I don’t usually go out of my way to hear politicians speak, but I attended a recent North Harbour Business Association luncheon to hear the Economic Development Minister, Steven Joyce, give an address on making NZ a Pacific Economic Tiger. With his successful background in business, I was interested to hear what he had to…
DetailsIn a recent survey I conducted with Auckland Certified Builders, I asked them to list their 3 main frustrations in business. Answers were a bit varied, as one might expect, but common complaints were: cash flow, running multiple projects, budget blowouts on projects and too longer hours. Although there is no magic bullet for these…
DetailsWhen you run your monthly Profit & Loss (P&L) report (you do run one, right?) do you find that both the dollar value and the profit percentage varies wildly and you start to doubt the accuracy of the report? If so, maybe it’s because you are not adjusting the figures to take account of Work…
DetailsI read with alarm the headline in the NZ Herald business section on February 8: “Slump in orders hits building industry”. Surely not, I thought. We are supposed to be on the up, not the down! Reading a bit further I soon discovered that the article was referring to Australia, not NZ. Phew! But it…
DetailsI’ve been watching a bit of the Aussie Open tennis from Melbourne over the past week. The biggest talking point is the heat. Air temps of 40 deg C or more, and probably court-side temperatures of 50 plus. I hate the heat, so can only imagine what it’s like playing 5 sets of tennis in…
DetailsA couple of months back I met with a prospective client (who have since hired me) to talk about their business and why it wasn’t going as well as it could. They sent me their business plan ahead of time so I could familiarise myself with their situation. Their plan was very comprehensive and while…
DetailsThere is a formula in business (one of many!) that states: Decisions x Actions = Results If you can make GOOD decisions, and do something about implementing them, then you are likely to achieve good RESULTS. This made perfect sense to me when I was shown the formula as part of a wider discussion about…
DetailsNeed your car serviced? Don’t go to Just Autos in Takanini, aka Auckland Mobile Mechanics 24/7, unless you are feeling brave. The only positive thing to come from my experience with Just Autos was a great blog topic of how NOT to run a company. I recently purchased a second hand Mazda RX8 on the…
DetailsBeing 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…
DetailsSo, 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…
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