WARNING: The more things change the more they stay the same unless

Every Friday we just want to stop the world for a moment and give you a couple of real tips to think about that will make a real difference to your business and in your life.

So we’ve reached the end of another week and we are now hip deep into February – already!  2017 is off to a very fast start and if we’re not careful we may become too busy to keep learning and improving our businesses, lives and business lives.

However, there are some things you can change to make sure you don’t fall back into repeating mistakes from years past or simply missing out on the opportunity to build momentum.  Alright, some tips, then.

Protect your profits

Profits are like the most endangered species – from a small business perspective of course.  As soon as we spot a profit, large or small, we can’t help ourselves – we capture them and then they’re gone.  Profits become an instant answer to a short-term operating cost issue; a quick and easy way to make a payment; lunch money – whatever.  And then before you know it (or reach the end of the month or the quarter) they’ve vanished.  “What happened to my profits? They were right here!”

TIP: Take your profit and set it aside first.  That’s the reward for your hard work – keep it safe.

Concentrate on where you add the most value and outsource what you can

Google just informed me that a team of artisan bakers can produce up to 5000 loaves a day.  So why would we spend hours of our own time baking bread unless we wanted to?  This doesn’t just apply to baking bread it applies to making money too.

If you have some highly sought after skill or product, pour your time into that instead of sacrificing family time or leisure activities.

TIP: Start by outsourcing your bookkeeping and spend more time doing the things that are really important.

Learn how to win at the numbers game

Visiting your accountant can be like watching TV: mildly entertaining if they’re the cheery, chatty type but worst case scenario it can be a bit a like a documentary on erosion without the time-lapse photography.  All you’re doing is watching something play out while you sit there.  Understanding the numbers is the key to changing all of this.  When you “get it”, you’ll become more involved in driving the positive indicators, not just during your visit but most likely, every day.  And that’s a good thing.

TIP:  Ask your accountant to teach you about what’s going on with your numbers, not just “report” on what’s already happened.  You’ll be glad you did.
Okay, the weekend is almost upon us, have another read of this week’s tips on making a change and have a great one.