As businesses across Australia prepare to reopen their doors, there’s never been a better time to get back to basics.
Encompassing planning, policy, procedure and a cold hard examination of your break even and bottom line, focussing on the business basics allows you to understand where you are now and explore where you want to go from here.
So let’s take a quick refresher of the ever-essential business basics…
Planning
It doesn’t matter if your business is in start-up phase, five years old or a second generation enterprise, planning plays a critical role throughout the life of every business.
If you’re not planning, you are not moving forward, you are not enjoying growth, you are not realising your business potential, and you are certainly not preparing for the worst.
Planning looks at where your business is now and identifies opportunities available to it. It encapsulates everything from goal-setting, to updating your business plan, assessing your strengths, weaknesses opportunities and threats (SWOT), and even succession planning.
The reality is every business should take a cold, hard look at their business plan each year, examining whether they met previous goals, how they shaped up compared to the plan they had on paper and where they intend to go from here.
The details of business can change a lot in the year, and there’s never been a better time than now to reassess your plan for the future.
The bottom line and break even
The business interruption brought about by Covid-19 has forced many of us to take a long look at our business bottom line and our break even.
Ideally, this should have seen business operators shave away excess expenses like subscriptions, legacy technology, unnecessary staff costs, and other items that all chip away at the bottom line.
As tough as that might have been, this positions each business well for the months ahead. So with a fresh bottom line and break even at hand, now consider where to from here?
Policies and procedure
There’s no escaping the fact the workplace will change as a result of the last couple of months. That means your business policies and procedures need a refresher. Chances are you now appreciate some staff can work from home occasionally, meanwhile your business premises may not be as essential as they once were.
That said, your policies and procedures will need to be updated to reflect the shift in your business operation. They will also likely alter in response to your new business plan, and your revised bottom line.
Know your numbers
Essential to all this planning, procedure, and your bottom line is a full understanding of your business numbers. In good times and bad your numbers tell the true story of your business, but too often business owners are frightened of what those numbers may reveal.
When you get up close and personal with the figures of your business (and you understand what they mean) you are in a better position to make educated decisions, to shore up your business against future threats and to realise the full potential of your operation.
Failing to understand your numbers is akin to burying your head in the sand. When you know your numbers you know what to do, how to plan, what to alter in terms of policy and procedure and ultimately what your business is worth.
Ready to get back to business basics? I’m available to assist. You can tap into the wealth of resources available by following my Business Conversations podcast or reach out directly to me here.
