Is your business ready for change?

As we are all living through and experiencing right now, change can happen anytime and impact a business in a negatively profound manner.  It is not necessarily industry specific, such as what the financial planning profession is addressing with the imposition of FASEA, and the roll-out of a legislative program as a result of the Banking and Financial Services Royal Commission.   It can be an external and global event, like COVID-19, that has deep and far reaching implications on businesses.

A multitude of events – industry specific or not – can impact a business, and often without warning.  The key question for any business, but specifically for my client base of financial planning firms in these dynamic and changing times, are you able to adapt?  Does your business model support a changing environment, or does itself need to change?  Is it modern, and is it embracing technology?

Given the impact of the aforementioned events on financial planning firms, it is my observation that two hot button issues for them include (although I am sure this is consistent across other professions):

1. Finding new clients (aka growth and revenue); &
2. Managing costs (cashflow is central, as is profitability).

The above then evokes other issues such as the importance of business planning, marketing, optimised operations and the utilisation of well-defined processes, and the incorporation of technology to drive efficiencies and lower costs etc.

Another issue I think is relevant is an advice firm’s business model and its appropriateness to the types of clients it serves.  At the heart of this is the client value proposition and the pricing model.  However, one size approach does not fit all.  For example, young wealth accumulator clients may no longer be an ideal fit for the traditional annual review model (therefore by default, paying an ongoing fee).  They may be better suited to a pay-as-you-go model, coming in for advice and services as required, which they pay for at the time.

All this then leads to two questions I wish to pose to practice owners.  How well do you know your business and how confident are you that it can thrive in this ever-changing world?  If you cannot answer these with 100% certainty, then a business health check is worth considering.

A business health check is a deep dive into every facet of the business undertaken by an experienced practitioner in this regard.

Areas considered include:

• Your vision for the business;
• The external environment such as the industry operated within, competition, trends and your place within it;
• Culture of the business;
• Operations (with a strong focus on productivity and risk management);
• Technology; 
• Marketing, Sales and Business Development;
• Financials and cash-flow;
• People.

From this deep dive a diagnosis can be made, from which the owner and the consultant (like Outsourced Business Solutions) can determine a path of action to take to move the business forward. 

Undertaking such an initiative like a business health check can reveal some compelling intelligence on your business, from which comes the power of knowing what to act on to take your business to a place which can deal with the times and in reality, realise the the vision you have for it.

Don’t react to circumstances, be in control and be ready to take on whatever comes and allow your business to reach its full potential.