Canadian Small Business Women

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ANXIETY IN NUMBERS

Many entrepreneurs don’t take the time to understand their numbers, in fact, most ignore them altogether!! They rely on their bank balance to tell them if they’re doing well or not and just get the bookkeeping done for the sake of taxes.  That may work for you, but how are you going to make informed decisions if you live in obliviousness of your numbers? They tell you the story of how your business is doing and can give you great insights into what’s working, and most importantly, what’s not!

Here are some of the top Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) you should monitor for your business.

  1. Advertising as a Return on Investment (ROI)

We know advertising is necessary for business growth, brand development and awareness, and most importantly sales. But not all advertising channels work the same. In the beginning you may advertising anywhere that will have showcase you, but the key is to track which of these channels actually brings you clients. Try using a different promo code in each channel so that you can track which is working and get rid of the ones that aren’t.

  1. Inventory turnover

If you have a product based company where you buy the inventory upfront to try and resell it, then this KPI is vital for you. Inventory turnover is the number of times inventory is sold over a time period, which can be monthly, quarterly or annually. This will help you track what inventory is moving and what takes longer to sell. Accordingly you can adjust your buying choices and often your marketing choices too.

  1. Accounts Receivable turnover

This one is really important if you have repeat customers. These days many businesses operate on a “pay before you receive” model wherein the customer is paying for the product or service before it is delivered. However, many businesses still have the more traditional model of providing a service and then invoicing for the work completed, thus resulting in a period of time where you are waiting for a customer to pay. By keeping track of AR turnover you can identify whether your companies policy for credit is working as intended or whether you wish to continue to do services for clients who are perpetually late. A good accounting system will also allow you to review an AR aging to see which customer is always past due.

  1. Gross Margin

Again if you are in an inventory based business, you need to be aware of two factors: first you need to factor in the cost of inventory into all your sales and second you need to make sure you have enough of a markup to not only cover your inventory cost but your operating cost. Doing a gross margin analysis combined with a break even analysis will help you figure out if your pricing structure is working for you or not.

  1. Budget to actual

You’d be surprised how many entrepreneurs don’t have a budget, or if they do, they don’t compare their budget to actual numbers. A budget is not set in stone, of course, but knowing how your actual sales/expenses compared to what you were forecasting can tell you a lot about your business initiatives.

Of course the key to doing any of the above is timely and accurate bookkeeping and financial reporting!

 

“Behind Every Great Business is a Great Accountant”

For more information on how to keep your business tax efficient, or to get a consultation on whether you are making all the right tax choices for your business, contact Dharna CPA. www.dharnacpa.ca. Info@dharnacpa.ca

Taking the leap into the world of Business?


yvonne

Are you thinking of starting your business? If so, join the millions of people who at one point or the other in their lives have considered whether or not to start a business. The thought of having a successful business, being your boss or doing something you are really passionate about sounds very appealing, right? And these, amongst other reasons are why people leave their jobs and decide to start their own thing. The familiar question is; do I take the leap? And if so, when and how do I take the leap?

One of the greatest challenges for some people in starting a business is the challenge of leaving the security of a paid job. For some it is the issue of choosing the right idea to turn into a successful business. Well, these two challenges can be easily overcome.

First and foremost before venturing into you own business, undertake some research on how viable the business idea(s) is. Are there potential customers? And what is the potential ROI (return on investment)? I’m sure you’d agree with me that it is not very wise to invest your time and money into a business that doesn’t seem viable on paper, or give up your job to start a business based on a whim. However, many people do.

Secondly, an approach to starting a business without giving up your Job is to actually undertake a pilot while still working. And believe me, doing this will require the skill of being able to multitask. To undertake a pilot means doing some test marketing in order to test the market or gauge how responsive people are to your product /service. This will enable you make better decisions on the idea and what to do next. I’ve got to warn you though that this could prove to be hard work juggling a business with your fulltime job, most especially if you have a family to take care of. It requires time management, focus, perseverance and more. These are only some of the requirements you will need both in the short and long run if you want to have your own business. So, as opposed to immediately taking a leap, consider taking long steady strides.

Having looked at your business idea and undertaken some research, you may decide the business idea is viable and you’d like to take that leap into the business world. There are a few basic things that you’d need to do in order to take off. I very much believe in building solid foundations that will allow one to build much taller and weatherproof buildings. And to build a solid foundation you need to get either some business advice or coaching and write a plan.

The word ‘Business Plan’ seems to be such a dreaded word, many people think of it as long-winded and unnecessary. However, I promise you that it is one thing that will need doing either now or later for a more successful business, better now than later I say. Planning and building the concept in your head is not enough, pen it down on paper. The saying goes, “Write the vision and make it plain, that those who is it may run with it” and that includes you, your potential business partner or financiers. Writing the plan takes you through the process of developing and refining your idea, it is also very much needed if you plan on raising capital externally. Please note that it is not enough to just write a business plan for the intention of raising capital, you should also use it as a blueprint for successfully managing your business.

Another challenge often faced in starting a business is Capital. Sometimes, the bigger the idea, the bigger the capital required. Don’t let this hinder you if raising capital seems to be your own challenge. Instead, think out-of-the box in identifying ways to raise the capital required. Look for avenues to cut back on the initial capital required, some ways of cutting back on capital includes; offering trade by batter or buying second-hand instead of new.

The following options are available to you and all except for personal savings will require a sound Business Plan; Personal savings, Friends & Family, Bank loan, Government Initiatives, Private Investors and Venture Capitalists.

Having researched the idea, written a ‘Plan’ and raised the required finance, you are all set to take off. Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained. Take the leap if you feel very strongly about it, but plan and prepare for it.

To learn about Yvonne’s latest book on Changing your Mindset for greater results, visit http://www.oliveblue.com/changeyourmindset/

Yvonne is an Author, Speaker, Change Consultant & John Maxwell Leadership Coach who is passionate about working with Individuals, Entrepreneurs and Organisations to help implement change they want and achieve their goals.   

She can be reached at: www.oliveblue.com . www.facebook.com/oliveblueinc . www.twitter.com/oliveblueinc.www.youtube.com/ChangeYouWantTV

Social media metrics demystified

Evelyn

 

Happy New Year! I hope that like me, you had a restful, enjoyable holiday and that you’re looking forward to the opportunities of the coming year.

It’s at the turn of the year that we often take some time to make new goals, check our progress on existing targets and discard those aims that no longer apply. So it’s during this season of goal-setting that I think it’s important to take a look at your social media numbers.

When marketers talk about social media metrics, most small business owners tend to get lost in the jargon. But all metrics mean are the numbers we attach to our impact of our social media accounts. This can be as simple as how many followers your Twitter account has or as complex as how many sales you made that can be linked to a specific social campaign.

But let’s keep it simple shall we.

First let’s talk about why you need these numbers. Social media metrics act as gauge for how well you’re doing online. If you’re putting out quality content, engaging in conversations and maintaining a consistent presence on your networks, then your numbers should reflect that. If not, you might need to revaluate the content, audience or platform you’re working with.

Metrics give marketers, or small business owners, a way to determine a return on investment (ROI) for the time and money spent on social media marketing. They’re a way to value impact, ensure you’re reaching the right audience and provide feedback on what you’re doing right and what you should change.

There are three main areas that you should look at when trying to determine your social media impact: number of followers, how many followers are seeing and interacting with your content and which content is most successful. Each social network has its own way of tracking these interactions, so it’s important to find out what metric works best for each platform. For the purpose of this article, I’ll be taking a look at Facebook and Twitter.

 

Count your followers

The most basic way to tell if anyone is seeing your content is by determining how many followers you have. In theory, this should be the number of people who are potentially seeing your content at any given time, however in practice, only a fraction of your followers see your content.

 

Reach and engagement

While the number of followers is important, more important is how many of these people are actually seeing your content. On Facebook your Reach determines this metric. Reach is calculated by Facebook’s internal algorithms, the quality of your content and if you purchase ads. For Twitter, this number is not as easily tracked and is determined by how many of your followers are online at any given time.

Because the reach of your content is often out of your control, an easier number to look at is your engagement. On Facebook this number is based on how many people view, click or interact with your content. On Twitter you can track your engagement by counting how many clicks your tweets have. Unfortunately this metric is usually only accessible through paid metrics services such as Sprout Social. Another way to look at this number is by counting your link clicks. You can sign up for a free service called bit.ly that tracks this number for you.

 

Content is king

The most important metric you can track is how many of your followers are actually interested in your content. On Facebook this can be tracked by counting the likes, shares and comments on individual posts. The number of likes or shares your content gets determines how interesting your followers find it. On Twitter you can gauge your follower’s engagement by calculating retweets and mentions. Both of these metrics can tell you if your content is having an impact on your followers.

 

Once you start taking a closer look at your social media numbers you will need to set some goals. This way you can see if your time online is actually bringing you the results you want. Keep the goals small at first and then increase them as your business grows. Record your social media metrics on a spreadsheet or document each month so you can track your growth as the year goes on. This will also help you make new goals for your social marketing activities next year.

 

Good luck and happy 2015!

Evelyn Senyi is the owner and chief marketer for Recurve Marketing, a Toronto-based digital marketing agency that offers creative, effective and affordable marketing strategies for Canadian small businesses and non-profit organizations. Follow Recurve on Twitter @recurve_ca and on Facebook www.facebook.com/recurvemarketing.ca.

Taking The Leap Into The World Of Business?

yvonne

Are you thinking of starting your business? If so, join the millions of people who at one point or the other in their lives have considered whether or not to start a business. The thought of having a successful business, being your boss or doing something you are really passionate about sounds very appealing, right? And these, amongst other reasons are why people leave their jobs and decide to start their own thing. The familiar question is; do I take the leap? And if so, when and how do I take the leap?

One of the greatest challenges for some people in starting a business is the challenge of leaving the security of a paid job. For some it is the issue of choosing the right idea to turn into a successful business. Well, these two challenges can be easily overcome.

First and foremost before venturing into you own business, undertake some research on how viable the business idea(s) is. Are there potential customers? And what is the potential ROI (return on investment)? I’m sure you’d agree with me that it is not very wise to invest your time and money into a business that doesn’t seem viable on paper, or give up your job to start a business based on a whim. However, many people do.

Secondly, an approach to starting a business without giving up your Job is to actually undertake a pilot while still working. And believe me, doing this will require the skill of being able to multitask. To undertake a pilot means doing some test marketing in order to test the market or gauge how responsive people are to your product /service. This will enable you make better decisions on the idea and what to do next. I’ve got to warn you though that this could prove to be hard work juggling a business with your fulltime job, most especially if you have a family to take care of. It requires time management, focus, perseverance and more. These are only some of the requirements you will need both in the short and long run if you want to have your own business. So, as opposed to immediately taking a leap, consider taking long steady strides.

Having looked at your business idea and undertaken some research, you may decide the business idea is viable and you’d like to take that leap into the business world. There are a few basic things that you’d need to do in order to take off. I very much believe in building solid foundations that will allow one to build much taller and weatherproof buildings. And to build a solid foundation you need to get either some business advice or coaching and write a plan.

The word ‘Business Plan’ seems to be such a dreaded word, many people think of it as long-winded and unnecessary. However, I promise you that it is one thing that will need doing either now or later for a more successful business, better now than later I say. Planning and building the concept in your head is not enough, pen it down on paper. The saying goes, “Write the vision and make it plain, that those who is it may run with it” and that includes you, your potential business partner or financiers. Writing the plan takes you through the process of developing and refining your idea, it is also very much needed if you plan on raising capital externally. Please note that it is not enough to just write a business plan for the intention of raising capital, you should also use it as a blueprint for successfully managing your business.

Another challenge often faced in starting a business is Capital. Sometimes, the bigger the idea, the bigger the capital required. Don’t let this hinder you if raising capital seems to be your own challenge. Instead, think out-of-the box in identifying ways to raise the capital required. Look for avenues to cut back on the initial capital required, some ways of cutting back on capital includes; offering trade by batter or buying second-hand instead of new.

The following options are available to you and all except for personal savings will require a sound Business Plan; Personal savings, Friends & Family, Bank loan, Government Initiatives, Private Investors and Venture Capitalists.

Having researched the idea, written a ‘Plan’ and raised the required finance, you are all set to take off. Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained. Take the leap if you feel very strongly about it, but plan and prepare for it.

Please refer to past articles on fundamentals such as ‘Research’, ‘Writing a Business Plan’ and ‘Raising Finance’ that will help you prepare for starting your business. http://www.oliveblue.com/category/blog/

 

Yvonne is a High Performance Consultant, Coach and Speaker focused on working with Individuals, Entrepreneurs and Organisations to execute and achieve their goals.   She can be reached at:   www.facebook.com/oliveblueinc,www.twitter.com/oliveblueinc

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