Accounting | Teik Oh

Why Understanding Finances Is The Secret Ingredient

Nov 26 2019

I’m going to talk about finances.

Stop!

Don’t delete the email or close the window! You really need to hear this, and I promise it won’t be boring!

OK, jokes aside, unless you are a finance specialist like an accountant or a bit of a numbers nerd, finances usually make a small business owners’ eyes go blank.

That’s understandable because if you are like most small business owners, you started your business as a subject-matter expert. You knew your stuff, that’s why you had the confidence to start your own business. You knew that at worst, you could back yourself on selling what you know. But you’re an intelligent person, so you realised that running your own business wasn’t like working for the man, where all you had to do was show up and do your stuff. That’s why, to your great credit, you end up reading websites or newsletter like this.

You knew you had to find out about business planning, you had to know about marketing, you had to find the sales prospects and work out the best and most efficient way to supply what you supply. You had to hire staff and then manage them.

And, you had to manage the finances.

Like most people who are not finance trained you probably bought software that was hopefully easy to use, and you copied the data at the end of the year and gave it to your accountant. As soon as you could afford it, you hired a bookkeeper and handed the operation of the accounting software to her.

I don’t like to tear you down, but that’s not good enough.

Here’s why. Read More

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7 Financial Measures To Help You Manage Better

Sep 10 2019

If your small business is in the growth phase, that means you have survived your startup phase and are on your way, so well done!

The growth phase of a business is characterised by a rapid increase in sales. Customers have become aware of your business and know how your product or service meets their needs. So, they buy more and more, and more of them come to you, at least to try you out further.

However, I have to rain on your parade slightly to tell you that the growth phase of a business can be stressful times.

This is because the characteristics of the growth phase poses a number of challenges.

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Set The Right Price

Jun 28 2016

This is probably the question I get asked the most, especially for first time startups: “What should I charge for my service or product?”

Let’s start with the obvious – you should charge a price that makes you a profit or that is a fair reward for your efforts.

Okay, now that’s out of the way, your pricing schedule is an important part of your business, its branding, and your marketing. You can set loss-leader prices, attracting people to your site or store, so that they can then see all the other stuff you offer. You can set premium prices, distinguishing your quality or scarcity from your competition. You can set a price based on your skill – doctors have to attend many, many years of medical school to accumulate skills you and I cannot hope to have. You can set a price based on experience – an experienced plumber can resolve your plumbing problems in half the time and twice as well as one just starting out.

Watch this to learn about the 5 factors that determine how you should be setting your price.

Here they are again:

Supply and demand
The niche
Perceived Value
A high return on the customer’s investment
Customer satisfaction

This is where the fun starts after you’ve watched the video – click here and comment on how you set your price.

I have also prepared an Entrepreneur’s Business Health Checklist for you to check off the 6 key result areas for your business – click here and give me your email to get the download.

Now if you are a budding entrepreneur thinking about starting your own business, I hope reading and watching my blog and video posts are helping. But maybe not! Maybe they are just adding to your overwhelm about “Where do I even start?”

If that’s the case I have created an online training course especially for you. If you are a first time entrepreneur, or you have a great idea for a business, or if you’re working for a corporate but think you can do it better – this is the training course you need.

It’s called “How To Start Your Own Business” and in 5 online video lessons and 10 downloadable worksheets and information sheets, you will be taken through a step by step process to get yourself ready, test your idea in the market, design your business model, plan ahead, and take care of all the little legal and other details before you open your doors. It will clarify everything for you! As an online course you can take it at your own pace, and it is available to you forever for a one time payment.

Click here to get the course for only $97 AUD!

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Some basic numbers you need to know about your business

Mar 01 2016

I have provided my followers with loads of free ideas and tools about how to create great strategy in your business, how to develop your leadership skills, and how to grow your business and your life.

But despite all the planning and marketing – being in business boils down to one thing: making sure that you make a profit that’s good enough to meet your goals.

So, here’s a training video on financial management.

Stop right there! Do not click on the “delete” button!

This is important. You cannot subcontract knowledge about your financial performance to an accountant. You have the skin in the game, and it is your duty to your better future that you know something about the numbers that tell you about how your business is performing. It’s not just about the net profit, or how much money is in your pocket.

If you want to grow your business, you need to know the relationships behind your income statement and your balance sheet.

This 20 minute training video introduces you to some key numbers – sure, you don’t have to keep your own books to get those numbers, but you do need to understand what they mean.

Watch out for some free gifts to subscribers of teikoh.com coming out soon. One of them will be about financial performance management.

Get over to the website for more great stuff worth thousands of dollars available to you for free. While you’re there, subscribe so that you don’t miss upcoming articles (and free gifts available only to subscribers) or subscribe here.

See you soon!

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Systems for Resilience

Dec 22 2015

Last week, I wrote the first of a two-part article called “How to create a resilient business” and I promised the second part this week which will be called “Creating a resilient climate in your business”.

This isn’t it!

So, those of you who were looking forward to continuing reading about how to create a resilient climate in your business – well you’ll have to wait and come back to the blog huh? Got you!

No, seriously I will be publishing the second part next week but I thought I’d interrupt the flow with an on-topic real life story.

Something happened to someone close to me (not me, so I won’t share it with you) that meant I suddenly had to take time off work, several weeks in fact, and without a great deal of warning. In many, less resilient businesses this could have been catastrophic to the conduct and flow of the business, let alone your income. You could be going along nicely, or at least coasting, when – WHAM! – a crisis happens and you find that you have a choice as a small business owner. You can do what’s right and take time off to look after the personal crisis or you can carry on working in the business and cause whatever damage to your personal life and relationships.

Before you answer that your business is your livelihood and you would need to look for a compromise, let me remind you of two facts that I’m sure I share with you – first, some crises cannot be compromised, second you started the business to achieve a good life/work balance. Right?

So having to suddenly take 6 weeks off – and doing so successfully – what lessons have been learned by me that you can benefit from in crisis proofing your resilient business? Read More

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Increase your sales through a highly focused marketing plan!

SMART Marketing: In this book, the owners of a small business are led through the SMART Marketing 7 Step Process to produce a marketing plan targeted at their most desirable customers. Any business can use these principles and in 4 to 6 weeks implement a plan to get them through the door! Find out how...

The SMART Marketing Workbook: Companion to “SMART Marketing”, this workbook sets out the SMART Marketing process in 7 workshops for you and your staff to complete questionnaires and templates that at the end, form the marketing plan you need to sell your REAL product to your REAL customer! View now...

Category - Accounting

Get FREE weekly ideas to grow your business

Why Understanding Finances Is The Secret Ingredient

7 Financial Measures To Help You Manage Better

Set The Right Price

Click here to get the course for only $97 AUD!

Some basic numbers you need to know about your business

Systems for Resilience