Business Growth Specialists for B2B Support Services

A. The best way forward in this sort of situation is to communicate with the team and get them involved in solving the problem with you. They do the job day to day and will be well aware of the issues and also the solutions. They will need to have a clear understanding of the challenge, constraints and rewards which mean that you will have to be prepared to answer the big question that they enviably will ask, “what’s in it for me?”. It also worth saying that not everyone is motivated by money and there are many ways of rewarding and recognising people for their efforts.

A. This is a very good question and one that all business owners have to deal with at some point if they want to move their business beyond themselves. If you are already working at full capacity or near to it, then the best thing to do first is make a list of tasks that other people could do as good as or even better than you for a lower price. A good way of creating this list is to keep a note of things as they crop up over a couple of weeks.

The next step is to think about who you know that could do these tasks. There may even be someone in your circle of friends and family that might welcome the opportunity and experience to do some work, such as mum or dads on mat leave, graduates or early retirees. Alternatively, there are very good out-sourcing options these days so ask your network for recommendations or search online. If you are part of a larger business I recommend you revisit everyone’s roles and responsibilities to assess if there is scope for anyone else to take on a few more tasks, this could be a good development opportunity for them.

Once you have created some time make sure you do not fill it with more clients or operational demands. You will need to be focused and disciplined in how you use this valuable time. As a guide you should aim to spend at least 25% of you time growing and developing your own business.

A: This is the number one challenge for many service businesses in the early stage. The trick to this issue is not to rely solely on referrals, create other income streams and build up a mix of marketing activities that do not require you to be there.

In order to get yourself into this position you will need to invest time in on working on your own business first. Please refer to the question about time so some ideas.

A: Without understanding more about the business it is difficult to say specifically what the problem is. However, in general there are a few key areas that you could look at. The biggest cost in all service businesses are salaries so it is very important to ensure that everyone is being used effectively. You don’t want expensive resource sitting around being under-utilized or worse being over utilized on low level activities. Some other areas that can affect profitability are overheads, margins, pricing and the average sale price.

A: This is not an unusual situation for small and mid size businesses that are growing. The most effective way to deal with this situation is train up or takes on someone else to handle the operational issues and manage the team. This would then free you up to take the reins and focus on driving the business forward.

A: There are many and varied routes open to you these days, eg, organic growth supported by a team, acquiring another business, franchise or creating online information products. If you have not already done so, I recommend you start with researching and educating yourself on the various expansion options available to you. Most grow organically as business increases and then drift into taking on more people to meet that demand but this is not always the best or only option.

I recently worked with a client who was determined to grow through franchising because they thought this route would generate them the best financial return and all they had to do was to systemise their business. When we discussed the implications of having multiple business units with up to 50 people to manage it soon became apparent that they did not have the appetite or skills for this. They concluded that the best option for them was to develop their personal brand and create online information products that they could sell directly online or licence to other consultants.

Here are some things to consider before leaping in: think about what your ultimate goal for the business is, do you want to create something that you can later sell, pass on or get an income from? How much time do you want to spend working in the business? If you prefer working with clients rather than managing people then building up a team may not be the best option for you.  Ultimately, I recommend that you choose the option that best suits your personality, passion and skill set.