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

1. Businesses suffer ups and downs. The trouble is, when they are going through a “down”, everyone senses the mood. Activity and enthusiasm suffer. Anyone can remain positive when things are good. To keep everyone positive when they’re not, focus on your people’s levels of activity and enthusiasm.
2. When overwhelmed with tasks to complete, Mr Procrastination often pays a visit. There are two schools of thought on how to commence. One is do the easy ones first to get your momentum going. The other is to do the hardest first, then the rest will seem easy. Whichever you choose, just doing something sends Mr Procrastination packing.
3. When starting out in business, you may be unsure how much to charge. Look to the market as a guide, but initially it’s better to be under priced than overpriced. You need all the sales you can make. As the business becomes established, you will not only know what you should charge, you can be more selective whom you work for.
4. Profit is an accounting term and mainly is useful in working out how much tax or dividends you will pay. Focus on cash, not profit. When will you recover your initial outlay, and how much cash will your business generate per week, per month, per year? If the money in the bank is ever growing, you know you are making profit.
5. In meeting with a prospect, the least you want to do is make a lasting impression. Do your research beforehand and learn everything you can. Then you can ask lots of questions. Listen to their answers. They’ll give you the clues as to whether you can be of service, now or later. If you are memorable, you may eventually win the business.
6. If a number of your past customers are no longer buying from you, they probably have very good reasons. What are they? You owe it to yourself to find out. It may help you avoid losing other customers. On the other hand, their only reason may be that you stopped contacting them. In which case, contact them and they might return.
7. If you are struggling to find the way to make your business successful, see if you can find an indirect competitor of about the same size that’s doing well. Ask them to let you analyse their business and compare every facet, then try and match them. They will generally be chuffed and want to learn about the good things you do in return.
8. Change management is a difficult process for all concerned. So often, people have their own agendas and are resistant to change, even to the detriment of the organisation. Sometimes it pays to engage a credible, independent expert to conduct a review and if appropriate, recommend what changes are needed and why.
9. We’ve all heard that it’s better to work smarter, not harder. But it’s amazing just how much success can often be attributed to those people who have made a habit of consistently turning up on time and quietly doing what’s expected of them.
10. There are two types of employees. One I call the empty vessel, which makes the most noise but usually fails to deliver. The other I call the quiet achiever, who makes no noise and always delivers.
    

http://www.hardingsconsulting.com.au

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Top 10 Business Tips

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