COMMON MISTAKES BUSINESSES MAKE
INTRODUCTION At Business Basix, we have hands on experience with businesses facing different problems. In a lot of cases, they are not even aware that any mistakes were being made, let alone how to deal with them. On the other hand, there are situations in which the managerial part of the team keeps convincing themselves that it is just a slump and that things will change any day now. Slumps are not supposed to happen, if they do happen, you should immediately start looking for reasons why. Here are some of the most common mistakes a business can make without even being aware of what they are doing. 1. Poor attention-to-detail and poor management 2. Being overworked and stress related problems 3. Lack of staff motivation and investment 4. Obsolete work approaches & insufficient tools 5. Ignoring your Family & Friends 6. Failing to Lead by Example 7. Avoiding or disregarding social networks
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Common Mistake # 1 POOR ATTENTION-TO-DETAIL AND POOR MANAGEMENT Overview Not being up-to-date with the latest information and not being diligent with running your numbers can put you under very fast. Sometimes, spending endless hours crunching the numbers is not the best use of your time but monitoring your key performance indicators regularly is.
Possible Solutions Outsourcing the number crunching is very effective; and this is highly recommended if you hate working with figures. Manage by walking around (MBWA) is a great way to remain updated about everything. Don’t just sit there at your desk, get out and about, show interest.
How We Can Help A business mentor is like having an extra pair of eyes and ears. He/she can help you identify cracks through which your funds are leaking away and identify the potential for further growth. Business Basix can help you remain updated when it comes to vital business information, helping you achieve business sustainability and better results.
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Common Mistake # 2 BEING OVERWORKED AND STRESS RELATED PROBLEMS Overview We live in an age of workaholics, and there still never seems to be enough time to get everything in order. Prolonged periods of stressful and exhausting work can turn you into an unrealistic and close-minded person. This can lead to poor decision making and even make you impossible to work with.
Possible Solutions Give yourself enough time to rest and relax, so you can be on top of your game when big decisions are made. Making sure that major errors don’t occur is a must, but mistakes are going to occur whether you like it or not. Learn to manage smaller mistakes and let your team learn from them, instead of stressing yourself crazy. View problems as challenges that have to be overcome and learn to grow by overcoming them.
How We Can Help Stress is your enemy, and in order to fight stress, you will have to plan your time effectively so you have almost everything covered. Business Basix can help you find ways to plan more effectively by providing easy to use and powerful tools with a short setup time and quick results.
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Common Mistake # 3 LACK OF STAFF MOTIVATION AND INVESTMENT Overview A lot of businesses tend to forget that their staff need to be properly motivated in order to keep their effectiveness and productivity. Team spirit is not just a catchphrase you use from time to time, it’s a business philosophy.
Possible Solutions Setting valid KPI’s (key performance indicators) and establishing realistic, incentivised business goals will keep your staff engaged. Staff buy-in along with ownership of business goals creates unbelievable business leverage, acknowledgment and reward are powerful motivators. Don’t underestimate the power of a simple acknowledgment of a job well done.
How We Can Help Invest time and energy into your staff. Find what motivates them and share your business goals so they too can buy-into your aspirations. By allocating more time around projects that bring in more gain, you are automatically achieving greater productivity. Business Basix can help you identify these projects and help you develop KPI’s to motivate your team.
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Common Mistake # 4 OBSOLETE WORK APPROACHES & INSUFFICIENT TOOLS Overview Make sure you are up to date with the latest ways of doing things. You can’t expect your employees to be productive if you are forcing them to use obsolete and inefficient tools.
Possible Solutions If you have insufficient resources and tools you can always rely on outsourcing in order to avoid big capital investments. Planned replacement of your IT Hardware perhaps every three years (PC’s, Laptops, Tablets etc) will ensure that it is reliable and current, ultimately aiding processing efficiencies. Staff training is something that is usually disregarded by business owners. Invest in training, when you can. It keeps your staff motivated and inspired ultimately leading to increased productivity.
How We Can Help A sound practical IT Policy is a valuable corner stone to business efficiency and protection of valuable business data. Business Basix can help you setup a functional and secure IT policy, which will help you manage projects more easily. It will also help with motivation, since employees will not be forced to resort to rudimentary and obsolete tools and methods.
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Common Mistake # 5 IGNORING YOUR FAMILY & FRIENDS Overview While you might think you are doing right by your family by spending most of your time at work, working long hours means that you are not spending quality time with your friends and family. Not only can this impact the health of those relationships it can also mean that you start to resent your business for taking you away from them.
Possible Solutions If you really can’t avoid spending so much time at work, at least make it up to them from time to time by taking a break and spending some quality time with those closest to you. Make sure that you have the time for those magic moments and important life events like birthdays, graduations, anniversaries, etc. Are you spending 60% or more of your time holding a mobile device rather than your partner’s hand? Reverse the imbalance be a better partner, re-kindle the connection and romance.
How We Can Help Family is a place you draw your energy and motivation from. If you don’t pay attention to them, you will lose that drive and home will become a place you are not familiar with. Business Basix can help you plan out your time a bit better so you can focus on what really matters.
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Common Mistake # 6 FAILING TO LEAD BY EXAMPLE Overview Just because you’re the boss does not mean that you automatically earn respect, you have to earn it. If you’re behaving badly then expect your staff to become dysfunctional. But if you’re leading by example then expect your staff to follow and help you to build your business for success.
Possible Solutions Be a part of your employees’ everyday lives and try to inspire them through the hard work you are putting in yourself. Relate to your people, bury dysfunction, and encourage positive behaviour at all times. Tackle your enjoyable tasks first, build positive thoughts that give you a buzz, then tackle the things you hate.
How We Can Help At Business Basix, we know that during the busy or tough times stress can make you say and do things you normally wouldn’t do. When times are tough the ability to succeed is an increasing challenge. By engaging a business mentor during these times helps to provide a sounding board to help guide you through and turning these challenging times around.
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Common Mistake # 7 AVOIDING OR DISREGARDING SOCIAL NETWORKS Overview Networking, lead generation, customer relations and a functional social media strategy can create extra opportunities. A lot of companies overlook the value and impact of social media and how it can create sales leads, you do this at your own peril.
Possible Solutions Outsource if you don’t have enough manpower to deal with social media. A CRM (Customer Relation Management) system is a must if you are working in the web environment. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) can help you get ahead as well, and your website will need regular maintenance and updating to keep it indexing.
How We Can Help Business is constantly shifting and its a challenge to keep up with the demands of online marketing whilst keeping your business afloat. Let Business Basix help you by lightening the workload. Building effective tactical business plans and showing you ways of leveraging your time effectively with great outcomes.
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ABOUT US Getting a business out of a tight situation is not a thing that is easily achieved, and we are very well aware of that. Fortunately, our experience and expertise is extensive. We have been faced with a lot of different situations and have always managed to land on our feet. A business mentor is someone who is there to provide you with practical and real solutions. When the situation is dire, there is no time to waste. We focus on helping businesses get to higher productivity, identify optimal business goals and cut their losses by identifying weak points. Not every business is the same and there are some values that businesses are not willing to part with. Being a business mentor includes respect for these kinds of situations, and we are prepared to work within your framework. There is a difference between having a coach and a business mentor. We are not here to change your entire business from the roots up, we are here to help you make your ideas functional so, give us a call.
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BUSINESS BASIX John Stringer 0408 729 507 www.businessbasix.com.au