8 ways to grow your business

It is crucial to the success of your company to generate new business by expanding the number of its existing customers. Nonetheless, there are instances when it is quite difficult.

Here are some actionable suggestions that will assist you in expanding your consumer base.

Learn your clients’ names and preferences, and provide outstanding service to them. Maintain strong relationships with your current clientele while actively seeking out new business. You can use social media to promote your company and engage in a practise known as “social listening” to learn more about the buying spokespeople of potential consumers.

Try new things without being frightened of failing.

If there is a component of your strategy that is not producing the desired outcomes, you should reconsider your approach and place a greater emphasis on those actions. Keep in mind that genuine loyalty on the part of employees is earned when they feel that their employer and the leadership team of the employer care about them on both a personal and professional level.

To expand a company while maintaining its level of profitability requires both a sharp mind for business and a robust skill set.

It is not sufficient evidence to conclude that a person is competent in business management simply because they are skilled in their chosen profession. Grow, but do it carefully and not at an excessive rate.

1. Get to know your customers

Gain an understanding of the requirements and expectations of your customers, then design and create goods and services that can fulfil those requirements. Personalizing the services, you provide to your clients and inviting them to share their thoughts and opinions with you are great ways to gather information about your clientele.

2. Offer excellent customer service

Make sure that your customer service is top-notch at all times, and wherever possible, go above and above for your clients. If you provide outstanding service to your consumers, they will remember it and be more inclined to recommend you to their friends and family.

3. Nurture existing customers and look for new opportunities

Develop ways to retain existing consumers, such as keeping in touch with them through an e-newsletter or providing them with advance notice of upcoming promotional events.

While doing so, be on the lookout for ways to obtain additional work and expand your customer base. It is essential that you strike a healthy balance between maintaining existing clients and acquiring new ones.

You, as the owner or operator of an Aboriginal business, have another opportunity to market your company by taking advantage of a free listing on the Aboriginal Business Directory in Western Australia (ABDWA). The database is being used by a growing number of state government and corporate organisations that are interested in collaborating with Aboriginal enterprises. These organisations are seeking for relevant suppliers.

4. Use social media

The use of social media platforms is an effective method for marketing your company to prospective clients and gleaning useful information through the practice known as “social listening.” You may learn what your customers are saying about you, gain insight into their behaviour, discover keywords and trends that appeal to your target market and improve your customer service by engaging in social listening. The use of social media platforms can assist you in elevating your company’s profile and bringing in new clients.

5. Attend networking events

Spend some time cultivating your professional relationships; after all, it’s not what you know but who you know that counts the most.

Building relationships with other people and encouraging them to recommend you to potential clients through word of mouth is one of the primary benefits of networking.

6. Host events

If you want to get to know your consumers and establish relationships with them, hosting an event might be a fantastic way to do both. Invite some of your best current customers and invite them to bring some guests with them.

7. Give back to your community

Increasing the visibility of your brand in the community in which you operate is a fantastic method to bring in new customers. If you want more people to know about your company, you should think about getting sponsorship or taking part in a local event.

8. Measure what works and refine your approach as you go

In order to evaluate the efficacy of your marketing strategies and determine whether or not they are successful, you should track the origins of your clients. Try new things without being frightened of failing. If there is a component of your strategy that is not producing the desired outcomes, you should reconsider your approach and place a greater emphasis on those actions.

17 Tips To Successfully Grow Your Business

To grow your business in today’s challenging economy, you need to be flexible and have good planning and organisational skills. To increase your business, it’s important to keep a continued focus on some of the solid practices that helped you get where you are today. Regardless of the industry you are in, you can be highly successful if you live by some very simple ideologies.

•  Know what you do and what you don’t do 

Do not make the mistake of believing that you can satisfy everyone’s needs just because doing so would imply that you are not proficient in any one area. When you attempt to take on too much, you put your genuine capabilities at risk, which ultimately sets you up for failure.

•   Maintain Your Company’s Mission

Establish a course of action that is strategic for your company. Maintain as little change as possible so that you can continue to concentrate on the fantastic planning and ideas that have gotten you this far. Create a business plan for the next three years, monitor your progress against it, and adjust your strategy as needed.

• Be Hands-On

To ensure the success of your company, you must always be present and actively involved in its operations. Never be scared to take on simple responsibilities. It’s important to pay attention to the details since people do notice the little things.

• Build Solid Business Processes

Stop what you’re doing and take the time to define the procedures and practices of your company at the proper level, then commit to following those procedures and practises.

• Understand the Risks and Rewards

Taking measured risks in order to advance the growth of your company is essential to achieving success. A pertinent enquiry to make is, “What are the potential drawbacks?” If you are able to give an answer to this question, then you are aware of the direst possible outcome.

• People Work For People, Not Companies

Keep in mind that genuine loyalty on the part of employees is earned when they feel that their employer and the leadership team of the employer care about them on both a personal and professional level. Your company’s expansion is impacted in a way that is natural, important, and direct when you have a workforce that is dedicated to the company and well-trained. This will help your business grow while also helping it maintain a strong position against the competition.

• Hold Employees Accountable

In the long run, if you make your workers accountable for the work they do and the duties they have, they will improve their performance as workers. It goes without saying that you need to make opportunities for recognition and awards available.

• Running A Successful Business vs. Being Good At A Trade/Service

Building a prosperous company requires not just an astute understanding of business practices but also a formidable set of abilities in the particular field in which you operate. It is not always the case that a person who is skilled at running a business is also skilled in the relevant craft, nor is it always the case that a person who is skilled in a particular trade is also skilled at running a business.

• Never Lose Focus On Quality

Considering how difficult things are right now in the economy, it is natural to consider taking shortcuts. However, consumers and clients will notice a decline in quality and look elsewhere for their needs. It is difficult to get new customers or clients, but it is simple to do so in a short period of time if a company fails to meet the requirements and standards that have been established with existing customers or clients.

• Passion Is Contagious

It is obvious to the individuals who work with you on a regular basis at the office, shop, or factory when you genuinely enjoy what you do. The art of selling is all about transferring enthusiasm. You, as the owner of a business, need to demonstrate enthusiasm not only for the service or product you provide, but also for the people who buy from you.

• Focus On Your Customers/Clients

Making a profit while also attracting and retaining customers should be the primary goals of any company. You want your consumers and customers to not only come back, but also invite their friends. A surprising number of businesses fail to see the significance of offering superior service to their clients. If you offer superior customer service to your clients and customers, they will be more likely to return to you the next time they require anything, rather than turning to the businesses who are in direct rivalry with you.

• Keep Improving

It is necessary to innovate, regardless of the business you work in, if you want to stay relevant, and you want to get better. Always be on the lookout for new methods to enhance your customer service and operations, as well as opportunities to upgrade your abilities and become more efficient at what you do. This will ultimately lead to increased profitability. Recognize that you do not know everything and maintain an open mind to fresh ideas and different ways of approaching your company.

• Become More Competitive

Competition is everything, and distinguishing oneself from the competition is essential to making a sale. Ensure you have a competitive advantage. If you don’t already have one, you should make one. Everything hinges on what is known as your “Unique Selling Proposition” (USP). This will set you apart from the other businesses in your industry.

• If You Build It, They Will NOT Come

When times are tough economically, many businesses view marketing as an unnecessary investment and work to eliminate it from their spending plans. Despite this, customers are quite picky about where they spend their money. As a consequence of this, individuals almost always purchase items that they have tried before or that have been recommended to them. When circumstances are tough, marketing will determine whether or not you are successful.

• Keep An Eye On Operating Costs During Growth

Don’t forget to make an effort to keep your perspective on the costs of service and production. It is simple to start thinking excessively big and increase spending in accordance with such thoughts when there is a surge in growth or an inflow of venture capital. The astute manager of a company never loses sight of the importance of effective and reliable production and service methods, and he or she never loses control of operational costs or the quest for more affordable production and service. Make sure that you retain records in great detail. If you keep meticulous records, you will always be aware of the current state of the company’s finances as well as any potential obstacles that may lie ahead.

• Grow Wisely

Grow, but do it carefully and not at an excessive rate. If you are trying to grow your company too quickly, you could end up putting too much emphasis on growth and not enough on the customer relationships and the quality of the service or product that got your company to that growth point in the first place. This could result in the quick demise of your company.

• Measure Your Success

First and foremost, you need to find fulfilment in the work that you do. That is the pinnacle of achievement. Second, you should be able to hit your numbers on a consistent basis; this demonstrates that you are competent in the task at hand. Last but not least, you should have an intense passion for both the product or service you offer and the people who purchase it.

Conclusion

Essential to the expansion of a prosperous company is all of the aforementioned pieces of advice. However, the most important factor is remaining consistent. Owning and operating your own business has both challenges and opportunities.

To achieve one’s goals needs concentration, self-control, and dogged determination. However, achieving success in business and growing your company won’t happen overnight; you need to have a focus on the long term and be constant even in difficult conditions. Because of this, it is essential to plan and establish your objectives for the longer term.

10 Things Your Accountant Should Do to Grow Your Business

Did you realise that your accountant may assist you in increasing the profits of your business? A surprising number of business owners are unaware of the numerous advantages that a competent accountant can offer to both their personal and professional lives.

They are able to provide strategic counsel as well as creative ways to increase revenue and cut costs. They not only help you concentrate on the most important aspects of your business by removing and automating administrative work, but they also make it easier for you to run your company with more self-assurance and clarity. Encourage them to participate, and make use of their expertise as well as the many years of useful experience they have gained in establishing businesses for the benefit of several other entrepreneurs.

If you require help with your bookkeeping, you can give us a call on (03) 8568 3606 or email us on [email protected].

Your accountant can serve as a trusted advisor in addition to filing your BAS statements and tax returns. As a trusted advisor, your accountant will provide you with valuable advice across all functions of your business to assist you in increasing your profits, reducing your expenses, and streamlining your operations. He or she should be accessible to you throughout the entire year in order to provide you with consistent guidance and be well familiar with your company.

The following is a list of things that your accountant ought to undertake in order to assist you in expanding your firm.

Cost reduction strategy

Your accountant needs to evaluate all of your running expenses and identify which ones, relative to benchmarks for the industry, are too expensive. Finding ways to reduce your business’s operational expenses and save money will directly lead to an increase in your profits. You should not ignore the importance of keeping a careful check on your prices because they have a huge impact on your profitability.

Your accountant ought to put in place a successful cost reduction strategy that is founded on knowledge gleaned from benchmarking. It is expected of him or her that they will assist you in enhancing the management of your contracts, decreasing your overhead costs and waste, and increasing the overall efficiency of your organisation. Your accountant ought to investigate methods through which you might make more effective use of your workforce. Your profit will increase if you are able to cut down on expenses related to labour and wages, such as superannuation and work cover.

Additionally, he or she needs to compute the return rate for the money spent on marketing and advertising in order to determine whether or not this activity creates sufficient revenue and profits for the company. Your accountant needs to take a strategic approach to costs related to staffing, utilities, and storage in order to find costs in your industry that are unnecessary. Your accountant needs to investigate whether or not you can secure a better price by negotiating with your vendors.

A precise budget is necessary, but developing one requires a significant investment of time and effort. Do not base your calculations on an incomplete list of figures that is replete with imprecise estimations and assumptions. Your accountant needs to be able to generate a budget that is precise and methodical, one in which you can have complete faith. They should walk you through the actual costs of running your company, how much money you have available to reinvest, and how much you can take home for yourself.

If you go above your budget, your profits will suffer as a direct result. Your accountant should have a deep understanding of your business and market position to help you set achievable and reliable revenue and budget targets. He or she should be able to determine your costs, put together, monitor, and adjust a reasonable budget that is in line with your objectives, and make sales projections.

Debt collection system

If you want to prevent your company from incurring financial losses as a result of bad debts, you should have your accountant devise an efficient method of debt collection for you. Your accountant should mend and improve your debt collection policies as well as implement better terms of trade in order to maximise your earnings and boost your cash flow. Since bad debts eat away at profits, this is one of the things your accountant should do.

You are not required to pursue payment from your debtors; yet, unpaid invoices are an inevitable part of running a business, and you cannot choose to ignore the issue.

That is something that ought to be handled for you by your accountant. When your customers’ bills are late or due, he or she should set up billing systems that send out automatic reminders to the customer’s email address. In the event that they do not answer to emails, he or she can even give them a call. Your accountant may arrange for debt financing in the event that unpaid invoices, in which case a company will pay for the invoices in question and then pursue payment on their own.

Loan management

The process of applying for a loan combines both art and science, thus, it is not a simple task. Your accountant needs to be able to compile all of your financial information and assist you in submitting loan applications. Lenders are looking for robust financials and trustworthy forecasts, and your accountant should put together an engaging presentation that sells your company using graphs and charts. It is necessary for him or her to be proficient in the use of effective instruments that are relied on by loan officers.

Your accountant should also be able to help you differentiate between good debt and a bad debt, as well as identify the least expensive borrowing strategies for your company that have low-interest rates and flexible payback terms. It is also recommended that they handle the refinancing themselves. Your accountant ought to look at reorganising your finances and assisting you in cutting interest costs on any loans if there are more affordable alternatives. If you refinance an existing business loan and save interest, you will be able to increase the amount of profit your company makes. By analysing the numbers, analysing the way in which your debt is organised, and designing the appropriate strategy for you, he or she will advise you as to when any extra cash you have should be used to pay off debts rather than being reinvested in your company.

It is also exciting to start a new business, but it requires more than simply a solid idea to succeed in this endeavour. You have to be able to demonstrate to potential investors and lenders that the venture has a chance of becoming profitable. Your accountant should assist you in validating the hypothesis, determining all starting and operating costs, and developing sales projections that are credible. They should be aware of the most appropriate lenders for you to approach so that you may obtain financing from them. It is expected that they will be able to improve your presentation so that you can win over the investors.

Product/service and price analysis

Any product or service lines in your company that are not meeting expectations should be reviewed by your accountant. It is necessary for him or her to review the critical margin levels in order to identify which ones need to be removed from the business since they make an insufficient contribution to the bottom line.

Your pricing should be reviewed by your accountant, who should then decide whether or not your prices are in line with the expectations of the market and determine how best to maximise your current price levels. If a price increase is overdue, you should consider whether or not doing so will considerably raise your profits.

Establishing appropriate price points is essential to the profitability of your company. You will be eliminated from the competition if the price you provide is either too high or too cheap. Your accountant ought to be able to assist you in setting competitive price points based on intelligence gleaned via benchmarking, all the while ensuring that your bottom line has sufficient “flesh” in it.

Business plan

Your accountant ought to spend some time working with you to build a versatile business strategy that outlines the most important objectives and strategies for the expansion of future profits. The individual in question ought to be aggressive in assisting you in finding opportunities to improve essential aspects of your company. Your accountant is responsible for managing your cash flow, maximising your profitability, and assisting you in finding solutions to any problems that may arise in your business by providing you with advice that is both honest and realistic.

Your accountant should be able to assist you in making your company resistant to economic downturns and protect it from the effects of pricing pressure, excessive inflation, and low interest rates. If you want to stay out of financial trouble and make sure that your plans are always properly funded, then he or she needs to prepare regular predictions.

Because there are so many moving pieces in a business, it can be difficult to know where to direct one’s attention.

Your accountant should guide you in identifying what is most important to you, assist you in setting personal, professional, and financial objectives, and provide you with tools to monitor your progress towards achieving those goals. Your accountant should also assist you in setting up your accounting software so that you may access your key performance indicators (KPIs) whenever and wherever you choose. Should the need arise, he or she should be able to investigate problems, test potential remedies, and reset KPIs for you.

Customer and revenue analysis

Your accountant should review the entirety of your customer database with you and perform in-depth profitability analysis on each individual customer in order to assist you in determining which customers are the most beneficial to your company. Do not disregard the customers who occasionally cause you inconvenience because it’s possible that they are the ones who bring you the greatest revenue and margin overall. If this is the case, you shouldn’t dismiss them.

Tax planning

Your accountant needs to provide proactive tax planning in order to save you money on your yearly tax obligations. You would require that sum of money in order to reinvest in the company and obtain the level of income that you are aiming for. Your accountant should employ various methods to find the structures that will provide your company with the lowest possible tax burden.

Competitor analysis

It is important for your accountant to be up to date on what is occuring in your sector and have a solid grasp of the market position of your company. He or she is obligated to conduct research and provide insight into your industry in order to find areas in which you can fast develop and expand. Your accountant ought to do a comparison of your company to that of your rivals.

You need to be aware of the strategies that your rivals are employing in order to stay ahead of them. Your accountant should provide you with a report detailing how well your company performs in comparison to others in terms of sales volume, production expenses, market reach, overhead, personnel costs and turnover, profitability and pricing, and so on. If you are aware of these crucial details, you will be able to pinpoint the areas in which you are experiencing the most difficulty and learn the areas in which you can cut costs or fill in market gaps in your sales strategy. As a result, you will be able to devise a more effective business strategy that will give you a competitive advantage.

Cash flow management

Even highly prosperous companies can be brought down if they run out of money at the wrong time and are unable to pay their employees or their vendors. No matter how successful a company is, it won’t be able to survive for very long if payments are made slowly or if expenses are too high.

Your accountant should be aware that both revenue and expenses are subject to change. They should be able to assist you in the forecasting of your cash flow and the development of methods to manage it by organising cash reserves and a spending plan to ensure that there is always money in the bank. You will cultivate a connection that is more open and honest with both your team and your suppliers.

Automation

Your business’s accounting should be automated by your accountant so that data on sales and expenses may be uploaded straight to your financial records.

They are responsible for setting up the billing systems that inform you of what has been paid and what has not been paid yet.

A reliable cloud accounting software will even allow you to send email reminders to customers who have not yet paid you.

Your accountant needs to assist you in automating cash flow dashboards, key performance indicator tracking, and accounts payable, as well as setting up mobile accounting apps, so that you may manage your finances whenever and wherever you choose. Even when you’re away from the office, you’ll still be able to monitor the success of your company, determine where you stand, and ensure that you’re on top of your financial obligations.

Your accountant ought to additionally establish an inventory system for you, determine the cost of maintaining inventory, and devise methods for you to cut costs and make savings.

He or she ought to be able to assist you in staying away from having to spend a lot of money on storage, losing money by having to write off damaged or outmoded items, or losing income as a result of running out of supply.

Your accountant needs to assist you in the proper management of your inventory, review your sales data in order to forecast your stock needs, and even help you set up an automatic tracking system that monitors stock levels and places orders for things as they get low.

Automating tasks like staff scheduling and time recording, point-of-sale (POS), payments, customer relationship management, payroll, and invoicing can help minimise additional unwanted distractions, and your accountant should be able to assist you in doing so. This method has the potential to remove tension, bring down costs, and make certain that everything operates smoothly.

Make sure that your accountant is pulling their weight in these areas, because anything less is unacceptable and should be avoided at all costs.

Because you are the owner of the company, you most likely put in an excessive amount of effort because everything depends on you. Your accountant should be able to help you reach the quality of life that you want and help you achieve balance in your life.

You might decide to sell your company, retire as a silent partner, or pass it on to your children as an inheritance. Your accountant need to serve as a reliable and knowledgeable advisor who is well-versed in tax minimisation tactics, tax compliance, due diligence, business valuation, and estate planning.