Motivation & The Things you should do this Quarter

Here's my round-up of what to get on top of this quarter starting next month, and how. Q2 of NZ's financial year (and Q1 of Aussie's) is 1 of the 2 quarters not shortened by the summer break down under - so it's a great time to put concerted efforts into action!

But first, a quick piece of motivation:

Please do it now.

I may be only 35 but I can recall 3 distinct recessionary environments in NZ throughout my career, and all three represented massive opportunity for those who were prepared to tackle it head-on.

Do not recoil in fear.

Do not run away from those things in your business you know you need to do but for whatever reason haven’t got to.

Double down on creating efficiencies now.

Double down on building relationships, nurturing your customers and selling.

Explore those opportunities now.

Be open-minded.

Surprises can be opportunities in disguise.

Lift the standards you have for yourself, for your team.

Be proud to be good at whatever it is you do.

Go forth and conquer.

3 things to watch out for this quarter:

Staying informed and proactive about what’s going on in your ecosystem this quarter can help you navigate - or even frontfoot! - challenges, and seize opportunities.

Technological Advances:

Rapid advancements in technology offer both opportunities and challenges for SMEs and a number of white papers have been published recently highlighting how far behind NZ is on this front.

Impacts:

1. Investment is required to leverage digital transformation and “keep up”.
2. Growing e-commerce trends provide opportunities for expanding market reach but require adaptation to new sales channels - just look at Smith & Caugheys as a recent example (or any number of businesses that quickly had to adapt when the country shut down a few years ago).
3. Our increasing reliance on digital systems raises cybersecurity risks.

Actions to take:

1. Evaluate what “quick wins” you could gain from modest investment in technology. What could give you and your team the biggest bang for buck? Zuru - a name we all know - ruthlessly pursues continuous improvement, and focus on automating something on a regular basis. As a result they’ve zoomed ahead of their competitors. How can you take this philosophy and apply it to your business?
2. Evaluate your online presence and the way prospective customers navigate it + engage with you. Speak to an expert to find out what you can improve. The simplest things can put customers off!
3. Don’t skimp on your cybersecurity controls - again, get an expert to tell you where you’re falling short. You might even see a reduction in your cyber insurance costs as a result of improving them.

The Economic Conditions:

This is nothing new but it still needs to be kept in mind. Although inflation is expected to ease in the coming months/years, we’re still seeing a number of impacts lagging from recent high inflation.

Impacts look like:

1. Rising costs still coming.
2. The need to be all over your pricing strategy.
3. Decreased consumer spending.

Actions to take:

1. Conduct a cost review to identify areas likely to increase and/or what can be reduced - and revisit your budget.
2. Consider price adjustments carefully for the short and mid-term, balancing the need to cover outgoings with the risk of losing customers.
3. Consider how decreased consumer spending might impact your business specifically.
4. Reinforce (or enhance) your business's value propositions to maintain customer loyalty.

Extra Action: Consider whether any of your suppliers could be at risk of these impacts and subsequently disrupt your supply chain (for both products and your service providers).

People & HR:

Numerous recent changes in employment laws mean SMEs are ripe for getting something on that front wrong. Don't be one of them!

Impacts are mainly:

1. Increased compliance requirements.
2. Wage cost pressure.

Actions to take:

1. Make sure you have a process in place to stay abreast of employment changes.
2. Consult with your experts to ensure full compliance.
3. Bring employment agreement templates into alignment with new regulations if you haven't yet reviewed them - so they're ready when you need them.
4. Invest in training HR personnel on ongoing CPD.

Regularly reviewing business strategies and hearing what experts (like me!) have to say will ensure you and your business remain resilient and competitive in the dynamic environment of 2024.