Join Wayne Schwass and me at an evening on how you can Maximise Government Grants available to you

To my Victorian Subscribers.... join us at  an evening where you can find out how to maximise government grants that may be available to you including .

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

• the Export Market Development Grant (EMDG scheme administered by Austrade)
• The R&D Tax Rebate
• Commercialisation Australia
• Various State and Federal Training Programmes
• The new Victorian Innovation Vouchers Programme

What is the new Victorian Innovation Vouchers Programme?  – As a business owner you could be entitled to up to $10,000 toward Business Coaching, enhancing your own knowledge, leadership and skill base to increase productivity, improve your marketing, sales, innovation and profits and bring about positive change across your entire business.

In other words, if you are committed to significantly improving your business, innovating for growth and you qualify, the Government may assist you for it to the tune of $10,000 to do so!

Further, the Victorian Business Research and Development Voucher Program connects companies with Universities, CSIRO and research institutes and can fund your business up to $25,000.


Find out if you qualify for Government Funded Dollars for the Growth of your Business on the evening on Monday April 15.

Attend this Seminar, hear from the experts and find out more about these grants and if your business is eligible for assistance. Specifically, Michael, Ivan and Brendan will provide key insights, essential knowledge and strategic advice on:

• What grants are available
• How to access these funds;
• Your eligibility criteria;
• How you can qualify;
• Explore different options of maximising your return.

We are delighted to have the legendary Wayne Schwass host this event  - Wayne is one of the most highly rated performers in the AFL history, playing 282 AFL games over 14 years with the North Melbourne Football Club (1988-1997) and the Sydney Swans (1998-2002).

Wayne is an awesome  AFL Broadcaster on TV, radio and online with AFL.com, AFL Live, Triple M Footy and AFL Central- hosting such shows as Off The Bench TV, Footy Feast and calling AF on the AFL Live.

Wayne will share with us the challenges about trying to secure funding from his experiences raising $1M for the charity he founded (thee Sunrise Foundation, and the importance of fundraising, how to do it, why and whose responsible.  This insight will be both motivating and beneficial for all SME's on their journey to secure funding for their businesses.
There are only 20 seats left for this event, so you’ll need to book NOW by simply clicking here to register or calling 02 9262 3333 and asking for Rachael.

• Where: Melbourne Parkview Hotel, 2 St Kilda Road, Melbourne
• Date: Tuesday, 14 May
• Time: 6.30pm
• Expert Presenters: Michael Lynch, Ivan Kaye & Brendan Hook
• Your Hosts & Sponsors: 10X & BSI
• Single Ticket: $45, tax deductible

• Multiple Tickets: 2 for $60, Of course, tickets include comprehensive reference materials and refreshments.

I look forward to discovering what’s potentially available for your business at this special event.
I will keep an eye out for your registration to attend.

The Difference Between Goals, Strategies and Action Plans

I have often been asked what the difference between goals, strategies and action plans. On the face of it, they seem similar, however they are very different, but interrelated.

Ryll Burgin Doyle - 10X founder - talking this week  about goals , strategies and tactics

An awesome group

 

10X Strategies to Grow your Business

What are your Goals?

An example of some business goals... 

• Financial goals – “To achieve revenue of $XX” or “Profit of $Y”.

• Staffing goals – “To have XX number of staff” or “To have a full time staff member in the position of XYZ”.

• Social Media Goals - To have 10,000 people following your blog within 2 years

• Market Share – “To have 70% market share of the SME market in Austraia within 5 years”.

There are many different types of goals you can set.  Goals should be SMART (specific, measurable, action orientated, realistic and within a specific timeframe)

What is your Strategy?

The next step is to look at strategy.  Stuff or things you can do to achieve your goals.
At 10X, we have a growth chart with 660 strategies you can implement for each section of your business, helping you improve your sales, profit and cash flow. 

• Improve your Sales

• Strategies to Increase your retention rate

• Strategies to Increase your leads

• Strategies to increase your conversions

• Strategies to Increase your Prices

• Strategies to Increase the frequency for your customers to buy

• Improve your Cash Flow

• Strateges to reduce your expenses

• Strategies to reduce cost of sales

• Strategies to collect debtors faster

• Strategies to improve your inventory turnover

You may have 20 strategies in place to achieve your one goal.

What is your Action Plan - What are your Tactics – how you’ll do it

Tactics are the last piece of the puzzle. For every strategy, there will be a number of tactics or actions. 

These are the individual steps you’ll take to execute the strategy and achieve your goals.
Tactics could be based around activity i.e. every week contact X number of customers.  

They’re the steps you need to take to achieve a goal.

When deciding on your tactics, include every part of the process - every step you can think of how long it will take to complete and who is responsible for completing it.

Goals, Strategy and Tactics – an example

Let’s assume one of your goals is to increase your clients  in the fashion industry who are interested in Exporting their products and services by 36 clients in a year (3 per month) .

One strategy you may adopt to do this is to define a specific offering.  In this example, your strategy is to create an e-book on export grants  that you can give away  to increase leads.

Let’s think through the actions/ tactics (or steps) you need to do to write the e-book.  Your tactics may include:

• Decide on a topic for the book (Export Grants for the Fashion Industry)

• See who your competition is and analyze their products

• Decide on the relevant content to include

• Find sources for the content

• Write a chapter a week (or outsource this)

• Find a designer to help with the design of the book

• Decide how you’ll distribute the book

• Complete the book three months from today on 1 January 2013

• Have the book distributed by 10 January 2013

• Develop a marketing plan to promote the book

Tactics are usually inter-related and you’ll find yourself working on a couple of active tasks at any one time.  In the example above, you may be writing chapters for your book, but you’ll also be working on a plan to market the book once it’s complete.

Next Step 

Take some time out to think about your goals, and work on at least one strategy and set of actions to achieve them.
If you are interested in a copy of the 10X strategies, leave a comment below to let me know how you go.
Your goals are defined objectives - which clearly identifies where you want to be within a specific timeframe.

Money and the Value of Coaching

Inspiration from Hanna Clements-Hart, JD, CPCC

Many  people say that they cannot afford coaching?

The question of what one can afford is highly subjective … look at how you spend your money compared to others   – and you will find a wide variety of choices and priorities based on implicit or explicit values. 

My experience is that as ones income goes up… so does their expenses !!

Some people spend 50% more on organic products, but can’t afford a $100/month gym membership. Some people buy fancy coffees ($3.50 per cup)  and $10 a day for lunch, while others travel at every opportunity. Some buy expensive gifts for others but never treat themselves. Many of us place such a high value on home-ownership, invest in property because we see them as an investment in the future, and we actually borrow most of the money required to pay for them.

Most of us  pay 9% of our salary into superannuation, and many of us  spend copious amounts of money on their children’s education.  

When someone tells me they “can’t afford” coaching, it is because they cannot see the value of what coaching will bring to them.

Can you “afford” coaching? Before you answer, consider what purpose the coaching serves, and what personal or family values it supports.

Is the coaching directed at career or leadership skills, personal development, sustainability, balance, happiness, family harmony, financial security? Are these areas worth investing in?

·         Can you measure the benefit you will get from an improvement in the above -  what is your return on investment (ROI). 

• ·         What if investing in leadership coaching meant that you got a job that paid $5000-20,000 more than you would otherwise have gotten? or helped you get a job (and a paycheck) a month or more sooner than you would have on your own?  Leadership coaching offers a clear potential return on investment, and it is tied to your financial security.
• ·         What if investing in a business coach for your SME could add 20% more sales and a 10% improvement on your gross profit? Could this ROI be measured?
• ·         It is harder to quantify the ROI on personal development coaching, but it is there — reduced stress, happier children, better relationships, healthier habits, better sustainability, more joy. Do you regard these as luxury items or necessities? What are they worth to you?
• ·         A fitness coach – you would live longer, feel better, look better and have more energy. Would this generate an ROI? What is this worth to you?

·         What is the cost of not making a change   — financially?  Personally?   Or in terms of your health or relationships?  Do you have life balance?  You will not find a successful athlete, sportsman, actor, investor or businessman without a coach.

Coaching is an investment in yourself, and in order to make that investment, you have to believe that you are worth it. 

I refuse to believe it is a function of affordability! 

What is the 10X GrowthPac?