Financial Management!

Hi Helen Cowley here!

Recently I was reading an article in Smarter which is a business magazine and I came across a management to do list and it got me thinking! So here, I present to you the Finance Management to do list!

1. Be Prepared for the Peaks and Troughs!
For new or small business the peaks throughout the year can be a major cause of stress because they are not yet understanding the cyclical fluctuations. Managing through these times can require all sorts of changing. So! Make sure that you are prepared for the worst case scenario that can happen. There is nothing worse than not being prepared, your business could really have a downfall because of that.

2. Be Prepared to Evolve!
Your business plan is not a set in stone document - It should evolve and change with the growth and maturity of your business. You need to ensure that it stays relevant to you, you will need to calibrate the settings to suit your business. Review and  adjust your business plan regularly to make sure that you are prepared for your success.
 
3. Record Stock!
Not knowing your stock could be another influential downfall for you business.  Good stock control is vital for the busy periods that you will see throughout the year. However, excessive stock sitting can be money sitting in the bank to use on something else. It is about finding your balance!

This is not all of the Financial Management to do list that I have created, but if you would like to find out more about what you can do to control your financial management then contact me so I can help you succeed in your business. 

I hope to be hearing from you soon, 
Helen Cowley.

Cash Flow problems?

Hi, Helen Cowley here!

Having cash flow problems? Not knowing your numbers? Not knowing your profit and loss? There is one solution that can help you gain better control - Budget!

Okay, so you have just purchased your business or have a small business and you know your trade but when it comes to bookkeeping or (more importantly) budgeting you skills are lacking? Well their is good news for you, it isn't really that hard! 

Budgeting is all about estimating and matching expenses to revenue. If you don't have this, then how are you supposed to know if your business adventures are paying off for you? The revenue you create pays the expenses that you need for your business to run. 

To put it simply:
High Expenses + Low Revenue = Low or no profit
Matched Expenses + Matched Revenue = Steady Flow
Low Expenses + High Revenue = High Profit
Not Knowing your numbers = Not knowing your business

Now, I am not saying don't have expenses - every business has them but if you don't know or understand your expenses and revenue their is a serious problem! All that hard work and effort that you have been putting into your business could all be for nothing.

I am not here to tell you how exactly your budget should be set out
because everyone has a different situation. But, their are some things that are common throughout all business owners. Their are things such as; rent or mortgage, utility bills, payroll expenses, interest and tax payments and the list goes on. The point is that every business (no matter what stage they are at) should know what these bills total out to be. Without it your bound to go bust!

Tips:

1. Check Industry Standard
2. Make a Spreadsheet
3. Factor in Slack
4. Look To Cut Costs
5. Review The Business Periodically
6. Shop Around For Services + Suppliers

If you feel like you need some help with budgeting your business then I suggest contacting myself or go to my website to see all the different programs that we run so you can figure out what would be best for you. 

I hope to be hearing from you soon, 
Helen Cowley.

Business! You can't change what you don't acknowledge!

Hi, Helen here!

Changing habits, changing outcomes!

 

In my years of business coaching I have had numerous amounts of people come to me and say that they need to change the outcomes of their business. They have no idea where to go or what to do next. I ask them what they have done so far to help change the outcome and they usually list things that a typical business would say; marketing more, setting goals, reviewing their budget, looking at what their target market is interested in etc. 

 

But, what they haven't said is their habits!

 

So, the first step to changing your outcome is knowing your bad habits. This can be things such as:

• Not getting back to customers readily enough

• Not getting things done on time

• Creating more stress for yourself

• Letting opportunities walk on by

• Not giving 100% into your business

 

If you are not willing to identify your bad habits in your business, then you will not change them! In fact, they will only grow worse and become entrenched in your business. You've got to face it to replace it!

Facing it means being brutal and slapping yourself in the face (metaphorically). You need to see exactly what your bad habits are doing so you get the bottom line, no kidding truth. 

 

Where are you now? If you hope to have a winning business strategy, you have to be honest about where your business is right now. You business is not too bad to fix and it isn't too late to fix it. But be honest about what needs fixing. If you like to yourself about any dimension of your business, an otherwise sound strategy will be compromised.

 

If you need help identifying your bad habits, then I suggest contacting myself for some one-on-one programs or attend the Beyond Networking events that I hold. These two programs help determine your success. Go to our website to see client testimonials,or more information about the programs that we run. 

 

I hope to be hearing from you soon,
Helen Cowley.

Stop pitching, start marketing!

Helen Cowley here, 

Over the course of my career I have heard of a lot of people start a conversation and get right into their accolades, then immediately start pitching themselves to their customers. What is the customer really getting out of the exchange though?

At SBIS March is all about relationship marketing, not pitching! When you pitch, you just talk - you don't connect. Where as when you relationship market, you conduct research and take consideration into what you're doing rather than just talking. 

When you are relationship marketing, people are more likely to come to you because they connect with people that they know, like or trust. How are they supposed to trust someone when they are just being spoken at, rather than too. Know your audience, it is all about connecting!

 

Marketing is all about staying connected to not only the present, but past and future. Yet staying authentic meaning that you keep in with your vision and mission. You need to be true to yourself and your customers. People don't buy what you do, they buy you and why you do it.

Leadership vs management

Leadership vs. Managers     

There is a lot written about the leadership vs. management debate- and both play a role in motivating people and teams to achieve objectives.  

Leaders set goals and direction; they are visionaries and can work with their teams to lead them in a direction. Managers specialise in conformance to the standard, organising and directing to achieve directions and objectives.

Many people are both – controlling systems and working towards standards at the same time as leading and inspiring their team to achieve.

As a manager we planning, budgeting, organising, controlling, coordinating, using resources and managing time, decision making and problem solving.

As a leader we lead through Vision, motivation, inspiration, persuasion, team work, building relationship, listening, counselling, coaching, teaching and mentoring. As employees we may be expected to be a leader where we do the leading, inspiring and pushing or we may be expected to be a manager following directions and making sure things get done.

 

The question for you is what does your role expect of you?

I tend to think that often we lean one way or the other depended on our personalities and the situation.  and sometimes the situation pushes us to do something we might have help back on.

Situational Leaders                                                            

So to we have good leaders who emerge as situational leaders and seem insignificant until the right situation arises – Winston Churchill, 9/11 Rudy Giuliani even possible Mike Baird with the recent siege in Sydney.

Are we all leaders in our own right – but what do we do about it? Are we conscious of our roles and how we play them? 

Are we a push on or direction follower manager?  Do we have a blurred vision of what are role is, what a leader is and what a manager is and what is being expected of us? 

Does one wash away the other?

Servant /follower leadership;

I am a great believer that to be a good leader we must also be a good follow up. I have just read an article on the importance of servant leadership by Sharlyn Lauby who talks about the basic competences associated with servant leadership.

1.    Commitment to developing people – leaders’ help others become good leaders

2.    Empathy- leaders not only identify with others, but accept them for who they are.

3.    Listening – a leader responds to a problem by listening first

4.    Conceptualization- leaders articulate a clear vision with passion, which engages and energises the rest of the team.

5.    Foresight- leaders can sense the future.  – Gives leaders their lead.  As leaders we must use good decision making skills. and we should remember that a lack of decision making can be perceived as an ethical failure.

6.    Awareness- perception is reality.  Leaders must open the doors of perception and see what’s inside. This can be pretty scary.  But its necessary to provide reality and see things in perspective.

As small business owners we have to play the role of both all the time in our business. 

But I think we need to put more emphasis on innovation as leaders we need to develop new business models that influence both the way we do business and the way we can influence(market) to the community to accept new models.  

We need their acceptance to remain profitable.

We also need to maintain more small businesses to be profitable but that is possible another question around business owners being influences to spend time own on learning? Are we leaders or are we managers or both?