Blog
Business Planning with the Business Model Canvas
All of my clients, and many of my contacts know that I am a big fan of the Business Model Canvas method of business planning! In this blog I'd like to introduce it to you and hopefully encourage you to adopt it - whether you are a committed planner - or you're not...
Commitment
The topic this time is Commitment! No I am not a relationship counsellor! I want to talk about the reluctance of SOME business owners to commit to a plan, to commit to taking action, to commit to being accountable. I get it – the last 18 months have been super...
What makes a good leader?
What is Leadership – what is a leader? As I often do when preparing these blogs I looked for definitions, which may or may not be helpful. For example: Leadership is the ability of an individual or a group of individuals to influence and guide followers or other...
Quality and Your Business
What is Quality and why is it important to your small business? You may be aware (and I have talked about it before) of Total Quality Management (TQM) Total Quality Management (TQM) is a management framework based on the belief that an organization can build long-term...
Scheduling and Big Rocks
Everyone’s busy. Clients often speak of having “too much” to do and finding it hard to get things done. There are 101 books (and counting) on this topic. I have read many of them, and there are lots of people promising that if you follow their advice you WILL become...
7 numbers you should know
The topic this time is “7 key numbers you should know” There are probably quite a few more – but I like to start with these when talking to a new client – to get a feel for their business. With small business owners the conversation can be incredibly revealing! Some...
Evaluating software for your business
This follows on from the last blog 10 Questions to ask yourself when choosing software for your Business when I was talking about selecting software. I promised then that I would come back with some ideas on how to evaluate software – when you are in that...
10 Questions to Ask when choosing software for your business
One of the ways to build a successful business is to use technology to streamline processes. People often come to me to ask “what accounting package or CRM to use”. If they are a new client – or not even a client yet – then this is a difficult question to answer. ...
Digital Declutter
You may be familiar with the concept of decluttering? Many of us only get round to it when we are moving home – where you need to thin out your possessions so that the property looks better for viewings – and there is also less stuff to move – it’s even more...
Sharpen the Axe
I was recently inspired by the quote “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” which is often attributed to Abraham Lincoln. You have probably heard it before – most of us have – but I heard it again recently, and it...