James Law’s - Etesian Group

You can find the Etesian Group at www.etesiangroup.com.au

Contact James Law on 0409 199 547

I can also be found on Twitter and Linkedin

Location – Perth Western Australia

Client base includes Western Australia, South Australia and Northern Territory.

Networking………..

For many of us networking and personal or direct business referrals is the basis of our businesses. This is especially true for professionals and service providers such as myself. I belong to a couple of networking groups in Perth and enjoy them.

As a young man I was lucky enough to befriend one of Perth’s most successful and prominent businessmen. I will not identify him here as that would be wrong, however he has helped me greatly over the years. I have often reflected on the way he and a group of his business (and personal) friends have networked over the years. From the time I first met him / them over 40 years ago, each of them actively traded with each other, referred business to each other, invested in each other business, and helped each other establish new businesses. When things were difficult they also helped each other get through the tough times. Don’t think for one minute this was pure friendship. Whilst they were undisputedly friends, the assistance always made each of them money. Nothing was for free, but it was constructive and designed for each of them to win. It is noteworthy that each of these men is now very, very wealthy. More importantly they have each had highly satisfying careers. I have always greatly admired this / them, and have shared this philosophy with my children in the hope that they will learn to act as a team throughout their lives.

I am sharing this with you because I am interested in starting an on line network. Whilst I am very happy with the two networks I am in, I would like to do more. Networking should not be about networking fees, etc. It is about business and working together. In that spirit I am therefore curious to explore those possibilities with you. Please respond to me letting me know if you share my beliefs regarding this, and whether you are interested in starting an on line networking group. Who knows what we can achieve. I suspect it could be very significant. Your thoughts?

Cheers

James Law

0409 199 547

Performance Issues...............

James Law’s - Etesian Group

You can find the Etesian Group at www.etesiangroup.com.au

Contact James Law on 0409 199 547

I can also be found on Twitter and Linkedin

Location – Perth Western Australia

Client base includes Western Australia, South Australia and Northern Territory.

Financial & IT Issues………….

20.    Does your business have a formal system of storing and retrieving information?

21.    Do you benchmark your business against other like businesses & industries?

22.    Do you strategically pursue turnover in the hope of gaining additional profit, or are you targeting profit and thereby adding net value to shareholder worth?

23.    Are you properly analysing your financial measures to best understand the underlying performance and fundamentals of your business?

24.    How closely do you monitor your opposition’s products, services, innovations and performance?

25.    Do you entertain regular independent checks of your business by outside professionals?  

26.    Is your businesses technology up to date or lagging? How far behind is it, and what is the opportunity cost?

27.    What has been the true investment in R & D in the last 12 months?

28.    Is your marketing effective?

29.    Is your capital equipment up to date and effective?

30.    Are your business costs monitored and how do they compare with your competitors?

31.    Do you know your underlying cost of production, and its component parts?

32.    What is the cost of your businesses quality of production, i.e. scraps, re-works errors, inspections, customer complaints, replacements, returns, money back, etc?

33.    What proportion of your deliveries to customers is in full, on time and to specification?

34.    What is your staff turnover ratio?

Seriously, businesses that do not engage in proper independent analysis will (at best) never perform to their potential. Modern business is becoming increasingly technical. It is all about ensuring that all facets of the business are professional, engaged and accountable. Turnover is not king. The primary function is to increase shareholder value. Turnover is only one part of that.

Most businesses spend a large amount on generating a sale, and concentrate massive resources on obtaining additional sales, without ever thinking that they could generate more profit (for much less cost) by increasing the efficiency of existing sales.

Think about it!

Cheers

James Law

0409 199 547

Quality and Satisfaction Issues......

James Law’s - Etesian Group

You can find the Etesian Group at www.etesiangroup.com.au

Contact James Law on 0409 199 547

I can also be found on Twitter and Linkedin

Location – Perth Western Australia

Client base includes Western Australia, South Australia and Northern Territory.

A Business Survey for you to consider………….

11.  Does your business measure supplier quality as this reflects in turn on your

       business?

12.     Do you work with key suppliers to improve processes?

13.    At what level does your business contact key suppliers?

14.    Are non managerial employees encouraged to take ownership of quality issues?

15.    Do you measure employee satisfaction regularly?

16.    Do you conduct formal employee performance reviews?

17.    Do employees get paid incentives relative to their performance?

18.    Does your business offer in house or sponsored external employee training?

19.    Do you have OH & S processes and training programs in place?

Financial and IT issues will be next………….

Cheers

James Law

0409 199 547