Sample 1 - Blog #GICCapitalSample 1 - Blog #GICCapitalhttps://lololol.zohosites.com/thoughts/tag/GICCapitalMon, 05 Aug 2024 16:43:19 -0700http://zoho.com/sites/<![CDATA[Everyone in your business is in Sales & Marketing!]]>https://lololol.zohosites.com/thoughts/post/Everyone-in-your-business-is-in-Sales-Marketing

We aim to deliver much needed capital for SME’s and Property Developers.

You might not be a professional salesperson, but you still sell all the time.


Every transaction that could result in a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’ will require you to sell something:  yourself, your idea, a concept, your worthiness, your value, your competence, your company.

Listen more about this interesting idea, stated by  Dr Cindy McGovern,  in her book "Every Job Is a Sales Job, How to Use the Art of Selling to Win at Work " McGraw-Hill © 2019
]]>Mon, 08 Mar 2021 08:45:24 -0800<![CDATA[How To Think Like An Entrepreneur]]>https://lololol.zohosites.com/thoughts/post/How-To-Think-Like-An-Entrepreneur

Success in 60 Seconds: Tina Sharkey On How To Think Like An Entrepreneur - by Forbes

What does it take to make it as an entrepreneur? What qualities do you need and what will make the difference between success and failure?

We aim to deliver much needed capital for SME’s and Property Developers.

]]>Mon, 11 Jan 2021 02:29:24 -0800<![CDATA[Understanding what "No" means & taking it as useful feedback or Insight, not failure.]]>https://lololol.zohosites.com/thoughts/post/Understanding-what-No-means-taking-it-as-useful-feedback-or-Insight-not-failure.

Success In 60 Seconds: Katrina Lake On How To Take No For An Answer

People say no all the time and for various reasons. Understanding those reasons gives you possible insight into something that you may have overlooked. 


Sometimes, it may just mean that your offering is not a perfect fit for your audience and has nothing to do with the viability or value of the offering. Seek first, to understand than be interesting is always a better strategy.

We aim to deliver much needed capital for SME’s and Property Developers.

]]>Thu, 31 Dec 2020 02:42:03 -0800<![CDATA[The Power of Influence, Association & Imagination]]>https://lololol.zohosites.com/thoughts/post/The-Power-of-Influence-Association-Imagination

We've all heard the sayings:

"It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters."  (Epictetus)

"“It is your attitude, not your aptitude, that determines your altitude.” (Zig Ziglar)

Watch Jay-Z explaining how his sixth grade teacher changed his life. 

We aim to deliver much needed capital for SME’s and Property Developers.

]]>Tue, 29 Dec 2020 09:01:44 -0800<![CDATA[The No.1 Secret to Experiencing Consistent & Growing Revenue]]>https://lololol.zohosites.com/thoughts/post/The-No.1-Secret-to-Experiencing-Consistent-Growing-Revenue

What is the secret of experiencing consistent and growing revenue as a small business? 

Make sure you have the right strategy first and then align everyone's interests in the business. 

Check out our video for more...

We aim to deliver much needed capital for SME’s and Property Developers.

]]>Fri, 20 Nov 2020 05:29:14 -0800<![CDATA[The No. 1 Reason Your Business is Not Experiencing Consistent & Growing Revenue... ]]>https://lololol.zohosites.com/thoughts/post/The-No.-1-Reason-Your-Business-is-Not-Experiencing-Consistent-Growing-Revenue...
Entrepreneurship is simple but not easy, however, there are well proven strategies any small business can and must use to create the systems that generate consistent and growing revenues. 

It's a digital world out there. Participating and taking advantage of this digital age is not an option, but rather, a MUST for all small businesses. 

With more than 4.5 billion plus and growing  daily Internet users, the opportunity for small business to reach their target market has not only, never been better, its also allowed SME's to compete with the big enterprises and do so cost effectively. 


Creating consistent & growing revenue is possible with the right business systems in place and an understanding of business development principles.  

Lead Generation  → Lead Conversion → Client Fulfilment 

The only reason small businesses aren't experiencing consistent revenue is the lack of a tried and tested marketing system. 

Randomly posting on social media does not even come close to being classified as a lead generation system, let alone, reliably produces quantifiable results that grow your business revenues consistently. Even consistently posting on social media is only one part of a solid lead generation strategy and system.  

Unfortunately, most self proclaimed marketing experts as well as companies out there over promise and under-deliver with in the majority of cases, no accountability and certainly no alignment of interests. 

We aim to deliver much needed capital for SME’s and Property Developers.

]]>Thu, 29 Oct 2020 06:23:23 -0800<![CDATA[Managing Cash Flow, Improving Business Margins and Stretching SME Budget. How? ]]>https://lololol.zohosites.com/thoughts/post/Managing-Cash-Flow-Improving-Business-Margins-and-Stretching-SME-Budget.-How
A frequent question as a small business owner, finance manager or financial director you should be asking is, "How best can I/we efficiently and cost effectively use our existing funds and available lines of credit to stretch them further whilst generating the maximum return for capital employed?" 


Below are examples of strategic financial management changes small businesses and even large corporates alike can make to improve cash-flow, margins and make the best use of existing resources or budget.  

"It is not the lack of resources" that is the culprit in most cases but rather, "the lack of resourcefulness!" that most small businesses need to focus on and improve!

Like in the case of Guerrilla Marketing, "achieving conventional business goals, using or via unconventional methods", whose main ingredient or input is not Cash but rather.. Time & Imagination. 

Michael E. Gerber in his book title, "Emyth" talks about the Emyth Small Business. A business where the system is the solution rather than trying to find and hire extraordinary people whom are very few . Great businesses, he goes on to explain, are built by leveraging ordinary people with extra-ordinary systems and managing the system & processes rather than trying to manage people. 

We aim to deliver much needed capital for SME’s and Property Developers.

Business Systems & Technology 

With the advancement in technology and wide spread use of Software As A Service (SAAS), small business can and MUST reduce expenses as well as enhance efficiency in all areas of business and data capture, processing as well as reporting are a great 1st starting point. 


Business must embrace technology as well as,  not only have a presence online, but, be fully engaged using the online medium as a cost effective platform to acquire new customers, as well as for continual engagement with existing customers, to ultimately not only satisfy their needs, but more importantly, delight as well as anticipate future needs and trends. 


Simply put, "produce more with less". 

Raise Your Prices 

" Are you crazy!  Do you realize what's going on in the world!? " Is the first and standard reaction of all businesses across the globe. " We can't raise our prices as we will lose business to our competitors" 


Pricing alone is rarely a long term , "sustainable durable competitive advantage", as Warren Buffet would put it.  This is Berkshire Hathaway's number #1 value investing criteria. 


Unfortunately in most small businesses, only 20% of the customers make up for 80% of the profits meaning the larger portion or 80% of existing customers are more hassle than the time and effort small businesses invest. Yes! Counter intuitive it is, but, by raising your prices, you will weed out the non-profitable and more than likely non-loyal customers. 

Improve Your Outstanding Debtors Collections Process 

Ensuring  prompt customer payments if not upfront payments is one simple way to manage and improve small business cash-flow.  Having a invoice online payment option is a must.

Focus on ROE/ROI for  Every Pound Spent 

Small businesses need to focus and ensure that every penny is spent on business aspects or areas that generate the most or protect revenue. Results or performance based expenditure means expenses are tied to revenue and or profit generating centres. 


Eliminate marketing activities that are not producing any quantifiable results to your bottom line; extra staff that the business doesn't really need or not fully leveraging and this includes internal as well as external. Externally this may be professional advisers not producing quantifiable business results that actually matter. 

Cash flow finance (Invoice Finance, Invoice Factoring) 

Whilst there’s never one size fits all policy when it comes to business finance across business sectors, invoice finance or invoice factoring can go a long way in alleviating cash flow tied up for business use. 


Example sectors suited to or ideal for Invoice finance are...

  • Product Wholesale 
  • Manufacturing 
  • Engineering / Fabrication 
  • Transport / Haulage 
  • Recruitment 
  • Marketing / Advertising 
  • Printing 
  • Security / Man Guarding 
  • Reactive Maintenance 
  • Cleaning 
  • Telecommunications 
  • Food/drink 
  • Breweries 
  • Computers / Technology 
  • Recycling / Waste management 
  • Clothing / Fashion 
  • Events management 

By CEO, GIC Capital 

]]>Mon, 05 Oct 2020 02:33:06 -0800<![CDATA[Preparing for the Impact of Brexit on your Workforce]]>https://lololol.zohosites.com/thoughts/post/Preparing-for-the-Impact-of-Brexit-on-your-Workforce
While the general discussion of Brexit has died down, to some degree, employers of EEA Nationals must continue stay tuned and engage with the challenges ahead. Following Brexit, there will be a transition period until 31 December 2020, during which EEA nationals will still be able to come and work in the UK.
It is advisable for employers to make sure that all their EEA workers obtain settled or pre-settled status, to enable them to stay at the end of the transition period. The current position is that EEA nationals who are resident in the UK by 31 December 2020 have until 30 June 2021 to make an application. Further to that it is essential that employers fully understand their obligations in relation to employees on international assignments and international commuters in relation to qualification for settled status.


Employers must also prepare for the new immigration system that will be in place after the transition period. The Migration Advisory Commission is expected to report further, having considered options for a new points-based system.


If they have not already done so, employers should carry out an audit of their workforce and consider where there may be staffing issues, should they currently rely on EEA nationals for certain roles. It is essential that employers ensure that the seek corporate immigration advice and assistance in relation to how to carry out this audit to ensure they are protecting themselves from breaching immigration rules as well as protecting themselves from the risk of employment related disputes.  They should look for potential skills gaps and consider the impact of the new immigration system.

Moving forward, some employers may need to obtain a sponsor licence to recruit the staff they need from abroad. To avoid causing any disruption, especially for key/senior roles, the sooner an employer can get ahead of the process, the better.


Credits: Paida Dube, Employment Solicitor  - DavidsonMorris

We aim to deliver much needed capital for SME’s and Property Developers.

Call Now ​+44 (0) 203 2909019

]]>Wed, 12 Feb 2020 07:32:10 -0800<![CDATA[Three Basics to Keeping Your Real Estate Investment Strategy Simple... KISS]]>https://lololol.zohosites.com/thoughts/post/Three-Basics-to-Keeping-Your-Real-Estate-Investment-Strategy-Simple...-KISS
Amassing a personal fortune through real estate may seem beyond possibility, but it can be done —  Keep it simple and pay close attention to these three basic concepts. 


1. Maintain Conservative Ratios 

If you’re building or buying real estate as a long-term hold, make sure that property is going to cash flow very well, even if that means you utilize more equity and accept a slightly lower return. Debt-service coverage ratio (DSCR or just DCR) is calculated by taking the net annual cash a property produces and dividing it by the total annual payments for any/all debt on the property. So, if a property will generate £100,000 per year after all expenses such as taxes, maintenance, vacancy, etc., and you put a loan on it where the total monthly payments for the year equal £50,000, then you have a 2.0 DCR. 


A 2.0 DCR may seem overly conservative, but when over-leveraged owners get in trouble, equity evaporates, and banks can foreclose, leading to a total loss of capital. I like to say that real estate experiences temporary setbacks. If the market drops and you have plenty of cash, you might have to accept a lower return on equity for a while, but you won't lose the asset to foreclosure. Then, when the market rebounds, all your equity will come right back. 


Remember, accepting a lower return and/or keeping cash on the side-lines will serve you very well when the time comes. Not losing money is often better than making a huge return. Over time, not losing will be a better strategy than always chasing yield — because eventually, almost all highly leveraged individuals and/or companies will take a big tumble. 
2. Location 

I know, location is traditionally said to be the three most important things, so maybe this should be No. 1 on this list. Stay close to town, close to services and close to the right level of wealth/money. For instance, don't try to locate a low-income housing project in Westminster, and don't build £2 million properties in Inverness (unless maybe there's a ski resort or something there I don't know about). The point is, your properties blend in with their surroundings. This is not a place to try to be the one who bucks the trend. 


3. Supply And Demand 

This concept is equally easy to quantify and easy to avoid or not pay attention to — I see it all the time. Here’s the scoop: Find the information, and pay attention to it. Are there more projects coming to the area than there is demand for? If it’s even close, move on. Believe me, even a top-notch yoga studio and gourmet coffee shop aren’t going to earn an extra £200 per month in rent or fill up or sell your units if there’s no demand for them. That’s where many find themselves right now. Development is starting to run rampant, and people are working to justify their deals because they think their projects are better than the four other similar ones going up. But whether they’re better or not is not the right question. The right question is: “Are there enough buyers/renters/tenants to fill up all current deals as well as any others in the planning phase?” 

If you are investing in a project or looking to create one, don't underestimate the importance of being conservative, making sure it your location is right and paying close attention to supply and demand. 


(source/credit: John Bogdasarian) 

We aim to deliver much needed capital for SME’s and Property Developers.

Call Now ​+44 (0) 203 2909019

]]>Tue, 10 Dec 2019 06:01:01 -0800<![CDATA[Leaders are only as good as the teams they build!]]>https://lololol.zohosites.com/thoughts/post/Leaders-are-only-as-good-as-the-teams-they-build

High performance teams that win all the time... 

Excerpt from just released book by Douglas R. Gerber
“TQ Team Quotient – How to Build High Performance Teams that Win Every Time” 

AT THE END OF THE JOURNEY IS A NEW TEAM CULTURE  
Culture defines us in our family units, businesses, and organizations. It distinguishes who we are and how we are described. Employees can readily describe their organizational culture, using such words as supportive, open, results focused, etc. Much of that culture is built up over years or even decades. Yet we don’t have decades to build a successful team culture; we endeavour to create a strong and powerful culture within one to two years. We do this deliberately and consciously by defining the culture we want and then bringing it to life. When team members start to identify strongly with the team, we know that the team culture has become embedded. 


THE 8 ELEMENTS OF HIGH—TQ TEAMS—‘VIVRE FAT’ 


As a result of working with hundreds of teams over many years, I have found that there are certain elements of High-Performance Teams that can be summarized by the acronym VIVRE FAT! 

The idea of VIVRE FAT is not to create a group of ‘bon vivants’ or ‘gourmands.’ It’s rather about focusing on the ingredients that will create a great team that fulfils its mission and realizes its vision. Let’s examine each of the eight elements more closely. 

Vision (Mission) 

High-Performance Teams know where they are going and have a keen sense of direction. The Vision syncs with the overall company vision yet is distinct to the team. The Vision is not something created and communicated by the team leader, alone; rather it reflects a core team effort, allowing all to feel ownership. It is a motivating factor that propels the team forward. It allows team members to set clear goals, and targets and measures success. The Vision encompasses not only the business but also other aspects, such as team, people, key financial metrics, industry, and stakeholders. Besides Vision, we may also want to define the ‘purpose’ or ‘mission’ of the team, which essentially defines its ‘raison d’être’ or reason why the team exists. 


Identity 

High-Performance Teams identify with the team and are proud of it. This sense of pride is due, in part, to the personal efforts that each team member has invested in moving towards High Performance. Identity forms an important part of one’s own self-perception and may even be more powerful than company or industry Identity. Identity places the team first and knows that team effort is a key to overall success. The sense of being part of something much bigger drives team members the extra mile. They believe what they are doing has meaning and creates value. 


Values
High-Performance Teams know what is important to them. They have defined how they want to appear, interact, and be together. Values are not just words on the wall. They contain emotion and are packed with meaning. Values drive behaviours, and all team members are expected to live the team’s Values. These Team Values are synced with Company Values, yet they are specific to the needs of the team. They are easy to communicate, both internally within the team as well as to external stakeholders. The Values are top-of-mind, drive the standards, and raise the bar. Just as the core team members are committed to Values, they need to be integrated into the larger team. 


Results 
High-Performance Teams drive for consistent Results. They are clear about what Results they are committed to and realize that a ‘Results focus’ needs to be linked to defining team success. They review and measure Results frequently and understand that “What gets measured gets done.” They are not only focused on Results but also on the elements that go into achieving the Results. All team members feel an obligation to deliver their part of the equation and help others do the same. 


Effective 

High-Performance Teams know that they need more than a maniacal Results focus. They need to master the drivers and processes that will create the results. They have clearly established processes for key aspects of the business and interactions. They believe both in doing things right and in doing the right things. They are constantly learning and continuously improving. They understand that team governance is an important part of the team process. Being Effective particularly applies to team meetings in which over half of the time is typically spent on ‘reporting’ and ‘updating’ as opposed to making decisions on the truly important issues. 


I once interviewed a client who said she enjoyed the monthly team meetings because it gave her time to catch up on her emails! Don’t laugh; that’s the state of most team meetings—lots of time wasted being ineffective. 

We aim to deliver much needed capital for SME’s and Property Developers.

Call Now ​+44 (0) 203 2909019

Fun  

High-Performance Teams know that sustained motivation comes from loving what you do. Team members enjoy being together and interacting in all ways. They also celebrate successes frequently. If a team is not highly motivated and having Fun, it’s probably not a High-Performance Team. That’s because the drive required to perform Effectively can readily be accessed through the power of emotion, which is generated from the energy of interacting with the team. As we have seen with sports teams, there is little motivation that is equivalent to wanting to show up for your team. That’s also why people refer to the power of team spirit, which has the power to overcome obstacles. 


Aligned 

High-Performance Teams are aligned on what to do and how to do it. They quickly resolve conflicts and move forward. They believe in the power of support, commitment, communication, collaboration, and agreement, both within the team and with stakeholders. As a Vice President in PepsiCo, one of the key principles I learned was the importance of alignment. For every initiative, we endeavoured to get all those involved aligned. Alignment is half the success of an initiative. Once people are aligned, execution is smoother. Conversely, when you don’t have alignment, you will have a manifold increase in obstacles. 


Trust 

High-Performance Teams realize that trust is an essential ingredient. They communicate openly and with transparency. They believe in a feedback culture, actively giving and seeking feedback. To do this Effectively, building relationships and earning trust is a priority. Team members have each other’s backs. When I survey my clients, they say, “Trust is the hardest element to build, but it also makes the most powerful impact.” 


VIVRE FAT is a simple reminder of what really matters in team excellence. It would behove leaders to master the art of building their teams. 

“Leaders are only as good as the teams they build” 

Read more: An Experiential Approach To Organizational Learning 

The post Applying the Eight Core Elements of High Performance Teams appeared first on ChiefExecutive.net. 


Also see the " The Five Dysfunctions of Teams" by Patrick Lencioni 

 

GIC Capital – Matching Capital With Opportunity  London +44 (0) 203 290 9019 

]]>Tue, 03 Dec 2019 13:20:54 -0800