As a business owner, it can be all too easy to become overly caught up in the hustle — trying to do everything ourselves, attempting to control every outcome, and working around the clock.

Doing this day after day, however, is taking a toll on us.

We are straining our bodies and minds beyond their limits, leaving us exhausted and numb to the beauty of life beyond our business.

If that wasn’t bad enough, overworking can have far-reaching negative consequences: poor physical and mental health, deteriorating work quality, and broken relationships— all while sabotaging growth efforts within our own business.

But despite these consequences, burnout is still a leading cause of failure in business.

We must remember to take care of our minds, to look after our well-being.

The battles we fight in life, both personal and professional, are won or lost in the mind.

Our lives are always moving in the direction of our strongest thoughts — I firmly believe that what we think today, shapes who we are tomorrow.

So let’s pause and ask ourselves, where are our thoughts taking us?

If our thoughts are taking us on a negative path full of stress and exhaustion, it’s time to take a step back.

Here are a few tips that I will be concentrating on this year to ensure business success and well-being:

Set Boundaries

As business owners, it’s essential to show ourselves the same level of respect we’d extend to a client or partner.

This means being clear about our boundaries and how much time, energy, and resources we can commit at any given moment.

Achieving balance is key for avoiding burnout – knowing when to say no helps us ensure that there will always be something left in reserve for those who matter most!

Striking a healthy boundary between work demands with personal limits allows us to offer quality service while preserving our physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing.

Delegate Tasks

You don’t have to do it all yourself!

Even the most talented of us reach a point where we need help.

The trick is knowing when and what tasks can be outsourced or delegated – freeing up time for more important activities that demand our expertise and attention, while providing excellent value-for-money in return.

So why not make a start this week by giving away something you’d normally spend your valuable hours on?

Identifying which (and how many) tasks are ready for delegation could prevent burnout before it even starts!

Seek Support

There’s no shame in seeking a little help when running your business.

Having someone to lean on for advice and support can be an invaluable resource that helps steer you through especially tough times.

You know the saying: “Walk with the wise, become wise.”

Additionally, you need somebody who truly understands what you’re tackling as they offer advice and cheer on those momentous successes!

Self-Care

As a business owner, it’s important to remember that who you are is just as significant as what you do.

To help ensure success for our businesses and customers, we must dedicate time to self-care.

Personally, I enjoy going on walks with family members and friends – as well as indulging in dinner at new restaurants!

Adding these activities into my schedule helps me recharge every month.

Perhaps for you, it could be yoga or some form of exercise classes and for someone else; reading books, or learning a language…no matter what fuels you best — make sure it goes onto YOUR calendar now.

Don’t let burnout become part of your story: prioritising yourself means honouring YOURSELF and those around you who rely on us business owners daily.

Best wishes for a successful 2023!

Having the right mindset can help you achieve massive success in you business. Get your mind right towards your business by reading this next article!

Are you struggling to make your business work?

Insight CA Limited is a team of experienced Auckland-based chartered accountants and business advisors who can help. We’ll give you the power to see what’s really happening in your business, so you can take control and start making progress. Click here to learn more about how we can help you achieve your goals.

Welcome to the New Year, Entrepreneurs!

It’s time to make a plan for how you can make this year your best yet in business.

One of the best places to start is to create twelve key objectives to focus on throughout the year and help your business become as strong as possible.

Each resolution may seem insignificant on its own, yet collectively they can pack a powerful punch!

Let’s jump right in and look at twelve resolutions you can make to help you build a healthier business this year.

1. Create a written business plan – a roadmap of where you want to be in the next 3-5 years – and it will help guide you on your journey to success

Learn more: Download the Ultimate Business Blueprint

2. Set measurable business goals that you can track and tweak throughout the year

Learn more: Proven tips in goal setting this year

3. Create a budget and stick to it! It’s important to plan ahead and keep track of your finances by setting aside funds for different purposes in advance, like taxes or debt payments

Learn more: Three essential pillars for guaranteed business success

4. Uncover the power of your numbers. Take time to understand your business finances and make sure you are taking full advantage of all the tax breaks and incentives available

Learn more: Key financial terms to understand your business better

5. Invest in an accountability partner – having someone to hold you accountable and provide motivation can help make sure you stay focused on your goals

Learn more: Three essential pillars for guaranteed business success

6. Implement an effective sales process – this will help increase conversions and ultimately drive more revenue for your business

Learn more: Business Owners: How to add value and help people buy

7. Leverage the power of networking – having a strong network is key to growing your business, so make sure you are taking advantage of all available networking opportunities

Learn more: Best strategies to improve your cashflow

8. Develop a customer loyalty program to build brand loyalty and drive repeat business

Learn more: 4 secrets to increase sales without spending more money on ads

9. De risk your business – Take time to understand what risks exist in your business and develop plans on how to mitigate them. Take our free survey below.

Learn more: Business Risk Survey

10. Make sure you’re leveraging the right technology – it will help streamline processes, automate certain tasks and make data more accessible

Learn more: Leveraging your technology

11. Take care of yourself. It’s easy to forget the importance of self-care when running a business

Learn more: How your mindset can help you achieve massive success in your business

12. Celebrate successes – take the time to recognise when you hit milestones and give yourself permission to be proud of your accomplishments! And don’t forget to share your wins with colleagues, friends and family – it will help you build momentum and stay motivated.

Take advantage of the New Year and give your business the fresh start it deserves.

Make 2023 the year you commit to building a healthier business with these
12 New Year’s resolutions!

By following these resolutions, you can build a healthier business and start the New Year off right.

With a little bit of hard work, dedication and the right tools at your disposal, you can create the business of your dreams.

Let’s make it happen! ✨👊💪✨

Ready to get started?

Kick start your New Year’s resolutions now by booking a free consultation with one of our experts!

Let’s take 2023 by storm!

Insight CA Limited – Helping Business Grow

Are you struggling to make your business work?

Insight CA Limited is a team of experienced Auckland-based chartered accountants and business advisors who can help. We’ll give you the power to see what’s really happening in your business, so you can take control and start making progress. Click here to learn more about how we can help you achieve your goals.

While Christmas festivities may be taking up your attention right now, the New Year is a great time to focus on business planning.

Business planning constantly gets brushed aside when sales are booming and there are a myriad of other urgent deadlines taking up our attention.

It never feels urgent, especially when sales are strong and you’re dealing with challenges like finding new staff or product shortages.

But, a well-crafted business plan can be your ticket to success – and I’m not just talking about a one-way ticket either!

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that laying out your business’s long-term goals is the obvious way to stay on track.

But it’s one thing knowing what professional steps you need to take and another actually taking them!

That’s why having a business plan in place will save you time, money and headache in the long run.

It can help you answer all of those tough questions such as:

• What do I really want from my business?
• What are my priorities?
• How can I achieve them?

Paired back to its essentials, a business plan identifies:

1) The goals you’re setting and how they align with your overall business vision

2) How you plan to achieve these goals

3) Strategies and tactics for achieving them

4) What resources are required, such as people, marketing budget etc

5) Who is responsible for the implementation of each element

6) How you will measure success.

By having a clear plan in place, you’ll know exactly what needs to be done and when which will help keep you focused on your highest-value activities.

So why not take some time during this holiday season to get ahead and start crafting your business plan for 2023?

Make it a priority in your list of resolutions; we guarantee it will be worth the effort!

Helpful resources:

1) How to build a best practice through planning – A Case Study

2)Time to review 2022 and Create a Business Plan for 2023

3)Client Testimonial: Business Planning and Cash Flow Forecast

4)What a business plan can do for you and how to use it

Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for the New Year! 🙂

Insight CA Limited – Helping Businesses Grow.

P.S Don’t forget to grab our free business planning template to help get you started. It’s a great way to get the ball rolling! Download your copy here, or if you would like to skip ahead and talk to one of our business planning experts, book your free call now!

Are you struggling to make your business work?

Insight CA Limited is a team of experienced Auckland-based chartered accountants and business advisors who can help. We’ll give you the power to see what’s really happening in your business, so you can take control and start making progress. Click here to learn more about how we can help you achieve your goals.

Tyrone and Natasha had always been enterprising people. They met in their early twenties, each working for a company that they didn’t feel was giving them the respect they deserved, so they quit and started their own.

Unfortunately, while successful in the eyes of everyone that beholds them, they knew that all they really had done was create themselves a job.  They were back to where they started, working long hours with little time for themselves.

Tyrone and Natasha were stuck in a vicious cycle, and they knew it. But they didn’t know how to break out of it.

When we first met with Tyrone and Natasha, it was clear that they had different goals and concerns about the business’s performance.

Tyrone was certainly qualified and passionate about his trade, and Natasha clearly had a basic understanding of administration – but not enough to run a business without assistance.

It also became apparent that they had different ideas about what their business should be offering its clients. Tyrone saw the business as being all about providing a high-quality service, whereas Natasha was more concerned about the bottom line and wanted to keep costs down.

After several meetings and some very frank discussions, Tyrone was excited about the prospect of where the business could be headed.  Natasha, however, like many business owners, was still resistant to the idea of paying for professional services – believing that she could save money by doing it all herself.

We helped Natasha realise that while true, this wasn’t currently working and was, in fact, holding the business back from achieving its potential.

Today Tyrone and Natasha’s business is thriving. They’re making more money than ever before; in fact, profits have increased by a massive 133% in the last six months alone.  All because they uncovered the secret behind every great business, that they couldn’t do it all alone. They needed to surround themselves with expert insights that could help them take their business to the next level.

And that’s what we did. We helped them align their goals by implementing a business plan – something Natasha would never have invested in before and gave them the insight they needed to make their business thrive.

If you’re like Tyrone and Natasha and you’re struggling to take your business to the next level, we can help. We offer a range of services designed to help business owners just like you grow their businesses and achieve their goals. So, what are you waiting for? Get in touch today, and let’s see how we can help you turn your business into a success story.

#whenyouhaveinsightyourbusinesswillgrow

Looking for other resources to help you grow your business? We recommend reading about Matt’s experience next.

Are you struggling to make your business work?

Insight CA Limited is a team of experienced Auckland-based chartered accountants and business advisors who can help. We’ll give you the power to see what’s really happening in your business, so you can take control and start making progress. Click here to learn more about how we can help you achieve your goals.

Did you know that almost all businesses need to raise capital at some point? Whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been in business for a while, chances are you’ll need to find ways to bring in more money. This can be a difficult task, but it’s not impossible. In this blog post, we’ll discuss some of the best ways to raise capital for your business. We’ll also provide tips on how to make the process as easy and stress-free as possible. So if you’re looking for ways to grow your business, keep reading!

Before going down the path of seeking outside capital, identify any other ways that you could raise money. For example, do you have savings from within this business or personal assets which could be used? If so weigh up what advantages would come with selling these first before taking on more debt. If there are unused assets in a company’s portfolio (machinery not being used often), then they might want to consider letting them go for cash instead.

Once you have completed this exercise, determine how much you now need.

Equity capital and debt capital – the difference

The most common form of raising capital is with ‘Debt capital’. This is money you’ve borrowed, usually from your bank (or friends and colleagues). It could be short-term funding like an overdraft for extra stock, or longer-term loans for buying new equipment or a building.

Less common is ‘Equity capital’ where you raise cash in exchange for selling part of your business. In effect you give up some of the equity in your business for capital to help grow. More often than not, you need substantial amounts of capital to make it worth-while to the investor.

Debt capital

Most of us are familiar with borrowing money. The most popular sources are:

• Friends and family. Often a first option as they are easy to approach but do take care as owing money to people you know isn’t always a good idea.
• The bank. Do you have any spare equity in your house that you could use? This is one of the most used forms of raising capital for small businesses as it’s often the cheapest. Interest rates with a property as security is almost always cheaper than unsecured finance.  You might also consider asset finance, where you borrow cash over the value of an asset, work in progress or stock.

Before you borrow any funds, double check that do you really need cash, or would you be better off looking at new markets working alongside a partner business?

Equity capital

If you require more capital than you can raise yourself or borrow, then you may wish to sell part of your business in return. The main providers are:

Angel investors
Angels are people (often other business owners) who think your business is promising and are willing to invest in it. They usually invest in businesses they’re familiar with, wanting either a return on their investment, some equity, or both.

The great thing about angel investors is that they’re usually keen to invest at an early stage, which can help with your start up. They bring their own experience to the table, which is knowledge you should take advantage of.

Venture capitalists
These are investment companies or fund managers who provide cash in return for part-ownership of your business. However, they’re typically looking to invest larger sums of money, which could be above and beyond what you need, and their requirements are much tougher than angel investors.

They may not want to play such an active role in the management of your business, but possibly a role on your board (so they tend to look at larger businesses).

Other forms of capital raising

Government assistance

It’s well worth checking out whether or not your business qualifies for government funding. Mostly, this type of funding comes in the form of grants.

Corporate investors

At times large companies (it could be a customer or supplier of yours) invest in smaller businesses that they have a stake in seeing grow and expand.

Crowd funding

Growing in popularity are online capital raising forums. They profile businesses seeking capital and then rely on the online investor network to raise the capital required.

Prepare your business for raising capital

Regardless of where you get the capital from, the more prepared you are the better.

These tips will help you present a strong business case to whoever you are talking to:

• Speak to advisors – your business banker, lawyer, business advisor and chartered accountant are all people you should consult about finding investors. They’ll have good contacts and advice.
• Prep your business – get your processes and systems running smoothly, make sure you’re monitoring your KPIs and demonstrate how you’re providing an excellent customer experience. Look for ways to work smarter, try and reduce overheads, and make sure all marketing is measured so you can continue with what works and ditch what doesn’t.
• Build your business case – review your business plan and make sure it’s presented well. Define your goals, how you’re going to achieve them, why you need capital and how much you need. Justify your reasons in terms of growth and expansion opportunities.
• Show you’re special – highlight what makes you stand out. So showcase your competitive advantage and point of difference. Demonstrate how you’ve protected your IP and if you can show that your business is scalable, so much the better.
• Explain your team – show that they’re experienced, skilled, and ready for the journey.
• Look for leverage – don’t grab at the first person to offer money. Make sure you’ve done your due diligence on all potential investors so you can decide which will work best with you and your business.
• Consider the risks – you are going to have to hand over some ownership if you decide on the equity option. Make sure you’re comfortable with this.

Contact Us

We’ve got you covered. Whether it’s finding the right type of loan, applying for one online or just need some general advice on how to raise capital – we’re here to help! Maybe you need an accountant in Auckland to do the work for you? Reach out today and let us know what your goals are so that we can put together a plan with you specifically in mind. You’ll be glad you did!

Do you want to understand your business better? Click here to check out our latest post on key financial terms you should know about!

Are you struggling to make your business work?

Insight CA Limited is a team of experienced Auckland-based chartered accountants and business advisors who can help. We’ll give you the power to see what’s really happening in your business, so you can take control and start making progress. Click here to learn more about how we can help you achieve your goals.