Being the owner of a small business is one of the loneliest jobs in the world. As owners, you have no one to complain to, and you are constantly solving problems, often other people’s problems. It’s easy to get discouraged and frustrated with a sale you loose to a low-ball offer, mounting paperwork and escalating…
So, it’s November already. The year is fast drawing to a close and 2014 is just around the corner. Scary, but also a chance for a fresh start and to really achieve better results than last year. So what are you going to do different in 2014 that will actually make a change in your…
I’m not a great moviegoer, but even if you are like me, you must have heard the odd wise saying of the little winkly guy from Star Wars, Yoda. I was at a client’s office the other day and we agreed on a specific action point that warranted making it into a calendar event, so…
I never thought I would really get into the America’s Cup competition this time. I had consigned it in my mind to “mega rich egos playing with the rules to suit themselves” type of carry-on. Maybe it’s the fantastic TV coverage or the closer than expected racing at times on these ridiculous boats; but I…
It was sad to read in the NZ Herald today that a roading contractor wins an industry award one day and the next day is put into receivership. What’s up with that!? How could an obvious industry best practice operator get it so wrong? Also, how could the judges of the awards get it so…
Today at a networking breakfast I listened to a humorous, inspirational, structured and relaxed presentation on how to put a pitch together to win business. It was by a local expert in the game, Hugo Meares from Sparkplug. www.sparkplug.co.nz The presentation itself was a pitch in its own right, as you might expect, but was…
I came away from a client meeting last week with a building company owner really pleased to hear that a new staff performance review system we had introduced had been a great success with the field staff. There is always a risk of these more “corporate-like” processes being resisted strongly by the guys on site…
At a recent finance and legal seminar I co-presented with Trina Lincoln (construction law specialist) one of the key topics of discussion and frustration by the builders present was securing the final payment on a project. Several builders recounted past issues of being strung out by owners at the end of a project, being asked…
Can you identify with this situation? You are very good at what you do. You are a great tradesman and take pride in completing jobs to a high degree of quality. You enjoy being on the tools. This is what you enjoy most. But the other parts of your business also have to be done.…
Let’s face it. Most tradies would rather be forced to watch replays of marathon chess matches than put time into creating a budget for their business. I can understand their reluctance, but I would also like to show them the error of their thinking. Creating a budget for your business can be one of the…