10 steps to Grow Your
Business
 In
addition to the traditional services of an accounting firm, such as
expert advice on tax and financial issues, we have invested in new
systems designed to make your business better, more profitable and more
valuable. Here's how we work with you to develop the true potential of
your greatest asset:
1. A preliminary 'Assessment'
To
gauge the level of results you can expect from your business, we'll ask
you to complete a preliminary questionnaire. Using software tools
designed to identify and quantify your potential for profit
improvement, we're able to tell you just how much improvement you could
expect using the techniques and resources available to us.
|
2. An initial 'Consultation' ensures there's a match
Here
we present you with a summary of the improvement potential within your
business. You see some of the processes used and how together we will
approach improving your business and its return on your investment.
When you decide to continue the process you receive your personal copy
of your 'Business Development Program'.
|
3. A more detailed investigation maps a 'Course of Action'
Included
in your Business Development Program is a more detailed 'Business
Development Questionnaire'. This gives you instant insights into the
challenges you face and what needs to be done to positively deal with
them. We identify the strategic opportunities that come from the way
you do business - your business processes - and provide you with a
documented analysis. This will help you see and develop a course of
action made all that much clearer by your next step...
|
 4. Your strategic 'Vision' decided
Most
business people only have a 'hazy' vision for the future of their
business. To really achieve improvements it's important to turn that
vision into a crystal clear picture. From there you can work back to
where you are today, identifying all the strategies you need to
implement to achieve your goals. We use a Planning Session for that
purpose. At we review with you the key issues you face and the
potential solutions. Here you will really start to see how the process
comes together and why it's just so important to develop your business
even further right now. As a result...
|
5. A 'Plan of ACTION' will be advised
At
this practice, we've found clients do better with 'Action' plans rather
then lengthy, heavily worded business plans. You'll receive a result
oriented action plan that's easy to relate to and more importantly -
easy to implement. This plan provides you with the basis for moving
forward with your business development. With clearly defined goals and
dates to achieve them by, you and your team have far more direction and
far more likelihood of success.
|
6. Your customers often have all the answers
To
really create a successful business you must know exactly what your
customers want and interestingly, what they find frustrating when
dealing with your business and your type of business. That way, you can
adopt strategies and business processes that make yours the specific
business within your industry they prefer to deal with. Addressing your
customers issues gives you a great opportunity to create a competitive
edge for your business, an edge that means you could for instance, move
away from competing on price and continue to capture more and more
customers. A 'Client Advisory Board' where we sit down with customers
and listen to them in a special, structured way is a major key here and
an invaluable way to add value to your business.
|
7. Your team has even more answers
Your
employees play a vital role in how well your business meets customers'
expectations. Better yet, your team deals directly with client issues
on a day to day basis. Often, that means they have 'hands on' insights
you could benefit from. A 'Team Advisory Board' (much like your
Customer Advisory Board) generates strategies that improve the
processes within your business. We have protocols for working with your
people to develop a customer service plan that directly answers the
feedback you receive from customers and team members alike - instantly
improving your business.
|
 8. An entirely different kind of 'Audit'
We
like to look at a business as a collection of people performing a wide
range of activities or 'processes'. How well these activities are
completed ALWAYS determines the outcomes or results your business
achieves. We find most businesses have not truly systemized their
processes. The result being that those outcomes are often random and
many business people are left feeling they lack real control. Improving
business performance is fundamentally then about improving the key
processes within your business. We use a system to analyze the
processes that compromise your business and its activities and
identifies with you and your team which processes need to be
re-designed for far better results.
|
9. Your key business 'Processes' - a system
From
here we can work with you to document the elements of your business and
its processes. This gives you a documented system that allows you
greater control over your results, by defining exactly how each process
is to be completed. Again, you get better control AND outcomes. Another
consequence is critical. The value of your business increases as your
business moves more and more towards being a turn-key 'system' - a
system that produces expected results.
|
10. Your financial plan and NEW 'KPI's'
Imagine
having a control panel on your desk, much like the dashboard of your
car, with gauges and signals that tell you instantly how your business
is traveling. Compare that to the hectic, reactive nature of most
businesses, large and small. Your 'Key Performance Indicators' (KPI's)
and your Financial Plan offer that level of control for your business
just like your dashboard. Called your 'Management Control Plan', these
KPI's and financial projections help you track your progress. They tell
you what is going on in all the key areas of your business and enable
you to respond quickly to changes and new situations - that way
generating optimal profits for you. It's important your Accountant
plays an ongoing role here, using software your Key Performance
Indicators and your financial position are tracked. Its importance
could be compared to watching your speedometer and fuel gauge when
you're on the road.
|
Back to Small Business main page
4 ways to Increase Profits
