Julia Bickerstaff at Flying Solo's Independents' Day

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Julia Bickerstaff: How to manage your business for profit Tons of effort, not much profit; it’s the same story for many small businesses but it needn’t be. In this session, Julia will guide you through how to design your business for profitability. You will take home a selection of simple do-able actions to immediately improve your profitability by taking a close look at key areas of your business. Areas covered include: Revenue model – how to price for maximum profit Gross margin model – boosting margins and productivity Operating model – minimise overhead costs to leave more for you Cash model – how to streamline cash flow Julia Bickerstaff is an expert in the art and science of designing and growing profitable businesses and pricing for profit. She is the founder of The Business Bakery and Butterfly Coaching, the author of How to Bake a Business, a sought after speaker, the finance expert on Channel 7's Kochie’s Business Builders and author of SmartCompany's profitable growth column. A chartered accountant and economist, Julia has been a partner at Deloitte where she chaired the firm’s Innovation Council, led the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 and championed the firm’s small and medium enterprise strategy. Find out more at www.thebusinessbakery.com.au

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How  to  manage  your  business  for  profit  

Most  businesses    never    

achieve  their  owner’s  profit  expecta:ons  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

What  is  profit?  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

Your  Business  Model  =  Your  Business  Recipe  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

If  you  want  to    pocket  more  profit    

you  have  to    change    

the  recipe  julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

Lots  of  :ps  but  aim  to  leave  with…  

3  ways  to  change  your  business  recipe  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

At  the  start  life  looked  good  

Work  40  hours  a  week,  48  weeks  per  year  =  1920  hours      Charge  $150  per  hour    Earn  1920*$150  =  $288,000  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

But  3  years  later….  

Work  50  hrs  a  week  for  50  weeks=  2,500  hours    Earn    $100,000    That’s  an  average    $40  per  hour    Compared  to  plan,  work  an  extra  580  hours  to  earn  $188,000  less  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

I  guess  I  just  need  more  work,  groan  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

“You  don’t  need  more  work,  you  need  to  fix  

your  business”  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

Eh?  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

You  spent  70%  of  your  :me  on  client  work  but  only  invoiced  32%  .    You  lost  $143,750  of  revenue  through  your  pricing  decisions    You  lost  $37,500  of  gross  margin  because  you  were  ineffec:ve  and  made  mistakes    It  cost  you  $93,750  of  billable  :me  to  operate  your  business    

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

Working  harder  is  not  the  answer  Hours   Dollars  

Total  hours   2,500   375,000  

Less:  

Revenue  mistakes  -­‐    unprofitable  pricing  

(650)   (143,750)  

Gross  margin  mistakes   (300)   (37,500)  

Opera:ng  costs   (750)   (93,750)  

Total  unbilled  hours  and  revenue  

1,700   275,000  

Billed  hours  and  revenue   800   100,000  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

Hours   %  of  total  hours   Dollars  

Hours  billed  to  clients  

800   32%   100,000  

Hours  and  cost  of  revenue  mistakes  

650   26%   143,750  

Hours  and  cost  of  gross  margin  mistakes  

300   12%   37,500  

Hours  and  cost  of  opera:ons  

750   30%   93,750  

Total  hours   2,500   @$150  per  hour   375,000  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

1.  Revenue  mistakes  2.  Gross  margin  mistakes  3.  Opera:ng  cost  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

Charlie’s  revenue  mistakes  Cost  of  discounted  hourly  rate  

Hours   As  a  %  of  total  client  hours  (1450)    

Dollars  @$125/hour  

2500  hours  @$150-­‐$125   62,500  

Hours  you  didn’t  charge  because:  

You  wanted  to  be  “cheap”   300   20%   37,500  

You  did  stuff  the  client  didn’t  want  done  

100   7%   12,500  

You  did  extra  stuff  the  client  wanted  but  you    were  too  cowardly  to  charge  for  it  

250   17%   31,250  

Total  revenue  lost   650   44%   143,750  julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

Pricing  for  maximum  profit  

How  to  ‘set  and  get’  your  prices  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

Tips:  How  to  set  your  prices    

Star:ng  point:  the  price  calculator:    

Hourly  rate  X  Number  of  hours      

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

How  to  set  your  hourly  rate  

 “Start  with  what  you  want  to  earn  out  of  the  business  and  then  design  the  business  around  that”  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

Selng  your  hourly  rate  What  does  profitable  look  like  to  you?  

1.  How  much  would  you  like  to  earn  a  year?  

2.  How  many  hours  would  you  like  to  work  a  year?  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

Selng  your  hourly  rate    Es:mate  the  number  of  client  hours  you  intend  to  invoice  for  the  year  

Tip  –  You  can  assume  50%  of  the  hours  you  work  will  not  be  billed  to  a  client!  

 Tip  –  You  are  beoer  off  

aiming  for  a  higher  hourly  rate  and  fewer  hours  than  vice  versa  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

Selng  your  hourly  rate    Do  an  hourly  rate  calcula:on  

 Earnings  for  the  year  (+  cash  costs)              50%  of  hours  

 Earn  $200,000,  Work  2000  hours,  

(assume  bill  1,000)    Hourly  rate  needs  to  be  200,000/1,000  =  

$200        

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

Selng  your  hourly  rate    Revisit  aqer  looking  at  the  margin  model  and  opera:ng  profit  model  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

Tips  for  es:ma:ng  the  number  of  hours  for  a  project  

1.  Keep  a  :mesheet  (properly!)  2.  Add  a  buffer    3.  Do  a  budget  for  each  job  4.  Keep  a  record  of  “extra”  

work  5.  Check  in  with  clients  –  are  

you  doing  addi:onal  stuff  that  they  don’t  value?  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

You’ve  set  the  price….now  how  do  you  get  the  price?  

 

5  strategies  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

1.  Posi:on  yourself  -­‐  Aim  high  

$9.66  /L   $3.65  /  L   $3.00  /  L   $1.15/  L  

Super  premium   Premium   Everyday   Economy  julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

2.  Three  talk-­‐about-­‐able  differences  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

3.  Be  the  expert  

Be  the  expert:  Act  as  if  

4.  Great  experience  

5.  Let  your  price  tell  the  story    

Price  helps  your  customer  buy  

Three  :ps  to  make  pricing  more  palatable  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

1.  Anchoring  

2.  Power  of  three  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

Small,  medium,  large  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

Good,  beoer,  best  

$8.70/  100g  $4.98/100g     $10.63/100g  

3.  Certainty  

Aaagghhh!  My  hourly  rate  just  won’t  work  

Final  thought  

If  you  think  your  pricing  is  too  high,  ask:  

1.   -­‐  are  they  going  to  a  compe:tor  or  simply  not  taking  the  service?  

2.   -­‐  what  is  the  compe:tor  doing  that  you  are  not  (bet  it’s  not  all  about  price)  

3.  What  can  you  cut  out  (they  aren’t  valuing  all  that  you  do)?  

1.  Revenue  mistakes  2.  Gross  margin  mistakes  3.  Opera:ng  cost  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

Charlie’s  Gross  Margin    model  

Hours   Dollars  

Total  hours   2,500   375,000  

Less:  

Revenue  mistakes  -­‐    unprofitable  pricing  

(650)   (143,750)  

Gross  margin  mistakes   (300)   (37,500)  

Opera:ng  costs   (750)   (93,750)  

Total  unbilled  hours  and  revenue  

1,700   275,000  

Billed  hours  and  revenue   800   100,000  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

Charlie’s  gross  margin  model  

Hours   As  a  %  of  total  client  hours  (1450)  

Dollars  @$125/hour  

Hours  you  couldn’t  charge  because:  

You  were  reworking  mistakes  

100   7%   12,500  

You  were  inefficient   200   14%   25,000  

Total     300   21%   37,500  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

What  are  gross  margin  mistakes?  

 “Unsellable  stuff”        The  hours  you  spend  on  client  work  which  are  unbillable  because  you  have  been  ineffec:ve  or  inefficient  

     

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

Gross  Margin  Recipe    Tips  for  Boos:ng  Margins  and  

produc:vity  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

Tip  1:  Produc:ze  1. Frameworks  2. Clear,  consistent  deliverables  

3. No  reinven:ng  the  wheel  

4. Easier  to  price  5. Quicker  to  sell  6. Creates  valuable  IP  in  your  business  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

Tip2:  Process  

1.  Turn  everything  you  do  into  a  repeatable  process  

2.  Keep  your  eye  out  for  ways  of  elimina:ng  the  unnecessary  

3.  Perfec:on  is  over  rated  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

Tip3.  Get  on  with  it  

1.  Internet  off,  phone  off  2.  Keep  a  ‘no-­‐cheat-­‐  :me  sheet’  3.  Be  organised,  cluoer  free,  process  driven  4.  Stop  clock  –  work  in  bursts  5.  Cap  your  :me  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

Retail  Tip    -­‐  gross  margin  model  

1.Cura:ng  your  collec:on  is  your  skill  

2.  Fail  fast  3.  Balance  your  “porxolio”  of  risky  things  

4.  Risky  stock  must  have  a  margin  that  makes  it  worth  while  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

1.  Revenue  mistakes  2.  Gross  margin  mistakes  3.  Opera:ng  cost  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

Charlie’s  Opera:ng    Cost  Model  Hours   Dollars  

Total  hours   2,500   375,000  

Less:  

Revenue  mistakes  -­‐    unprofitable  pricing  

(650)   (143,750)  

Gross  margin  mistakes   (300)   (37,500)  

Opera:ng  costs   (750)   (93,750)  

Total  unbilled  hours  and  revenue  

1,700   275,000  

Billed  hours  and  revenue   800   100,000  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

Charlie’s  opera:ng    costs  model/recipe  

Hours   As  a  %  of  total  hours  (2500)  

Dollars  @$125/hour  

Hours  you  spent:  

Selling   250   10%   12,500  

Marke:ng   250   10%   12,500  

Admin   250   10%   12,500  

Total   37,500  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

No  marke:ng  miracles  

 “Marke:ng  is  the  price  you  pay  for  lousy  

products”      

OUCH!       julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

Tip1:  Get  the  basics  right  Top  3  reasons  why  you  are  

spending  too  much  :me  marke:ng:  

 1.  You  are  a  ‘me-­‐too’  

business  2.  You’re  not  marke:ng  

at  all  –  you’re  just  having  fun  

3.  You’re  “marke:ng”  to  the  wrong  people    

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

Tip  2:  Referrals  are  your  marke:ng  engine  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

The  Ul:mate  Ques:on  

“How  likely  is  it  that  you  would  recommend  this  company  to  a  friend  or  colleague?”  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

Selling  

   

Cost  of  acquiring  a  customer  is  the  #1  underes:mated  and  unbudgeted  cost     julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

Tip  1:    Easy  ways  to  keep  selling  costs  down  

1.  Keep  a  record  (on  your  :me  sheet)  of  all  ‘selling  :me’  so  you  can…  

2.  Budget  for  ‘selling  :me’  and  price  it  in  

3.  Develop  a  selling  process  (mee:ng  agendas,  proposals  etc)  don’t  reinvent  the  wheel!  

4.  Find  a  quick  way  to  uncover  tyre  kickers  

 julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

Tip  2:  Repeat  purchases  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

Admin  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

Cash  model  

You  are  not  a  success  un:l  you  turn  your    profit  into  cash  

 You  lend  your  :me  not  your  money  

 

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

Tip  1.  The  race  to  invoice  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

Tip  1.  The  race  to  invoice  Gold  medal:  Invoice  before  performing  the  

work    Silver  medal:  Invoice  while  performing  the  

work,  frequently  and  regularly    Bronze  medal:  Invoice  as  soon  as  work  

completed    Middle  of  the  pack:  All  invoicing  once  a  month    Wooden  spoon:  invoice  when  you  have  :me    

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

Tip  2.  Unambiguous  fee  structure  

Invoicing  is  a  process  not  a  pricing  decision  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

Tip  3.  Chase  your  cash  

1.  Set  aside  a  regular  :me  to  call  your  debtors  2.  Keep  notes  of  conversa:ons  3.  Make  friends  with  Accounts  Payable  clerk  4.  Be  the  squeaky  wheel  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au  

Julia  Bickerstaff  

Julia  @  thebusinessbakery.com.au    www.thebusinessbakery.com.au  

julia@thebusinessbakery.com.au