Jumping In

Take the plunge

As I get longer in the tooth and my priorities change, I realize that although sometimes reality bites and compromise is essential, other times opportunities present themselves that we’d be crazy not to recognize as one-offs and jump in with both feet. Six weeks ago, I did exactly that, when I joined the great team at Bishop Collyer Leadbetter.

I have never shied away from a challenge – I am (was, to be exact as I am now a NZ citizen complete with ‘the tree’ in my back garden!) a self-proclaimed citizen of the world for many years, as my working and personal life has afforded me the opportunity of working and living in many countries. And for a huge variety of businesses – from IBM to Electronic Livestock Tracking Systems to Telecom to AJ Hackett Bungy! Small, medium, large business, and everywhere in between, the basic challenge is the same – how to be innovative, successful (whatever your personal criteria for that is!) and to roll out of bed in the morning with a smile as your feet hit the floor. The rest is detail – important, essential detail to be sure.

The great good fortune I’ve had to know and work with people who have inspired me, motivated me, challenged me, but most importantly BELIEVED in me has been the greatest gift in life. And for me, the manifestation of that, and the only real ‘good’ that will come of that is to have the opportunity to give it back. This is something we are able to do every day, in big ways and in small ways. A smile, a nod of approval, an affirmation or a clarification of intent – something to help someone else understand their own motivation, consequence of an action, or gifts. Someone to bounce ideas off of, to challenge an previously unchallenged way of working or belief or assumption, the sharing of experience.

If we don’t grow we die. Change is the only constant in the universe. I sometimes get overwhelmed with clichés, although in truth they are clichés for a reason – they tend to be true! Things like ‘if you always do what you have always done you will always get what you have always got’ etc. ad nauseum. Challenge, question, re-affirm, test, try.

And when opportunities present themselves, if you KNOW that it’s right, jump in. For many, that is preferable to jumping off…..which I had to do many times in my role as AJ Hackett’s MD 

Governance and People

We spend a deal of time talking and meeting with banks.

Our clients may need extension and or increase of current creit facilities or, in terms of turnaround, they may need the bank to buy into a longer term strategy of parked or frozen debt.

In any case, the keys for banks right now are ;

1. Governance
2. People
3. Profit

Banks need to see solid leadership and quality in terms of financial and non financial reporting.

The business needs to demonstrate a clear ability to generate profits, if not now then as the output of their turnaround plan.

More important than anything else is the abiliyt of the business owner or leader to carry it off. This is not easy to assess but is critical going forward.

So remember – profit, people and governance are more important now than ever before. Businesses across New Zealand are looking to their leaders for a plan.

Looking for a leader - Dunkirk 1940

Making your web site work

Philip Bidwell Architecture, based in Christchurch, have proved that, once you understand why your business needs a web site, achieving success with creation and development becomes much easier.

Form, function and design, applied to web sites

Philip Bidwell designs are the best marketing tools in the business. The web site is there to underwrite the credibility of the design team and the business.

PBAD have recently gone through the process of reinventing their web site and it’s working very well indeed

Clients who are referred to the practice are quickly able to put the practice and their ideas into context.

It is now becoming increasingly evident that more and more buying decisions are qualified through the web, more particularly through google.

Unless you’re in FMCG, there’s  a need to enhance your position in the market and a web strategy should be an integral budget line and part of your business plan.

clean lines and sharp design

We congratulate Philip on this piece of work.

Pipeline is everything right now

If you have a pipeline and you’re managing it – well done and keep reading. If you haven’t…..

sales pipelines are getting thinner and longer

We’ve seen a number of businesses lose their pipeline overnight. The smart business owner has worked through that fright and focused on -

• Who do we want to do business with?
• Who else wants that business and how do we become better than they are?
• What are these customers worth now and in the future?
• How do we keep them?

Now in reality, very business should operate this way all of the time. The current climate does focus the mind a wee bit. So think about your pipeline this way….

• It will get thinner and longer because there’s likely to be less business about and more hesitancy imaking buying decisions.
• If you take all comers you’ll end up moving away from your core business values at best and at worst your core competencies, which will leave your profitablity exposed.
• Always, always , always look at your clients future lifetime value. Unless you’re selling ice cream at the seaside, there’s lileky to be repeat sales opportunity. The cash, phone, fuel and shoeleather you expend now should pay dividends beyond that first sale – allow for that.
• After all that effort you have to keep the client! Those guys you’re competing with are getting hungry too – pre-empt their attack on your client list and work at turning your clients into loyal advocates.

I know, it all sounds easy. Fact is it is if you change some behaviors and habits you’ve gained when you were flat tack with customers everywhere.

Banks are tightening

The days of extending credit to businesses that have holes in the profit and loss seem to be a distant memory. Only months ago, business owners could reasonably have expected to go to the bank,cap in hand and -

1. Take some more of the equity from their home or securitise additonal borrowing against the 8-10% growth
2. Extend th overdraft to tide the business owner

We believe those days are long gone. Be prepared to forecast your revenue ahead at least twelve months and woe betide the business with red ink in the last set of annual accounts.

If you’re in this position right now you need to cast the cold hard light of reality on your business model and plan to change it accordingly. This has been a long time brewing and it’s now a case of dealing with it. If you read the situationsit blog on wordpress you’ll see that futurists were talking about the mess we’re in a couple of years back.

Patch the holes in the sieve and do it quick and don’t count on tea, biscuits and a loan document at the bank.

Get your accounts up to date – start with your accountant and involve your bank – they do not like surprises. If the future looks bleak then deal with what’s in front of you oiver the next 90 days – keep your horizon short and improve your forecasting.

Good luck