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Managing pay increases and pay conversations

Conversations with employees about pay and pay raises can be tricky, as it’s an emotional subject for most people and there can be a lot riding on it when economic conditions are tough.If the employment relationship is healthy and based on open dialogue, respect, and trust, there is less chance discussions about money will get heated. Having a solid remuneration system that your people understand will also mean pay decisions are easily understood and communicated, which will reduce the chances...

Time is money: The benefits of continuous improvement

Are you familiar with the ancient Japanese philosophy of ‘Kaizen’?Kaizen is the principle of continuous improvement that can make a huge difference to the efficiency of any company and is saving some of the world’s most powerful companies millions of dollars a year. Sound good? Here are ways you can embrace Kaizen to improve your business.What’s your waste? - This isn’t just about what’s ending up in the rubbish, it’s also unnecessary movement, overproduction of stock, waste due to...

Overcoming your leadership roadblocks

We all have improvement opportunities and face roadblocks in our roles - it’s no different for leaders. By recognising these, we can implement strategies to become a more effective leader.Potential leadership roadblocks include:1. No formal leadership training.Many leaders fall into a role with no formal training. Leadership skills must be learned and practised.2. Lack of clarity or alignment.A leader that’s not aligned with the company vision, or able to clearly articulate this, will create...

Communication is the key to business success

You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Effective communication will help you develop a stronger rapport, make you memorable, and enable you to read people better.Practise these key skills to develop your communication skills:1. Active listening:Listen twice as much as you speak and be interested in what the other person has to say. Avoid interrupting, and reflect on what was said before you start speaking.2. Non-verbal communication:Are you aware of the non-verbal messages you...

Budgets are boring – 5 ways to spend less without budgeting

If you hate budgets and budgeting, how can you easily cut your spending? Here are five ways to save without tracking every transaction:Review your subscriptions - Your fixed outgoings are the easiest way to cut back: big outgoings like your insurance, power, phone and entertainment subscriptions. If you can reduce or eliminate even a few of these, you’ll make an immediate difference to your spending.Embrace low-cost social activities - A night of drinking and dining out is fantastic fun, but i...

Understanding Your Profit and Loss Statement

Your profit and loss statement (P&L) helps you understand your business performance and profitability over time. It’s sometimes called an Income statement and its main purpose is to list income and expenditure.Whereas a balance sheet is a snapshot in time, the P&L shows transactions over a specific period of time. This can be a month, quarter, financial year or any other period, and it can be a stand-alone report or a comparative period report.Together with the balance sheet, these two...

Business tips: Knowing what your customer wants

The increase in digital business systems has opened up forensic ways of understanding your customer base. That's a huge bonus when you're aiming to build better connections, relationships and experiences with your audience.Knowing what your customer wants is a fundamental piece of knowledge for any successful business to get to grips with. And when you're running a modern, digital business there's an overwhelming wealth of customer and sales data and analytics at your disposal – making it easi...

Discover your business’s untapped potential

When focusing on sales growth, your existing customers are your greatest asset.Many businesses focus on enticing new customers instead of encouraging their existing customers (who already know, trust and like them) to spend more, more often.The probability of selling to existing customers is 60-70%, whereas the likelihood of selling to a new customer is only 5-20%. The opportunity with your existing customers is huge, so why not focus some more attention here instead of prioritising chasing new ...

Why customer success is vital for your small business

Enhancing your customer experience is the key to success for any business. It’s not just about making a sale but about keeping your customers happy and coming back for more. In short, it’s about pushing the idea of customer success in your business.What does ‘customer success’ mean?Customer success is a holistic approach to retaining your customers. It focuses on the experience of the customer, and how this experience leads to a successful outcome – both for the customer and for your b...

The benefits of automating your customer experience

Smart use of automation doesn't just help you scale up your business more quickly. Business process automation (BPA) helps you streamline your operations and save money by eliminating many of the repetitive manual tasks involved in your customer support and customer-facing processes.Embracing the benefits of automationDigital transformation has been a powerful trend in the business world over the past few years. And the next logical step for a business that’s moved into the digital realm is to...

Invest in your employees to get the maximum benefits from remote working

Remote work has become an increasingly popular way of working in recent years. Many companies now offer their employees the ability to work from home or other external locations. This is a giant shift for many companies and their workforces – so, to get the best from remote working its worthwhile reassessing your people strategy.Investing in your people and your remote strategyMaximising this new remote-working strategy can lead to increased employee engagement, as well as a reduced spend on r...

Build long-term customer relationships: improve your financial stability

We know that building long-term relationships with your customers makes good sense for your customer experience. But good relationships are also a key factor in making your business more financially stable and improving your bottom line.The answer lies in nurturing the relationship, building a sense of trust and satisfaction that leads to regular sales and a boost to your revenue.Nurturing customer relationships that drive your profitsA business with no customers has no future. But a business wi...

How to say no if you’re a yes person!

Are you a yes person?Even when you’re snowed under with work, family, and life admin, do you find yourself saying yes to things you don’t really have time or headspace for?The downside of being a yes person:You can enable others to develop a dependency on youYou may be susceptible to people taking advantageStress and burnout can zap you and your energy levelsYour time can evaporate, leaving you to drop the ball on your own prioritiesYou can be distracted from your own tasks and not meet your...

Business tips: Nurturing your customer relationships

The stability of your business isn’t just based on sound finances. Forming rock-solid foundations comes from having a solid customer base and building long-lasting relationships with your end users. To achieve this, you need to work hard on nurturing these relationships.But how do you keep your customers happy and satisfied? And what are the best ways to build and maintain a trusted and beneficial relationship with everyone in your sales book?Here are a few fundamentals for keeping those relat...

Is your 2023 planning leading you down the right path?

As a business owner, CEO or managing director, it’s important to look forwards. Your job is to guide the course of the company and to provide the roadmap for a successful year.But navigating the hurdles and driving the business to success is never easy – especially when you’re confronted with a market and economy that’s still in a state of recovery.A business plan that’s tailored to your key 2023 challengesSo, what are the current and potential risks that you should be planning for in ...

Your GST return is due soon

Your GST return is due soon.You need to file your GST return at the end of every taxable period (this may be monthly, 2 monthly or 6 monthly depending on the frequency you have chosen for your business - you can check this with us).We can help you file your return and pay by the due date to avoid late penalties.Have you got your paperwork in order? - You’ll need to calculate the following to work out your return:Total sales and income for the taxable periodTotal purchases and expenses for the ...

Attracting and retaining talent

With low unemployment and increased competition for people, businesses are changing their offering to attract and retain the best employees. It’s not just about money; the pandemic has caused people to re-evaluate their priorities, how they want to work, and who they want to work for.So, how can you ensure your business remains competitive? Here are five key opportunities to focus on:1. Flexible working conditions.One size doesn’t fit all when it comes to working conditions; we should consid...

Looking after your own wellbeing and resilience

When you’re busy running a business, it can be easy to overlook your own wellbeing and mental health.Stress can have a serious effect on your ability to function and you can’t make consistently good decisions and lead your team if you’re under a weight of pressure or struggling with poor mental or physical health.So let’s take a look at being resilient in the face of challenges and effective ways to support your own wellbeing.Dealing with pressureThere are 2 key steps to handling a tough...

Business tips - Scaling up your business and workforce

Scaling up your business isn't about steady growth over time. It's about having a clear strategy for quickly expanding the business to achieve full-scale hypergrowth.Most startups grow organically, adding customers here and there and gradually expanding over time. Scaling up aims to accelerate this process, pushing your growth to move beyond that slow, organic pace. To achieve this, every element of your business model needs to be reviewed, refined and systemised – so you have scalability buil...

Discover your business’s untapped potential

When focusing on sales growth, your existing customers are your greatest asset.Many businesses focus on enticing new customers instead of encouraging their existing customers (who already know, trust and like them) to spend more, more often.The probability of selling to existing customers is 60-70%, whereas the likelihood of selling to a new customer is only 5-20%. The opportunity with your existing customers is huge, so why not focus some more attention here instead of prioritising chasing new ...

10 ways to improve self-awareness

What is self-awareness?Being self-aware is developing a deeper understanding of your strengths, weaknesses, personality type, motivators, stressors, values, inner critic, and behavioural tendencies. It’s paying better attention to what you think and feel, and how you behave.Having better self-awareness makes it easier for us to understand other people, and how they may perceive and interact with us.Developing your emotional intelligenceHow well do you know yourself? Better self-awareness will ...

Delegation versus abdication - are you an effective delegator?

Do you ever get to the end of a work day and wonder where time went? You barely dented your list, let alone completed it. Delegation is a great way to free up time. Pass projects to existing team members, new recruits, or to outside contractors. But, is it that simple?What is the art of delegation?We say ‘art’ because delegation is not an exact science; different approaches are needed depending on who’s tackling your task. Delegating work effectively requires effort and time. The initial t...

How staff training expands the skill-set of your business

Spending time and money on staff training is a must. When your employees can see that you're invested in their future, they feel valued, empowered and engaged with your company vision. That's excellent news for your employee satisfaction scores and your team spirit – not to mention the overall productivity of the workforce.Investing in the future of your teamIf you want great things from your people, you’ve got to give them the very best support. A job is not a static thing. It’s a role th...

Stressing about your work/life balance?

Trying to get perfect the work/life balance can be a cause of stress in itself. If you are feeling the strain of building your business and maintaining your life the good news is that stress and a productive existence can go hand in hand. Be mindful and you can find the balance that’s best for you.How much stress is good for you?The Yerkes-Dodson law shows that an individual's performance increases with stress (arousal) until cortisol levels get too high and then decreases again just as sharpl...

5 ways to get in control of your business finances

Having proper control of your business finances is a big advantage. It helps you make well-informed business decisions and keeps your organisation profitable.With so many digital tools for managing your bookkeeping, accounting and management reporting, it's never been easier to manage, track and forecast your financial position.But what are the main tools you need? And how do you set up your financial systems, apps, processes and reporting to put yourself back in the finance driving seat?1. Brin...