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Call me if you are in trouble …

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Business coaching Brisbane

Call me and I will help you

Is this you? You are very good at what you do but you are not making enough money to make ends meet.  You are passionate about what you do.  Customers love your work but still you are not profitable.

You are a motivated, hard-working person.  You live in the suburbs with your family.  You are independently minded and, like millions of other Aussies, you are giving business a red-hot go.

But what started out as a dream is starting to feel like a nightmare.  Your path to freedom is quickly becoming your financial prison.  As much as you try, you can’t pin-point the problem.

With children at school and a mortgage to pay, stress levels are rising. You are not sleeping.   More money is going out than coming in.  Business and personal debt is blowing out.

Your day of reckoning is coming fast.  You have to make a difficult decision – do you tip more money in, or do you cut and run?  If you stay, you risk bankruptcy.  If you shut up shop and get a job, it will take you a decade to recover.  It is a terrible feeling.

Your other option is to seek help.

From my experience, your problem is likely to be lack of financial management.  Your skill set is centred on the products and services you sell.  However there is more to know in business.  Financial management and control is a very common blind spot.

A common example …

“If your product and service costing is wrong, your profit margin could be less than you think.   So, no matter how good your products and services are you will never make money.”

My solution

I will personally come and help you.  I have no system to sell and I don’t have a magic wand.  Nor do I have any intention of writing a ‘door-stop’ size business plan.  I will just roll up my sleeves, stand beside you and help you.

What you are hiring is grey hair; the result of 30 years diversified business experience.  There are no guarantees, but if your business is not too far gone, it shouldn’t take long to point you in the right direction.  From there I will help you to prepare a very short, concise action plan.  From there, we can talk about ongoing business coaching.  The cost to you will be nowhere near as great as the cost of doing nothing.

Call me now for personal attention

Gary 0408 756 531

Business coaching brisbane

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Business coaching wisdom

“It is hard to be in business today using yesterday’s tools and still expect to be in business tomorrow”

Gary

Establishing a positive focus

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When it comes to achieving your goals, your mindset needs to be a positive one, extending forward into abundance.  It really helps to overcome inertia; and to generate positive action, movement and momentum.

You can’t afford to sit in a puddle with your mind dwelling on the negative, focusing on retreat, cutting back, making do, substituting secondhand, doing without and stretching every dollar as far as possible.

Repeating a silent plea for more money is not focused, positive thinking.  It is merely wishing; born out of desperation.  There is not one positive action that supports it, and people can smell desperation a mile away.

Own the solution, not the problem!!  If you don’t, you will drive yourself nuts blaming others for your misfortune or lack of achievement; somehow justifying to yourself that you are a special case; convincing yourself that you are trapped in poverty and every door is closed to you.

If friends and colleagues also share your misery, find some new friends.  Like attracts like and misery loves company.  Your first step to freeing your mind is to talk to someone who sees the positive side of life.

If you would like to read more about Aikido in everyday life, check out my blog at http://aikido-secrets-to-calm-success.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

Build a financial services business worth paying for!

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Business coaching Brisbane 

Call Gary direct on 0408 756 531 for trusted advice.

My business coaching Brisbane practice is already one of the fastest growing businesses in Australia.   That is because many financial planners and financial service providers are having a good hard look at their businesses in the near future.  Here’s why!

Most financial planners offer a combination of the following financial products:

  • Superannuation
  • Managed funds
  • Shares & other securities
  • Risk insurance (income protection, life, trauma, disability)

To date, many financial planners are not paid by the client.  Instead they have been paid by the providers of financial products.  That is about to change!

From 1 July 2012, financial planners will be paid by the client.   If they are to be paid by the financial product providers, it will be only for a year maximum, not forever.

Being paid by the client instead of a product provider is not merely a change to charging fees.  It is a fundamental change in the way an adviser conducts his or her business.  For many, there will have to be a service worth paying for.

The first decision a financial planner has to make is which business he or she is in, and who is the client.  For many, providing advice is going to be difficult because their knowledge has been skewed towards justifying and selling products.

Making money out of advice is a whole new ball game and it won’t be easy for a lot of long standing advisers.  It will also be difficult for newcomers because it takes a long time to gain the level of knowledge required to be a quality adviser.

Looking for a trusted financial services business consultancy? 

Call Gary direct on 0408 756 531 or email gary@garyweigh.com

The Great Aussie Business Coaching Challenge …. Call 0408 756 531

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Business success is about motivation, knowledge and experience but above all, it is about business mindset.  You must be savvy; and you must be courageous, creative and willing to put yourself out there.

Our role in The Great Business Coaching Challenge is to actively encourage you to achieve your business goals and to help you live the life you want.  We do that firstly by showing you how to plan, and then by asking you to roll your sleeves up ready for action.

 

If you take up the challenge!

You will learn the skills you need to run your business.  You will learn by doing, whether the task is easy or not.  Your classroom will be in the school of hard knocks.  We will be there for you to help you overcome your fears.

Don’t worry, we know what you’re going through; we have all been through it.  Very few people succeed in business without help.

Will everything I do be for real; and all for my benefit?

This is not passive coaching or a static business plan preparation service.  You will gain real live business knowledge and experience by doing …. and doing ….and doing some more!

Will I be overloaded and mentally challenged?

Yes!!  There is a lot to learn and at times, you will be out of your comfort zone doing things that you have never done before.

So what can I expect?

  • Direct access to myself and my team as needed
  • You will learn goal oriented action planning without the fluff
  • You will be set weekly homework and reading to do
  • You will be given a weekly business challenge to perform
  • You and your business will be tested by invisible shoppers.

After completing this challenge, business will suddenly appear easy!

How long is the challenge?

We help those who are willing to help themselves.  So, after a one-on-one qualifying period of 1 month, your challenge runs for 3 months.  Over that time, we will show you how to earn multiple times your cost of entry.

Does the challenge apply to both new & existing business?

It makes no difference whether you are starting up a new business or renovating an old one.  Business is business!  And we are on your side.

All we ask from you is that you are ready to back yourself and you are doing something that you are passionate about.

In Australia, call 0408 756 531 to accept the challenge or email to coach@garyweigh.com

Business coaching Brisbane – financial management 1

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The Aiki business coach

If I had to choose one business management weakness that I have observed in the many start ups and SMEs (small to medium enterprises) I have encountered, it would be financial management.  Many large companies are also guilty of poor financial management but they are no longer the focus of my attention.

Financial management is the most ignored and the least forgiving.  If you can’t maintain control over your finances then you won’t be in business for long.

One of the biggest mistakes is waiting until the accountant has finished the year end figures to find out what happened.  Most accountants do a very good job of preparing Income Statements and Balance sheets but it is old news.  By the time you see what happened, you are well into the next financial year.

Engaging a public accountant once a year does not guarantee success.  Their job is one of compliance, not financial management.  Their main line of work is reporting after the fact, and tax lodgement.  It is not that they aren’t trained and capable of assisting you with financial management, but you have to ask for it.

You really need to know what is happening in your business week by week and month by month.  Either you or someone who understands financial concepts should make financial management of your business a very regular priority.

One of the other main areas of concern is poor control over cash flow.  Cash flow simply means money in and money out of your business.  You might make a profit at the end of the year but there can be many days during the year where your business bank account is empty or overdrawn.

This occurs because the receipt of revenue and the payments of bills are patchy.  Some customers make you wait 2-3 months for your income but many of your bills need to be paid immediately.

This is often compounded by the owner taking cash out of the daily takings for personal use.  The argument is “It is all my money!”  Well it’s not really.  Your money is the part left over when all the bills, including GST and taxes, are paid.

Many people confuse sales revenue with profit and fail to understand the importance of positive cash flow.  Recognising these differences could be one simple solution to saving your cash-starved business.

Read more in my next post in the series – business coaching Brisbane; financial management.

Check http://www.aikido-secrets-to-calm-success.com for business self development tips based on the powerful principles of the Japanese art of Aikido

Until next time!

Gary

Light bulb moment 3 – Follow demand

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We continue business coaching Brisbane style!   Demand for your product or service is a lot more than a one line sales forecast on your budget.  It is dangerous to assume that people will buy whatever you have to offer.   Following your passion or your expertise doesn’t guarantee demand.  So here are a few tips about getting to know and understand demand for what you want to sell.

Enjoy light bulb moment 3.

Business Planning 101 – lightbulb moment 2 – your mind is your most valuable business asset

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The Aiki-business Coach

In Business Planning 101 – lesson 2, you will learn that your mind is your best business asset.  It governs everything you do.  To help you I have combined the incredibly powerful principles of Aikido mind development with street smart business basics.  I share these with you online in my Aiki-business self development course.

Email me for more information at gary@garyweigh.com

Enjoy lesson 2 below

Gary