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Is the Grind worth it?

February 1, 2012
Tired Runner

Is the Grind worth it?

In recent months I have posted about the importance of following your passion and also about avoiding the trap of a job that does not provide fulfilment. Isn’t there a huge personal risk in letting that happen?

I received a response to one of these posts that really moved me and it did make me think long and hard about the grind of working for yourself.

Interesting sentiments Greg. Having always run my own businesses and taken risks from the perspective “you’ll regret what you didn’t do” this is something I’ve reflected upon a lot – At one stage I left a very cushy public sector job and we then went through very tough times as the recession hit.

It’s very hard to comfortably make a good living in Ireland now – fair play to anyone who can make more than they could in the corporate world once all salaries, outgoings etc. are paid. I’ve gone back into the corporate world and am making more than I did at my business at the peak of the boom- with none of the recent stress.

At the end of the day all that matters is your ability to educate your children and give them a decent lifestyle. I would guess that that guy at Guinness slept easy at night and his kids have never wanted for anything.

If you have a true vocation it makes sense to do what you do best – and follow that path. However most small business and startups are struggling – I see people grind away for years, barely surviving – and this is not a good place to be over the long term.

When I read this I started to feel a little guilty that maybe I am being a little disrespectful with my blog posts to all of those who have tried their utmost and despite everything it just still has not worked out for them.

I’ve been reflecting on this ..

If you find a better life working for someone else then well done to you – I hope that in Fuzion we are giving our team a good life.

If you find yourself without work then I would encourage you to take control of the situation and  try to start off something for yourself. It is hard but it can be great fun (and yes…very worrying and stressful at times).

But, someone somewhere always has to be the starter..

If you try and it doesn’t work … well done, at least it was your grind.

What do you think?

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

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Posted in Business Planning, Business Start Ups, Positivity, Recession, Self Help, Uncategorized | 31 Comments »

I had a Great 2012 because ..

December 14, 2011
Diary entry

I has a Great 2012 because ....

Well – how did you do?

Did you achieve what you set out to achieve in 2011?

Did you make ambitious plans and fall short of them or did you make any plans at all? – If you did, well done!

I don’t know about you but making plans and actually achieving them is always challenging and at the start of the year I find myself at the start of that loop all over again making promises than often will never materialise!

Last year I wanted it to be a little bit different and I had my own creative and quite practical idea, which was inspired by a book I read called “The Art of Possibility” by Benjamin and Rosamund Zander (a really interesting motivational book by the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and his wife who is an executive coach).

This idea is rooted in the power of visualisation – the principle behind this is that if you visualise what you want to achieve then there is a much better chance of it actually happening.

Here goes ..

Take a pen and paper and simply write your diary entry in advance for your last working day of the year ..

Imagine just before you switch off the lights in the office, before you head out the door to do some last minute shopping and enjoy a well-earned rest, you quietly write your diary entry.

It might go like this..

23rd December, 2012

Wow, that was some exciting and really fulfilling year!

It was a great year because I really achieved what I set out to both personally and professionally and even more besides because of those opportunities that cropped up that I wasn’t even expecting. At least I had my eyes open and when they occurred I spotted them and grabbed them.

I started the year with a few really clear goals including (go for it, be specific – list at least 5!)

I thought these goals were going to be really challenging, but I achieved these as I made a few important changes in my life that were necessary such as (be honest – what needs to happen for you to achieve those goals – your conditions for success).

It wasn’t all plain sailing and I had a few setbacks but I kept a clear focus on my goals, I kept a positive outlook and by digging deep and having a clear belief in myself and my abilities I managed to achieve them all in the end.

I’m glad I kept a positive outlook and kept my eyes open for those genuinely unique opportunities, which I know will only present themselves in this challenging economic climate – it made a huge difference to my business this year, which I wasn’t expecting.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,  2013 – Bring it On!

Your signature (make sure you do this)

Put this in an envelope, place it in your top drawer and have a peep at it on the first day of every month (set a reminder in your computer to do this) and see what happens.

We did this with our full team at the end of 2010 and I can tell you it worked out quite well, thank you very much!

We will do it again this time round – I’ll let you know how we got on in about 12 months’ time.

By the way I’ve just ordered a really nice new car – guess what was on my list last year!

…what are you waiting for?

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

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Posted in Business Planning, Personal development, Positivity, PR, Recession, Self Help, Teamwork, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

Bobby Kerr’s Top 10 Life & Business Tips

June 26, 2011
Bobby Kerr

Bobby's Top 10 Tips

Bobby Kerr, from Dragon’s Den fame and successful businessman spoke at the ceremony that took place at MacroomE last week where he presented the Greenshoots graduates with their certificates for completing the inaugural new business programme.

Bobby shared his business wisdom with the new graduates, mentors, trainers and invited guests and gave us all his Top 10 Life and Business Tips:

1.Avoid the begrudgers and those who have a negative cloud over their heads – all they will do is drag you down! Make sure you surround yourself with positive people.

2. Do something you enjoy doing & have fun doing it!

3. Put a priority on your health and your family

4. There is real value out there – negotiate, negotiate, negotiate

5. Be honest and do your work with integrity – never do anything that you will look back on with regret

6. Make sure you have a clear plan – set goals and targets for yourself

7. Be realistic, everything will take longer to work than you thought and will cost more – allow for this from the start!

8. Don’t be afraid to change or adapt your plan – life changes, so should you

9. Network as much as you can, make connections and learn from others

10. Make sure you “stay in the ring” – do what you need to do to survive, things will improve and you need to be one of the one standing when this happens

While there was no rocket science in what Bobby said it was great to hear such basic and practical advice delivered in such a no nonsense way from such a successful businessman.

Bobby endeared himself with the crowd with a simple story about his first visit to Macroom many moons ago –  he had told his dad that he was going to The Mountain Dew Festival in Macroom to listen to the poet Rory Gallagher.

Rory, I’m not sure if you were a poet, but you could definitely play guitar!!

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

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Posted in Business Planning, Positivity, Recession, Uncategorized | 10 Comments »

Are you spending enough on Positive Costs?

April 25, 2011
Doorman

Positive Cost ?

In my accounting days (yes, I know most of you won’t believe it – I was!!) we had a few different ways of looking at the costs of a business.

The most popular of these was a very simple analysis – Fixed Costs, which were those costs that would not vary with volume and Variable Costs, which were the costs which did vary according to volume. This was quite a simplistic model, which didn’t always hold up!

We then had other methods of looking at costs such as Zero Base Costing and Activity Based Costing .. interesting stuff indeed!

Since the recession has kicked in I have witnessed first hand clients being advised to cut back on expenses by the accounting fraternity and often they just do it themselves automatically – the types of costs that get chopped first are those that are deemed to be “unnecessary”, which will typically include marketing &  advertising spend, sales reps, items like training, corporate entertainment, Christmas gifts, staff entertainment  and other “extras”.

On the surface it is easy to figure out why companies would cut back in such a way but you could ask the question: Why spend this money when sales were easier to come by and when it is harder to win business you just abandon them?

Could reduced sales be a self fulfilling prophecy when you cut out certain overheads?

The New Cost Model

Taking the knowledge of my old profession and combining this with what I am witnessing with clients every day I am now proposing a new way of analysing costs.

Here goes ..

There are actually three types of costs:

Negative Costs –   these are the costs that a business is “stuck” with, regardless of volume. It would include Rent and Rates (but not necessarily 100% of these – I will explain that later), Insurance, ESB, etc.

Maintenance Costs – these are the costs of servicing the business that you have brought in. It would such items as staff costs, raw materials, power and delivery costs.

Positive Costs – these are the costs that are all about bringing new business in, effectively the costs, which should have a “positive effect” on the business.

Positive costs are the most important costs of the whole business, they are the elements that are designed to start the engine, the elements that can make things happen, that “trigger” customers to actually place an order.

Positive costs are far reaching and could include surprise elements that you would not expect: the premium you pay to have a premises in a location that will bring in more customers, the cost of washing the car after it has been serviced, the cost of polishing the shoes that have been repaired, the cost of having a receptionist who answers calls promptly and deals with customer queries swiftly.

There could be an element of positive costs to most people overhead in the business – the porter who does “meet and greet” at the door of the hotel, the credit controller who carefully spends time with customers who are experiencing difficulty, the accountant who spends time with customers to understand the business better, the staff party to reward a hard working team and a deliberate initiative to improve morale.

I’m sure with a little effort you will think of thousands of other unexpected examples – all of these elements contribute to bringing in more business and create a “positive effect” on the business.

Of course Positive Costs will include items such as advertising, marketing, graphic design, web marketing, social media activity and even PR!

Positive costs are absolutely essential for generating business for any company – cutting these out may be viewed as a necessary step but it will eventually choke the oxygen of the business.

Recession (or any time for that matter)

Using our new cost model I would suggest the following approach:

Analyse your costs into the different cost categories and work towards –

1. Reducing the negative costs as much as possible

2. Improving efficiencies and work practices so that maintenance costs are as little as possible

3. Spending as much of your overhead budget as possible on positive costs .

I am not for one minute suggesting naive spending – always look for the best value in your positive costs and don’t waste money, making sure they are actually positive costs – that the spend results in increases in business.

Are you spending enough on Positive Costs in your business?

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

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Posted in Accounting, Advertising, Business Planning, Customer Care, Irish Economy, Marketing, Positivity, PR, Recession, Social Media, Staff training, Training, Uncategorized | 22 Comments »

Have a Positively Fabulous Easter!

April 14, 2011
Retail tips for Easter

Positivity? - Why Not !!

Budgets, bad weather, IMF bailouts, things are tough, sales are bad, wages are down, burn the bond holders, senior bond holders, junior bond holders, any bond holders – Oh my God, my head is bursting ! Enough is enough ..

In business all the marketers will tell you about the importance of having a Unique Selling Point, a USP. It is that element that is unique that makes your business special and makes you different to your competitors. In a busy marketplace that can be hard to achieve. In the current climate it can be even more difficult as everyone is afraid of mistakes so we end up playing it very safe, even boring at times.

Now go back to my first paragraph, read it again and then read further on and let’s discover a really simple way to make your business stand out this Easter.

Here goes..

This Easter draw a secret line around your business and make it a haven for all those who enter or deal with over the phone or on email – you are going to give them a gift, something that is quite unique, something that are not getting in most other places. When anyone crosses that secret line they are going to experience nothing but positivity – yep, that’s right simple positivity.

That’s all well and good but how do we do it? – Here is my 10 step plan!

1.       Yourself – You start! ( “Good morning, Greg”)

2.       Your Team – Tell them that negative talk is banned, you want them cheery and bright with customers – watch what happens (have a negative jar instead of a swear jar!)

3.       Bright – You want to see bright merchandise in the windows, bright visuals on your website, bright stock in the stock list, bright clothes on the staff. Buy flowers!

4.       Sales – Increase your sales targets. We all know it’s not easy but tell the team you are budgeting for an increase (let everyone else do the opposite, prepare for the negative it and it will definitely happen)

5.       How to? – Ok, while you are positive you are also realistic. You want positive plans from your team as to how the sales targets will be achieved

6.       Bonus – Promise bonuses for those who succeed, win/win if you make it

7.       What to do with that bonus? – Get everyone in the team to write on a piece of paper what they will do with their bonus (put their private responses in an envelope with their name on it – keep it for them)

8.       Drinks/dinner/chocolates/coffee – When the sales plans are done and the bonuses are decided on do something as a team. Bring chocolates or buns into work.

9.       Customers – treat them really nice, offer them coffee, offer them biscuits. Tell them about the secret line if you have to – they will think you are nuts but they will appreciate it

10.   The World – little enough that you can do about the other stuff, keep it outside the line!

Sorry I have one more tip – why stop at Easter?

Happy Easter!

Greg Canty is a partner of Fuzion

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Posted in Business Planning, Customer Care, Ireland, Irish Economy, Marketing, Positivity, Retailing | 12 Comments »

New 30% of Profits Penalty tax to be introduced…

November 25, 2010

Red card

A new 30% of profits penalty being introduced would stop me in my tracks and whatever had to be done to avoid it would happen.

What is this new Penalty about?

I’m not sure about you but I have been up to my tonsils as usual at this time of the year with getting all my bits and pieces up to date for the tax deadline. The thought of financial penalties is a terrific way of focusing the mind!

When you have to, you can get really focused and the whole tax deadline scenario made me think about all the other deadlines that make us get a task completed. The bank requesting figures, VAT & PAYE returns, a tender document closing date, or even a client presentation deadline or event. We pull out the stops and invariably, always deliver on time and achieve whatever is required.

So, deadlines are effective?

Of course they are but do we have deadlines for the really important things? I find that often some of the really important tasks get pushed back because of the other deadline issues. We can easily leave other priorities get pushed to the back of the queue because they lack a pressing, external deadline that has obvious and tangible downsides.

Planning
How about setting a deadline for your annual Business Plan?

Is there really any deadline that should be more important than this? After all, this is the starting point for everything in your business and it makes all other things possible.

How about it being completed in November before everyone starts winding down for the Christmas break? Isn’t it absolutely vital that your team starts the new year with a clear focus on the objectives for the business, for their departments and for themselves as individuals?

Business Planning

Clarity
Does your business have a crystal clear goal or purpose or even a “Mission Statement” that everyone understands and is working to? This needs to be real, it needs to be practical and it needs to be supported by definite plans.

SWOT Analysis
Have you and your team completed a real SWOT analysis for your business?

Have you in detail discussed the Strengths and Weaknesses of your business? These are the things that make your business special and vulnerable all at the same time. What are the Opportunities for your business in the marketplace? Have a detailed look at these and it may even result in some required diversification. What Threats are posed to the business and how are you dealing with these?

Make sure you have done a competitor analysis as part of this. To be honest I wouldn’t get too obsessed about the competitors but you do need to understand where they are coming from and the tactics they are adopting and how they could affect you.

Play your own game, let them try to catch you!

The SWOT analysis should be done at Company level and then repeated at Department level. This will clearly highlight some key issues for all areas of the business and for the plan to be affective the business must have a clear plan around the tackling of these.

Plans are ineffective without detailed actions and someone needs to take clear responsibility for these.

Objectives & Budgets
The detailed plans and responsibilities need to be built into the department and individual’s objectives. These plans need to be supported by detailed budgets. What income targets are set for the business and what spend is required to achieve this?

As an individual I need to know about my part in the overall plan, what is expected of me and how my performance will be measured.

Performance Management
Performance Management is the ongoing evaluation of the performance of the business against the agreed plan. Of course the market is dynamic and things will change during the year, which the business will have to react to. Build this flexibility into your plans and amend them as this happens.

Positive Marketing
Make sure you have a really clear Marketing Plan written as part of your overall Business Plan. What are your Marketing Objectives and how will these be achieved?

Don’t go into retreat mode and lose the position you have fought hard to achieve in the marketplace. Be brave, it’s never been a better time to market your business. Take the terrific value that is still available in Advertising/PR/Marketing for your business and don’t ignore the free(ish) Social Media opportunities that are available to spread the word about your business.

Unique Opportunities
There are unique opportunities available in the current climate, which just won’t exist in a few years time. Be in a position to grab them with open arms and thrive.

Penalty Tax!

There is no 30% penalty tax on your profits for the not having your Business Plan ready for the start of the year. However, how much will it cost you if you go into next year unprepared?

30%, or maybe even more?

Greg Canty 

Greg Canty is a Partner of Fuzion PR, Marketing and Graphic Design, with offices in Dublin and Cork

 

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Posted in Accounting, Business Planning, Irish Economy, Marketing, PR, Recession, Taxation | 1 Comment »

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