How to kick-start your small business – 10 more ideas

Do you need some ideas to kick-start your small business?

Ideas without action are not going to grow your business or get you to where you want to be.

The first part of this post looked at 10 ideas to kick-start your small business and to help bring your goals and ideas to fruition.

We continue the theme here: there are so many great tools to help you achieve what you set out to do. Failure to use them is likely to mean that you’ll get constantly busy in the business again and let it control you (instead of you controlling it).

So here’s another 10 tips for getting active…

1. Want to focus on what really matters?

Get help with focusing on the most important aspects of your business with the right small business advice.

Otherwise, you risk getting lost or running round in circles.

Read this article and then take the quiz to find out where you need to focus.

2. Need to upgrade your accounting system?

There are few things more frustratingly time-consuming than burying your head in bookkeeping when your time could be much better spent building your business – or with the family.

Cloud-based accounting systems like Xero integrate real-time, automatic importation of your bank account transactions, so your financial data is up-to-date at all times.

There’s only one version of it – tied to your secure login details – so you can access your accounts from the office, at home, at a work site or anywhere with an internet connection. There’s no more being tied to your desktop!

Find out more about how you can streamline your processes. Request a demonstration.

3. Committed to creating a high-performing business?

Ever feel like you need someone else to run business ideas past? You probably need some advice to take your business to the next level.

Access our Client Advisory Board Service and reap the benefits of having your very own advisory board. Whether it’s help with planning & goal setting, problem solving or some other task, having an independent board of advisers is an essential part of running a successful venture. To learn more about this exciting service, contact us.

Read 7 Steps to Build a Successful Business.

4. Aiming to improve employee engagement in your business?

Better still, help your employees grow your business.

Take the HR audit quiz or people management issues quiz to find out how to manage your employees better.

5. Want to understand what your financial figures really mean?

We all love to know the score and who wins but you won’t win in business while looking at the scoreboard.

That is because the final score summarises the outcomes from your business decisions, transactions and processes.

What are the underlying figures your business needs to focus on?

Our lead vs lag indicators article discusses what you need to focus on and why. How does your business score?

6. Looking to reduce your business overdraft and debt?

Not all growth is good. Growing too fast without getting cash flow right can do some serious damage to your business.

Set up cash flow projection and targets for when you want to reduce your overdraft by – and by how much.

Commit to paying more attention to your cash flow by having up-to-date and fully reconciled accounting and financial systems; and prepare and review monthly financial reports and Key Performance Indicators.

Read about why you should avoid Band-Aid solutions and then take the quiz to find out where you need to focus.

Learn more about cash flow (and how to fix it.) Download our Cash Flow eBook.

7. Committed to finding out how healthy your business really is?

Then you need a comprehensive business development plan.

As part of such a plan, we can help identify the kinds of skills or resources your business could utilise to improve in a variety of areas: from expanding your marketing presence to streamlining your IT systems. Investment in these areas could reap enormous benefits.

From a pool of networked resources, we can connect you to experienced professionals with the exact skills needed to fill the most important pieces of your overall business development strategy.

No matter how big or small your plans are, they all begin with a single step. Take this first step towards a stronger, more profitable business with our range of business assessment tools.

8. Looking to keep a better handle on the key numbers?

This is really important because what you don’t know or see can still hurt your business.

Want to become a high performing business? Get started here.

9. Need to protect yourself against the unexpected?

You’ve worked hard to build your business and your assets. Will they be safe if something goes wrong?

I’m sure you’ve got plenty of protection for your physical assets—buildings, IT equipment, furniture, cars, etc. They’re probably locked up, protected by security systems and possibly even insured.

And if something does happen to them, they can be replaced relatively easily with minimal disruption or cost to your business.

But what about those assets you can’t put under lock and key? The non-physical assets that are vital to the operation of your business also need protection.

Find out about 7 threats to your business assets and why they need protecting.

10. Want to know where to start?

You’re ready to make some big changes to improve your business this year – where do you start?

Change, if implemented effectively, can result in more sales, better profit efficiency, and generally a stronger business.

The first step is to understand where you are now and where you want to be.

As the Cheshire Cat explained to Alice in Wonderland, “If you don’t know where you want to go, then it doesn’t much matter which way you go.”

Find out why you need to be proactive and not reactive when managing change in your business. Then get some helpful advice on which direction you should head in.

Together with the previous post, you now have 20 tips and resources to help you put into action the big ideas that will make a difference to your business in the coming year.

If you need specific help with how to kick-start your small business, contact us here.