Work on your Strengths, Outsource your Weaknesses

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What areas of your business are you good at? It’s hard to be good at everything.

Everyone has their strengths; that is the things they excel at, the things they enjoy. We are always encouraged to work on our weaknesses. This can be a good thing but can also be a waste of time. Your weaknesses will always be your weaknesses. And your strengths will always be your strengths.

Why not put your effort into getting even better at those things you are good at and enjoy, and then find someone who’s strengths are your weaknesses and outsource the work to them? Doesn’t this make more sense? Everyone working to their strengths. It’s a recipe for success! Unstoppable! What areas of your business are falling flat because you are trying to do it all?

Procrastination – Sugar Coated Laziness

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How do you get things done? Do them.

What is on your ‘To Do’ list? How long has it been sitting there? Wouldn’t you feel so much better if you just got it done?

Procrastination is the thing that will stop us from being productive with our day. Whether it be to clean the house, exercise, call that client or write that blog! Procrastination can be the 1 thing that lets laziness rule. Don’t let it take over you. You take over it! Make the decision to write that list, prioritise, and get it done! It’s that easy! No matter how much is going on right now, there is always room for more.

Once you have set yourself the task, and go about achieving it in small chunks, you will be amazed at what you can do and feel the weight lifted off your shoulders once it is done.

What can you get done today?

What is a BAS agent? And why would you use one?

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BAS agents are registered with the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) to legally prepare and submit your Business Activity Statement (BAS) to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) if you are registered for GST. In other words, BAS agents will assist you in looking after your day to day accounts. On the other hand there are Tax agents who are registered to lodge your tax returns at the end of each financial year, whether it be for your business or for your personal records.

The benefits of using a BAS agent go back to the primary purpose of why Better Your Business came about; so that business owners can focus on the areas of their business that they are really good at, and allow us to fill the gap in the areas they are not so good at or don’t enjoy. As a registered BAS agent, we will be actively engaged in the reconciliation of you accounts and payroll, and the preparation of all that is involved in lodging your BAS with the ATO, outlining your GST and PAYG for the period.

If you are tired of coming around to BAS time and feeling overwhelmed with the idea of lodging your own BAS, then why not consider engaging your very own BAS agent? Freedom of time and mind is what we’re all about. How can we help you?

The Difference Of Being Extra-Ordinary

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Instead of being ordinary, why not be Extraordinary? It’s just that little bit Extra…

Think about your customer service experiences for instance. The experiences that are memorable are those that had that special touch. It doesn’t have to be something huge, just that little bit Extra. A friendly smile, a listening ear, good manners. What a difference it makes! It’s the little things that make a real difference. It’s the little things that take an experience from ordinary to Extraordinary!

Think about your business. What little things can you improve to give it that little bit Extra? Got it? Ok, now systemise it into your business processes and share it with your team. As long as the system is followed, you will give Extraordinary service every time!

Xero vs. The Rest

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Finding the best accounting software for your business can be a scary place. There are so many options and price points that you can come away from your research feeling very daunted. I know, I’ve done it myself.

Why do I prefer to use Xero?

The ease of having all the information online to be accessed anywhere, the ability to collaborate online with my clients, live bank data feeds, pay by the month subscription… What more can I say? Xero really is leading the way in online accounting technology. Be a part of the online phenomenon and try Xero out for yourself. Better Your Business can then act as your external accounts manager by providing a range of different services with Xero as the platform. Why not check out how Better Your Business in partnership with Xero can help move you and your business forward?

New Beginnings – YOU CAN!

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It’s a new year! How exciting! An opportunity to start a fresh and start well!

You can apply this mentality to everything in your life. Absolutely everything! If your relationships, business or health started waning towards the end of 2012, then get a hold of them, give them a shakeup, and decide to change!

Take your health for example. A lot of people choose the new year to decide to go on a health kick. Don’t make it just a fad. Make it a lifestyle! Once you start, use your momentum to keep you on the right track and dedicated to healthy eating and exercise. It CAN be done and you CAN do it!

This goes back to the principle that if you do something enough times then you will form a habit. Habits are hard to break. Create good habits in your life! It might be hard to stay dedicated in the first place but get EXCITED about the fact that you CAN change!

Look forward to it. Get excited about it. It’s going to be a great year!

Clients – If you Don’t Like Them, Change Them

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One of the benefits if being a business owner/manager is the ability to choose your own clients! This means there may be some that you decide not to do business with. It could be for many reasons – they’re not good at paying on time, they are not a profitable client, they have difficult or unusual demands that take time, or you simply don’t get along with them. The choice is yours!

Think about all the time and energy you put into some of your clients. Could you put that energy into your preferred clients who pay on time, allow you a good profit margin, are reasonable and easy to get along with? Could you then expand on your service offering to this type of client and direct your focus towards improving what you do for them? Wouldn’t that be far more enjoyable for you?

I hear you ask, “Well what about the sales I still make to my difficult clients? Even though they were difficult, they were still a sale.” This is a valid point however if you focus on your preferred clients and through this process increase your sales to them, you will not completely drop in sales. Freeing up your time will also allow you to work ON your business and not IN it quite so much. In doing this you could put together a marketing strategy to encourage new clientele, such as an incentive to increase referrals from your existing preferred clients that you are now impressing so much with your additional time and focus! Lastly, think about the stress you have eliminated from your life – what kind of price do you put on that?

The moral of the story is to keep in mind you are the master of your domain. If you don’t like it, change it.

The Importance of a Listening Ear

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Did you know that one of the greatest human needs is to be heard and understood? My dad always reminded me of this to help me be more compassionate towards others.

Your customers have the same need too, and your compassion is truly put to the test when you are dealing with a customer complaint. I guarantee you with the majority of the customer complaints you encounter, the ideal outcome for the customer is simply to get the frustration off their chest. Allow them to feel heard and understood – this is bound to satisfy them. All you have to say is something like, “Thank you for your feedback and we will look into ways in which we can ensure this doesn’t happen again. The only way our business can get better is through receiving and acting on feedback like this to continually improve our people, products and services.” That’s it!

Don’t allow customer complaints to rattle you. Cop them on the chin. Even if you completely disagree, allow the customer to vent, respond with something short and concise to put their mind at ease, and then decide what you will do with respect to the feedback. But NEVER EVER argue with a customer. This negative experience will spread by word of mouth far quicker than you could say sorry!

The customer may not always be right… But let them think they are ;)

What Makes You Unique?

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Last time we wrote about value we were thinking about the customer and their perception of the benefits we provide.

Let’s think about these benefits for a moment. Are the benefits you provide different from everybody else? Do your main competitors offer the same product/service as you?

The question begs to be asked, how can you been seen as more valuable than your competitor? What differentiates you from the rest?

This is a really important point to consider. Take a moment to think about the benefits of doing business with you. Take 10 mins now to write a list…

Now re-look at the list you have just written and cross off any that your competitors could say the same thing about their business. Are you left with anything? If not, think harder about what makes customers come to you over your competitors. Whatever is left at the end of this exercise, this benefit is called your Unique Selling Proposition. This is the one thing that keeps people coming back to you because you are the only one who provides it! This is the benefit you should always use to promote your business because it is Uniquely Yours!

Discovering your Unique Selling Proposition is all a part of the process to Better Your Business. Are you getting better?