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Why “The Customer Is Always Right” Is Wrong

Why “The Customer Is Always Right” Is Wrong
The founder of the department store Selfridge's in London was the one who said: "The customer is always right." Apparently, he started using the phrase, and included it in his advertising, to show customers that they would always get good service at his department store, that his store would bend over backwards to provide customer service no matter what. It was also used in-house to "train" employees to give good customer service. Unfortunately, he was wrong. (more…)...
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Meet Disruptive Change Head On

Meet Disruptive Change Head On
Business today is in a disruptive phase and small business owners cannot avoid the disruption. Changes to business models and industries have been caused by technology (the move from the use of desktop PC's to mobile technology), the sharing economy (Uber and Air BNB), the platform model (Trip Advisor, Hotels.com), international trends like the Coronavirus pandemic and the rise and fall of new and old industrial giants. In a small business, for example, if you ignore mobile technology and focus your website to the PC, customers used to scrolling through sales sites on their phones will turn away from old-fashioned websites that don't respond to their phone screens. Even in a small business, if you are in a disrupted industry, you will have to act to meet disruptive change head-on, or risk becoming a minor competitor to leading businesses in your industry. (more…)...
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Managing Cashflow & Working Capital During Covid

Managing Cashflow & Working Capital During Covid
Australia seems to have coped with the economic effects of Covid better than some other countries, but small businesses will still have a long haul to get back to where they were. This is especially true of some industries like the hospitality and tourism industries which suffer from a lack of demand, and the agricultural industries suffering from lack of supply (labour). Other industries may have fared better and are probably starting to look at new strategies and even opportunistically looking at merging or acquisition of another business. Whatever their situation there will soon be a need for more capital in Australian small businesses, and the need to manage cash flow and working capital. In this blog post, I will look at short-term cash and liquidity initiatives as well as cash flow forecasting. But before we start, I'd like to invite you to take a look at our revamped website at otsmanagement.com.au where we have clarified our focus on our two areas of service. Please take a look and explore our special focus areas of Small Business Advisory services and Managing Indigenous Organisations. We specialise in only these two client sectors and we invite you to take a look at what we...
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Happy New Year, and what’s next?

Happy New Year, and what’s next?
Happy New Year! I hope you had a well-deserved Christmas holiday, ate and slept a lot and enjoyed your time with your family, and you're looking forward to a great New Year! After a pretty tough 2020, I think we all deserved the break! I'm pretty sure you don't want to be reading a lengthy treatise on New Year's Eve, so this is just a short note to wish you a Happy New Year and to provide some food for thought for later. Here are some ideas about what you need to think about as you enter 2021! (more…)...
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