How can Social Media help your business?
By Timaru. Posted in Business Growth, Sales and Marketing, Small Business, Small Business Advice, Solutions.
Pedro’s House of Lamb – Client Spotlight
By Timaru. Posted in Business Growth, Company News, Small Business, Small Business Advice.
If you live in Christchurch or Queenstown and you haven’t tried Pedro’s House of Lamb, you’re missing out! We had a chat with the Pedro’s team to learn a little more about how they’ve come to be so successful.
Tell us about Pedro’s House of Lamb, how did you get started?
We launched Pedro’s House of Lamb at the end of 2012. We had run a restaurant in Christchurch successfully for 30 years until the earthquakes. The new situation meant we had to think differently about the business and adapt. Which is how Pedro’s House of Lamb evolved – we took a product that was well loved in our restaurants and found a way to offer that when the city was short on premises.
Where can people find you guys?
You can find us at 17B Papanui Road in Christchurch and at 48 Gorge Road Queenstown.
What is one piece of advice for business owners? Can you share any lessons learnt from business struggles or challenges that you’ve overcome?
We did something in the food industry that was a little bit unusual. We offered just one dish –roasted lamb with a side of potatoes. People often asked us to extend the menu or whether we’d start providing accompanying dishes. But we’ve stuck with our original business plan and that’s proven to be successful.
By keeping it simple we’ve been able to produce a quality product, keep operating expenses lean and predictable.
Our experience has taught us to:
Trust your instincts.
Know your market.
Stick with what you’re good at.
What accounting system (if any) were you using before moving to Xero? How did that compare to Xero?
Prior to moving to Sidekick we operated a traditional accounting system – paper, paper and more paper. Moving to Xero has allowed us to streamline our accounting and provided more day to day visability.
Why did you choose our Sidekick service for your business?
We approached DJCA about Sidekick on the recommendation of our digital marketing agency, Empire9. After finding out more we saw that the sidekick offer would compliment our business and simplify our businesses finances.
Find out more about Pedro’s and how you can order from your local store here.
Xero add-on we’re loving right now – CrunchBoards
By Timaru. Posted in Business Growth, Cloud Software, Solutions.
We sat down with Cameron Robertson, our Senior Manager at Sidekick Christchurch to learn more about a Xero add-on that his clients are loving at the moment called CrunchBoards.
CrunchBoards is an all-in-one forecasting and reporting engine with all the time-saving tools you need to grow your business. Features include business planning, budgeting, forecasting and real-time business intelligence.
So Cam, what are your favourite features of CrunchBoards?
“It’s a great forecasting/budgeting tool which incorporates directly into management reporting. The customisable management reports allow our clients to focus on particular areas of their business.”
What do your clients like best about using CrunchBoards?
“The way the information is displayed is the real upside of the software. CrunchBoards turns the numbers behind your business into easy to read graphs, that tell the true story.”
How much does it cost?
“It’s free in our Sidekick+ package, otherwise it’s only $25 per month plus a setup fee with our other Sidekick packages.”
Who is the perfect person to be utilising CrunchBoards?
“Anyone with particular points of focus. For example someone in hospitality may want to focus on % of food & beverages against sales, or wages against sales. This can all be displayed on one easy to ready graph.They also need to have good administration processes because CrunchBoards pulls data directly from Xero.”
How does it work in with Xero?
“It syncs daily with Xero. If your Xero is up to date, so is your CrunchBoards. It can be accessed using the browser on your smartphone, tablet, laptop or computer.”
Any final words?
“To me it’s a must-have tool for any business looking to grow and keep their business in check.”
Getting the right advice pays off!
By Timaru. Posted in Business Growth.Client Spotlight: Challenge Darfield
18 months ago Challenge Darfield was operating out of an older building, where the space wasn’t utilised to its best potential. Seeing an opportunity to service the area in a more relevant and efficient way, a new build for the local petrol station began. The photos of the new premise, we think, speak for themselves.
Things to consider:
Who will manage this new project? Can you continue to keep up cash flow while making this change? Are you getting the best deal from your bank? Have you sat down and really looked at the numbers – past, present and projected? Next time you’re out Darfield way, be sure to check out the new Challenge! There’s a fresh new café, a nice spacious forecourt and you can’t beat the friendly vibe that the new build and the staff bring to your experience. We’re super proud to call these guys clients, what an awesome job they’ve done!
All Hail Content Marketing!
By Timaru. Posted in Business Growth, Cloud Software, Events, Sales and Marketing, Small Business Advice, Solutions.Recently we had a new client join us in the tech/marketing space that we thought stood out! It’s called Hail, a platform for you to collect and collaborate on your content. And it seems as though the timing is spot on for them. Many of our customers talk to us about their needs around their marketing (and often sales but that’s another story) and how they can get their message out there. Who will create the material? How will they deliver it? How can they present themselves as the experts they ARE in their industry? The answer is often, Content Marketing.
p: 03 377 0700
fp: 0800 SIDEKICK
m: 021 708 255
Book a time with me here:
Thanks too to Concentrate for their images regarding the stats of US tech co’s
Client Focus: Costas Taverna
By Timaru. Posted in Business Growth, Small Business Advice, Solutions.There is only one thing that we love almost as much as Xero at djca and that is great food and drink. And boy do we count ourselves lucky to have Costas Taverna as one of our clients! Straight from the guys at Costas, here is a bit about how they came to be so darned popular in Christchurch.
Tell us a little bit about Costas Taverna…
Costas Taverna is a place to celebrate the simple joys in life… family, friends, conversation and great food. We will always do our very best to ensure you receive great value, fast, efficient, friendly service, and outstanding food sourced from the best and freshest local and imported ingredients. We believe that eating great food, in good company is one of life’s greatest pleasures, so we want you to sit back, relax and celebrate the moment!Where do you operate?
Costas Taverna is now operating on Cranford Street 478 shop 3 in Christchurch. We are open 7 days from 5pm till late.Why did you choose to get into that industry?
In 1904, in a small village near the bank meadows of the river Evros, Greece, the Lakakis family developed a passion for cooking. Not with the advanced cooking methods used today; but it was honest. It was the best food the Village Kiani had ever tasted. Food is something that we have been incredibly passionate about for many decades. We have literally poured our hearts into every detail within our restaurant. Watching our guests enjoying our hospitality is absolutely priceless for us, that is why we are in the restaurant business.What is one piece of advice for business owners in your industry? Can you share any lessons learnt from business struggles or challenges that you’ve overcome?
Control your numbers using a food and beverage costing calculator and good stock control. The use of Xero to form an accurate budget will do wonders for you.What accounting system (if any) were you using before moving to Xero? How did that compare to Xero?
We didn’t have one. We used to use Microsoft Office Excel and we worked closely with our accountant who managed it for us.We hope that with Sidekick on board taking care of your accounts, you have found more time to do the things you really enjoy. So what is it that you love to do with your spare time?
We love to take mini holidays to relax and unwind.Do you have any deals or specials that you’d like to share?
October is coming up with some exciting promotions at Costas Taverna. Monday is 2 for 1 Souvlaki Platters (Regular), Wednesday 2 for 1 Cocktails or Coolers all night and Sunday kids eat free from 5 pm to 6:30pm. You can find our promotions and deals on our Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/CostasTaverna and on our Website www.CostasTaverna.co.nz
Creating a Successful Business Plan
By Timaru. Posted in Business Growth, Small Business, Solutions.Simon Telfer from Stimulus is an independent director and business adviser specialising in governance strategy and succession. He shares with us some advice on creating business plans that stick around. You can contact him via www.stimulusnz.com Let me share with you how a strategic plan can still be alive, well and far from gathering dust in the bottom drawer one year on. As my client says “It is a great feeling to know my team is enthusiastic about the future – they can now see what I see.” So, what went right?
Personal goals were nailed down
The business owners spent a couple of months thinking, documenting and refining their personal goals. What they deemed important included good health, flexibility to travel, passive revenue streams and to remain commercially active and involved. These personal goals were the foundation on which the rest of the strategy was built.Key business themes were identified
The shareholders defined five high level themes for the business. They believed focus on these would be required to ensure the business supported the achievement of their personal goals. The themes were: · Remaining true to the Company values · Increasing turnover & profitability over next 5 years · Strengthening internal systems & procedures and external governance · Removing owner responsibility for staff and operations · Readying the company for a change of ownership in 2015Careful choice of planning team members
The team had breadth and depth, understanding that two people with similar ideas are, in effect, one person. Strength was derived from the team consisting of an employee, a customer and an independent facilitator, as well as two shareholders.Customer wants and needs crucial
The customer was always at the forefront of the planning discussions. Their wants and needs were researched and discussed at length. This client distilled it down to three key needs: speed, quality and reliability.Concise output resulted
Although the benefit from planning derives as much from the process (journey) as it does from the final document, the strategic plan itself is seven pages in total. It is clear, concise, relevant and real.Staff engagement continues
Employees were fully engaged in the strategy’s initial roll out and this has continued via company workshops, three times a year. Examples of involvement include employees defining the Audacious Goal, allocating responsibility for actions plans and regularly being asked to present examples of the Company values being put in to action.Accountability established early
The owner managers were under no illusion that an external, independent individual would be required to ensure accountability and monitor progress of the execution of the strategic plan. The plan is regularly referred to at Board meetings and the strategic goals drive real decision making around resource allocation and priorities.The plan was durable
Almost a year in to the 4 year planning period the Company is still some way off achieving their strategic goals. This is a good thing. A robust strategic plan is not a glorified “to do” list – it took much thinking and discussion to ensure the goals were stretching yet achievable.And the client is happy!
“As an owner / manager I had a vision for the future but it was clouded with many different options of how to get there. The strategic planning has given me a clear and concise focus for the immediate and long term future. It encompassed the entire company – we are now all working toward the same vision.”
You can do Anything, but not Everything
By Timaru. Posted in Business Growth, Small Business, Solutions.When you start out in business, you often need to wear a lot of hats – sales, marketing, administration, support, production, coffee maker, cleaner… You name it, it’s probably going to be your responsibility. A few months or years down the track and the business has grown up, and yet a high number of business owners struggle to move on from this ‘hands on everything’ stage. Although we’re all smart enough to realise this approach is neither the best use of our time or sustainable in the long run, business owners still struggle to delegate.
As a business owner, you need the time and the head-space to continue driving towards your goals. We’ve all heard the saying ‘the more time you spend in the business, the less time you can spend on the business.’
Without good delegation in place you’ll find your growth potential is restricted, as if it’s being smothered by an old clunky small business straitjacket.
For us, delegating meant:
– Freeing up the owners time to focus on more exciting things, like growing the business and planning for the future.
– Being one step closer towards creating self sufficient offices that managed themselves, without the owners day to day input.
– Letting our staff specialise in what they were good at, which would create more efficiencies across our internal procedures.
– Gearing us up for good scalability and sustainability, so that we wouldn’t burn out in the next phase of growth.
– Taking the highly time consuming and administrative sales process out of the busy owners workload, by delegating this task to a Business Development team member.
– Not losing out on any quality or managerial control, as long as we maintained good training, systems and communication. (Being supported by integrated cloud systems was a big part of this, as they gave us good online connectivity, communication and collaboration as a team.)
Delegating may seem easier said than done at first. But once you’ve done it, everything is easier. It’s not rocket science, so here are a few simple suggestions to get you started:
– Write a to do list and ask yourself – Is each task the best use of my time? Could I add more value to the business elsewhere? Is someone else in my team better at doing this than me?
– Surround yourself with a good team who are well trained and resourced efficiently. When delegating to someone, clearly define their new responsibilities and expectations, and what sort of ongoing reporting you would like from them.
– Simplify your accounting services into easy to sell and understand bundled packages (more on this next week), so you can delegate this process out to your new sales team. Unlike you, they will actually have the time to make sure that follow up call happens and that new business enquiries don’t slip through the radar.
– Make a real effort to stay available to your team for assistance and guidance, especially in the early days. Remember you’re not abandoning them, you’re empowering them. Communication is key.
– Ensure you’ve got in place the best cloud based business systems. Not only will this provide you with automated processing and online integration, but keep you connected and in control wherever you may be (because now that you’re delegating, prepare to be out of the office more!).
We assume you didn’t get into business just to tidy up the paperwork after you’ve put the kids to bed, and we hope you’d prefer to be working towards a self sufficient business model rather than working all weekend.
So go on, admit you are time poor and start delegating.
How to Keep Investors on Your Side
By . Posted in Business Growth, Cloud Software, Contractors, Small Business, Solutions, Startups.This is a featured Blog from our friends at SeederBoard.
Raising funds for any business is notoriously difficult. Any number of factors can slow things down or get in the way, preventing you from taking your business to the next level.
Once you have completed endless elevator pitches, a frantic search for due diligence paperwork, then working out a fair term sheet, you might finally close the fundraising round.
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Good News for Small Business Owners
By . Posted in Business Growth, Small Business, Solutions, Startups.Good News, Everyone!
According to this leading Business Index report, the small business output in Q1 of this year reached it’s highest point since 2008. They state “Small and medium-sized businesses in the UK enjoyed the strongest level of activity, year-on-year, for six years.” Essentially this means small businesses are performing better than they have in years.
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