5 TOP TIPS to Super-Charge a Solid Business today
Posted by Rachel Flower / March 18th, 2016 / No responsesExciting times here at the Serenwood Hub.
We’re launching our Serenwood Get-Savvy Business Club in April. It’s the perfect solution for get-ahead business owners who want to get-savvy in all things commercial. It’s an online membership portal which will include access to expertly drafted legal templates to protect your business, our “Legal-Easy” 6-week training on the basics of business law, a plethora of checklists and factsheets to educate you and your team, and ongoing updates, training and community of support for the members. You can learn more here.
So whilst developing the content for the launch of Get-Savvy Business Club, we’ve been carrying out research and speaking to lots of small business owners to find out what they really want and need to grow a solid business.
(Let’s bear in mind that what you want and what you need are quite often two very different things!)
In this blog post we’ve pulled out 5 of our favourite “top tips” on building a strong business. Have a look through and see what you could focus on this month to super-charge your business.
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REVIEW YOUR BUSINESS PLAN
(Ok well the first thing to say is…if you don’t have a business plan, get it sorted!
It doesn’t have to be a long and complicated document, but it definitely needs to exist and it needs to be updated on a regular basis. A business without a Plan is like a ship without a rudder.)
Strong businesses work towards tangible goals. That’s a simple fact.
So when did you last pull out your business plan and review your key Goals? Let’s take this opportunity to get it out [dust it off] and do a proper review. Involve your team and check whether the goals are hairy and audacious enough. I bet you find goals you forgot you had set and have done precious little about.
Turn off the phone and the emails and set aside an hour to sit and reflect.
- What has worked well this year?
- What needs improvement?
- Where have you spent most of your time and has it paid off?
- What do you need to do more of?
- Have you outgrown some of the goals and need a new direction?
- It’s likely that some of the goals have been sidelined and you need to decide whether to re-visit them or put them on hold.
If your creative juices are flowing, by all means set aside some more time and carry out a half-day or full day or Business Plan review.
In an ideal world, this is a regular activity as a matter of good business practice. You should make sure your key goals are published and shared with your team, and with suppliers and customers if relevant.
Here at Serenwood we’ve started working in 2-week sprints to deliver specific tasks which align to overall outcomes against our big audacious Business Plan goals. We’ve started to see much more traction now we’re getting specific.
Intention sets Direction.
2. FINANCIAL HEALTH-CHECK
There are not many business owners love to sit down and review their numbers. Unfortunately, it is something you have to get comfortable with and in the habit of doing regularly.
It’s a very powerful way to super-charge your business, because it will expose and identify for you where your business is doing well and where you need to step in and take action.
- What were your sales this month? Review all key indicators, revenue, profit, spend, see where you are against quarter-end and year-end targets.
- How much did you spend on supply chain?
- What debts are unpaid?
- Are you up to date on payments of loans, suppliers accounts, bank debts?
- What is the profit margin on that bestselling product?
- Why has the cost of a particular service gone up this quarter?
- How much have you paid out to affiliates or referral partners?
You get the point, we won’t labour it. If this is your Achilles heel, then take small steps this month to improve your know-how.
Those of you with a book-keeper or accountant, just reach out and ask the question. That’s what you’re paying them for. Set a regular diary appointment to go through the numbers with them and get-yourself-savvy. They will enjoy doing this with you because it makes their lives easier in the long run.
And it’s going to set you apart from the other business owners who bury their heads in the sand.
3. PROTECT YOUR BRAND
Your brand and your intellectual property are amongst the most valuable assets you will own. Even if you are just a start-up or a solopreneur, getting-savvy about protecting your IPR assets from day 1 is a great habit to get into. Down the line, you will be glad you did – because IPR assets become things you can exploit and make money from, not to mention the fact that defending your brand from copycats or infringement is expensive and time consuming.
Get the foundations right and invest time and money now in ensuring that your brand is protected.
What do we mean by this? Here’s a non-exhaustive list of things to consider.
- your business name and trading name(s) should be trade-marked. This is not a cheap process but if you are serious about building your business then it is something you should do. You should also consider trademarking the names of your key products or programmes if they are capable of registration.
- content shared on your website or online should be copyrighted and marked with an appropriate notice
- When launching new products/services make sure you have researched the market to ensure you aren’t infringing anyone else’s rights.
- make sure contracts with employees, third party designers, suppliers or customers clearly assert your rights over your IP and how they can use anything which you provide to them
- keep your website update and ensure it is legally compliant. If you have a blog then make sure you monitor comments or product/service reviews regularly
You might be feeling a bit overwhelmed just reading this short list. We have lots of helpful advice elsewhere in our blog around IP, it’s one of the areas we’re particularly passionate about. And it’s so important. That’s why we’ll be including lots of information around brand protection in our Business Club. Practical, jargon-free advice to make it easier to implement and get it right.
4. SCHEDULE AND PLAN FOR SUCCESS
A mistake made by so many small business owners is succumbing to overwhelm and the “not enough hours in the day” syndrome.
We see and hear this so much with our clients, particularly because it is the reason most commonly given when we are parachuted in to help with contract disputes or help with chasing debts.
“I knew I needed to do x, y, z…it had been on my list for ages…but I just never got round to it.”
We get it. We’ve been there too!
Something we have been working very hard at this year is scheduling and planning our time against our goals (see the Business Plan point above!)
Knowing whether a task is contributing towards the overall direction of your business gives you absolute clarity on whether you should be spending time on it or not!
We’ve been using the “block and tackle” method…blocking off chunks of time to complete certain tasks and being terrier-like about completing them.
Anything which is critically important to the success of your business needs to be scheduled and planned in. The same way as you wouldn’t let down or cancel a client at the last minute, do the same with your critical business success tasks.
- Decide what you really want to achieve in your business in a given time period (we’ve been doing 2-week sprints).
- List the tasks required to get there and assign owners and dates.
- Delegate or outsource the tasks where possible so your time is still spent in your zone of genius.
- Block and tackle the tasks and encourage/support your team to do the same
- Track and monitor the tasks until the overall goal is completed.
- Rinse and repeat.
Sounds simple huh? Hmmm. Definitely a case of easier said than done.
But it’s a trait of all successful business owners so start practising asap.
5. RECHARGE TO SUPER-CHARGE
Small business owners are naturally driven, ambitious and love challenge and variety.
You mustn’t confuse that with being Superman/woman.
Take time out to refresh and rejuvenate on a regular basis. Make sure you get balance and you’re spending quality time with family, friends, and on your own.
Recharging can be done inside of business hours too. Maximise your time on the things you enjoy the most.
What are the bits of your business you enjoy the most?
- If it’s networking and meeting new people, then build in time for this every month.
- If it’s getting close to your customers, diarise a weekly lunch with your favourite and most valued clients.
- If it’s creating content or designing new products, block out time each month to do just that.
You get my point. You built your own business to have fun and gain freedom. Don’t lose sight of that. Don’t mistake passion and commitment as needing to work 24 hours a day. Work smart and make it fun. And of course, outsource the boring legal stuff to people you can trust.
Go get super-charged and tell us what worked well for you.
Rachel
