To say ‘innovate or die’ is probably not an exaggeration in the advice business in Australia over the next 10 years.
Innovation can mean lots of things, but the definition I am using for the purposes of my blog today is – doing things differently. Approaching the business you already know, that you are already making money with; with fresh eyes and creating change for the better.
I have recently appointed a business coach, which has been an interesting exercise for no other reason than he is challenging the way we do things, and more importantly, why. Having someone challenge my thinking has been both confronting and extremely rewarding.
I have to say, I think everyone who owns a business needs to have their thinking challenged every once in a while. Because challenging the way you approach things ultimately leads to innovation.
Whether it be how you work with clients, deliver information, deal with staff, or generate new business, challenging your current thinking and innovating will ultimately lead to a better business and bigger margins.
And the good news is that the advice space has plenty of room for innovation. We have been so busy as an industry reinventing ourselves from a policy and regulation point of view, that we now need to take the time to also reinvent business process and approach to deliver a better advice experience for clients.
Many of these gains can come from technology and I have to say I am amazed at the pace at which technology is now available at low cost. One of the sessions at our live event in August will showcase three different businesses whose innovations prove that advice business owners can use technology to their advantage to open up new markets.
So I urge you to challenge the way you do things – even if it means engaging a business consultant or having a peer you respect review a part of your business. You don’t have to do everything differently, but even a slight adjustment made over time can have a big impact on your bottom Line.
