Sometimes it pays to be small!

You might not realise it, but a small business has several advantages over larger companies during a downturn. By making the most of these strengths you can actually increase your chances of surviving the year ahead.

Flexibility. It's often easier for small firms to alter their business strategy and even change direction. Your smaller scale enables you to quickly review and revamp your business plan and adapt to changes in market conditions – including exploiting new sales channels.

Financial control. It's usually less problematic for small businesses to reduce outgoings and cut costs. Even something as basic as switching off lights and machinery to reduce energy bills is more easily managed in a small organisation. But it's easier, too, to move to smaller premises and even to operate with a more flexible workforce.

Rapid response. The chances are you are closer to your customers than the MD of a big company. You can gauge their mood more swiftly and find out what they really want from you. This enables you to make quick, accurate decisions about the measures required to retain customers.

Access to support. There is a great deal of government support and local networking aimed at small businesses. Bigger firms don't have such transparent, easily accessible and even-handed support.

Despite these benefits, make sure you keep a close eye on small business cash flow and credit availability, maximise low-cost marketing such as online sales or social networking, and look ahead to be best prepared including an update of your business plan and the risks ahead.

To find out more about how we can help you, contact us today.

Submitting a tender is common for businesses supplying goods or services to other businesses or the public sector.

At a basic level you expect to quote for a job or write a letter saying why you should be given the business. More formal tenders often apply to bigger jobs or for supply contracts spread over time.

Public-sector work in particular has specific tendering processes that are complex and can be daunting to smaller companies. This applies to customers ranging from your local council or hospital to a state or federal government department.

Even if you don't win the work this time, writing a tender can clarify your aims, strengths and weaknesses and you can learn for next time by asking for feedback on your bid. It raises your profile with the customer and helps you learn about customers' needs.

Local, state and federal governments are some of the biggest purchasers of products and services and it pays to compete for an opportunity to grow your business exponentially in some circumstances.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of new tenders are released each week across Australia. What are you missing out on?

To find out more about how you can grow your business, head to www.tenders.horsellconsulting.com.au.

How do some companies deliver the same level of quality and service across hundreds and thousands of stores every day?

Typically an organisation is structured around people and positions. Having a mainly military background you would assume that a chain of command is what we would encourage our clients to adopt but in fact a chain of command is only as sound as the processes it supports.

A process based organisation however is able to deliver and replicate quality products and services time and time again as it is less dependent on personnel and the emotions of human resources, but is structured to follow a process or series of processes regardless of whether it is the CEO or the mail room staff.

If your business is not currently a process based organisation and is perhaps too reliant on directors and managers making ill-informed or hasty decisions contact us today to find out the cost and other benefits of becoming a process organisation.