Good News, Not so Good News- and Consequences.
How can you help your business succeed in 2023?
On Time, On Budget, No hassles
The “Triple Constraint” – Time, Budget and Quality
The Cash Flow Conundrum
Maintaining a healthy cash flow is an essential ingredient for a thriving business
Is scamming NZ’s fastest growing business sector?
Be careful out there!!
The King of Referrals
What is the best way to generate new business and leads?
Improving Customer Service can Increase Revenue and Save Costs
…but one bad experience can drive your customers away!
Current Nasties in the Business World
…and some suggestions to address them
Updates to NZ Sick Leave Entitlements
Are sick leave entitlements being abused? On July 24th, 2021, entitlements for employees’ sick days in New Zealand were amended and increased from 5 days to 10 days per annum. This was possibly designed to ensure workers stayed at home during Covid to protect the workplace from infection, but some are concerned and asking, “Is […]
Employee retention is critical
How can we improve staff retention? For the small and medium business owner, getting and retaining good staff is a major issue today, if not the biggest issue. Complications brought on by the impact of covid, financial uncertainty, visa regulations, and international travel have all had a significant effect on running and staffing a business, […]
Good Service is THE difference
With early spring in the air, my garden needed attention. I recently bought a number of trees to plant around the property and wanted to protect them from the ravages of the strong southerlies we get, especially at this time of the year in Queenstown! I needed some stakes to support them. Due to previous […]
Be a better consultant using GAPS
It goes without saying that in a consultative environment, understanding the client’s business is essential. Without it, how can you propose a solution? But so often, it’s too easy to be transactional, focusing on the issue, opportunity or deal in question. Whether your ‘client’ is your external customer or your internal stakeholder, being so myopically […]
Government Support for SMEs
Support for SME during uncertain Times The Small to Medium Enterprise ( SME) sector of the New Zealand economy makes a significant contribution to the nation’s economy – 97% of all businesses are SME ( 1-5 employees), 630,000 people are employed by the sector, this is 29% of all employees, and they generate 28% of […]
Personal Money Management
A Personal Journey Financial Management is not part of the school curriculum in NZ, no one teaches Personal Financial Management at the tertiary level. If your family has no business experience then you probably don’t have a business mentor at home. There are plenty of people who make a living from advising clients, there are […]
What Does Collaborative Commerce (C-Commerce) Mean?
The term C-commerce has been around for a number of years, but I don’t think it’s something that most business owners are aware of or consider in their business plans. Could C-commerce help you grow your business or strengthen working relationships? If you have a few minutes, I’d like to share some thoughts that may […]
Tips for Creating a Top Class SWOT Analysis
Build a Strong Foundation for your Business With significant Local, National, and International changes to the operating, business, economic, political and commercial environment – it’s a really good time to think about either creating or reviewing your Business Plan. To build a strong plan for your business, you first need a strong foundation. It does […]
Cloud-based Backup Solutions for SMEs
An astonishing 1 in 3 small businesses report losing data stored in cloud-based applications. As small businesses increasingly move data into cloud-based applications, many IT teams think traditional best practices like data backup are unnecessary. After all, a SaaS application is always available, accessible from anywhere, and highly redundant, so why is backup needed? An […]
Ransomware Hacks – Cyber Attacks
Remote Access Fraud / Scams – What Is The Impact To Victims? An oft-repeated comment in the International IT industry underlies a huge problem that we all face – individuals, professionals, commercial entities, and the whole political system – we’re all at risk. The saying goes something like this. “ Once someone has had unauthorised […]
What is your Exit Plan?
Want to sell your Business? You have spent lots of time, effort and equity into developing your business and now you want to sell. To get the best price for your business, to get maximum value for all that time, effort, tears, highs and lows.. you need to plan your exit. That planning can take […]
The Cash Flow Dilemma
How is your cash flow after the trading conditions of the last 12 months? We would all like to remember what we did to ensure that cash flow was good – let’s try and learn the lessons we were all forced to review. Is your cash flow poor? What can you do to improve it? […]
Let’s talk Positively
Let’s have a positive story !! We all like a good story – especially if we can learn from it, it is a local story and relevant to our situation As well as running my own Business Consultancy I am a voluntary mentor for Business mentors New Zealand Recently I was asked to help a […]
Engage the Disengaged
The phone rang. “Hello, Robin Martin from Robin Martin Business Consulting speaking”. “Hi, My name is Bart. I own a small business and it’s not going so well at the moment. I don’t really know what I need to do to sort it out and I wonder if I could take advantage of your free […]
“That is the cold hard reality”
Tourism Minister Stuart Nash, on behalf of the Government, has just announced that there will be no more targeted wage subsidies for Queenstown Businesses. He says – “that is the cold hard reality” Further – he says, “We’re working very hard on an Australian bubble..” but “there is unlikely to be any International Tourists for […]
Setting ‘SMART’ Goals for Successful SME’s
Would you design a building without blueprints? Could you build a house without plans? Would you go tramping without a map and compass? Most people wouldn’t conceive of starting a project or journey without direction and guidance… Why is a business goal any different? An integral part of a successful business is a Business Plan. […]
Social Media – Friend of Foe?
For some time now I have been increasingly concerned about the role and use of social media in our lives. Lots of media chat about free speech, censorship, banning of users. I can’t help feel that the money boys are manipulating us to sell more data and thus make more money ( see recent moves […]
Starting a business in 2021
Happy New Year and welcome to 2021 As the days go by and you read the headlines about the impact on COVID-19 on people, business, government and society around the world, you’ll realise that the economic and fiscal position in New Zealand is reasonably positive in many sectors, for the most part. The picture in […]
Growing Your Business in Uncertain Times
“It’s difficult out there.” “I don’t know what’s going to happen and I’m worried.” “I’ve never had to operate in such uncertain conditions.” “Everyone is feeling the pinch, people are holding off making decisions.” “I only have a small percentage of my usual market to work with.” You’ve heard similar sentiments from those around […]
The Perfect Elevator Pitch – Make your business stand out from the rest in 60 seconds
You only get one chance to create a first impression. That initial impression will set the scene for how potential customers view and continue to view your business in the years to come.
How to Increase Efficiency in Your Business by Outsourcing
Like me, I’m sure you’ve noticed a common theme recently to catch-up conversations, that ‘…things have changed in the post-COVID-19 world’.
Be Responsive to your Customers
Many B2B and Tourism operators have a variety of customers (activity, accommodation, restaurants, transport etc.). The building industry is full of B2B operators that need to continually manage communication with their customers.
Coronavirus – the Need to be Flexible
The Coronavirus developments are bad news for many of us.
The speed at which things are developing is having negative global affects on most sectors – Tourism, Education, Business Exports and Imports, the Stock Market, Investment Plans, Journalism, International Political, Cultural Business Events and Sports Events to name a few.
Focus on the Good
Yes! Summer is finally here and it feels sooooooo good!
External Market Forces
Following last week’s blog highlighting a number of ‘uncertainties’ that we will all face, this week, I am highlighting some of the issues ahead in 2020.
Operating in a Soft Market
Change, uncertainty, insecurity, tension, lack of sleep – it’s all on – locally, nationally and around the world.
Loss Prevention
It is hard enough to make a decent living from owning and running an SME, without having to deal with theft, fraud, pilferage or other forms of illegal loss.
The Role of Data and Metrics
From a local perspective; Tourism, Retail, Hospitality and Building will all have different sets of key metrics that should be measured, managed, analysed, reviewed and actioned.
Reducing Expenses
In the life of a Business there are times when you may want to reduce expenses.
Increasing Revenue
In the life of a Business there are times when you want to Increase Revenue – take advantage of the marketplace, to counter moves by the competition or to help pay for new capital as part of your business plan – and so on.
Why your business must have a USP
A Unique Selling Proposition (USP) refers to the Unique Benefit that your product or service has, to enable it to stand out from the competition.
Do local Geo/Politics affect your business?
Domestic politics can affect your business – with thanks to Audrey Young, Political Editor, NZ Herald, and other commentators, I note below some current issues facing the Labour led coalition that could very well affect your business.
What’s in store in 2019?
At the moment the media is full of information and opinion about what will happen around the world in 2019. The views cover a wide spectrum of issues that could affect your business – Political, Economic, Social, Environmental, Fiscal and so on.
The Mice Ate It
Last week we talked about developing a strategic plan which is a major step towards building a sustainable business. This week we’re looking at ways to put that strategy to work and make sure it doesn’t end up gathering dust on your bookshelf or getting chewed by rodents.
Get Yourself A Plan
“If you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail.”
Big Brother Is Helpful
If you’re running a business, there’s no point in being afraid of “The Man” – the Government already knows who you are and they’ve got all the info they need about you. This makes Government agencies a treasure trove of up-to-date information and accurate, free advice.
Data is Gold
In my last blog, I wrote about the need for quantifiable data to be able to measure various aspects of your business so you can manage it effectively.
Measure it, Manage it
Years ago when I lived in England I was advised to buy a house – something I’d never seriously contemplated. I wasn’t sure but out of interest I did the numbers. I was young but I’d also been advised to investigate the economics properly.
Procrastination
Don’t Read This Article…
Stay Focused
Remember the fate of the cruise ship Costa Concordia? It ended up capsized on rocks off the Italian coast just north of Rome.
Integrity is Important
“Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not.” Oprah Winfrey Integrity is defined as “the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles”. In other words you don’t fabricate, don’t lie – especially to yourself – don’t count sales that are not finalised, […]
Keep Persevering
No one ever said running or owning a business would be easy. Change goes on all the time. You need to adapt, adjust, learn and be able to read the tea leaves to predict the future. When I was CEO of Plastics New Zealand we spent over four years trying to establish a Centre Of […]
Listen. Don’t Talk.
“When you are talking you are only repeating what you already know. But, if you listen, you may learn something new.” The Dalai Lama Listening can be harder than talking but is an extremely effective strategy. Turn conversations to focus on the other person – ask good questions, be curious, find out who they are, […]
