I’d like to welcome you to my blog, a place where I can share some recent experiences, positive and negative, and where you can tell me what you’d like to learn more about.
There is lots of talk about how the WA economy is travelling at the moment, and barely a day goes by without me being asked my opinion on where we’re headed ……so here it is.
In my opinion the WA economy has returned to”normal”. By that, I mean that there are some businesses who are struggling, but conversely there are some that are thriving. And the major difference between these two groups is not industry, size or location. The difference is attitude. Now, not many business owners will tell you that they have been breaking records in the last 2 years. But those that are making this bold statement are those that have taken the time to build themselves a niche, either through the development of products or through establishing a point of difference with their service.
Undoubtedly profit margins have eroded considerably since the height of the resources boom, but for those who are satisfied to build their business gradually using sustained low/medium profit margins there are some green shoots emerging, with the opening of new export opportunities and a noticeable shift among local economies towards quality and reliability of service as opposed to price.
Sure, we will continue to see businesses struggle and some will ultimately fail. And if you think that your business may be falling into this category, I encourage you to connect with some experienced professionals to determine an appropriate strategy for moving forwards. These “professionals” are not necessarily accountants or lawyers (although they could be), but rather business people who you have known and trusted for a long time and that you can rely upon for honest feedback. Sometimes the simplest solutions can come from the most unlikely source, and this could be something as easy as changing your product or service offering to a complete overhaul of your cost base, or even a discussion with a competitor about a buyout or merger.
And if someone that you know comes to you for help, the best advice I can offer is to be honest and upfront. If you think that the business is being under-managed or that it would benefit from an alternative strategy then say so, because inevitably the business owner will have already had these thoughts and is looking for some validation. There is nothing to be gained by telling a business owner that they are doing everything that can be done and eventually everything will be okay, because time can be your greatest enemy.