When tough times strike my heart goes out to those businesses on the edge, and of course instead of talking about daily things that can trip up a marginal business, we are now talking about bigger fundamental global meltdown type trip ups.
So when the going gets tough how many of the businesses on the edge […]

I have seen a range of TV current affairs shows recently pointing out businesses (reasonable sized ones on occasions), going under and taking investors with them. If you invest in a business it is risky, any sort of business (and I don’t care what glossy brochure or figures they show you…)
So there are risks involved […]

In the “topsy turvy” world of franchise contracts, agreements etc, (which many franchisees have little understanding of) it’s painfully obvious that many of these documents ask the franchisee to jump through hoops, but how about working things the other way?
Over time the franchisor will build a “watertight contract” and expect the franchisee to know a […]

When yo got started in business you probably didn’t figure on how much it would cost to get started, I guess no one really knows until they have done it. and for so many people in business they find they just don’e have enough to really cover their marketing costs to get a decent response.
There […]

So what do you do when things get quiet in the business?
Do you…
- Wonder why?
- Start to do all the little things that you mean to do when you are busy?
- Start marketing?
- Sack some staff!?
- Sit and wait…
- Check how things were this time last year?
- Ask what’s happening?
- PANIC!
- Change things?
- Go back […]

Getting started in business is one thing, gaining success is another. Many of us will have seen and heard of people who have failed in business even though they felt they had a great business idea and the finances to put behind it to get started… So what went so wrong that it failed?
Lets look […]

A friend and I were chatting, he is to be made redundant, and after many years in his role with a big multinational he stands to get a good pay out. He’s still got plenty of time as an able bodied worker and wants to work… But.
There have been a number of larger businesses fold […]

Another franchise buying tip for the non business person.
You are excited about the business you are looking at and in most cases you have gone out on a limb  and “emotionally bought in” to the business and no matter what someone tells you, you are going to buy it. BUT to be sure you have […]

If  you are out to buy a franchise watch out for this trick designed to lure the non business person into their lair…
- Income guarantee -
You currently have an income with a job, you get $$ to take home and spend… that’s the usual definition of income, but in business circles this can be used […]

You have the business set up and things are running ok. You handle customers well, you pay the staff, you keep things ship shape in the bookkeeping area, all seems well, but are you making any money, real money, real income?
In the scheme of things those that have gone from an employee to a business […]

From an original article on various business success pointers, here are the individual “how to” possible options for you to explore.
Training to win/win
You and your staff should be trained to make the whole show win, then the customers can win too. A great position to get to and stay in.  For some the idea […]

From an original article on various business success pointers, here are the individual “how to” possible options for you to explore.
Upholding great values
People love it when you are on a positive footing and in the values area it’s a great place to start (integrity – honesty, truthfulness etc.).
Start the business with a strong stance on […]

From an original article on various business success pointers, here are the individual “how to” possible options for you to explore.
Covering overheads easily…
Overheads are often the thing that break the camels back, so make it easy for the camel and take the pressure off, in this case keeping the turnover and cash flow up so […]

From an original article on various business success pointers, here are the individual “how to” possible options for you to explore.
Enjoyable to run
Who wants a business, which is a hassle to run? Who wants to work in a tough field? No one… Make it a joy to be part of for you and staff […]

From an original article on various business success pointers, here are the individual “how to” possible options for you to explore.
Creating easily saleable products and services
You want people to buy, not to um and err then walk away, so it should be easy for them to select what they want and then make the purchase […]

From an original article on various business success pointers, here are the individual “how to” possible options for you to explore.
Does your business fill a need and or want?
Hopefully it does both. If there is no need for what you have there will be no sales, therefore no business. This is a vital prerequisite for […]

From an original article on various business success pointers, here are the individual “how to” possible options for you to explore.
Creating a business that people love!
Customers and staff a like love the business and what it does, heck why have a business that people despise? Go for love, it’s much better. But that’s easy […]

From an original article on various business success pointers, here are the individual “how to” possible options for you to explore.
Growth ability
Starting out in business is one thing, growing the business to be more than it currently is another… And for many business people the idea of growing the business seems strange, they have […]

From an original article on various business success pointers, here are the individual “how to” possible options for you to explore.
Profitable
At the end of the day it’s what’s left in the kitty that counts. With no profit you’re a charity or a hobby, which do you want?
Lets say that you want to be more than […]

From an original article on various business success pointers, here are the individual “how to” possible options for you to explore.
Is it readily understood?
If your business produces widgets for the trucking industry it’s important for the target market (trucking companies in this case), to readily understand what it is you are providing. If you are […]

From an original article on various business success pointers, here are the individual “how to” possible options for you to explore.
Structural integrity
The systems and procedures for your business are vital to ensuring a solid foundation and the supporting structures up from there are suitable. The aim with developing structural integrity is to ensure that “when […]

From an original article on various business success pointers, here are the individual “how to” possible options for you to explore.
Sustainable and Robust
When you start up in business you probably do so wanting it to last, so you can get more than just the $$ it cost you to get started. So you need […]

Here’s Jerry’s 3 rules of life, pretty simple… so lets add some business thinking points to it.
Print it, use it, tick things off as you do them, make notes, add to the list, include some of these points in your staff training and see what happens.
Thanks Jerry lets see what happens now…
Bust your ass…

Work hard, […]

This is the eighth in a set of posts designed as a series to complement the initial post… Strengths in your business The aim being to provide a simple “How to” guide for people daunted by the prospect of “how to” as it can be too easy to read and say “Oh yeah that’s it, […]

This is the seventh in a set of posts designed as a series to complement the initial post… Strengths in your business The aim being to provide a simple “How to” guide for people daunted by the prospect of “how to” as it can be too easy to read and say “Oh yeah that’s it, […]

This is the sixth in a set of posts designed as a series to complement the initial post… Strengths in your business The aim being to provide a simple “How to” guide for people daunted by the prospect of “how to” as it can be too easy to read and say “Oh yeah that’s it, […]

This is the fifth in a set of posts designed as a series to complement the initial post… Strengths in your business The aim being to provide a simple “How to” guide for people daunted by the prospect of “how to” as it can be too easy to read and say “Oh yeah that’s it, […]

 This is the forth in a set of articles designed as a series to complement the initial post… Strengths in your business The aim being to provide a simple “How to” guide for people daunted by the prospect of “how to” as it can be too easy to read and say “Oh yeah that’s it, […]

This is the third in a set of posts designed as a series to complement the initial post… Strengths in your business The aim being to provide a simple “How to” guide for people daunted by the prospect of how to as it can be too easy to read and say “Oh yeah that’s it, […]

This is the second in a set of posts designed as a series to complement the initial post… Strengths in your business The aim being to provide a simple “How to” guide for people daunted by the prospect of “how to” as it can be too easy to read and say “Oh yeah that’s it, […]

This is the first in a set of posts designed as a series to complement the initial post… Strengths in your business The aim being to provide a simple “How to” guide for people daunted by the prospect of how to as it can be too easy to read and say “Oh yeah that’s […]

I watched this afternoon as a bunch of people stood up, stepped forward and got the living daylights pummeled out of them. They stood tall and after a grueling 3+ hours of warm up exercises it was an incredible feat.
I am talking about Karate not a street fight… (thank goodness!)
What I witnessed was people from […]

Describing business in terms of its stages, infancy, adolescence, maturity and so on is a great way to sum up the situation, but there are impacts and of course differences in each.
So in the development of the franchise from the start up infancy stage, through to maturity there are some different challenges to face that […]

In a previous article I mentioned business being like a roller coaster with its ups and downs… This time lets look at some of the causes of this “uppsy downsy” situation.
1. I feel flat - This can be from a build up of things not going too well, everything else can be okay but the […]

The ACCC (Australian Credit and Consumer Commission) in Australia has released a document to assist franchisees in buying a franchise. The doc outlines a bunch of details about how to find a scam franchise (rare) a glossary of terms… (had to I guess) and a range of things to look out for (good logical stuff).
Problem […]

Of course you want to sell to people… that makes sense (until they invent a robot that can spend cash…)
BUT, what sort of people? Rich ones? Poor ones? Ones that work? Ones that play? Ones that have too much time on their hands? Ones that make decisions on BIG buying opportunities for a BIG […]

Buying a franchise can be a great way to get into business, (if you have not heard that line before you have not been looking into franchises for long.) and if it’s a ‘turnkey’ operation you are probably getting an even better opportunity, one that has all the bells and whistles on start up and […]

When buying any business (or any asset for that matter) it’s advisable to do your homework. Logical? YES! Practical… Not always. In the case of a franchise they (the franchisor) often has the power of numbers, “X number of franchisees can’t be wrong”, (yes some can be ‘wrong’, but they may not want to admit […]

In the world of franchising there are many chances to connect with the Franchisees and the Franchisors, meetings, conferences, and the initial training. As the leader of the franchise (or franchise division) or as the franchisee, search for more ways to connect with each other. Then pass on that ‘connection’ attitude or skill to your […]

No matter what sort of business you are in, it’s only as good as the next crisis is. Has that got you thinking? I hope so. You see many business people chip away at the coal face to get ahead, but do not stop to think about how to handle major challenges that might arise. […]

Most (if not all) Franchises have a franchise fee, (it’s a monthly fee usually) designed to keep the head office “humming”. It’s generally separate from a marketing fee, but that might be on the same invoice you get per month. So what do you get for paying that? I guess the Franchisor will have an […]