Services

The A Team Approach to Success

"I hire people brighter than me and I get out of their way." – Lee Iacocca

What if a small business owner had access to top class advisors without the huge costs ?

What if you could have an advisory board and work your business like the large companies ?

“The small business owner is blessed with enormous opportunity.”

As I spoke these words at a forum in 2009 I was given a rather interesting look by the attendees. After completing my presentation, we opened the forum for discussion and received infinite questions surrounding my views on small business.

How was it that I considered small business owners to be in a unique position to grab the enormous opportunities that existed in today’s world ?

In simple terms, the world had changed. When the world changed, small business did not.

“The world moved on... and small business owners failed to understand or recognise this important phenomenon.”

Large business changed their business model and harnessed the power of technology and human capital. Small business kept operating in the same old ways and as a result suffered. Twenty years ago, a small business owner usually worked under the following scenario:

1. business was transacted in the traditional manner – phone, fax or face to face;
2. customers were local or limited to a particular geography;
3. there were less competitors;
4. large business never really bothered marketing to your customers;
5. small business owners had a fixed group of suppliers;
6. sales and profitability was almost predictable; and
7. there was little or no access or need for advisors, marketing experts or HR.

But there was a HUGE shift brought about by globalisation and the internet.

AND THIS CHANGED Consumer Behaviour !

Suddenly, customers had choices as well as the manner in which they transacted with you.

Big companies started using technology to open new channels of communication and more importantly helped reshape customer behaviour. As a result, small businesses were ambushed !

So how does this relate to our opening remarks ?

These changes also opened up new worlds and a number of very important things took place:

1. it allowed small business owners to use the power and creativity of technology;
2. it geographically expanded potential customers from local to global;
3. it freed up a range of expert advisors that were once employed by large business;
4. it provided opportunities to change the cost structure of small business by diluting the average cost of sales relative to the global reach of their products and services;
5. human resources was liberated !!!
6. access to information and experts became available almost overnight.

Whilst big business stole market share, it also changed its labour mix and an abundance of marketing, HR and business experts that were once employed by large corporate were free to start their own business and offer their services to small business owners.

These experts were able to teach and help small business compete and provide superior services to their customer base.

Furthermore, a small business owner has the financial capacity to seek high calibre experts at a fraction of the price!

Small business owners do not have the financial resources to employ fulltime marketing, HR and strategy advisors. And this is the point!

Small business does not have to invest huge dollars to have fulltime experts as it can access these experts on a “needs only” basis.

Smart business owners are now “employing” expert advisors as part of the team to help position the business and grow its profitability. However, identifying reliable and knowledgeable advisors requires considerable investment and time.

The A Team should consist of the following:

1. business mentor;
2. marketing advisor;
3. HR advisor;
4. finance broker / planner.

This group should comprise your advisory board and meet three to four times per year to discuss the business and its direction.

It is affordable and necessary if you are to thrive in the new world.

“We cannot all be masters” William Shakespeare