Archives / 144 post/s found
8K – Hub and Spoke
Today is the final day on the 8 Key Drivers of Business Value! If you’re a business owner working too many hours a day, too many days a week, then this driver will apply to you – Hub and Spoke. If you imagine a spoked wheel, every piece of the wheel is tied to the centre. As a business owner, you make up the hub of the business, with every individual piece being tied directly to you. Hub and Spoke is down to how dependant your business is on you personally. If your customers are coming to you for everything [...]
8K – Customer Satisfaction
We’ve hit week 7 on the 8 Key Drivers of Business Value! An easy but often overlooked concept for this week – Customer Satisfaction A lot of businesses tend to shy away from asking their customers how satisfied they are – probably because they’re scared of what the results might be. But is that really a good way to run your business? “You can only manage what you measure” is a popular phrase around our office, but it’s applicable in this case too. A very popular indicator of customer satisfaction is the Net Promoter Score, which asks two questions: How [...]
8K – Monopoly Control
Onto week six of the 8 Key Drivers of Business Value – Monopoly Control And no, we’re not talking about the board game, and neither are we suggesting the sort of monopoly the likes of big energy companies or Microsoft have. The important things here are how well you hold onto your niche, and what makes your business unique. This fundamentally comes down to two main questions: What makes your business unique? Do your customers care? If you can satisfactorily answer both of these, you’re well on your way to something special. The plus side? You’ll have more control over [...]
8K – Recurring Revenue
Onto week 5 of the 8 Key Drivers of Business Value: Recurring Revenue! Having a reliable and consistent source of income without having to fight for every sale tooth-and-nail will not only make your business more valuable, but also far less stressful. There are six main types of recurring revenue, which I will put in order from worst to best: Consumables - disposable products like toothpaste Sunk-money consumables – a customer invests in an item (called a platform) and buys supplementary items along with it. Razorblades are a good example. Renewable subscriptions – fixed-term subscriptions such as with magazines Sunk-money [...]
8K – The Valuation See-Saw
Week four – the Valuation See-Saw ‘Cash is king’, or so they say. And they’d be right! Nobody wants to worry about the bills that are coming out, so ensuring that you have cash in your business account can really help reduce some of the stress. It can also cut down on interest if you find yourself regularly taking out loans. Getting a better grip on your cashflow can be a tricky process, and it often involves a lot of moving pieces. But consider the following if you’re running into trouble: Renegotiating your supplier terms to pay later, and your [...]
8K – The Switzerland Structure
Week 3 of the 8 Key Drivers of Business Value: The Switzerland Structure A business' value requires that the business not be overly reliant on any one customer, employee or supplier. This is quite a big subject, so this is just a quick overview. Post a comment if you’d like anything expanded upon. How can we get more independence? With customers, the danger point is around 15% of sales. The simple answer is to get more customers – but it’s never that simple in reality. You can also have a look at any low-margin products you’re selling and dropping them. [...]
8K – Growth Potential
We’ve hit week two on the 8 Key Drivers of Business Value! It’s easy to think about what you have achieved in your business over its lifetime. Whether it’s awards, or an outstanding reputation or how many years you’ve been operating. None of this really helps in terms of the potential for growth your business has. A few things you should be thinking about: Can you cross-sell or upsell any of your products? Ensuring good client-facing systems are in place can automate much of this process and make a big difference to your business. Are there any complimentary products you [...]
8K – Financial Performance
Today is the first day of our series on the 8 Key Drivers of Business Value Whether you’re growing your business for yourself, for the next generation, or to sell it, you need to ensure you have these drivers up to scratch. One weak area can seriously reduce your chances of hitting your goals for your business and your life. Our first stop is straightforward – Financial Performance. Here are a couple of things to think about to help you get it right: Are you getting the best possible prices from your key suppliers? Do you have any negotiating room? [...]
Are you using your time effectively?
I came across an interesting concept the other day called Deep Work. It’s not a new concept or anything, fundamentally it just means working in a more structured fashion instead of getting bogged down by phone calls, meetings, social media etc. We are living in the age of distraction after all. This concept can help a couple of groups of people: Firstly, for people who are easily distracted by technology and ‘busy-work’, it is a way of staying focussed on what you should be doing. This cuts out on some of those late hours caused by procrastination and the like. [...]
Looking for a little more work-life balance?
If, like many business owners, you find yourself working too many hours a day and too many days a week, the ideas below may help you get things back under control. Prioritise - Categorise the things on your do-to list so you can focus on the right things. You can best do this on a grid with urgency at the top, and important at the side. Urgent and important things should be considered for delegation, or think how to avoid them becoming urgent in the future. Urgent and unimportant things can be thrown in the bin. Working in the ‘important [...]