Top 10 Business Tips
From Peter Perivolaris, General Manager, Hardings Consulting
www.hardingsconsulting.com.au

1. You possess a superior talent that is an asset to your business. As the owner, don’t fall into the trap of trying to do everything yourself: your talent will be under-utilized while you are caught up with doing other things. Remember that you are your best employee.
2. Design your business so that it runs without you. Hire someone to handle the day to day management, so that you can focus on the bigger picture and growing the business. Then you have a saleable asset, instead of a job for life.
3. Your business is unique and provides excellent service. So do other businesses. Use outsourcing to engage experts, leaving you to concentrate on what you do best.
4. It’s a myth that it will cost you more to outsource, than to have a service in-house. You think you’re paying for someone else’s profit, but when they provide a service as their livelihood, they will run it far more efficiently than you can internally.
5. Never be too aloof from your competitors. In hard times, you are all probably sharing the same experiences. A joint venture in which you each halve your costs will make you both stronger and more profitable.
6. You can buy businesses creatively to bolt on sales, with little or no money upfront. The seller will often be happy to be paid over time from the enhanced profit of the merged business.
7. You always have options, even when you’re only just keeping your head above water. Your sales and customer base could be worth a lot to a competitor who already has the capacity to service them and expand its business. There may even be a place for you in their organisation.
8. Don’t underestimate the importance of developing and writing down your business plan. The discipline of thinking through all of the issues in order to commit them to writing will avoid many mistakes. Involve your key staff. And don’t forget to re-write your plan every year.
9. Make your business plan ambitious. Think big. Even if you can’t work out all the steps to take to achieve it. Just work out the next step, and take it. The human brain is like a guided missile. It will keep pursuing a target until it finds its mark.
10. Thinking is vital in a business. To plan, to prepare, to avoid mistakes. It is said to be the hardest thing to do, which is why so few people do it. Find ways to give yourself the valuable time to think. Nobody else is going to do it for you.

In this issue

Strategies for Strengthening your Brand

Top 10 Business Tips

Marketing Solutions for Accounting Practices

Brent Livermore - A Story That Overcomes Adversity