Monday Motivation: Build Back Better, Improve Your Resilience, Take the 4 Week Business Boost

Boost Your Resilience

Strategy will get you there.

• Recover quicker
• Recover better
• Build back better

Build back better so your business is stronger and better prepared for dealing with future challenges and crises.

Good strategy will get you there. 

Week 1 – Customers
Week 2 – Employees
Week 3 – Financials
Week 4 – Make a Plan

Get everyone involved
Ask customers for feedback
Ask employees for suggestions

Customers

Questions – some examples
How can we improve our customer service?
How can we improve our customer experience?
How can we improve our customer care?
How can we help our customers become more successful?
How can we make our customers more delighted?
How can we reward our customers for their loyalty?
How can we get our customers to buy more?
How can we get our customers to buy more frequently?
How can we get our customers to refer their friends to us?

Employees

Questions – some examples
How can we involve our employees more?
How can we motivate our employees more?
How can we reward our employees more?
How can we inspire our employees more?
How can we educate our employees more?
How can we get suggestions from our employees to make our business better?

Financials

Questions – some examples
How can we achieve more sales?
How can we achieve better profits?
How can we have more money in the bank?
How can we persuade customers to pay quicker?
How can we have less cash tied up in stock?
How can we improve the current position?
What has been happening over the previous 5 years?
Where do we want to be in 5 years time?
How are we going to get to where we want to be in 5 years time?

Make a Plan

5 Steps to Make a Plan

1. Review all the information
2. Consider all the options
3. Decide on the best ones
4. Put the changes in place
5. Monitor the results, and make adjustments if required

And keep monitoring results.

If you don’t monitor and measure, then you can’t manage, so you won’t improve.

Every Business is Different

No-one knows your business better than you and your team.

Get everyone onboard. Get ideas flowing.

Create your own list of questions to the answers you want and need to know.

• Build back better
• Be prepared
• Become more resilient

Good luck with your business. Have a great week. 

Thanks for reading

Gordon
www.makeyourbusinessbetter.co.uk
makeyourbusinessbetter@gmail.com

www.makeyourbusinessbetter.co.uk/help-sheets/

Please check out my website for lots of useful stuff for anyone running a small business, starting up one or just thinking about it. Quick practical help, much of it free, many time and money saving tips to help you make your business better

Monday Motivation: How Do You Influence Others? What Would You Do?

How do you influence others?

“Get them involved to get them on board… If we’ve got ideas that require real buy-in and belief from our colleagues to be a success, we shouldn’t foist our demands on other people… You need to let people choose their own lottery tickets.” Caroline Webb, from her outstanding bestseller How to Have a Good Day

If you have tried simple nudges like making a suggestion and it has not proved successful, what do you do then?

Below are 3 different scenarios – in each situation, what would you do?

Scenario 1 – a new recruit

A company works hard to develop a supportive and collaborative team culture. It is seen as an important competitive advantage that has contributed in attracting top talent from its competitors over recent years. This growing reputation results in strong demand for places at all levels whenever the company advertises for new staff.

A new employee joins your team. Initially, they show great promise: enthusiastic, hard-working, good energy. Early signs are they will make a valuable addition to the team. Every new recruit receives 1-to-1 training and is also encouraged to ask anyone questions if they need any assistance.

After a few weeks, it becomes apparent that advice and guidance are not being learned. Also, suggestions from colleagues to improve things are not being heeded and mistakes are being made with work having to be corrected. Valuable time is being wasted through reworking jobs.

Someone, who could prove to be a real star for your company, is letting themselves down. Everyone makes mistakes but not to learn from them and to keep repeating the same ones, despite suggestions and guidance from more experienced team members who can see the potential and also wants to see them succeed, is raising question marks.

What would you do to improve things?

Scenario 2 – a manager

A project requires input from several members of the team, including your manager. Everyone else in the team completes their required contribution to the monthly report in good time but your manager repeatedly leaves their input until the last minute causing hurried amendments and reworking before the regular client meeting. This is causing tension and frustration among the other team members and a couple of valued colleagues have already moved on in recent months due to nothing being done to improve the current situation.

Your manager is well known in the company at not being good at taking advice and quick to adopt a defensive position. He/she is also responsible for many things, including your annual appraisal.

What would you do?

Scenario 3 – a client

A new client signs up to your company.

It is agreed that they will provide information at the end of each month and your company will process the information into useful reports to help the client to operate their business better.

It soon becomes apparent that the client is either late providing the information or not providing all that is required. Obtaining the missing information is leading to delays before the reports can be completed.

If the new client could just supply the information in good time for a couple of months, they would see the benefits that doing so could provide. They could potentially be enjoying greater financial rewards: more sales, better profits, more cash in the bank, an increase in salaries, etc.

Your client pays the fees.

What would you do?

Good luck with your business. I hope you all have a great week.

Thanks for reading

Gordon
www.makeyourbusinessbetter.co.uk
makeyourbusinessbetter@gmail.com

www.makeyourbusinessbetter.co.uk/help-sheets/

Please check out my website for lots of useful stuff for anyone running a small business, starting up one or just thinking about it. Quick practical help, much of it free, many time and money saving tips to help you make your business better

Monday Motivation: Be Nice

Be Nice

It is the foundation of the customer service experience.

Being nice is so simple and easy. There’s no excuse not to be nice.

It may appear to be of minor importance, but don’t be fooled. It’s more important than you think.

Never overlook the power of being nice.

With thanks to Shep for the inspiration of the above. To learn more, including why being nice is like the dishwasher in a restaurant, please read the full article below.

Be nice! It is the foundation of the customer service experience.https://t.co/MSM1zEtRs3 #customerservice #customerexperience #CX pic.twitter.com/YxpRK2gGAZ

— Shep Hyken (@Hyken) July 21, 2021

Good luck with your business. I hope you all have a great week.

Thanks for reading

Gordon
www.makeyourbusinessbetter.co.uk
makeyourbusinessbetter@gmail.com

www.makeyourbusinessbetter.co.uk/help-sheets/

Please check out my website for lots of useful stuff for anyone running a small business, starting up one or just thinking about it. Quick practical help, much of it free, many time and money saving tips to help you make your business better

Monday Motivation: The Odds of Hitting Your Target go up Dramatically When You Aim at it

“The Odds Of Hitting Your Target Go Up Dramatically When You Aim At It.”  Mal Pancoast

Customer targeting is essential to business success.

3 Key Benefits Of Customer Targeting

1. Customer satisfaction
2. Better scalability
3. The power of groups

With thanks to Enterprise Nation for the inspiration of the above. To read the full article and learn the 5 tips for creating a list of target customers, please follow the link below.

Five tips for creating a list of target customers https://t.co/Uf9aTuKQSn @e_nation #ThursdayThoughts

— make your business better (@makeyourbusine1) October 15, 2020

Good luck with your business. Have a great week.

Thanks for reading

Gordon
www.makeyourbusinessbetter.co.uk
makeyourbusinessbetter@gmail.com

www.makeyourbusinessbetter.co.uk/help-sheets/

Please check out my website for lots of useful stuff for anyone running a small business, starting up one or just thinking about it. Quick practical help, much of it free, many time and money saving tips to help you make your business better

Wednesday Wisdom: Win or Learn Today

“I never lose. I either win or I learn.” Nelson Mandela

Win or learn today.

And here are 15 more quotes from Nelson to inspire you.

15 Inspiring Quotes From Nelson Mandela On Leadership, Change And Life via @forbes https://t.co/b8BDTcUlVG

— Erika Andersen (@erikaandersen) March 16, 2021

Good luck with your business. Hope you are having a great week.

Thanks for reading

Gordon
www.makeyourbusinessbetter.co.uk
makeyourbusinessbetter@gmail.com

www.makeyourbusinessbetter.co.uk/help-sheets/

Please check out my website for lots of useful stuff for anyone running a small business, starting up one or just thinking about it. Quick practical help, much of it free, many time and money saving tips to help you make your business better

Wednesday Wisdom: Trust In Yourself

“The very essence of ‘trusting yourself’ is the ability to sit with doubts and uncertainty so we can learn and grow from them.” Rachel Botsman

To learn more, please follow Rachel’s Twitter account.

Be inspired.

Trust yourself.

The very essence of 'trusting yourself' is the ability to sit with doubts and uncertainty so we can learn and grow from them. To understand how being able to hold that state is the key to turning our fear of the unknown into the space of possibility. pic.twitter.com/SmurjBo7Di

— Rachel Botsman (@rachelbotsman) June 17, 2021

Good luck with your business. Hope you are having a great week.

Thanks for reading

Gordon
www.makeyourbusinessbetter.co.uk
makeyourbusinessbetter@gmail.com

www.makeyourbusinessbetter.co.uk/help-sheets/

Please check out my website for lots of useful stuff for anyone running a small business, starting up one or just thinking about it. Quick practical help, much of it free, many time and money saving tips to help you make your business better

Wednesday Wisdom: Be Better

Get Organised, Stay Organised

Lost paperwork costs you time and money. Both are precious. You can’t afford to waste either.

If you think of your paperwork as actual cash, you will do things differently.

You will do things better.

Be better.

Inspired by @Ally"#Money talk shouldn’t be 280 characters or less.Yet,here we are"
"#Financialeducation shouldn't be 280 characters or less.Yet,we are going to try"

If you think of your paperwork as actual cash, you will do things differently. You will do things better.#BeBetter pic.twitter.com/Zd3dKWIG3G

— make your business better (@makeyourbusine1) July 2, 2021

Good luck with your business. Hope you are having a great week.

Thanks for reading

Gordon
www.makeyourbusinessbetter.co.uk
makeyourbusinessbetter@gmail.com

www.makeyourbusinessbetter.co.uk/help-sheets/

Please check out my website for lots of useful stuff for anyone running a small business, starting up one or just thinking about it. Quick practical help, much of it free, many time and money saving tips to help you make your business better

Monday Motivation: Grow Your Business Faster With SMART Goals

What the heck are SMART goals?

SMART Goals Are;

1. Specific
2. Measurable
3. Achievable
4. Relevant
5. Time-based

To learn more, please read David’s excellent article below.

Here's how you can incorporate them into your quarterly planning strategy. https://t.co/PL0O8g2cvJ

— Inc. (@Inc) June 22, 2021

Good luck with your business. Hope you have a great week.

Thanks for reading

Gordon
www.makeyourbusinessbetter.co.uk
makeyourbusinessbetter@gmail.com

www.makeyourbusinessbetter.co.uk/help-sheets/

Please check out my website for lots of useful stuff for anyone running a small business, starting up one or just thinking about it. Quick practical help, much of it free, many time and money saving tips to help you make your business better

Monday Motivation: 10 Ways to Improve Your Business Today

The Basics

The following 10 items might sound very basic. Surely everyone does them already? You’d be surprised how many business owners don’t do them. Some of them will be your competitors.

Discipline

In my experience, the difference between the successful businesses and the unsuccessful is the successful ones are prepared to do the basics and have the discipline to do so. The basics are not sexy, some are not very exciting, but they will help you make your business stronger and more resilient.

Resilience

A resilient business is a stable business. A resilient business is more likely to survive crises. A resilient business is one that has measures in place before a crisis hits.

Do the basics, do them well, and keep doing them.

10 Ways to Improve Your Business Today

1. Customers – Try to get quick feedback with every sale/invoice/receipt. Think of ways to ask your customers/clients what they think of your current services/products. Are they happy with your customer service? What improvements would they like to see? Do they think your service/product is good value for money? Would they prefer an improved quality or a lower price? If customers can see how hard you are working to be a success, most people will want to help. You just have to give them the means to do so. Ask them.
2. Employees – Consultation and participation. Talk to your employees, find out what they really think and what your customers/clients are saying to them. Set up a suggestions scheme, get ideas flowing. Arrange regular meetings which lead to improvements and real change, not just “talking-shops”. Your employees are the eyes and ears of your business. Use them well.
3. Review – Look at the previous 3/5/10 years accounts and prepare a plan for the next 5 years. Write down the headline information; sales, profits, cash, debtors, stock. What do you notice? What issues need to be addressed? Using the previous years’ figures, now enter figures for the next 5 years using the same headings. Do they look realistic?
4. Get Organised – Look at your current procedures. What particular problems are you having? Identify what needs to be improved. Make a plan.
5. Sort Out Your Paperwork – Lost and/or mislaid paperwork costs you time and money. Both are precious. You can’t afford to waste either.
6. Regular Bookkeeping – Ensure all income and expenditure is processed and up-to-date, including the reconciliation of all bank and credit card accounts. It will help you keep things organised and to ensure you have enough cash to pay your suppliers, employees, tax, etc. Rule 1 of running a business is never run out of cash. Rule 2 is never forget Rule 1.
7. BookkeepingPLUS – Prepare basic management accounts including a financial drivers summary, simple cashflow statement, profit and loss account and balance sheet. It will let you see how your year is going, check your profits, and help you keep a close eye on your cash. Know your sales, profits, cash, and if appropriate to your business, who’s not paid and how much stock you hold, every month. These are all things that have an affect on the health of your business. It is easy to neglect credit control and stock control if you are busy with other, more fun, things but they will cause serious problems to your cash reserves if you are not vigilant with both. Build resilience into your business. This won’t happen overnight, it takes time, but it could help you cope better with future disruptions.
8. 6 and 9 Month Tax-planning Review – If your bookkeeping is complete, why not use it to see if there is anything you can do to reduce your tax bill before your financial year-end? What’s your profit likely to be? Estimate your tax bill too. Is there anything you can do to reduce the profit and tax bill before the end of your financial year? What equipment do you need to replace? Think about it before your year-end. Be prepared.
9. Prepare Year-end Accounts and Tax Return in Good Time – It will let you know, nice and early, what your tax bill is going to be. You then have plenty time to make sure you have or are putting enough cash aside to pay your tax when it’s due. It will also help you budget for next year. For many small business owners, their tax bill is often one of the biggest expenses of the year. Why would you not want to know what it is, sooner rather than later? There is no benefit to you in leaving it until the last minute. That’s when nasty surprises happen.
10. Update Your 5 Year Budget Plan – Is there anything in the past year that indicates that the sales, profits, cash figures need amended? A budget plan doesn’t have to be fancy, or detailed. It is to help you plan for the future. Why not record the previous 5 years headline information and use it as a guide for the next 5 years as a roadmap to get where you want to be?

Competitive Advantage

If you have the discipline to do the basics which some of your competitors don’t do, you will have a competitive advantage over them.

You can then build a stronger, more resilient, business.

Plan

So, make a start. Make a plan. Get everyone in the business involved. Get ideas flowing.

Do it today.

Make July the start of your recovery to help your business build back better.

Good luck with your business. Have a great week.

Thanks for reading

Gordon
www.makeyourbusinessbetter.co.uk
makeyourbusinessbetter@gmail.com

www.makeyourbusinessbetter.co.uk/help-sheets/

Please check out my website for lots of useful stuff for anyone running a small business, starting up one or just thinking about it. Quick practical help, much of it free, many time and money saving tips to help you make your business better

Monday Motivation: 3 Sales Skills to Master to Achieve a Healthier and Happier You

You’ll be healthier and happier if you master these three simple behaviors.

3 Sales Skills Everyone Should Know

1. Listening
2. Simplifying
3. Being thick-skinned

To read Geoffrey’s excellent article, please follow the link below.

Learn. Master. Achieve.

Master these 3 skills and you'll build stronger relationships and be much happier. @Sales_Source https://t.co/PXTpofONjH

— Inc. (@Inc) June 8, 2021

Good luck with your business. Hope you have a great week.

Thanks for reading

Gordon
www.makeyourbusinessbetter.co.uk
makeyourbusinessbetter@gmail.com

www.makeyourbusinessbetter.co.uk/help-sheets/

Please check out my website for lots of useful stuff for anyone running a small business, starting up one or just thinking about it. Quick practical help, much of it free, many time and money saving tips to help you make your business better