In 2002, Janine Allis started Boost Juice from her kitchen in Melbourne with a simple idea: to make healthy living tasty and fun. Fast forward to today, and Boost Juice has grown into a global franchise with over 500 stores across 13 countries. This remarkable journey exemplifies the power of strategic thinking and relentless focus on value creation, even for a small business starting from humble beginnings.

While not every business can become the next Boost Juice, every Australian entrepreneur can apply principles that can significantly multiply the value of their business. This article will explore ten key areas that, when optimised, can help you 10x the value of your small or medium-sized business in the Australian context.

1. Business Model

A business model is the blueprint of how a company creates, delivers, and captures value. To 10x your business, you must ensure your business model is not only robust but also adaptable and scalable.

Food for thought:

• Value Proposition: Clearly define what makes your product or service unique and why customers should choose you over competitors. For instance, Sydney based Atlassian offers tools that enhance team collaboration and productivity, making their value proposition clear and compelling.

• Revenue Streams: Diversify your revenue streams to reduce dependency on a single source. For example, local coffee shops like Campos Coffee expanded from selling coffee in-store to offering wholesale, online retail, and barista training.

• Identify and focus on high-margin products or services: Conduct a thorough analysis of your product/service portfolio. Use tools like the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) matrix to categorise your offerings and focus resources on “stars” and potential “cash cows”.

• Cost Structure: Optimise your cost structure by leveraging economies of scale, outsourcing non-core activities, and adopting cost-saving technologies. Aussie retailer Kogan.com optimises costs by focusing on direct-to-consumer sales and reducing overheads.

• Scalability: Ensure your business model can scale with growth. Canva’s platform can easily add more users and design features without significant additional costs, demonstrating high scalability. Leveraging technology to scale operations makes sense: invest in automation, artificial intelligence, and data analytics. For instance, Domino’s Pizza’s investment in digital ordering technology led to a 2,900% increase in its stock price over a decade

According to a study by Boston Consulting Group, businesses that regularly innovate their business models outperform their peers in terms of operating margin growth by 6% over three years.

2. Foundations

Building a strong foundation is crucial for sustainable growth. Forget fads – focus on foundations. Solid, scalable businesses all have this one thing in common: their business is built on super strong foundations that go wide and deep. From the right systems and processes to a people first culture, the right foundations provide the right base for scalable, value building growth.

Food for thought:

• Foundational pillars addressed: Every business is built on the same set of foundations, consisting of:
• Structure and governance
• Culture
• Strategy and planning
• Human resources
• Customers
• Products and services
• Financial management
• Sales and marketing
• Operations
• Technology
• Legal & licensing

All these areas must be addressed and appropriately tended to if one seeks to build the best foundation for a business. Look at your business – how do you stack up in these areas?

3. Understanding Your Numbers

A deep understanding of your financial metrics is essential for making informed decisions and driving growth. If you think understanding finance is too boring or too hard then you have just put a leash on your business. Unless you are willing to take ownership and understand financials, you will really struggle to sustainably scale your business without it dragging you down with debt and poor margins!

Food for thought:

• Cash Flow Management: Monitor cash flow to ensure liquidity. Use tools like cash flow statements and working capital ratios to monitor your company’s financial health.

• Profit Margins: Analyse your profit margins and identify areas for improvement. By focusing on high-margin products and services, companies like Cochlear maintain strong profitability.

• Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) and Lifetime Value (LTV): Balance CAC and LTV to ensure sustainable growth. Understanding such metrics can provide you with some powerful decision-making tools. For example, a high LTV/CAC ratio indicates efficient customer acquisition and retention strategies.

• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Regularly track KPIs to gauge business performance and make data-driven decisions. Metrics like sales growth, customer retention, and return on investment (ROI) provide valuable insights into business health.

4. People-First Culture

Creating a people-first culture enhances employee satisfaction and productivity, leading to better business outcomes. The truth is that without people, you have no business, so when making decisions, always consider the impact of these on your people.

Food for thought:

• Employee Engagement: Foster a positive work environment that promotes engagement and collaboration. For example, Atlassian’s open office spaces and emphasis on team culture contribute to high employee morale.

• Professional Development: Invest in employee training and development. Companies like REA Group offer extensive training programs to ensure their workforce stays competitive and innovative.

• Recognition and Rewards: Implement recognition programs to acknowledge employee contributions. Canva’s culture of celebrating employee achievements boosts morale and loyalty.

• Diversity and Inclusion: Embrace diversity and create an inclusive workplace. Diverse teams bring varied perspectives and drive innovation, as seen in companies like Westpac.

5. Customers Matter

Prioritising customers is key to building a sustainable, profitable business. Like we said above, without people, there is no business. This statement also applies to customers, and just to your internal team or external partners. Satisfied customers are your strongest brand advocates. Make customers happy, and your business will experience, among other things:

• Growth from repeat business and referrals
• Organic, customer led market exposure
• Stronger margins – it is more meaningful to build and maintain strong customer connections, than it is to be constantly chasing new customers and building new relationships
• A positive boost to your culture – happy customers generally mean your team is happy and cohesive, and, happy customers also tend to, by its positive nature, boost your internal ‘happiness and morale’ scales.

Food for thought:

• Customer Feedback: Actively seek and act on customer feedback. Companies like Boost Juice use customer feedback to continuously improve their products and services.

• Personalisation: Offer personalized experiences to enhance customer satisfaction. Online retailer The Iconic personalises shopping experiences with tailored recommendations and promotions.

• Customer Support: Provide exceptional customer support to resolve issues promptly. Bunnings focus on customer service through multiple support channels enhances customer trust and loyalty.

• Community Building: Build a community around your brand. Lorna Jane’s activewear community fosters a sense of belonging and loyalty among its customers.

6. Build Valuable Business Partnerships

Strategic partnerships can drive growth, innovation, and market expansion.

Food for thought:

• Complementary Strengths: Partner with companies that complement your strengths and fill gaps in your offerings. Menulog’s partnerships with various restaurants expand its food delivery options.

• Co-Marketing: Engage in co-marketing efforts to reach a broader audience. The collaboration between Qantas and Emirates leverages both airlines’ strengths, enhancing visibility and market reach.

• Joint Ventures: Form joint ventures to enter new markets or develop new products. Westfield’s joint ventures with international mall operators facilitated its global expansion.

• Supply Chain Synergy: Optimise your supply chain through strategic partnerships. Some retailers for example are fostering long-term relationships with local farmers ensure a reliable supply of high-quality produce.

7. Embrace Change: Keep Improving and Innovating

Continuous improvement and innovation are crucial for staying competitive and driving growth. Fail to embrace the philosophy of continuous evolution and change and you’ve just made it harder for your business to remain competitive and viable as time goes by.

Food for thought:

• Research and Development (R&D): Invest in R&D to drive innovation. CSL Limited’s significant investment in R&D has led to groundbreaking medical treatments and vaccines.

• Agility and Flexibility: Cultivate agility to respond quickly to market changes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Australian company Cochlear adapted rapidly to increased demand for remote hearing solutions.

• Technology Adoption: Leverage emerging technologies to enhance efficiency and customer experience. Woolworths uses AI and machine learning to improve its supply chain and customer service.

• Regular business process reviews: Start by documenting all processes, then regularly evaluating and improving your processes. Businesses of every size and shape can gain huge benefits from process improvement activities.

8. Continuous Self-Development Through Learning and Experimentation

Investing in your own growth as a leader is critical for guiding your business to success.

Food for thought:

• Lifelong Learning: Commit to continuous learning through books, courses, and seminars. Entrepreneurs like Janine Allis, founder of Boost Juice, continuously seek new knowledge to drive their businesses forward.

• Networking: Build a network of mentors, peers, and industry experts. Networking events and conferences provide valuable opportunities for learning and collaboration.

• Experimentation: Encourage a culture of experimentation and risk-taking. Canva’s 20% time policy allows employees to spend part of their time on innovative projects, leading to successful products and features.

• Reflection and Adaptation: Regularly reflect on your experiences and adapt your strategies. Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar of Atlassian attribute their success to reflecting on failures and learning from them.

A study by the Harvard Business Review found that companies with leaders who have a growth mindset perform better than those without. Research by the World Economic Forum suggests that complex problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity will be the top three skills needed in the workforce of the future. Where do you stand on all of this? How many books do you read each year? What course are you currently completing? What about your team members – are they lifelong learners?

9. Understand the Power of Leverage and Compounding Effects

Leverage and compounding are powerful tools for accelerating business growth. These aren’t just financial concepts to be left up to accountants and investment bankers; rather, these are invaluable concepts EVERY business owner must be familiar with. We’ve highlighted but a snippet below of how these concepts could be applied in business.

Food for thought:

• Financial Leverage: Use financial leverage to fund growth initiatives. Real estate developers often use debt financing to acquire properties and expand their portfolios. Savvy business owners own the offices, warehouses and the like their business operate from, with their businesses renting back these assets from them.

• Operational Leverage: Optimise operational leverage by increasing efficiency and productivity. Software companies benefit from high operational leverage as their marginal cost of serving additional customers is low.

• Human Capital Leverage: Leverage the skills and expertise of your team. Empowering employees to take ownership of projects can lead to innovative solutions and increased productivity.

• Compounding Growth: Focus on consistent, incremental improvements. Warren Buffett’s investment strategy is based on the principle of compounding, where reinvested earnings generate additional returns over time.

10. Invest in the Right Advice and Listen to Advisors

Seeking and heeding advice from experienced advisors can provide invaluable guidance and accelerate growth.

Food for thought:

• Mentorship: Find mentors who can provide insights and support. Steve Jobs’ relationship with mentor Mike Markkula was crucial in Apple’s early success.

• Advisory Boards: Establish an advisory board with diverse expertise. Advisory boards can offer strategic guidance, industry insights, and networking opportunities.

• Advisors/Consultants: Hire business advisors for specialised knowledge and expertise. Benchmark Business Advisory’s services have helped many businesses become more profitable, successful and valuable.

• Peer Groups: Join peer groups or industry associations to share experiences and learn from others, either offline or via online communities.

Is this all possible? Can I really 10x the value of my business?

If you really want something then yes, it can be possible. However, this does mean that you need to undertake some serious reflection and analysis to identify your current state, then defining a future state, and working out a strategic plan on how you will get to where you want to go from the current position you are in….

For some of you reading this, this will mean that your whole business needs to change from its present state to something completely different. For a myriad of reasons not every business model can hit 10X, and this could be the first dilemma that you need to address. For others, you may already be on the right path, so you just need to keep on doing what you are doing, being strategic, focused and persistent.

Increasing the value of your business tenfold requires a strategic and multifaceted approach. By focusing on a scalable business model, building a strong foundation, understanding your financial metrics, fostering a people-first culture, prioritising customers, forming valuable partnerships, embracing change and innovation, investing in continuous self-development, leveraging resources, and seeking the right advice, you can position your business for exponential growth. Remember, the journey to 10x your business value is a marathon, not a sprint, and requires dedication, resilience, and a commitment to continuous improvement!

SEEKING THE RIGHT ADVISORS TO HELP YOU 10X YOUR BUSINESS? Contact us today for a confidential, no obligation chat. Call us on 1300 366 521 or click here to send us a message via our contact us page.