Ive just joined Women's Network Australia, and spoke yesterday with the dynamic and insightful founder of the group, Lynette Palmen, AM.
Her passion is to connect business women to each other, giving them a forum for discussion and knowledge sharing, and I spent a wonderful half hour speaking with her about her journey.
I came away from our chat feeling inspired. I realised it's been a while since I've spoken with another business person who I know will be able to offer me valuable advice for my journey. Since writing The Small Business Success Guide, the shoe has invariably been on the other foot, with me mentoring small business owners on how to do things smarter.
So what is it about mentoring that helps light your fire? Well, the focus of mentoring is on you, and your professional growth. Unlike a coach, who assists you in a specific task or skill, and follows up to make sure it's happened, a mentor lets you set your own direction and make your own decisions, and supports you along the way.
Every small business owner should have a mentor: someone with more experience and success on the scoreboard who can guide you through your entrepreneurial adventure.
Finding a mentor for yourself, not just your staff, could make all the difference...
To your success!
Margie
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Management in small business
I've been reading a lot of Bob Proctor's insights lately.
His take on management is particularly relevant to small business:
"Management is the direction of people, not the direction of things."
A basic human quality is to want to feel like you're part of something bigger than yourself, as I wrote in The Small Business Success Guide.
What sort of manager are you?
Staff want to be connected. So why not create this kind of culture in your business, no matter how big or small it is. If yours is a microbusiness without staff, try to get contractors to feel like they're an important part of your business. They will if you let them.
Your challenge is to work out a way to make team spirit happen in your business: you're all on the bus together, so you may as well enjoy the journey.
All success!
Margie
His take on management is particularly relevant to small business:
"Management is the direction of people, not the direction of things."
A basic human quality is to want to feel like you're part of something bigger than yourself, as I wrote in The Small Business Success Guide.
What sort of manager are you?
Staff want to be connected. So why not create this kind of culture in your business, no matter how big or small it is. If yours is a microbusiness without staff, try to get contractors to feel like they're an important part of your business. They will if you let them.
Your challenge is to work out a way to make team spirit happen in your business: you're all on the bus together, so you may as well enjoy the journey.
All success!
Margie
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Small Business Tax Time Mantras
There's probably only one thing that small business owners hate more than losing money: doing their tax.
So here are a few mantras to get you in the right frame of mind this tax time:
1. I must, I must, do something about my records. The Tax Office expects you to make a reasonable attempt to be accurate in your book-keeping. Set up a system to record all income and expenditure in your business.
2. Honesty is the best policy. There's no point trying to fudge the books. The Tax Office's surveillance systems are wired to bank accounts these days. If you do find some mistakes in your books at the end of the tax year, get on the phone to the ATO and tell them about the discrepancies, before they come out to you.
3. Normal is as normal does. If your business is outside the norms of what others in your industry are noting as income or expenditure, you may be targeted for a tax review. Stay within the norms.
Happy tax time!
Margie
So here are a few mantras to get you in the right frame of mind this tax time:
1. I must, I must, do something about my records. The Tax Office expects you to make a reasonable attempt to be accurate in your book-keeping. Set up a system to record all income and expenditure in your business.
2. Honesty is the best policy. There's no point trying to fudge the books. The Tax Office's surveillance systems are wired to bank accounts these days. If you do find some mistakes in your books at the end of the tax year, get on the phone to the ATO and tell them about the discrepancies, before they come out to you.
3. Normal is as normal does. If your business is outside the norms of what others in your industry are noting as income or expenditure, you may be targeted for a tax review. Stay within the norms.
Happy tax time!
Margie
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