Today, many business owners, especially within the small to medium sized market (SME) are faced with the stress of working long hours, increasing competition, low profit margins and the difficulty of finding good staff and keeping them.

Do these business issues sound familiar?

Are you receiving the monetary returns you deserve from your business?

Are you one of many business owners who is simply not receiving the monetary rewards you would like and deserve in return for all the hard work and long hours you put in?

The truth is that 90% of business owners feel like this, but the good news is that with the right systems in place, life as a business owner doesn’t need to be like this.

Icon Business Solutions has a range of tailored business solutions that will help you take a step back from your business so you can decide what steps and direction your business must take to achieve your goals. We then work with you to achieve those goals.

The end result is freedom:

The freedom to take more time off. The freedom to spend time with family and friends. The freedom to spend time navigating the course your business needs to follow, instead of being down in the boiler room shoveling coal.

At Icon Business Solutions we can work hand-in-hand with you to recruit and retain a team of employees who will help you systematize your business so it can run without you.

At Icon Business Solutions we work to give business owners their lives back…

We do this by helping you build your business so it is much more profitable, and more importantly, operates efficiently without you needing to work in the business to generate turnover.

Many of our clients have now reduced their working hours by as much as 30% and are now taking the first holiday they’ve had in years. What’s more, their profits are at record levels too.

Answer the quiz below to see if you need advice on managing your business

Section 1. TIME

Answer the questions below to see if you spend too many hours at work, or if you have enough spare time to spend with family and friends.

Question 1.1
TRUE OR FALSE: You ARE the business. If you were gone, the business would be too. You are overworked and underpaid. Every day is a copy of the last, and you're the only dependable person you've got.
Question 1.2
TRUE OR FALSE: You can’t remember why you bought your business or even what you dreamed of achieving. You don’t even know how your business is performing against your original business objectives.
Question 1.3
TRUE OR FALSE: You could never just jump on a plane tomorrow for a spur of the moment, luxury two month holiday escape, safe in the knowledge that you would still have a business to come back to.
Question 1.4
TRUE OR FALSE: You have missed one or more important events in your children’s or family’s lives due to commitments in your business you thought you could not delegate.
Question 1.5
TRUE OR FALSE: You can’t remember the last time you had a social game of golf, and are starting to forget what your family looks like, let alone the golf course.

Results:
If you answered TRUE to one or more of these questions …. Congratulations, you are a normal UK business owner. The truth is that 90% of business owners feel like this.

The good news is that with the right systems in place, life as a business owner doesn’t need to be like this. Improve your lifestyle by talking to your local business advisor about your business goals - just like Linda Stone:

“Before I was working 60 – 80 hours a week. Now, 12 months later, I have reduced that to 40 to 50 hours a week and my bottom line profit is up 154% on my previous year. I’ve got a life back. I think a lot of business owners appreciate that – spending time doing what you actually like doing.”
Linda Stone – Director, Einstein Da Vinci & Company

Section 2. TEAM

Answer the questions below to see if your business is a productive working environment with happy team members; Or do you have difficulty finding and retaining good staff / do you have poorly performing staff?

Question 2.1
TRUE OR FALSE: Your employees have an opportunity to earn more money for performance.
Question 2.2
TRUE OR FALSE: You allow your team members to take responsibility for their own projects.
Question 2.3
TRUE OR FALSE: You encourage your team members to take risks by providing them with the opportunity to learn.
Question 2.4
TRUE OR FALSE: You offer flexibility in the work environment / work hours to suit staff commitments.
Question 2.5
TRUE OR FALSE: You support a fun working environment and on occasion organize social outings / activities.
Question 2.6
TRUE OR FALSE: You provide support for assisting your struggling team members to become successful team members.
Question 2.7
TRUE OR FALSE: You never have any problems finding reliable, skilled and productive staff to work in your business. Your top performing staff have been working in your company for years and have no intention of ever leaving.

Results:
If you answered FALSE to one or more of these questions … your business, like the majority of SMEs, struggles to maintain a consistent team of productive individuals.

A good team member can make you thousands. Losing them could cost you much more.
That is why your Business Advisor will work hand-in-hand to help you recruit and retain quality team members and show you how to create an environment that provides your team with a combination of financial rewards, increased levels of responsibility and decision making activities, clear job responsibilities and encouragement. Contact your local Business Advisor to find out how they can help you systemize your business so it can run without you.

Section 3. MONEY

Answer the questions below to see if your business is being affected by profit leakage.

Question 3.1
TRUE OR FALSE: You have a high level of product returns, write-offs, charge-backs and warranty claims.
Question 3.2
TRUE OR FALSE: Your sales conversion rates are less than 25% or you are not sure how many prospects you are converting.
Question 3.3
TRUE OR FALSE: 20% or more of your customers are defecting to the competition each year.
Question 3.4
TRUE OR FALSE: You don’t keep in regular contact with your A-grade customers,
Question 3.5
TRUE OR FALSE: Your time billing methods are often inaccurate.
Question 3.6
TRUE OR FALSE: Your advertising sometimes fails to break even.
Question 3.7
TRUE OR FALSE: You experience problems with wrong materials ordered, damaged materials or late deliveries.

Results:
If you answered TRUE to one or more of these questions … you are one of the many SME business owners who are faced with rejected finance, squeezed margins and cash flow headaches and who can only dream of IMPROVED MONEY FLOW, with regular, on time, creditor payments, dramatic profit increases and future expansion.

The good news is, if you answered TRUE to any of these questions, your business could experience at least 20% more profit in your business this year by implementing changes recommended by a business advisor Find out how your local business advisor can help you plug profit leaks, enhance profits and increase your available cash - plus we can support you to systemize your business so it can run without you.