Small Business Success

Small business baby boomers - the end in sight

noreply@blogger.com (Margie Sheedy) — Thu, 16 May 2013 04:16:00 +0000

I saw an article today from Bloomberg BusinessWeek on the increase in Baby Boomers in the US who are looking to sell their small businesses.

While this is no surprise, considering the ageing population in First World countries, it made me reflect on how unready many small business owners are when they get to this stage of their business life.

As I wrote in The Small Business Success Guide, more than 60 per cent of small business owners and up to 78 per cent of family business owners have no succession plan for their businesses.

However, to effect a sale of their business, owners should have the end in sight up to five years before they actually want to retire.

To get them started, here are some questions they should consider:

* Why would someone want to buy my business?
* What's it worth?
* What processes do I have in place so someone could walk in and start trading tomorrow?

In The Small Business Success Guide, I suggest that the best way to pinpoint a buyer is to use your networks.

Would a supplier be interested? What about a business associate? Start having some informal discussions well before you want to retire and, if you think someone may be interested in buying your business, put together a plan to make it happen.

Very few businesses are sold because someone knocks on your door. Be proactive: it's up to you to give every prospective buyer an overwhelming sense that it's a worthwhile investment.

Here's to your success!

Margie

Plan your small business like an election

noreply@blogger.com (Margie Sheedy) — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 03:07:00 +0000

The announcement today by Prime Minister Julia Gillard (‏@juliagillard) that the next Federal election will be held on September 14 has sent waves of wonder through the business community. Why announce it eight months out? How many months of political ads and door stop interviews do we really need to be exposed to?

But if you set the political agenda aside for a moment, the announcement is really just like a small business letting their customers in on their strategic plan. Most of us wouldn't do it. But why not?

Strategic planning is all about considering the big picture, knowing where you want your business to go and how this all fits together.

Just like an election announcement, it needs to be articulated by the business owner. The question is, would it hurt if your customers knew what you wanted to achieve out of your small business?

Why not make today's election news a good excuse to start having some strategic conversations with your customers? Find out exactly what it is that they want, why they want it, how you can better deliver on their expectations. Then take a good look at your competition.

Having a few strategic conversations might just help you pip the opposition at the post on polling day!

Margie

Cash flow checklist: How to manage your costs

noreply@blogger.com (Margie Sheedy) — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 00:49:00 +0000

Are you managing costs? So many small businesses I know have great intentions, but they operate on a fine line between keeping the costs of doing business under control, and getting swamped when unexpected bills crop up.

The trick, according to Avron Newstadt, of Expense Reduction Analysts, is to get into a cost management mindset.
If you can say 'yes' to the following statements, then you are a business that has the potential to manage your costs well:

* You dedicate ongoing and regular time each week to the principle of cost management

* You have developed a cost management culture in your business, so that your staff know it's important

* Your staff think before they spend

* You have systems in place to track your costs

* You keep your finger on the pulse of a wide range of costs out there in your marketplace.

Give it a go!

Margie

The magic of small business mentoring

noreply@blogger.com (Margie Sheedy) — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 02:24:00 +0000

Ive just joined Women's Network Australia, and spoke yesterday with the dynamic and insightful founder of the group, Lynette Palmen, AM.

Her passion is to connect business women to each other, giving them a forum for discussion and knowledge sharing, and I spent a wonderful half hour speaking with her about her journey.

I came away from our chat feeling inspired. I realised it's been a while since I've spoken with another business person who I know will be able to offer me valuable advice for my journey. Since writing The Small Business Success Guide, the shoe has invariably been on the other foot, with me mentoring small business owners on how to do things smarter.

So what is it about mentoring that helps light your fire? Well, the focus of mentoring is on you, and your professional growth. Unlike a coach, who assists you in a specific task or skill, and follows up to make sure it's happened, a mentor lets you set your own direction and make your own decisions, and supports you along the way.

Every small business owner should have a mentor: someone with more experience and success on the scoreboard who can guide you through your entrepreneurial adventure.

Finding a mentor for yourself, not just your staff, could make all the difference...

To your success!

Margie

Management in small business

noreply@blogger.com (Margie Sheedy) — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 02:49:00 +0000

I've been reading a lot of Bob Proctor's insights lately.

His take on management is particularly relevant to small business:

"Management is the direction of people, not the direction of things."

A basic human quality is to want to feel like you're part of something bigger than yourself, as I wrote in The Small Business Success Guide.

What sort of manager are you?

Staff want to be connected. So why not create this kind of culture in your business, no matter how big or small it is. If yours is a microbusiness without staff, try to get contractors to feel like they're an important part of your business. They will if you let them.

Your challenge is to work out a way to make team spirit happen in your business: you're all on the bus together, so you may as well enjoy the journey.

All success!

Margie

Small Business Tax Time Mantras

noreply@blogger.com (Margie Sheedy) — Wed, 25 May 2011 03:26:00 +0000

There's probably only one thing that small business owners hate more than losing money: doing their tax.

So here are a few mantras to get you in the right frame of mind this tax time:

1. I must, I must, do something about my records. The Tax Office expects you to make a reasonable attempt to be accurate in your book-keeping. Set up a system to record all income and expenditure in your business.

2. Honesty is the best policy. There's no point trying to fudge the books. The Tax Office's surveillance systems are wired to bank accounts these days. If you do find some mistakes in your books at the end of the tax year, get on the phone to the ATO and tell them about the discrepancies, before they come out to you.

3. Normal is as normal does. If your business is outside the norms of what others in your industry are noting as income or expenditure, you may be targeted for a tax review. Stay within the norms.

Happy tax time!

Margie

How far should small business go?

noreply@blogger.com (Margie Sheedy) — Wed, 04 May 2011 01:42:00 +0000

This week's news about Osama Bin Laden has sent many a small business scurrying to cash in on the killing.

What immediately came to mind was: are they entrepreneurial or exploitive? I'm a big believer in small business siezing the moment, but I came across a Rueters article, which lists the small businesses that are making a motsa out of the American fervour we've seen in recent days.

You name it, they're doing it: from Uncle Sam T-shirts printed with the words "We Got You Osama Bin Laden" to an Osama Bin Laden "Shot in the Dark" coffee special.

The question is: how far should small business go? How much misery should they wade around in just to make a fast buck?

You decide.

Margie

Small business Customer Service 101

noreply@blogger.com (Margie Sheedy) — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 01:25:00 +0000

The pervading wisdom when it comes to customer service and small businesses is that the customer is always right. A customer is king.

Which is all well and good until you get a customer that's a right pain in the proverbial. They whinge at every service, they return product when there's nothing really wrong, they phone to let you know they're peeved.

And when you call to chase payment for a product or service, they're the ones who come up with every excuse under the sun as to why they can't or won't pay their bill.

A respected business owner colleague of mine calls this group the Five Percenters. "About 95% of your customers are good, and will pay up eventually. And then there are the other 5%!"

Dealing with them is an eternal struggle, but he's come up with a new tack which I wanted to share:

"I call them and say that we're really sorry, but they have slipped into the Five Percenter group. We've tried really hard to get them out of this group, because we don't believe they should be there. But they're stuck! I suggest that if they have any ideas that could help us get them out of the Five Percenters, we'd really appreciate it!"

It's amazing, he says, how many people don't want to be stuck in a minority group. They often come up with ways to make themselves better customers.

And if they don't, ask yourself if really want them as customers. Might be time to set them free!

All success.

Margie

Small business advertising the 3rd grade way

noreply@blogger.com (Margie Sheedy) — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 00:21:00 +0000

Out of the mouthes of babes... My eight year old's 3rd grade social science book is a source of inspiration this week. To the statement: Advertising can be done in the following ways... she (and I expect most of her peers) noted four:
a) Signs
b) Television
c) Internet
d) Radio

What, no newspapers or magazines? The medium just isn't on the radar for the next generation of purchaser, if 25 nine and 10 year olds are any reliable sample!

It's no wonder that, according to to an articule by Eric Beecher on Crikey, "Google now generates more ad revenue than the entire Australian radio industry; a lot more than the three Fairfax flagship newspapers combined; more than any of Australia’s TV networks; almost as much as all magazines in Australia."

Google and the internet is the reality for so many people now. Still, regardless of who's getting the ads, the fact remains that only about half of all advertising efforts get results (phone enquiries, leads and ultimately sales). It's just that most small businesses don't know which half.

The answer? Know your 'ideal customer' and get inside their head. Once you understand who they are and why they buy, then you can focus on the message and the medium you'll use to target them.

If anyone needs a sample of 3rd graders, have I got a group for you!

All success.

Margie

Small business the third grade way

noreply@blogger.com (Margie Sheedy) — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:55:00 +0000

Flicking through my eight year old's third grade books, there it was, in black and white. A small business mantra, Third Grade style.

I was intrigued, not for the fact that the small business owners I work with don't know this stuff. After all, it was aimed at Third Graders!

Rather, it was a good elementary run down of what needs to be successfully linked to "properly satisfy the needs and wants of the population".

I wondered how many of us really take the time to think through the links and what they mean for our businesses.

Here's what kids are taught in Third Grade:

1. When a person or company wants to produce goods or services, they first need to find out if there is a demand or market for the product or service.
2. The next thing they need to do is to find out the availability of the goods or services.
3. Then they need to get the equipment and labour force together.
4. Suppliers of materials need to be contacted and business arrangements made.
5. Once the goods or services are ready for sale, the company or person has to find places to sell and advertise their goods and services.

Funny how we get can caught out not by making the process of doing business more complicated than it probably should be.

It might just pay us small business owners to regularly refresh these five points in our minds. Then, we might just make it through to Fourth Grade!

All success,

Margie

Cash flow success

noreply@blogger.com (Margie Sheedy) — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 01:49:00 +0000

Even profitable businesses can go bust if you don’t have cash in the kitty to pay for things. Often it’s all about timing. But the timing issue is why cash flow rates right up there as one of the biggest stresses of small business.

So how can you guarantee your cash flow success?

I spoke with management expert Graham Godbee about this while writing The Small Business Success Guide. He thinks the best way to protect your business from crashing without cash is to do a cashflow forecast. Simply, you work out how much cash - petty cash and cash in the bank - your business has on hand.

There are some good cash flow forecast templates available online. I like a cash flow forecast template from the NT government in Australia for its simplicity.

Step 1
“You can include some cash equivalents like short term bank bills you own (not borrowings) and maybe some publicly listed shares that can be readily liquidated,” says Godbee. Write it all down.

Step 2
Then look at how much cash it takes to keep your business actually operating on a daily or weekly basis. The timing will depend on when major cash flows (both in and out) are expected in your business.

Godbee tells the story of a firm that pays its workers each fortnight. It should make its cashflow periods two weeks apart: “If it uses monthly periods, it may find it does not have the cash to pay wages one pay day in the middle of the month.”

Step 3
Then “ask yourself some basic questions about your future: what if you increase your sales; what if customers delay payments; what if you expand and buy some new equipment; what if costs rise; what if sales or prices fall; and so on? If you are in dire straits, it’s imperative that you work out where you’re at in terms of your cashflow.”

Step 4
As well as looking at how much cash is in your bank account, Godbee says it’s wise to look at things like the investments and assets that you can easily liquidate if you had to, and how much is left in unused lines of credit. “Are additional borrowings possible and sensible (possibly not on both counts if the company is in severe distress)?” he asks.

Put together an accurate cashflow forecast and it’ll take a lot of the stress out of your operation. “If you want to stay in business, if you want to impress your bank manager and if you want to keep your personal assets, then do your cash flow forecast!” suggests Godbee.

The small business Every Day's a Holiday strategy

noreply@blogger.com (Margie Sheedy) — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 04:01:00 +0000

Question: which days of the year do small business owners make the most of their time?
Answer: the days just before they go on holidays.

We all know the fenetic feeling just before you leave to go on vacation. So much to get through, and so little time. You've got a huge list. There are staff or outsourcers to organise. Orders to be put in motion. Contingency plans for who's going to make decisions while you're away. Because this time you've decided you really are going to switch off your phone.

The thing is, we really should make every day an 'I'm going on holidays' day. Here are a few ways I'm trying to make this happen:

* Write the list like I really have to get it done.

* Prioritise my time as if I only have a few hours left before I walk out the door for a couple of weeks.

* Chunk down my remaining time into 10 minute blocks. The sense of pace and achievement is amazing.

Happy holidays!

Margie

Business Success: Golden Nugget #3

noreply@blogger.com (Margie Sheedy) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Rates are up all over the shop in Australia. Our dollar's rate is shoulder to shoulder with the US dollar. Our interest rates have just gone up another notch. But what about your rate as a small business owner?

We often don't put ourselves into the equation because we are our businesses. But now's the time to take stock of your own inputs and use my Golden Nugget #3 of Small Business Success to reassess things:

Rate yourself

* Look at what you do every day in terms of an hourly rate. If someone asks you to do a job, what would you charge yourself out at? Then apply this rate to everything you do through the day. It'll make you think about what's really important to your business's bottom line and what can be outsourced or left till later.

* Think of yourself as the brain surgeon of your business. Would you pay a brain surgeon to unpack the scalpels and mop up after the operation? Then don't do it in your business.

* Set your priorities: plan your day in a list, and tick things off when you get them done. It helps you stay focussed, and actually achieve things.

* Handle each piece of paper only once.

* Trust that others can do just as good a job as you. Empower those you employ and others you outsource tasks to with extra tasks you've always done. It's a bit unnverving at first, but liberating too.

Every success!

Margie

Unique selling proposition 101

noreply@blogger.com (Margie Sheedy) — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 11:04:00 +0000

I've been talking a lot about unique selling propositions USPs) lately. These USP's are the thing that makes your product or service king.

The trouble is, a lot of small businesses can't articulate why their product or service is different from the rest. They think they know, but they can't tell you in 20 words or less. So they blend in with their competitors and miss out on market share, on new business.

The key to marketing power is to be specific about why your business is unique. Why you're the best, and why people need to buy from you over someone else.

How do you do this? Ask yourself the one question your customers will ask: why should I do business with you over anyone else?

Answer this, by spending the time drilling down on your selling proposition, and you have your unique point of difference.

Being specific will bring you success.

Margie

Small business success: Golden Nugget #2

noreply@blogger.com (Margie Sheedy) — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 03:40:00 +0000

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

So too in your business. It really does pay to carefully plan how you're going to tackle the enormity of your enterprise, know which measured risks you're prepared to take, and have a finger on the pulse of your customers.

The trouble is, so many business owners I've worked with 'think' they know what their customers are looking for, but they've never actually asked them. This might be fine for a while, but if your customers' tastes and buying habits change, you'll be left, literally, floundering on the shelf. Which is why I'd like to share with you my second Golden Nugget to Small Business Success:

Golden Nugget # 2: Know what your customers want.

This comes down to spending time researching your market. Not just in the start-up phase, but at regular times of the year. Write down the answers to these questions:

1. Which particular group of people needs a product or service like yours?

2. How big is this group? Have they changed?

3. What would they pay today for your product or service?

4. Can you see any of these things changing in the next six months?

Doing some basic market research can reduce your risk: you’ll be in the business of knowing what your customers want, and the best way to give it to them.

There are many online tips on doing market research that means something (there’s a comprehensive list in my book). One that’s particularly worth looking at is from the Queensland Government’s site called Smart Skills (go to www.sdi.qld.gov.au/virtual and click on ‘Marketing and promotions’).

Get to know more about your customers today!

Margie

Small business success nuggets

noreply@blogger.com (Margie Sheedy) — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 11:28:00 +0000

I recently wrote an article for Kochie's Business Builders, giving readers my 3 Golden Nuggets of Small Business Success. The article generated a lot of interest (it was rated four and a half stars), so I thought I'd start a series of Golden Nuggets for Small Business on this blog.

If there's anything in particular you're desperate to know about making your small business more successful, make a comment and I'll create a Golden Nugget just for you.

Golden Nugget # 1: Planning for success
The majority of small businesses don’t plan to fail, they just fail to plan. The humble piece of paper that is your business plan can help you cement your goals. Look at your customers, how you communicate to them, your competition, and your future production plans. Write it all down. (One I like is at )

Remember, though, that the most useful business plans are living, breathing documents. So once you’ve written down what you want from your business, don’t just file and forget it. Drag it out every six months or so to see how you’re tracking against your original goals.

Has your market changed or your costs increased? Go over your playing field so you know the state of your game.

Margie

Small Business SWOT

noreply@blogger.com (Margie Sheedy) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 02:00:00 +0000

Ideas are the lifeblood of small business owners. You have ideas for start-ups, growth, new products or services, how you want your business to run...

What many of us fail to do, however, is to regularly take stock of our ideas. It's a time thing to analyse what's worked and what hasn't, what we really want to achieve, and how our ideas will help us achieve our goals.

That's why I've come up with the Small Business SWOT. It takes 10 minutes and it'll help you quickly identify your strengths (S), weaknesses (W), opportunities (O) and threats (T). Here are the questions to ask:

Strengths: What advantages do I have over my competitors?

Weaknesses: What could I improve? Do these two things reveal any opportunities for my business?

Opportunities: Which areas offer the best chance of growth?

Threats: What are the obstacles I face, either within my business or from my competitors? Could I turn them into opportunities?

If you want to take longer on the Small Business SWOT, feel free. But the simple process of going through this quickly can help you do business with your eyes wide open, in good times and bad.

Do it now!

Margie

Switched on small businesses

noreply@blogger.com (Margie Sheedy) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 10:25:00 +0000

Small business owners are particularly guilty of always being switched on. Our mobiles, Blackberries and laptops are on all hours of the day and night. We're in constant contact with customers, clients and everyone else, whether it's a Monday or a Sunday.

However, the hope of achieving a work-life balance is often a reason people set up a small business in the first place. You’d be in control of your time and, as the boss, you could juggle things so that both your personal and professional lives were fulfilled.

The reality is often that it’s busier than you ever imagined. You end up working harder, and longer, than you ever have.

But why not make time to set up some boundaries between your work and private life?

Pencil your personal life (exercise, catching up with friends or the family) into your diary as mental health moments. If you have it written down, you're more likely to make it happen.

And share your strategy with your family because they can support you and even hide the work phone on you on the weekends if necessary.

Let them be your conscience.

Margie

Booming small businesses

noreply@blogger.com (Margie Sheedy) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 05:01:00 +0000

There are lots of different ways the business world measures success.

You might rate success in terms of size. You’ve built your business from nothing, and now you’re about to employ another 10 people. Wow, you must be doing well.

Or maybe your order book is bulging: surely you’re successful because everyone wants your product or service. Just be aware that a growing business isn’t always a successful business.

“If you’re wanting to get bigger, make sure it is the best outcome for your business,” says Dr Graham Godbee of the Macquarie Graduate School of Management, who I interviewed for The Small Business Success Guide.

Spend the time thinking about it before you do it. “Then, if you decide the time is right, make the growth sensible and controlled,” adds Godbee.

If you’re set on expanding your business, you have to work out the sort of growth you want.

Go back to your original goals for setting up your business. If one of your aims of setting up your small business was to have more free time, does going even more gang-busters achieve this?

Think it through.

Margie

Invest in #1

noreply@blogger.com (Margie Sheedy) — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 10:41:00 +0000

A broken foot has laid me up. Luckily a lot of my business can be done sitting down. However, the challenge of slowing down has opened another door: to be able to invest in myself for a few weeks.

It's not often small business owners get the chance to look at what they could learn, and then be forced to take the time to learn it. But it's something we all should do more.

What you can learn:

1. Things can happen in your business if you're not there. Your staff will love taking the reigns. So leave them to it.

2. There are things to learn. Any time you spend improving your knowledge or your investing in yourself, is time well spent.

3. Systems are important. By putting procedures in place in your business, you'll be able to take time out without the sky falling.

This week, I've dragged out the inspirational books and CDs. I'm revved up and ready to go with lots of bright ideas for my business!

Try it.

Margie

Outstanding customer experiences

noreply@blogger.com (Margie Sheedy) — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 04:49:00 +0000

I went along to an internet seminar yesterday, just for the fun of it. There's nothing quite like a rev-up session (and those online marketers are good at it) to get you thinking about issues that are bigger than you.

I came away from it with a head full of ideas. But also feeling like I'd been battered around the head. At the end of the day, the promoters were a bit desperate for their "customers" to part with a hefty amount of cash in return for the 'secret formula'. The pressure during the final product flog was immense. I ran away.

What I did get out of it, however, was clarity about the two things that matter most when it comes to my customers:

A question of service
Every now and again you need to step back and think about your "customer experience". Is the service they receive outstanding? Is it honest? Would they recommend it to their friends?

A question of relationships
How do people feel when they walk out of your business? Have you connected with them? Do you nurture the relationship from the moment a customer or client walks in the door until they leave, whether they buy anything from you or not?

Superior service and nurtured relationships are two of the crucial ways that small businesses can define themselves.

So be outstanding today.

Margie

Small business emails

noreply@blogger.com (Margie Sheedy) — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 01:31:00 +0000

Email addresses and websites are now just like phones and answering services: everyone has them but not everyone uses them well.

So many small businesses I come into contact with still have their internet service providers (you know, Yahoo) as their email addresses. To me, it smacks of a couple of things:

a) They haven't realised that this looks pretty amateurish when they communicate with their customers (or they don't care)

b) They're not taking their email and internet strategy seriously (or they don't have one)

However, in our search engine seeking world, you just can't afford not to be leveraging the power of your brand.

The Australian Government's e-business guide suggests you ask yourself the following questions:

1. Does the domain name support the branding of your organisation?

2. Would your target audience guess the domain name and email address?

3. Do the domain name and email address stand on their own and make sense?

4. Is the domain name or email address too long, awkward to type or repeat verbally to people?

5. Can the name be confused with an existing popular domain name?

Even if you've had your domain name for a while, that doesn't mean you can't revisit your strategy.

Think it through today.

Margie

Small business risk alert

noreply@blogger.com (Margie Sheedy) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 03:42:00 +0000

Torrential rain and trojan viruses: there's a lesson for us all in a couple of small business calamities I encountered on holidays.

Scenario #1: the local tennis pro, whose business is built around the fun and frivolity of outdoor activity, cops the most brutal rain since Noah launched his ark. Okay, the former stopped after 24 hours (Noah's lasted longer), but it was enough to seriously stifle the roll-up for a three-day tennis clinic.

Scenario #2: a business consultant downloads photos from a friend's USB onto his laptop and ... wham! His computer is the new home of a violent trojan virus. Even a panicked check of his virus scan updates can't save all the data on his computer from the malicious infection.

While the tennis pro took the rain in her stride (she hastily organised some indoor activities for a shortenend session), and the business consultant was able to retrieve the essentials for an impending presentation from his email, both scenarios reinforce why we should all mitigate our business risks.

How? Firstly, planning is crucial. Ask yourself: what are the biggest risks to my business? Is it your health, technology, weather, production or staff hiccups? Some of these are within your control, while others aren't. But that doesn't mean you can't plan for what you'll do if they ever crop up.

Secondly, put systems for your record keeping and information back-ups in place so that your business can weather any storm.

Regular attention to these details will help you sleep at night.

Margie

Small business success

noreply@blogger.com (Margie Sheedy) — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 12:29:00 +0000

It's always great to get a recommendation. Word of mouth is one of your most powerful marketing tools, regardless of the type of small business you're in.

So make every bit of feedback count. Share it!

Here's the latest feedback after a the owner of Human Link PR read my book:

"I have recently set up my HR Consultancy & Training & Development business and Margie's book The Small Business Success Guide was an invaluable resource. It is an easy-to-read guide where I have continued to pick it up depending on what phase I am in operating my business. Great tips, good level of detail, plain english speak and very practical. A must for anyone running their own business, and not just for those in set-up phase."
Jo Perkins, owner, Human Link

Thanks Jo. All power to you!

Margie

Cash flow success

noreply@blogger.com (Margie Sheedy) — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 01:51:00 +0000

Money, money, money. It's what makes our businesses go around. We all know it, but how many of us treat our business cash flow with the respect it really needs?

According to a recent report from the credit reporting agency Dun & Bradstreet, the cash flow situation has deteriorated in Australia, with more businesses having their risk profile downgraded.

Simply, this means that more of us are having trouble paying our bills on time. We're not capably balancing exactly how much money is coming in and out of our businesses, and being able to pay our debts by the due date.

"It's an important sign that risk remains prevalent and firms must be constantly vigilant," said Dun & Bradstreet CEO, Christine Christian. But how?

Cash flow forecasts are the key, according to Dr Graham Godbee, of the Macquarie Graduate School of Management. He thinks that if you do a cash flow forecast and know your exact cash position at any given time, you'll know when you should be chasing funds, when to pay your bills, or if you can afford to give a customer credit.

In The Small Business Success Guide, I give business owners an Action Item: Cash Flow Forecast Template. There are many of these tools online, but I like this one from the Northern Territory Government because it's a simple one-page version of a cash flow forecast. And the less complicated these things are, the more likely I am to use them. How about you?

Have a look at it, and fill in the blanks. Keeping track of your cash flow is such a vital part of your small business success strategy. So get started on your forecasts, and keep them up to date.

Your business will thank you!

Margie