How to hyperdrive your business

PERSONAL VISION

1. Develop a personal vision five years in the future.
2. Decide on all the personal things that you both want to have and to do, by when.
3. If you are looking at retirement, calculate how much cash you need to retire comfortably. Deeply consider how long you think you will be retired.
4. Within reason, there is every possibility you could achieve your vision with the correct planning and assistance.
5. Remember, you own a business to have a better life, not the other way around.

BUSINESS VISION

1. Create a Team in your business made up of the best Employees.
2. Work with your Team to discuss where the business could be in five years, think big goals.
3. Draft of your business vision to discuss at your next Team meeting.
4. Your business vision becomes the destination that you and your Team want to take the business to.
5. Your business vision is like a road map to get to your business vision.

STRATEGY

1.  The strategy forms the core of any business plan; first, discuss all options for the business and then choose the best ones that will get you to your business vision.
2. Work with the Team to discuss in detail all aspects of the business.
3. Choose the best ideas and frame up the strategy.
4. Use the strategy to make quality decisions when discussing the other business elements.
5. The strategy is the map between where the business is today and where it wants to be in the five-year vision.
6. Develop a comprehensive business plan outlining what the business must do to reach its business vision.

STRUCTURE

1. The business structure supports the strategy.
2. Discuss with the Team what the appropriate structure is to reach the business vision.
3. We define a business structure as Legal structure, Asset structure, Business type structure, Organisational structure, Business systems structure, Financial structure, Technological structure.
4. The business vision is the destination, the business strategy is the map, and the business structure is the vehicle we travel to get to the vision.

CULTURE

1. Culture is the organisational glue that holds all the other structures in place.
2. A business will ultimately fail if its Employees are unmotivated and unhappy working in the business.
3. Some ideas to improve business culture: Complete employment contracts, roles and responsibilities, a fair remuneration structure, good work conditions, good social environment, promotional opportunities, training programmes, recognition of a job well done, assess Employee motivation toward their roles.
4. A business culture must be planned and managed.

PRODUCTS OR SERVICES

1. Establish an accurate pricing system.
2. Decide on the best products or services to match the market requirement.
3. Consider other products or services that will increase sales and profits.
4. Create an effective pricing policy.
5. Review all costs of products or services.
6. Conduct supplier pricing reviews on all purchases.
7. Review all pricing improvement strategies.
8. Calculate apportionment of overhead into the pricing model.

MARKETING & SALES

1. Marketing brings the Customers/Clients to the business; Salespeople make the sale.
2. Develop a twelve-month marketing plan.
3. Review Competitors pricing and positioning.
4. Review all Customer/Client facing promotional material.
5. Review branding and positioning of the business.
6. Establish a target market with the most significant profit potential.
7. Establish a lead generation system and KPI.
8. Establish referral strategies.
9. Establish retention strategies.
10. Analyse ROI on marketing and advertising expenses.
11. Do we have plans for extending the products or services we sell?
12. Analyse the sales strategy. Are you actively hunting business?
13. Are our salespeople up to the task of making the sales required for the business?

PEOPLE

1. Your people are your most important asset.
2. Review tasks for each position vs job description.
3. Review Employee competency for each position.
4. Establish output targets per FTE.
5. Record actual output per FTE.
6. Record unproductive time per FTE.
7. Measure highest productive Employees.
8. Develop KPI’s for each Employee.
9. Develop training systems to improve KPI’s.
10. Arrange regular meetings to discuss KPI’s.
11. Establish standard operating times for jobs.
12. Establish operating procedures for jobs.
13. Create an incentive programme around productivity gains.
14. Establish wastage and downtime recording systems.
15. Measure profitability per FTE.
16. Create benchmarks to compare Employees against.
17. Ensure that regular performance reviews are conducted with employees.

SYSTEMS & PROCESSES

1. What systems and processes are being used to streamline the business, make it more efficient, and improve business performance?
2. Consider preparing business manuals to capture how work is done in the business.
3. Investigate the accounting system and its ability to deliver what is required to provide accurate monthly accounts.
4. Does the business have a policy manual that is available to all Employees?
5. Does the business have a new Employee induction manual?
6. Does the business have training programmes?
7. Would the business run well if the Owner was not there?

EXPENSES

1. Conduct a complete investigation of all expenses; typically, 10% of the current expense costs could be saved.
2. Investigate utilities, power, phone, gas, etc.
3. Investigate vehicle expenses, vehicles and fuel.
4. Investigate insurance expenses.
5. Investigate IT expenses.
6. Investigate accounting expenses.

FINANCES

1. Establish a forecast P&L, Balance sheet and cash flow for the next five years, monthly for the first year, yearly after that.
2. Establish an accurate, timely, monthly KPI and financial reporting process.
3. What is the cash handling policy? Are there two people involved with signing off payments?
4. Instigate Debtor recovery procedure.
5. Develop a trading terms policy to improve cash flow.
6. Review invoicing speed, accuracy and processes.
7. Review discounting policy.
8. Establish accounts payable policy.
9. Improve relationship with the business Bank, Accountant, and the Tax department, and major suppliers.
10. Negotiate with Suppliers to hold stock and supply on demand.
11. Investigate the best funding options.