From the category archives:

Planning & Growth

Business Plans – Questions to Consider – Part 21

July 26, 2010
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We’re up to number 21 in our series of posts on questions to consider when preparing a business plan. You can access previous entries from the sidebar on your right or via the Series Page.
Exports
Some more food for thought… questions that should be considered in reviewing Exports as part of the preparation of a business [...]

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Planning for the 2010/11 Financial Year

June 15, 2010
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June is a great time to take time out and think about the challenges you may face in an economy that is presenting many challenges for a large number of small businesses. Some of the challenges include:-
Business Goals – The debate on the Resource Super Profits Tax has highlighted not only the projected difficulties for [...]

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Why Talk About Succession Planning?

May 22, 2010
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Well-managed businesses plan and budget for sales, expenses, cashflow and growth. At the same time they should also plan for and anticipate the various changes that occur to a family business which are caused through death, disability or retirement of a key person or any other event that may cause problems within the business.
It is [...]

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Turnover Does Not Equal Profit

May 8, 2010
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I had an interesting meeting with a start-up the other day. The client had a terrific, highly-marketable product they had conceptualised and produced themselves… with no prior business experience or outside advice, they had managed to secure legal protection for the item and taken a simple idea to an impressive physical product.
When speaking with the [...]

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Business Plans – Questions to Consider – Part 20

April 25, 2010
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We’re up to number 19 in our series of posts on questions to consider when preparing a business plan. You can access previous entries from the sidebar on your right or via the Series Page.
Business Operations
Some more food for thought… questions that need to be answered relative to business operations include:

Activity Review
Resources
Quotes
Order Handling
Production
Quality Control
Costings
Sales
Wastage
Staff Skills
Scheduling [...]

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Tax Planning – Action Prior to 30 June

April 22, 2010
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Traditionally at this time of year we begin interim work with our clients and review tax planning strategies.
Ideally, tax planning is not a one-off event. Today, more than ever, taxation is not just a statutory duty… it is a critical part of any wealth strategy. If you are in business,  taxation should never simply be about what you have [...]

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Third Quarter Review – Financial Reports

April 20, 2010
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The last few days we have been asking questions to encourage you – the small business operator – to analyse how your business is going and identify areas that may need change. So far we have considered Market Conditions, Industrial Relations and Business Performance. Finally, we are up to the numbers…
Financial Reports
Has your business prepared departmentalised financial accounts? 
Are [...]

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Third Quarter Review – Performance

April 19, 2010
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So far we have asked review questions concerning market conditions and industrial relations. Today we’ll discuss your business performance.
Again, don’t just skim the questions and leave it there. Take a moment to put your responses to paper.
Review of Performance
Have you sat back and reviewed the performance for the January-March quarter? 
Are you happy with your business’ overall performance? 
Have you [...]

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Third Quarter Review – Industrial Relations

April 18, 2010
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Yes, it is business review time again. Incase you missed it, yesterday we took a look at the impact of Market Conditions on your business.
As you’ll know, there have been some significant industraial relations changes over the past year.  Today, we’ll take a moment to review where you are in dealing with that.
Industrial Relations Rules
Have [...]

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Third Quarter Review – Market Conditions

April 17, 2010
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The third quarter of the 2009/10 fiscal year is over (didn’t it go fast!). It is a good time to take some quality time out to analyse your business’ performance and plan any changes you want to make.
Over the next few days I’ll be bringing up issues designed to encourage you to ask yourself about your business’ performance. I [...]

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Cash Flow – Are you still flying by the seat of your pants?

April 15, 2010
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Okay, I know that you have heard it before but, when it comes to business, CASH REALLY IS KING.
Cash flow can make you or break you. Lack of funds is right up there with the top reasons businesses (small and large) fail. In fact, many profitable businesses are forced to fold due to cash flow [...]

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Business Plans – Questions to Consider – Part 19

April 11, 2010
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We’re up to number 19 in our series of posts on questions to consider when preparing a business plan. You can access previous entries from the sidebar on your right or via the Series Page.
Some food for thought…. this time we’re asking some distribution questions:
Distribution

Have you compared the costs of the various distribution methods?
Are deliveries [...]

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Business Plans – Questions to Consider – Part 18

April 4, 2010
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It has been a while since we had a new entry in the Business Plan Questions series. You can access previous entries from the sidebar on your right or via the Series Page.  This week we’ll be asking questions relating to the sales process.
Sales

Do you know your major sales segments?
What are your projected monthly sales on [...]

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Business Plans – Why Bother?

March 16, 2010
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Why bother with a business plan? If you where going to go on a long trip, wouldn’t you need a map? Business plans for business people are like maps for tourists. If you don’t have a plan, and you happen to reach your destination, it will be more luck then good judgement!
Business planning is simply [...]

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Do You Have a Succession Plan?

March 12, 2010
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One of the most important issues that needs to be considered in succession planning is where is the business going? Every business needs growth and where the business is going to go in the next phase of its development is very important. Questions to consider include what type of succession planning are you contemplating? Are [...]

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