Energise Your Business with Easy New Year’s Resolutions
December 13, 2011
By Nerida Gill, Admin Bandit
I’m tempted to add “New Year’s resolutions” to my list of dirty words. The phrase is just too steeped with failure — it doesn’t help, of course, that the media loves to bombard us with abysmal statistics.
Apparently 25% of us can’t even stick to a resolution for a week and 88% fall by the wayside within a year.
There’s even an industry that analyses the top reasons we fail!
Are we really that pathetic?
No.
I think we fail because no-one has taught us to make effective resolutions — our resolutions are too vague and focus on the negative, which means we either have no plan of attack or have to deprive ourselves of something we love, such as chocolate.
So I’m not going to give up making New Year’s resolutions just yet… I’m just going to make ones that are specific and optimistic. I’ve brainstormed a list of bite-sized things we can all do to boost our businesses and refresh our enthusiasm in 2012.
Best of all, they’re (mostly) free and take less than five minutes to start!
Learn and grow
Professional development is a breeze, not to mention fun and inspiring when you:
- Join an association (and later take on a role)
- Get familiar with your local library’s business section
- Hire a consultant
- Attend a workshop or conference
- Learn how to write a press release
Get organised
A few simple strategies will transform the way you work. To get more done in less time and with fewer hassles:
- Set three to five specific goals at the beginning of each week
- Write a daily to-do list, tackling the most important tasks first
- Divide your time into blocks of related activities to reduce distractions and interruptions. For example, make your phone calls or answer your emails in a single sitting
- If you catch yourself procrastinating, ask yourself, “Is this the best use of my time?”
- Set a time limit on meetings and stick to it
- Spend 10 minutes a day doing those tasks you avoid… it quickly adds up.
Develop your business relationships
Networking doesn’t have to be scary; in fact, it can be surprisingly effortless:
- Join or friend business-related Facebook pages and regularly leave comments
- Say “thank you” more often: acknowledge everyone from your team members to the speaker at a seminar
- Decide to be cheerful: smile, compliment or chat to your customers, suppliers and associates, even if they’re grumpy or difficult
- Give people something for nothing: your time, advice, free samples or even small gifts
Attract more customers
Don’t have a marketing and promotions budget? A little creativity and Internet savvy go a long way:
- Join social networks. Get on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Flickr
- Start a blog or guest post on a related blog
- Create a new email signature with all your contact details, including address, phone numbers, email, website and social networking links
- Engage with small business forums: ask questions, leave comments and share your experiences
- Invite customers, suppliers and associates to join your mailing list
- Develop partnerships with complementary businesses
- Share your expertise: run free workshops, make videos for Youtube or write an e-book to download from your website
- Run a competition or donate prizes to an event
- Start an incentive/rewards program
MORE GREAT POSTS BY NERIDA GILL
- Ho Ho Ho, A’ Christmas Networking We Go
- Entrepreneurial Qualities: Lessons from the Life of Steve Jobs
- Keeping Up With Your Brand: A Reality Lesson from the Kardashians
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Nerida Gill - Admin BanditNerida Gill is the creator of Admin Bandit, a web-based accounting package designed specifically to make keeping the books easy for volunteer treasurers in community groups. After winning numerous business awards, Admin Bandit is in a growth phase after recently attracting external investment.
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Ho Ho Ho, A’ Christmas Networking We Go
November 14, 2011
By Nerida Gill, Admin Bandit
Image by Pixomar*
“’Tis the season to be jolly,” goes the famous carol and I suggest the same applies to our small business activities at this time of year.
No, I’m not suggesting we turn Christmas into a cold, commercial transaction, but I do believe the many parties over the coming weeks give us the opportunity to celebrate our strong relationships and build new ones.
I’m well aware, of course, that many people think the words “work” and “party” are an oxymoron. Or, in fact, just a plain “moron” — we’ve all witnessed those awkward moments of silence or, worse, alcohol-fuelled liberation!
However, it doesn’t have to be that way. I have some ideas to make sure the Christmas parties you go to this year are fun, full of good cheer and networking successes.
When you’re the guest
My number one tip is probably the last one you’re expecting — it’s okay to decline an invitation.
You see, it’s about quality, not quantity.
And by that I mean attending a handful of Christmas parties with a networking strategy in hand is better than blindly chasing every balloon and streamer in town.
Consider these ideas:
- Look for parties hosted or attended by compatible businesses
- Find out who else is going to a party and create a list of people you’d like to meet, especially key decision-makers
- Always talk to your host and don’t be afraid to ask for introductions
- Aim to have quality conversations with 5-7 people
- Keep the conversation light and social — your aim is to meet people and have fun, not close a sale
- Don’t limit yourself to work parties — potential contacts have social lives too!
When you’re the host
Throwing a Christmas party is a great way to say “thank you” and reinforce existing relationships, not to mention reach out to new potential contacts.
One of the hardest things about organising an event is to provide guests with incentives to attend. Willingly. You want people to a come along feeling confident and relaxed… and I have three ways to achieve this.
First, entice them with a gift.
This could be:
- A Literal gift, such as a goodie bag, discount voucher or door prize
- A memorable location, such as a museum, chic café or charter boat
- A guest of honour, such as a personality or expert in your field
- An activity, which could be anything from a magician or string quartet to wine tasting or a cooking demonstration or even a guest lecture or workshop. Just make sure your activity doesn’t cause embarrassment or discomfort… not everyone wants to go paintballing or do karaoke!
Second, make sure your party is easy to attend…
…which means sending invites that let your guests know exactly what to expect.
Apart from the obvious, include:
- A finish time
- The purpose of your party; for example, to celebrate increasing sales by 15% over the year
- Who is attending; for example, a select group of loyal and supportive friends, customers and associates
- The names of guests of honour, MCs or entertainers
- A dress code
- What refreshments will be served; for example, a buffet dinner or coffee with sweet Christmas treats
- Any speeches or activities that will occur.
Third, create a comfortable atmosphere and make meeting new people painless.
Do this by:
- Allowing guests to bring their own guest, such as a colleague or family members
- Providing name badges with big, clear writing. Don’t just write a person’s name… add their business, association or link to give context and spark conversation
- Making something happen early… have a welcome speech or some entertainment 15 to 20 minutes into the party to create a sense of unity and open opportunities for interaction
- Having an MC to guide guests through your party
- Having people whose job is to greet guests, start conversations, introduce people and keen an eye out for anyone at a loose end
- Making sure your refreshments are top notch!
Consider an e-party
In these days of global workplaces, not to mention impossible parking, an e-party or, more formally, a virtual event is perfect if you want your Christmas party to be a learning-based event, such as a seminar, workshop or q and a.
A successful e-party has five aspects:
- Technology: while you can buy e-conferencing software, I recommend small business owners keep it simple and use Facebook, blogs or a forum on your website
- A compelling topic: grab interest by discussing a trend, an item currently in the news or a problem that needs solving
- Purpose and structure: know precisely what you want to achieve and have a chair to introduce experts and guide discussion
- Engage participants: create interest and facilitate discussion with videos, images and plenty of opportunities for questions
- Time: give a specific timeframe, ranging from an hour to a number of months.
To give you an idea just how successful even a simple virtual event can be, my friend has been following an ongoing thread on an Australian horse forum that allows horse owners to ask a snake expert questions. Seventeen pages and 3,683 views later, the thread is still on a hot topic on the front page!
MORE GREAT POSTS BY NERIDA GILL
- Entrepreneurial Qualities: Lessons from the Life of Steve Jobs
- Keeping Up With Your Brand: A Reality Lesson from the Kardashians
- Are You Responsible? How Small Business Can Give Back
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Nerida Gill – Admin BanditNerida Gill is the creator of Admin Bandit, a web-based accounting package designed specifically to make keeping the books easy for volunteer treasurers in community groups. After winning numerous business awards, Admin Bandit is in a growth phase after recently attracting external investment.
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Keeping Up With Your Brand: A Reality Lesson from the Kardashians
September 19, 2011
By Nerida Gill, Admin Bandit
© Glenn Francis, www.PacificProDigital.com
I’m not normally a fan of reality TV, but Keeping Up with the Kardashians intrigues me — this family embodies the luxury Californian dream… A-list parties, private jets and shoes worth the average monthly mortgage repayment.
The show seems ridiculous… these people seem to spend their days doing nothing but pouting for photo shoots, shopping on Rodeo Drive, lounging by the pool and squabbling over dinner.
That, however, is just a surface appearance — the reality is that the Kardashians are a brand, cleverly designed by “momager” Kris Jenner, and their show is simply “a 30-minute commercial,” as daughter Khloé Kardashian Odom told the Hollywood Reporter.
Four years of “commercials” and three spin-offs earned the family $65 million last year, endorsing everything from perfume and incontinence pads to cupcakes and diet pills. Kim Kardashian, the most famous of the “klan” even earns up to $25,000 to mention a product or business in a tweet!
What is a brand?
Branding may be powerful, but it’s also one of the most confused “buzzwords” around. This is because brands are intangible — they’re not objects you can pick up — instead, they’re perceptions, reputations, personalities… and good ones are so pervasive that many people aren’t consciously aware they exist, let alone that they’ve been devised in a boardroom.
Think of Coca-Cola or denim jeans, for instance, which have represented “cool” for decades or Glad Wrap, which is so all-pervading that most of us use the name to refer to any type of plastic cling product.
A brand is simply how people perceive you (whether a business, product or service)… the characteristics or values that spring to mind when they think of you. It’s not to be confused with marketing or advertising, but it is one of the tools in the marketing toolbox and it is something you can compellingly influence.
Now that we know what a brand is, how do you create one? Three steps: research, define and build.
Research your brand?
Before you can create a brand, you need to know not just who you are, but also who your customers (current and ideal) are.
To work out who you are, ask yourself:
- What are the qualities of my company, product or service?
- What are my core values?
- What is my company’s mission?
- How do I want to be seen?
You find the answers in your business plan… this is a good time to put the kettle on, sit down for a couple of hours and read/revise this document.
Next, analyse your target market:
- Who is your target market?
- Where do they live?
- How do they currently perceive you?
- How can you attract them?
- Who else is competing for their attention?
Knowing your target market takes more than guesstimation… as the most successful businesses demonstrate, it’s often a matter of careful, formal research. Magazines are sticklers for surveying their readers and Vogue Australia is no exception. As you can see in their advertising specs here and here, the magazine has sourced externally audited circulation and readership statistics and has categorised their readers by the classic demographic indicators of income, education, occupation, age and sex.
A tip: give customers an incentive to do your survey… a “thank you” gift or entry into a prize draw.
Define your brand
Use your research to write two paragraphs, each a biography, as if you were creating a character for a TV show. Start with the easy one, the one about yourself.
Then write one for your target market, picturing the ideal person who buys your product or service. You may need to ask yourself a few more questions:
- What does this person need and want?
- How does he or she want to be seen?
- What drives them?
- What do they aspire to?
Getting back to Vogue Australia, I’d describe the magazine’s ideal reader as a professional female, aged 20-49, who loves fashion and appearance, is savvy and discerning, wants to keep up-to-date and has a high, disposable income.
You may find you actually end up with four biographies, two reflecting reality and two that outline your future ideals.
Build your brand
Aligning your “personality” with your customer’s is the cornerstone of a successful brand and that “personality” must be reflected in everything you do, own or produce.
Appearance, or visual identity, is the most obvious way to communicate your brand to your target market. This includes:
- Logo
- Stationery
- Product packaging
- Website and email
- Marketing materials
- Dress code
- Signage
- Sound and smell (not visual, I know, but still part of appearance)
Actions, or customer service, are another way… this is the “human” part of your business and includes how you:
- Answer the phone
- Respond to queries
- Deal with stress and conflict
- Meet deadlines
- Run meetings
- Treat your staff
And finally, you need to engage with your target market and the community as a whole to get your brand “out there.” This includes:
- Using social media (including leaving comments)
- Blogging
- Writing press releases
- Search engine optimisation
- Networking
- Speaking at events
- Taking on roles with industry associations
- Giving back through philanthropy, sponsorship and volunteering
In all these things, if you want to gain loyalty and trust, you need to communicate your brand to your target market in a way that is honest and believable.
Back to the Kardashians
Some people scorn reality stars because they’re famous for doing nothing, but that’s actually not the case at all — the top echelon of reality stars, like the Kardashian family, are famous because they have water-tight branding strategies, which, as you know from the above, requires considerable effort.
So next time you’re caught watching a reality show, don’t feel guilty… these “personalities” and the people behind them have worked hard to gain your attention. Besides, you’re not watching trashy TV; you’re undertaking important branding research!
MORE GREAT POSTS BY NERIDA GILL
- Are You Responsible? How Small Business Can Give Back
- How to Dress to Communicate Skill and Success in Business
- Business Insurance: How to Prepare for the “What Ifs”
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Nerida Gill – Admin BanditNerida Gill is the creator of Admin Bandit, a web-based accounting package designed specifically to make keeping the books easy for volunteer treasurers in community groups. After winning numerous business awards, Admin Bandit is in a growth phase after recently attracting external investment.
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Are You Responsible? How Small Business Can Give Back
August 22, 2011
By Nerida Gill, Admin Bandit
Photo Credit: Justin Wasserman
The Gillard government’s recent carbon tax has tossed corporate social responsibility (CSR) under a glaring spotlight, forcing big business to be accountable for any environmental damage their industrial processes wreak.
However you feel about it, the initiative provides an eye-opening case study of what happens when CSR is enforced, instead of coming from the heart. It will be interesting to see how those companies in the firing line respond — will they really investigate more sustainable ways of operating or will they literally pass the buck onto consumers through hiked-up prices?
But that’s not the purpose of this blog post. Instead, I want to consider how CSR, often thought of as “giving back” or “being a good neighbour” applies to small business and how a genuine desire to “do the right thing” can benefit both the world and your business.
A brief history lesson
CSR became popular in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s when many of those household-name multinational companies, such as Nokia, Walmart and Nestlé, formed, incorporated or expanded. In a time of idealism and great change in the western world, a policy that encouraged companies to be answerable to their actions and make a positive impact on the community was appealing.
For individual businesses, CSR became an opportunity to develop an ethical framework, to say, “This is what we believe in and value.” At the same time, it signalled a change in how people perceived business — people swapped the idea of simply wanting to make stacks of cash for the idea that running a business is about choosing what kind of world we want to live in.
Let’s get cynical
It’s easy to feel skeptical when you hear the words “multinational companies” and “giving back” in the same sentence, especially when you read about the perks some CEOs enjoy — unfortunately, CSR can seem more like an empty publicity tool than genuine giving these days. However, a good written plan, a few benchmarks and solid review process will make sure your CSR plan walks the talk, instead of languishing at the back of a locked filing cabinet!
Why give back?
Let’s go back a step and explore seven benefits CSR can give your business:
- To give your business a moral framework in which to operate and communicate your core values to customers and suppliers.
- To build a reputation and corporate culture of “doing the right thing,” which makes it easier to recruit and retain employees and motivates your people to be more productive.
- To differentiate your brand… think of The Body Shop’s ground-breaking efforts in fair trade.
- To understand the wider impact of your business, which may lead to opportunities to develop new products and services.
- To appeal to increasingly savvy consumers, who consciously seek out businesses whose values match their own. The trends towards eco-friendly products and environmentally-sustainable ways of doing business are big examples.
- To generate positive media coverage… but, please, don’t negate the good you do by wasting your time bragging about it!
- Because you can. We live in an incredibly blessed country, where we take simple luxuries, such as soft beds, hot showers and delicious coffee, for granted. Giving back is a way of being thankful.
You’ll notice that most of these reasons are beneficial to your business. Let me be clear that you’re not selling out if your CSR strategy just happens to bring positive things your way — in fact, you’d be naïve to expect your activities to have no impact on your life. What is important, however, is the spirit in which you give — as long as your motivation is genuine and you’re giving not simply to get in return, I believe it’s okay to enjoy any rewards.
How to develop a CSR strategy
Most businesses make two big mistakes when developing their CSR strategy. The first one is not linking giving to core business. To avoid this trap:
- Choose CSR activities that match your top three business objectives — even better, make sure they contribute to the achievement of those objectives.
- Choose CSR activities that also match your core competencies; that is, what you do well.
Let me be so bold as to use myself and my company as an example. Admin Bandit is the developer of a self-named accounting software designed specifically for volunteer treasurers in community and non-profit groups. As such, our CSR activities focus on our target market — we have a partnership with the Canberra Preschool Society, I’m on the advisory board of the Multicultural Women’s Advocacy Employability Partnership Project and am a volunteer treasurer myself. Communication is one of our key strengths, so we also focus our voluntary efforts on tasks that involve public speaking, training and mentoring. I especially get a big kick out of sharing my experiences and the lessons I’ve learned either on the stage or by writing articles.
As you develop your CSR strategy, think about your business and strengths in the following nine areas:
- Non-profit partnerships
- Human rights
- Philanthropy
- Environmental management
- Fair employee treatment
- Community investment
- Employee volunteering
- Product giveaways
- Sponsorships.
Walk the talk and measure milestones
Getting back to those two big mistakes many businesses make in their CSR strategy… the second one is two-sided: failure to motivate compliance and measure results.
Motivating compliance is easy… keep CSR objectives fresh in the mind through signage and newsletters and make fulfilment a part of staff performance appraisals. As for measuring effectiveness, develop a set of key performance indicators, both internal and external, to assess your company’s reputation, brand perception, sales, customer and employee satisfaction and achievements in the community. Unsure how to get feedback? Try surveys (always offer an incentive, such as a discount or prize), testimonials or social media, such as Facebook.
MORE GREAT POSTS BY NERIDA GILL
- How to Dress to Communicate Skill and Success in Business
- Business Insurance: How to Prepare for the “What Ifs”
- Your Business Plan: The Best Road to Success
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Nerida Gill – Admin BanditNerida Gill is the creator of Admin Bandit, a web-based accounting package designed specifically to make keeping the books easy for volunteer treasurers in community groups. After winning numerous business awards, Admin Bandit is in a growth phase after recently attracting external investment.
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Professional Women Seek Alternatives to Traditional Business Degrees
November 22, 2010
“Savvy women are among the new breed of students demanding postgraduate business qualifications that are better tailored to today’s workplace needs and issues.” This is how a recent article in the Sydney Morning Herald begins. The Australian Businesswomen’s Network (ABN) was asked to comment on the relevance of traditional business degrees (including MBAs) to today’s working woman.
While the ABN is a big advocate of education (and offers its own range of courses and mentoring), Suzi Dafnis took the opportunity to mention that the average working woman does not have the time to fit study into her already busy schedule.
So, we look to alternatives offered in a short-course format by both universities and other educational organisations such as the Australian Institute of Management.
Customer Service Tip #1 – Hug your customers!
May 3, 2010
By Julie Wise, The Silver Owl
Recently, the ABN kicked off the Booked for Lunch Webinar series with bestselling author Seth Godin and his new book – Linchpin. In this book Seth outlines that linchpins are the essential building blocks of great organisations: they invent, lead (regardless of title), connect others, make things happen, and create order out of chaos. More importantly, a linchpin loves their work and pour their best selves into it – they turn their work into art!
During the webinar, I spied a book on my shelf – ‘Hug Your Customers’ by Jack Mitchell. This is an excellent book that outlines the customer service that Mitchell/Richards use for developing long-lasting and loyal customer relationships.
Mitchell/Richards own exclusive menswear stores in Connecticut and achieve the world-best margins in retail and have had a customer retention rate of 99.12% for the past 32 years. Their service philosophy is simple and is based on ‘hugs’ – personal touches that impress and satisfy the customer.
Some of the personal touches used are:
- Remembering the name of your customer’s dog
- Calling a customer to make sure he’s satisfied after a purchase
- Having a “kids’ corner” with TV, books, and treats
- Knowing your customers golf handicap
- Introducing customers to business contacts
- Letting your customer use your office to make a personal phone call
Look closely at the Mitchell/Richards philosophy and you will see a great example of Linchpins – connecting with others, doing things differently and adding value to their customers
Any business can adapt this hugging philosophy to attract great staff, lower marketing costs, and maintain higher gross margins and long-term revenues.
Let me share with you a little story that highlights just how rare linchpins and customer hugs really are.
Like most of you, I shop, buy and subscribe from a range of businesses all of whom collect personal data – date of birth is captured by just about everyone. A fortnight ago was my milestone birthday. How many of the 45 that have my details sent through birthday wishes? 3 – that’s it just 3. They were: Bigpond Movies, Rolling Stones and Mitchell/Richards (who I haven’t brought anything from since 2002).
Was it hard for these businesses to do it? NO. Their CRM tools have the data. So they’ve linked up an auto-email based on date to auto send. Every business can do this.
Does it carry PR value? YES – you’re reading about it.
Did it hurt the other companies? Not right now but I do look at them slightly more ‘oh-hum’ and they do not have my loyalty.
Did I feel ‘special’ because of these emails? I sure did. The emails from the last two companies were so personally written it felt as if they were specially written for me. Major brownie points.
Any business can adapt this hugging philosophy to attract great staff, lower marketing costs, and maintain higher gross margins and long-term revenues.
At a time when customer service is the difference between success and failure, it is worth every business owner stopping and thinking about how or what in your business can you change to bring about the art, make a connection and give your customers a hug!
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Julie Wise - The SilverOwl
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| Email: | julie@thesilverowl.com.au |
| Website: | www.thesilverowl.com.au |
| Twitter: | www.twitter.com/julie_wise |
| LinkedIn: | au.linkedin.com/in/juliewise |
| Member Profile: | See Julie’s Member Profile |
Win, Lose or Synergise?
April 23, 2010
By Cat Matson, Alito
The news has been dominated of late with the Prime Minister’s discussions about health reform … or more accurately, with his attempts to ‘win-over’ the Premiers during heavy-duty negotiations.
Watching the commentary about these negotiations got me wondering … why does he think he needs to ‘negotiate’ a reform system that he obviously thinks is in the best interest of the country? Why is it not a discussion or facilitation or think-tank?
Unfortunately his approach reflects, I think, our adversarial approach to power – not only in federal and state politics, but also in business. As business owners, we often think we need to negotiate with our staff, and negotiate with our suppliers … and goodness knows, our customers and clients often think they need to negotiate with us to get the best deal.
The problem with this approach is it pits the parties against each other … in some kind of competition where someone will win, and someone will lose. Or, if you subscribe to the notion of win-win, where someone will win ‘more’ and the other party will win ‘less’.
What would happen in business if we stopped ‘negotiating’ and started ‘co-creating’?
- There’d be less conflict
- Entering into what is currently seen as ‘difficult’ conversations would be less stressful
- We might create solutions that we hadn’t considered before
- We might actually create something bigger, better, more effective or more enjoyable for everyone
- Synergy
Yes, I appreciate that such a utopian approach isn’t always possible … but I suspect it’s possible more often than we think. Business isn’t really about ‘us vs them’ (whoever the ‘us’ and ‘them’ are) – rather everyone is trying to do their best … to do their best.
If we stop thinking adversarially and start thinking collaboratively … wow, the possibilities are literally quite breathtaking.
Have you been thinking ‘us vs them’ in your business? What would happen if you shifted that thinking?
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Cat Matson - Alito
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| Phone: | 07 3289 7055 |
| Email: | cat@alito.com.au |
| Website: | www.alito.com.au |
| Twitter: | www.twitter.com/catmatson |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/AlitoFusion |
| LinkedIn: | www.linkedin.com/in/CatMatson |
| Blog: | www.alito.com.au/blog |
| Member Profile: | See Cat’s Member Profile |
Maintenance is the key to organised numbers
April 16, 2010
By Alycia Edgar, Coastal Accounting Services
In order to keep on top of your business paperwork, you need a system for keeping it organised all of the time; a maintenance program.
Maintenance must occur regularly, preferably weekly, regardless of who is doing it. Schedule a regular appointment with yourself (or your bookkeeper) to get it all sorted. Let’s say every Wednesday at 10am. Wednesday is selected because you have to pay employees anyway so you may as well do it all at once!
So what is required to maintain your paperwork?
1. Your paperwork needs a home before it’s entered into your accounting software. For this example we’ll assume that you enter all supplier invoices before being paid.
2. This means you need a home for:
a. Supplier invoices to be entered
b. Supplier invoices paid
c. Supplier statements
d. Customer invoicing information (if invoiced after the fact) OR
e. Daily register and EFTPOS receipts (for retail)
f. Bank statements
3. I have always found that manilla files work well for a, b, c and d above. Bank statements should be kept in your financials folder.
4. With daily register and EFTPOS receipts from a cash register (or POS) I recommend an envelope to keep them in one place. Just write the date on the top left hand corner. This can usually be kept near your register so that at the end of each week, that week’s envelopes can be transferred to your office after completing the reconciling process.
5. When Wednesday comes around take your manilla files and:
a. Enter your supplier invoices
b. Apply payments made to supplier invoices
c. Process customer invoices or cash register sales information
d. Reconcile bank and credit card statements
e. Make payments to suppliers – you should always have a day that you pay them
f. Pay your employees (if you have any)
6. Now, how does that feel? Great, doesn’t it? All sorted and empty manilla files! You do have to repeat the process next week but if you follow this method it is much easier to keep on top of your paperwork.
7. On a monthly basis you will need to check your supplier statements against your system. You will also need to reconcile your bank, loan and credit card accounts (this could be done weekly).
8. The maintenance program above will only work if you’re willing to commit to the process. If you’re not willing to do it then look around for someone to do this for you and get them to commit to this weekly process. Really be honest with yourself here – let’s face it, you can probably earn a lot more money doing what you do best than spending your time doing a job that a bookkeeper can do much quicker and probably much cheaper than your hourly rate.
Alycia Edgar will present the Managing Business Performance: Financial strategies for the growing business webinar on 21 April. Be sure to join us. Register here. Learn more.
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Alycia Edgar - Coastal Accounting Services
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| Phone: | 0403 983 529 |
| Email: | alycia@coastalaccounting.com.au |
| Twitter: | www.twitter.com/alyciaedgar |
| Blog: | www.numbersarelife.com |
| Member Profile: | See Alycia’s Member Profile |
10 Recruitment Tips for the Time Poor Manager
April 14, 2010
By Kristy-Lee Johnston, Footprint Recruitment
1. Know what you are looking for
Nothing can be a bigger waste of time than getting half way through the recruitment process only to realise you really aren’t sure exactly what you want and need from the person you are looking for. Knowing what you are looking for in the person and the role is vital to a successful, pain free recruitment process.
This may include:
- Reviewing what the previous incumbent was doing and assess whether changes are needed to improve efficiency and outcomes from the role.
- Discuss the role with the rest of the team, or the core leadership group. Getting their feedback and commitment to the direction of the role at the outset ensures everyone is on the same page.
2. Write a great PD
Having a through, accurate and detailed Position Description (PD) before you start recruiting goes one step further to knowing exactly what you are looking for. Your position description helps you clarify the parameters for the role and determine the qualifications, skills and experience which are essential and desirable from the successful new incumbent.
3. Write the right ad
One of the key reasons clients come to us to seek assistance in the recruitment process is because they simply don’t have time to wade through the seemingly endless number of applications they receive. Writing an ad that attracts the right sort of candidates, and lets readers know what are the essential components for the role will save you time by ensuring your applicant pool is generally better suited to what you are looking for. To get the best people for your role you will need to sell the role, and the company to the reader, and make it clear what you are seeking in regards to their skills, experience and qualifications.
4. Act fast
The best applicants tend to be the quickest to find new work, so if you take weeks to go through your ad response, chances are you will lose the best candidate for your position.
5. Know your screening criteria
Before you start looking at any applications or resumes, set your criteria by which you will screen all applications. To do this, decide what are the most vital – non negotiable – criteria for the role. Then have a secondary list of desirable criteria, things that you would like the applicant to have, but which are non essential.
When you start screening quickly look over the resumes, those that meet all of your essential criteria plus some or all of your desirable criteria place in a ‘yes’ file or folder, those who meet most of the essential and none or some of the desirable place in a ‘maybe’ file or folder, and those that don’t meet the essential criteria go in a ‘no thanks’ file or folder.
6. Schedule Your Time
If you go through each application as it hits your inbox you will feel like you are constantly reading resumes and that it is taking up all of your time. Schedule time in your day and week to complete the screening and assessing process and stick to this time.
7. Conduct Structured Interviews
By conducting interviews where there are a number of questions which are set and asked standard to all applicants you will have a common set of responses by which to assess and compare them by after the interviews. You should also allow time for free talk, discussion and questions within each interview to help you understand those non tangible factors such as team fit and personality style. Set a timeframe for your interviews and stick to it, one hour per interview is ample.
8. Reflect on your interviews straight after each one
Immediately after each interview, review the respondent’s answers and reflect on your first impressions. A great way to do this is to have a standard form which you can use after each interview, this way when you get to the decision making you won’t waste time trying to remember who was who.
9. Seek help from experts
The single best way to save time recruiting is to get someone else to help. Engaging the services of a skilled, experienced and knowledgeable recruiter will save you time, stress and ultimately money.
10. Share the decision
Being the sole decision maker in a recruitment process can sometimes be difficult as you spend time thinking over your decision trying to make the right choice. By sharing the decision making process with other team members, managers or even external advisors cuts the time spent doubting yourself and ensures your decision are the best one for you and your team.
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Kristy-Lee Johnston - Footprint Recruitment
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| Phone: | 02 4367 5500 |
| Email: | kristy@footprintrecruitment.com.au |
| Website: | www.footprintrecruitment.com.au |
| Twitter: | www.twitter.com/footprintcc |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/footprintrecruitment |
| LinkedIn: | au.linkedin.com/in/kristyleejohnston |
| Member Profile: | See Kristy’s Member Profile |
5 Steps to Attention-Grabbing Business Cards
March 31, 2010
By Nerida Gill, AdminBandit
A business card is not much bigger than a Tim Tam, yet this humble slip of paper is your most important marketing tool.
Given that most people glance at your card for no more than a few seconds, it has to work mighty hard to communicate your brand, skills and ability to do a job.
So here are five steps to make potential clients look twice.
Design Counts
Cards printed at home or created using a generic online template sell your business short — they’re amateur and cater for one-size-fits-all, which means you’ll never stand out from the crowd.
So choose a graphic designer whose portfolio contains business cards that “speak” to you. Brief them on your desired brand and look, then trust them to come up with the goods.
Clear, clever and a stand-out in the crowd — graphic designer Carolyn Wilkinson’s business card ticks all the boxes for an attention-grabbing business card.
Double Your Space
What’s on the back of most business cards? Vacant space. Turn this into valuable real estate by giving potential clients reasons to remember you. Try:
- A product/service list
- Product shots
- Your tagline
- Relevant facts/information
- Special offers/incentives, or
- Industry recognition/awards.
Colour and Typeface
Colour and typeface carry emotional associations, which means your choices influence how people will perceive you and your business.
Ashleigh McIntyre’s article, “Colour Psychology for Business”, is an excellent starting point on colour, while Erik Spiekermann’s short documentary, Typomania, uses plenty of examples to explain typeface. Produced some 25 years ago for the BBC, it’s still spot on, although you’ll probably giggle at the famous typographer’s dinner suit and bow tie!
Reinvent Yourself
Business cards date, just like shag pile carpet and lime green kitchens … so review yours as your business grows and changes. Collect other cards that have “wow” factor and ask yourself why they appeal and if those elements might enhance your card.
Use Them
Even the most beautiful card is useless when left on your desk, so get yourself a business card holder, and keep it topped up and in the side pocket of your handbag (the last thing you want is to be scrabbling among lipstick and tissues for dog-eared cards).
And don’t be a business card scrooge … they’re cheap to print, so hand them out liberally, enclose them with invoices or deliveries, and arrange to leave a stack on the counters of complementary businesses.
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Nerida Gill - Admin BanditNerida Gill is the creator of Admin Bandit, a web-based accounting package designed specifically to make keeping the books easy for volunteer treasurers in community groups. After winning numerous business awards, Admin Bandit is in a growth phase after recently attracting external investment.
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