Lift the lid on your business and find out what is really going on. With Katy Davies, Piece of Cake Coaching
Posted on 10th October 2022
MOT your business! As part of our Help for Small Businesses series, Katy Davies of Piece of Cake Coaching shows you how.
My Business MOT
One of the most valuable things I do with my clients is to run My Business MOT on their business. It helps you get unstuck and discover what parts of your business are holding you back. And what you might be missing.
It is super simple, you do a mini review of your business against the 9 sections below and ask yourself a series of questions for each one:
You start with reviewing where you are now, so go and get a piece of paper and give yourself a mark out of ten for each section.
How confident are you for each one? Make notes as you go through for anything that comes up for you.
Goals – when was the last time you checked in with your goals?
- Personal
- Business
- Financial
- Learning
Review where you are. How far along are you in achieving them? Do they need updating? (Do you even have any?)
Selling – are you clear on what you sell?
Seems like a silly question, but is one of the biggest things that holds back my clients. If I asked you for a list of what I can buy from you right now, would you be able to tell me? One of the main reasons people struggle with what to post on social media, getting their message out there, is this . If you aren’t clear, how can you tell others what you do? Once you know and are clear exactly what you offer, your marketing becomes much easier.
And I don’t just mean generically, so take cakes for example. A wedding cake. What type of cake, what size, what style, what flavours, at what venues, in what areas, to who? And at what price point? Get down into the specifics of what it is you actually offer. Do your clients buy from you because they need what you sell, or because they desire it?
For services, what packages do you offer, how many are there, do your clients work through them in a certain way?
How do you sell? Is it through direct selling, having a conversation, a consultation perhaps? Or do you sell online and buyers click to purchase? Is it 121, group, bespoke, product based, handmade, imported in?
Knowing all of these factors will help you when it comes to marketing.
Knowing your numbers
Step 1: Check in with your situation now, how much profit are you actually making? When did you last check in with your accountant? Are you on top of your finances? If not what do you need to do to catch up?
Step 2: Moving forward. Now you know what you are selling, at what price, and you have set your financial goals, do the numbers add up?
If you are selling a 121 service at £40ph, and have 10 hours a week but want to make 100k – you are going to have to rethink.
Can you hit your goals and lead the lifestyle you want with the types of products and services you offer? Or do you need to change something?
Systems and procedures
Not everyone’s favourite part but super important to make sure your business is running smoothly. Do you have the right legal structure in place, terms and conditions, invoices, GDPR etc? Can you automate some of the tasks that drain your productivity? Do you need to outsource? If you scale and grow your business do you have the right structure to cope?
Customer Service
We have sorted out what we are selling, what happens when we make that sale? How good is your customer service and your follow up? Do you let yourself down at the last hurdle?
Is there something you could automate? Do you have systems set up for when you are away?
What can you do to make sure your customers have a great experience of working with you?
Marketing!
This is a big one and writing your marketing plan is a whole other exercise entirely, but working through these steps will mean you are now in a position to do so. Remember to be intentional and know WHY you are doing what you are doing.
But for now, think about your current marketing. What is working, what can you do more of? What isn’t working, what do you need to change?
Remember to think about:
- Ideal client (who wants what it is you do?)
- Client journey (what happens when they enter your world?)
- Decide your strategy (don’t just post and hope!)
- Pick the right platforms (you don’t have to be everywhere)
- Are you consistent?
Knowledge/Learning
By carrying out this MOT you have been looking at the different parts of your business. Identifying areas that we need to improve or make changes. Now it is time to update our learning goals to reflect this.
What will you have to go away and learn to be able to implement the things you have uncovered in your business?
We are all constantly learning and improving but making sure we do it strategically to fill in the gaps in our business will have the most impact. And we will be less likely to be distracted by learning for the sake of learning, or attracted to shiny objects we think are ‘the answer’.
You (Your Mindset)
You are your business. You are the most important part. Our mindset and how we take care of ourselves plays a massive part in how successful we will be in business. When planning your week don’t forget you!
- Remember to eat
- Remember to hydrate
- Remember to create movement for your body
- Remember to create some quiet for your mind
Also check in to see if you are holding yourself back. Are you subconsciously self sabotaging and not moving forward because of your own blocks? Be honest with yourself. Do you know what you need to do, but for some reason you still aren’t doing it? If the answer is yes, then don’t be afraid to ask someone to help. There are some brilliant mindset coaches out there that can help you move you forward.
Time Management
You can write the best strategy in the world, but if you don’t have time to implement it, you aren’t going to move forward.
How much time do you have in your business, time to work IN your business and time to work ON your business? How much time do you have outside of your business?
How well do you manage your time?
How did that feel?
Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day. If you have what seems like a long to do list don’t panic. The beauty of this exercise is you are uncovering what will make the most difference in your business and you can take the right actions. Having a clear picture means you aren’t going to be placing unrealistic expectations on your progress either. You can make adjustments, you can concentrate on what actually matters instead of getting distracted by shiny objects.
Next steps
We have reviewed where we are now. What’s working what isn’t, identified things we might need to change. Take a step back and re-read all of the answers, does looking at the whole picture highlight anything else for you?
If you want to look ahead to new goals, you can run the process again, this time thinking about what new things you would need to add in, and what might stop you from getting where you want to be.
Then you plan, plan in when you are going to do all of the things, you are now perfectly placed to write your strategy! Start working out WHEN you are going to implement all of what you have uncovered. And then you can get started and know you are going to be making the most of your time and actions.
If you love the sound of this but would like to do it together then take a look at my Business MOT session. It is 2.5hrs on Zoom and we work through this together. Or if you are now ready to write your strategy I can help you with that too!
About Katy
Meet Katy, The Business Imple-mentor™ and creator of the Implement for Impact Formula™.
After 12 years working at a Marketing Agency in London’s West End in 2013, Katy set up her own business as a wedding cake designer, creating beautiful edible centrepieces for her couples on their special day in some of England’s top wedding venues.
During her journey as an entrepreneur, Katy’s background and her natural ability to break things down and explain them simply saw her transition into the world of coaching, and Piece of Cake Coaching was born. Katy helps ambitious entrepreneurs who are feeling overwhelmed and out of control, to implement a step by step business and marketing strategy that works around their life, so they can make more money and have the time and freedom to enjoy doing what they really love.
For advice and tips join Katy’s Facebook Group: The Missing Piece or you can find her on Instagram and LinkedIn.
For more Bristol Market Small Business advice and much more, visit our blog pages.
