Business Presentations | Many ways to skin a cat

Business Presentations | Many ways to skin a cat

In my corporate career, I was sent on many courses and seminars. I think every time there would be someone there saying they could not think what they were doing there as they had been doing the job for two years, or that it was bound to be a waste of their time in some other way.

I thought at the time that I was missing several major points. Even if they knew everything about the subject we were going to get another perspective on the subject. We were going to spend some time with peers which might have some contact value or the opportunity to know and show who we all were. There was always a potential for some little nugget in the presentation that would prove useful and when else would we spend some hours concentrating on that particular aspect of our working life?

Altogether a positive experience, or it should have been. A lot of people did not see it that way however.......... To read the full LinkedIn Article by Bob Shepherd, simply click here

Business in a box | Franchises

Business in a box | Franchises

One very basic question applies to all Franchises of whatever flavour, size or type. It all comes from this.........

"Is the money you are spending to get a ready made business as much or even more than it would cost you to set it up anyway?".

You might be surprised how often the question is ignored and how often the calculation is a close run thing. There may be other reasons for using a franchise but – buyer beware! The considerations for buying a Franchise are not that different to setting up a new business. In some cases the promised delivery of leads, dedicated areas, training and all the incentives that make it look worthwhile are just not there in sufficient quantities, once you have paid over the money.

To read the LinkedIn article by Bob Shepherd in full,  just click here -  Simple really.

Business Systems | That Pile of Business Cards & Other Admin

Business Systems | That Pile of Business Cards & Other Admin

I was doing quite well until a couple of months ago. I had a filing system for cards and a cross reference book for business types – printers, accountants, marketing, banks etc. That reading pile was under control and I had a (small) urgent pile and a less urgent pile.

Then it sank. I had (inadvertently) several systems with the most effective being chronological order. How long ago did I see that person/document I now need to find? It must be so far back in the run then….  Click here to read the full LinkedIn Article by Bob Shepherd. Simple really

Business Finance | Paperless Or Just Less Paper?

Business Finance | Paperless Or Just Less Paper?

In the 1980s we were promised a paperless office. I am not the best at technology but I have some of the tools and make an effort. Nevertheless, I have just spent 2 days sorting through some of that stuff that has accumulated. In the old days there was a pile on the end of the desk. ‘That’s interesting, I’ll read that later’ sort of pile. I have a pile like that and I have the equivalent in e-newsletters and emails as well.

When it comes to reading masses of text on screen I hunch up and eventually go to sleep. I need to make notes to keep myself awake and interested. So I still have masses of paper…

My Bank wants me..... To Read the full LinkedIn Article by Bob Shepherd Associates, just click here.  Simple really

Business Leadership | Leaders, The 7% conundrum - Private Education, Top Universities and all that

Business Leadership | Leaders, The 7% conundrum - Private Education, Top Universities and all that

I am all for achieving equality in education provision and ensuring equal opportunities for those with talent and acumen and entrepreneurial initiative.

I have seen a lot of coverage critical of the system where the majority of our leaders, our politicians and our senior commercial folk seem to come from the 7% who attend the best universities and private education.

I think this is skewed the wrong way round. The question should not be ‘how is it that best universities and the private education schools seem to generate the leaders and initiative takers ?’ but rather, "how is it that an education system with the other 93% of our young people does not?". To read the full LinkedIn article by Bob Shepherd Associates, click here.  Simple really.

Business Planning | The big risky tickets in one basket

Business Planning | The big risky tickets in one basket

Small is sometimes better. Take the railways for example. The government has pinned a lot on HS2 the high speed line that will unzip economic miracles for that foggy bit they are unsure about up the M1 somewhere. £55 billion is big by any standards and I bet it's more by the time we have finished. It'll save a few minutes off journey times apparently.

Return on investment is a subjective interpretation in many ways . That money would be better spent financing smaller rail projects and rail regenerations. There is a stack of evidence that local rail regenerations work, and then some. The Ebbw Vale line to Cardiff is a local example for me. Lately the Midlothian "Borders railway" is a recent one.  To read the full LinkedIn Article by Bob Shepherd, just click here.  Simple really

Business Finance | No System

Business Finance - No System

"46% of small businesses apparently have no idea how much they are owed or how much they owe."

I have met some of them but I have to admit being surprised at how high the figure appears to be.
‘Surely that is basic?’  To read the full LinkedIn article by Bob Shepsherd Associates, just click here.  Simple really.

Business Advice | Anything for a clear desk

"Hey! I am a consultant!".

Don’t do what I do, do what I say! The reason I know about this problem in any detail is business experience – my own experience. Before we had fancy online efficiency modules we used to examine efficiency in the corporate workplace by manual statistics and measurement called ‘Work measurement’.

It was interesting to see what you did actually do all day. One difficulty was recording it consistently; another was the interpretation. For example, the patterns showed that customer flows usually dropped away at certain times of the day on certain days of the week. Therefore, staff were presumably not needed at those times and we would save money by using part time staff and giving others non time related jobs to do at those times. Result? Utter shambles!  To read the full Bob Shepherd Associates LinkedIn article, just click here.  Simple really,

Running A Business | It's Lonely At The Top

Running a business | It's lonely at the top

If you are running a business you need to wear many hats, you need to know everything and you need to know it now.

More than this - in many case you are isolated and alone. It is therefore, important that from time to time you take off all those hats and create some time for you to reflect, some time for you to learn, some time for 'You' to improve. In fact you will get more done, be more directed and more efficient.  To read the full LinkedIn post by Bob Shepherd Associates, click here.  Simple really.

Business Finance | Size doesn't matter

The FSB  (Federation of Small Business) has data that suggests businesses with less than 9 people are less likely to secure main stream finance. As with any data that needs interpretation.

Do Banks prefer larger businesses? In a way, yes.

To read the full LinkedIn post, please click here.

Organic Marketing | Networking South Wales

There are dozens of business networks in South Wales . I help businesses with business strategy and planning (“Business Building”) and I deal with business finance and organisation. Not a shameless plug altogether because my point is that the business planning for growth requires experience and knowledge in networking as a major sub heading under the all embracing term “Marketing”. You need all this in place to get your finance sorted to show you are a functional business ,  by which time you have a plan to put into action, if you have done it properly.

My view is that there is not just one answer to networking. Some networks work best with a business that can be easily pigeon holed by everyone. (Accurately or not – doesn’t matter, you can sort that out later on). Other businesses do not.

So which group is best for you?

To read the full LinkedIn article by Bob Shepherd Associates, please click the link.  Simple really.

Marketing | Brand Building and all that

Marketing | Brand building and all that

I have been into a number of businesses lately who haven’t grasped something I think is clear. Your presentation to the big world out there will have much more effect if it is a coherent one. Think about some of the big brand names that have infiltrated our souls, whether we like it or not or whether we actually use them or not. It is quite disturbing in some ways. Becoming a household name has a bit of a relationship with brain washing or brain conditioning of some sort.  To read the full LinkedIn post, just click here

Business Expansion Has To Be Balanced

One of the greatest enemies of business expansion is simply the business balance. It is no good, for example having the orders come flooding in if the company cannot handle the work-flow. Equally the business resources are finite and you cannot have resources waiting for an expected work-flow which doesn't materialise.

Retail is an easy one to judge as we all use shops. Have you ever noticed a shop closing down and thought you knew why? Was it location? Or was the location right but just not for that sort of shop? If the business owner compromises on location because of cost perhaps the results can be disastrous.  To read this article in full on LinkedIn, just click here 

I‘ve got a Business Plan, have you.

I‘ve got a Business Plan, have you?

Give yourself full marks....If it lives in a drawer somewhere, take off 10 points. Take off 20 points for every three months since you looked at it. Take off 10 points if it is less than 3 pages long. Take off 20 points if you used a “business plan template”. Take off 10 points if it is a several generation old photocopied questionnaire type template. Take away 20 points if it did not have a monthly cashflow forecast that you update. Take off 50 points if you did not see the point when you did it. To read the full LinkedIn article, click here:

What's in a business name?

What's in a business name?

What name should you call a new business? Decide all the attributes you want an intended audience to attach to the name. Write down these qualities. When you hit on a name check it to see if it includes these points.

Try to avoid anything difficult to say or spell. You want to be understood over the telephone and elsewhere and you want people to relate to the name easily. A quirky spelling might be all right or it might mean no one can find you listed anywhere.

Avoid initials that sound like others. The phone test is a good one again. P’s sound like D’s Vs and B’s for example. Again, do you want people to find you easily or not? Click this link to read the full post, on LinkedIn

Time Is The Biggest Resource

Time Is The Biggest Resource

Many small businesses have started up in the last few months. Some born of opportunity and some born of necessity.  If they have been careful the owners have made sufficient headway to show they can maintain their course and develop their business. Planning and forethought is a major key to this.

Resources is the baseline for any progress. Directly or indirectly money is the lowest common denominator here and the business needs money at least to keep the domestic expenses going until the business can take up the load. Then the business itself needs money to get going. There are a hundred and one things to spend out on in the first set up stage.  Click this link to read the full post, on LinkedIn

Who needs a cash forecast?

The Answer should be:  We all do!

Do you use a diary for your appointments and important things to do? Without a diary how would you know where you are meant to be and where you are going? Do you have a Cash Flow Forecast? No?

Well, it’s the same with a Cash Flow Forecast. Done properly and set up as the important planning tool it should be and you will wonder how on earth you managed beforehand. The truth…you didn't!

You will be amazed how useful it will be and how you will feel ahead of your own destiny. The term ‘Cash Flow Forecast’ is one that is trotted out and has lost some meaning. Each word is important.

‘Cash’ – This is not an Accounting exercise. Things like VAT belong in the CFF and the ‘bottom line’ (which is probably where it came from) represents the balance of your bank account.

‘Flow’ – This is not a Budget. that is a sum of money allocated to some purpose and divided by (say) 12 to show what is needed to save up perhaps or allocate in some way. The CFF gives you a flow of funds that reflects all the vagaries of business with seasonal variations and other cash ups and downs that you need to watch, including the quarterly VAT payment for example.

‘Forecast’ – it’s looking ahead. You can enter a planned sum of expenditure on equipment for example at a certain point and see if it works. Get it wrong on paper, it is much less damaging than getting it wrong in reality. The CFF will show you what expenditure is needed to support what level of sales and vice versa.

One last foundation stone: It is not to be left, once done. Re-do, review within 3 or 4 months and you will always have a plan for a year or two ahead. So valuable, you will wonder how you ever thought it was acceptable to do without.

If you think I'm talking sense but need some guidance?  Give me a call or drop me an e-mail, I'll be happy to help.

Bob Shepherd Associates - #BusinessBuilder - #BusinessIdeas

07747758596

mail@bobshepherdassociates.co.uk
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Incidental Business Building

Two things happen when I go into a business and neither has much to do with me directly! One is that I necessarily bring an outside view to a business. That means the business owners have the benefit of another perspective drawn from a completely different experience set gained over many years of helping business develop, solve problems, strike out in a new direction and revise their offer. 

The other is that I turn up! By doing so it focuses attention and I find that people have done the things they said and that were on the list from last time. Unconsciously I am fulfilling a role as a catalyst for change by simply appearing by appointment. It is not me putting them in detention for not doing their homework. 

Neither of these fine contributions are on my leaflets but having realised I create these little waves, I do take them into account when with my clients. Cynically, I suppose I use these two forces to encourage and to gain traction with the project we are doing. Setting an appointment not too far ahead, but far enough to take advantage of No2 phenomenon: playing "devil's advocate" as it is known and asking the unspoken questions with a straight face... that sort of thing. 

It's all part of the service. Sometimes I am asked by a client "what will I get for my money?" The answer is sometimes partly that I do not know until we get going. That does not mean there is no process or that I am making it up as we go along. It is just that I have no clear idea what will pop up out of the box when we open it. 

Pandora's box? Possibly! More likely, the material to build a successful business, well coordinated and with strong foundations. Bob Shepherd Associates builds businesses!  

Missed The Point Again

Those who follow these writings will have gathered I think that the banks have a fundamental misapprehension about small business but here’s a particular example showing how the National Assembly in Wales have fundamentally misunderstood small business as well.

From the start I have been critical of the Wales Economic Growth grant which are funds left over before the grants were largely whisked away in 2010. I said it was too proscriptive, was open for applications for too short a time and sadly had missed an opportunity (otherwise known as ‘the point’) once again.

This business grant has only been open since the beginning of December and I have had enquiries where ineligibilty has been the downfall for potential applicants, but I have a better example which illustrates the inept thinking that has gone into it.

A business trying its best

A Torfaen based company has been paddling hard to keep afloat. This has been partly because it has been shouldered out of contracts with another local council in favour of a company from the Midlands in very questionable circumstances, but that’s another story. To counter this and diversify they have identified a product and a market that sits nicely alongside their own and is largely unserviced.

I was asked about the grant and a finance application. All the grant criteria seemed to be answered. The Directors had the information, were in a good area for the grant, had a nod from both the bank and from Finance Wales that lending facilities to make up the matched funding could be available subject to successful application, and the company was keen to get on with it. Although the grant advice documents do not spell this out the Directors were even aware that guidelines for new employment could be met. So the lenders had been spoken to, the Accountant had the latest recent company figures ready for sign off and it all looked constructive and positive.

What is the grant for then?

Most of the ticks in place so far, so what actually are we spending this money on? The grant minimum is £100k and the best case is a 50% match in some areas so we need to propose spending £200k.  

We need a couple of web sites, marketing and PR, a van, some employees, some equipment and some examples to install in show areas. Totting it up quickly, I stretch the list to about £90k and to be honest we could do it for much less.

It is immediately obvious that the Directors, over keen  at the prospect of much needed assistance from the Welsh Government have fitted the finance around the possible funding. We could probably get away with a loan of £10k, have one web site and use the workforce and vans we already have, start things slowly and take less of a commercial risk.

In summary the grant is completely useless for what they want. In fact it is difficult to see how it can be of any use to anyone unless by chance they happen to be in the middle of a project that could use a substantial injection to make it bigger and better than first thought.  The project has to be under way (but not ‘committed’ or it is ineligible anyway) because there is insufficient time to organise a new project for which this grant might have a part to play.

I am left feeling cynical, exasperated, and still somehow, after long experience, disappointed that Business Support in Wales can be so inept in its operation. 

Business Planning – What’s That Then?

Everybody’s different! So too, with businesses. So too, with business owners.  As a consultant I need to relate quickly to the position of my client. What seems important to me may not to them and vice versa.

The principal of what I’m doing is the underlying process of business planning.  The components of a business plan when it is done properly are of course the very things that a business needs to have right to enable it to run smoothly, profitably and realistically. 

When a new business starts the owners very often do not have a complete insight into all the ramifications of what they’re doing.  There’s no insult or disgrace in that.  Why should anyone know everything?

What usually happens is that I get called into a business at the point when the owners have decided it should be running better and is in need of development.  To do so we need all the resources in place and in proportion.  We need a complete set of skills and realistic overview of what has happened, what is intended and it is then up to me to help decide how we are going to get there.  While this may involve some coaching or training on my part as a business consultant it does not carry any patronising feeling from me and cannot be allowed to do so.  The business is my client’s and will always remain so.  What they get from their consultant is an outside view and an external perspective.

This reflects the position that any business owner is in whereby they are looking at their business from the inside.  It is very hard to step outside and look back in. 

I recently helped a high street gallery which of course is all about the display arrangement and how welcoming the shop front appears and what happens to the customer once they cross the threshold.  I actually took the owner across the street to stand there with me for 10 minutes while we discussed the appearance of the front of the shop and what passersby seemed to make of it.  Very illuminating!

As a consultant I am very careful to maintain the ownership of the business with the business owner.  So by doing a business plan it has to be done with the owner and not for the owner.  Equally it is important that a business plan is done with the business in mind.  This seems obvious until you realise that most small businesses have a business plan originally done using a template from a poor photocopy several generations old.  In effect they are answering someone else’s questions!

This exercise does not have to be expensive.  At an entry level I have helped businesses for £200 per month for three months which has been enough to give them sufficient guidance and perspective to lift the business to a new level of profitability and turnover (not the same thing but that’s another article)

See www.bobshepherdassociates.co.uk and make contact on 07747 758596 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            07747 758596      end_of_the_skype_highlighting  or by email mail@bobshepherdassociates.co.uk .. Expect a practical and meaningful business planning exercise from Bob Shepherd Associates that will retune your business approach.