#1 goal “financial independence”

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Business coaching Brisbane

Life is much more than money but when living in such a structured society, money matters a lot.  Without it, participation in our society is challenging.

Achieving financial independence does not mean being among the richest 100 people in Australia.  It simply means being able to pay your bills and buying the things you need without being dependent on someone else for money.

You are not financially independent if you have to rely on your partner for money.  You are not financially independent if you have to rely on a job.  Why?  Because both can disappear or conditions can change overnight!

Financial independence is the ability for you personally to maintain income even if your relationship status changes or your job status changes.   Financial independence means maintaining adequate income even though you can’t work (e.g. become ill or have an accident) or choose not to work (e.g. to take a holiday or have a family).

Your capacity to physically go to work and your capacity to earn money are two different things.  You know you are financially independent when you are not relying on someone else to pay you for your 8 hours work each day and when you have broken the nexus between earning money and selling your time.

Financial independence is not a hard to achieve.  However, it does require a different way of thinking, and it does require that you break the bad habit of reliance on others.   Once achieved however, it represents peace of mind!

Until next time

Gary

#1 Business Coaching Brisbane

Call direct 0408 756 531

Email gary@garyweigh.com

Read how the secrets of aikido can change your life http://www.aikido-secrets-to-calm-success.com

First rule of planning

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Business planning Australia

The only plan you have is the one you create yourself.

If you don’t have a plan then you will fly by the seat of your pants.  Most people don’t work to a business plan and end up working long hours to make a mediochre living.

If you don’t have a written down plan then you don’t really have a plan.  All you have is good intention to back up your ideas.

Putting your plan into writing demonstrates:

  • Your commitment
  • That you have firm goals
  • That you have done research and gained knowledge
  • You see the problems as well as the opportunities
  • You know your limits and the resources you need

Creating a business plan or financial plan is the first step in creating positive change.  At first, it might be no more than a written reflection of your aspiration and imagination, but subsequent research will reveal the obstacles and opportunities and make the probable possible.  Your action will then make the possible real.

So start writing!  When you need a knowledgeable coach and mentor, call me on 0408 756 531 or email gary@garyweigh.com

Check out my Aikido Secrets blog at http://www.aikido-secrets-to-calm-success.com/ to see how it can power you up!

Until next time

Gary

#1 in business planning Australia

Female entrepreneurs rule!

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Here’s to female entrepreneurs!

Business building tips brisbane

Entrepreneurs are starters and builders of business who are good at enlisting others in their cause.  Traditionally the majority of entrepreneurs have been male but more and more females are taking on new business startups and succeeding.

In my experience, female entrepreneurs are not better or worse than males.  They are different.  It is the biological and neurological differences between males and females that translate into different approaches to business startup and growth.

For example, walk into a female’s office and the décor is a little softer and a little more welcoming.  The space is a more organised and there is often evidence of a balanced life outside work.

In my experience, females are good listeners – the best listeners.  They tend to listen first and talk later, after they understand the need or issue.

Women can be very shy but once engaged in a conversation, they are much more social, and network really well, particularly with other women.  It seems to make no difference whether it is play group or a business breakfast women are capable of networking with each other many times faster than males.

In general I have always found a higher level of empathy among females.  It seems to go hand in hand with their willingness to engage and listen.  For mine, they are much better at putting themselves in another’s shoes, taking a genuine interest and taking the time to understand.

Women really get it!  They know it’s about socializing.  They know it’s about listening, really listening; starting conversations, interacting, bringing people together and collaborating with each other.

Moving away from the socialisation aspects, one of the biggest differences I have noticed is that females ask for advice and heed good advice much better than males.

They realise that they need help in certain areas and not afraid to ask.  They are very diligent with planning as well.  It is part of the need to be organised and knowing what is happening day to day.

Until next time

Gary

#1 in business building tips Brisbane

Call Gary direct on 0408 756 531

or email gary@garyweigh.com

Check my other blog site http://www.aikido-secrets-to-calm-success.com and learn how the secrets of Aikido can be applied to your business.

Timing is everything

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Business building Australia

Timing is everything

There is an important ingredient often missing from the business starter’s skill set.  That is a sense of business timing.

When considering starting a business, there is a time to start and a time to exit; a time to buy and a time to sell; a time to move and a time to wait; a time to show strength and a time to go with the flow.  In this sense, timing means that there are some moments in time that are better than others to act or to cease to act.

However, there are no firm rules.  It is a matter of experience and practiced judgment.  So it is not surprising that the nuances of timing are lost to inexperienced business starters.

Poor timing is due in part to a lack of time in the driver’s seat.  It is due in part to poor awareness and observation skills and to a lack of knowledge and also to a failure to keep knowledge up to date.

A good example of poor judgment in relation to timing can be best described by the Australian adage of ‘flogging a dead horse’ (staying too long on a bad idea).  It is often said, that one of the defining attributes of a successful entrepreneur is persistence.  However, sheer persistence will win the day only on the condition that the underlying idea or concept is sound.

Inexperience tends to discount persistence as a major contributing factor in success.  The truth is that success is rarely an overnight event.  It just appears that way because it has become visible to a large proportion of the population.  It is true that persistence plays a big part, but timing is crucial as well.

No matter how persistent you are about breaking through and succeeding, there is still a ‘preferred time’ to introduce a new idea (time-in) and there is only a finite amount of time that it can be financially supported, before a decision is made to cease (time-out).  The time-in, the period of time and the time-out depend on individual circumstances and available resources.

Check my other blog site http://www.aikido-secrets-to-calm-success.com and learn how the secrets of Aikido can be applied to timing in your business.

If you want to learn the principles of timing for yourself that you can apply to starting a business, visit http://www.griffithaikido.com.au

Until next time!

Gary

#1 in business building Australia

How badly do you need a lease?

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Managing start up business Australia

A young couple who I have known for a long time was managing a start up business in Australia, specialising in the personal services industry.  They came to me recently and asked me for my thoughts on renting a sub-tenancy that was available in a near city Brisbane suburb.

Their desire, like that of many other entrepreneurs, is to have a place they can call home; a base to travel to and work from; a fixed address for their marketing.

The upside is that it is on a very busy road, which means that with effort, their offering could be visible and attract some walk in customers.

The downside is that the area does not contain the right demographic for the services offered.  This match is vitally important to attract local customers.

If attracting local customers is not the prime aim of moving into this property, then what is the real purpose?  When I asked that question they said that they hoped to pick up referrals from the primary tenant who operated a complementary business.

Experience has taught me that if I asked the same question of the primary tenant, it is likely that the answer would have been the exact opposite.  That is, he is advertising for a complementary sub-tenant in the hope of attracting referrals from them.

Mmmm…. the problem is not solved; it has doubled.  As is so often the case, no discussion on this point has taken place and the transaction would have proceeded on hope only.

Making a major financial commitment to a lease or sub-lease just to have a fixed address to put on cards and brochures is a very risky strategy, particularly if the money is borrowed.

Doing it in the hope of attracting walk-in customers and referrals from a co-tenant doesn’t reduce the risk at all.

When managing start up business in Australia, it is a much safer strategy to let customer demand drive the need for a permanent premises, rather than make a big financial commitment and relying on hope alone to attract them.

In the case of the young couple, it would be more cost effective when starting up a business to consider other options such as working from a home office, renting rooms by the hour or day as required, and offering a mobile service.

Check my other blog site http://www.aikido-secrets-to-calm-success.com and learn how the (not so secret) secrets of Aikido can be applied to whatever is important in your life.

If you want to learn and understand the secrets of Aikido for yourself visit http://www.griffithaikido.com.au

Until next time!

Gary

#1 for managing start up business in Australia

Call 0408 756 531 or email gary@garyweigh.com

What exactly is financial control?

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Business coaching in Brisbane

An important part of my business coaching in Brisbane is teaching financial control.  It is a fact that many small businesses fail because of poor financial management.

Financial control is about understanding the financial performance of your business and then taking steps to improve it.  To be effective, the control measures must provide financial information in real time. 

So what about your annual financial statements, are they of any use? 

Your accountant typically prepares an income statement and balance sheet several months after the close of the financial year.  The purpose is not financial control.  It is purely and simply compliance – the preparation of your business tax return.

Obtaining financial information via your tax accountant some 6-18 months after the event is useless for meaningful decision making .  Information that will truly aid your business decision making needs to be current.  That is, captured today, acted on tomorrow. 

There are a few key measures used by financial performance specialists that will reveal all about your business.  However, none of those can be calculated until you have a system that will capture current information about your business in a usable form.

So the first step is always to have a user friendly accounting system that is built to handle Australian accounting standards and protocols.  To make it work effectively though, you must set up the accounts properly in the first place.  This is the base upon which you will build your financial control system so it is important to seek professional help upfront.

Until next time!

Gary

#1 for business coaching in Brisbane

Call direct on 0408 756 531

Email gary@garyweigh.com

MLM business – go in with your eyes wide open

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For business coaching Brisbane call Gary direct 0408 756 531

Gary Weigh

Lesson #1 in my business coaching Brisbane practice is, “Go in with your eyes wide open!”  There are many things to think about if you are considering being a distributor in a Multi Level Marketing (MLM) organisation, including:

  1. Many people are going to cringe at the offer of an incredible ground floor business opportunity and relationships may be burned along the way.  However, if the products are good enough, customers should be asking you how to join as a distributor.
  2. Don’t be enticed by the perception of easy money.  Focus on the products and everything you do to satisfy and support your customers.  The product should be something of quality with high repeat demand.  It can’t merely be a cover for the flow of commission through a pyramid shaped network.
  3. Don’t be hooked by ‘the dream’ – the vision of wealth and lifestyle.  If you do, building a business may become a secondary consideration.  It is essential to set goals but keep your feet firmly on the ground and your head out of the clouds.
  4. There is a certainty (mathematically at least) that in time, your market area will become crowded with the very distributors you recruited; and by some you didn’t recruit.  There is no contractual protection of markets or territories.  It is survival of the fittest, so you must ensure that you and your business are the fittest.
  5. There must be a balance between selling product and recruiting distributors.  While many focus on recruiting only, someone somewhere along the line has to buy the product.  As in any business, your customers, together with quality products and quality service should be your primary areas of focus.

Understanding what you are dealing with is the first step in making your part of the MLM organisation a success.  Realise now that the majority of distributors will be unsuccessful.  Some will get caught up in the hype and will not focus on reality, while others will simply wither on the vine because they can’t sell product and / or can’t recruit distributors.

Those who start earlier or are nearer the top of the pyramid in their target geographical area are more likely to make money.  Those who start later and find themselves nearer the bottom of the pyramid in an area that is becoming distributor / product saturated are more likely to struggle.

So it will pay you to do some research in your target area before you commit.  Like any business, customer care and repeat sales are the keys.  They in turn depend on the quality of your communication and support, together with the strength of your relationships.

Note: I do not operate any form of MLM business, and I have no affiliations with MLM organisations.  I am an independent, professional specialising in business business coaching in Brisbane.  I am expressing my own views based on 25 years of coaching experience.  I have coached and advised clients who have participated in MLM business, and some who have sought advice before committing.   I have coached many more clients who have not participated in MLM business.  So if you would like an independent appraisal of any business opportunity, please contact me.

Business coaching Brisbane for MLM businesses

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Call Gary direct on 0408 756 531

A reputable, well-established Multi Level Marketing (MLM) company can be a great opportunity, particularly when it offers products that all but sell themselves. However, it takes ingenuity and hard work to build your own network sales organisation.  So consider my business coaching Brisbane practice!

About 90% of home-based businesses in Australia are owned and run by females.  A MLM network business is a very popular home business choice because it involves a low start up cost and product distribution is often handled by the MLM head office.

Nevertheless, there are several issues to consider when building a MLM business from home:

  1. The majority of distributors have never been in business before
  2. Family commitments make work-life balance challenging for many
  3. Many regard MLM as a low commitment family income supplement only
  4. Building sales is not the same thing as building a business – it is only part of the story
  5. Your introducer is involved in the business and may give you basic training and guidance but is not a business coach
  6. You must be careful that in building a network organisation, you build it on a firm footing
  7. Many MLMs offer online planning and coaching tuition, but they are one size fits all and not all are tailored to the Australian business marketplace. 

 Knowing and doing are two different things.  If you are not experienced in Australian business it helps to have an Australian business coach.  It is even more important if you work from home.  It is essential that you stay committed and focused in the face of family and household distractions.

You can’t rely on your introducer forever.  You should start thinking like a business owner, not a sales rep.  You need your own business blueprint because your life and individual circumstances are unique.

Start your business coaching today and start building your business.

Until next time

Gary

More about our business coaching brisbane practice

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Business coaching Brisbane

Call Gary direct 0408 756 531

Gary Weigh in Brisbane

Hi, welcome to my blog!  I thought I would share some business coaching insights with you and tell you a little about the way we work, as well as the cost of coaching.  Coaching includes business planning and business building.  We work with you in the expectation that you, in turn will work on your business. 

Our role is three-fold:

  • To help you develop your own style as an effective business operator
  • To help you recognise ways to improve your business performance
  • To help keep you focused on achieving your life-balance & lifestyle goals

It’s important to point out here that business building in Australia requires a different skill set to the technical skills you currently dispense to your customers; and that’s the case in any business. 

Two common reasons for small business struggle & failure are loneliness and lack of control.  Loneliness forces you to do everything, be everything, and make decisions in a vacuum. 

Lack of control means that your business controls you!  In other words, you follow where ever it leads you – often to be all things to all people.  So in the marketplace and in the back office, you do everything, be everything and chase everyone with no regard to the cost of your valuable time.

Business coaching puts focus into your activities.  It empowers you to take control and ‘position yourself’ instead of ‘being positioned’.  Focus also means you do ‘what’s important’, not always ‘what’s easy’.  It is about working smarter, not harder; working to an action plan towards achieving your goals.

My ideal client on a demographic basis is a financial planner or risk insurance adviser.  On a desire-to-work-with basis, my ideal client is energetic & determined; open-minded and willing to learn; willing to adapt and change; and most of all, willing to invest in their own future.   

I offer 3 levels of coaching to suit all budgets – intensive, standard and light – in simple terms, weekly, fortnightly and monthly.  Prices including GST are:

  • Intensive $1,540 per month
  • Standard $770 per month
  • Light $770 first month, then $385 per month  

I offer you the chance to build the type of business that suits your needs; to grow the lifestyle-asset and succession-asset you desire; and the opportunity to realise your full potential as a business owner-operator.

 Check me out at http://www.garyweigh.com.  You can also read from almost 200 original business articles on this blog.  These cover all aspects of business including business planning and business building in Australia.

Until next time!

Gary

#1 Business building Australia

Call or email now! 0408 756 531 gary@garyweigh.com

 

 

Be a stand-out risk adviser!

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Business planning Australia for financial services 

Call Gary direct on 0408 756 531

The majority of advisers are generalists because they tend to write the next person who says yes to an appointment, whoever that may be.  For this reason, risk advisers by and large look the same to the average customer.  Often the winning difference is persistence, professionalism, knowledge or trust.

It is tough to operate as a ‘me-too’.  It is even tougher being a ‘me-too’ trying to be all things to all people.  In a market where clients are becoming more educated and aware, few advisers have the comprehensive technical and product knowledge to do it all and do it well.

For a lot of advisers, the risk insurance appointments that aren’t referrals are the result of cold calling.  However, the anti-hawking provisions and the do-not-call telephone register now make it difficult to directly approach individual householders.  As a result, there has been a shift towards cold-calling business owners, mostly because they are still fair game.

The SME (small to medium enterprise) market segment has become increasingly popular but is still significantly underdone.   There is a tendency to separate the owner from his or her business and insure the individual only; thus ignoring the business itself.

The missed opportunity is not responding to the total needs of both owner and business as a combined unit.  This non-response is generally caused by a lack of knowledge, experience and confidence.  It also takes a little longer to get the job done and this is perceived as time better spent elsewhere.

It is for these reasons that the more complex business issues of equity protection, asset protection, key person protection, business succession and small business CGT rollover are overlooked.

It is the distracted effort to maintain a consistent flow of new business and monthly income that results in the more specific and more valuable market segments being missed by advisers.

Advisers who do specialise do it either by industry or and / or by product.  Over time, they emerge as very successful because they have deep knowledge in a narrow area.  As a result, they become known in an industry and are referred to more often.

Financial services business planning you can trust 

Call Gary direct on0408 756 531 or email gary@garyweigh.com