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