The greatest boxer of all time passed away last week after making an enormous impact on global culture, as well as the boxing circuit itself. Muhammad Ali had two major stints in his professional boxing career, and his second proved to be a complete reinvention of his style.
Ali was fast, strong, smart, skilled and, above all, one of the most impressive sporting personalities to ever walk the earth.
Is your business looking for ways to improve, but doesn't know where to start? Take some lessons from the most iconic boxer that ever lived, and shoot for the stars.
Getting to the top
Moving a business into a position to dominate a market as an SME isn't going to be easy, but neither was getting to the top of the world boxing rankings. Putting your mind to it, sticking to your principles and working hard will all help to achieve your goals.
Ali worked to the mantra of "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" - that is, he danced around his opponents to avoid their attacks and then pounced when an opportunity presented itself. And pounce he did.
If you see an opportunity in the market to grow, be that with investment or by taking on a new technology, sting like a bee and make the move as soon as possible! Competitors are likely looking at doing the same sort of thing, and if you can stay ahead of them, you'll be making strong moves toward dominating your industry.
"Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee."
To make this a reality, having working capital available that you can use to invest and grow is necessary, and if you're having to wait weeks and weeks for your clients to pay their invoices, you might not have the money required to make a move.
Dun and Bradstreet Australia report in the most recent Trade Payments Analysis from May 31 that the average time for an invoice to be paid has fallen to 43.7 days, which is the lowest point it has reached since 2006. That's still well over a month for money to be flowing into your accounts to be used for growth, so having invoice finance as an option is a fantastic idea.
Making your time count
Being involved in the business landscape of Australia means you'll have plenty of competition from other SMEs in your sector.
The Australian Small Business - Key Statistics and Analysis Report from the Treasury in December of 2012 shows that 95.9 per cent of all businesses in the country were classified as small - or 2,045,335. A whopping 98.8 per cent of all financial organisations, for example, fit into this category, and that means there's a lot of competition to make the company you work for, or own, stand out.
"He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life."
Sometimes that's going to mean taking a risk, and as the great Muhammad Ali pointed out, "he who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life".
But to take that risk and grow, whether it's implementing a new piece of technology or computer system, or even expanding your workforce to accommodate a higher influx of work, will require a finance solution. Cashflow Finance has you covered.
By taking on your unpaid invoices, the team will pay a percentage of the total amount to your business quickly, and then once the invoices have been paid, take a fee and provide you with the remainder. This gives you the chance to make a move in your field without having to wait for clients to pay you.
"Live everyday as if it were your last, because someday you're going to be right." Words to live by in the business world, too. Contact Cashflow Finance to talk about what finance solutions will work best for you, and how you can do your bit to be remembered as the greatest of all time.
Will your SME be remembered as the greatest of all time when the gloves have been hung up?
If you'd like to learn how Earlypay's Invoice Finance & Equipment Finance can help you boost your working capital to fund growth or keep on top of day-to-day operations of your business, contact Earlypay's helpful team today on 1300 760 205, visit our sign-up form or contact [email protected].