Won’t it be nice if you ever took a backward step in business or in life generally an alarm would go off indicating you are going back… The signs, signals and warnings are always there (often very minute to start with). The trick is to pick up the signs early and get them sorted before they turn into something irreversible.

Over 18 years ago at my first pre-job interview in Australia with a recruitment agency, one of the “tips” I was given was not to wear jeans in an office environment. Over the next decade I only wore suits on most days, tie with a shirt on others or a “business” shirt with black trousers as the bare minimum.. Fast forward to now and I walk into our offices with a black jeans and a polo on all days… No one seems to mind that and it seems to be acceptable and I don’t believe that clients would see me as a lesser skilled having done away with the “business”…

As an individual you are very often not going to be able to deliver what you had promised and or had intended to. This is inevitable in any business environment but you know your heart is in the right place if every time you don’t deliver what you said you would, you feel disappointed. Disappointed in yourself is often the key to improving yourself and the business environment around you.

Employees are swearing that working from home has increased their productivity and they are happier. Small business operators are saying it’s more stressful for them as they rather see their team all at work and collaboration is easier. The truth probably is between the two…

Whenever all staff’s plates are full the most obvious and popular advise is “Get more staff”. Mostly correct but at times what the business might need is to look at itself more closely and understand the processes and customers. A few well directed adjustments might free up capacity and make everyone’s life easier.

When its winter, its reasonably cold in the morning. First we don’t want to get out of bed because its nice and warm. But we pull ourselves out of bed and go to have a shower. Then we don’t want to get out of the shower coz its nice and warm in the shower, but we do. We then drive to work and we now don’t want to get out of the car because its nice and warm. Lesson: Just move on with your life and you would not be worse off than you are now!

It’s amazing how some business owners still feel “guilty” of asking their debtors to pay up overdue invoices. Following up helps as it acts as a reminder to those genuine ones who have forgotten to pay and also to those who have notoriously made it a habit to pay late. If you can’t do it, hire someone who cheerfully can.

Yes it would be great if we all were where we wanted to be in our lives, profession, finances, etc. The truth is that most of us aren’t. Just because you aren’t doesn’t mean you can’t be. Take each new day, each new week, each new month and each new year as a fresh start and give yourself a chance to get there. You can sit in a corner and cry about things you haven’t done correctly so far or get up and get on with improving things from wherever you are in.

Successful or unsuccessful; we all better take ownership of where our businesses and professional lives are at. Take ownership of the failures and take credit for the successes. It’s your choices or lack of them that have got you where you are.

Everyone has been affected differently during the pandemic but safe to say most businesses out there (like ours) have not been able to provide their usual standard of service for a few months now because of varying reasons. Great service every time is the aim and the quest to get there continues for me and hopefully for other businesses out there too as we slowly return to business as “almost” usual. Provide great service… There is very little competition there…