Once you have determined your cost of sales, there are a number of different pricing strategies to consider. Some of the most common ones include:

• Competitive pricing: Setting your price based entirely on what your competitors are doing.
• Cost-plus pricing: Adding a flat rate or percentage markup to the cost of each sale.
• Penetration pricing: Setting your price low initially to establish interest and a client base/word-of-mouth marketing, and raise it later. This is popular for small businesses entering a highly competitive market.
• Price skimming: The opposite to the above; setting the price high initially and then lowering it to stay competitive as more businesses enter the market. A popular tactic for small businesses in a niche market with high-value goods.
• Value-based pricing: Basing your price on the perceived or estimated value of a product or service

Choosing the right method for you will depend on what product or service you’re selling, which industry you’re in and who your target market is. It’s also possible to combine elements from some of these strategies, such as the competitive and the penetration pricing.

Doing your research and knowing your cost of sales is the first point of call. If you establish strong foundations early on, you’ll have the best chance of success.

Start by projecting your costs and noting when they’ll occur. Depending on what your business does, this could include things like supplies and inventory, office space rent, work tools or staff if you’re in a position to hire them. If each of your costs occur monthly, start with a month-by-month budget and build it out.

This is when your business plan comes in handy. List out the project number of sales x the price you’ll charge the period matching your expenses.

It can be useful to budget for both a strong year, and a not-so-strong year. Life can be unpredictable, and running a small business is certainly no exception. In your first year you’re likely to encounter a few unforeseen issues and learn some valuable lessons. It’s important not to bank on your best case scenario (just yet, anyway!)

If you’re stuck on budgeting when it comes to tax time or want some professional advice from an accountant or bookkeeper, feel free to get in touch.

In our time-poor society, a one-page business plan is a great way to summarise your concept. It’s also a great way to help develop your thinking and strategy. We suggest breaking your page into eight small sections.

Here’s what to include:

Header: Company name, and one-sentence value proposition

Second section: The business opportunity or market problem, and how you solve it

Third section: Competitor summary and target audience demographics (can be in dot point form)

Fourth section: Topline budget summary; how much you currently have and what you’ll use it for

Fifth section: Sales and marketing strategy (again, can be in dotpoint form)

Sixth section: Key target dates / timeline of activity

Seventh section: Financial projections, including current budget and sales goals

Eight section: The team structure, and any other partners or investor logos that will help build credibility.

Need something a bit longer? Here’s what to include if you’re writing a long business plan for your start-up.

You’ll present it at the beginning but write it at the end. This is the powerful impact statement that summarises your business idea and why the world needs it.

You can be more specific here about the problems your business solves. Provide detailed information about your company and its advantages. What will make it a success?

Go into detail about your target market; their likes, dislikes, demographics and buying behaviors. Also include your competitor analysis here. How are you different from them?

Be honest about the challenges you’ve identified, and share your strategy for overcoming them.

How will you reach your audience? How many sales do you need to hit your target profit margin?

What is your plan for reaching those sales goals? This can include everything from hiring staff, securing funding, launching your website, and so on. You can also note here how you’ll measure success and ensure the project stays on track.

How much money do you currently have? If you need more, how will you secure it? What is the financial forecast for your business?

Put a face to the business name; show your team and outline their expertise/skills and how they’ll be using them to grow your business.

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Good luck!

This is an important but often forgotten step in the research process. Once you understand who you’re up against, you can learn from them and decide how you want to differentiate.

Some of them might be obvious and known to you already, but it’s also worth asking your customers who they purchase from. Desktop research is a great tool for this as well.

Understanding what makes your competitors different will help you identify your own point of difference. Look at things like pricing, brand tone of voice, colours and marketing channels. Do they appear to be targeting an older demographic, or a younger one?

Where do you want to position your brand, in comparison to your competitors? Look at your strengths and weaknesses and identify the strongest opportunity for your small business.

Having a deep understanding of your market is integral to the success of your business. Well-executed research is the best way to get there. Good luck!

If you’re looking for more business advice, or simply curious about how we can help your small business grow, please drop us a line. We’d love to take this journey with you!

My personal favourite tasks management thought process. Sometimes referred to as the ‘One Touch One Decision’ Rule. 

If you can practise this principle until it becomes second nature this will be extremely valuable. The logic is simple. You need to make a decision as soon as you touch an email or a document or think about an idea. It does not mean you need to do it, you just need to decide what you will do and when. 

Less than 5 minutes – do it now
More than 5 minutes – schedule

Decide when you will do it and schedule. Estimate the amount of time you will need, go into your calendar or notebook and book a meeting with yourself at a specific date and time.

Once you have decided to do it now or schedule it now, remove the email/piece of paper and advise the person of your intention (quick response with your timeframe can stop future headaches). 

Make a decision and either delete or file. Nothing should be in your inbox or in-tray.

Give these methods a try, and thank me later for your extra free time.

We tend to have a lot of waiting time in our day-to-day lives. Waiting rooms, school pick-up, queues, kid supervision (the pool for me), sitting on hold with the NBN (don’t get me started) or on the cardio equipment at the gym (kidding – see the previous blog).

Find things to do during this time. I tend to clear junk emails, brainstorm and draft email responses (I don’t send them until I’ve proofread again on my laptop as I have bad eyesight). I jot down my notes and thoughts on Google Keep but transfer data later to where it needs to be if useful. Even things like shopping lists, meal planning, family things that pop into your head, marketing/facebook ideas, tomorrow’s to do etc – will get jotted down during my downtime.

You can increase productivity two-fold by using those pockets of time when you are not resting but essentially waiting for other people to get those little 5-minute tasks done and dusted.

Different tasks demand different types of thinking. So, it makes sense to allow your mind to continue to flow with its current state rather than switch unnecessarily to something that’s going to require you to re-orient.

This is when the to-do list comes into play. It’s hard to group tasks together when you have no idea what you need to achieve each day. Go through your list and consider what tasks use similar tools and thought processes, then do them together.

Too many people don’t find time to just be still. Yet, it’s extraordinary what a stillness practice can do. Discovering time in your life for silence and non-motion reduces anxiety and shows you that there is no need to constantly rush.

I’ll admit – this one is from a book. I have tried many apps and classes, and reaching a personal state of stillness is very tricky for me!

There’s one final tip I want to mention. If you remember one thing from this series – this should be it!

Enjoyment should always be the goal. Work can be play.

We get so caught up that we forget to enjoy what we’re doing. Even when we focus on working smarter, we’re still often too focused on getting things done.

This should never be the only point. Always ask yourself: What can I do to spend more time enjoying what I’m doing?

The goal should be to arrange your commitments in a way that makes you happy to live out your daily life. Yes, that’s right – even while you’re working!