In this Australian Business Podcast episode, Owen Rask, Danil Goloubev (and Jordan Kidis) share their best business tips and tricks for 2024 & beyond. Danil and Owen cover topics like:
- Reinvest! Let growth be the motivator: your returns will be second to none.
- Know your costs, especially the difference between cost of goods sold (COGs) (e.g. inventory costs) and operating expense (OPEX) (e.g. marketing)
- Elephants group – can you find 3-4 people who you can be vulnerable with? Join our waitlist to be part of our special community, launching in February 2024.
- Use AI to your advantage. Take a moment over Christmas to explore AI productivity tools for social media marketing, email marketing, Powerpoint presentations and templates for materials. Basically anything you have to do regularly should have an automation or AI element to improve efficiency. For example, Microsoft copilot. We use Google Bard / AI tools for meeting transcript, ac1on lists, Google Docs, proofing emails and content, etc
There’s a full list of resources available on the Show Notes page.
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24 business tips and tricks for 2024
- D: Reinvest in the business. Let growth be the motivator your returns will be second to none.
- D: Don’t put off compliance. Know what you owe, plan to pay it and don’t be naïve.
- D: Ask your accountant what services they offer. Usually, the cheapest way to start outsourcing basic tasks like bookkeeping, payroll and usually the cheapest option in advice. Whether strategy and/or cashflow. If they can’t help with at least one of your needs, maybe its time to find another one.
- D: Set a strategy day, work out some goals and targets to follow. If you don’t have a business partner, do it with your key employee or a business coach or accountant.
- D: Put your withholding tax and super aside during each payrun. One of the simplest, easiest, and most effective tips. You will owe that each reporting period monthly or quarterly pending on the size of your business.
- D: Know your COGS vs OPEX – could be actual materials and purchases, could be labour or anything that is directly related to completing the works usually but not always a variable cost related to gross income.
- D: Percentages are important – know your margins and understand your margins. Key performance indicators and how to constantly work on improving them.
- D: Records, records, records. Keep ABNs for contractors, invoices and keep payments clean. Utilise software’s like Xero, MYOB, DEXT etc. to help you. The more you have the more your you can deduct usually.
- D: staff – if money permits be okay with making the investment 2 backs to go 10 steps forward
- D: use down time of December/Christmas to plan for the 2024 financial year, use a strategy framework like traction or scaling up – one page business/marketing plan
- D: process, process, process – allows you to focus on other things
- O: Elephants group – can you find 3-4 people who you can be vulnerable with? Join our waitlist to be part of our special community, launching in February 2024.
- O: Build an A Team
- O: Marketing is about how people feel – not widgets. Less than 10% of our brain is often used for the deep thinking, the majority of how we act is based on our embedded automatic belief systems and unconscious mind. How does your product make your customer feel before and after? Sell the transformation.
- O: Use AI to your advantage. Take a moment over Christmas to explore AI productivity tools for social media marketing, email marketing, powerpoint presentations and templates for materials. Basically anything you have to do regularly should have an automation or AI element to improve efficiency. For example, Microsoft copilot. We use Google Bard / AI tools for meeting transcript, action lists, Google Docs, proofing emails and content, etc.
- O: Review your product and pricing – even if you have one product or service that makes the most money, it might consume a disproportionate amount of time – so you could probably do without it. I’ve had to make some really tough decisions recently to cut some of our channels and prioritise resources elsewhere. I hate having to say no to something that’s extremely well received. But it has to happen.
- O: know your customer. Know their name. Know their interests. Build an avatar with your team.
- O: Cut the underperforming staff. I know it sounds harsh but even if you have the right seats, filling them with the wrong bums means you’re destined to underperform as a collective. I know the stress of managing teams – which is why I (and thousands of others before me) prune team members as they grow operations. Yes, it can happen.
- O: be ready to sell, even if you aren’t. Being profitable right now is not about maximising your profit, it’s about minimising your chances of death – and giving yourself peace of mind. You’re worth it. If your marketing feels slightly uncomfortable, that means it’s the right level.
- O: Be grateful, for whatever your situation. You’re here now, listening to The Australian Business Podcast, probably because you own or want to own a business. That’s more than can be said of so many people, so well done to you. Take a moment to let that sink in. How good you are. You may have been through some really tough patches post Covid, and you’re still standing. Well done to you.
- O: save time with software solutions – invest in your tech stack
- O: build a brand – a brand is what people say or think about you when you’re not in the room
- D: passion projects
- O: Invest in a coach in 2024 – that’s the space we’re moving into, in a big way. If you can’t afford a full coach (that’s qualified), find a group of focused, intelligent and supportive people.
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