Ever wondered ‘Where’s the money gone”?

‘Where’s the Money Gone?’ traces the learning of a typical business person named Mike. Mike believed that to be successful he just needed to make a profit.

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What is a good return?

By on August 25, 2009 in Melbourne Vlog Tour

Learn what “return” for a business really is and discover three ways to calculate the return in your business. Today Andee reveals the key question you must always ask first, when looking at returns in a business.

The Vlog Tour comes from One Sherpa an online global membership community dedicated to helping small business owners succeed and prosper.

The series is filmed on location around Melbourne, Australia and answers questions commonly asked by small business owners.

This video is filmed from Terrara Road, Vermont and answers the question ‘What is a good return?’

Fear – the great paralyser in business

By on August 14, 2009 in Mindset

I have an ingenious way of working out whether you might have a fear issue around money.

Picture yourself standing in front of an ATM machine.

You have deposited money into your account and are certain that you have funds to withdraw.

However the bank has made an error and your account has been frozen. You go to make a withdrawal of $100 cash and the machine comes back and says “Insufficient funds.”

What goes through your head?

What emotions are running in your body?

When I went through this role play FEAR was the overriding emotion!

When FEAR is strong it can have a paralysing effect as well.

I would probably have stood there not believing it was true and unable to do something about it immediately.

Although this is an exaggerated exercise everyone at times has fear enter their world through uncertain circumstances.

Maybe it’s about putting up prices?
Maybe it’s about losing a contract?
Maybe it’s about losing a valued employee?

At the bottom of these situations is often a negative financial situation and as a result the lack of money can bring fear into your world.

The antidote to this is realising that the world isn’t coming to an end as a result; even if it feels like it.

Having an overall sense of your business health and how the financial part works will bring a higher degree of certainty to your situation and with that you can be more future confident.

These situations then become mere bumps on the road to success.

Making Mistakes

By on August 5, 2009 in Mindset

Why is it that we feel a degree of shame when we make mistakes?

Somehow when we went to school we were taught that you were only successful when you got things right. The corollary to this is that when you got things wrong you were a failure!

Have you ever made a mistake?

When you did, did you feel a degree of shame?

Shame is the reason why many mistakes get hidden and never brought into the open and fixed. Often people bury them because they do not want to suffer the shame of being found out, but making mistakes is part of the learning process.

When making the light bulb Thomas Edison did not get it right first time and did many different and varied experiments.

When asked about all the mistakes he said:

“I have not failed. I’ve just discovered 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

Learning from mistakes is a key part of being a successful business owner and learning transparently always speeds up the process to a better future.

5 secrets for successfully firing a customer.

By on July 18, 2009 in Customer Interaction

Is the customer always right?

Are there customers who are really better with another business?

Any one who has been in business for a while will know that every now and then a customer comes into your business who can best be described as ‘the customer from hell.’

These people may be ideal customers for someone else however and how well you help them find the right alternative supplier can affect your business.

The wonderful news is that as soon as you recognize this you’re more than half way to moving them on to someone else. Before you recognise this you spend heaps of time trying to work with them, mostly costing you money more than earning your normal margin.

The best way I have found of moving a customer out of the business is to ensure that:

  1. You make sure you’re not reliant on the customer
  2. You make sure any accounts receivable are paid up
  3. You find a viable alternative supplier which you can suggest
  4. You have alternative customers for any excess inventory
  5. You are warm and friendly in the process

When did you last take a holiday?

By on July 9, 2009 in Management

Many business owners feel stuck in their business and feel unable to take a holiday.

Why do you think this is the case?

Normally it is because the business owner is working in the business without drawing a wage and in order to take a holiday they have to find someone to do the same as them. Someone who will work for NOTHING.

These people normally don’t exist outside immediate family (who you hope would come on holiday with you) and so the business owner soldiers on getting more and more tired.

The good news is that you deserve to draw a wage and the sooner you start paying yourself a market wage for your position, the closer you will be to correct profitability by getting your prices right, and on the way to being able to take a well deserved holiday.