Welcome to my series of vlogs! Each week I’ll talk to you about how you can respond to some of the challenges of being a business owner. I’ll take you through some of the top areas or what I find are hot topics for the business owners I work with in that week.

Watch at your own pace, or join in….one week at a time

55. How is your Work / Life Balance?

Presented by Brett Burden

The struggle to achieve work/life balance is prevalent not just with business owners, but with almost anyone trying to navigate work and life in this modern age. So, here Brett Burden has some tips and advice to get you on the path to a more balanced, healthier you.

54 Exit planning - you don't need to work forever

Presented by Brett Burden

Are you looking to step back from your business or retire in the next few years? And is your business ready to fund your retirement?

You will need to have plan in place to maximise the capital value of your business, and increase your profit when you’re ready to step out... in this video Brett Burden tells you more.

53. Habits and Beliefs

Presented by Brett Burden

We all make decisions based on our beliefs at the time, which are not necessarily fact and therefore can hold us back or allow us to judge others falsely. It’s worth taking a hard look at what untruths we and other might hold, particularly those that are business & success limiting.

52. The Thief of Time

Presented by Brett Burden

Procrastination is the Thief of Time. It can rob you of not only your valuable time, but also rob you of your motivation, your focus, your productivity and your success. So, it is essential in both business and in life, to ensure you recognize procrastination and have the tools and self-management to overcome and eliminate it.

Watch this video for more insight into how procrastination can inhibit your life, and some great tips to overcoming it.

51. 6 Steps to Raving Fans

Presented by Brett Burden

Why do customers leave your business?

And how do you take a customer from a barely interested shopper to an engaged member to a raving fan? We’ve got the explanation for you and a host of strategies to help you get there.

50. The Cash Gap

Presented by Brett Burden

So often we have clients come to us and say “my business is making great sales, and a decent profit, but there’s never any money in the bank!”. Well we are here to tell you bad cash flow has nothing to do with sales … but everything to do with how you spend and collect your money. The Cash gap is the gap between when you pay for a product and when you receive money in the bank for that same product, and it’s a vital piece of information to know.

49. Abdication/Delegation

Presented by Brett Burden

Leaving it up to the experts can be a good thing so long as you know how much to leave with them. This video explores where a business is asking the right questions, using experts in the most efficient way through delegation and realising when the business may have inadvertently handed over a function completely.

48. The Glass Ceiling Myth

Presented by Brett Burden

Managing a small business means that more people will wear more hats, but what happens when your business hasn’t grown much over the past few years? Watch Brett this week as he gives you some advice on what you can do next.

47. Maximum Utilisation

Presented by Brett Burden

Sometimes it’s not enough to simply know your break even point. As Business Owners we want to know how we can apply that knowledge and leverage against it. Today Brett will talk about maximising your utilisation in your business and break even points are used in that equation.

46. Frogs and Rewards

Presented by Brett Burden

Would you eat the frog first? It’s easy to put off unpleasant tasks and activities but what if you had no choices left? You’ve organised a week’s worth of meetings, called all your clients, touched base with your accountant, cleaned your desk (three times), consumed four coffees and six macarons - you’ve literally made everything else happen. Watch this video and find out how to pick yourself up and get that one thing that’s still waiting for you, finally off your list.

45. Workplace Health and Safety

Presented by Brett Burden

Keeping your team safe is one of, if not THE, most important management area that Business Owners and Leaders need to keep ontop of all of the time. We’re not the experts at Occupational Health & Safety however today we talk a little bit about it to remind all businesses how vital it is to have a safe workplace.

44. Team KPIs

Presented by Brett Burden

Taking the time to explain what a person’s role is and how they can meet your expectations is a great thing to do at every level of business. It also allows Leaders to make the most out of each person in their team and human resource capital. Watch Brett this week as he talks with you about where you can set each person on your team on the path using KPIs to lead the whole business into greater success.

43. Stand Out from the Crowd

Presented by Brett Burden

Everyone talks about their USP but do we really know what they are and how to use them? Are businesses making time to develop their Unique Selling Proposition so the market knows who they are and what they stand for in a quick and easy way? Watch this video and find out about USP’s from Brett and the team at One Week At A Time.

42. Better than average

Presented by Brett Burden

Find out what the average is for what other businesses in your market are spending. Now ask yourself if average is good enough for you. This week Brett talks about the many questions that Business Leaders and Owners want answers for and shares with you his thoughts on how to get that information and what to do about it.

Week 41 | Pinpoint the tether

Presented by Brett Burden

Is only focusing on your strengths in leadership a secret or a myth? Find out what the team at One Week At A Time believe and join Brett as he explains how he thinks leaderships is best approached and shares with three ways to unlock a business’ potential and take it to the next level of growth.

Week 40 | Conversion Rate Optimisation

Presented by Brett Burden

Thinking about how many leads a business converts is one thing however do you actually know, in hard numbers, what your conversion rate is? Find out what most people think they are converting and use three very simple techniques to raise the actual number without spending a cent. Watch this week’s video and Brett will show you the way to more leads, more revenue and a healthy bottom line.

Week 39 | Review Your Assets

Presented by Brett Burden

Your business relies on the best people to work within the systems you’ve set up. So it’s no wonder that people become are one of your greatest assets. The better they perform the better your business does. Watch this week’s video where Brett discusses how you can best work with your team to set better goals and align them to your business’ overall objectives.

Week 38 | Overdraft

Presented by Brett Burden

What’s the point of an overdraft? Is it only for big businesses? As business owners we have been known to think that having an overdraft could be risky and difficult to manage, so many businesses operate (and fail) without one. This week Brett shares the reasons why having an overdrafts brings with it security and opens the doors for a business to keep going.

Week 37 | Marketing Spend

Presented by Brett Burden

How much does a business need to spend on Marketing? Like the legends of old, Business Owners and Leaders have wanted to know the answer to this question since the beginnings of time. Today Brett will discuss the general principles behind marketing spend and how you can focus your spending to level with the competition.

Week 36 | Fear

Presented by Brett Burden

Having a certain level of fear in business could potentially be debilitating if not managed early or managed well. Overcoming fears is a common hurdle that every Business Leader has to face at one point or another in their business life. This video, Brett will share some simple techniques to prepare you for your next challenge.

Week 35 | Don't eat all your cornseed

Presented by Brett Burden

Have you heard the saying - the art of money is not about making it, it’s about keeping it? This week’s One Week At A Time revolves around this theme of saving a portion of your profits using another wiser old saying - don’t eat all your seed corn. Watch this video and Brett will talk about why seed corn is important, what to remember to do in your business for long term success.

Week 34 | Building rapport

Presented by Brett Burden

Learning to build rapport with a new person is the focus of this week’s One Week At A Time. Watch this video to find out the different ways you can gain trust on both a conscious and an unconscious level. Once you have a handle on how rapport can be applied it will undoubtedly be your go-to skill in all sorts of situations.

Week 33 | Creating Culture

Presented by Brett Burden

Creating a great atmosphere in a business can be done organically, waiting for the right mix of people to get together to generate perfect synergy. Or, you could save yourself time and recruitment dollars by creating a company culture before anyone even walks through the door. Watch this week’s video with Brett where he will discuss a few things you can do to start the process.

Week 32 | Identifying DiSC Personalities

Presented by Brett Burden

Can you walk into a business meeting and immediately know who is going to veer off the subject, who is writing down everything down and who is rearing to get the work done immediately? Watch this video as Brett explores DiSC personalities and gives you a glimpse at how powerful this psychometric tool can be.

Week 31 | Introduction to DiSC

Presented by Brett Burden

Why don’t other people work the same as you do? Many managers believe that because they run a project, a team or a company that the group they head up will follow their lead. This week Brett discusses a great tool to win over and influence people. Turn your team into a highly productive one who can deliver a smoother path to completing your business plan. Watch this video to find out more.

Week 30 | Selling the sizzle

Presented by Brett Burden

It’s an oldie but a goodie. ‘Selling the sizzle’ has been around for decades but what does it mean? Is it still a good sales tool? Watch this and Brett will explain how your business can use this old saying, why it’s still relevant and how you can turn it into a sales strategy.

Week 29 | Communication Reality

Presented by Brett Burden

A majority of leadership relies on clear communication. Nowadays we have so many new ways we can convey a message that the message can easy to be lost in translation. Watch this and learn the method that Brett uses with his clients. He’ll talk about how one simple sentence can completely miss the mark and what you can do about it.

Week 28 | 90 Day Planning

Presented by Brett Burden

Are you ready to take a short term your long term vision? Watch this week’s video where Brett will reveal the most valuable activity a business could undertake. It’s both a proven key to success and a great way to celebrate your team’s wins. Watch this video to be motivated to make a difference in your own business.

Week 27 | The Science of Recruitment

Presented by Brett Burden

Are you taking up far too much time trying to recruit the best people for a role? Are your new team members fully fit for purpose? Turn the whole process on its head and save time and energy by watching this video. I’ll challenge the existing methods of finding talent and help Business Leaders address one of their top 3 frustrations of business management - recruitment.

Week 26 | Spider Monkeys

Presented by Brett Burden

If a business is stuck and there’s no obvious explanation, what could be holding the business back? Is it possible that what a person thinks can stop them from making the choice between freedom and capture? What do these two questions have to do with each other? Watch Brett as he tell the story of the spider monkeys and the hunters and joins all the dots. This story is about choices, and one simple choice can make all the difference.

Week 25 | Brain Surgery

Presented by Brett Burden

This week Brett discusses specialisation and how a well orchestrated operating theatre is much like a well orchestrated business. Each person has their individual role and they do it well, how does that work out for the Business Owner or Business Leader? What are they best suited to do? If you are in a senior level of a business have found yourself thinking “no one else can produce work at the same level as me”, it may be a good idea to watch this week’s video.

Week 24 | Measuring Quality not Quantity

Presented by Brett Burden

Metrics can be useful when they are used in a way that is meaningful for a business. Measuring performance isn’t just about gathering data and making graphs that look great. This week we look at the most common place to measure - marketing - where data is continually gathered on customers. This week Brett talks to all those Business Leaders who consider each marketing dollar carefully. He discusses how to use the response data to create cost effective ‘cost per lead’ activities.

Week 23 | Marketing Strategy on a tight budget

Presented by Brett Burden

It’s easy to develop marketing programs when you’re a multinational business with deep pockets but how about the small to medium size business owner? How do those Business Leaders begin to develop their marketing? This week, watch Brett discuss where you can start to develop a simple marketing approach for your business so it can clearly communicates what you stand for and the products and services your business has to offer.

Week 22 | Use Marketing to Educate

Presented by Brett Burden

Beyond your name and location, how well do your customers and clients really know your business? Do they know you have different payment options? How about the range and availability of your products and services? In this week’s video Brett asks...have you educated your customers and clients in the most important parts of your business? Do they know what to buy, how to buy and what’s in it for them? Watch One Week At A Time to rate how well your customers know you.

Week 21 | Marketing Communication

Presented by Brett Burden

Is your business saying one thing on your website and advertising and then customers are experiencing something else? Learn what to look out for in your business so you can not only talk the talk, but walk the walk! Everything that your business does communicates something to your customers and prospects. In this week’s video Brett explain why it’s important to be consistent, what do you really need to know about your marketing and some surprisingly simple ways to get you there.

Week 20 | Delegating Distraction

Presented by Brett Burden

We’ve heard it’s a good thing to do, but how many of us actually do it well? Delegating is one of the most useful tools in your management toolkit. Unfortunately though, for some of us, dealing with distraction and delegating tasks is much easier said than done. In this week’s video Brett will show you quick and effective ways to increase time your “zone time” and help you think twice next time you hear someone say...“this will only take a minute”.

Week 19 | Employment Contracts

Presented by Brett Burden

Finding staff is a whole task in and of itself. What happens after your team is in place and you find out your employment contracts have the potential to leave your business open for a massive payout? Watch this video and learn the key areas of an employment contract, and what you need to put in place in order to protect your business down the track.

Week 18 | Profit & Loss Statements

Presented by Brett Burden

Have you had a stellar P&L Statement, rushed out to book in your holiday only to find out you can’t get your hands on the funds? Working with P&L statements can be a challenge sometimes. Watch this week’s One Week At A Time where Brett will demystify a Profit & Loss Statement and help you to put together the right information so you can see your true bottom line.

Week 17 | Managing Break Even

Presented by Brett Burden

Most people are aware of the concept of the break even point, but how many people know how to truly calculate it correctly? Is it the base line of cost of what it takes to be in business everyday? That’s part of the equation. Watch this week’s One Week At A Time video and Brett will share with you the key concepts that you need to know to work out your break even point.

Week 16 | ABCD Client Model

Presented by Brett Burden

So you know all about the 80/20 rule now. Here’s a perfect area of your business where you can use it - Client and Customer Relationship Management. This week Brett will show you the ABCD Client Model concept. Watch his video and learn how you can begin to work the ABCD model into your business and develop clusters for maximum value to your time and your bottom line.

Week 15 | Pareto Principal - 80/20 Rule

Presented by Brett Burden

Can one small group really affect the majority? That’s what Brett will be exploring in in this week’s One Week At A Time video. Vilfredo Pareto did a small calculation and found 80/20 to be a common theme in politics. And his discovery started a revolution of thinkers who found 80/20 in so many areas of life and work. Watch the video and learn what 80/20 means and when it could be happening to you!

Week 14 | Delusions

Presented by Brett Burden

We can all get caught up with the daily activity of work and after a very busy day we feel like we have had a great day at work. But how much of that work is contributing to actually growing the business? If you day was all about putting out fires, maybe you are in a delusional phase in your business. Following on from last week, this video shares what it means to be delusional in a business and what you can do about it.

Week 13 | Time Target

Presented by Brett Burden

In business, time is money. As a business owner your time and how you divide it can be often taken up by areas that may not be helping your business grow. Today I share a new way of thinking about your time.

Week 12 | Easy Business Systems

Presented by Brett Burden

In this video I’ll be sharing some thoughts on Systems. How do we make them work? Why are they important? If you are one of those people who say “might as well do it myself” then this video is definitely for you!

Week 11 | Vision and Synergy

Presented by Brett Burden

Creating a vision that brings about team synergy is one of the best skills that a leader can bring to their team. This week I talk about why it’s important and how you can use it to get a greater level of engagement in your business.

Week 10 | The cycle of Business and Planning

Presented by Brett Burden

This week I want to take a look at 2 things - your team and your business plan. These two things are critical if you want a business to run without you. Knowing where you are and where you want to be.

Week 9 | Star Products

Presented by Brett Burden

Save yourself hundreds of dollars on marketing by first determining your star product. Today I talk about a client I have worked with and how we found out what their star product was.

Week 8 | Discounting

Presented by Brett Burden

It’s a tricky one - the subject of discounting. I’ll take you through what I think about it. Let me know your thoughts in the comments bar. I have the desk with the awards behind me again today! My team have won these awards for business coaching and discounting is part of the conversation we have with our clients.

Week 7 | Big Rocks

Presented by Brett Burden

To start coaching and remove distractions I talk to my clients about the college professor and his glass of big rocks.

Week 6 | Writing Down Goals

Presented by Brett Burden

Writing down goals is something we tell ourselves to do but, like so many people, including a client I talked to this week, it’s a challenge. I talk about why it’s not something people like doing and how you can think differently about writing down your goals.

Week 5 | Leadership

Presented by Brett Burden

Check out the 4 Sphere’s video if you can first, this one focusses on one of the sphere’s - Leadership. I’m passionate about this subject. Here’s my other YouTube video I did years ago on Leadership [link]. And I still find it a really important area of business. The book I mention today is - How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. You can find it on Book Depository: Here

Week 4 | Four Spheres

Presented by Brett Burden

Today I’m talking to you about how small business can be broken down into four simple areas. These are the 4 spheres.

Week 3 | Profit vs Turnover

Presented by Brett Burden

This week I have a quick chat about the concept of saying no and making more profit. I talk about a client who I broached this with and what happened.

Week 2 | Work On Your Business

Presented by Brett Burden

Below is an exercise you might want to do:

  • Write down what you’re actually doing, the tasks.
  • Check it off against the list of things I talk about in this video.

Try this Time Demand Diary to audit your time. You might want to send me a copy if you want to talk about it more.

Week 1 | Business Coaching

Presented by Brett Burden

This is the start of a series of videos on how you can respond to some of the challenges of being a business owner.
I’ll take you through the top areas or what I find are hot topics for the business owners I work with in that week.