The best piece of business advice I've ever received

ADVICE isn’t hard to come by. But the right advice? That gem is a bit more elusive. And for budding entrepreneurs, a group understandably in need of guidance, advice can change the course of their business.

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ADVICE isn’t hard to come by. But the right advice? That gem is a bit more elusive. And for budding entrepreneurs, a group understandably in need of guidance, advice can change the course of their business.

Consistently, successful entrepreneurs cite good advice as the beacon that kept their businesses on course during the difficult early days. Here, three founders with the shared experience of taking out a Telstra Business Awards title reflect on defining moments in their professional journey and share the best piece of business advice they’ve ever received.

Jamie Cook, founder of Stone & Wood Brewing Company, took out the award for the Telstra Regional Business of the Year in 2014. Now the largest privately-owned brewery in Australia, Stone & Wood has a 10-year history of nail-biting business moments and critical cornerstones that have steered it to success.

According to Jamie, the Telstra Business Awards was one of those cornerstones. He says, “The process gave us an invaluable opportunity to take a holistic look at the business and review each aspect, allowing us to take stock during an important time in the business’ journey.”

The Telstra Business Awards are known for their rigorous application process and the Business Benchmark Report that all entrants are provided with. Jamie explains that tackling the entry form was confronting at times, it was also an extremely helpful exercise.

“It’s worthwhile entering the awards and stepping through the entry process,” he says. “[It] will make you think deeply about your business and help you understand where you are and where you need to be.”

While the awards kept Stone & Wood on course during a crucial time, it was years earlier that Jamie received the advice that ended up being foundational to his company’s success.

Jamie explains that a friend who had been running their own business for many years advised him to, “Stay as close as you can to the cashflow of business as it’s the lifeblood of start-up businesses.”

From that point onwards, Jamie managed and monitored cashflow carefully, implementing systems that eased the financial ebbs and flows that can complicate daily operations.

Hana-Lia Krawchuk also praises the benefits of the in-depth business analysis she did as part of entering her start-up, Love to Dream, into the Telstra Business Awards. As a company that designs garments to help babies and toddlers sleep soundly and safely, Love to Dream is far removed from the beer business. But as a founder, she was experiencing a similar stage of doubt when she entered the Telstra Business Awards.

It’s a state of mind most business owners can relate to. As Hana-Lia puts it, “When you’re plagued with doubt, [asking] is this the right thing? Are we growing fast enough? Are we operating the business in the most optimal way? The awards showed me that we were on the right track. I was able to speak really confidently about every aspect of the business and that was satisfying.”

It was a good piece of advice that put Love to Dream team on track before they had even launched a product. “A family friend, who’s now our accountant, once told me: Systems, systems, processes and processes,” Hana-Lia explains. “From day one, every single expense was entered into an accounting program. It defined the way the customers were serviced, what conditions they were going to sign, etc. Every part of the business has been systemised from day one, so when it came time to scale, it was easy to hand over the handbook and say ‘this is how we do things’. So, you’re shortening the learning curve in the organisation.”

The Love to Dream systems kept the business going during periods of intense growth, ensuring the company’s standard of service didn’t suffer. That consistency also contributed to the outcome of the 2017 Telstra Business Awards where the company was named Small Business of the Year and Hana-Lia won the Telstra Business Women’s Awards title of Female Entrepreneur of the Year.

That same year, Mountain Bikes Direct got their game-changing advice after winning 2017 Telstra Queensland Micro Business of the Year. Jen Eale, co-founder of the online retailer that offers big name mountain biking gear at globally competitive prices, says that the advice was embedded in the awards program itself.

“It's not just about what you do, or how well you do it. It's about understanding, and being able to articulate, the compelling 'why' behind your business and the decisions that you make. There is real power in understanding the genuine reason for being that you exist, and that you make the decisions you do,” Jen explains. “This was something that really came up over and over again throughout the process.”

Since then, Jen and the rest of the Mountain Bikes Direct team have focused on what defines them as a business. Alongside the usual value proposition points, the leadership team explores the company’s philosophy, values and the business practices that set them apart.

“We've begun consistently using this as a backdrop for our decision making, which has helped us generate some exciting new ideas, as well as to strategically say no to things that we can now very quickly see do not fit our 'why'.”

Originally published as The best piece of business advice I've ever received