I was reminded how much I love helping clients with their businesses!
I met with a new client last week. We’d spoken on the phone a couple of times. She was referred to me by another client.
I’d asked her to send me down some reports from her MYOB. Profit and Loss reports, by month across the page. In XL format .
I like it that way, then I can work on the figures directly, without having to rekey the numbers.
I’m curious about the picture the numbers paint. What do they say about the business? What does that say about what the business owner is going through?
Where can I help? Where can I add something? What insights can I bring that she can’t see?
When we met, she showed me around her premises. Quite large, too big in fact, but room to grow. We had a coffee and chatted about her business. She’d be running it for 15 years, but it had recently taken off. Massive growth. More staff. More costs. She felt she was out of control.
The financials were up to date, and reconciled, so that was a good start. But financial figures don’t show the whole story.
We need to see the Top 20 clients, what did they buy, and when. Also, the Top 20 products, what moved, and when?
What is the marketing strategy? Who is the target client? What is the sales plan? What about order fulfillment?
What was the stock turn? What are the debtor days? How much is owing to suppliers? How much owing for tax and super? How often do you review your figures? (Turns out never!)
How long since you’ve reviewed your pricing? Have you done a comparative shop around against your competitors? What finance facilities are in place? How do you fund your growth?
What are her goals for the business? Where does she want it to go? How much does she want to make? Is there more to her life than the business? Do you want to help your community? What does that look like?
How long since you’ve had a holiday? 3 years? How much are you making now? Not enough. Let’s do something about that.
I guess you could call this a health check for her business. Maybe it was. But to me it was fun. To find out about the business. About the owner. What makes her tick. What makes the business work. To figure out how it could work better.
I love this stuff. And maybe that’s the key. Find out what you love, then you’ll find what you can be good at.
Peter
