Your business faces an increasingly complex regulatory landscape when it comes to data privacy, consumer protection and industry-specific compliance requirements.

Keeping on top of these compliance requirements is a complex task. Failing to meet your requirements can have serious implications, with non-compliance (whether intentional or accidental) resulting in legal repercussions and possible reputational damage for the company.Keeping on top of these compliance requirements is a complex task. Failing to meet your requirements can have serious implications, with non-compliance (whether intentional or accidental) resulting in legal repercussions and possible reputational damage for the company. 

Taking excellent care of your customer data

We live in a digital world, where your organisation collects huge amounts of data from your customers. This includes contact details, financial information, credit card details and detailed breakdowns of their spending habits and buying preferences.

In an effort to protect this data and preserve customer privacy, there are various data regulations that you must comply with.

A sample of these global data privacy laws include:

• • General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the EU
  • The Data Protection Act 2018 in the UK
  • The Privacy Act 2020 in Australia
  • The Privacy Act 2020 in New Zealand
  • The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act in the USA

Depending on your organisation’s home territory, and where you trade, there may well be international, national and local data regulations to comply with. That’s a lot to get your head around, especially if you’re new to business and not familiar with the legal framework.

So, what can you do to make your compliance journey simpler and as effective as possible?

Here are five simple steps to enhance your compliance:

1.    Work closely with legal advisers

Compliance can get complicated if you’re not a legal expert. It’s sensible to seek advice from legal professionals, so you understand the specific compliance obligations for your industry and region.

2.    Run regular compliance audits

It’s important to conduct regular risk assessments of your in-house data compliance. This helps your organisation comply with all the relevant regulations and industry standards and stay updated with changes to compliance law.

3.    Protect your customer data

Your customers expect you to take good care of their data, both personal and financial. Secure your customer and business data through end-to-end encryption and use of the best data privacy practices.

4.    Deliver regular training and keep your employees up to speed

Your team needs to know the latest rules around compliance and what’s required of them. This means running frequent compliance training, so there’s a culture of compliance awareness.

5.    Use the latest data storage solutions

With so much customer data being generated, it’s important to use up-to-date documentation management and data storage software. This keeps the records and data you need safe, organised and easy to access.

Getting a grip on data compliance is a team effort. It’s important to work with legal, IT and data security professionals to ensure your organisation is ticking all the correct compliance boxes.

As your business adviser, we can connect you with experts in all the relevant compliance areas, so you get the advice, support and training you need as an organisation.

The following content was originally published by BOMA. We have updated some of this article for our readers.

The success of your business depends greatly on the success of your marketing.

Getting your key messages, product features and brand identity out into your industry market helps to drive engagement and sales – but we don’t all have millions to invest in this marketing.

So, how do you come up with innovative marketing on a shoestring budget?

Do you need big bucks to deliver great marketing?

Big marketing budgets are usually the sole preserve of large corporations with deep pockets and large bank reserves. But it’s more than likely that your business doesn’t have huge budgets to spend on marketing. And this is why it’s more important to have good ideas than big budgets.

5 ways to be original with your marketing

1.    Be 100% clear on your marketing goals

To create innovative and original marketing without a big budget, it’s important to be 100% clear what you want your marketing campaign to achieve. What are your goals? Do you want to increase brand awareness, generate leads or drive sales? Once you know your goals, make sure these objectives are specific, measurable, achievable and time-bound, to get the very best results.

2.    Do something different to your competitors

Knowing what your competitors are doing helps you pivot and come up with something measurably different. Pay attention to their social media, website, blog posts and above-the-line marketing. They may be helping educate your audience, can you do something that takes advantage of this but sets you apart?

3.    Be innovative in your thinking

The best marketing campaigns are original and innovative. They stand out from the crowd and capture people’s attention by following a new path, or trying a new idea. Don’t be afraid to experiment and use your best creative minds to come up with a campaign idea or content marketing that really makes your brand stand out from the bland and vanilla marketing concepts in your sector.

4.    Use social media to amplify your reach

Social media is a great way to boost the reach of your marketing campaign, but without spending a fortune. Share your content, engage with your followers and interact with the most popular trends and memes in your sector. If you want people to start talking about your brand, social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Twitter (now X) or Threads can all be good places to get a conversation going. You never know, you might go viral!

5.    Focus on good ideas that don’t break the bank

Just because you have a small budget doesn’t mean that you can’t create effective marketing campaigns. There are tonnes of low-cost and no-cost marketing tactics that you can use to promote your business. Original content marketing, smart use of social media, networking with other businesses, referral programmes and highly targeted digital marketing campaigns are all tools to include in your cost-effective marketing toolbox.

Talk to us about reviewing your marketing strategy and budget

Producing effective marketing on a smaller budget shouldn’t hold back your creativity. In fact, sometimes the budgetary limitations can actually drive you to come up with cost-effective ideas that are just as effective as those from a million dollar marketing budget.

Get in touch to talk through your marketing budget.

The following content was originally published by BOMA. We have updated some of this article for our readers.

It is important to make sure that you continue to drive through each business quarter to grow.

Here are ten ways to make sure that you continue to drive through each business quarter with purpose, vision and the courage to super-charge your business.

1.    Eliminate distractions

Time is the scarcest resource and biggest killer for most businesses. When we get busy we can also get distracted and focus too much time and energy on the wrong things. Be brave – slash standard meeting times, reduce unnecessary admin and delegate roles and responsibilities.

2.    Say goodbye to bad customers

If possible in your business, get rid of ten time-wasters, bad payers, or customers who cause you pain. You will feel instant relief and spend your time better elsewhere.

3.    Invest more

Having freed up time and headspace from deploying points one and two above, make sure you ring-fence time, key people, and money for some of the initiatives below. Redeploy with passion!

4.    Get a plan

You don’t go on a journey without a map or any idea of where you’re headed – so why fly blind with your business? Have a planning process, create a kick-arse plan – and execute. We can help you get started.

5.    Surround yourself with positivity

Make sure the people in your business understand and share your vision. Bring them onboard, listen to them and give them ownership. Don’t let people who don’t get it, or don’t care, be a millstone around your neck. If they’re not right, do them a favour and free up their futures.

6.    Use technology

Technology can help you decrease admin, improve comms, improve reporting and accountability. Whether it’s for team communication or cloud accounting, slash paper and automate where possible.

7.    Keep on top of the numbers

Do you have enough information to monitor business cashflow and see emerging trends? We can help you identify the metrics to track on a regular basis, in order to run your business efficiently.

8.    Be different

Break the mould and position yourself to attract ambitious, growing and engaged clients, and employees.

9.    Deploy marketing

Create a simple marketing plan to increase reach and penetration. Set aside a budget to treat this seriously. Start by making sure you really understand your customers. Existing customers are prospects too, keeping them happy is your first step. The more you know about them, the easier it will be to attract more of the same.

10.   Take a break

Don’t underestimate the time you have away from your business. It can allow you to come back refreshed with new enthusiasm and inspiration for the way forward.

The following content was originally published by BOMA. We have updated some of this article for our readers.

Growth doesn’t need to mean more risk, more hours and more headaches.

IIt may be as simple as identifying where the opportunities for growth are in your business and industry. Once you’ve done this you can establish what you and your team are going to have to do in order to maximise these opportunities, and how you will navigate the likely obstacles.

Here are a couple of tips to get you thinking about growth:

• • Do an audit to document your growth over time. Analyse all the information you have to understand how you got to where you are right now. This will help you to plan for future growth.
  • Next, put a one page plan together with the big objectives and what you’ll realistically need to do in order to achieve them. (identify the tasks and people)
  • Establish some key performance indicators to keep the momentum up and visit these regularly to ensure you’re on track.

As a business owner, you can get bogged down in the demands of day-to-day business. Taking time out of the business can give you some much needed perspective. We can help build your business plan and identify the steps you’ll need to achieve it.

Business growth can be perceived as something scary, but when you have a plan and it’s done right, it can be very motivating and rewarding.

With a bit of planning, the right systems, people and resources, there is tremendous opportunity to grow and scale your business to the next level to hit your growth targets.

We can help you get started.

The following content was originally published by BOMA. We have updated some of this article for our readers.

Keeping on top of the financial management of your business can be hard work.

It’s possible to have a profitable business that is struggling to find the cash flow to pay expenses and fund growth. Likewise, you could have positive cash flow but are not turning a profit, particularly if you are scaling.

Turning a profit is at the heart of running any successful company But without an even and predictable flow of cash into the company, you can’t cover your overheads, you can’t pay your employees and you can’t run your day-to-day operations – let alone think about expanding and growing the business.

In the end, you need both. But if you’re going to be in control of your financial destiny, it’s important to get your head around the important process of cash flow management.

Let’s look at some of the key things to understand about your finances:

• • Profit is a by-product of a successful business – as the owner, you want to make profits, but profitability isn’t the only goal. A business can easily be profitable, but also be highly unstable in the longer term. What you want is stability and consistent revenues.
  • Cashflow keeps your business alive – good revenues (income) serve to bring cash into the business. Without cash to cover your operating expenses, you have no means to keep the lights on in the business. So cash really is king!
  • Know your cost base and overheads – the flipside of your cash flow position is your costs. In an ideal world, you want more cash inflows than cash outflows, so it’s important to know your expenses and costs and to manage them carefully.
  • Be proactive about spend management and easing expenditure – if you can take action that reduces your spending, that is hugely positive for your cash flow position. Choose cheaper suppliers, negotiate better deals and bring that cost base down.
  • Drive more revenue, through increased sales and marketing activity – if you can increase your revenues, you also boost your cash flow. So it’s important to be proactive about running targeted sales and marketing campaigns to increase your sales.
  • Keep the cash flowing and the profits take care of themselves – if you achieve the ideal cash flow position, the company sits on solid financial foundations, the cash is there for investment and the business can grow. It’s that simple.

Talk to us about improving your cashflow management

Whether you’re new to running a business, or a seasoned owner who needs some financial support, we can give you the cash flow advice you need.

We’ll review your finances, delve down into your cash flow, and will come up with key ways for you to increase your cash income and reduce your cash expenses. It only takes a few small changes to achieve a far better cash flow position for your business – helping you maintain positive cash flow AND generate profits.

The following content was originally published by BOMA. We have updated some of this article for our readers.