Maximise the Value of Your Business – Whether You Plan to Sell or Not

Running your business as if it’s always ready for sale is one of the smartest strategies you can adopt.

Why? Because a business that’s “sale-ready” is well-run, profitable, and less dependent on you already..

10 Key Drivers of Business Value

1. Have a Clear Plan
A strategic and business plan keeps everything aligned. It sets direction, defines priorities, and keeps your team focused on the big picture.

2. Build a Standout Brand
Be known for something. A consistent, trusted brand increases recognition, trust, and ultimately, valuation.

3. Focus on Profit and Assets
Review assets regularly. Remove inefficiencies. Use data to drive profitability and cash flow.

Owning Your Mistakes. What Do Leaders Do?

Mistakes happen, even to the best of us. But the real difference between a good leader and a great one lies in what happens next. Owning your mistakes isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s a mark of strength, humility, and maturity. It’s how leaders build trust, credibility, and long-term respect within their teams.

In today’s competitive market, your brand is far more than a logo or a clever tagline. It is the story people tell about you when you are not in the room. Whether you are leading a small business or a large organisation, a strong, consistent brand can create significant long-term value.

A strong brand builds trust, loyalty, and recognition. Three factors that directly influence purchasing decisions. It tells your customers what to expect and gives them a reason to choose you over your competitors.

Your brand represents who you are, what you stand for, and how consistently you deliver on those promises.

Why Business Owners and Managers Don’t — But Should — Ask for Help

Many business owners, CEOs, and general managers hesitate to ask for help, and it’s far more common than most will admit. Whether you’re leading a team or running the whole show, the pressure to appear in control can hold you back from getting the guidance that could transform your business.

Every business leader has heard the phrase “cash is king.” Yet even experienced CEOs and directors can focus too heavily on profit, missing the vital distinction between profit and cashflow. Understanding both is essential for survival and long-term success.

Business owners often ask, “when should I reward staff?” or “when do I need to take action if performance isn’t there?” The short answer is you should reward when effort and results meet or exceed expectations, and you should “otherwise” (coach, redirect, or exit) when performance consistently falls short.

Striking this balance is one of the most important leadership skills. Rewarding achievement drives motivation, but failing to address underperformance can damage morale and weaken culture.

To Risk or Not to Risk?

Crossing the street, investing in new tech, or launching a business idea, risk is everywhere. As a business advisor, owner (and ex-banker), I’ve seen one truth play out time and again:

Obsess too much about risk and you freeze. Ignore risk entirely and you crash.

So, where’s the sweet spot? Let’s break it down.

Successful Business Owners – Top 5 Traits

Being a successful business owner takes more than a great idea. It requires developing key traits and living them by them every day. Many entrepreneurs might think they have these qualities but demonstrating them consistently is an entirely different game.

Below, based on my experience, are the top five traits successful business owners share, tempered with a reality check that simply knowing these traits is not enough, you must practice them.

Finding and Keeping Good Staff

Finding great employees is a lot like mining for gold. As a long-time business owner and fan of TV's Gold Rush, I have learned that good staff are like gold nuggets. They are rare and hard to find, but worth every ounce of effort.

And the truth is you must move a lot of dirt to find good gold and so it is with your people. You will have to sift through piles of resumes to find those nuggets that can help you transform your business.

Values and Strategy – Why They Must Go Together

In today’s times it is easy to chase business success while losing sight of what truly matters. But achieving profits and growth means little if your work leaves you empty and unfulfilled.

History is full of entrepreneurs who built thriving companies only to find they no longer loved what they did – success came at too high a personal price. It sounds like common sense, yet aligning personal values with business strategy is a principle often overlooked in the rush for success.

To build a successful business and a happy life, you must start with your values and let them guide your strategy.

Owning or Leasing - the Pros and Cons

Many small-to-medium New Zealand businesses face a decision when acquiring equipment or vehicles, whether to buy to own the asset or lease it. This choice affects capital, cash flow, and tax outcomes. Understanding the high-level pros and cons of each option helps owners and managers choose the best approach for their business.

AI – Will You or Won’t You Embrace it?

AI tools offer new possibilities for all businesses. For example, chatbots can answer routine customer questions, while analytics can help target marketing and even forecast demand. AI might automate scheduling or email sorting, freeing owners for strategic work. Likewise, personalised advertising enabled by AI can significantly boost conversion rates.

Sound exciting? Well, it absolutely is but there are “always two sides to every coin”.

7 Key Factors in Making Your Business Saleable

With the average New Zealand business owner now over 50, and about 40% of businesses likely to hit the market in the next decade, it is crucial to make your company stand out as valuable and saleable. Focusing on the following seven key factors will help attract buyers and maximize your reward when you sell.

Why do so many business partnerships fail?

Running a business is always challenging. Add a business partner into the mix, and things can get even more complex. It is little wonder that so many business partnerships struggle to survive. Some statistics show up to 70% of partnerships fail, however, this does not mean a joint venture is doomed. Understanding common pitfalls is the first step to beating the odds.

Debt – A Good or Bad Thing?

The word “debt” often sparks anxiety, evoking thoughts of bankruptcy. Yet in business, debt is not all bad. In fact, when managed properly, debt is considered an essential tool for growth. Simply put, borrowing money lets you leverage a small amount of capital into a larger investment, accelerating expansion that might otherwise be impossible with limited equity.

It may be a cliché, but “when the going gets tough,” the tough really do get going.

Challenging periods test every business, yet the best leaders do not shy away from hard work or tough decisions, they step up. Economic pressures or industry downturns are not the time to retreat. They are the time to refocus on what drives your business and to take decisive action.

When should you ask for help in business? The answer is simple, always. This does not mean you are constantly in crisis, it means you recognise that seeking advice is a strength, not a weakness, and a key to success. The best leaders are lifelong learners who know the value of outside perspectives.

Over the course of my business and professional career, I have learned the hard way that there’s a big difference between reacting and responding. I have been guilty (more times than I’d like to admit) of reacting, firing off emails in frustration, making snap decisions under pressure, or blaming others when things went south. And almost every time, it’s come at a cost financially, emotionally, or in relationships.

From Employed to Self-Employed…..

The Dream, The Reality, and Doing it Right.

For many, the dream of being your own boss is irresistible. The idea of more freedom, flexibility, and control over your own future is a powerful motivator. Whether it is a great idea you are passionate about, a skillset you have and want to monetise, or simply a desire to leave an uninspiring job behind, moving from employment to self-employment is an option more and more people are exploring.

But while the destination may be rewarding, the journey can be tougher than expected.

If you have ever felt unsure about the difference between branding and marketing, you are not alone. Many business owners use the terms interchangeably, but they’re not the same thing.

Understanding how they work (individually and together) is key to building a successful and valuable business.

So, what is the real difference?

Branding is who you are. It’s your business’s identity. It is how people perceive you and what they remember long after they’ve seen your logo or visited your website.

Marketing, on the other hand, is how people find you. It’s the engine that drives awareness, generates leads, and encourages people to take action, like visiting your website, calling you or making a purchase.