and work out the direction of the goal. This blog and my book will hopefully give you some direction.

Like any good coach, its aim is to celebrate your achievements while showing you some shortcuts to sustainable success.

Good luck!

Margie