Welcome back from a well deserved break and hopefully you are charged for a prosperous 2009. We hope you and your families had a great break over Christmas and New Year.

Over the next couple of months you will hear many people are concerned what is going to happen in 2009 after a very dismal 2008 for the financial sector and a number of prominent businesses going into administration in December.

We strongly believe at PJT that Good Businesses will always make Good Money. It is up to you to ensure your business is a good business. What makes a good business?

• Business owners actually understand what makes the business money
• The business owner is capable of making decisions in a quick time
• They have a good control on cashflow
• The business is not reliant upon a couple of customers
• They know what drives their business
• They understand the lockup days of their business (Inventory plus Debtors plus Work in Progress).
• A good balance between Business and Personal Lifestyle

What has happened over the last 7 years is that some businesses have grown by default or as a result of everyone around them growing and they had no choice but to grow. These are in some respect the businesses that will struggle in 2009 as they have not felt a downturn in the market before and some have built business from a subcontractor base.

Over the last 2 years we have spent many hours with businesses to ensure they understand their businesses and they are currently reaping the benefits of this.

We believe you could put your head in the sand and say we are going into a recession and business is going to be slow or you can see 2009 as a chance to grow your business to the next level whilst those around you continue to be negative.

As you can see we see 2009 is the year to be proactive whilst all around you be negative.

We have put in some New Year Resolutions for your business and what you need to work towards

• Prepare a business plan of where you want your business to go. Work out what your strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats are for your business. You then need to ensure all your key personnel understand your vision of the business.
• Prepare a Marketing Plan to work out how you are going to build your brand in the market place and pick up work at the expense of your competitors.
• Prepare a Monthly cash flow so that you understand D day when you need money into your business to survive.
• Unsure that you monitor the cash flow of your business and ensure customers follow your terms of business, you don't want to be caught out by other businesses going out of business.
• Have a meeting with PJT Advisors to ensure you understand the drivers of your business.
• Ask PJT Advisors to prepare a Business Analysis Report of your business to ensure you understand your business.

If you require assistance on preparing any of these items please call our advisors.

Wayne Patten

Read about more services offered at PJT Accountants:

Business Advisory | Finance Services | Financial Planning | Audit & Assurance | Superannuation |

Due Diligence | Risk Management | Wealth Creation