Written by Dean Robinson on . Posted in Growth Newsletter.
It’s 20 years ago today. We’d been in our new home for 7 months. We had a small bench, on the back patio, up against our bedroom window. It was a lovely spot to look out over the garden and contemplate the world. Except today, the conversation was more dramatic.
Written by Dean Robinson on . Posted in Growth Newsletter.
An indulgence today. It’s my birthday, so happy birthday to me. 57 years ago, a baby was born in Auckland, New Zealand to a single mother, who didn’t let her family back in Australia know about the birth, until she arrived in Sydney, with some extra baggage, on the 6th month anniversary of his world debut. It’s a long story, for another time.
Written by Dean Robinson on . Posted in Growth Newsletter.
I once fancied myself as a handyman around the place, when we lived in our time warp first home in Bradbury, in south western Sydney. Funds were tight back then, and in an attempt to drag our chocolate shag piled carpeted, bright yellow kitchen bench topped home out of the 70’s, I took on some home renovation projects that tested my skills, and my patience.
Written by Dean Robinson on . Posted in Growth Newsletter.
54% of national GDP is generated by small, medium and family business, according to the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman “Small Business Matters” report released in June 2023 (page 6). Small is defined as up to 19 employees. Medium is 20 to 199.
Written by Dean Robinson on . Posted in Growth Newsletter.
You’re running a small family business. You’ve been operating it, successfully, for a few years now. In the space that you play in, you have a very select number of supplier relationships. You’ve deliberately chosen them for the products they offer, and the solutions they provide, to the customers you’re passionate about. You believe in your suppliers, to the point of being their advocates.
Written by Dean Robinson on . Posted in Growth Newsletter.
I’ve let the garden go a bit over the summer. Being away prior to, and over the Christmas break, didn’t help. A return home with illness, coupled with what’s been a hotter summer than we’ve encountered in recent years, dampened my enthusiasm for getting out amongst it.
Written by Dean Robinson on . Posted in Growth Newsletter.
What has struck me over the years of working with small and family business, is that most problems in business, are actually quite simple to resolve. It’s just that, for the most part, we overcomplicate things, to the point of overthinking, which leads to solutions, that are difficult or costly to implement, or hard to measure the impact of.
Written by Dean Robinson on . Posted in Growth Newsletter.
In one of the first client meetings back this year, after the Christmas break, we were talking about transitions in business, and in life.
Written by Dean Robinson on . Posted in Growth Newsletter.
What’s the most important thing in your small or family business? Something you can’t do without. An element of your business that, without it, the business is empty.
Written by Dean Robinson on . Posted in Growth Newsletter.
Having recently returned from my 15th trip to the United States of America, and the first in 5 years, it was interesting what I observed, during my travels: