How to Make the Most Out of Your Business
You work hard, you put in the long days, is the reward there?
Being self employed is not easy, but it does have its advantages – such as being in charge of your destiny, being able to make your own decisions and offers flexibility in your day….heres some additional points for you to think about.
Are you doing the most productive work? And doing the work you like? If not, outsource it. Examples of ways to free up your time – enlist the services of a bookkeeper or virtual assistant. How about employing a gardener or cleaner at home? All of these have the advantage of freeing up your time, so that you can do the work with the most reward. You do what you are good at, they do what they are good at.
Don’t shy away from bringing in the professionals – the cost of paying for such advice will be far outweighed by the benefits provided. Examples of this would be – should you have a family trust set up for asset protection? Are other family members who work in the business part of the company shareholding for income splitting purposes? Have you considered ACC cover plus extra to reduce your ACC costs, and take up personal medical insurance with the money saved – this will give you cover for both accident and illness.
Is there a complementary business that you can align yourself with, as you would have mutual clients eg massage and beautician; mechanic and wheel alignment. You are both marketing to the same people so you could have a joint offer.
Are you making good use of your network? People generally buy off businesses that are referred to them by friends and family. Get out there and meet people to build up trust and loyalty in all your business relationships.
Delegation within the business is a great tool to ensure that everyone is doing the job they like doing the most, and are good at. Put the bubbly person in customer service, put the quiet studious person into procedural work.
Is your computer systems/software up to date? Are you at risk of losing any data? Is there a better way of running your business, than just doing the same thing for the last 10 years? There is no need for dozens of spreadsheets – programs such as Xero have hundreds of add-on apps that can make your life easier so that you aren’t duplicating work.
The ultimate goal is to make enough money to live a comfortable life and have enough time to enjoy it!
Each business is different, but a possible to-do list would include:
Take advantage of any industry knowledge/training, seminars, books to keep you up with the play in your game.
Work your network.
Help others where you can as this will ensure they are spreading the good word about you and your business.
Written by
Raelene Rees
Chartered Accountants
