Does Your Business Make Money In Spite of Itself?

Posted by on April 10, 2013 · Leave a Comment 

sale-tag

The more I talk to business owners, the more I realise that many of them don’t actually know how they make their money!

Let me rephrase that… they don’t really know how their customers/ clients have found them and why they keep coming back.

Do you find that bizarre?

Initially, my answer would also be yes. But I’ve come to realise that doing so is a work-ON-business exercise. Not one that is done on a day-to-day basis. Of course, if you don’t give yourself work-ON-business time, how are you ever going to discover what your market is telling you?

Time to set aside Friday work-ON-business afternoons I think.
What about you?

 

Twitt

Filed under build a Mother of a Business, business book club, business ideas & thinking, Finish Unfinished Business, so you think you're in business, the business model · Tagged with , , , ,

You SELL Your Business, Now What?

Posted by on September 21, 2012 · Leave a Comment 

I came across this article recently, making the very valid point that:

“Selling your business is a landmark event, often accompanied by emotions ranging from sheer joy to deep regret.  Proper planning can help ensure this is a time to be celebrated—years of hard work have paid off!—by alleviating the stress and anxiety related to your exit.”

And then it went on to discuss the virtues of this, but from a purely financial position only. There is so much more to selling a business than just the financials!

The very reason you’re selling it would indicate that. If it is just about “cashing in your Super”, then so be it. But what if it’s about:

  • getting out of a business partnership that no longer serves you or what you want to achieve with the business?
  • failing health being the prompt?
  • you actually wanting to do the something else you’ve always dreamed of doing, before it’s too late?

And just as importantly, what if this has been your “identity” for many years? What about this cash machine that you built, which has fed and clothed and schooled you and your family? This is not a decision to be taken lightly, or quickly.

These require just as much thinking as the financial considerations, especially when pulling on the heartstrings. Don’t let your head be the only ruler in this decision making process…

Twitt

Filed under build a Mother of a Business, business ideas & thinking, EXIT execution, Finish Unfinished Business, SELL your Mother of a Business, so you think you're in business · Tagged with , , , , , ,

The Promise of Entrepreneurship… is bigger always better?

Posted by on December 11, 2011 · Leave a Comment 

We are made to believe that when it comes to business success, bigger is always better. In our super-sized, consumption-oriented culture, not even small business is exempt from the pressure to grow for growth’s sake. We fixate on top-line revenue growth and increasing numbers of employees and locations. We pepper entrepreneurs with questions such as, ‘What are your plans for expansion? What’s next? How many cities will you go to?’ instead of asking what their goals are or why they started their business in the first place. When talk about growth we focus on speed, not sustainability. When we talk about success we focus on size, not satisfaction.

So much so that entrepreneurs doubt their own success and skill if they aren’t pursuing the largest form of their business possible. We’ve talked with countless business owners who run profitable ventures, make a good living, enjoy what they do every day, and have significant impact in their industry—but who also hesitate to call themselves successful. Why? Because their companies could be bigger, or they decided not to open several more locations, or they don’t have the largest market share—even though these are not the things that they want.

We believe that it doesn’t have to be this way. There is an alternative that is both rewarding and attainable—it just requires rethinking things a bit…

Another gem from ChangeThis.com by Adelaide Lancaster

Twitt

Filed under build a Mother of a Business, business ideas & thinking, entrepreneur trends (past & present!), entrepreneurial mothers, so you think you're in business · Tagged with , , ,

3% of women-owned businesses make $1million or more a year; so why are you in your Mother of a Business?

Posted by on December 4, 2011 · Leave a Comment 

As featured on the Ruby Connection…

A little while ago, I came across this… according to recent statistics in the Wall Street Journal from the Center for Women’s Business Research in the U.S., there is only 3% of women-owned businesses with a revenue of $1million or more in The Million-Dollar Club… (and I bet that percentage is a whole lot smaller again if being the only breadwinner for the family is also taken into account).

Only 3%, is that all I hear you say?

Given that 7-figures is the turnover my Mother of a Business was doing at time of its Sale, that put me in the category of the 3%…are you kidding? How can it be that with all the businesses started by women, only 3% manage to reach 7-figures?

Why are Businesses being built if not to serve your Lifestyle, as opposed to the other way around?

Couple that with some of the more disturbing statistics from our very own Ruby Connection “Westpac Women’s Financial Health Report, September 2011”:

  • Nearly half (49%) of women agreed they felt disadvantaged in terms of the amount of superannuation they were able to save as a result of having to cut back or stop work. This view was even more likely held by Gen Y (63%) and Gen X (63%).
  • After having children, 64% of women reported that it had significantly affected their ability to work continuously and impacted substantially on their working career cycle

We’re not in a very good place are we? Well, the majority of us that is.

Business gives you Lifestyle to be the Mother you long to be. No question.
In fact, it’s not just about the mothering, it’s ultimately about Lifestyle and the ability to earn what you must earn, plus a whole lot more.

Come on, join the club too…
If the notion of a 7-figure business scares you right now, you may be thinking that it must mean a whole lot of work that will take you away from your family even more? WRONG! You couldn’t be further from the truth, provided you structure properly and of course, “Start with the End in Mind”.

Just financing the family holiday is not enough of an “End” to justify all the blood, sweat and tears you will invest in your business, not to mention money…

Ladies, we’ve got some serious Business Building and Professional Development work to do…To discuss any of this further and, most importantly, to do something about it, feel free to contact me.

Twitt

Filed under build a Mother of a Business, entrepreneur trends (past & present!), entrepreneurial mothers, so you think you're in business, women in business case studies · Tagged with , ,

Ho Ho Ho! the beauty of being a solo Business Owner at Christmas…

Posted by on December 1, 2011 · Leave a Comment 

Bit of fun…

Being a one person ltd company:

  • I can have a Christmas party for all employees (me);
  • invite my wife or partner (but not both!)
  • spend and get tax relief on it.
  • there is no taxable benefit in kind as I stayed with the rules
  • If I had tried to spend out any other way then I could easily be paying a marginal FBT.
  • So I can take the partner out for a nice meal knowing that the tax man is effectively funding our meal (and they don’t need to know that either).
  • I feel good, partner feels good. Success.
Twitt

Filed under MEinc, so you think you're in business · Tagged with , ,

Going out with a Boom Boom…

Posted by on June 7, 2011 · 1 Comment 

The following recent article raises the question of Boomer spending, once they start spending post-workforce, and what that timeframe might look like. I’m sure it’s fairly typical of the held view in the market also. Only one thing missing is….

No mention of Boomer (or as I like to affectionately refer to them – PrimeTimers) Business Owners. What about those who are still toiling away in their own businesses, and are looking to EXIT over the same period. The Business Sale Tsunami is about to hit us allegedly. So what happens when the value they thought the business was worth is not what the market is willing to pay? Or if the business has not kept up with advances, in requiring an online presence for example, what then? What price? And then where does that leave their pseudo “Super”…

Business Owners beware… if you’re not preparing NOW for the SELL of your lifetime, then you may not end up in as good a place as you had expected, and dreamed of…

They might be still toiling but when they finally pull the plug, this generation will spend up big, writes Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon for TheAge.com.au.

Baby, the boomers are back! After having their retirement plans clobbered by the worst global downturn since the Great Depression, really the Great Recession, they are on the cusp of finally realising the life-after-work dream.

A staggering 46 per cent of boomers who are still toiling are doing so because of the credit crack-up, a study we conducted for the latest issue of our sister publication, Financial Review Smart Investor, has found.

But 31 per cent now expect to retire in the next five years, with almost another third in the five years after that. Their average age will be 64. To get to that point in this investment climate, though, they’ve had to make sacrifices beyond just delaying retirement. Twenty-eight per cent were forced to sell investments, probably at the worst time, and 18 per cent had to pull back on their lifestyle.

This is the first generation to retire with superannuation, which became compulsory in 1992, but that was too late and, thanks to the financial crisis, now far too little. A massive 78 per cent of boomers make additional contributions to redress their retirement funding shortfalls. So where will their money ultimately come from?

Read on…

Twitt

Filed under build a Mother of a Business, EXIT execution, exit strategy, SELL your Mother of a Business, so you think you're in business · Tagged with , , , , ,

Facebook’s new small business marketing strategies…

Posted by on May 29, 2011 · Leave a Comment 

Facebook has started a serious courtship of the small business community, launching several new products over the last few weeks. My Business Marketing Editor Natalie Apostolou explains what the site’s plans mean for your marketing dollar… read on

Twitt

Filed under build a Mother of a Business, entrepreneurial mothers, so you think you're in business, WWW and online strategies · Tagged with , ,

Change? It’s Only Just Begun!

Posted by on May 26, 2011 · Leave a Comment 

You’re probably familiar with eBay and PayPal. They’re businesses that have transformed and challenged traditional retailing because they enable individuals to trade online, bypassing normal supply chains. We’re now on the edge of another wave of transformational change of how business and work are done.

Robert Gottliebsen at Business Spectator recently interviewed Matt Barrie from which connects workers with businesses on a global basis. Businesses post jobs that workers bid for. Payment occurs online when jobs are finished. It’s mainly small business people doing work for small business people. But it brings the power of ‘big’ to the little businessperson’s business. The interview is here:

At that link we last covered zaarly and uber which also empower self-employed people to do big things. I know of many other transformational business service models. It’s the replication of a trend we’re seeing in IT, for example, where contracting is rising. Forget about industrial relations, human resource management and jobs for life! This is about stock exchanges for jobs, fast moving, with people making their own choices.

Government isn’t coping. This is reflected in comments from Peter Strong of the Council of Small Business Australia. He referred to the recent budget as a ‘big business budget’ in a TV interview. This big business view is probably why the administration of paid parental leave, for example, is looking so complex for small business people and why a Commonwealth Bank survey found small business drowning in red tape.

Government will fail when it tries to force its administrative convenience onto this global business realignment. So watch out politicians! An analysis of voting trends amongst self-employed people showed a strong willingness to swing their votes.

http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/45026.html

Very, very interesting indeed… a sign of things to come… just wonder how the government will view it/legislate for or against it??? Time will tell.

From Ken Phillips (Exec. Dir.) and the team at Independent Contractors of Australia

Twitt

Filed under aCE talentNET, build a Mother of a Business, entrepreneur trends (past & present!), entrepreneurial mothers, EXIT execution, political offerings, so you think you're in business · Tagged with , , ,

Employ Contractors? READ THIS…

Posted by on March 20, 2011 · Leave a Comment 

and it won’t matter what size you are…

Organisations engaging contractors should be on notice.

With Unions pushing the Federal Government to limit the number of independent contractors, on the basis that contractors are disadvantaged and better placed in traditional employee/employer roles with full entitlements, many organisations may be forced to put contractors on the payroll.

Putting contractors on the payroll means organisations have to foot the bill for all employment costs such as PAYG, superannuation, annual leave, etc Contractors may lose better pay rates, tax advanatges and the flexibility in their work… read on

“Contractor Double Jeopardy” by Brad Twentyman for Human Capital magazine…

Twitt

Filed under political offerings, so you think you're in business · Tagged with , , , , ,

Female Owned Businesses Responsible for Job Creation in the U.S…

Posted by on March 3, 2011 · Leave a Comment 

Similar story in Australia too I suspect, and here’s why…
Tandelyn A. Weaver, owner of PersonalFreedomForWomen.com shares some interesting insights.

Divorced or single mothers who undergo traumatic experiences in life have been an impetus for 30% of female business owners to embark on their entrepreneurial ventures.

A report published by The Guardian Life Small Business Research Institute projects that female-owned small business, now just 16% of total U.S. employment, will be responsible for creating one-third of the 15.3 million new jobs anticipated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics by 2018 (Forbes.com January, 2010).

Social factors have resulted in the growth of female owned businesses. Where motherhood results in delays of starting their own businesses, it is also the reason for women owned business growth.

It is also believed that businesses owned by women start small and go through steady growth. The first three year survival rate of female owned businesses is 72.25%. The reasons for high survival rates of female owned businesses lies in the natural and to some extent learned disposition of females to run and manage a business successfully. For example, it is said that patience is the key to any successful entrepreneurial venture. Women are known to be naturally patient and flexible to change.

Family businesses have also been a successful place to help business growth. These family businesses have inspired women to start a business of their own and helped build in them skills which are necessary for managing a business. A study conducted in the mid 90’s showed nearly 78% of female business owners had some form of family business connections in their past. Women entrepreneurs are more likely to start a business for achievement of personal goals like accomplishments and recognition and the need to support their families.

It is inspiring to know that women are helping create jobs in United States and around the world…continue

Twitt

Filed under entrepreneur trends (past & present!), entrepreneurial mothers, so you think you're in business · Tagged with , , , ,

Next Page »