Tag: businessgrowth

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Doing business on Deep Space 9 

I’m a bit of a scifi geek and I love the Quark character who owns the bar in Deep Space 9. He has some great business traits. And some bad ones! 

The good news is that Quark tracks his KPIs (on an hourly basis which is probably overkill!).  

In Season 2 Episode 10* Quark has enlisted a musician to draw more visitors to the bar BUT the musician is so good that nobody is actually drinking or buying food. He talks about his indicators which feed into his projections which in turn lead to profits.  

In one of my businesses I track speaking events because the more I speak, the more enquiries I get for coaching and courses. In another I track networking and ‘coffee’ meetings as relationship building leads to more referrals. 

What lead indicators do you track in your business that you know will lead to more profits in time? 

*in case you want an excuse to watch it  

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The problem of growing too fast

It sounds as though it’s a nice problem to have but many small businesses fail at this stage

  • Overtrading – lack of cash to cover your higher costs while you wait to collect those higher debts. Clamp down on your credit control to ensure that you have sufficient working capital
  • Lack of systems – don’t reinvent the wheel but create a system for anything that you’re likely to do more than once. I’m running a live webinar for accountants on Tuesday 16th so email us for the link
  • Unable to find the right people – you will probably need more staff but you may also need different staff for a scaleup rather than a start up. If you prefer to do the work then you could employ a manager to run your business. I like to train my own team as we work very differently to many traditional accountants but you will have more choice in recruits if you offer REAL flexibility on hours and location.

What have you found helpful as you grew your business?

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An unlimited market?

In accountancy there seem to be far more businesses than good accountants and it is possible to take on unlimited clients (assuming you had the resources). So why wouldn’t you?

Because you want clients suited to YOUR business.

You want clients from the industries you know well and that will fit well into your processes. This will enable you to provide a better service with your enhanced knowledge.

You want the clients who fit you personally so that you enjoy working together. This will enable you to provide a better service that you enjoy.

You want the clients who can afford your fees. This will enable you to provide a better service as you won’t have to take on too many clients all vying for your time.

Keep an eye on your client list and your fees to ensure that you can provide high quality work.

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The ‘Icarus’ budget 

I set up my first business with the intention of doing a few sets of accounts from the kitchen table to fit around my kids. But my background BC (before children) was running larger businesses and, if you do the right things, you get the right results. I needed to decide whether to limit my activities or to deliberately grow the business which would entail taking on staff and premises.

In the meantime somebody talked me into running the Bristol and afterwards, high on endorphins, I wrote my ‘Icarus’ budget. Yes, I really did name it that as I didn’t know if what I was planning would be achievable on just 25 hours per week (because I still wanted to fit it around my kids)

The rest is history*. Stay off the endorphins kids, you never know what might happen 😉

What would you do if you were feeling brave?

*If you haven’t heard the story then ‘The Numbers Business: how to grow a successful cloud accountancy practice’ is available on Amazon and Audible

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Is it your husband’s business?

When I set up my first business in 2009, I lost track of the number of times that I was asked whether it was my husband’s business or mine!

Initially I ran the business from home in order to be available for my small children. But it didn’t look like a typical house because it was a former Post Office where we had two rooms set aside for me and my staff.

When we reached a team of 5, we had to move out to commercial offices in the next town in order to grow further. This had the benefit of a large meeting room where we could host our Money Matters events and Xero training courses. (It was also above a Domino’s which was great when the whole team got together for our monthly lunch and learn sessions) With larger premises and running events I was clearly the public face of the business, and nobody asked about my husband anymore.

Since I sold that business in 2017, I have started 3 more businesses, all of which operate remotely with no permanent office space. The Money Matters events are now a series of monthly webinars to help business owners and the Xero training is also online.

Once again people are unable to judge the size of my business from any physical premises. Now I get all sorts of subtle questions probing for how big the team is. (In case you’re curious Minerva Accountants currently has a permanent team of three people plus regular and occasional sub-contractors but watch this space)

How do you think your business is perceived and what can you do to change that?

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Is remote working right for you?

Gone are the days of everybody in the office. Since covid most businesses operate some sort of hybrid system but I’ve been working remotely since 2017 and, although my old business had physical premises, we all had the ability to work remotely since 2012. We also all work different hours to suit our lifestyles.

So how do we make this work?

• We run a paperless office. All clients have access to a secure portal or they can email things if they prefer. Most clients are on cloud based software and they can upload invoices etc using Dext or Hubdoc.
• All our software is cloud based and we can all access documents remotely on our shared Onedrive.
• We have a virtual office where we can receive mail from HMRC which is scanned for us to log into our system.
• All engagement letters, accounts, and tax returns are signed electronically using XeroTax or our secure portal.
• We all have VOIP (voice over internet protocol) phones which can be answered via an app on our laptops or on our mobiles.
• We all have laptops rather than PCs so we can work when travelling. (Although I find it much easier to have two screens when I’m in my home office)
• Our calls all come into a central answering service who act as our receptionist and distribute calls to named individuals or according to who is working that day.
• We have a shared email address where everybody can see what is going on. These are flagged by colour to indicate who needs to deal with them.
• All incoming emails are automatically copied to the client account on our practice management software, Accountancy Manager. When a client calls up, or when we are working on their accounts, we can see what emails and notes have been made throughout the year.
• All deadlines and tasks are held on Accountancy Manager so that we can see who is working on what.
• We have an online meeting at 9am each morning for whoever is working that day. We discuss what we will each be working on and if anybody needs information or help
• We have a face to face (where possible) planning meeting and brunch once a quarter to plan the next 90 days.
• We don’t have a printer. On the very rare occasions when we need to print something (usually a letter to HMRC) I have to take it to the local post office on a USB stick. This is the only thing that isn’t easier!
• We contact clients by email, telephone or Zoom depending on their preference.

Remote working gives us all the benefit of better work-life balance and saves us commuting time. For me it means that I can work around the country when busy with speaking engagements or ICAEW meetings. The money saved on offices is invested in modern software to improve communication and efficiency within the business.

Do you prefer to work remotely or from a shared office?

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How to tell if your prices are too low 

If you’re crazy busy all of the time, not just at peak periods, then it is probably because your prices are too low. You can either increase prices to make fewer but more profitable sales or you can raise your prices enough to increase your workforce. 

The other way to know that your prices are too low is if nobody ever says “no”. If everybody you quote says yes, or if nobody bounces when they see your prices on your website, then you probably have scope to increase them. 

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Why it may be best to stay small

Small is beautiful. It’s also less hassle and much more agile.

As the sole director of my business I can hold my board meetings in the shower and, if I come up with a bright idea, I can often have it implemented by evening.

The downside of a small business is reduced cover for holidays and sickness. Especially if your business is just you. On the other hand even the best team will take up your time in managing their time and workload.

Before growing your business beyond you it is worth considering whether this will best suit your personal goals. Instead of taking on more clients and higher overheads you could look at taking on better clients and providing them with more profitable services. Before recruiting staff you could investigate software and other automation.

Bigger isn’t always best.

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More than one tool in your toolbox

When it comes to improving your business you need to have more than one tool in your toolbox.

Although we often start with getting the pricing right we also like to look at other things. My books give you some examples of these but they are broadly:

Efficiencies – implement systems, checklists, automation and delegation

People – get the right people in the right place, suitably trained and equipped, and all pulling in the right direction

Marketing – a baseline level of marketing going on at all times so that you have clients/work already lined up for quieter periods

What else do you do to improve your business?

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Would you buy a discounted parachute?

It’s a question that Brad Burton asked which got me thinking. (So I hope it will get you thinking too)

Why do we assume that we need to be cheap to be attractive?

Quality is often more important than price. Yes, at Minerva we can use software to churn out accounts fairly cheaply but business advice is much more valuable and that takes time to understand the client’s business. It’s hard to be reactive, let alone proactive, on a tiny budget.

What could you do better in your business if you had a little more time or money to put in? And how much more valuable would that appear to your ideal customers?

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