We often talk about how we can improve business: fine-tune our customer service and become more efficient with our processes. But when things are going well and you're in demand, it can pose a different problem: stretching yourself thin.
It’s hard to say no, isn’t it? Whether you have a returning customer or you’re keen to impress a new client, saying no isn’t the easiest. While saying yes and seizing every opportunity might seem like an easy ticket to success, unfortunately, taking on too much work can often mean sacrificing performance and the quality of your work environment.
That’s why it’s important to understand that you can turn down new opportunities if your workload is at capacity, as it will ultimately benefit your company long term.
“I see trade business owners and builders trying to keep everybody happy and do what they want - often at the expense of themselves, says Small Fish’ Jon Dale.
“Your customers will put pressure on you to give them what they want - they don’t care or don’t consider the impact it will have on you but it does have an impact so you should learn how to say no.”
When should you say ‘no’?
According to Dale, there are usually three scenarios that warrant turning down business:
- Stress levels - When you have too much on your plate, and you're trying to juggle clients, it can take a mental toll on you.
- Time - Staying back after work or leaving the house an hour earlier is valuable time that could be spent with your loved ones.
- Profits - If your staff have to stay back after work, it’s usually not worth it. You have to pay them overtime without charging the client extra.
How to say ‘no’
According to Dale, you need “a prepared line and an alternative.”
When you turn down business, it’s important to offer a solution. If you’re unavailable on Monday, but free on Wednesday, suggest that time. Forcing it when you know it’ll be a stretch can end up a terrible experience for the customer. How many times have you sat there waiting for a tradie, only for him to show up 2 hours later because he got caught up at another job? That job didn’t run three hours over, the tradie just tried to fit in too much.
Equally, if you know you can get the job done, but it will result in paying staff overtime, Dale suggests letting the client know and including that in the quote. “You’d be surprised how much less urgent it becomes when they have to pay,” Dale adds.
At the end of the day, there’s nothing wrong with turning down business. In actual fact, it can make sure your client has a smooth experience and doesn’t have negative feedback.
Looking to start your own business? Head to Qualify Me! to see how a tradesman coach like Dale can give you the keys to success.
While having sharp skills and first-rate customer service can put you in a good stead for a successful career, without building a dedicated team and surrounding yourself with the right people, you might find yourself missing out on the opportunity to grow your business.
But creating a strong work environment isn’t as simple as merely going through the hiring process. You need to provide the right forms of leadership to ensure that your tradies have an opportunity for upward mobility and start to work autonomously.
How do you become a leader?
According to Small Fish’ Jon Dale, mutual respect is key. Dale references leadership expert Simon Sinek.
“If your team feels like you’ve got their backs, they’ll have yours,” he says.
Using the case study of a company leader who changed the way he treated his employees financially, Dale explains how earning the respect of your colleagues can help improve the morale of the business.
Initially, workers at his company were paid poorly: barely enough to cover bills. His
employees resented him for it.
After researching, he found a magic number that would satisfy his employees. He took a paycut to ensure that everyone in his business at least had a minimum wage of $70,000. Interestingly, the same research found that after $70,000, the happiness of employees increases at a slower rate.
His experiment worked: the business thrived, with revenue and profit growing. His workers also wanted to stick around, creating a positive environment.
“He looked after them,” Dale continues. “(He) did something to look after them and they looked after him and his business in return.”
While increasing pay is ideal, there are other ways to show your people you value them, according to Dale:
- Safety – make sure you keep the workplace, especially a construction site, as safe
as possible. Build a culture where the rules are clear and people understand the risk
of working with power tools.
- Paying them properly – as we saw, increasing wages have an extremely positive
effect on your workers. For many businesses, however, they can’t afford to double pay overnight. Instead, motivating staff with yearly increases and career progression is an alternative way of keeping them happy on the job.
- Communication channels – You’re not just a boss, you’re a friend as well. You need
to make your employees feel comfortable that they can chat to you about anything.
Sure, you might not be the person they go to when they’re dealing with personal
issues, but it’s still important that they feel like they can talk to you. That way when
they are dealing with a personal issue – such as breaking up with a partner – they
know you’ll be understanding if they might appear flat at work.
Looking to start your own business? Head to Qualify Me! to see how a tradesman coach like Dale can give you the keys to success.
While having a great product may seem like a fail safe for hitting sales and growing your customer base, without learning the psychology of your target audience, you run the risk of not converting leads.
As Small Fish business coach Jon Dale explains, “for many tradies and builders, your sales process is not much more than providing a quote when asked and hoping they say yes.”
Instead, Dale emphasises the importance of understanding customer buying behaviour to ensure that you don’t miss out on sales, while also delivering first-rate customer service.
Dale breaks up this process into seven parts, identifying the psychological stages that each customer faces during each buying stage.
The key stages of a customer’s buying cycle:
- The customer identifies what they need. This usually comes about from a broken appliance that needs to be replaced or a tool that doesn’t work like it should.
- They start researching products on the market. They usually start googling possible
replacements or begin seeking quotes for a handyman. “They’ve got the problem or the desire and they’re researching the costs, what their options are (and) who’s good,” says Dale.
- They’ve committed to finding a replacement. “They’re making genuine, immediate enquiries,” Dale continues.
- They’re evaluating the options available. They’ve identified the problem and have gathered a range of solutions, whether it’s quotes or a variety of brands. Now they need to narrow down that shortlist.
- It’s decision time. They’ve finally picked the solution they’re going with.
- Price matching. Now that they’ve made a decision, they want to get the best possible price. “They might negotiate on price; they might want to review or redesign the solution or check references,” says Dale.
- Commitment. After countless research, decision making and price matching, they’ve finally pulled the trigger.
When you’re approached by a customer, although they’re requesting a specific answer, such as a quote, you need to think about the wider picture: where in the buying cycle do they currently sit?
Knowing which stage the customer is at means you can offer answers to other questions that will ultimately arise. This simplifies the process for them, and the convenience of your service might help secure their business.
“If they’re still researching and they ask for a quote, a quote isn’t probably what they should have, is it?” adds Dale. “You should probably be helping them understand their options and their relative costs rather than doing a detailed quote.
“You don’t need to be quoting until they’re evaluating their options.”
At the end of the day, understanding where a potential client is at in their buying cycle can help secure business and boost your reputation as a quality service.
Looking to start your own business? Head to Qualify Me! to see how a tradesman coach like Dale can give you the keys to success.
Studying a Diploma of Business Administration (BSB50415) can greatly further your career prospects in the business services sector, a field that forecasts significant future growth in employment opportunities. Whether you’re already working as an office or administration manager and want to have your experience recognised, or you’re looking to enter the workforce with practical skills and knowledge to set you apart – here’s what you need to know about studying a Diploma of Business Administration.
What is a Diploma of Business Administration?
A nationally accredited Diploma of Business Administration will equip you with practical skills and theoretical knowledge required to coordinate efficient workflow in any business, fostering an organised, collaborative and innovative workplace. Through your coursework you will learn how to:
- Lead teams
- Develop business plans
- Manage stakeholders
- Monitor employee performance
- Operate payroll systems
- Implement administrative systems
- Coordinate staff
Your studies will help develop your communication skills, attention to detail, and interpersonal skills. Although there are no formal entry requirements for enrolling, it’s recommended that students hold a Certificate IV in Business Administration or other Certificate IV level of study. It also helps to have previous experience in an administrative role, computer literacy and familiarity with the Microsoft Office suite, possess strong time management and organisational skills, and an understanding of office systems and processes.
If you have relevant experience or international qualifications in the field, you may be eligible for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). RPL is an assessment process that considers an individual’s relevant prior learning – through life experience, work, or activities such as volunteering, in Australia or overseas – to determine if they meet the requirements for a unit of study.
RTOs consider these existing skills and knowledge to assess whether a person demonstrates the required competencies needed to meet the relevant Australian standards. They can provide a credit against units of competency, allowing an individual to gain eligibility for a formal qualification or reduce the amount of time required to achieve a formal qualification.
Diploma of Business Administration job opportunities
Those with a Diploma of Business Administration have a number of job opportunities available to them as well as advancement to management and executive positions. Most work as administration managers, office managers, project administrators, or executive assistants. With the qualification, you can also take your studies further through a Bachelor of Business.
Where can you study a Diploma of Business Administration?
There is a range of different Registered Training Organisations (RTO) around the country that offer the course, with the majority of studies conducted online over 18 months. Studying a Diploma of Business Administration at TAFE is a popular option for many students.
It’s important to note that this course is being superseded by a Diploma of Business (BSB50120). You may start this course and you will be contacted if you need to transition into the next version when it is available.
You’ve just launched a new business and the first six months have seen you go from strength to strength. But with any growing company, as you start to scale, infrastructure becomes more and more important.
Systemising your business is vital to longevity and minimising costs as you expand. It’s important to put effective processes in place to help streamline your company and increase the productivity and efficiency of your employees. In order to give your workers guidance and a better understanding of how the company operates, procedures become imperative.
Take this for example: sending your employees out on the job and hoping for the best is one way to establish trust, but it also poses a huge risk. Without a clear structure or guidance during the early stages, mistakes can happen and the reliability of your team to work autonomously can weaken.
So where to start?
When implementing a system, it’s important to set the business goals and expectations from day one. Therefore, working closely with your new hires in the initial stages is crucial to your businesses’ success and also for ensuring that employees feel competent in completing allocated tasks.
Start by talking them through the business model and their individual job description to make certain their understanding of the job is correct. Discuss the key processes and demonstrate to them what an exceptional standard should look like.
Putting together a system requires certain steps to ensure that no crucial information is left out. Firstly, you need to put instructions and procedures in place – this is the core of any good system. Once your guide is set, you need to make sure everyone is on the same page – this includes training your staff to keep all processes consistent within the building.
While it’s necessary to teach your employees to make sure they’re familiar with the
instructions put in place, it’s also important to explain the importance of what you’re trying to achieve with your system. Keep everybody accountable so that they understand the value in the tools you’ve given them.
“Give them accountability tools like a checklist,” Small Fish’ Jon Dale says on his website. “That’s about making sure they can’t forget things, like sweeping up, turning the water or electricity off, etc so they can’t forget any steps in the procedure. Hold them accountable for the results.
“You can have them attach photographs of the work they’ve done, hold random inspections or sign checklists. Make sure they follow that process.”
At the end of the day, the ultimate goal of putting a system in place is to help your staff work autonomously while preventing poor work.
Looking to start your own business? Head to Qualify Me! to see how a tradesman coach like Dale can give you the keys to success.
While word of mouth is often seen as the secret to growing referrals and first-rate service might lead to recurring customers, unless you’re able to effectively market yourself to fend off competition, chances are you’ll struggle to grow.
Even with exceptional customer service and strong systems in place, with no branding, your business will find it difficult to distinguish itself in a congested market.
Contrary to popular opinion, marketing isn’t just flashy campaigns and powerful one-liners, it’s about building a brand that makes you identifiable. Your logo, name and colour scheme are just some of the characteristics that potential customers will start to remember you from. Think about all the great brands that have succeeded in being recognised just by a text font or coloured background.
And once you have your image downpat, you have to start thinking about repetition. The more a potential customer sees your branding, the more likely you’re going to pop into their heads when they next require a service you offer.
Think about it: when someone’s toilet is blocked or their circuit board has blown, chances are they’re going to think about that tradie who they’ve most come across - whether it’s the billboard they pass on the highway or the flyer that’s delivered to their mailbox.
The truth is, however, you’re not a multinational corporation with a generous budget to spend on advertising. Instead you might be a humble tradie, carrying around his tools looking to grow their customer base or a local service wanting to take the next step.
While similar principles of large organisations still apply, your marketing budget is likely to be much smaller, especially in the early stages. However, this shouldn’t discourage you from trying to grab the attention of would-be clients – instead, you need to work with what you have.
“You can brand your assets,” Small Fish’ Jon Dale says on his website.
“You have people and vehicles out in the world doing work in homes and businesses and on building sites.
“So brand them all. Put uniforms on your people, get your vehicles signwritten - all of them, even your people who drive their own vehicles, and put signs up outside every job you work on.”
Dale refers to it as “Site-Specific Marketing” – branding your people, vehicles and job sites. Compared to the big signs you see on your way to the airport, the cost is substantially less and it’s the first step to making your brand front of mind for potential clients.
Looking to start your own business? Head to Qualify Me! to see how a tradesman coach like Dale can give you the keys to success.
Taking the leap from part-time side hustle to full time business owner can certainly seem daunting. After all, for many, that includes throwing away the security blanket of a weekly wage and other perks. But with the right investment, any new venture has the potential to thrive.
When you do finally take that plunge, it’s easy to get frustrated by a lack of immediate success. We all expect to become overnight millionaires, right? That’s one of the reasons we start our own company – the freedom. But regardless of the business idea or the side gig, one sentiment stands true: put the effort in now and be rewarded later. Also, do check out our Business Startup Assistance Package Page
Smallfish tradesman business coach, Jon Dale knows all about investment. But he’s not just referring to the amount of money you pour into the business, he’s also a strong advocate of putting in the hard hours early on.
“Investing properly in building the right structure and systems into your business so it grows sustainably, takes time and effort – before you get the most of the benefit,” Dale says on his website.
“When you’ve done that work of investing properly and you get the results – the result is satisfying. That’s what we’re chasing – not quick wins.”
Take commission-based roles as an example. The truth is your immediate work won’t prove fruitful early on – chances are it’ll crush your motivation. But the long-term benefits far outweigh any short- term discouragement. Be mindful that it could take months before you can expect to see any reward.
Online is no different – from using social media as a marketing tool to investing in Google programs, both take time before you start to see results.
“If you’re a builder and you put your price up now and win a job tomorrow at the new price, start the build in a month and raise your first invoice, but you’re still building two jobs at the old price, you might not see much difference for six months,” adds Dale.
Regardless of the industry you’re in, putting in the time and effort early on will pay dividends. And countless examples prove that it takes time to enjoy the fruits of your labour, so don’t be disheartened by a lack of immediate results.
Looking to start your own business? Head to Qualify Me! to see how our team & a tradesman coach like Dale can give you the keys to success.
While being great at your craft and delivering results might seem like a one-way ticket to success, ensuring a pleasant exchange with your clients is equally as valuable.
For many customers, offering a glowing review after you have completed the service, means more than simply getting the job done. Good service is about ensuring the seamless journey from when you first answer the call, to when you organise the quote and follow up with them when the job was complete.
Gone are the days when industry experts were few and far between – in today’s congested market where online advertisements mean immediate feedback at one’s fingertips, customer service is more than just a smile once the invoice is paid. Remember, a poor review can be equally detrimental to your businesses’ image and longevity.
Every facet of your work contributes to the quality of the product. When your customers tell their friends how impressed they were with your service, they’re not just talking about the finished result, they’re describing how professional you were, how you treated them and how you made sure they were satisfied.
While it might be easy for business owners to prioritise customer service, it’s also important to ensure that the entire company upholds the business standard for a consistent experience across the board. One way to do this is by creating a workplace environment where employees hold each other to a high standard and managers provide important feedback to encourage staff to reflect on their performance.
“Do you have a culture that encourages your people to look after your customers or your customers’ employees?” Jon Dale says on his website, Small Fish.
“It’s worth doing – worth investing in making this happen, isn’t it? It costs little to look after people and look at the goodwill that comes back. Make it systematic – make it happen every time.”
It’s not just referrals on the line when you complete a job, chances are your clients will have other issues around the home, or somewhere down the line they’re going to need their toilet unblocked again. Customer service is key to securing recurring business.
The beauty of establishing a record of great customer service is the flow-on effect to your business’ long-term future and growth. The benefit of this is that as a result your business has the potential to become a subscription model with a strong, loyal and reoccurring client base.
Looking to upskill? Get started with Qualify Me!.
All Accountants including any tradies accountant is responsible for keeping and interpreting financial records for individuals and organisations. Their work covers a wide range of finance-related tasks including creating and maintaining budgets, auditing, recording business transactions, preparing financial documents like profit-and-loss statements and reports for tax purposes. Accountants can also choose to specialise in areas such as management, taxation, trusts, funds and systems, to name a few options.
A nationally recognised Diploma of Accounting is an effective way to begin your career in the financial sector, helping you become recognised for prior learning, land an entry-level job or go onto to further studies such as a degree.
Through your studies you will learn:
- Skills in budget management and forecasting
- Preparation of financial reports and taxation documentation
- Implementing internal control procedures
- Management of accounting information
You’ll also develop your communication, organisational and customer service skills, and gain real-world experience making you job-ready from the moment you graduate. Upon completion you’ll be eligible to be recognised as a Registered Tax Agent with the Tax Practitioners Board.
Those with a Diploma of Accounting often work as bookkeepers, payroll managers, assistant accountants and accounts supervisor.
You can also continue your education. A Diploma of Accounting is a vertical pathway to an Advanced Diploma of Accounting. You can also study degree level qualifications through a Bachelor of Applied Commerce or a Bachelor of Business. These degrees are prerequisites for attaining a Graduate Diploma of Chartered Accounting – an Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) accredited postgraduate qualification and an internationally recognised designation.
There are a range of different Registered Training Organisations (RTO) around the country that offer the course. Studying a Diploma of Accounting at TAFE is a popular option for many students.
Many education providers allow you to study a Diploma of Accounting online, giving you the flexibility of organising your study around your life.
The duration of the course differs depending on the Registered Training Organisations, but generally takes two years to complete with approximately 15 hours of study each week.
To be eligible to study a Diploma of Accounting you’ll need to show evidence you have completed one of the following:
- Accounting Principles Skillset
- Certificate IV in Accounting or equivalent
- Certificate IV in Bookkeeping or equivalent
Year 12 applicants or recent high school graduates must provide evidence of having completed an Australian Senior Secondary Certificate (Year 12) within the last 2 years.
If you have relevant experience or international qualifications in the field, you may be eligible for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). RPL is an assessment process that considers an individual’s relevant prior learning – through life experience, work, or activities such as volunteering, in Australia or overseas – to determine if they meet the requirements for a unit of study.
RTOs consider these existing skills and knowledge to assess whether a person demonstrates the required competencies needed to meet the relevant Australian standards. They can provide a credit against units of competency, allowing an individual to gain eligibility for a formal qualification or reduce the amount of time required to achieve a formal qualification.
Also keep in mind that other qualifications can be a pathway to an accounting career such as the following courses:
Whether you want to start a career in the field or you’re a massage therapist looking to specialise – a Diploma of Remedial Massage (HLT52015) can train you to help clients reach their wellbeing and mobility goals through specific massage techniques.
A career as a Remedial Massage Therapist is ideal for anyone in an interest in health and helping others. Here’s what you need to know about studying a Diploma of Remedial Massage.
First of all, what is a remedial massage therapist?
Remedial massage therapists use applied pressure to help locate and repair damaged areas of the body. Remedial massage is a complementary therapy that helps the body’s own healing processes, treating muscles that are knotted, tense, imbalanced or immobile.
A remedial masseuse will assess the muscles, ligaments, tendons and posture of a client presenting with soft tissue dysfunction, musculoskeletal imbalance or restrictions in range of motion (ROM). Once the therapist understands the issues causing the injury or pain they will then perform a targeted massage of the area, usually over a series of sessions.
What is a Diploma of Remedial Massage?
A Diploma of Remedial Massage is a nationally recognised qualification that will provide both the theoretical knowledge and practical experience required to become a Remedial Massage Practitioner or Therapist. During your studies you will learn:
- Anatomy and physiology
- Injury prevention and management
- Advanced massage techniques
- Client assessment
- Development of a comprehensive treatment plan
You will also complete 200 hours of hands-on work experience through placement opportunities.
Once qualified, you may choose to work in a variety of settings including your own private clinic, at a spa, with athletes in a sporting environment, or in a health centre alongside other health care professionals such as physiotherapists.
A Diploma of Remedial Massage is a recognised pathway to careers in Myotherapy, Exercise Science, Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, and Health Science. The qualification can also complement careers in Psychology, Yoga, Nutrition, Nursing, and Personal Training.
Where can you study a Diploma of Remedial Massage?
There is a range of Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) offering remedial massage courses and the majority have no prerequisites for study. Studying a Diploma of Remedial Massage at TAFE is a popular option. Although you can study much of a Diploma of Remedial Massage online, some face- to-face classes are required.
If you have relevant experience or international qualifications in the field, you may be eligible for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). RPL is an assessment process that considers an individual’s
relevant prior learning – through life experience, work, or activities such as volunteering, in Australia or overseas – to determine if they meet the requirements for a unit of study.
RTOs consider these existing skills and knowledge to assess whether a person demonstrates the required competencies needed to meet the relevant Australian standards. They can provide a credit against units of competency, allowing an individual to gain eligibility for a formal qualification or reduce the amount of time required to achieve a formal qualification.
Diploma of Leadership and Management: The ability to motivate and manage a workforce is beneficial in any industry. Transferable leadership, strategic and operational skills improve your promotion prospects and open doors to a range of career options. Recent events have proven that now, more than ever, expertise in navigating teams through major change and using innovation to overcome obstacles is highly sought after by employers.
Leadership and management have different but complimentary skillsets, working together to inspire, motivate and optimise employees to meet the strategic goals of an organisation. A Diploma of Leadership and Management is a nationally recognised qualification that can help you develop both.
What is a Diploma of Leadership and Management?
A Diploma of Leadership and Management (BSB51918) will teach you the skills required to excel as both a leader and a manager in any chosen field.
Through theoretical coursework you will learn how to:
- Use emotional intelligence to communicate with team members, helping you to get the best out of staff and successfully resolve conflict
- Develop and manage budgets and operational plans, while managing risk and improving processes
- Support staff recruitment and manage people performance
- Develop policy and procedure to facilitate continuous improvement
Your studies will also develop skills in self direction, discipline, critical thinking, communication, innovation and organisation.
If you have relevant experience or international qualifications in the field, you may be eligible for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). RPL is an assessment process that considers an individual’s relevant prior learning – through life experience, work, or activities such as volunteering, in Australia or overseas – to determine if they meet the requirements for a unit of study.
RTOs consider these existing skills and knowledge to assess whether a person demonstrates the required competencies needed to meet the relevant Australian standards. They can provide a credit against units of competency, allowing an individual to gain eligibility for a formal qualification or reduce the amount of time required to achieve a formal qualification.
Diploma of Leadership and Management job opportunities
Leadership and management qualifications can help you develop in your current employment and set you up for a range of career opportunities. You’ll be equipped to work in roles such as corporate services managers, middle managers, production manager and supervisors.
You can also further your studies with an Advanced Diploma of Leadership and Management, or direct degree articulation pathways in a Bachelor of Business, a Bachelor of Business (Management), Bachelor of Commerce (Major in Management) or a Bachelor of Management.
Where can you study a Diploma of Leadership and Management?
There is a range of different Registered Training Organisations (RTO) around the country that offer the course, studying a Diploma of Leadership and Management at TAFE is a popular option for many students. Many RTOs offer studies for Diploma of Leadership and Management online. Entry requirements differ amongst RTOs with some needing a English proficiency to a year 11 level or equivalent qualification at the Certificate III level or higher, or 3 years of work experience in a role that requires the use of written documentation and communication.
It’s recommended that you are experienced in leading or supervising teams, you’re comfortable working with others, you have strong interpersonal communication skills, and you’re confident with technology.
Tradie business : The concept isn’t just relevant to the corporate world. Tradesman business coach Jon Dale wants to ‘normalise’ your profits and losses to help you find out how your company is actually tracking. He discusses the process of crunching the numbers on his website, Smallfish.com.au, forecasting recurring monthly revenue and expenses to help calculate your real profit.
When it comes to a successful business, revenue can seem irrelevant without calculating your expenses. It’s all well and good to have money coming in, but if your losses far outweigh your sales, chances are you’ll find yourself in the red.
“Basically, we look at the income - (invoiced) revenue is what we see, assuming you do your accounting on an accrual basis,” says Dale.
“Whether your customer has paid that invoice yet or not, is not what we’re looking at yet. So we’re not looking at your cash position. We then think about how normal that income is.”
Once you’ve been trading for several months, you can get a good idea of how ‘normal’ your revenue is – putting inflated invoices aside, how regular and consistent are the payments?
“That’s what I mean by normalising – you can’t just take the numbers at face value, you have to think a bit,” Dale continues.
“Recently, I’ve been making sure to make allowances for the JobKeeper and cash flow boost payments. If we look at revenue and gross profit and net profit and some payments have been received, they inflate the profitability artificially, don’t they?
“It’s a true reflection of the profitability of the business because the money really came in, didn’t it? But it doesn’t help us understand if things are going okay, so (in our heads, at least), we track it out.”
When you ‘normalise’, you see past the one-off payments that affect your balance sheet. Using an example of one of his clients, Dale explains that “every month we look at revenue and consider whether the revenue is coming in at the same rate the costs are going out.”
‘Normalising’ profit and loss is part of Dale’s wider idea that all successful businesses need systems in place.
He suggests that when the company isn’t performing well, having a plan in place can help identify the root cause and help you identify and fix the problem.
“The first step is being clear that there’s a problem, isn’t it? And the P&L (normalised) is where we’ll see if we don’t have the systems in place (yet) to measure other things,” Dale adds.
“It’s a great check to do. If things are shifting (hopefully, in the right direction), something we’re doing is having an effect and if things have shifted in the wrong direction we’re aware of it soon, and we can identify and fix the problem.”
Looking to start your own business? Head to Qualify Me! to see how a tradesman coach like Dale can give you the keys to success.
The information in this article is general in nature. Your situation may vary so if you are seeking financial advice please speak to a professional.
