Top five factors for business success 

1. A good business plan

Planning is key to help you outline exactly what you want to achieve and the steps you can put in place to get there. It should be one of the first steps in the set-up phase of your business.

Whether starting out, or already in business, a business plan outlines key details such as your business structure, funding details, staffing requirements, marketing and any potential risks. It’s always a good idea to go back and refresh your plan to ensure it remains relevant.

Our Business Plan Builder can guide you through key stages, with information to help you along the way. The easy to follow and lean format provides useful downloads, templates, and links to further help your planning.

2. Day-to-day operations

The operations of your business are the day-to-day activities you do to make sure the wheels keep turning. These include things like staff rosters, managing cash flow, communication to stakeholders and maintenance on equipment.

To lighten the load and minimise error, it’s wise to automate processes where you can. Send out automated emails to staff to let them know their working hours, automate your invoice process and set regular reminders to ensure tasks are completed when they’re needed.

3. People management

Employee satisfaction is crucial to business success. If your people are happy, they’re more likely to want to excel in their job and go the extra mile for customers.

It is important to keep staff morale high, make them feel part of the team and ensure they know that their day-to-day activities are contributing to the overall success of the business.

Communication is key. Ensure staff know exactly what is expected of them so there is no miscommunication. This reduces the risk of things going wrong.

Work on things like development plans for staff, ensure safe working environments and make sure your employees feel heard. We’ve prepared a quick how-to guide to ensure staff morale in your business remains high. 

4. Investment

Capital is the initial investment you put into your business and can be a combination of assets or money.

To grow your business you may look at additional investment to purchase things like new equipment. There are so many options available when looking at finance and the good news is you can use our equipment loan repayment calculator to discover what your repayments may be and how much it will cost over the life of the loan.

Whether you’re looking for a lump sum to purchase a new crane or just want some extra cash to manage everyday cash flow, we’ve drilled down the basics in our how to borrow to grow your business guide.

5. Promoting your business

You’ve set up your business, put the wheels in motion and things are moving, now the fun, or sometimes the hardest part, is telling people about it.

To help get the word out there and increase your profile so customers and potential customers know about your service or product, take a look at our how to toot your own horn article and get started.

Keep in mind, your marketing spend doesn’t have to match that of big business. There are so many free tools available that you can use to share your message.

For all other tips, tools, and resources to help your business succeed visit our Business banking hub.