August 2023
The focus of the August newsletter is all about keeping your eyes open on the business world and understanding the influences that might apply for your business.
The attachments with this newsletter
Kim is available to help with your questions and concerns if you need any assistance, and as always, the first chat is always free of charge or obligation.
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change, that lives within the means available and works cooperatively against common threats.” Charles Darwin.
It was expected that on the conclusion of COVID, the world would return to some form of normality as we once knew it. Unfortunately, we seem to be in a more negative and volatile situation than ever before, or at least since the GFC.
The lessons from the GFC, although only a bit of a decade over, seemed to have largely been forgotten until COVID came along. We then found that many of the lessons learnt in the GFC were repeated once more. Essentially, we learnt that again CASH was KING, and debts in all its forms were a risk to our businesses and personal well-being.
COVID also provided a new set of factors that businesses had to contend with, some of which had been growing in importance gradually over recent years. These factors, which were largely negative, included:
In light of the developments and changes in the world today, to see businesses and people operate in the same old way is to worry about whether they have actually learnt anything about doing business. The pace of change has been mentioned continually in the business press and the general media for many years now. Yet, we often see little evidence that this message has been received by businesspeople and the general public.
The reality is that all businesspeople, and people in general, have to understand they need to change to survive. In the business world today the core factors which have to change include:
In summary, on the conclusion of COVID, it was expected that world would return to some form of normality as we once knew it. Unfortunately, this did not happen and we are in a more negative and volatile environment than ever before.
Two of the most important lessons of the GFC, that CASH was still KING, and debts in all its forms were a risk to our businesses and personal well-being were also forgotten.
Post COVID, we found that there is a whole set of new factors affecting our businesses. These factors have been gradually growing in importance over recent years. It appears many of these factors do not appear to have been acknowledged and is shown in the way people do business currently. Unless these changes are better understood and factored into future business decisions, many businesses are unlikely to achieve their potential, or worse still, end up insolvent.
As we prepared to start up, or seek ongoing improvements in our businesses, traditionally we sought out successful businesspeople, quality service providers and mentors. In fact, we should continue to seek out these contacts.
However, we were, and are generally not encouraged to speak or consult with businesspeople who had businesses which failed. After all, what could these people tell us about operating a successful business that would be of benefit? After all they were failures, right!
The fact is though, many of these people are better able to advise you on the factors as to why their businesses failed. It is in their stories and feedback, that you are more than likely to hear of, and then respect the negative factors which could affect your business.
A perfect example from my experience was when I was lecturing on the importance of customer service. Suddenly one of the people in the class exclaimed, “Now I know why dad always emphasised customer service.” It appeared that his family owned a business and had called in consultants to improve the business. Despite the father’s insistence on the importance of customer service, changes were made which did not reflect this ethos. In time, the business became insolvent because of these changes and a lack of customer service.
Not every businessperson can or will want to share the reasons why their business became unviable. However, if you can find someone willing to articulate their experiences, you may just learn more that than you may ever do from a successful person. I am not saying you ignore the advice of the others you consult about your business, or that you focus solely on those who failed. I am saying, by consulting a number of people with different experiences, you are more likely to discover the positives and negatives of business. As such, it is a valid business exercise to undertake and not a waste of time.
It may be a simplistic overkill to say it, but unfortunately when you sell your products and services on credit, all too often there is a chance that the customer will not pay for them. When this occurs, it is a time and costly exercise to seek the payment via investigation or negotiation. Alternatively, you can try debt collection or legal action. Irrespective which of these strategies you try, there is no guarantee that you will actually get paid.
The reason for non-payment may be one of many reasons, one of which will be the customer simply refuses or cannot pay. In these cases, you will find many barriers in your way of getting pad.
When you consider the situation for your business, in today’s world, due to these barriers, it may be beneficial to consider not extending credit at all, or only for a few dollars, or for very short period of time, for example seven days. After all, your business is not a bank or a finance company, despite your customer trying to make you act as one.
The above scenarios are easy to put forward, however they are not easy to adhere to or maintain. If you feel that your business must offer credit, you should build a “finance cost” into the price of your product, have a very good terms of trade contract and be willing to enforce your rights to get paid.
Adults learn in many different ways, sometimes, even from movies. One of my favourite movies in this category was “Other People’s Money” starring Danny DeVito.
Recently, the Global Risk Community provided two lists of 10 movies that were worthy of viewing for their stories which involved aspects of risk. The link to each article is below.
Credit Matters is a financial risk management resource centre for the Australian business community. If you are in business, Credit Matters is your ideal source of financial risk management solutions.
Credit Matters is continuing to grow and provide marketing and knowledge about financial risks to the Australia business community.
Futhermore, we invite marketing and knowledge ideas from our readers and contributors on how we can assist our respective firms grow. If you have any ideas, please contact me at info@creditmatters.com.au.
If you are interested in finding new ways to reach your marketplace, why not try Credit Matters. Our prices for advertising are very reasonable and advertising packages are on offer to make any cost, even more affordable. So if you are interested in reaching your customers at the right price, please contact Kim at info@creditmatters.com.au for options.