Too often we see the relationship between profit and price without also understanding their relationship with sales, and more importantly The Customer. Ultimately your customer is not interested in how much profit you are making, and as such, the customer is only interested in what they are interested in. Which could be many things, but […]
Too often we see the relationship between profit and price without also understanding their relationship with sales, and more importantly The Customer.
Ultimately your customer is not interested in how much profit you are making, and as such, the customer is only interested in what they are interested in. Which could be many things, but doesn’t include your businesses success or failure.
Your job as a retailer, is to understand your customers’ needs and sell to those needs, and to understand retail trends and shopping habits. If you do this, you see an increase in shopping occasions and in return, an increase in sales. Price, availability and service are triggers to a sale and not a function of profit. If you can drive more customer shopping occasions, you can drive more sales; which in turn can lead to more profit and better economies of scale.
This doesn’t mean that you ignore profitability. Rather, understand that if you see more sales, then profit will come as a result.
It is also important that you look at Profit in the right way. Often I hear people wanting to increase their percentage profit; “I think we can make an extra 2% GP on this product”. This may well be the case, however what is the impact on sales?
Perhaps a more effective method is to look at dollar profit instead of percentage profit. Dollar Profit can relate to sales volumes in a much more meaningful way. I am reminded of another old school retailing term from those early days, “you don’t bank percentages”.
Understanding how price elastic a product is, will help you to understand if changing price on a product will positively or negatively affect your dollar margin (my economics teacher would be so proud).
Coming back to the retailer that is struggling with their profit percentage. My advice to them is, to understand the impact of increasing price. What would happen to customer foot traffic, basket sizes, and transaction sizes, sales and profit dollars if they increase price?
Would you rather make 50c once or 20c three times? Yes I know… Old School!
Price competitiveness in their scenario, as well as some good, simple marketing execution could be just what they need to turn their profit around.
What do you need to do to increase profit in your business?
Contact us today to talk about how we can help your business grow.
I’m talking about the business owners who go AWOL, are deathly silent and ignore multiple emails and reminders and phone calls. They never raise a complaint or advise you if they’re having trouble affording to pay you on time. The fastest way to burn your bridges in business is, don’t pay your bills on time. […]
I’m talking about the business owners who go AWOL, are deathly silent and ignore multiple emails and reminders and phone calls. They never raise a complaint or advise you if they’re having trouble affording to pay you on time.
The fastest way to burn your bridges in business is, don’t pay your bills on time.
We have all heard of Six Degrees of Separation – well the small business community is very small – probably a lot smaller than you realise. If you let someone down and do the wrong thing by them (especially financially), there’s a pretty high chance that you’ve seriously tarnished your brand and cut off possible customer channels, without even knowing you have.
What can you do to avoid burning your bridges and protect your brand and reputation?
Make it a rule to pay people on time. It’s ok to delegate your processing, but know what’s due and make sure payments happen on time.
Count the costs (in detail) before you commit to buying someone else’s services or products.
Keep on top of your own Accounts Receivable and collections processes, so that you have good cashflow to help you pay your own debts.
If you’re a micro business doing all your own admin and service/product delivery – get organised, so that you don’t forget when things get busy, to take care of your AR and AP processes.
So, what do you do if you get in trouble and can’t afford to pay your bills?
Pick up the phone and talk to the business you owe money to – be honest and be humble – ask for some options to spread out payments over time, to help you to fulfil your commitment.
Stay committed to communication and fulfilling your agreement to pay over time.
Everyone has challenges along the way that make it hard to do what you said you would do – if you want other business owners to respect you for your integrity as a fellow business owner – rather than blackballing you in their networks – have the guts to admit when things aren’t perfect, and proactively seek ways to overcome them together.
It’ll build a stronger brand and relationships with your business community, which will generate business growth.
There are 9 key decision drivers that your marketing messages need to incorporate, to ensure you hit the mark when approaching your market. People buy based on: Necessity: What is a common problem that your customers face?; Your business should provide the solution. Aspiration: Fear motivates us to move away from something negative, and aspiration encourages […]
There are 9 key decision drivers that your marketing messages need to incorporate, to ensure you hit the mark when approaching your market.
People buy based on:
Necessity: What is a common problem that your customers face?; Your business should provide the solution.
Aspiration: Fear motivates us to move away from something negative, and aspiration encourages people to move towards something better.
Convenience: While your product may not be a necessity, it can be a convenience and people love convenient things.
Identity: People are motivated to buy things that demonstrate they are part of a niche identity. You need to speak the language of your target cohort so that it will be a ‘must have’ for people trying to be part of that group.
Obligation: You can also play on logical fear to sell, by letting prospects know what’s at risk if they don’t buy your service.
Hope: Use your products and services to demonstrate a positive outcome that can be expected.
Scalability: People get nervous making decisions when they expect to need more later. So, provide flexibility.
Assurance: Quality products are proven, science based, and safe. People wanting these services or products expect this information.
Price: People buy on price last after all other factors, so do a proper cost modelling process to ensure you get the pricing right, not just for your customers but for your business to profit.
Need help? – The Foundational Business Centre works with Micro and Small Business owners, making small business easier for small business owners.
What is a ‘Small Business’? Small business, as defined by government, is traditionally less than $30 million/p.a. turnover and less than 25 staff. That’s a pretty broad field of businesses. It includes every kind of business from people just considering a new venture, to 30-year old businesses with international reach. If you target “small businesses”, […]
What is a ‘Small Business’?
Small business, as defined by government, is traditionally less than $30 million/p.a. turnover and less than 25 staff. That’s a pretty broad field of businesses. It includes every kind of business from people just considering a new venture, to 30-year old businesses with international reach.
If you target “small businesses”, it’s very important that you can define that target group clearly. A a small business in it’s first couple of years of operation won’t spend $1,000/month on your services. But, a small business with 20 people and $10m turnover looking to grow, may do so.
Over the years, we’ve defined small business by classifying them into 5 stages of business growth and maturity. This helps our customers pinpoint where they are in the small business maturity cycle and who their ideal customers really are.
You can use our small business maturity stages infographic as a general guide to help inform your own processes of targeting and tailoring your products and services.
Once you understand the characteristics of small businesses as they move through the small business growth stages and milestones, it’s far easier to develop niche services that speak clearly to the right audiences; and to ignore the groups who aren’t ready for your offerings or can’t afford it yet.
You can use the cycle to help identify potential referral partners who work with similar target customer types. A Win-Win-Win!
When customers are served by the right service/product at the right time in their growth journey it’s a win for the service/product provider and the customer. When the right types of customers use you it’s a value match, where the customer feels well served at a price they believe is reasonable for the product/services/expertise provided. An extra Win comes when a referral partner is able to bring more value to their customer by introducing another trusted expert. This can further cement the your value as a go-to resource for that customer. It also means you can confidently niche your offering, and everybody wins and grows as a result.
Not sure who your business should be focusing its products/services towards 2020?
Need help to grow your small business to the next growth stage and milestone?
Get in touch with us on 1300 765 249 to sharpen your business planning processes.
What’s the Highest Point of Perceived Value? It’s the moment that your customer says “WOW”. It’s not after you bill them. That’s too late, they’re on to solving the next problem, and your amazing service has already begun to fade in their minds. We’ve created the diagram below to help you think about when to […]
What’s the Highest Point of Perceived Value?
It’s the moment that your customer says “WOW”. It’s not after you bill them. That’s too late, they’re on to solving the next problem, and your amazing service has already begun to fade in their minds.
We’ve created the diagram below to help you think about when to nurture your customers along the sales and service delivery process. It can also help you determine when to ask for that review or referral.
Why Should I Ask For A Review or Referral?
A recent Forbes Magazine article analysed surveys about the power of online reviews for business. These surveys help us to understand the impact of reviews on your business’s reputation. They also tell us important information about buyer behaviour.
The studies showed that 86% or more of customers read online reviews of businesses. Customers also read an average of 10 reviews before feeling able to trust a local business.
86% – That’s huge! – Which means having a good, systematized review strategy can seriously influence your businesses growth.
40% of consumers will only take into account reviews written in the last 2 weeks.
57% of consumers will only use a business if it has 4 or more stars in its rating.
91% of people aged 18-34 will trust an online review as much as a personal recommendation.
89% of consumers read a business’ response to reviews.
Getting reviews and referrals from your customers can be hard work. So asking for them at the right time in your customers life-cycle will help to make the job easier.
Your strategy should also consider who is most likely to feel comfortable giving you an online review versus a personal referral or recommendation. Stats show that 80% of 18-34 year old’s have written online reviews, compared to 41% of people over 55 years.
So, what do these stats mean for your business?
You need fresh reviews every week. That means coming up with a good simple plan to ask for the review at the right time. Try to make it super easy for your customer to do the review. For example, send them links to the review page, and some clues or prompt questions on what you’d like them to say about your business. Make them feel confident and relaxed in completing the process.
Use the right medium to get your reviews. If you’re asking customers to fill out a written survey form at the end of the job, how will you translate this into online reviews and testimonials? If you’re using this method, make sure you have a checkbox to gain the customers permission to use this feedback as a testimonial on your website.
Use the right review sites for your business. If you’re a professional you may need more LinkedIn reviews, rather than Facebook. But if you’re a local trade service you’ll need a strong Facebook review process, and possibly a trade directory review process. If you’re a restaurant, venue or ecommerce retailer you’ll need Amazon, Menulog, Yelp and other channels like Tripadvisor. Do your research and see where people are searching for your type of business and make sure you have a review presence.
What if your customers don’t give written reviews or testimonials (and many don’t for policy or personal reasons)? Then create a referral strategy that encourages the customer to introduce you warmly to someone else that you want to connect with.
You need a process for viewing and responding to all reviews and comments on your online review pages. This includes the good reviews and the negative ones. People need to see you communicating positively with your customers. They also need to see you handling things in a mature and professional way when things don’t go right.
Need some help working on your review and referral strategy? Give us a call 1300 765 249 (1300 SML BIZ)
What am I? Contractor, Consultant or Business Owner When a new business consulting service starts out, the first few years are always a scramble to get whatever business you can to fill your billable hours. You take jobs that are wide and varied and there’s not really a strategy. Other than get more clients and […]
What am I? Contractor, Consultant or Business Owner
When a new business consulting service starts out, the first few years are always a scramble to get whatever business you can to fill your billable hours. You take jobs that are wide and varied and there’s not really a strategy. Other than get more clients and see how it goes.
At some point every service provider needs to ask themselves a simple question: What am I? Contractor, Consultant or Business Owner
Do you have one or a few regular clients that you do all your billable hours for? Are you working deeply in the customers business as a part of the team, delivering projects or programs? You’re not really hunting for more clients? Then you’re a Contractor.
Are you continuously networking and growing your potential new client pipeline to ensure you’ve got enough hour’s month to month? Do you work loosely in the clients business, but are an advisor to their teams, not a member of the team? Then you’re a Consultant.
You’re a Business Owner if you’re strategically planning the year ahead, growing your networks and customer base. Business Owners create new and diverse income streams, perhaps bringing more people into their business. They also spend time and effort developing their business skills, not just their product/service offering.
Many Contractors call themselves consultant or business owner, but the truth is they may not want to be either of these, and contracting is comfortable and profitable for them.
There’s nothing wrong with being a contractor, not everyone should and can be a business owner. If you’re a Contractor, and happy then own it and don’t feel the pressure to be more that.
Business Owners who provide business consulting services are most effective and profitable when they are laser focused on what type of consulting model they run, and who their real customers are.
The broader the customer types you sell to, the less focused and effective you will be.
Each stage of growth in a business brings a different customer mindset, challenges and price points that the client is willing to pay for a consultants time and expertise.
If you want to be a consultant, but you’re falling into the trap of being a contractor to your customers, you need to adjust your model and terms of service so that the client always sees you as an advisor, not just another team member. Otherwise the value of your Business Consulting Services in the customers eyes diminishes over time as you become part of the furniture.
You’ll also need to move away from being comfortable with the work you have. To think like a business owner is to always be aware that customers don’t stay customers forever. Good business owners have a sales and marketing process and pipeline that they fill perpetually, not just when a customer is lost and you need to fill their spot in your diary.
Need help working on your strategy as a consultant or business owner? Contact us at Foundational Business Consulting to book a planning session.
“A Satisfied Customer is the Best Business Strategy” – Michael LeBoeuf People run businesses, and people do business with people they know, like and trust. Or as Theodore Roosevelt put it “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” Caring for your customers, also means set boundaries with your […]
“A Satisfied Customer is the Best Business Strategy” – Michael LeBoeuf
People run businesses, and people do business with people they know, like and trust. Or as Theodore Roosevelt put it “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.”
Caring for your customers, also means set boundaries with your customers, and for yourself and your teams. Learning how to do this is a skill which takes time and practice. Including a How We Work With You guide or discussion item in your first meetings and reminding customers along the way of the process can assist you in managing those boundaries in positive ways.
A – Attend and Ask
Ask your customers what they need and want, and listen carefully to what they’re saying and what they’re not saying. “The trick is figuring out what the problem really is. It’s the biggest challenge startups face when launching a new product. Ask a customer about their problems and they will often tell you what they think you want to hear. It’s not done on purpose, but customers don’t know what they don’t know. Sometimes, they don’t even realize they have a problem.” Alex Criss (Venturebeat)
R – Refer often
Be known as a Trusted Adviser that connects your customers to experts, when their needs exceed your offering, capabilities or experience.
Great customer service doesn’t always mean you’re the one providing the service, because great customer experience is actually what you need to focus on to grow. If your customers and people in general see your business as a go-to for help the chances of attracting people who need your service or product, even if they don’t know that’s what you do, increase dramatically.
It also means referral partner businesses feel comfortable that you don’t dabble in things you don’t understand or excel in. – Don’t be afraid to niche. Be the best at what you do and run along side others who are doing the same.
E – Excellence
Under promise, over deliver – is a service strategy in which service providers strive for excellent customer service and satisfaction by doing more than they say they will for the customer or exceeding customer expectations. Small businesses need to be very careful with this approach. What if your customer doesn’t want you to do more, could you over-step the bounds of the scope of work? Will doing more delay the process and hurt your ability to deliver what the customer wants from you?
You also need to make sure the gap isn’t too great between what is promised and what is delivered. Customers aren’t stupid, the slick sales processes that offer unrealistic promises or repeatedly over promising could undermine your integrity. Excellence in customer service is about being realistic, delivering quality and value, and communicating well in a timely manner. Your customer should never be left guessing about what’s going on.
“Do what you do so well, they will want to see it again and bring their friends.” Walt Disney.
If they have to chase you, you’re not setting realistic expectations, or over promising.
Great processes help you to set, manage and deliver on expectations your customers will have of your service or product. In a recent Forbes article on Small Business Customer Service, Micah Solomon refers to the cliff of dissatisfaction.
Which is the term he uses for the moment when a customer loses patience with your company. “Starbucks, for example, knows exactly how long it takes until a customer is too frustrated to contentedly wait any longer, and as soon as this happens on a regular basis, they go ahead and open another Starbucks nearby.” For a small business, this is a tricky issue, because you can’t readily clone yourself and because you may not even know when your customers are getting frustrated by your slow service, unless you have great processes in place to monitor and measure customer satisfaction.
“The Customers Perception Is Your Reality” – Kate Zabriskie.
If there’s one thing you do this week in your business; ask yourself how good is our customer’s experience? Then ask what could we do to make it so amazing that they want to tell everyone they know how good we are?
Need help creating a clear customer experience map and processes, Contact Us today.
Let’s get personal about Personal Branding Something you don’t know about me is that I’m really very anti social. That might seem a contradiction between my personal brand and professional brand given most of my daily life is spent at networking events, meeting with clients and business colleagues. I wear a million hats, and have […]
Let’s get personal about Personal Branding
Something you don’t know about me is that I’m really very anti social. That might seem a contradiction between my personal brand and professional brand given most of my daily life is spent at networking events, meeting with clients and business colleagues. I wear a million hats, and have a massive network.
But the truth is that I crave nothing more than curling up in my pajamas with a trashy crime novel in bed, with the door closed to the rest of the world. COVID close-downs were like a get-out-jail-free card for me. Legally mandated not to socialize! How good was that. (Besides the stress of trying to keep the doors of my small business open of course.)
Personal vs Professional is there a difference?
No, you are one person not two, no matter how hard you try to separate your worlds, people notice there is an act. Do not be fooled into thinking you’re fooling anyone.
“Whether you know it or not, you have a personal brand. When you Google yourself, what pops up? These results are the first impression people will have of you. Is it a good one? Is the information you are sharing across LinkedIn, Facebook, and other social media sites consistent?” – Caroline Castrillon
How do I balance my Personal Brand vs Professional Brand?
Now that I’ve told you I’d rather be tucked up in a bed than meeting with you, you might ask do I secretly hate business networking.
No, I love it. I enjoy meeting with and learning about other business owners – they are my people, my tribe. I get energized by it in the same way you might feel energized going for a jog or cycle. (By the way I do hate exercise I find it boring).
Will I enjoy coming to your birthday party with a bunch of random strangers from all walks of life? I feel honoured to be invited, but No, I feel awkward and don’t know how to talk about anything light and fun. I’m really a big nerd. I spend my free time read articles about astronomy, ai, archaeology and nanotech, there is a lot of useless trivia in my brain which is great for Trivia Nights, but social events not so much.
Balancing my Personal Brand vs Professional Brand means sharing
Do I hate sharing personal information with other people? Yes and No.
Like most people I’m a not sure I want people knowing me more deeply than I am comfortable with. Knowledge is power. It’s not because I am afraid of what other people think of me, but rather I don’t think I’m that interesting. I’d rather learn about you. So that makes the trend and concept of sharing personal stories as part of my marketing my brand a little tricky. I’d rather talk about facts and business concepts with people, than share stories from my personal experiences.
Being a good storyteller, includes using your own stories, and sharing personal experiences to connect the audience with your service or product. This is an artform that helps you to engage with people deeply and for them to engage with your brand.
The thought of getting in front of a camera and talking to people about what I did this week and the problems I solved for clients is uncomfortable to me. I’m happy to talk about a topic I know well or MC an event, but that’s not talking about me, I can hide behind the information. Besides considering the cyber risk issues with sharing personal information, how do you choose what you share, and who to share personal experience with?
Personal and Professional Boundaries
A good Psychologist once told me that everyone serves a specific purpose or type of relationship for you, no one can be everything to you, and you can’t be everything for them. Deciding what the limits of your relationships are with each person and letting them be what they are means expecting nothing more from that relationship. That will mean you can enjoy the relationships you have online and offline, personally and professionally.
How does this relate to balancing your personal brand and professional brand in the world?
Well, as I am a very private person, I make it a rule that I don’t share my private beliefs, thoughts, and frustrations on social media. I do share my personal experiences with people in one to one context once the relationship boundaries are established.
Do I struggle with stress, anxiety, exhaustion, disappointment? You bet!
I’m not superhuman, even if I have to wear my undies on the outside every now and then. But you will rarely see me posting about it on social media.
Have I experienced the very worst of pain, sorrow, hurts and loss? More than you can possibly imagine – I have faced defeat and I have lost everything many times. Everyday is a pandemic in my world. But you wont hear about that when I get up and talk at an event, even though some of my life experiences could encourage or inspire others who have struggled.
Why? Because my various professional roles mean I represent the interests of every kind of business owner. I don’t want to be seen as promoting or championing one group of people over another in my professional capacity, or being labelled or misjudged by my personal experiences as a result.
My public (personal and professional) brand is Small Business Owner, Connector and Supporter of other Small Business Owners.
You won’t see me commenting on news of the day. Why because as a professional business owner I am the ambassador of my companies’ brand and sharing my personal opinions in a public forum is unnecessary. Do I talk about these things with a close group of trusted friends, sure, but it doesn’t polish my professional brand to be seen sharing thoughts that could be taken the wrong way by other people reading them online.
As I tell my teenage kids, social media is a weapon not a toy, and it will be used against you.
Protect and polish your brand. Anything that doesn’t do that doesn’t below in a public forum.
Can you be Real without being too personal?
Yes, the person you see at events, in person and online is the same authentic me, there’s no façade. There’s just somethings that I consider not suitable for polite company eg my naughty sense of humor, or my political view points.
It’s too tiring to be someone you’re not.
So how do you balance that personal brand and professional brand. It’s about actively deciding to be authentic, relaxed and truthful, not worried about what other people think about you, but also choosing what’s appropriate to each situation, and how it will polish or tarnish your brand.
As a business owner, being real, admitting when you’re struggling and being consistent in your delivery and business and customer relationships is essential.
Should I have separate social media accounts?
If you feel more comfortable having a private account or using the private groups functions instead of maintaining one profile, go for it. But just consider that people can still find you and will feel rejected when you decline their friend request. I try to only accept friend requests from people I’ve actually met or interacted in someway with.
I don’t keep separate personal and professional social media accounts, it’s too hard and time consuming.
People in business want to connect with you as the person behind the business, they want to know you, like you and trust you. Would you buy from someone you don’t know or trust?
I just have a simple rule that I don’t share too much on Facebook and Instagram. And I don’t share anything that is really personal, like my kids school information, or images with their uniforms, when I go away on holidays, what I had for lunch (no judgement), and my personal opinion on controversial topics. Nobody really cares if I like Trump or not, do they?
Being authentically you everywhere is the simplest thing to do. I focus on managing public situations and forums wisely to ensure that I only share myself in ways that are right for the way I want my personal brand and professional brand to be received.
As a small business owner you are the Ambassador of your brand
Everywhere, Every day to and to Everyone.
Business is personal for you. You need to be aware of and embrace your personal and professional brand as one and same, or the public will be confused by the inconsistency.
Now go away and let me get back to my bed and my Agatha Christie novel…
How do you decide whether or not to systemize or standardize your business? There are two ways to organize your business: systemizing and standardizing. To systemize means organizing your business around a specific theme, whereas standardizing means organizing your business according to its function. You should choose whichever method suits your business better. For example, […]
How do you decide whether or not to systemize or standardize your business?
There are two ways to organize your business: systemizing and standardizing. To systemize means organizing your business around a specific theme, whereas standardizing means organizing your business according to its function.
You should choose whichever method suits your business better. For example, if you run a restaurant, then systemizing might be a good idea because it allows you to focus on the food instead of the other aspects of running a restaurant. On the other hand, if you want to sell clothes, then standardizing would be ideal because it makes it easier for customers to find exactly what they want.
The most important question to ask is whether your customers need and expect a bespoke tailored service from you or a service /product that is the same every time for everyone?
If you’re in the latter category, then standardizing will suit you best. However, if you’re in a situation where people really appreciate being able to order something unique and special, then systemizing may be more suitable.
There’s a lot of confusion about this term. Many businesses use “systemize” as a synonym for “standardize”. This is incorrect.
The difference between the terms is that systemizing involves creating an organized structure around a particular concept, while standardizing involves creating a consistent structure across all products (or services).
For example, let’s say we’re talking about a clothing store. If our goal is to create a standardized product line, we could have different styles of shirts for men, women, children, etc., but each shirt would be the same size and color. We’d also make sure that the price was the same no matter which style we sold. In this case, we’ve created a standardized product line.
However, if our goal is to design a custom-tailored shirt for each customer, we would first need to determine what kind of shirt he/she wants. Then we’d go out and buy fabric samples for each type of shirt we thought he/she might like. After that, we’d get together with him/her and discuss his/her preferences – colors, patterns, sizes, etc. Once we had determined those things, we’d start cutting up the fabric samples into individual pieces. Finally, we’d assemble the shirt by stitching them together.
In this case, we’ve systemized the process of designing a custom-tailored garment. It takes longer than making a standardized product, but it creates a much higher quality result.
So when choosing between systemizing and standardizing, the choice comes down to how you view your company. Do you want to offer only one product (a standardized product) or many products (a customized product)?
Standardization is the act of standardising something. Systemisation is the act of organising something. So, yes, standardization is a subset of systemization. But not the reverse.
Do I need to systemize or standardize my business?
The answer depends on what you mean by “business.”
If you are asking if you should standardize your business, then the answer is no. You don’t have to do anything. Your customers will come to you because they know they can find exactly what they want from you. They won’t care whether you sell a standardized product or a customized product.
If you are asking if you need to systemize your business, then you need to decide if you want to offer only a single product or multiple products. If you choose to offer multiple products, then you need to consider how you plan to differentiate yourself from your competitors. For example, if you sell only t-shirts, then you may need to think about offering other types of apparel as well.
Another way to look at it is to ask yourself these questions:
Does my current business model work?
Is there room for improvement?
Is there a better way to do things?
If the answers are yes, then you need to systemize. Otherwise, you need to standardize.
Building systems in your business can save you time and money
“People don’t run businesses …Systems run businesses and people run systems. . . . If you have a good system anyone can follow it and get a good result every time.” Michael E Gerber (The E-Myth)
Building systems in your business can save you time and money. But, it doesn’t happen automatically. You’ll need to put some effort into building systems. And, once you’ve built them, you’ll need to keep them running smoothly.
To build a successful system, you’ll need to understand how your business works. This means understanding your customers’ needs and desires. It also means understanding your own strengths and weaknesses. The more you know about your business, the easier it will be to create a system that suits you.
Once you’ve created a system, you’ll need a team who understands it. That’s where your employees come in. They’re the ones who will actually use the system. They’ll make sure it runs smoothly. And, they’ll help you improve it over time.
Getting clarity over your business model is essential
Before you start building a system, you’ll first need to figure out what kind of business you’re in.
This might seem like an obvious question, but it’s easy to get confused here. There are two different ways to define business models:
1. A business model describes the structure of a company.
2. A business model describes how a company makes money.
Grants For Small Groups & Businesses About Grants for Non-Profit groups Using Grants as a funding strategy can help your business or organisation grow. Most granting /funding bodies seek to fund organisations and groups to enable those organisations to deliver valuable ‘seed’ projects to their communities. They do not, in most cases, fund the group […]
Grants For Small Groups & Businesses
About Grants for Non-Profit groups
Using Grants as a funding strategy can help your business or organisation grow. Most granting /funding bodies seek to fund organisations and groups to enable those organisations to deliver valuable ‘seed’ projects to their communities.
They do not, in most cases, fund the group to deliver all its day to day services and operating costs (like insurances and admin).
The project must have a start and end date.
Therefore, you need to identify the various activities, current and future projects, that your organisation will run that help you deliver your mission.
Common Grants for Non-Profit Organisations
Matching Grants
Matching grants are where the granted amount needs to be matched by other sources of income by the grant recipient – Usually up to $100,000 funding.
Event Grants
Event Grants can only be used to fund one-off events or celebrations – Usually up to $5000 funding.
Community Grants
These grants are related to specific issues that the granting body is trying to address in its community such as Multi-culturalism, Youth, Disability, Environmental issues, arts, sports, mental health, DV – Usually up to $50,000.
Equipment Grants
Equipment Grants fund organisations for non-capital equipment less than a $5,000 in general e.g. Box trailer, computer, portable sports equipment or uniforms.
Capital Project Grants
Capital Project Grants fund only larger or fixed equipment – non-portable, construction or repair of venues such as parks and sport fields/club houses that facilitate programs for the community – Generally greater than $10,000.
Volunteer and Employment Grants
These grants generally need to be used to train and equip volunteer/new staff (youth) resources – usually up to $5,000. Job Grants can be more but you usually need to employ for 12 months before claiming.
Volunteer and Employment Grants
Volunteer and Employment Grants are generally used to cover or subsidize the one off cost or reducing the cost of using venues owned by the community /councils. (available only to NFP’s).
About Grants for Businesses
Most funding for businesses comes from state or federal government agencies, and follow a similar set of strict rules about what type of business operating costs they will and wont fund.
Generally they are ‘Matching Grants’ which means you need to be able to confirm you can fund 50% (or a set percentage) of the costs.
Stimulus (eg COVID) grants are designed to fund employment. This is because employment drives economic stability and spending cycles. The 2020 Recovery Grant, for example, was unusual as any small business that qualified for JobKeeper was permitted to use the grant funds for marketing, IT and other growth activities.
Business grants are also provided to businesses creating innovative products and technologies, that support export capabilities and jobs growth in key growth sectors.
Regular Business grant eligibility is usually tiered and/or attached to tax offsets, in that they are only open to businesses with a specific turnover threshold, or are claimed through the ATO. E.g. Export, Research & Development, AusIndustry commercialization.
These grants are funneled through programs such as the Entrepreneurs programme, which assesses your eligibility, before allowing you to apply for the grant.
Business Grants are usually focused on driving outcomes such as job growth, export, R&D, infrastructure, recovery from disaster or technology advancement.
Some examples of Grants for business include:
Accelerating Commercialization which provides small and medium businesses, entrepreneurs and researchers with access to expert advice and funding to help get a novel product, process or service to market. Export Grants are also like this. You need to be able to match 50%, and meet other criteria.
Growth Grants like the Entrepreneurs’ Programme grants help your business grow. Businesses that have received a roadmap under one of the Growth services, and access funding of between $2500 (ex GST) and $20,000 (ex GST), covering up to 50% of eligible project costs (Matching Grant).
Planning your project/activity to prepare for grant writing
When approaching grants, you need to break all your activities into mini-projects.
Drawing a tree diagram like the one shown here for your own group/business and its activities is an easy way to list your projects/activities under the different key services or programs you provide.
What information do you need to prepare and clearly define in your Project Information:
What you do,
Who you do it for,
Where/How you do it,
and the Benefit it gives your participants/target audience
Break your programs into activities and smaller activities within the program by:
type of activity
different audiences
outcomes to achieve
To be ready to apply for a grant you need to have a detailed project plan before you answer all the questions in the application.
Before you start you need to define the requirements and scope (boundaries) of your project. You also need to create a full and realistic budget for your project.
You may find that you potentially have more than one project that needs to be funded, or more than your organisations skills are needed to deliver the grant. (Eg subcontractors might be required). There’s always a lot more to delivering your projects than you think there is.
You may decide to apply for funding for each mini-project activity separately or partner with another organisation to submit the response.
When does the response need to be submitted by?
The first thing to check when you begin reviewing a possible grant is the Date and the Time that the grant must be submitted by.
There are NO extensions.
If you miss the time and date that the grant must be submitted by, the grant will close, and the grant organisation cannot accept late submissions as this is a key part of their criteria for considering everyone’s submissions.
Reading the Grant Carefully
Be careful to read the grant submission deadline information in detail – not all grants close at 5pm many close at 2pm for example.
If you are submitting your grant application manually (not via the grant website) be sure to send it to the advised postal address with enough time for it to arrive before the deadline. Postal services can take 3-5days or more in some instances.
Always save a copy of your submission (even if you’ve submitted it online).
Read thoroughly the grant information as it can be very detailed and lengthy. If you not clear on anything in the grant guidelines, call the granting body and get answers to your questions before you begin the submission.
Reading the Grant Criteria, Priorities and Objectives is critical to your success.
How will your project support the key outcomes that the grant body is looking to achieve?
Before you decide to write your grant application you need to read the grant criteria and information very carefully to ensure that the project you are looking to fund is a match for the type of projects the grant can fund, especially when the project needs to be run/started or completed by.
Each granting body will have some important objectives they are trying to achieve, and therefore the type of projects they can support need to be consistent with these objectives, and you need to clearly explain how your project will contribute directly to these objectives being achieved.
Your grant submission needs to address the grant priorities, therefore a simple way to ensure you do that well is to start your response to questions with sentences that include the specific objective your program addresses.
Information to Attach to Your Grant
If you intend to include grant writing as part of your organisations business plan you’ll need to have the following documents easily accessible so they can be appended to your applications.
Your Annual financial statements from the last financial year or Audited Financial statement for the organisations previous year financials
Legal registration documents for the organisation (eg Incorporation certificate, ABN Certificate)
Current Public liability and Personal Accident Insurance, Volunteers Insurance and/or Workers Compensation Insurance Certificates
Annual Report for the organisation (if you have one other than your Annual Financial Report)
Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form
List of your board/management committee members with bios and contact information
If you are requesting funding for purchasing any single item costing $500 or more, be prepare to provide two quotes for the item.
Budgeting for your project
A budget is simply a list of all the costs you’ll need to cover (both cash and time) to deliver your activity in a way that meets your goal outcomes, and all the income and resources you have to cover those costs.
Don’t set the “total grant amount requested” figure in your submission until you’ve done your budget. In almost all cases, the amount you’ve guessed you’ll need, is too small.
If you are submitting a Matching Grant, make sure that the granted money will be allocated to eligible expenses in your budget and the other costs will be covered by your own funding.
Make sure your totals balance, and you include: In-Kind Contributions. Sponsorship (Secured/Unsecured) and Participant Fees.
Measuring Success
Did the project run on time and on budget?
You’ll need to explain how you’ll monitor and report on whether it runs on time and on budget, and what tools will you use to manage that measurement process and keep the project on track.
Did you achieve your key outcomes?
You’ll need to provide information on how you’ll know if you succeeded or not, what milestones will be achieved during the project, and what success looks like.
What was the impact of the project?
How many people participated or have been changed/impacted by your project,. Running a survey before and after your activity to measure the problem your trying to solve is a good way to begin.
Managing the Project Delivery & Budget
Your project plan you can be used as a task list to check off how you are tracking against the timeline of actions that need to be completed for a successful project.
Monitoring your grant budget against actual spend is critical. Within your grant writing process you need explain how you’ll do this.
Budget Keys:
Get a Receipt every time
Use the groups bank account for incoming and outgoing money
Record all expenses and income received in a simple log
Sort your financial reports by project.
Quarantine grant funding in separate ‘accounts’ or cost centres
Acquitting – What reporting do we need to do during the project and at the end?
Grant writing isn’t finished when you’ve submitted the grant. Often there is a interview process or another set of questions asked by the funding bodies review committee to clarify your proposed project, which you’ll need to respond very quickly to. Additionally you need to be prepare for completing an acquittal report by a set date after the project period ends. This acquittal report will include;
Information on what was successfully completed.
Whether you used all the grant funding (Copy of budget vs actuals).
Did you have to deviate (change) from the original planning activity, why?
Could you use the funding for the project you were granted for?
Was the funding used in the location your grant was for?
How did the grant support make a difference to your organisation?
What would you do differently in future (lessons learnt from this project that can be used to be more effective)?
Describe the outcomes (measured) were achieved by the project?
Writing grants and preparing your organisation to be strategic in funding and growing your ideas and activities is hard work. We can help you.
Find out more about our strategic planning support services here.
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