Why You Should Have An Advisory Board Meeting Every Two Months
The most successful businesses I’ve worked with have all had one thing in common, they all had some sort of advisory board. Not someone telling them what to do, instead a safe place to float ideas and get support. It works best where you find for your advisory board experienced people, usually a little older, […]
Do You Have Enough Cash For January?
I know everyone is flat out right now but it’s a really good time to do a cash flow forecast and make sure there will be enough cash to get through the usual January dry spell. You probably need a nice rest, not sleepless nights. It’s the same every year. Accounts departments close down and pay […]
The Debit Is Near The Window
That’s an old accounts joke. It’s only funny if you’ve ever struggled with an accounting course. And everyone does when they first start. For budding entrepreneurs having to pass an accounting unit can be downright terrifying. Lots of successful people have told me they feared the numbers at some stage, and they had to sit […]
Competitive Advantage Is Being Good At Things Other People Think Are Too Hard
The Dalai Lama said “It is under the greatest adversity that there exists the greatest potential for doing good, both for oneself and others.” We all know that feeling of being overwhelmed by what lies ahead. We get better, as we get older, at remembering that we have overcome things that once scared the hell […]
Why Businesses Fail
We like saying we are no smarter than anyone else but we get to see inside a lot of businesses at the shop floor level. We have seen some failures, not as much as experts in that field but I want to share with you some things I’ve learned over the years. Hopefully it might […]
You Should Plan For Blue Sky Too
Scenario planning is something that makes perfect sense but a bit daunting to tackle for a lot of people. An easy way to start is to create a table. I use the following headings but use language that works for you. – Fail – Worse – Stay The Same – Work Hard – Blue Sky […]
How A CFO Adds Value To Your Business
Have you noticed that there seems to be a bunch of new Outsourced CFOs about? This is a great thing, I think there needs to be a lot more of us. That’s because there is a big gap between the sort of advice businesses can get from their tax accountants and from someone that has […]
Why Finance Dashboards Never Work
Leaders do vision, they are responsible for the strategy, and then they facilitate the actions everyone needs to take to make the vision happen. It’s always a big job. The tools they need to do all that are many and varied. Not telling you anything you didn’t know right? I think, however, that it’s not […]
The 3 Reports You Need To Run Your Business
I’m writing this on a public holiday, the sun is shining and, after this, the dog and I are going for a run on the beach. I’m doing it today because always I write these blog posts on Sunday mornings, not every Sunday but, when I do, it’s on a Sunday morning. That’s typical discipline […]
Suzzie Used To Be A Chef – She Helped A Friend With A Dinner Party
It was years ago now, and before I met her, but Suzzie M told me a great story about how she helped a friend put on a dinner party, then another, and then it snowballed. Soon she was in hot demand and employing staff to help her cope. I’ve always remembered that conversation when I […]