Meeting your goals during a global slowdown
Meeting your goals during a global slowdown Business owners were definitely more optimistic coming into 2022, but we’ve found a number of factors are now making things a lot more challenging: – Global events are pushing up energy prices to astronomical levels.– Ongoing supply-chain issues are making it difficult to source materials.– A scarcity of talent is causing problems when it comes to staffing and hiring.– The dreaded Covid is still around and making trading complex and difficult. Faced with these hurdles, you might be feeling that your goals are no longer attainable. But is this true? Growth is likely to be a challenge, but not impossible. 5 steps for meeting your goals during a slowdown Moving forward during a period of economic recession is certainly more of a challenge. But what’s needed is an updated plan with awareness of the major external threats. Here are five steps to set you on the right path: Talk to us about your goal-setting for this year and beyond The sooner you start revisiting your goals and business plan, the better prepared your company will be for the ups and downs of a recession. Come and talk to us about your financial position, your core strategy and your concerns about the next six to twelve months. We’ll help you set practical, attainable goals that will push your business forward. ** You might be eligible to get our services funded up to 50%. Contact us here.
The Traits of Success – Discover the Three Freedoms
What makes up success is something we’ve had to think a lot about. At Maisey Harris & Co, helping businesses become successful is what drives us in what we do. But we’ve learned that success isn’t as easy to define as simply having a profitable, growing company. If you ask what success means to people, you are likely to get a wide range of answers. Or you’ll find out that they’re not actually sure, that they haven’t thought about it. It is important to know what success means to you. If you don’t understand what drives you, you will pour time and energy into things that give you no return. You need to know what will leave you feeling like you’ve accomplished something at the end of the day, not leave you frustrated and dissatisfied. Luckily, it isn’t so hard to find out what success means to you. Because, though the question may bring a myriad of responses, in the end, we’ve found that it generally boils down into three concepts: Freedom of Mind. Freedom of Time. Freedom of Money. For some people, it is simply achieving a well-oiled machine that defines success for them. It is being able to go to bed each night and not be kept up by stress. For them achieving freedom of mind is what makes them feel successful. Where they no longer have to constantly be worrying about the next bill payment, or the next issue that may arise. They want to know their business is running smoothly. For others it is being able to walk away from work and spend their time doing other things. They want to have a shorter work week, and see more of friends and family without being called away by their business. Success would be having freedom of time. And then, for the rest, it is seeing their business become profitable that drives them. Watching their bank balances rise, and seeing the cash come in from their hard work. It is knowing they have enough money to pay off all their bills. That they don’t have to worry about an emergency happening, or stress about how tight their cash flow might be. Reaching freedom of money is what leaves them feeling successful at the end of the day. Make sure you identify which freedom calls to you. Knowing what it is will help you guide your business’s direction. It will allow you to set and achieve goals that leave you feeling good, rather than ones that leave you dissatisfied. We’ve learned that, when helping clients create business plans, or set quarterly goals, we need to figure out what success means to them first. Because there is no point working harder to create more cash flow when it is having the ability to step away from your business, and spend more time with your family, that actually means something to you. So take a moment and consider what you think success looks like. And if you want help reaching that, feel free to reach out! We are always here to help, whether it’s numbers that you’d like taken care of, or business advice that you need. Thanks, the MHCO team.
Living above the Line – Understanding O.A.R.B.E.D
Ownership. Accountability. Responsibility. Blame. Excuses. Denial. Which side of the line do you live on? The acronym O.A.R.B.E.D is one that MHCO has striven to live by for a number of years now. For within it are very important reminders for how each and every one of us should try and shape our actions. But why is O.A.R.B.E.D so important to us? A business thrives on a strong team, and we believe team and client relationships are massively important to success. The quality a business provides is essential, but more and more people are looking for more than just that. Just as employees are looking for more than just a job in a field that interests them – for millennials, it is now the workplace environment that means the most to them. So how do you create a strong team that works and plays well together? How do you create relationships with your clients that they can put their trust in? By always making sure that everyone lives above the line. That we all pick up the oar to guide our way, and acknowledge how important the above attributes are. For O.A.R.B.E.D is more than just another catch phrase to quote for a while, and then forget once its novelty dies down. It is a way to guide our actions, to ensure that we don’t slip below the line every day. So how do we make sure that we use O.A.R.B.E.D? By understanding it, by looking at our own behaviours, and recognising whether they embody above the line traits, or slipping below it instead. Ownership. Accountability. Responsibility. If a job is given to you, rise up to meet it, and take ownership of it entirely. Work hard on it, and strive to do your best on it. By making yourself accountable for the quality of the work produced, you become invested in the job. You challenge yourself, and hold yourself responsible for the end product. The hard part of this is acknowledging that where things go wrong, this also falls on you. But it is this awareness that will cause you to strive harder in order to avoid failure. It is not easy to clasp hold of the oar and take full responsibility of where the boat goes. But whether team member or client, you will earn respect from those around you, as well as encouraging them to do the same. Blame. Excuses. Denial. Three simple words that have a very large impact. Any time behaviour slips towards them, trust and respect is lost, eating away at the relationships that have been built up. Passing blame, always having an excuse on hand, or just straight denial, is all a way of shifting responsibility to someone else. And in a team this can easily shatter goodwill and break the team apart. As for clients? It won’t be long till they are looking to go elsewhere. Where they can get what they need, along with honest, upfront communication with people they can rely on. Focusing on personal growth Over all, O.A.R.B.E.D reminds us to look inwards, at our own actions, rather than outwards at everyone else’s. And that is one of the reasons we like it so much. We don’t want to spend time focusing on what other people do, or trying to pull them down just to make ourselves shine a little bit brighter. We’d rather remain focused on bettering ourselves, and our business. To acknowledge where we may have weaknesses, and work to fix them. Living above the line means all round positivity, growth, and happiness. Don’t you want to join us there? Thanks, the MHCO team
Forecasting: Focusing on Your Business’s Future
Previously on this blog we discussed Profit vs Cash Flow. However, here at MHCo we don’t just look at what your business is doing but also where it is going. The new era of accounting is here, and looking forward is the new black. So don’t hesitate to reach out if you want to know more! MHCo is excited to now be able to offer this option to you. But why should you worry about forecasting? Is it worth it for your business? Listed below are a few reasons we think forecasting is the next step to take. Outlining the Future As a company sometimes we can feel like we are fumbling into the dark, just focusing on taking one step at a time. Though forecasting isn’t a crystal ball it does allow us to shed some light on what could be coming our way. Now, we can plan the steps we want to take further down the line, and sidestep obstacles that potentially could set us back. Having an idea what the future could hold allows us to plan for it. A lot of our business decisions are based on cash flow. This means we need to know what we will have in the future, not just what is in the bank short term. Money may be looking healthy now, but what about that slow spell that is probably hitting in six months? Will you still be able to afford the repayments on the new business car then? Is business busy, but you think you can’t afford a new employee? What is the cost of not being able to take on extra work in the next few months; is that revenue worth a tight belt on your budget for the short-term? Your forecast is based on prior performance. So as time goes on, how is your business matching up to the trend it has been showing? Forecasting is a good way to keep you accountable, and to challenge yourself. Underperforming? Pinpoint the catalyst that has caused this change. Sales picking up? Identify why – has your marketing finally reached the right ears? Is it word-of-mouth? Or is it a social trend causing it to take off, and how can you make the best of this while it lasts? Does your forecast not show the growth you were expecting? What area is slowing you down and what can you do to minimise its impact? Maybe it is simply not having enough cash on hand to prepare for a period of high demand, and so not being able to deliver. Or is it that you are under-pricing your services, and suffering because of it? Forecasting allows you to see the long term consequences of problem areas you may not yet be aware of. Financing Your Future Before loans for large sums of money can be arranged, banks and other entities require you to provide a forecast for your business. They need to know you will have the means to pay off what they lend you, and that they are not pouring their funds down the drain. So if you need finance for whatever reason, talk to us about preparing a forecast for your application. And just remember… Debt doesn’t have to be a bad word. Forecasting doesn’t mean just showing you one future. As we all know, the future is unpredictable and many things can change it. If you are thinking about employing another person, see what it might do to your cash flow. What if you want to pay that loan off a bit faster? Can you afford it, or does it put too much stress on your funds? And could a cash injection, from an investor or a loan, be what your business needs? Or is the growth from it not enough to justify the risk? Run through different scenarios, and go into the decision with a little more insight. When you get into business you do it because you’ve got plans for the future. But in the day-to-day slog, it’s easy to get caught up in the short term problems, and forget where you want to go. Forecasting brings your gaze back to the future. It reminds you why you are in business, and what the over-arching goal is. And in our eyes? That re-focusing is one of the most powerful benefits of forecasting. Last, but not least, who doesn’t want to sleep a bit easier, knowing they have a better hold on where their business is going? Not knowing what is coming is stressful. It wears you down, drains your enthusiasm, and haunts you with all that could go wrong. Forecasting means you can have a plan of attack, and a plan is the best way to combat stress. If you still aren’t sure whether forecasting is for you, talk to us about it. We’re more than happy to go through the pros and cons of it with you! Thanks, the MHCO team