Building Better Business

A Programmed Approach

This programme is specifically developed for Business Owners, Proprietary Directors and Senior Managers operating small to medium sized enterprises. It is initially focused on providing you, as someone who is actively involved in the Management and Ownership of your own business, with an assessment, development and implementation of the best option for your current enterprise.

This programme facilitates your concentration and definition on what it is that you wish to achieve through your existing ventures and highlights and develops the tools and skills required to start making the necessary changes to your business.

Programme Content & Format

This Programme is run over a six month period and covers all of the key aspects of owning, running and managing a business operating in the SME Sector. The Programme is based on a combination of Workshops and dedicated individualised meetings in the workplace.

The Workshops are limited to a half day per month and are highly interactive.

You are required to complete assignments, which are both relevant and focused, on your own individual enterprise. This allows for the achievement of practical results in the core areas required to develop and sustain your business.

There are opportunities for Networking with other participants and many people establish excellent relationships which assist them in the operation of their businesses.

The Key Areas of focus addressed in the Workshops include:

Business Planning
Defining the Customer & Building the Marketing Plan
Growing the Business: Sales & Business Development
Building Better Teams
Operations & Production
Managing the Accounting, Finance & Cashflow
Business Systems for Benchmarking & Feedback

Primary Objectives

If you want to re-assess your current business direction, review the current results against your expectations and build an organisation that you run, instead of it running you, then this programme: Building Better Business is for you.

Get Better Customers

Defining the ideal Customer is crucial. Equally important is creating the basis for doing business with those Customers: understanding the Customer and positioning the business so that there is an ideal match and a mutually beneficial relationship.

Grow the Business

Businesses are dynamic: they are either growing or dying. There is the need to constantly evaluate and determine the level of satisfaction with the existing business and the level of desire for future growth and development. This includes defining and developing the basis for future customers’ needs and requirements and the manner in which the business will meet or surpass these needs and requirements.

Better Teams get Better Results

“Our most important asset: Our Staff” The majority of Business Owners will frequently make such a statement but fail to act accordingly. Staff must know what is expected and required of them and what they require and can expect from the business in return. Another key aspect to getting the best from Staff is running effective meetings, building systems of accountability, responsibility and feedback

Better Bank Practice: Manage the Finances

Businesses fail for one reason and one reason alone: They run out of Cash! It is imperative that the whole process of Managing Invoicing, Debtors & Cash Collection is clear, simple, understood by all and practiced in the best manner possible. It is equally important that the financial relationships with Staff, Suppliers & Business Owners are clear, simple, understood and practiced by all, a fact often overlooked. Provision within Finance must also be made for growth and development of the business by managing both working capital and long term capital requirements.

Better Operations for Better Results: Manage the production and delivery of Goods/Services

Customers come for the products and service: It is not Marketing, Sales, People or Finance that customers buy: it is the product or service. Getting this wrong ensures that there is no sustainable or viable business. Getting it right means that you will build a loyal customer base who will continue to use and support you and refer new Customers to your business

Performance Management

Which is the most successful small business in the world? Mc Donald’s!
Why? Because everything is simplified, structured and systematic!

Implementing systems to manage all of the key aspects which require measurement and feedback, together with continued or corrective action, is essential to the success of any business.

Commitment to Action

Business Coach & Accountability Partner

As part of the Programme, you will be meeting and working with an experienced Business Coach, on a one to one basis to help you focus on your business. As a Business Coach, the primary goal is to enable the Business Owner to achieve the best possible results for the time, effort and resources invested in the business. The outcome required is to ensure that the Business Owner is investing time, effort and resources in line with current best practice, giving the business an edge on the competition. Within the meetings held, the following essential matters will be addressed as they relate to the business:

What is the Primary Objective of the business within a fixed timeframe?
What are the Key Steps to be taken to ensure that the objectives will be achieved?
What Specific Systems are in place to measure results achieved against desired outcome?
How is a System of Feedback and continuous improvement implemented?
What are the Rewards and Penalties given for achieving or exceeding planned outcomes or for failing to achieve the required standards?

If you wish to learn more about the next Programme or to develop a proposal on the “Build a Better Business” Programme to meet your specific needs, please call 01 843 9114 or email atracey@knowledge.ie.