Identification,
focusing on and prioritising key business activities as we all know is crucial
for a business owner. Often it is too easy to do the things you like or are
best at and ignore the more tiresome or challenging jobs. Sure you are still
working on something but sometimes to the detriment of the health or growth of
the business.
Marketing
is an example. Activities aimed at attracting new clients are a challenge for
some and are often ignored. Yet where would your business be without customers?
We would
all love a business where we just put the sign out and everyone comes to us .
This may have worked in the good old days but now in a very competitive market
where everyone is time poor and it’s hard to get attention, this is not a
reality. We need to market our businesses more than ever. Yet surveys say that
this is precisely what small business owners find the hardest – finding new
customers.

I’m a big
fan of working in your areas of strength but if that strength doesn’t fall into
a key business activity, not doing the necessary jobs is likely to be holding
you back. If you want to improve business performance you might have to
recognise that and do something about it.
Quite often
a business owner is very good at high value activities but will spend time
immersed in lowly paid activities. At these times it’s worth looking at the
opportunity cost involved and the possibility of getting outside help.
Coaching
will help you focus on the key activities your business needs to do to be able
move in the direction you want. You will identify what needs to be done and
work out who is going to do what and how often.

Most
businesses get their BAS statements out on time because Mr Tax Man says they
have to and therefore the business has a system which ensures this is done.
The
accountability to an outside party ensures that this is done.
I think it
would be better if Mr Tax Man identified 10 profit increasing activities which
had to be done each month.

I imagine that most business would implement a
system that complies. Personally I’d rather be accountable to a person helping
me forward.
In having a
coach you are  “Employing a person to work on your business with you to
focus you, prioritise activity, implement systems and be accountable to.”
Hence the
power of the Small Fish Business Coaching process  – Audit, Plan, Action.
Michael Gudgeon
Small Fish Business Coaching