small business gurus - the blog of Cat & Keith Matson

By Cat Matson

I know, I know.  Technically, we’ve just ‘closed the books’ on the end of the financial year and started a new one.  But if you’re anything like me, the end of the financial year isn’t anywhere as significant a ‘line in the sand’ as the Christmas/New Year break....

So while financially we might have just heard the final siren, what I really want to do today is give you a half-time address.

How are you travelling in this game called your business?  Two quarters played for 2009.... are you happy with your score?  The ground has been rougher (for some) than first expected and well-thought-out strategies may have given way to rough-and-ready (scrappy) tactics.  But that’s OK.... you play the best game you can with the players you have in the conditions of the day.

How does your game plan need to change for the second-half?  Do you need to rotate players, or change your plan of attack?  Is it time to stop playing defence?  Remember the second half of the calendar year always goes faster than the first (much, much faster)... so if you need to change strategies, you need to change NOW.

We entered this business year amongst a lot of uncertainty.... the GFC was just taking hold and we all wondered what it meant for us.  Well, we’ve been playing in that context now for more than 6-months... we know the state of play.  The question is, are you playing the best game you can in that context.... or are you still using last year’s plays?

Now is a great time to take stock, review your business performance and chart your course of action for the next six-months.  The end of the financial year forces us to look at the financial score.... while you’re at it, look at other key indicators in your business and determine if you’re on track to reach the targets you set for yourself at the beginning of the year.

If you were giving your business this half-time address, what would you say?

Cat

Igniting your business performance

Alito - Business Mentors

by Cat Matson

Many business owners I talk to have read Michael Gerber’s ‘The E-Myth’.  First published in 1986 it talks of the ‘fatal assumption’ many business owners make that

And so many technically brilliant plumbers, accountants, IT consultants, bakers, hairdressers and every other form of ‘technician’ leave the security and safety of employment and start their own business, believing it is the key to lifestyle and financial riches.

However as Gerber points out, as technically brilliant technicians, these ‘Entrepreneurs’ get forever ‘stuck’ in the doing-ness of running a business that delivers their technical skill... and therefore never actually achieving the lifestyle returns they desire.
Gerber’s solution (in summary) is to systemise the business sufficiently to leverage the business owner ‘out’ of the business.... leaving him or her free to pursue other interests.

And in that very statement lies what I say is the real entrepreneurial myth.  That business owners want to pursue other interests.

Yes, they want more free time.  Yes, they want more financial and other returns for their blood, sweat and tears.  Yes, they are frustrated with being ‘stuck’ in the business.

But I am yet to talk to a business owner who really, deep down, wants ‘out’ of the business.  Most business owners I know love what they do.... that’s what they want more time to do.  What gets in the way is all the ‘other stuff’ involved in running the business.

So rather than looking to get yourself ‘out’ of the business, how would it be if you set up your business so you could be very much ‘IN’ it, doing what you love?  What if you could spend your days ‘doing your craft’, adding value to your clients’ and customers’ lives by sharing your expertise, experience and passion?

The real ‘E-Myth’ is that success lies in leverage.  It doesn’t necessarily.  Success lies in a model that ‘works’ for you.

Cat

Igniting your business performance

Alito - Business Mentors

by Cat Matson

Do you ever feel like your head is ‘full’?  Full of things to do, clients to contact, tasks to do, staff to manage, bills to pay, opportunities to pursue, emails to reply to, reading to catch up, not to mention all the personal things that need to be handled.  
If you’re anything like me, when your head gets too full, it’s hard to know what to do next.... so you spend your days (and weeks) in ‘doing-ness’ mode, being really, really busy, but not actually making any progress on the things that matter.  One of the keys to solve this problem is to create space in your head to get perspective and clarity.

Systems in business are one way to create this space.  Systems give you (and your staff) a way to complete regular tasks without having to think about them, so they become a no-brainer.  Business owners often complain though that they don’t have time to create systems.  My tip is you don’t need to create the system, just document what you already do.... then next time, follow your checklist. 

Another way to create head space is to have a simple action plan for achieving your key targets or objectives.  This helps clarify what you need to do to keep developing the business and allows your mind to stop thinking about random thoughts of ‘what next?’  I use a One Page Plan format that documents the targets for the year, with key strategies and associated actions that are updated regularly.  This puts my mind at ease when I start wondering how to achieve targets and therefore gives me space to get on with the daily operations of the business.

My final tip is to change your normal environment: sit at a nice coffee shop for ½ an hour, go the gym, take the dog for a walk... anything that takes you away from the impending tasks and supposed urgencies. You might think you’re ‘too busy’ to take the time out, but the head space you find will allow you to be so much more productive.

Cat

Igniting your business performance

Alito - business mentors

by Cat Matson

Last week I bought Wiggles tickets for myself, my boys and friends of ours.  I bought them via Visa's 'exclusive' pre-sale, believing I would have 'exclusive' access to great seats before they went on sale to the general public.

What this meant was I did the 21st century, internet-based equivalent of sleeping out overnight to secure the best tickets - I completely structured my 'mummy-day' so I would be home, in front of my computer on the dot of 12 noon when the tickets went on sale, with Masters 4 & 19 months suitably occupied for 1/2 and hour while I secured great seats.

You see, last year when we went to the Wiggles, we were on our way to the nose-bleed section.  My outgoing, be the 'centre-of-the-action' then 3 year old was desperate to go up to the stage and boogie with the other screaming fans (sorry, dancing pre-schoolers)... but because we were not in seating on the floor, he had to be happy with just dancing in his seat.  So I made the decision then and there to make sure I did everything I could to get awesome seats next time 'round.

So, online I was at 12.... only to discover there were no tickets left for any of the 4 open shows on the floor.  My disappointment (and mild panic) was palpable - I had missed out on premium, 'up-close-and-personal' seats despite virtually being one of the first in the queue.

In turns out that in order to get the really cool-kid seats (yes, cool for 4 year olds is very different to cool for 16 year olds), I needed to have been a member of the Wiggles club itself.  My friends and I suspect that it is this exclusive group that really get the 'premium' access to the great seats.  Trouble is, I have to pay a (additional) monthly fee for that privilege.  If it's only exclusive access to pre-sale concert tickets that I want from that 'membership' then those concert tickets become quite expensive at the end of the year.

So in this case, my membership to the 'exclusive Visa club' wasn't enough - I needed to belong to the even more exclusive 'Wiggles Club'.

My point here is if you're offering 'exclusive' benefits (like premium seating, pre-sale opportunities to buy or members-only privileges) then you need to be able to back them up.  My disappointment was firstly directed to the ticket reseller, then to the Visa 'club'.  These have now been negatively affected to some degree in my mind as they failed to deliver on their promised exclusive benefits. 

The Wiggles as a brand stands clean - they never promised me good seats, they just promised me a good show.

Cat

Igniting your business performance

Alito - business mentors