Bottom Line Magazine - ISSUE ONE

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New Year’s Resolutions For Your Business

7 WAYS TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS

Taking Stock In

DECEMBER Succession

Planning

Plus Love Where You Work

How to Make Your Customers Feel Special

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Contents 5

WANT TO BE TRUSTED ONLINE?

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TAKING STOCK IN DECEMBER:

YOU NEED TO BE AUTHENTIC

THE HALF-WAY POINT IN BUSINESS PLANNING

12 PLANNING SUCCESSION

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NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS FOR YOUR BUSINESS

RECIPE FOR SUCCESS

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Every business should have a business plan to unlock your business potential.

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6 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO MAKE YOUR CUSTOMER FEEL VALUED

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7 WAYS TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS

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WANT TO BE TRUSTED ONLINE? YOU NEED TO BE

Authentic!

No matter what your business is, or how you promote yourself, chances are, someone is going to be looking for information about you online. How you present and maintain your personal brand can be crucial to the growth of your business. But it’s important that your online brand matches who you really are.

Here are some ways you can appear authentic online: 1. Be real about who you are. If you are a one or two person business, don’t pretend to have an enormous team offering a raft of services. Customers can relate to the small business

operator, especially if your online presence is personal and shows your passion for what you do.

2. Be socially authentic. Your level of social media engagement will vary depending on the type and size of your business. Where appropriate (and safe), try to include personal headshots so that your customers know who they are dealing with, and use short video messages to create engaging and authentic content. It’s much easier to see and believe your passion through your voice, body language and facial expressions than to read endless text.

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3. When creating content, make sure you are including some valuable information – not a promise of what they will find out after buying something but a genuine exchange of information. You don’t have to give away your secrets for free, but some generosity and transparency online will build trust with your audience that will make them more likely to pay for goods and services in the future.

4. Make sure your customers can contact you, find your store, or ask questions about your products and services. How many times have you read great things about a business then struggled to spot where they are located? If you are time poor, limit contact details to one or two methods (say email and web form) that you can monitor regularly, and try to respond within 24 hours.

Only include your phone number if you are willing to be contacted at all hours.

5. Make sure everything you say is true and can be verified. The online world is full of scammers hiding behind the smoke and mirrors of their claims to success. But it doesn’t take long for false claims to be uncovered. If you believe in yourself and your business, and have happy clients, the truth will be enough to attract more like them.

6. Focus on the basics – giving your customers great experiences, and listening to their feedback. Own your mistakes. Even if you don’t like or agree with their negative feedback, acknowledge that they did not have the experience they expected or that you intended, whatever the reason.

Responding quickly, maturely and with respect goes a long way in dealing with customer complaints.

7. Seek reviews wherever possible. A third party report will always carry more credibility than claims you can make yourself. Ask clients to complete review online, or do a quick video interview while you are with them and they have just enjoyed your product or service. Rating a service provider is a relatively new online tool and can be vastly useful for your future clients in choosing you. Being given a high rating form your clients is a great compliment and reflection on your service. But make sure you are focussing on the current client’s experience, and not the rating (which will attract future clients).

8. Creating content online can be time consuming and won’t always reap rewards. You don’t have to be on every possible platform – pick two that are appropriate for your business and where you can have an impact, whether that’s Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn or blogging. If you respond and post regularly on one or two platforms you will build followers and enthusiasts through your consistency and availability, rather than jumping on the latest trend and spreading yourself too thin.

Most importantly, make sure your online brand reflects you. Give your online followers the same respect, privacy, attention and professionalism that you would if it was face to face. You know you are being authentic if there are no surprises when you meet an online customer in real life.

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TAKING STOCK IN

DECEMBER

THE HALF WAY POINT IN BUSINESS

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You may just be glad to have made it to the end of the year for a break, but if the holiday season allows you some time to breathe and reflect, it’s a great time to review your business performance for the first half of the year. How are you doing compared to your business plan (because you have one, right?) and for the same period last year?

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f you sell inventory you may literally be counting stock at the year’s end and trying to move slow moving products with sales and discounting, but taking stock and asking questions is a more holistic process of looking at the reasons behind your business performance. What has gone well, and how do we keep doing it? What mistakes do we need to put safely behind us, never to make again?

If you don’t have a business plan and a look back at the year doesn’t fill you with joy, now may be the time to introduce some structured planning.

A business plan is a written document that sets out what you plan to do in your business, and how. You may start with a mission for the future, and use your plan as a map to reach your goals.

Business plans can vary in length, structure and content depending on the type of business, stage of business, and what the plan is being used for. If you are in an established business and just want to set some stretch targets for you and some

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key employees, you may have a onepage high level plan that everyone understands.

If you are using your business plan to raise funds from the bank or investors, or are in a period of significant change or growth (such as adding new divisions or products), your business plan may be a detailed document of 30 pages or more. Business plans are often talked about at the start-up phase, particularly if the business owner seeks funding. Business plans are important throughout all stages of business, with only a subtle difference in the context.

A start-up business plan will need to demonstrate the potential of a business without having past performance as evidence. Therefore, it relies on information such as the potential target market, a marketing plan to reach that market, projected sales, pricing and profitability. In the first few years of a 10

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business this can be hard to estimate, and looking back at actual performance vs the plan may not be all that helpful, except in creating a more realistic plan for the next year.

For an established business that has a proven concept and existing customer base, the business plan will usually build on past performance. You may have a target to increase profit by 10%, and then look at areas in the business that will help you reach it, looking at the resources you have or need to acquire.

This may include your marketing strategy and spend, online enquiries, sales conversion rate, units sold, chargeable hours (for service industries), sales $, cost per unit and gross profit. All of these feed into your financial plans – your projected income and cash flow statements.A business plan is inherently forward looking in nature, so whether you live by your plan each month, or have never created one, you may not

have thought to use it to measure past performance. But what good is a plan if you don’t understand why you haven’t achieved the results?

Your plan was based on a number of assumptions about the future, so if you haven’t reached your planned profit or cash balance for the first half of the year, look at how you are tracking against each of those metrics.

Did you plan for a price increase, but find you lost customers as a result?

Did your suppliers pass on price increases you weren’t expecting? Have your sales team been making enough calls to achieve sales targets, or has your marketing spend generated the leads you expected? Was your preChristmas sale a success? Once you dig into the details of the metrics that impact your profit and cash, you will be able to take action. That could be directing money and resources to more profitable areas, or looking at ways to reduce costs.

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A BUSINESS PLAN IS INHERENTLY FORWARD LOOKING IN NATURE.

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If you’re overwhelmed by masses of financial data, focus on a handful of key performance indicators (KPIs) that you can measure and monitor each month, your accountant can help you to set up a dashboard to track them.

Once you know your key numbers and whether you are hitting them each month, you can make timely decisions to steer your business on the right track.

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SUCCESSION PLANNING

You may have heard about succession planning as part of a retirement plan, and it’s certainly an important consideration for business owners looking to retire. But a succession plan can, and should, be created at any stage of the business to prepare for unexpected events.

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There are a variety of reasons why you may suddenly not be available to run your business, and a succession plan can act as an emergency plan, enabling others to step in and take over.

In general, a succession plan is a roadmap for a planned and gradual exit from the business, whether that is to facilitate retirement, or to free up time for other ventures. The two most common ways of exiting a business are to hand it over to family members (or other familiar parties) or to sell it to an external individual or business. While a succession plan would cover many areas relevant to both types, there would be some subtle differences when preparing to sell a business to an unrelated entity, versus handing it to people already involved in the business.

The challenge for many business owners is that often the greatest value in your business is you. If you have built a business over many years, much of the magic of your business is in your head, and likely in your relationships with others. So the succession plan is a way to work out how you can pass on your knowledge, skills and relationships so that the business can ultimately survive without you. If your customers, suppliers and even employees disappear the moment you do, there will be no value in your business for your successor. This is where your succession plan is crucial – ensuring that all the people important to your business are kept informed and supported through the journey.

EMPLOYEES The first stage of your succession plan is to identify your successors! If you are handing the business to family members, this may be an obvious selection process, but make sure that you have the right people in the right roles. If you are selling your business to an external party, you should still aim to have THE BOTTOM LINE

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transferred your knowledge to your employees, allowing the business to run smoothly under new management.

Selecting people will require a talent review of all of your staff as well as some honest conversations about your plans. Some may see your departure as a reason to move on, while others will be up to the challenge of stepping up into a new role. If there are key people that you need for your business to survive the transition period, consider incentivising them to stay with a bonus structure over the next few years.

THE SUCCESSION PLAN IS A WAY TO WORK OUT HOW TO PASS ON YOUR KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND RELATIONSHIPS. CUSTOMERS Next, look at your customers. Is your business reliant on repeat business from a handful of large customers? If so, look at ways you can secure their future business, for example through customer contracts, exclusivity agreements, loyalty programs.

Take your successor to customer meetings to transition the relationship, and email your database to let them know what’s happening, introducing them to their new account manager.

SUPPLIERS Are you getting preferential rates due to a longstanding relationship? If so, a new owner may not be able to secure the same rates, putting your business value at risk.

Again, get your key employees involved to help transition.

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PROCESSES Having clear and documented processes are crucial to a succession plan – they are the manual of ‘how everything is done’. Having continuity of staff through the transition period will help, but having written processes and procedures will help a new owner manager to pick things up quickly.

VALUATIONS You will need to obtain a business valuation from an expert valuer to determine the value of your business on exit. This may be used to guide your sale price, or to assess the value for capital gains tax. There are several types of valuation method depending on the type of business. Some focus on the existing

assets of the business such as property and machinery, while others look at the projected future performance of the business, in particular revenue.

Having your processes documented, and employee, customer and supplier contracts in place will help the valuer to see that the business has a secure future, which will increase the value.

This is a great time to mentor employees as they take on more of your work, while also giving them the chance to make mistakes. Start to reduce your hours so that they learn not to rely on you being there except in an emergency. Once your plan is in place, you just need to learn to let go!

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New Year’s

RESOLUTIONS FOR YOUR BUSINESS When the clock strikes midnight this December 31st, forget proclaiming you’ll give up chocolate, alcohol and gym-dodging, and think about your business goals. What small changes can you make in 2020 that will help your business reach its potential? Here are nine ideas for your resolutions list. Our tip is to choose three that will really impact your business the most.

If you choose too many, you’re less likely to stick to them.

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It might make you start your new year with a yawn, but managing cash flow is the most important challenge in running your own business. If you haven’t mastered this yet, make 2020 your year. There’s plenty of information online, but a face to face chat with an expert is invaluable – looking at your specific scenarios and allowing you to ask plenty of questions.

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CASH FLOW

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PRICING

Now is a great time to review your pricing strategy and see where you can make some extra money. Check out your competitors, have an honest chat with loyal customers and test run a small increase. A 5% increase may not be a deal breaker for your customers, but could be a big difference to you.

COST REVIEW

What are your top 5 costs each month? If you don’t know, find out.

Start the year with a full review of all your costs, as even small amounts add up. Do you have subscriptions or memberships you don’t use? Does your marketing spend convert to sales?

Pick one cost per month and work on reducing it – is it necessary, can you get a better price elsewhere?

Don’t be afraid to ask your suppliers for a better deal, especially if you’re buying larger quantities than before.

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SOCIAL STRATEGY

Whether you’re a social influencer or reluctant poster, it’s time to review your social strategy.

If you’re investing significant time and money into constant social content, make sure you are using all the tools available to track engagement and sales generated. If your socials are sadly lacking, it’s time to look at whether you’re missing some easy wins.

Check out your competition and talk to your customers about the best way to engage. Don’t be scared, they’ll tell you what you need to know.

the most valuable asset in your business so it’s only natural to review your return on investment.

Once you know your most productive activities, block out time in your calendar to focus on them.

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If there are not enough hours in the day to do everything you need to do, make delegation your friend. If you have employees, see this as an opportunity for their development. If you don’t, maybe it’s time to start hiring. You don’t have to take on full time employees – just outsourcing specific tasks to people with the right skills can free up time for the tasks you are great at and enjoy.

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Having your own business can be selfconsuming, so think back to WHY you started and what you wanted to achieve for yourself and your stakeholders. We’re constantly learning and adapting in business – it may be time to learn some new skills (cash flow management? Social media?) with formal training, or to take time to explore your purpose and values.

DELEGATE

COMMUNICATE

If you’ve been feeling tension with Ever feel like employees, suppliers you’ve worked so or even customers, hard, you don’t know where think about how you the time went, but there’s communicate. Canvass still no money coming in? opinions from people Try tracking your time for 2 you trust about your weeks or a month to get an communication style, idea of exactly where you and how you might spend your time, and which communicate better. activities lead to income.

Don’t view this as an admin chore – your time may be

TRACK TIME

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SELF DEVELOPMENT

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ACCOUNTABILITY BUDDY

Resolutions are more fun with a buddy and it’s easier to stay on track when someone holds you accountable. Whether you meet in person or via technology, it’s great to talk to someone who is going through similar experiences. Even a 30 minute chat every month can help you to brainstorm challenges and celebrate successes. Remember that having your business running the way you want allows you to achieve your personal goals – whether that’s having more time to yourself, more time and money for holidays, a healthier lifestyle or personal growth.

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Recipe for Success

Beer Marinated

BBQ CHICKEN

Prep Overnight Cook 1 hour Easy

Nothing says a lazy summer afternoon better than a BBQ with family and friends and nothing is better on the BBQ than a simple chook. The secret to this sensational barbequed chicken recipe is all in the marinade. The combination of beer, garlic, mustard and lemon is an absolute winner and helps to create the perfect dish for a lunch with family and friends.

INGREDIENTS »» »» »» »» »» »» »» »» »» »»

1 bottle extra stout beer, such as Guinness ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil ¼ cup molasses 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 4 garlic cloves, minced 1 teaspoon sea salt 1 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 whole chicken (neck, giblets and excess fat removed)

Serves 6-8

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METHOD

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In a medium bowl mix the beer, oil, molasses, lemon zest, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper together.

Cut the chicken into 8 pieces (2 breast, 2 thighs, 2 drumsticks and 2 wings).

Place the chicken pieces into a large zip lock bag and pour in marinade.

Remove the air from the bag and seal it. Turn the bag to distribute the marinade evenly. Place bag in a bowl and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours (overnight in ideal).

Remove the chicken from the bag and reserve the marinade.

Pour the marinade into a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Let the marinade boil for 2 minutes before removing from the heat. Transfer ž of the marinade to a small bowl.

Heat your BBQ grill to a medium heat.

Grill the chicken with the skin side up over a medium heat with the lid closed until the meat is no longer pink at the bone. The usual rule of thumb is that the drumsticks and thighs will take 40-50 minutes whilst the breast and wings will take 30-40 minutes. During the last 10 minutes of cooking time baste the chicken with the ž cup of reserved marinade (turning the pieces once or twice during this period).

Remove the chicken from the grill and serve warm with the extra marinade as a sauce on the side.

This dish is perfect served with a crisp green salad and crunchy potatoes.

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LOVE

WHERE YOU W

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WORK

We have all heard the saying, “If you love where you work you will never work a day in your life.” Whilst this might be true in a Hollywood movie, in the real world most of the time work actually feels like just that…

WORK! However, there is truth in the concept that if you love what you do and if you love the place where your work and if you love the people that you work with then work might just be that little bit more enjoyable.

So the question is, how do we do that?

How do we learn to love where we work so that work can feel a little less like just that…

WORK? We have compiled a list of 10 things that will help make your work life a whole lot more enjoyable.

1. MOTIVATE YOURSELF

Your mindset will help to determine how you feel about everything in life – especially your work. Adopting a positive mindset will help your day to be more pleasant and more productive. Listen to some inspiring music on your way to work or a motivational podcast. Adopting a positive attitude is key to being happy.

2. KEEP THINGS IN PERSPECTIVE

At the end of the day, you can only do your best, so as long as you are performing to the best of your ability in the workplace, no one can ask more of you. Don’t put unnecessary pressure on yourself or compare yourself to colleagues. It is important to look beyond

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work and consider the larger life picture and keep things in perspective. Volunteering outside of work is not only a great way to give back to the community but can also be a bit of a reality check.

3. MAKE YOUR WORK SPACE A PLACE THAT YOU ENJOY

You are always happier if you are surrounded by things that give you joy. Decorate your office or cubicle with pictures, quotes or items that uplift and inspire you. Get a cork board and pin up positive letters, emails or cards that you might have received from clients or co-workers.

These will act as a reminder that you are doing a good job and are sure to make you smile.

4. COMPLIMENT SOMEONE EVERY DAY

When someone you work with tells you that they like your idea or thinks that you are doing a great job, it makes you feel appreciated. So, why not do the same for others. It is really easy to acknowledge the positive work of your colleagues and you will soon find that complimenting people can be contagious and others will follow your lead and this will help to create a more positive workplace environment.

5. CREATE OR JOIN AN OFFICE TEAM

Many companies encourage after work social interactions so if your workplace has a company sporting team, why not join it? If they don’t, why not look to start one? Bonding

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with your co-workers outside of work hours can really help to build team spirit and create camaraderie.

6. REALISE THAT YOU ARE MORE THAN YOUR WORK

It is important to identify a separation between your work and personal life and to realise that you are far more than the position you hold within a company. You are a partner, a child, a parent, a member of a sporting team, part of a community and so much more than the title on your business card.

7. CREATE TRADITIONS THAT FOSTER HAPPINESS IN THE WORKPLACE

It can be as simple as picking up an extra coffee for a colleague, organising casual drinks at the end of the month or baking some cupcakes to celebrate an occasion. Random acts of thoughtfulness will create positive patterns of behaviour and encourage a happy workplace environment.

8. TAKE REGULAR BREAKS AND LEARN TO RELAX

It is vital to both happiness and productivity to take regular breaks, so get up and move away from the laptop and take a quick walk outside.

Everyone needs a reset and you cannot do that unless you take regular breaks to recharge the batteries. It is also important not to take things too seriously. Take a deep breath and remain calm when things get stressful. No matter how demanding or challenging work becomes, you need to remember that at the end of the day, it is just a job and you need to keep things in perspective.

9. REVIEW YOUR DAY BEFORE YOU GO HOME

Before you leave work, take a few minutes to reflect on how the day went. Think about what went well and what areas you could have improved on. Set some goals for the next day and coming weeks and if you feel that you have done a particularly good job then reward yourself in some way as a personal acknowledgment of a job well done.

10. SWITCH OFF ONCE YOU LEAVE WORK

It is hard to do, but it is vital to switch off once you leave the office. You already spend approximately a third of your time at work, so make the most of it when you are not there. Get out and exercise, go to a movie and spend time with loved ones. Create and enjoy a life that has nothing to do with work. Be present in the moment and mentally say goodbye to your workspace when you leave the building. Separating home and work will help you to enjoy both better.

We all have the ability to make things more enjoyable for ourselves and for others, but it comes down to our attitude and some practical responses.

Life is short. It is really important that you enjoy your work, but also, life outside work – and if you don’t then maybe it’s time to look for a new career path.

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6 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO MAKE YOUR CUSTOMER FEEL VALUED

At the end of the day, your customers are the most important part of your business. They are your greatest assets and without them, your business is in trouble.

simply, is the value that accrues by a person or brand due to nurturing a relationship. It is the modern day version of treating your customer like a VIP.

There has been a focus in recent years on improving customer services and techniques that help to make customers feel special and rewarded for their loyalty.

There is a common misconception that great customer services require endless resources and complex systems. This is simply not true. It’s easy to make your customer feel valued and heard and there are many easy ways you can nurture your relationship with them and benefit from your return on relationship.

A new concept that many companies are taking seriously is the notion of Return on relationship (ROR). This put

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Here are six strategies for making customers feel valued:

#1 Say thank you It sounds obvious, but so many companies get it wrong and forget to properly thank their customers. There are plenty of ways that you can thank them from sending them a card, or an acknowledgment of a birthday to a special discount coupon. If you can personalise the thank you, it becomes more meaningful. Sending a card via snail mail can make your customer feel recognised. Doing business is not

always about brining in new customers, it is also about making existing ones feel remembered.

#2 Respond to inquiries immediately Responding quickly to your customers inquiries sends them a very clear message that you are listening, engaged and willing to go above and beyond. People often think that replying within 24 hours is great customer service and this may be true but it is good to go that extra mile

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One of the best ways to make sure that your customers feel special is by communicating with them.

and try and respond very promptly, occasionally. This might not always be possible, but when it is, make sure that you do it! Also, remember that customers use a variety of channels to communicate with you, so you need to track them all equally and be responsive.

#3 Listen to your customer’s feedback One of the best ways that you can improve your business is by listening to the feedback that you get from

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your customers and actioning it. Your customers are your target audience so what they think and feel matters. Try to find out what your customers like and don’t like and if you can update your product or service accordingly, then your business will improve. It is also vital to communicate with your customer about the changes and improvements you are making based on their feedback so they know that they are being heard.

#5 Stay presentable If you want to make your customers feel that they are special, you need to make sure that you are special too.

Ensure your business is always in the best shape and is looking clean and well displayed. Ensure you have the correct music, lighting and special touches that give your business an extra sparkle. Enforce codes of conduct and appearances so that your staff is always well presented and professional. Do everything and anything to make your business top notch special because at the end of the day, your customers deserve only the best!

#6 Communication is key!

#4 Create a VIP list If you have a small number of customers who give you a lot of business and who have remained loyal to you then you need to reward them by putting them on a VIP list. Having a VIP list simply acknowledges the volume of business that key customers have given you and allows you to acknowledge their patronage. It could be as simple as hosting a VIP event, hosting a preview sale just for them or offering them a VIP discount.

One of the best ways to make sure that your customers feel special is by communicating with them. Let them know what is happening, not only in your business, but also within your industry. Let them know if you are launching new products, having a sale or a special promotion. Advise them of changes in the industry that might impact them. A monthly customer newsletter is a great way to keep customers in the loop.

The recurring theme throughout the above strategies is simply to treat your customers well. By putting real effort into making your customers feel special you will find that your business will be reap the benefits. It will not only make your customers feel special, but will make your business really shine.

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7 WAYS TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS

But there are 7 ways to really give your business the boost it needs to grow.

Check out these top tips to take things to the next level:

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Twitter, develop & optimize informative content, make your Tweets sing and tap into databases.

Increase Customer Retention Rate.

Manage expectations. Everything begins with expectations. Deliver more than you promised, stay transparent, encourage loyalty, get personal, stay top of mind, prove your value and be there when things go wrong.

Increase Conversion Rate. Include as few fields as possible, add a guarantee, use tangible action verbs, use testimonials, clearly state the benefits of your product or service, pay careful attention to your headline, keep conversion elements above the fold and use video to humanise your brand.

Generate More Leads. Optimise your web pages for conversions, directly engage with leads, deploy outbound and inbound marketing, Invest in new technology, find leads on

Increase Transaction Frequency.

Follow up – contact your customers if they don’t book in the next scheduled lot of work, network / attend events where your existing customers hang out

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costs, sales commissions, delivery charges, shipping charges, salaries,​and wages.

Reduce Overheads. Be cost-effective about travel. Travel expenses eat up a budget quickly, especially for smaller organizations. Switch your business communications programs, negotiate rents, as rent is often one of the highest costs for businesses, be mindful about utility costs and consider renting equipment.

or set up a service plan with monthly payments to lock in the commitment for repeat work. Offer a loyalty or frequent buyer programme, send gifts to your customers or visit / call your customers.

Increase Transaction Value. Up-Sell and Cross Sell, packaging products or services, offer larger units of purchase, increase your pricing and margins, positioning yourself further up-market and use point of sale promotions.

Reduce Costs of Sales / Variable Costs. One way to reduce variable costs is by finding a lower-cost supplier for your company’s product. Other examples of variable costs are labor

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