Starting Out

There’s an old adage: It’s not what you know—it’s who you know. But when we are starting out in business, our networks are often limited, consisting of former colleagues, friends and family. And while these people will help get you on your way, very few of us can rely entirely on them for business success. That’s where networking comes in. Read more

Is your business being stalked?

They say imitation is the sincerest flattery form.

Yet its effect on the source (you) can range from mildly inspiring to downright maddening.

Let’s table some shades, to colour this copycat world.

Copy cat

I once had a client at the bleeding edge of their field.

They were so ahead of their time, almost everything they did was a first. Read more

Has ‘breathing space’ become your way of life?

First, thank you for rocketing Booking a win to Number 1!

Your support blew me away.

Second, all this talk of dreams got me thinking.

Big, ambitious, important dreams usually take a long time to achieve.

Often you must approach them with sideways (or even backwards) steps.

But what happens if a temporary move becomes permanent?

Side step

I adore copywriting, but my first love is fiction.

That’s why I cashed in my super. Read more

You’ll often hear business experts say that in order for your venture to be a success you’ve got to ‘work on your business as much as you work in it’.

Easier said than done.

With many small business owners running a solo show, it is often a struggle to find the time to not only be the CEO but also be your marketing, sales, finance, compliance, customer service, admin, reception, HR and IT departments.  And to not allow these crucial tasks fall to the sidelines. Read more

Smart business resolutions for all SME’s.

There’s a New Zealand online business I came across the other day, which may as well have had a photo of me pinned to their mood board when they conceptualised it.

From the moment I spotted an ad for it on another blog, to the moment I followed them on their Facebook page. Read more

Is this how customers see you?

Running a business means you get to call the shots.

One shot is deciding how people address you.

Depending on your nature, this could cause pleasure or pain.

We’ve spoken about business titles.

We’ve touched on job titles.

So what do we call you?

Big note

I smile when sole traders give me business cards with CEO or Managing Director on them. (One Chief, no Indians.) Read more

Franchises. Heaven or hell?

I can hardly turn round these days without a blog post smacking me in the head.

This one flags a peril of franchising.

As I’ve never owned a franchise, I’m really hoping you can help us join the dots.

Pizza walk

After Fonnie and I left the bar, we fancied a margherita of the pizza kind. Read more

Photo by Steven Wright

The crazy innovation days of Silicon Valley at its prime appear to be back. Not only are we seeing this in the flow of money to small start-up companies again, but also more recently in the rise and interest in idea-generating social events.

StartUpWeekend.org is one such event. Founded in 2006 StartUp Weekend runs hundreds of events all over the world, using a network of volunteers, where participants compete to launch a new company in 54 hours.  And it’s really gaining momentum.  So far, 35,000 people have attended 300 Startup Weekend events, across 91 countries with over 200 local organisers.  There are over 1700 startup ventures right now that begun at a Startup Weekend event!

Anyone is welcome; simply register your attendance on the website in advance. You pitch your idea to the crowd – no limits, no boundaries, no conditions. The catch is you only have 60 seconds to give your pitch – hard stop, no exceptions. The crowd votes for their favourite – those with the most are crowned team leaders.  Team leaders then, during an hour of madness, lobby the crowd, fish market style, to get people to join their team and find a quiet space to work.  And away you go.

Fast forward 46 hours, and it’s time for my favourite part of the event.  The final pitch.  Each team presents their idea to a panel of judges, competing for prizes, street cred and investment opportunities.  While I’m always amazed at just how much teams have achieved in such a short space of time, what really blows my mind is just how far the idea has evolved from its original concept.

One of the things teams learn very quickly at Startup Weekend is agility.  They test their idea.  Make some tweaks.  Conduct market research.  Make more alterations.  Call a few friends and industry contacts.  Change things up again.  They are steadfastly committed to building the best possible version of their idea – even if it means changing things up and moving in a direction that can be miles away from their starting point. When a change in direction is considered a fair distance from the current idea this is know as a “pivot” and big pivots are called out and celebrated when you reach the final pitch. Even having an official term for this situation talks to just how much agility is embraced as an essential component to innovation.

What a great lesson for business owners.  How many of us start our business, and then fall into the trap of doing things ‘the way they’ve always been done’?  Offer a product, but forget to keep an eye on developments in the industry?  They say the only constant in life is that it changes.

I’m a big believer that for SME’s to succeed and prosper; they need to jump on board the innovation cycle.  Those that are constantly looking for ways to improve – either their service or their product – are the ones that will remain at the top of their game.  I’d love to see more adopting a ‘try and change’ model, where they’re actively looking for tweaks they can make to improve their business.  And it’s relatively easy to do.  Spending a few minutes each day reading your industry’s news online, or doing a quick survey of your customers can uncover some new ideas that you wouldn’t have otherwise considered.  Or hand the floor to your staff for a ‘think tank’ afternoon.  You’ll be amazed at what they can come up with.

You also need to ensure you internal processes are set up for innovation too. Automate manual tasks as much as possible so that when a change or pivot does occur, it doesn’t incur huge amounts of manual labour to make it happen. Remove as much change management infrastructure (e.g., red tape) as you can

And it’s important not to be afraid of innovation!  If you try something new and it doesn’t work just as you planned, simply go back and step and try something else.  There’s nothing wrong with a lesson learned – the late Steve Jobs will be remembered as one of the most successful tech visionaries of our time, but even he had some products that flopped.

We’re all for embracing innovation here at MYOB – at the moment we’re focusing on cloud technology, and how we can harness it to enhance our product offering.  We’re comfortable with the idea of driving innovation, and we’re always looking for new ways to improve our process.

Struggling to get your innovative juices flowing?  I recommend heading along to Startup Weekend.  It’s the perfect incubator to float a new idea, and there’s nothing like spending a weekend with creative and motivated minds to boost your enthusiasm and inspire you to change things up in your business.

Keep an eye out for the next Startup Weekend in your area – and I’ll see you there!

Simon Raik-Allen | Chief Technology Officer – MYOB

“I set goals, but I never reach them. I always self sabotage”.

This comment came from a client when we got onto the topic of goal setting. So, I delved a bit deeper, and asked what goal she had set but hadn’t achieved.

‘My goal was to reduce my spending.’

“How did it go”, I asked

“Awful, I ended up spending more than I was before, so I gave up”.

Saying you want to reduce spending isn’t actually a goal, it is just an idea. Our brain is a wonderful machine. It works on what we focus on, in this instance the focus was on ‘spending’, so the brain said “YIPPEE, let’s go shopping!!” (by the way this isn’t just a girl thing, it happens to guys as well).

My client hadn’t self sabotaged her goal at all; she just hadn’t set her goal clearly enough. Many of us set goals, or at least we think we do, but how often do we actually achieve them? Read more

Are you ready for this? I wasn’t.

Like Madonna (well, a bit) I reinvent myself to stay viable:

• HR to copywriting.
• Recruitment ads to blogging.
• $600 resumes.

Recently I had a chance to add an exciting new income string to my bow.

I blew it.

Head shot

I’m a big fan of the maxim:

Preparation + Opportunity = Success

I now know that one out of three is bad.

This got me wondering if you are: Read more