Client Journey: The DIY mentality — is it holding you back?

Contents:

What is the DIY mentality in Australian business?

The Do-It-Yourself (DIY) mentality is built into the Australian business scene. To some extent, this simply reflects broader Australian culture: Geographic isolation and the resilience this has fostered, means that Australians like to do things themselves, where possible. This tendency is compounded in business due to: 

• The high concentration of small businesses and startups in Australia —this means fewer people wearing multiple hats. Read more about some of the challenges for small businesses in Australia in Why running a small business is harder than running a big business. 
• A perception that delegation is risky. The risk of business failure runs heavy on a director’s mind in Australia — director personal guarantees of business loans are common, and there has historically been no effective restructuring alternative to bankruptcy/liquidation. This should change in coming years with the new small business restructuring process making it easier for struggling businesses to turn themselves around. 

Is the DIY mentality always a good thing?

The DIY mentality has obvious upsides: By closely overseeing business operations the founder/owner can identify any potential issues early and deal with them immediately. It can also save a business owner on the inevitable cost in hiring someone else to do the job. However, it also comes with some potential downsides: 

• Time limitations. One person can’t do everything. Taking on too much is bad for the owner’s welfare and could lead to burnout (e.g., Indeed statistics suggest burnout is currently at an all-time high)
•  Skills gaps.  It will be rare that a business owner will be able to do every business task as well as someone else. For example, ASIC statistics show that financial and cash management skills are one of the leading causes of insolvency in Australia, suggesting this is an area where many business owners are lacking skills.  
•  Inefficiency. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Even where a business owner is able to do the core business tasks themselves, this is often not the best idea. Spending all day on operational tasks is time that is often better spent on strategic activities for the business.  In other words, this slows the potential growth rate of the business. 
• Perspective. When you do everything yourself, your own biases and blind spots come into the picture. Sometimes an outsider is necessary to get a different take on business activities. 

How might a growth advisor help?

Where a business owner is driven by a DIY mentality, they can often benefit from independent advice on how to grow their business — a growth advisor. This is usually someone with a broad business skillset across multiple verticals.
Benefits of engaging a growth advisor include: 

• Financial analysis. The advisor can look at prior financial data for the company, expose any inefficiencies and areas for cost reduction, and make recommendations on future resource allocation. 
• Strategic advice. The growth advisor has a broad set of experiences to draw from and can advise the business strategically on that basis. That way the owner can get a growth strategy in place while still being able to keep operations on track. 
• Better talent management. An advisor can offer insights into improving recruitment and development of existing employees to make sure you have the right team in place to drive your business going forward. 
• Fundraising support. Where the business needs further funding, a growth advisor may know some sustainable ways of access it. 
• Accountability in achieving goals. A growth advisor can help business owners stay on track with their plans to grow the business by putting in place a set of milestones/benchmarks that the business needs to keep meeting.

How to choose the right growth advisor

In the SME space, many accounting firms are trying to fill the growth advisor role by going beyond the traditional parameters of a financial accountant and helping their clients with analysis and strategy. Obviously, this advice will be useful where the skill gap of the business owner/founder is around financial and/or cash management. 

Where the business is challenged in other areas, they may see out an advisor with that expertise. For example, if the business owner’s major struggle is around generating leads, they may seek out growth advice from a marketing agency. 

When choosing the specific advisor, we recommend you look at: 

• Their experience and expertise.
• Their reputation. See if they have any testimonials, and consider reaching out to past clients to get their take.
• Their network. A well-connected growth advisor may be able to open up new opportunities for you that wouldn’t otherwise be available to you. 
• Fees. Not only the total amount, but the pricing structure. A flat fee may be preferable to an hourly or day rate, and in some cases they may be willing to agree to a percentage of increased profits. 
• Chemistry. As the business owner, you need to feel comfortable working with that individual, and you also want someone who will fit in with the ‘vibe’ of your company.