How To Build A Small Business You Can Be Proud Of

INTRODUCTION:

As a small business accountant and advisor, we get to see all types of businesses. Some are very good but some are very great! The great small businesses are usually ones that you can see the owners are extremely proud of. It's no wonder they make more profit, have more cash flow and have a higher small business valuation than those that just turn up day in and day out without changing any of the dynamics. Recently we were fortunate to be invited to Nature's Care 25th Anniversary Celebrations over 3 days in the Hunter Valley and in Sydney. We were also honoured to be asked to speak at their event.

Figure 1: Absolute Winners! Nature's Care on Sydney's north shore is an incredible success story.

Alex Wu and his wife Jina came to Australia from Taiwan in 1990 basically with just a suitcase. For 25 years they have been realising their vision with discipline, innovation and a never ending desire to be the best vitamin producer that money can buy. They produce their own raw materials from the Hunter Valley which means they can control their supplies and ensure they meet the highest quality control standards.

Today Nature's Care manufactures millions of vitamins a day on Sydney's north shore, exports to many countries and employs over 300 people. They are the classic business that has achieved success through hard work, structure and vision. They have every right to be very proud of their achievements.

So what are some of the key things you need to do to get the enterprise you want? 

Step 1: visualise the business you want

It's better to have a business by design and not by default. Which one are you? Have you actually decided what you want your business to look like?

What do you want the following to look like?

• revenue size;
• number of employees;
• size of premises;
• customer size and profile;
• profitability;
• the size of the business valuation;

Your small business accountant Sydney should be able to assist you with some of these throughout the business planning process.

Step 2: Play by the rules and turn these into a strength

Sometimes hurdles in business can be turned into a positive. Nature's Care for example operates in a very highly regulated industry in vitamin manufacturing. The amount of hard work required to ensure it passes all the stringent tests of the TGA at first would have looked too hard for many. Manufacturing in Australia is also a difficult nut to crack and staying competitive means that efficiencies have to be found or the enterprise will not succeed. The company continues to look for ways to improve the way it conducts business. It has in effect turned a negative into a positive.

Always play by the rules and always seek ways to improve the business process.

Figure 2: Just like golf has rules, Nature's Care has jumped many hurdles to succeed with its manufacturing business.

Step 3: get the right people on the bus!

We've all heard it before but you need to bite the bullet and get the right people on the right bus. If you currently do not have the right people do something about it because chances are they might not be enjoying it either. Unhappy employers and unhappy employees will make the path to success much harder. Of course always seek legal advice when employing or any restructuring of your team.

Figure 3: Getting the right people will keep the good times coming.

Step 4: monitor progress religiously

Once you have got your vision and you have ensured you've got the right people, it's time to make sure that you have a system in place to monitor their progress. This will usually involve a very good accounting system such as Xero (cloud accounting) which can be used to monitor revenue, profitability and budget versus actual. Three way budgets are also a great to manage cash flow forecasts.

Review your one page strategic plan and regularly refer to it to see how it's performing to keep you on track.

Figure 4:  "Celebrate good times come on!" Getting ready to party with Nature's Care.

Step 5: Get a decent small business accountant

Review what services you are currently getting from your small business accountants Sydney and if necessary tell them what you'd like them to offer as part of your overall plans.

If they cannot provide more than tax and compliance then it might be time to find somebody who can.

CONCLUSION:

The above list is not exhaustive but would be a very good start. Whether you are about to start a business or have decided that it needs an overhaul, the sooner you address these things the sooner you will have an enterprise you can be truly proud of.