Richard’s Plumbing is based in Melbourne’s bayside suburbs, with a long history of more than 20 years and client base that includes builders, maintenance companies, body corporates, real estate agents and a limited number of residential clients. Some frustrations and niggling doubts about the business were getting the better of the business owners Simone and Richard, who were getting more clients and additional work but felt they were slowly going backwards. It felt busier, but the bank account was going backwards and very high tax bills were just not making sense. Rather than continue to chase their tails, Simone and Richard engaged The Business Plan Company to create a Business and Action Plan, a short, sharp project that analyses the business and sets a 12-month plan for the direction of the business.

What we found.

Simone and Richard had done a great job at growing the business, but with the benefit of external perspective and experience, The Business Plan Company picked up some important issues that needed fixing:

  • The business has operated reasonably well at the current size, but systems were not well developed which meant the business is not ready to grow safely.
  • The shocks that had hit the business like unexpected tax bills and staff departure had a big impact on the business.
  • Marketing was very reactive and almost ignored, with solid business networks not being leveraged to build the business in the direction that the owners wanted. There was no website, social media or digital footprint.
  • Owners did not measure performance and profitability, so much of the new was just break even.
  • At this time, the business owners are accustomed to working in the business, and are currently attempting to make the transition to better management and less time 'on the tools'.
  • Financial advice was not proactive and the tax planning was ignorant from their accountant; they sought advice from additional accountants to compare and ended up changing accountants. They also engaged a bookkeeper to help them stay on top of their finances.
  • Even though the business owners had a clear idea of what areas they wanted to grow the business, they did not have a clear focus on those clients and were doing little to make it happen.
  • There was a major risk emerging to the business as their apprentices were intending to move, but with no plan to grow the team or replace the apprentices.
  • No projections of budgets had been created, so there was nothing to measure performance against.

As part of the Business and Action Plan, we created a concise roadmap that addressed these issues, and gave a clear plan to proceed for the next 12 months. Included is a 12-month budget with sales targets, and an easy-to-follow Action Plan. By highlighting the challenges, discussing them with the business owners and presenting practical solutions, they are now ready to focus their attention and stop going in circles. All for just $1500 + GST.

If you would like to analyse your business and get your own 12-month plan, contact us.