Top Tips for Business Owners
Craig recently visited another fantastic MDRT conference in Miami in June 2019, he’s put together his learnings below in the hopes that business owners will pick up on some easy tips to help improve their businesses/future.
Tip 1
Create a Study/Peer Group. There were lots of business owners at the MDRT Conference, although they were mostly all Financial Advisers and Planners, they still emphasised the benefits of a Study Group or a Peer Group. These groups challenge you, ask you questions, and help you get to the bottom of problems that you may think have no answer. Being part of a Group of people in the same profession, arguably this could work with a group of any business owners generally. Use the group to hold each other’s feet to the flames, talk through problems and share good practice in areas such as HR, Personal Development, Client Service, and Culture within your organisation. Find yourself a group to join and to meet with them regularly, talking to them when needed. We act like this for a lot of our Business Owner clients, and some accountants can act like this, but a group basis could be the perefect addition to your circle.
Tip 2
Disaster Recovery Planning. This took me a while to realise it was something that needs to be done for our own clients but write down a plan to tell your team what to do if you become ill or pass away. The wheels will turn for a while afterward but having a clear plan and instruction in place allows your team and business to continue in the exact same way. We arrange the financial cover for business owners and tie up the legal arrangements to make this happen but a Business Coach talked about the importance of having a written plan for your team so they know what to do if you are not turning up anymore.
Things like – how to tell your clients, what to tell them, who else to notify (such as the bank and HMRC) , how to replace the skills/roles that the leader/director brought to the business.
Tip 3
Video! So many times over many different sessions throughout the conference the same point came up again and again: You have to use video more in your business. Using video to educate your clients when they ask questions, to feature on the FAQ section of your website, and to give knowledge across social media platforms is one of the most powerful pieces of marketing you can do for your business.
Tip 4
Must read books:
“5 Levels of Leadership” by John Maxwell – Find it here
“The 10 natural laws of Successful Time and Life Management” by Hyrum Smith – Find it here
