Business Blogging - how to do it!

Some great LinkedIn insites from LinkedIn guru - Adam Franklin https://www.linkedin.com/posts/adamfranklin_business-blogging-marketing-ugcPost-6680661151656882176-q3wB

⫸ IS BUSINESS BLOGGING IMPORTANT?

In my opinion YES.   Because it will position you an authority on the subject matter, and you're building a digital asset that will help attract people to your business.

But it doesn't need to a massive time burden, and is still effective even if you don't enjoy writing.

⫸ START SMALL:

Begin with just a handful of useful articles answering frequently asked questions from prospects and clients.  This way you can refer people to the blog (and save yourself time answering the same question over and over).  Plus others may discover your post and be introduced to your business.

⫸ IF YOU DON'T LIKE WRITING:

Record short videos and get them transcribed with Rev.com or Otter.ai.  This makes the process very easy even if writing doesn't come naturally.   That video and transcript can then be posted on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

⫸ RE-PUBLISH THE ARTICLES:

Take your original blog article and post it on LinkedIn and Medium, and possibly even Quora or other business blogs that accept syndicated content.

⫸ WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS?

Is business blogging important to you?  Why or why not? 

Let me know below.

#business #blogging #marketing

Fun interview - interview with Triple H 100.1FM

Link to podcast

Smashing through the leadership lid

#Chutzpah, # Change ,#Action #Vision , #Franchising, #Systems,  the value of a #brand 

Anthony James posted a great Insite today that popped up a day after I was having a conversation with my colleague and friends Bill Mclellan about the opportunity to buy a franchise and how to look to do something different post Covid.

“Be willing to see the impossible change. Consider things you never have before. Blow the lid off your life.”

— Brianna Wiest

“Envision and live life without limits! - Eunice C “

Learn from those who have done it before and became successful 

John Maxwell in his book - the 21 laws of leadership - a must read - talks about “breaking through “ the leadership lid.

The dude - Roger Bannister - who broke the 4 minute mile - no one had Don this - once he did - and people saw that it could be done - many people broke through 

Experiment of bees - put in a jar -with lid. - when lid was taken off over a few days - bees  could not leave the jar - they were conditioned that there was a lid there.

The dude who “started McDonalds “  - Ray Kroc did a deal with the McDonald brothers - he saw a vision - the brothers did not want to change from their one store - but eventually they  agreed 

The McDonald’s Story 

Taking Action 

Kroc’s story is about vision, persistence and chutzpah - he was selling milkshake makers to restaurants - business was failing - he landed a whale - McDonald’s - whose business was growing - and who kept on ordering more shakers.

Kroc saw a vision - left his job - to partner with  them to build franchises 

When Kroc had created 6 franchises he bought them out ....and paid them each $1m and a small royalty . 

• He pivoted - left his deadend job and state and started again - major change 
• Made a partnership with brothers to franchise in 1955. In 1961, he bought the company for $2.7 million, calculated so as to ensure each brother $1 million after taxe - plus 0.5pc royalty - they had no regrets! 
• Standards , systems, franchise system - resulted in annual sales of $8b in 1983!
• Ray Kroc fortune of $600m at time of death in 1984
• Married to 
• Ethel 1922-1961 - 39 years 
• Jane 1962-1968
• Joan 1968 -  time of his death 1984 
• At time of Joan’s death in 2003 - she left her $2.7b estate to charities - $1.5b to Salvation Army to help under priviliged 
• Richard McDonald died leaving a will of $1.6m 

The Value of the brand 

“The one thing that makes McDonald’s special - not just the system - that glorious name .... “

About the McDonald’s Franchise 

About the franchise - who makes the money ? 
Become a franchisee or be a part of the franchisor -
An investor or a worker ? 

They both do ok!!!! 

The franchise deal

• $1m - Sales $2.7m pa - yearly profit of $150k - 6pc net 
• Contributes innovation and products 
• $45k up front and - rental fee 10pc And 5pc franchise - 2014 $24b revenue - $20b franchises 
• McDonald’s - the Franchisor makes the bulk of the money 
• The franchisee huts himself a job

Ray Kroc and the McDonald’s Insite 

The McDonald brothers were busy - they made the best burger and the systems- they did not have the DESIRE or VISION to expand ....

It took another to blow the leadership lid and expand the vision 

Some Comments from Anthony James’s article about breaking the leadership lid 

This is great and inspiring Anthony J James we have to believe in ourselves and try new adventure, we have to trust and enjoy them, we can grow when we leave our comfort zone which is dreams killer to embrace new things ,keep motivating people around the world

Syveda J - a lecturer from India 

Absolutely... if at all we are willing to see the impossible change, we need to change our mindset, broaden outlook, be insightful and change the way we normally think... we need to consider things we never came across before, we need to think out of the box... we need to take the risk and just let things happen as per the plan... 

And

In another article he wrote 

our actions are driven by the situation... generally,  nobody hurts others intentionally... it's the situation,  that makes one behave in a certain way. Emotional intelligence,  is all that is needed,  in such a situation. People who possess such a quality definitely show maturity to deal with the situation where others hurt them, intentionally or unintentionally... we need to be empathetic and definitely,  mature, to understand people and their situation... 

Clare Evans

Seeing the #change makes the #impossible #possible

The #problem in the #past is that #people seem to have #lost their #vision as well as #lost #sight of the #real #problem at #hand.

#micromanaging #largescale #globalproblems will never be #successful.

#identify the #rootcause then find the  #system for the #solution.

Brianna Wiest

Island of profitability in a sea of red - whose responsible?

In time’s like this, my mentor Allen Pathmarajah’s quote of “revenue is vanity, profit is sanity but cash flow is king and queen” has never been so acutely relevant!

To be sustainable , your business needs to be profitable.... as this is a key requirement that more cash will come in than go out! 

Jonathan Byrnes book "Island of Profit in a Sea of Red" suggests that nearly 40% of the average company is unprofitable, and 20 to 30% is so profitable that it provides all the earnings and subsidizes the losses. 

The good old 80-20-80 rule

If you spend 80pc if your time on 20pc of the right things - you’ll get 80pc of the results 

Byrnes share 3 insights which can probably relate to many businesses:- 

1. reported profits are much lower, often half of what they could be;
2. the best customers generally receive only average service, which raises a critical risk competitors picking off the profitable piece of business by offering better service; and
3. the company loses the opportunity to shift resources to the highest payoff activities - or to focus on releasing the constraint .

How does a company 

• make sure all areas of its business is as profitable as it can be ?
• make sure that there is a total focus on customer service and outstanding customer experience? 
• ensure that it shifts resources to the highest payoff opportunities or to release the constraint and ensure that there is enough buffer to make sure that it is not a constraint anymore! (David Hodes - 5 step focus) .

How does one look for areas in the business that are the constraint with a view to allocate resources to release that constraint? 

What financial and management control information systems are in place  to surface the problem and opportunity areas? 

Who in the organisation is responsible to do this?

The answer - is in the good old quote “what you can measure you can manage” 

A company needs to build grassroots profitability management processes to measure management activities, and someone should be accountable to manage and account for this.

So, who is that someone?

In time’s like this, my mentor Allen Pathmarajah’s quote of “revenue is vanity, profit is sanity but cash flow is king and queen” 

To be sustainable , your business needs to be profitable.... as this is a key requirement that more cash will come in than go out! 

A company needs to build grassroots profitability management processes to measure management activities, and someone should be accountable to manage and account for this.

Sure, a CEO or a general manager is responsible for profitability but most of these individuals are focused on major strategic initiatives, important customer relationships and making sure their key management make budget. 

CFO's, and other top finance managers, are very focused on reporting on the overall profit and loss of the company, managing  cashflow, with mergers, acquisitions and divestments often In play. 

This does not give him or her time to focus systematically on identifying the constraints in the business, rectifying embedded unprofitability, and on building this process into the company's core set of ongoing management activities. 

The CFO is usually an accountant, who generally likes stability and does not cope well with change, innovation and risk. 

Is it the CFOs role to become skillful at co-ordinated change management and managing constraints? 

Is it the CFOs function to find your company's constraint, hidden profits and ultimately cash?

Is there a position missing in the organisation - Maybe a Chief Profitability Officer? 

This article has been inspired by 

David Hodes knowledge share at the BBG Enterprise forum on “your constraint is your best friend.” David is an acclaimed author and expert in the “Theory of Constraints” 

And 

 

 James O'Brien - who is the  Founder of CFO Accelerator who  mentors and coaches  CFO’s across Asia Pacific.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/cfo-role-cashflow-profitability-james-o-brien

Time to get your cash flow forecasts happenning !

We all recognise the critical role that we, as small businesses, play in the Australian community.... employing over five million Australians that work for us . 

Small business is the  backbone of our AUSTRALIAN economy, with many of us hurting and facing a rapid evaporation of  cash reserves - with sales starting to dry up. 

The economic and social impacts caused by the coronavirus pandemic , potential lockdowns and the slowdown is significant.

In the face of such enormous disruption, our Government has released a relief package aimed at protecting the cash flows of small businesses ro help them to stay in business and continue to employ its people.

They plan to do this via the banks (managed by the ABA (Australia Bank Association) giving up to $100 billion in loans to SMEs eligible for the package and  $10 billion in the hands of small businesses to help us stay in business. 

The CEO of ABA , Anna Bligh, is a key player in this initiative, shared with us the key benefits of the package and how the banks are helping SMEs:- 

Key benefits of the package

• The RBA backed a term funding facility for banks to support lower cost lending to small and medium businesses.
• Deferrals of loan repayments of principal and interest for up to 6 months for small businesses, including equipment finance leases and business credit cards.
• Fast tracked approval processes to enable small business to get access to these relief packages as soon as possible.

How the banks responded

• Business customers experiencing financial difficulty can defer principal and interest payments on a range of floating and variable rate loans, equipment leases and business credit cards.
• Banks are utilising the RBA rate cut and quantitative easing to allow them to cut rates on business lending.
• Many are providing even greater rate cuts for customers using digital banking products.
• Banks are also expected to put in place a fast track approval process so businesses suffering cash flow pressures receive the support they need – ASAP

These measures will provide small businesses with real cash retention measures that will assist them to stay operating through the crisis. 

There are basic things you need to do to prepar to seek help and advice from your banking advisors on how to access the benefits of this package.

You will need to understand the specific terms of the benefit and take steps to position yourself and your business to be able to obtain maximum support on offer 

Have a basic plan and cash flow forecast - normal vs current 

setting up digital banking if you do not have it already

Communicating with your bank manager

This is where your accountant comes in handy - they will help you prepare . 

Being  nimble, innovative and opportune will be vital to managing the challenges you may be experiencing. 

For us as a Nation to pull through - it is imperative for government, RBA, regulators and the private sector to work together. 

Now is the time for Connection, Collaboration, Contribution and Community.

 

Would you be open  to join me in a zoom meeting to Find out where to from here 

 Are you with me❓- here is a link to find out more 

Or 

👇🏼COMMENT BELOW👇🏼 

And we will be in contact to explore

Letter by Rodger Hamilton to the CoronaVirus

Dear Pandemic,

You’re back. But this time it’s different. 

You came in 1918 as the Spanish Flu, infected one third of us and killed over 50 million of us. Then you vanished as fast as you came. 

You returned in 1957 as the Asian Flu, and killed two million of us. Then you were gone.

You appeared again in 2009 as H1N1 - the Swine Flu. You infected a quarter of us and 200,000 of us died - less than the deaths each year from the common flu.

And here you are again today.

Each time we call you a Pandemic. 

Each time we panic. 

Each time you kill far less of us but we panic far more.

Because you are not a pandemic of death or even disease. You are a pandemic of fear. 

In 2009 that fear showed up in our media, in our stock markets, and in our every day lives. And you’ve given us that same big fright today.

But you’ve been here enough times that this time it’s different. 

This time we see you for who you really are:

A global ghost of our worries, anxieties and deepest fears.

And as with any ghost, you can only grow if we feed you.

And if we don’t, you disappear.

So this time, 

instead of fear we choose freedom.

Instead of panic we chose peace.

Instead of loss we chose love.

Thank you for visiting. 

We appreciate the reminder. 

You can go now.

With love 

Rodger J Hamilton

4 ingredient to success

Success is a simple economic equation

1. Find out what you want
2. Work out how much it costs
3. Pay for it 

Peter Horsfield - a financial planner in Cairns shares with us his 4 traits to become a successful financial planner 

https://www.fsadvice.com.au/blogs/view/why-i-m-not-quitting-financial-advice-155595247

An idea is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration 

1 Be the Last man / woman standing 

I’ve always thought of success as the last man standing! Over a period of time - your competitors will lose interest , Mess up ,lose passion and eventually stop turning up! 

As they say “when the going gets tough - the tough get going 

Be Nimble and willing to take advantage of opportunities 

Be in the game and be willing to take the opportunities when they leave and handle the acquisition and integration  ! Be nimble and do what works!

2. Celebrate Successes 

It’s the journey that is the magic - not the destination. 

Celebrate successes and milestones with your clients and teams - it’s all about relationships - that’s the magic and reward that is awesome. 

Make sure what you do aligns with your purpose, your pulse , your why and your values - Love and respect your community and stakeholders.

if you don’t  - you will be that person that stops turning up .

Christine Mcdougall talks about “precession” - it’s the result and pathway when one plans and takes action - the path is not what you expect - but invariably worth it .

3. Time is a limited constraint - use it wisely 

Remember the 4 days quadrant 

• Urgent and important - do it 
• Urgent and not important - defer it
• Not urgent and important - delegate it
• Not urgent and not important - dump it

procrastination - is something that I am really good at - why?

4. It’s all about TRUST 

It is common to every single individual, relationship, family, team, economy, country and nation. 

If TRUST is lost - it will destroy the most powerful government, successful business, greatest friendship and the deepest love.

On the other hand, if developed and leveraged, this one thing has the potential to create unparalleled success and prosperity in every dimension life has to offer?

This one thing that is key is TRUST.