BEING AGILE – THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX

Well, not much has changed over the last 12 months.

The biggest issues affecting businesses are still the same:

1. Labour shortages compounded by increased pay rates and costs to both employ and retain staff.
2. Increased costs – driven by a combination of capacity issues and supply shortages.
3. Shortages of raw materials with the corresponding price increases associated with more demand than there is supply.

On the brighter side “lockdowns” seem to be a thing of the past. As I write this newsletter the Ministry of Health have just announced only 1,500 new cases of Covid-19 today, the lowest number since March. We also recently had the one-year anniversary of the August 2021 four-month lockdown which was caused by one single confirmed case of Covid-19 in the community. How things have changed since August last year. What does this tell us? It tells us that if the government can change, then so must we if we are going to survive in the current environment.

Change means being able to think outside the box and being adaptable enough to deal effectively with our current issues. It also means making compromises.

Labour shortages and increased employment costs are not going to improve any time soon – unless, of course, there is a large and sudden injection of available labour into the marketplace caused by a mass closure of businesses over the next few months. And that scenario could easily play out if businesses do not adapt to the current conditions. The important point is that those business owners who are open to change and who want their operations to survive will be the ones sounding the death-knell for those business owners who dig their heels in and refuse to adapt.

So, what can you to do to change and learn to think outside the box?

In order to be able to change, your business model must be Agile. What does this mean?

1. You need to be able to rapidly adapt to both the current and changing environment.
2. You need to be aware of your capacity constraints and target your client base and target markets that offer the largest returns for the least amount of effort.
3. You need to ensure that your product / service costing models are up to date; that is, pass all increased costs into your pricing. You must retain your profitability to survive.
4. You need to review your processes to increase productivity and reduce duplication and waste.

If you think that the above is outside of your skillset, then help is available. Providing the necessary assistance to achieve what needs to be done is exactly what Good Business Advisors like myself do.

When you are working in the business you are often too close – or too emotionally engaged – to Identify all the opportunities. Many of these opportunities for improvement, which often involve better and different ways of doing things, will seem obvious once they are pointed out. The obvious often only becomes the obvious when a fresh set of eyes brings it to your attention – and that is what I excel at. Into the Blue NZ Limited is an expert in business reviews and costing models. Additionally, all our services are registered with the Regional Business Partner Network (RBP) which means that, if eligible, you can receive 50% government co-funding for any of our services up to a maximum of $5,000. To be eligible for the funding you must be registered with the RBP, be GST registered and have an NZBN number. To register click on this website https://www.regionalbusinesspartners.co.nz/

For more information on what help I can provide call John on (021) 625-871 or alternatively go to our website by clicking here https://intotheblue.co.nz