Maybe you’ve been wondering how this podcast came about? A bunch of factors coming together resulted in Paul Sweeney wanting to create a podcast focused on helping small business owners. First of all, Paul comes from a small town where he saw first hand the implications of local businesses succeeding or failing. Success of failure […]
Are you guilty of mindless spending at work? Maybe you have cash leaking from your business and you don’t even realise it! Paul Sweeney (Pretium Solutions) explores some of the most common areas where money is wasted: Unused or under-used subscriptions Unnecessary licences Old subscriptions from past employees Automatic renewals These areas are often overlooked […]
Standard operating procedures (or SOPs) are about making things simpler at work and saving time. The work day is full of so many tasks and it makes sense to keep things as easy as possible. SOPs help you organise and streamline your activities to make the best use of your time. This is especially important […]
We assume accuracy is beneficial all of the time, but perhaps not always necessary. You can think of situations where accuracy might be sacrificed for speed perhaps, creativity, or just to get the ball moving on a project. Remember the saying by Catherine Carrigan, ‘Perfect is the enemy of done.’ But when is accuracy essential in business? Accuracy […]
Running a successful business is all about the profit, right? While being profitable is the ultimate goal of a business, one of the most important factors (and one of the biggest pain points) is management of cash flow. So what can you do to improve your cash flow? Paul Sweeney from Pretium Solutions explores some […]
Running your own business is amazing, right? The freedom, the power, the money – more like, the STRESS! Stress is something that everyone experiences, but for small business owners, it can feel extreme as you try to grapple with every problem imaginable and find solutions to please everyone. It’s an uphill battle that can leave […]
Sales is commonly listed as a problem area for businesses. But where to begin with fixing things? What can you do to improve your sales? Nathan Williams, founder of Customer Return, joins us to look at some of the biggest sales issues faced by businesses including: Developing the right pitch Creating a sales process that […]
It’s something that all businesses (and individuals) dread – a data breach. We all know by now how important it is to protect our data. But despite the tools and education available, these data breaches still happen. And sometimes, like the recent Optus breach, they are massive. This incident has led to many important questions […]
As part of our celebration of our 100th episode, we asked our listeners what topic they would like covered. The consensus was to do a compilation of the best business advice from listeners. So that is what you will find in this jam-packed episode! We heard from business owners and professionals about the strategies that […]
Delegation can be a great tool for business owners to use – but only if used correctly! Otherwise, employees can feel resentful (“I’m getting the jobs no one else wants!”) or overwhelmed (“This isn’t my job, why am I doing it? I have no idea what to do!”) Raj Nathoo from Keystone Active Learning shares […]
Do you need to know more about your customers or competition? What about trends affecting your industry? Or generational shifts in society? Successful businesses are all about providing great solutions to difficult problems faced by your customers. To make sure you are on the right path, it is crucial to have the right information to […]
Does your business rely on labour? An aging population and falling immigration rates already reduced our labour market and then COVID-19 made staffing challenges that much harder. So how can your business grow and prosper during these challenging times? Paul Cripps from PK People Solutions explores the issues around labour shortages and provides some ideas […]
As a business owner, you may feel you are too busy to read. Or perhaps you think your business is on track – what’s reading going to do? One of the best pieces of advice I received in my early years as an accountant and before starting my own business, was to read regularly. In […]
Welcome to The Business Behind Your Business podcast, conversations to help your business grow and thrive. It’s like having your own board of expert advisors in your pocket. The Business Behind Your Business team of expert advisors will take a deep dive into the problems faced by business owners everywhere. Just like successful athletes and […]
Are you ready to grasp new opportunities? People are starting to think more about how they can improve the ways that they run their business or look for new business opportunities to grow their profits, to grow their income. There is a lot of talk in the business community from people wanting to start or […]
The best business resources are here, at your fingertips. We’ve released podcasts on many issues facing business owners. Here is your one-stop shop for all of the resources mentioned in the podcasts, and organised under topics to make them easy to find.
You don’t need a lot of gear to get started. That’s one of the great things about podcasts. We like to keep it simple and make it as easy as possible for our presenters and guests. We enjoy the interaction of being face to face.
We’ve summarised some key points from our cyber security podcasts: Is your business appropriately protected from cyber crime? Do you have specific cyber insurance coverage? What happens if there’s a cyber attack and I have to make a claim? What’s the process? When it comes to cyber security, the weakest link is the user – the actual human being behind the computer.
Technology is wonderful for business. It helps you deliver a more efficient, consistent and effective outcome. But we can also fall into the trap of spending money on software and technology that we don’t really need. You’re in business to make a profit. And you should use technology to help you increase profit.
Welcome to The Business Behind Your Business podcast – conversations to help your business grow and thrive. It’s like having your own board of expert advisors in your pocket. Join your host Paul Sweeney and our team of expert advisors as we take a deep dive into the problems, and solutions for issues faced by […]
When business goals are not being achieved, it generally means that there are two or three key issues that haven’t been solved satisfactorily. Long term solutions are required to prevent the business owner from ‘putting out the same fires’ over and over again. It’s accepted that every business will have a dozen or more issues, […]
Why did you go into business anyway? Freedom? Lifestyle? Wealth? Those are some of the most common reasons why people start up their own business. But to gain these benefits, you need to extract wealth from your business throughout the life of your business. The day will come when you are no longer in business. […]
Paul Cripps, founder of PK People Solutions discusses how there is often more than one aspect to a business human resources issues, and how an “advisor team” approach can deliver more effective outcomes in terms of employee motivation, effectiveness and profitability. Paul Cripps provides operational and strategic HR solutions in collaboration with business leaders and […]
Why do finance applications get rejected? Why won’t my bank lend to me? How can a broker help me find the right type and source of finance for me? Jason Smith, from Capital Plus Finance, answers these questions and more. What does a business need to do to prepare for a finance application and what […]
Understanding your rights and obligations and making sure you have essential legal agreements in place is crucial for every business. Start off on the right track when your relationships with business partners are still in the honeymoon phase. Law ultimately is about relationships. It’s about managing relationships between people. Philip van den Heever from Frank […]
In this episode we’re grateful to be able to share with you an interview from Alive 90.5’s Grow the Business – People Edition. Paul Sweeney is talking with Alive 90.5 hosts Paul Cripps and Kylie Thomas about 4 key areas to managing your business through and beyond the current crisis. These four areas as being key to managing […]
Why do business owners feel stuck, and fail in achieving their personal and business goals? In this episode, Harry Nathoo from Keystone Business Advisory explains how a mindset of resilience can help you the business owner to not only survive, but thrive as we navigate through this crisis and beyond. Harry Nathoo has a proven […]
What are the common IT requirements for any business ? How you can avoid costly mistakes with your purchasing? Computers and Information Technology have become essential for businesses. A new computer, usually on sale, is often one of the first purchases made for a new business. However, there is a danger that on-sale and free […]
There are some very common tell-tale signs of when a business is under financial distress and heading for trouble. As a business owner there are some key aspects to running your business that you must proactively manage. Bruce Gleeson from Jones Partners explains why managing cash flow and your compliance obligations are fundamental in avoiding […]
It can be easy to stay motivated when your business is going well – but what about when things are hard? What do you do to keep yourself on track and maintain that passion for your business? Raj Nathoo, from Keystone Business Advisory, suggests we need to do two things. Firstly, he suggests we need […]
When we start a business, we do so because we want freedom. Then we become slaves to that business, and unless we grow by using scale to grow our business, we are not going to enjoy the freedom we want. Jim Mills, Financial Advisor with Merit Planning Hills, discusses this dilemma that faces most business owners. If […]
Our guest speaker, Harry Nathoo from Keystone Business Advisory, explores the topic of making great sales in difficult, changing times. Some key areas include: developing an overall strategy for marketing and sales targeting your sales efforts to make the most out of the marketing budgets of small businesses the importance of training sales staff No […]
Sandra Zalud, from Liberty Network Services, discusses the ways that businesses can use business loans. While funding is always an issue when starting a business, a business loan isn’t available until a business has been trading profitably for 2 or more years. There are many other ways that a business loan can be used. For […]
Cloud solutions aren’t just for large businesses. Small businesses can also benefit from using tools that are cloud-based. Having data in the cloud allows users to access information quickly, which enables small businesses to make decisions and react to change effectively. Luke Iacovelli, from UNITECH Solutions, discusses the importance of having your business IT in […]
You may be an expert in your business – but do you know much about protecting your business? How about risk management? Most business owners don’t know very much about insurance and they don’t understand exactly what insurances they will need. Dave Ferris, from DavelCorp Insurance Brokers, discusses why it’s so important for business owners […]
What kind of funding does your business need? What do you need to do before you seek funding? What are the steps involved in preparing and submitting your finance application? Are there alternatives to borrowing? Jason Smith, from Capital Plus Finance, discusses these issues and more. Your finance needs to be part of your overall […]
