NCB turns small fish into top dogs
Thu, 28 Jan 10
Since beginning the Business Mastery Course at the National College of Business, Big Dog Pet Food owners Chris and Kirsten Essex from Lawnton just north of Brisbane have more than doubled their annual turnover.
Interestingly Big Dog’s impressive leap from $1.4 million to $3.7 million, a result which won them NCB’s Business of the Year title, occurred while the Global Economic Crisis was making headlines.
Dynamic Big Dog founders Kirsten, 33, and husband Chris, 35, credit the NCB’s unique approach to Big Dog’s success because it held them accountable on a monthly basis “to do what we said we’d do”.
“You’re not taking time out to study, you’re using your time more effectively to make your business work for you,” Kirsten said.
“One of the benefits of the course is being able to connect with other businesses.
“Chris and I looked forward to going to College every month because we and our colleagues stuck to our guns, delivered results and inspired each other. We were all determined not to become victims of the financial crisis.”
Key to Big Dog’s success was analysing its systems.
“NCB has helped us to be clear on which processes yield the most return,” Kirsten said.
“It’s easy to get caught up in the daily ‘crisis’ and find that you’ve spent 80 per cent of the day on these activities and minimum time working on your business.
“We learnt what worked and what didn’t and remained focused, for example, weekly phone calls to our stores significantly increased sales, so we never let this slip.
“Our business is constantly changing, which means it’s constantly reviewed. Everything doesn’t have to be perfect but we need to track our progress and respond accordingly.”
The NCB’s Business Mastery Course is open to businesses with turnovers from $50,000 to $5 million plus at a cost of $500 per month.
“We’ve actually applied what we learnt at the College to our home life with our two boys Sam, 9, and Jack, 8
“In the same way it has benefitted our business, it has helped us as a family because it has taught us to be clear, maintain a positive headspace and hold each other accountable without becoming unnecessarily emotional,” Kirsten said.
Tags: Big Dog Pet Foods
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