I support business owners to grow in a profitable and sustainable way. Business growth comes from a few clear areas: more sales or customers through better marketing, more products or services to sell, expanding into new locations, or acquiring another business. However you want to get there, I can help you work out which path fits your business and your goals.

Mindset. You need a growth mindset. If you open your mind to what is possible, you have cleared the first hurdle. The owner's mindset sets the culture of the whole business. When you believe growth is possible, your team starts to believe it too. Try to stop saying no, and start saying I will consider it. You will be surprised how quickly opportunities and ideas start to appear. If you cannot see a way forward, listen to how you talk about your business and your growth. Write those thoughts down. If they are not thoughts of growth and possibility, that is the place to start working, because thoughts shape everything you do.

Showcase what makes you different. Show people, visually and clearly, why you are unique and why you are better. Then look for ways to reach your target market directly, rather than getting lost in mainstream marketing. If your product or service suits the general public, pick a niche to chase first and get the business moving. Be unique, chase your target market, and create a niche.

When the market is crowded, the key is to focus on your product, your brand and your point of difference. It is easy to get distracted by what everyone else is doing, but that is dangerous, because your energy goes elsewhere. Put your energy into doing your own work well and keeping your customers happy. Look at what your customers need, how you can help them, and what they want. Build your marketing around meeting those needs and wants. Add something creative and memorable so people feel good about engaging with you, then push that message out through every channel you have.

If you are doing the same thing over and over without growth or profit, it is time to adapt or pivot. Albert Einstein is often quoted as saying insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. If you are not getting what you need from your business, make a change. Business is always evolving, and so is the market. Stay flexible and agile, with a focus on profitable growth.

We all have up and down days. No two are the same. My version of resilience is believing you can handle most challenges and still move forward. The key is knowing what your goals are, accepting that there will be good days and bad days, and believing you can get through to reach those goals. Self belief builds resilience, and resilience lets you achieve almost anything.

This one is easy. Money. Every time I have seen a business get into trouble, it is because it ran out of money. I did this myself with my first major business, a bookstore. I had a detailed plan: the products and margins, the target customers, a niche marketing strategy, and where the set-up money came from. The one thing I did not watch closely enough was cash flow. Sales were coming in, and each month there was money to pay bills and market the business. But the stock to keep the shelves full had to be paid for up front, and when it did not sell quickly enough, money got very tight. Eventually I ran out. The cash did not flow. In the next business I built a detailed cash flow forecast. I looked at it daily for the first six months, weekly for the next twelve, then monthly once I had good reserves. That business succeeded because I knew it could pay its own way. When things slowed, spending slowed. Knowing how cash moves into and out of your business is the most important thing you can understand as the owner.

The three I see most often are: not managing cash flow, failing to plan and truly understand the expenses involved, and not communicating with the team about how the business will grow and what it means for them. I know these because I have made all of them. It is easy to get excited about expansion. Before you launch headlong into growth, make sure you know the plan, what it costs, and how you are going to pay for it.

In my view, profitability is always short, medium and long term. There are just different degrees of how much. So the real question is whether you sacrifice profit for growth. I have done it in the past, to buy another business or a significant asset. Only you can answer it for your own situation. For me, growth is not about sacrificing the business you have. It is about extending it, perhaps using its assets to create a new range of products, or acquiring a complementary business that adds depth and variety. Before you sacrifice anything, look at what other options exist so you can hold your profit and still grow.

Every business should be doing this regularly. Know where your income comes from and why. Look at what your sales actually are, and compare them to previous months or years if you have the data. Work out where your customers come from and how they book or buy from you. Measure every channel, so you can see what is bringing sales in and what is not.

To identify your target market, start with some honest questions. Who are you trying to help? Describe them clearly. What do they need? What challenges and obstacles do they have? Then look at who is currently buying from you, and why. If you do not know, ask them. The answers will sharpen who you are really for.

The best way to handle objections is to understand where they come from. What is driving the objection, and is it within the control of the person you are selling to? The only way to know is to ask, using open questions to get as much information as you can. Then take your time and think through how to address each one. You might offer a different product, adjust your service, or simply ask the client what you can do to work with their concern.

Communication. When you communicate openly and regularly with your team, you create the chance to collaborate, you talk through how the business can be better, you share information, and you ask questions to understand more. You show the way by example, and you give feedback. Then you let people do their jobs without telling them how. Ask the team what they think needs to happen, listen, and offer suggestions when they help. Leadership is about showing people the way and supporting them to get there, not doing it for them.

An exit strategy is how you plan to leave your business. Will you sell it, divide it and sell portions, bring in partners, or put a general manager in to run it? Once you decide how you want to step out, look at the financial plan around it. Are you taking your investment out? Will you need to be paid out, and where does that money come from? What multiple are you looking for, and what investment will new owners or partners need? Then look at the timeframe, and what the lead-up looks like. Here is what too often happens with small and medium businesses. The owner builds the business. The business becomes dependent on the owner. The owner burns out from holding it all together. There is no one to take over, so they try to sell, more than once. No one wants to buy a business built around one person. After months or years of not selling, the owner closes the doors. It happens across Australia every day. An exit strategy is how you avoid being that story.

We all have different levels of experience, knowledge and connections. A good mentor helps you see your business and your life from a different perspective, gives you options, helps solve problems, and guides you forward. A paid mentor in particular gives you support, helps you avoid problems, and shows you the best way through. I have had many mentors over the years, paid and unpaid, and the value from each has been significant. They gave me a real understanding of what I am capable of, and the support to make the changes that mattered. Running a business can be lonely, stressful and draining. Having a professional on your team, even for one hour a week, makes a real difference.

Every business is different, and so is every owner. I have a coaching structure I follow that sets out the steps, but the pace is set by you. I customise the plan to fit your situation, based on your past business experience, how far along you are, whether the business is a start-up or already operating, how complex the business model is, and what you want to achieve. From there I show you what the process looks like, and we work through it together. If a deeper diagnostic is what you need first, a Business Analysis is often the right starting point.