Ian Middleton @ Axios

Roger is good at his job, passionate about his work but able to run a business?

2011-10-21T17:10:00.000+01:00

Roger is one of the most fantastic people we have met but, in his words “I just want to be at the coal face, I just like getting on with the work”.

The challenge is that loving your job and being good at it can almost have a negative effect on running your own business. Roger absolutely loved doing the job but managing the business was killing him to the point he was ready to give up.

We have found that (generally) people who provide a fantastic product just don’t have the skills or time to focus on running a business.

Our experience is that when starting a business there are a number of factors which will affect what an individual does. It will be a combination of these factors and the following are some examples of the main challenges.

We don’t know –actually we don’t know what we don’t know. Most likely in our previous career we will have been part of a team and we did not need to worry about all elements. Unless it is your specialism you are not going to know all areas of HR, H & S, finance, marketing, and dealing with HMRC etc. The secret is getting the right help and the right time and avoid wasting money and time.

Reality - then we start a business we will need to believe in it (completely) and be passionate about it. However, this does not permit us to have a truly realistic view, the usual outcome being a persistent effort in a fruitless direction. The secret is having (truly) impartial advice from day one.

Determination – even if we are realistic about our work and progress we are certain to hit “road blocks”. Sometimes these are easy to overcome; however, they are often a struggle and often followed by yet another unexpected challenge. We need to be sensibly determined, i.e. determined enough to break down barriers without“beating our heads against a brick wall”. Again impartial advice is critical.

Balance –suddenly we are spending and (hopefully) earning our own money. It completely different from spending someone else money, some over spend, most won’t spend anything. Yet, again impartial advice is critical.

Fear – personally I had managed up to 2000 employees and then suddenly was on my own. Success and failure was completely down to me. It was frightening and sometimes crippling. You will need others to talk through these fears with and they must be impartial.

Priority – most people like to do what they like doing and that is perfectly normal. In business this will often mean that people don’t do the bits they don’t like and these are often business critical. The affect can “kill” a business, being honest with yourself and others is usually the solution.

If you would like to discuss any of these challenges, other challenges or just ensure you have the best chance of success please contact Ian Middleton on 07760 404274 or ian.middleton@varios.co.uk

Oh, by the way, Roger is now doing very well indeed.

Half Measures Achieve Little or Nothing

2011-10-05T15:05:00.000+01:00

We all know the old saying;

“if a jobs worth doing its worth doing right” but it is always tempting to cut corners.

We know is stupid to do half a job but that temptation is never greater than when it comes to investing money in our new business.

It does not make me feel any better when this week my client says “you did warn me” in fact it would have been so much better if he had followed my suggestion. He will listen the next time because the last few months have caused him so much stress, loss of revenue, loss of profit and loss of good will with clients.

Employing the wrong people, giving friends or family work, trying to help people out (because they need work) or using cheap suppliers just does not for young businesses.

When running a new business the business will only be as good as the weakest link (sorry if you are thinking of Ann Robinson at this point).

The solution is really simple, do less but do it properly, it will always generate more for your business and you need to put your business first. We really need to do every job to a high standard and that includes employing the best people and the best resource. If you are not sure what to do then always ask the best advisors (not your mates).

Oh, and do remember, you can still enjoy running your business.

20 Reasons Why You Need a Business Plan

2011-06-04T17:31:00.000+01:00

1. To prove that you’re serious about your business. A formal business plan is necessary to show all interested parties -- employees, investors, partners and yourself -- that you are committed to building the business.

2. To establish business milestones. The business plan should clearly lay out the long-term milestones that are most important to the success of your business.

3. To better understand your competition. Creating the business plan forces you to analyse the competition. All companies have competition in the form of either direct or indirect competitors, and it is critical to understand your company's competitive advantages.

4. To better understand your customer. Why do they buy when they buy? Why don’t they when they don't? An in-depth customer analysis is essential to an effective business plan and to a successful business.

5. To clarify previously unstated assumptions. The process of actually writing the business plan helps to bring previously "hidden" assumptions to the foreground. By writing them down and assessing them, you can test them and analyse their validity.

6. To assess the feasibility of your venture. How good is this opportunity? The business plan process involves researching your target market, as well as the competitive landscape, and serves as a feasibility study for the success of your venture.

7. To document your revenue model. How exactly will your business make money? This is a critical question to answer in writing, for yourself and your investors. Documenting the revenue model helps to address challenges and assumptions associated with the model.

8. To determine your financial needs. Does your business need to raise capital? How much? The business plan creation process helps you to determine exactly how much capital you need and what you will use it for. This process is essential for raising capital for business and for effectively employing the capital.

9. To attract investors. A formal business plan is the basis for financing proposals. The business plan answers investors' questions such as: Is there a need for this product/service? What are the financial projections? What is the company's exit strategy?

10. To reduce the risk of pursuing the wrong opportunity. The process of creating the business plan helps to reduce opportunity costs. Writing the business plan helps you assess the attractiveness of this particular opportunity, versus other opportunities.

11. To force you to research and really know your market. What are the most important trends in your industry? What are the greatest threats to your industry? Is the market growing or shrinking? What is the size of the target market for your product/service? Creating the business plan will help you to gain a wider, deeper, and more nuanced understanding of your marketplace.

12. To attract employees and a management team. To attract and retain top quality talent, a business plan is necessary. The business plan inspires employees and management that the idea is sound and that the business is poised to achieve its strategic goals.

13. To plot your course and focus your efforts. The business plan provides a roadmap from which to operate, and to look to for direction in times of doubt. Without a business plan, you may shift your short-term strategies constantly without a view to your long-term milestones.

14. To attract partners. Partners also want to see a business plan, in order to determine whether it is worth partnering with your business. Establishing partnerships often requires time and capital, and companies will be more likely to partner with your venture if they can read a detailed explanation of your company.

15. To position your brand. Creating the business plan helps to define your company's role in the marketplace. This definition allows you to succinctly describe the business and position the brand to customers, investors, and partners.

16. To judge the success of your business. A formal business plan allows you to compare actual operational results versus the business plan itself. In this way, it allows you to clearly see whether you have achieved your strategic, financing, and operational goals (and why you have or have not).

17. To reposition your business to deal with changing conditions. For example, during difficult economic conditions, if your current sales and operational models aren’t working, you can rewrite your business plan to define, try, and validate new ideas and strategies.

18. To document your marketing plan. How are you going to reach your customers? How will you retain them? What is your advertising budget? What price will you charge? A well-documented marketing plan is essential to the growth of a business.

19. To understand and forecast your company’s staffing needs. After completing your business plan, you will not be surprised when you are suddenly short-handed. Rather, your business plan provides a roadmap for your staffing needs, and thus helps to ensure smoother expansion.

20. To uncover new opportunities. Through the process of brainstorming, you will likely see your business in a different light. As a result, you will often come up with new ideas for marketing your product/service and running your business.

“I am just so lonely and need to have someone I can talk to”

2011-04-15T21:43:00.002+01:00

By no means a unique comment and yes I heard it again this week – “I am just so lonely and need to have someone I can talk to”. Yet the comment never ceases to move me, I can see how difficult it is for those in that position and I have been their when I started my own business.

When in corporate life there is always someone to talk to, someone to interact with, perhaps even someone to argue with. But at least there is someone.

Loneliness is one of those unforeseen things which hit most new entrepreneurs. We never expected it and some never manage it or learn to cope with it.

So if it is a challenge to most self-employed people then the solution should be simple. Indeed, once we realise that we are not alone in the feeling hopefully it removes some of the stigma and some of the problem.

Now we can build an “environment” around us to overcome the problem. Some of the things we can do are;

• Become part of a networking group which focuses one building a personal network rather than selling to the members. Becoming a member means being their regularly, interacting with the other members inside and outside the meetings and trying to help them. Look upon the group members in the same way you would a colleagues. For this to work the networking group needs to have the right ethics and, for me, those who pressurise you for referrals does not work. I like www.nrg-networks.com.

• Build a group of five advocates i.e. those you advocate as well as those who advocate you (although it is likely to be the same group). There is nothing more satisfying than advocating others and seeing them build their business – you know the good deed will be returned in time.

• Have a business mentor who will give you impartial support. The person must be impartial, a partner, father or friend will not work because there is another relationship in the way of the discussion. They need to be someone you can build a relationship with yet who will tell you what you need to hear rather than want to hear.

Above all else remember, you may feel lonely but you are not alone in feeling that way and there are lots of people who will benefit from talking to you. Ignore the false pride and tell people how you feel, they will understand.

Do call me on 07760 404274 if you would like to talk.

‘Business Advisors – don’t need them – can’t afford them.’

2010-05-02T19:50:00.000+01:00

Few businesses, if any, can claim to be perfect. Even those which have apparently no major problems could almost certainly be improved in certain areas.

So dealing with problems and improving efficiency are everyday tasks for all businesses. Many issues are dealt with very effectively and even some big projects are managed extremely well by existing management.

However, there are also plenty of occasions when a company will not know how to address a specific problem or perhaps will not even know what the specific problem is. Suitable internal staff may not be in the company or may not be able to commit sufficient time. It is at times like this that the question of hiring in outside help arises. The responses vary. Some companies are very amenable to enlisting the help of experts; others are less keen.

Let’s address some of the comments we hear from the ‘less keen’ camp:

There is a problem and I can fix it myself.

Sometimes you can fix it yourself but if you still haven’t fixed it by now then you probably don’t know how to or even make a start on the problem. More than likely it will continue to feature at the top of the ‘to do’ list and still not get done.

I already employ people whose jobs it is to sort these problems out.

Line management typically are engaged full-time on managing the day-to-day operation and do not have much surplus time to start addressing major projects. The urgent and the important often get confused. Of course, if the problems are obvious and can be dealt with as part of the day’s work, then they should be tackled in that manner.

My business is unique and they won’t understand it.

There is a widespread feeling among managers that their industry is so different to any other that people who have not spent their working life in it will not understand its complexities. Of course, every industry has its own special facets (as does every company) and clearly products differ widely. But, provided that the consultant is skilled in the particular discipline required, there are good reasons why an external advisor may well be better at diagnosing problems than the manager who works in it on a day-to-day basis.
• Firstly, the basic principles of any given discipline are broadly common from industry to industry.
• Secondly, an experienced consultant will be skilled in quickly assimilating the special factors pertaining to each new industry.
• And thirdly, he will be more likely to challenge ‘accepted’ ways of doing things.

They’ll only tell me something I already know.

Well it is likely that when the proposals are made you will ask yourself ‘why didn’t I think of that?’ You know your business but much of the time it is a question of ‘not seeing the wood for the trees’.

I don’t need a fancy report to tell me what it wrong – I just need someone to fix it for me and they don’t do that do they?

Well yes they do actually. Of course analyses and reports have an important place in establishing problems and proposing solutions. But the best consulting houses will spend more time finding out what is wrong, devising solutions and then helping the company manage the implementation of the changes.

I don’t have time to spend telling an outsider what the problem is.

Generally the first step is to talk to the appropriate people in the organisation which spreads the workload on company staff. The organisation will need to invest some time in sorting out the problem and will have the on-going responsibility to manage it once the problem is solved. So it is in their interests to participate as much as possible in finding and implementing solutions.

They cost a fortune and I won’t get my money’s worth.

Expertise is a valuable commodity and it does cost money to hire it in but unless you require that expertise on a full-time basis it is cheaper to hire it in for the duration of a project.

I will have to pay before I see any benefit coming into the business?

The payback on the expenditure for consulting work is usually within 12 months and often within the same financial year so the outlay should not adversely affect profitability. In addition, the benefits are often on-going and continue to improve the business year after year. In any case, it is prudent to get an early prediction of cost and benefit so that effects on cash flow and profit can be assessed.

So what’s the answer?

Few line managers have sufficient time to devote or the breadth of experience to develop specific plans to remedy complex problems. It is very easy just to see the effect of the problem and not appreciate the underlying root cause. It is not uncommon for managers to assume barriers exist which prevent certain courses of action. Often these barriers are imaginary or insubstantial.

In contrast, business advisors
• have got the time to spend to deliberate on a special project
• will have a wealth of experience from working on many projects in various industries
• are skilled at using analytical tools
• have access to industry benchmarks
• are aware of new technological developments which could be applied to businesses
• will challenge ‘sacred cows’ and ‘vested interests’ where they exist

Business advisors often get bad press – unjustly in many (but certainly not all) cases. One of the problems is that, having engaged a consultant and received the proposals, the company then decides for whatever reason not to implement the proposals. Or, they only implement the recommendations in part. This leads to dissatisfaction in not delivering the promised benefits when in fact it’s the company that has fallen short in the delivery.

One way of mitigating this is to ensure that the contract with the consulting company includes the need to help implement the proposals. This has triple benefits of ensuring that:
• the business advisors propose workable solutions
• the business advisors don’t disappear once the report is published
• the company is more likely to implement the recommendations in full

Of course there will always be certain proposals that the company do not wish to adopt. These, however, should be discussed and modifications incorporated into the final recommendations. In other words, the final recommendations should not come as a surprise to the company; i.e. they should be the agreed way forward. In this way, any implementation plan can be ‘owned’ by all stakeholders.

Even companies which feel they have no problems can benefit from having a check-up. Some consulting houses now offer “health checks” which are designed to give businesses an assessment of their commercial health. If problems are uncovered, they can be dealt with quickly before they escalate. If the company gets a clean bill of health, this can be equally as useful in that it enables it to continue energetically with current practices in the knowledge that it is in good shape.

In conclusion, it should be quite easy to ascertain if problems can be sorted out ‘in-house’. If they cannot, then companies should not spend a lot of precious time considering the pros and cons of enlisting outside help. The process of evaluating the cost of employing a consultant versus the predicted benefit is better done in conjunction with the consultant concerned. If the contract is structured correctly, there will be stop/go points in the project plan which will allow the company, at various stages of the project, to review progress and reaffirm the projected benefit. This gives peace of mind that, in the unlikely event that things are not going according to plan, a halt can be called to any further expenditure pending clarification.

Finally, let’s not forget there are thousands of projects carried out by business advisors every year, most of which culminate in significant benefit being delivered to the employing company. There are business advisors available in all disciplines and at all points on the charge scale so you should find one to suit your needs and pocket. Choose carefully, ensure the project is structured to suit your needs and be realistic about managing change in your business. Working together can produce some startling results.

What are the benifits of Mentoring?

2010-03-09T20:55:00.000Z

Mentoring has benefits, these benefits are summarised below:

Knowledge and skills benefit
• Faster learning
• Widens experience
• Developing new knowledge and skills
• Supporting innovation

Managing change
• Support for culture change
• Support for reorganisation and restructuring
• Support for people in new roles and new jobs
• Helps develop a positive attitude to change

Motivation
• Improved job satisfaction and motivation
• Improved commitment to employing organisation
• Improved career progression
• Potential rejuvenation of longer serving staff

Performance
• Enhanced achievement of targets
• Increased productivity
• Reduced complaints

Policy implementation
• Improved staff retention
• Improved implementation of diversity policy
• Better management of "talent"
• Aids development of empowerment policies

Succession planning
• Leadership skills
• Improved succession planning, confidence and well being in change situations

Mentoring can also promote cultural diversity and can be used as a positive tool to enhance quality.

ARE CONSULTANTS WORTH THE MONEY?

2010-03-04T16:43:00.000Z

"We don’t like consultants because..."

"We have no money to spend on ..........."

"We could do that ourselves"

In our business you would expect us to object to these types of comments yet we don’t; in fact we think that they are often justified.

Yes it’s true, it is not always best to use external support and expertise.

At Axios we are different.

Consultants are often blamed for “charging by the thickness of the report” or “borrowing the clients watch so that we can tell him the time” or “billing as many hours as possible”.

At Axios we deliver results not reports, we work with our clients to ensure that sustainable results are achieved and we don’t undertake work unless it is going to add real value to our clients.

On most occasions clients try to do work and make changes using internal resource which is considered cheap or free. They think they have no cash to spend with external resources.

Internal resource is actually very expensive when considering opportunity costs and the likelihood that the job will take longer and be less well done due to lack of appropriate experience (it’s like servicing your car – you could do if (sort of) if you wanted to).

Axios projects are self financing – the cost of our input normally equates to less than five months run rate savings.

There are no new ideas, only adaptations of old ones. Most changes in business appear to be obvious and many look easy.

Yet if these are true why have improvements not be made in the past and why do we not all work for the perfect company? We all have day jobs and we are all focused on our business, we don’t all have the experience of working in many companies and if we have spare time on our hands then there is another problem (we are not fully employed).

Axios provide, focused resource and expertise that can draw on many industries experience and delivery pragmatic advice and support.

On many occasions external support is not appropriate or the support offered (by other firms) is not aligned to the need. Make sure you get what you need and need what you get.

Tackling change in an organisation

2010-02-22T15:16:00.000Z

We’ve always done it that way…

Yes but the last time ……………

That will never work! Why change what works!

All phrases which could be interpreted as laziness or fear in changing the status quo. How many times are these types of response the default response to any suggestion to change? Wouldn’t it be better to change the default condition to “We do it this way because after evaluation of the possible options, we consider it to be the best”?

If an organisation is operating with processes that have not significantly changed over the years, then it is almost certainly wasting time, energy and resources to some extent. The first challenge is recognising that change is needed. For most organisations, how to tackle the change programme is probably the greatest challenge.

There are many books/training-courses/t-shirts covering the various improvement techniques as well as a plethora of third party people who will offer to sell their package of prescribed toolkits. However, if the change is to be appropriate and sustainable, the key is to spend time up front understanding the organisation, its’ people and culture so that the change programme is tailored to achieve the desired outcomes.

That’s not to say these techniques are not proven and from many years experience of implementation, I can confirm they work well but only if applied in the right way. “Lean thinking” as an example has its’ origins in manufacturing but can be applied in any organisation and is achieving great success in the service sector. The key message of “lean thinking” is to identify the least wasteful way to provide value to the customer i.e. only have processes which add value. Again and again, when processes are analysed, organisations are found to spend 75-95% of their time doing things that increase costs and create no value for the customer.

The power of a properly implemented “Lean thinking” programme is the involvement and empowerment of the employees who develop the “future state” processes – done properly, even the employee who said “We’ve always done it that way” will see things differently and challenge the status quo.

DOES YOUR BUSINESS PLAN EFFECTIVELY?

2010-02-18T20:31:00.000Z

Do you operate a planning process such as Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP)?

“Don’t we already do that?”

“We’ve been doing that for years!”

These are often the initial responses.

When asked, “Do you operate a process owned by the Chief Executive, which operates on a monthly cycle and balances the Demand and Supply of the major product families with a plan which is signed off by all departments including the senior executive team, that provides a “window into the future” for the business for the next 3, 6 to 12 months”, the answer will probably be a very different one.

Whilst working with a client recently, the introduction of an S&OP process was proposed in order to improve their ability to plan the business.

The business regularly experienced shortages of materials in manufacturing, shortages of transport or transport in the wrong place because there was no visibility of future demand. There were orders already on their order book in a market where orders were confirmed close to delivery date and so frequently, large orders would catch Operations and Distribution unawares. A strong Customer Service ethos would result in costly reactive actions such as short notice hiring of transport so as not to let the customer down. An attempt at a weekly planning meeting had been set up but it tended to focus on the week ahead and looked at the “Detail” rather than the “Big picture” and was a middle management activity.

Sales forecasting was being conducted monthly within the Sales Department but not being shared with Operations and Distribution – does that sound familiar? Indeed, when one Plant Manager was presented with the forecast, he described it as “a revelation”. Often, the only warning for operations/distribution of an unusual spike in demand was an informal conversation from a Salesman. The challenge for the business was to use this valuable information to plan its manufacturing, inventory and distribution activities.

An S&OP process has been introduced which balances Demand and Supply for the main product families. Large specific orders are planned well in advance of the start date with the plans being signed off by the relevant managers and directors. There is now a greater awareness of what’s coming at them and time to plan the “big” jobs. Communication and understanding between departments has significantly improved and now everyone is working to an agreed, single plan. S&OP is being used to understand supply chain costs before deployment.

The process has resulted in fewer meetings which focus the management team on the future plans of the business rather than “what went wrong”.

STUCK

2010-02-05T10:04:00.000Z

Is your business stuck in the same old route?

Are unable to get the business to the next level?

Is the business driving you rather than you driving the business?

Are you working in the business rather than on it?

Are you working more hours than anyone else in your business?

Do your staff frustrate you?

Do you feel your business is out of control?

Is your business failing to provide the best the level of service to your clients?

Is your personal life suffering due to your commitment to work?

Is your health suffering due to the pressures of work?

Is the answer is yes to one or more of the above then you probably have a festering issue (or issues) within your business which will kill it and you if you let it.

Often the solution is simple but you can’t see it. Often the solution is quick but you can’t get to it.

We have developed our own highly effective method of mapping out your business, where it works and where it doesn’t and developing a simple yet ingenious solution to your challenges. No classroom lectures, no “telling” you what to do, just simple solutions which work.

Just imaging if your business could make a quantum leap forward within the next six weeks, JUST IMAGINE.

If this strikes a chord I would be delighted to talk with you.

Top 10 Green Business Tips

2010-01-28T19:58:00.001Z

Making your business operations more environmentally friendly is not such a hard task if you start with making minor changes and then gradually get to the more radical ones. Greening your business step by step will help preserve the environment and show your concern about the health and safety of your workers and a desire to improve the quality of life in your local community.

Being a socially responsible and eco-friendly company is not only good for the environment, but it also makes a lot of business sense. Conserving resources and cutting down on waste will help your company save money. By implementing green practices into your small business operations you will help protect the environment, increase your bottom line, and demonstrate a goodwill of your company. Doing business in environmentally responsible way is a great way to feel good about what you do.

There are many ways for a company to make its business practices more green. You can choose your own shade of green and decide on the type of green practices that are best suited for your small business. Here are the top 10 easy-to-implement ideas for running a green small business:

1. Have a company policy in place to turn off all office equipment when it’s not being used, overnight and at weekends. This can significantly reduce the use of energy since most electronic devices are idle and unused for most of their life. You can buy inexpensive timers to do this automatically, and you will notice substantial savings of energy and money.

2. You can lower your energy costs by using lightning more efficiently. The basic thing is to switch off the lights in the non occupied rooms. For this purpose you can install motion-sensors or automatic dimming switches. The other low-cost upgrade is to replace all of your incandescent lighting with fluorescent bulbs.

3. Install programmable thermostats to automate your HVAC system and to drastically scale down your heating and cooling when your business is not in operation.

4. Replace your old office equipment with modern devices that are more energy efficient. Modern equipment has energy saving features and often uses up to 50% less energy than the older equipment. Upgrading air compressors, lighting, and other energy-consuming equipment with high efficiency models offers a good return on investment and in very short periods.

5. Buying Energy Star rated products for your business ensures you that you are getting the most efficient computers, printers, copiers, refrigerators, windows, thermostats, ceiling fans, and other appliances and equipment.

6. As the travel and transportation costs are on the rise, efficiency in transportation is also one very effective way to lower your energy costs. If your business has company-owned cars, consider the option of buying hybrid vehicles.

7. Water and sewer costs are also rising in the States and are now a significant cost for any business. You can lower your water bills by taking simple and low-cost steps to improve your company’s water efficiency. Regularly check for and repair all leaks in your facility. Install low flow aerators for sink faucets and lavatory sinks. Install pressure reducing valves if necessary to reduce high water pressure

8. Using laptops instead of desk computers will make your office more energy efficient as they consume a lot less power. Laptops can consume up to 80 percent less energy than desktops.

9. The waste that your company produces adds up on your bills. Try to find the ways to reuse the waste your company is producing, reduce it or eliminate it completely. Waste reduction results in lower waste removal costs, and also cut costs on raw materials, office supplies and equipment.

10. Develop a comprehensive green business plan for your business that will include resource conservation, waste reduction, transportation, computing and equipment efficiency, and the design and actual operation of your business.

Axios Business Lifeline

2010-01-05T16:32:00.003Z

Businesses change dramatically during their lifetime and so do their needs!

From cradle to grave every business follows the same basic phases, the fundamental difference is how each phase is managed and in particular how the business transitions (changes) from one phase to the next. Of course, many fall by the wayside during the process.

The majority of managers and employees dislike change and this dislike is largely driven by fear. The good news is that the fear and the resistance can be significantly reduced by the use of good process methods and good communication. During the lifetime of a business different skills and resources are essential, e.g. it takes a completely different type of management and planning in a mature business than in a seedling enterprise.

Added to all this, in our (western) work environment there is this mistaken belief that the manager (or owner) needs to understand all parts of their business and needs to control every part of it. Of course this is totally untrue and in fact adoption of either or both of these principles is a recipe for disaster.

At all stages of a business lifecycle it is much easier for the manager/owner to get engrossed in the day to day activity and fire fighting rather than building the foundations of the business. Whilst a company may feel it is doing well at any given time, if it is not investing in the future of the business and building the foundations for the smooth and stable development of the business, it will inevitably fail and the path for development will be halted or the business will collapse completely.

The areas detailed below are areas where dedicated time, resource and knowledge are essential if a company is to successfully move though that stage and build the foundations for the next.

At Axios we have a unique partnership relationship with our clients, we totally respect them, their business and their products and our role is to add to that business in an empathetic and pragmatic way (rather than seek to “fix” it). Our only objective is to help our clients be more successful and we can do this by adding experience, expertise and tools at the right level, at the right time and in the most effective way.

Where are you on the Axios lifeline, are you working well at this point, have you invested in moving to the next stage, will you move to the next stage?

Business Concept - Product profitability, financial planning, Business models

Market Testing - Practical and impartial information dissemination

Setup - Strategy, finance plans, business structure, operating model, supply chain, logistics

Entrepaneurial Business - Ongoing strategic and operational improvement, introduction of baseline processes and procedures, sales and marketing methodology, support mechanisms (HR, IT, Finance etc), business

Stability and Continued Growth - Team formation and responsibility delegation, business structures, communication and culture, renewed and detailed business strategy and plans, renewed and detailed processes and procedures, brand awareness - purpose - internal and external, support mechanisms (HR. IT, Finance etc)

Long Term Sustainability and Growth - Improved processes and procedures, introduction of formal business tools, improved planning, inter-departmental co-operation, devel0pment of sustainable structure, removing dependence on company owners

Sale - 2 - 5 year plan to achieve optimum sale

101 Things

2009-12-23T22:03:00.002Z

101 Things which we have helped our cleints achieve and could happen to your company.

1. Obtain a competitive advantage
2. Accelerate growth
3. Get closer to customer needs
4. Increase the efficiency of existing processes
5. Create an environment for accelerated and/or continuous change
6. Improvement in throughput
7. Increased productivity
8. Improved utilisation of resources
9. Early product line commissioning
10. Increased production yield
11. Reduced waste / scrap
12. Logistics efficiency improvements
13. Improved quality of support services
14. Increased production capacity
15. Improved preventive maintenance procedures
16. Improved breakdown repair procedures
17. Reduced downtime (increased availability of production assets)
18. Improved product quality
19. Increased customer satisfaction
20. Helping to expedite client initiatives
21. Improved customer service
22. Reduced administration costs
23. Confirmation of plant viability
24. Introduction of major behavioural change for employees
25. Widening of client/customer base
26. Releasing finance to fuel further growth
27. Work pattern improvement to handle daily, weekly and seasonal fluctuations
28. Driving processes to achieve economies of scale
29. Reduction in rework costs
30. Introduction of cost management system
31. Reduction in overhead expenses
32. Improved vehicle fleet organisation and scheduling
33. Improving performance to return to business plan expectations
34. Improved procedures for handling sales enquiries and issuing quotations
35. Introduction of project management to improve bid/tender processes
36. Increased sales bid win rate
37. Introduction of management training programme for more effective supervision
38. Improvement in supplier / customer and supply chain communication
39. Reduction in product development cycle time
40. Reduction in prototype development time
41. Reduced lead times
42. Reduction in inventory value
43. Reduction in inventory handling costs
44. Reduction in inventory wastage
45. Reduction in stockholding of inappropriate products
46. Reduction in manufacturing process complexity
47. Improved flexibility in shop floor layout
48. More effective material flows
49. Introduction of new supplier sub-assembly programme
50. Reduced product complexity and components
51. Reduced documentation
52. Increase in floor space utilisation
53. Introduction of process outsourcing
54. Introduction of continuous improvement programme
55. Increased control of material costs
56. Reduction in indirect headcount
57. Improved communication
58. Increased motivation
59. Increased supervisory effectiveness
60. Revision of crewing requirements profile across working day/week
61. Increased throughput
62. Reduction in work in progress
63. Rationalisation of loss-making products
64. Operational cost reduction
65. Improved business controls
66. Introduction of key performance indicators
67. Introduction of call centre operations
68. Increased telesales effectiveness
69. Developed purchasing strategy
70. Introduced supplier appraisal & development programme
71. Introduced supplier performance measurement and vendor rating
72. Improved purchasing practice, knowledge and skills
73. Implemented supply-chain management programme
74. Introduced workforce planning system
75. Implemented finished goods inventory control
76. Introduced new quality controls
77. Reduced errors
78. Reduced rework
79. Reduced warranty claims
80. Field maintenance cost reduction
81. Implemented accurate warranty claim system
82. Introduced extended warranty (sell-up / sell-on) sales programme
83. Reduced level of customer returns
84. Provided online, web-based customer self-help
85. Product range rationalisation
86. Improved on-time delivery performance
87. Production line balancing
88. Reduced set-up and tear-down times
89. Reduced overtime
90. Introduced strategies for reducing high employee turnover
91. Improved cash-flow
92. Introduced new distribution model
93. Introduced sales call management and reporting systems
94. Introduced new demand forecasting system
95. Streamlined processes in order entry and order administration
96. Reduction in installation lead time
97. Improved debt recovery performance (reduced DSO - Day Sales Outstanding)
98. Improved utilisation of assets
99. Reduced unit costs
100. Reduced order-delivery times
101. Introduced an integrated marketing and sales plan

WHO’S KILLING WHO?

2009-12-22T19:57:00.000Z

Times are very difficult for most but are we killing our own businesses?

It is absolutely astounding the effect that recession is having on companies, on pricing policies, on marketing plans and (in particular) on staffing levels.

During the last two weeks I have been told;
“we have been instructed to get rid of 10% of staff from every department”
“we are taking orders at whatever price we can get”
“once we reduce the staff levels we would like you to review our processes”
“we are just worried about getting through next year”

To me these are all symptoms of PANIC

The next few months (and possibly longer) are going to be very difficult and to feel “panicked” is in no way unreasonable.

If nothing else, 2008 has proven than none of us know what is going to happen next and that we all need to be agile in business.

My concern is that by cutting too far and too quickly we will actually kill our own companies.

If I had all the answers to the following questions I would be very wealthy so I would like to do the easy bit – pose the questions?
• How can I reduce costs without affecting my business (procurement costs, logistics optimisation, lean processes etc)?
• Will these changes affect customer service (if the answer is yes you are risking your business further)?
• How will this change affect cash flow (now, in three months and after the recession)?
• If you are cutting costs are you managing the message to your customers (they will find out and fear you are not a stable supplier)?
• When my business is ready to grow again are these critical resources (will I be able grow quickly again)?
• Are you sending negative messages to your clients (I recently found a desperate advert offering space within a client’s building “to help them through the recession”)?
• Is this change based on historic information or guesses of the future (both of these are wrong – history is history and guesses are only guesses – do the research)?
• It all sounds obvious but if it really was we would not have any problems in the first place. If you are faced with these types of issues let’s talk about what can be done for the benefit of your business.