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Where are you going on holiday this Summer?

The summer holiday season is about to start and I wonder how many business owners are going to take advantage of it?    I frequently come across business owners who haven’t had a ‘proper’ holiday for years.   They cite a variety of reasons - too busy, wrong time of year, can’t afford it, can’t afford to take the time off - the list of excuses can keep going!   But the important question to ask is not what reason did you give not to go on holiday, but what is the true reason for not going on holiday?   The true reason is more often to be found in the business and the business owner itself... the business is under performing and is not structured in a form that allows for holidays.   

If you didn’t take a holiday last year, then ask yourself (and perhaps more importantly your family) if you and they would like one (or perhaps two or three) each year.   If you wanted a holiday, but didn’t take one, then that is all the evidence you need to prove that your business is under performing and more importantly that it is time to do something about it.   You may be dissatisfied with your business in other ways, and lets face it there are many more ways of realising that your business is under performing than not taking a holiday! 

If your business is under performing then you should look critically at it.   Not at what the business does, but at the way it does it - and identify how you are going to make it perform better.   Now it is really easy to give such glib advice as ‘look critically at your business’ but it is a lot harder to do than most people realise.  Most business owners are too close to the wood to see the trees and that is where another person comes in handy.  Somebody who will look critically at your business, who will help you to take off the rose tinted spectacles and see your business objectively.

Even a sole trader without any staff can take regular holidays, just ask my milkman!  So if  you haven’t organised a holiday this Summer, then you need to ask yourself why?    Why is your business under performing?   It might not appear to be under performing in sales and profit terms, but if you can’t have a Summer holiday then it is certainly under performing when compared against my milkman!

The first step on the road to a better business is to critically review it, How much do you charge, what are your costs, how long does it take, how many customers do you have.  Your review should identify the areas of weakness – and what you need to do to fix it.

The first step on the road to a better business is to ask for help, ask your accountant, a consultant, ask your friends, but get someone to look at what and how your business does.  They should identify what things need changing.

You want a holiday next year? Then get some good advice now!   A good consultant should be able to spend ½ day with you and help you to make a list of things to change.

Check out www.thenationalcampaign.com for information on consultants who provide business advice.

Sit down with your accountant, or a friend, and a sheet of paper and make a list. How much do you charge, what are your costs, how long does it take, how many customers do you have.  Your review should identify the areas of weakness – and then you can work out what you need to do to fix it.

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