BUSINESS NEWS
Ready to take your business to the next level? How a Virtual CFO can elevate your business. By Paul Cunningham, SMART Business Solutions Most business owners would be familiar with the adage, you need to take time to work on your business rather than in it. Whilst we are familiar with the concept and we can appreciate its sentiment, actually implementing the time and work necessary to abide by the sentiment can be difficult for many small to medium business owners. Award-winning SMART Business Solutions, Mornington Peninsula’s leading accounting and business advisory firm, have a reputation for their strong technical and advisory skills.
things that SME owners often miss out on, like time with family and friends.” says Paul
As one of the Associates at SMART Business Solutions, Paul Cunningham knows the difference between a good business and a great business is ensuring you take some space to step out of the business on a regular basis to look at everything subjectively.
“First you need a business plan. This should entail what you want your business to look like in 12 months, and what you want to get out of it, both in terms of financial gain but also how it can positively impact your personal life, like ensuring there is time allowed for a holiday. In writing down your plan, you are going to come up with a list of goals for your business. These goals can then be extended out into action items.” says Paul.
“When business owners dedicate the appropriate time to work on their business the results can be phenomenal. These results don’t necessarily need to be growth. It’s about taking the time to ensure the business owners are getting what they need from the business. Importantly, this could also mean ending up with more time back to spend on
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So where do you start?
“Dedicate time each month to work solely on the goals and actions identified in your business plan. Take 2 to 3 hours that are set aside solely for this. This is not a time where you are available to staff,
customers or suppliers. Block out the time in your calendar to prioritise it, and make sure you are doing this at a time of the day where you are most productive. For example, if you’re most effective before lunchtime, don’t leave this important time till after the kids are in bed and you’re tired. You must treat yourself as your most important customer.” “In the time you allocate consider the following items for review and action: >
Start with your goals – Are you on track? Do some goals need more attention to detail? Can you mark some goals as successful and create new goals?
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Have some form of financial reporting – speak with your accountant or bookkeeper to understand basic concepts in terms of turnover, gross profit margin and break-even points.
