Business owners often tell us they do not have the right people for their business.

We are not denying the importance of people as business drivers.

What business owners are really stating is that their current functional structure is inadequate for growing their business.

How about building the right seats on the bus and then filling them with the best available people?

This is our own personal analogy.

No business should solely depend on individuals. Otherwise, the business is unsustainable.

To manage the “people issue” is to ensure that you address the functional continuity of your business.

By doing so you will create a winning recipe to grow your business to meet the market, customer and business needs.

In other words, make it less about individuals but more about the functionality of the business to win and deliver on business.

Get this right, and you’d can grow your business in a structured manner and generate sustainable returns from every business opportunity.

In addition, this is a cornerstone step in addressing any succession or transition plans.

Create functional continuity to enable your business to grow and scale with time!

What do you think? Are you about the individuals or focus on the functionality of the business?

Do you need some professional support to grow your business value?

Contact Bruce Bryant, CEO & Founder of Stylequity

bbryant@stylequity.com

0403 946 925

Business owners often ask us:

“How can Stylequity adapt its strategy to the current environment?”

Stylequity creates a flexible strategy that can adapt to any change in the long-term goals of businesses.

A good strategy is a flexible strategy. 

Your strategy should constantly be realigned if one or all three change:

1. Customer demand & needs
2. Market environment
3. Business requirements

We create strategy that is based on addressing the immediate opportunities and challenges and long-term identified opportunities of the business.

Stylequity’s 3A-Outcome strategy model can be amended daily, creating flexibility and empowering the business owner to grow their business.

It includes 3 phases:

1. Assessment of key opportunities, challenges and priorities.
2. Alignment of shareholders and business requirements and setting achievable targets.
3. Action plan, formulation of a strategy and linked to an implementation that can be measured and monitored.

Constantly reviewing 3A-Outcome strategy and the management of the business’ strategy empowers the business to adapt and change its strategic focus.

The best way to embed a flexible strategy is in the way we mange strategy.

We find the best way is to hold monthly strategy meetings, measuring the implementation performance of the strategy.

Then as required amending the strategy and its implementation initiatives by assessing the key opportunities & priorities, to manage the immediate and meet the long-term objectives of the business.

Based on active management of strategy your strategy will be constantly aligned with the current environment, hence a flexible strategy that delivers.

Do you need some professional support to grow your business value?

Contact Bruce Bryant, CEO & Founder of Stylequity

bbryant@stylequity.com

0403 946 925

What is the biggest impediment in doing business?

And why is decisiveness pivotal to business?

The answer may seem obvious. But the best insights are sometimes the simplest.

My biggest frustration in business is indecision.  

There really are only three types of business decisions:

1. Yes
2. No
3. I don’t know, therefore I must investigate further

My encouragement to you is to make definitive decisions.

As a business owner, you control what you focus on and how you make decisions.

The best business owners I have worked with take minimal time to make the best decision. They politely ignore time wasters.

You are a business owner; focus on what is optimal for your business.

I favour informed decisions.

Equip yourself with optimal information, but don’t forget to base a decision on that information!

This important focus also eliminates “decision fatigue”.

We work towards making more right than wrong decisions.

There is no secret formula.

Decisions are not always based on facts, yet often on subjectivity.

You can always make more money but never make more time.

So don’t waste it!

Do you need some professional support to grow your business value?

Contact Bruce Bryant, CEO & Founder of Stylequity

bbryant@stylequity.com

You are a business owner and want to grow.

The question you ask yourself constantly is, “Where am I you going to focus my intent, energy and business resources?”

The traditional management approach to manage a business is Risk Management.

But I want to ask yourself this question:

Has risk management ever grown a business? 

For you as the business owner it should be all about return on effort.

This equates to return balanced with time and resource allocation.

Most highly successful business owners who grow businesses understand that it’s all about managing opportunities.

It’s also about understanding which opportunities are real which you can you convert into loads of cash in the shortest timeframe.

The way to grow your business is to manage your opportunities (and the associated risks).

Focussing on the right opportunities is always not easy as a business owner one gets caught in the daily grind of working in the business.

But should not all business activities be focused at delivering on the best profitable cash convertible opportunities?

So as an owner growing a business re-arrange the order. Focus on the real opportunities, and then the associated risks required to manage your business to make money.

It is all about Opportunity Management.

Do you need some professional advice to grow your business?

Contact Bruce Bryant, CEO & Founder of Stylequity:

bbryant@stylequity.com

0403 946 925

You are a business owner and want to grow.

The question you ask yourself constantly is, “Where am I you going to focus my intent, energy and business resources?”

The traditional management approach to manage a business is Risk Management.

But I want to ask yourself this question:

Has risk management ever grown a business? 

For you as the business owner it should be all about return on effort.

This equates to return balanced with time and resource allocation.

Most highly successful business owners who grow businesses understand that it’s all about managing opportunities.

It’s also about understanding which opportunities are real which you can you convert into loads of cash in the shortest timeframe.

The way to grow your business is to manage your opportunities (and the associated risks).

Focussing on the right opportunities is always not easy as a business owner one gets caught in the daily grind of working in the business.

But should not all business activities be focused at delivering on the best profitable cash convertible opportunities?

So as an owner growing a business re-arrange the order. Focus on the real opportunities, and then the associated risks required to manage your business to make money.

It is all about Opportunity Management.

Do you need some professional advice to grow your business?

Contact Bruce Bryant, CEO & Founder of Stylequity:

bbryant@stylequity.com

0403 946 925

Imagine this: you are the owner of a medium-sized private or family business.

Your business has been making a steady net profit over the last five years.

You would like to ensure that your business remains a sustainable growth asset, which would be retained within your family or wealth portfolio as a legacy once you retire.

What you have done in your capacity as owner, in collaboration with the Board and Leadership team, is put forward various ideas to look at increasing your business’s profitable income by planning ahead based on current and future market opportunities and trends.

You have a plan that needs to be articulated and actioned through implementation.

But have you done enough to ensure that everyone is on board with your goals and aspirations?

Have you sought the advice of a commercial expert that can help you with business wealth creation and recognition?

You decide to hire Stylequity, a business advisory and growth firm, to help you create and align your business plan and vision to your business strategy, so as to create growth and ongoing success for the future.

What are some the key questions you need to ask before you engage?

• Would we like to create sustainable wealth?
• Do we aim to retain a wealth-generating asset?
• How can we recognise what we have created?
• When should we recognise what we have created?

Through collaborative development of strategy, Stylequity assists your business in defining its current and future value through value realisation.

Put simply, value realisation involves the setting and achieving of business goals based on the understanding that the growth of the business is influenced by various factors, qualitative and quantitative, emotional and objective.

Business owners need help as to when and how to recognise the business value, now and in the future.

The step-by-step approach involved in value realisation comprises:

• Aligning the needs of shareholders with those of the business
• Future wealth legacy: understanding where the business is at present within its market; and where its shareholders would like it to be
• Providing achievable opportunities for creation of sustainable value
• Creating a flexible, scalable and fundable structure for profitable growth; growing the top line profitability or through mergers and acquisitions
• Locking away value through good financial and risk management for investment and sustainable enterprise value or for sale at “true” value

Stylequity implements the above steps to ensure that businesses overcome their perceived challenges, allowing them to move forward with wealth creation for the long-term and recognise success.

Do you need some professional advice to grow your business?

Contact Bruce Bryant, CEO & Founder of Stylequity:

bbryant@stylequity.com

0403 946 925

Why is decisiveness pivotal to business? The answer may seem obvious, but aren’t the best insights the simplest?

My biggest frustration in business is indecision. You are a business owner; focus on what is optimal for your business.

I favour #informeddecisions. Equip yourself with optimal information, but don’t forget to base a decision on that information!

There really are only three types of business decisions:

1.     Yes

2.     No

3.     I don’t know, therefore I must investigate further

Make definitive decisions.

As a business owner, you control what you focus on and how you make decisions. The best business owners take minimal time to make the best decision, and politely ignore time wasters. This important focus also eliminates “decision fatigue”.

We work towards making more right than wrong decisions. There is no secret formula. Decisions are not always based on facts, yet often on subjectivity.

You can always make more money but never make more time! And don’t waste it!

The three pillars of health are interdependent. Mental health, physical wellbeing and financial security go hand in hand. The importance of these health pillars is amplified now more than ever, with environmental, personal and socio-economic factors throwing lifestyle and financial plans off course.

At Stylequity, we find ourselves a part of this health journey alongside business owners. How can we provide ongoing support to our clients and their employees?

The answer presented itself during a chance meeting with Benefit3 – a champion of corporate wellbeing that empowers clients. In turn, Benefit3’s @LoriChappel and @MarisaBreytenbach partner with top solutions providers, such as @SelectWellness to provide these wellbeing services. @SelectWellness are specialists in the design and delivery of employee wellbeing programs that work.

Such wellbeing programs are built upon underlying principles:

• Start from the top down. When leaders exemplify good wellbeing behaviour, employees will follow.
• Wellbeing is an action not just a thought. Programs embed sustained behaviour changes.
• Relationships at home and at work, meaning & purpose, the work life balance, emotional resilience, intellectual stimulation and more traditional physical health & vitality all contribute to our wellbeing.
• Every individual has their own unique wellbeing recipe, to which the programs are tailored.
• Accountability and responsibility for managing our own wellbeing truly matter.

Stylequity looks forward to working with Benefit3 and Select Wellness on improving our clients’ wellbeing!

“You can’t be everything to everybody, but you can be everything to somebody.”

Trent Shelton 

Choosing an ideal client for a professional service firm isn’t an easy feat… Although many business owners see their business as unique, we, at Stylequity see the similarities of businesses, and business owners.  

There are a few fundamental truths, common to most businesses and business owners, including making profits, wishing to grow, sticking to core business and providing for the owners’ lifestyle. 

Since fundamentally all businesses and business owners are very similar, we might consider every business a potential customer, right? 

Well, not so much.  

There are two very important elements we consider: 

1. What is the client looking for? What is the client’s need?
2. What is the purpose of engaging with this particular client? What are we going to get out of this engagement? 

Client’s perspective 

These two elements are indeed, in order of importance. The first one to ask ourselves – are we a good fit? Do we have the knowledge / experience / credibility to serve the client, and take them on the journey with us? 

These questions (and their brutally honest answers) are fundamental to client selection! 

Stylequity was formed in 2009, and gained 12 years of credibility.  

Our leaders and principals have gained tremendous amount of experience prior to forming Stylequity, working on both sides of the equation – having hands–on experience running businesses and business units, and advising and consulting clients. We have been exposed to an incredible variety of businesses, business models, industries and markets.  

Although our strengths lie within our broad experience, some clients would prefer advice from people with specific industry knowledge. And that’s ok.  

To gain our clients’ trust, we must be very clear and confident in our ability to deliver, and back our confidence with our previous successes.  

Stylequity’s perspective 

The second element is what we, as Stylequity, are looking for from a client engagement. We consider the following cornerstones for every* potential engagement: 

1. Ethical fit – are we willing to have our name and reputation associated with this particular business? Our reputation is the only element in our ability to gain clients, and we cannot afford to compromise on it. Under this section, we consider the ethics of the business (industry, code of conduct, etc.).
2. Personal fit – can we work with the business owner? Our engagements are typically 2-3 years long, and involve making significant changes to the business and business owners’ life. We try to assess the owners’ propensity for change and commitment to the process. We also assess the business owners’ motivation to engage us. Business owners engage us for a variety of reasons. Are those reasons aligned with our ethos and values?
   We don’t always get this right, but we’re getting better with each new client!
3. Commercial fit – here is the easiest set of criteria, to help us select potential clients. This is guided by the most obvious question: Can they pay our fees?
4. Size of business – revenue and profits. 
   We usually work with businesses with revenue between $5M to $100M, which generate at least $1.5M net profits per annum.
5. Business structure – private, public, or non-profit? 
   Stylequity works with privately owned businesses, and directly with their business owners. We don’t work with other advisors or leadership team, without the direct and ongoing involvement and accountability of the business owner(s). Because we require the involvement of the owner of the business (the person with most to gain or lose from every decision made), we will not work with public or non-profit organisations. 
6. Industry or type of business – The list is too long to mention here, yet I can certainly point out that we will work with most businesses, except for those gaining revenue from unethical practices (gambling, drugs, alcohol or unsavoury financial services) or with start-ups. 

Choosing a partner for a 2-3 year relationship with lifelong ramifications, such as reputation,  success or failure of engagement, is an important part of running every successful advisory business. But here’s the kicker – clients with whom we would not work potential clients are identified even before our first approach. Our selection process is more focused, which brings us to a select group of businesses, which we personally approach and pitch to. The costs and time investment in this selection process outweighs the benefits of having a great client / service provider fit, and raises the odds of a successful, long term and mutually beneficial partnership for the long run. 

*Every set of rules has its exceptions. We may come across a unique opportunity, that lies outside certain selection criteria. Our principals will apply their own judgements on work with a certain client.  

Business owners often tell me that they do not have the right people for their business.

Well, that’s something I’ve heard many times!

I am not denying the importance of people as business drivers. What business owners are really stating is that their current functional structure is inadequate for growing their business. How about building the right seats on the bus and then filling them with the best available people? This is my own personal analogy. No business should depend solely on individuals. Otherwise, the business is unsustainable.

To manage the “people issue” is to address the functional continuity of your business. In doing so, you create a winning recipe for meeting the market, customer and business needs. In other words, make it less about the individuals, but focus more on the functionality of the business, and its ability to deliver.

Get this right, and you’ll soon grow your business in a structured manner so it generates sustainable returns on every business opportunity. In addition, this is a cornerstone step in addressing any succession or transition plans.

Create functional continuity to enable your business to grow and scale with time!