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Tips for business owners

As a business owner, you’ll run into hurdles inevitably – but you should never let these affect your business growth. We’ve gathered the most important information that will help keep your business profitable and successful through it all.

Legal issues 

As your business grows you’re going to run into legal matters that are new to you.

  • Six important things to remember

    • The POPI Act applies to your company if you collect, use or store your ID numbers, cell phone numbers, addresses or demographic information. This goes for existing or potential clients, as well as employees.

    • If your company makes less than R10 million turnover a year, you’re automatically given a BEE score: 100% black owned is scored at Level 1, majority black owned is scored at level 2, and less than majority black owned put you at level 4.

    • It is mandatory to be VAT registered if your company makes more than R1 million turn over a month for 12 consecutive months.

    • Freelance lawyers offer on-demand services at affordable rates. Use these lawyers when setting up contracts and documents or when dealing with labour relations.

    • Renew all licenses and permits on time to avoid hefty fines. Don’t forget about hardware and software license renewals when calculating your annual budgets.

    • Comprehensive business insurance is empirical for financial security.

Accounts and finances

When you first started your business, you were the bookkeeper, the accountant, the secretary and probably the barista too. Now it’s time to hire the right people.

  • Let’s look at how a finance department is run

    • A financial director is the overall decision maker of all things budget related. This will most likely be you or your business partner.

    • A chartered accountant overlooks the accounting system, keeps check on the financial position of the company and takes care of audits.

    • A financial manager is responsible for overlooking the cash flow, budgets and funds of the company and develops profitable strategies around these records.

    • An accountant interprets, classifies, analyses, reports and summarises financial data. They are also responsible for verifying documents for payments and reconciling financial discrepancies.

    • A bookkeeper keeps track of financial transactions and often assists with the accountant’s responsibilities.
       

    Remember that many of these roles are interchangeable and smaller companies don’t need to appoint an employee for each position. It’s also important to do thorough research before deciding which software to use for accounting, audit management and compliance assurance.

Marketing Strategies

It’s time to get innovative with your brand building so that you can tell your audience who you are and build an emotional connection with them.

  • Follow these tips if you want to execute successful marketing

    • Having a digital presence is crucial. Hire the right talent in your team, or use a good agency because digital marketing is a highly competitive environment.

    • Digital may be crucial, but it’s not everything. Get creative and connect with your audience in real-time too.

    • Use research-driven audience data and well-tracked analytics to make informed marketing decisions.

    • Partner up with another brand to maximise your company’s exposure.

    • Be present at events, conferences and seminars to expand your network and reach a broader audience.

Effective management

While your marketing is in full swing, make sure the general management is going well. 

Your company has come this far, but you didn’t build it alone. Your employees are the heart of your business and the better they perform, the better your company will do.

  • Eight things to keep in mind

    • Set goals as a team, and communicate progress regularly.

    • Identify managerial performance goals and track these goals well.  

    • Assess employee performance regularly, but avoid micromanaging.

    • Build on the unique strengths of individuals.

    • Maintain excellent communication among your workforce.

    • Pay attention to your employees’ needs. Their happiness is important to your company’s success.

    • Encourage employees to share opinions and ideas.

    • Hire well. One bad employee can bring a whole strong team down.

Good location

Now that business is growing, it’s time to look at the advantages of buying office space instead of renting. 

  • 5 pros of owning office space

    • You’re building equity.

    • Monthly payments are fixed so budgeting is easier.

    • Monthly payments are tax-deductible.

    • You can create income by renting out unused space in the office.

    • You have more freedom to alter your interior according to your brand.

Once your company is operating at optimum pace, you can start working on strategies to grow your business even further!
 

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