Business Development

Buying a franchise: where do I start?

Intro: There’s an old saying in franchising: “Franchisors get the franchisees they deserve.” The reverse is also true, as many franchisees continue to make uninformed decisions or waive the requirement for legal advice.  The quality franchisors like Dymocks, Grill’d, Muffin Break, Enzed, Xpresso Delight, and Nandos all share the same interest as a franchisee: a quality operation with quality people.

In the face of 1200-plus franchise systems, variables of new or existing, mobile or re

In today's world it is difficult to be a good listener.  We are bombarded with noisy distractions and vast amounts of information every day.  Listening is a skill that is so important in our professional and personal lives.  Yet, it is almost never discussed.  In business, being a good listener can make the difference between making and losing the sale, or as is the case in collection - between collecting the money and writing the money off as a bad debt.  Here are some tips to help you become a good listener....

Many people think of succession planning as an event; something that can be handled in one or two meetings. However this is not the case in the majority of situations. Succession planning is a process that can take months or years to properly complete and requires careful consideration of the needs of all stakeholders.

In My Business magazine, accountant Andrew Fielding outlines the importance of ensuring that any work you win is going to be profitable, even if it’s a low profit. Marginal costing is an important tool that businesses can use to monitor cost overruns or determine the additional costs required to produce increased sales volumes. This can lead to management making better decisions on their costs, volume levels and ultimately on the sales price and associated revenue.

Owning and operating your own small business can be a rewarding experience. However, in the present environment, you’re faced with challenges such as decreasing margins to win work from competitors, pressure to pay debts and increasing operating costs. Even with consumer confidence slowly returning and revenue beginning to increase, now is the time to ensure your business has all the right strategies in place to survive the next financial crisis.

1.  Reject unprofitable work

Our competitors are growing more sophisticated and aggressive by the minute, not only competing for new customers but also attempting to take away your present customers. 

What are you doing to stop this business erosion from taking place? 

One way to stop it is to use strategies that help you stay on the top of your customers' and prospects' consciousness.  

Let's do a quick a word association game. Suppose, I say the word "hamburger". What is the first word that comes into your mind? Is it meat or bread roll or sauce or is it a company name?

The world has changed. With the economic slowdown and the worst global recession in generations, it’s easy to get caught up in the hype. The good news is that this market disruption usually presents great opportunities to reposition your business for the upturn. As a small business owner, now is the time to get back to the basics of financing your business.

In business, the old saying “cash is king” is more relevant than ever. It’s important you have a clear financing strategy in place to reach your goals.

We have all heard the saying, ‘cash is king’, but when it comes to running a business ensuring you have sufficient cash to pay staff, GST obligations, debtors and other operational expenses is crucial to maintaining the ongoing viability of your business.

Despite the importance of preserving strong cash flow, many business owners fail to monitor their cash position, often ignoring the warning signs, which if left unchecked, could sound the death knell of their business.  National Credit Insurance (Brokers) recently reported an alarming rise in the number of incoming claims a

It is too simplistic to say that the more customers a business has, the more profitable it will be. If this was the case, then several companies in USA and Europe would not be posting multi billion dollar losses. We all know that profit is simply sales less expenses but below is a more detailed formula for you to consider.

Profit = Total customers x Average sale x Number of Sales p.a. x Gross Profit Margin - Fixed Costs

To increase your profits, you actually have five things to work on. Last month, I looked at a number of ways to increase your total customers.

Here are five techniques for improving conversion rates have been tested in more than 110 businesses across the world.