I’m constantly reminded when I’m working with my clients of just how very important the basics are if you’re trying to build a financially successful business.
And I can draw a direct parallel with something I tousle with in my life. I slipped a disc almost two years ago now, and it’s been a pretty painful and frustrating recovery I can tell you, with the latest acute episode being just four weeks ago. When my back flares up it takes me out of action, stops me exercising and in my mind puts my life back several months. Damn annoying.
But whenever I have a flare up, I have to be honest and say it’s been my own fault and entirely preventable.
I know exactly what I have to do to keep my back, and therefore my life on track.
- I have to do my physio exercises every day
- I have to get out and walk every day (when it’s not raining all the time!)
- I have to see my trainer every week and work hard on my rehab programme, building up my core strength
- I have to maintain good posture and not sit all scrunched up when I’m working.
- And I have to not do stupid things!
So, basic stuff. BUT whenever I get busy, one of these just goes out of the window. And once one has gone, the others follow pretty sharpish. I tell myself that the work I have on is more important than going to the gym or doing my exercises, and surely it’s not going to hurt for just one day. Then things slip quickly once I’ve broken my good habits. Before you know it I’m staggering in to see my physio knowing I’m in for a telling off and another backwards step.
It’s the same with your finances
I’m doing a lot of transformational work with my clients these days, and so I’m intensely committed to working out what makes changes stick, and what creates the most outstanding financial results.
Again and again I’m seeing that the businesses who embrace the fundamentals and make them part of what they do, every day, week or month, are the ones seeing the best and most consistent results.
One of my star clients has been on a profit improvement programme with me over the last few months. They have totally taken everything on board and made it part of what they just do. And already we’ve seen net profit improve by 4% – months quicker than any of us expected. They’ve worked out that if they keep doing the fundamentals, they’ll see better results. Very proud of you guys!
Beware the new shiny things
As business owners we love new things; new projects, ideas, products and services. And when we get distracted by these we have to make sure we continue with the basics no matter what. This means you don’t neglect your cash flow, your weekly flash report, your dashboard reporting or your monthly accounts.
It’s so tempting when things get busy. I know, I’ve let my own management accounts slide a couple of times when I’ve had big stuff on. And it always bites me – something happened I wasn’t expecting when I wasn’t looking. And now I’ve got another job that has to be caught up. Much less painful just to keep them up to date and stay in control.
It’s not just your finances, but any fundamentals that are key to your business. Common things that slip when things get busy are daily or weekly ops meetings, your monthly management meetings, looking at your debtors every week, regularly reviewing the action plan to make sure things are happening, keeping your team happy, and checking in that things you implemented are still working.
How to make sure the basics happen
- First decide what those basics are that underpin everything you do. Keep them as simple as you can, don’t over-complicate.
- Then schedule them in your diaries as un-movable appointments – whether it’s a team meeting, or piece of work you need to do.
- Make sure everyone knows how important they are and build a culture that respects the basics.
It might feel sometimes that the basics aren’t moving you forwards as quickly as you’d like, but I promise that doing them will get you far more long term traction.