The Business Octopus

Inside the mind of Avon Collis

An interview with the interviewer. Amanda interviews Avon on what got him started in business, what he has learned along the way and how other people can learn from his mistakes. Join the Relevate Community and get in depth guides, tips, tricks and tutorials on how to grow your business with digital skills and technology. Join our Digital Accelerator membership and take your business to the next level: https://join.relevate.com.au

The Dangers of Default Thinking

⁠Are you on a mission or an adventure - meaning, a mission suggests a clear goal or purpose, often tied to specific outcomes and structured plans.While being mission-driven can be powerful, it can also lead to default thinking if the focus becomes too narrow.An adventure implies exploration, curiosity, adaptability, and a willingness to pivot based on new discoveries.By thinking adventurously, businesses are more likely to challenge assumptions, experiment with new ideas, and see setbacks as learning opportunities.Ask yourself:Are we clinging to our mission so tightly that we’re stuck in default thinking?Or are we on an adventure where we’re open to new ways of achieving our purpose?

Combating Cashflow Seasonality With Rev Ops

Almost all businesses experience seasonality of some kind. Whether you run a tourist business and it is centered around school holidays and the weather or whether you run a professional services business and it dips in after tax time and the end of the year.You can manage seasonality in the way you structure your contracts. Project work often has its peaks and troughs. Again, you can manage this in the way you structure your deals. In a growing organization, the cashflow swings and roundabouts are compounded. Having a revenue plan is essential.Rev Ops is often about how to generate more revenue and is the latest and greatest business term for planning your revenue. While you are small you might feel that you don’t really have control over when you do and do not get revenue but the truth is you do.Revenue planning is the pre-curser to cashflow planning. Cashflow is dealing with the cash you already have coming in and going out. Where revenue planning is about the timing of invoicing and contracts in more of a pre-emptive manner to improve the timing of cashflows. For example, I might structure a deal with payment terms that mean that more cash is paid during cash downturns in a bid to have more in the bank when I need it.In our service business, we complete B2B software implementations and usually with other professional businesses that tend to wind down over the months of December and January. This often leaves us to continue paying wages with a reduced income. Rev Ops planning says I should try to plan contracts to help fill that gap ahead of time rather than dealing with cashflow on the basis of what is already arriving in the bank.As a result of this known dip, we have created retainer packages and structured the terms to make sure we have continuity over the end of the year by allowing the balance to be rolled over and locking in favorable rates. We also have some deals where payments will become due during these quiet months and if we needed to, we could also have off peak service rates to incentivize clients to take action in the quiet months.What do you do to make sure your business survives the financial winter?- what's the difference between rev ops and cashflow- why does seasonality suck- Pricing models to deal seasonality- Market segmentsHere is the link to the YouTube course for busy entrepreneurs: https://academy.relevate.com.au/course/youtube-for-busy-entrepreneurs#/home#youtubecourse

Global Expansion - What are you waiting for?

As an entrepreneur, it is your job to break new ground and explore new lands. Taking your business to the world can have a profound impact on your growth. It has never been easier to operate internationally. The time is now. Watch the livestream and hear from our experiences.Download the Free Checklist - the 8 Critical Business Areas To Master: https://zfrmz.com/vxkjzyu4bwola4ahinhmWork with us: https://relevate.com.au/Join the free Relevate Community and get in depth guides, tips, tricks and tutorials on how to grow your business with digital skills and technology: https://community.relevate.com.auOr join our Digital Accelerator membership and take your business to the next level: https://join.relevate.com.auWe help business owners find software tools, tips and tricks to help them get their life back. We delve into the deeper concepts of gaining a strategic advantage.#veteran #relevate #crm #digitaltransformation #erp #mrp #projectmanagement #software #implementation #veteranowned #infantry #veteranownedbusiness #avoncollis #relevatecommunity #relevateconsulting

Bootstrapping a Credit SaaS Through the GFC, COVID, and Global Expansion

On the Business Octopus podcast, host Avon interviews Kosta Patsan, founder and managing director of Newcastle-based EasyLodge, a SaaS specialty credit platform that manages the full credit lifecycle from quoting and applications through decisioning, funding, loan management, repayments, arrears, hardship, and payout. Kosta explains how EasyLodge targets non-bank lenders and fintechs priced below enterprise competitors, processing about 30,000 applications per month and managing roughly 350,000 loans across about 60 global clients in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and the Philippines. He recounts his prior personal lending business growth and collapse during the GFC, the origin of EasyLodge after a Citibank deal fell through, bootstrapping challenges, and a COVID-era charity rollout completed in three weeks. The conversation covers founder realities, sales and customer service via direct phone access, pitfalls of exits and private equity, AI’s limited role versus deterministic finance systems, risks of spreadsheet-based lending, growth in private lending, and advice on capital, funding lines, and building organically.00:00 Welcome and Setup01:01 Meet Easy Lodge Founder01:08 Platform and Market Focus04:40 Origin Story and GFC08:18 Bootstrapping Reality Check11:13 Early Struggles and Breakthrough14:22 Funding Terms and Founder Pay17:33 Selling and PE Pitfalls19:08 Deal Gone Sideways27:03 Phone First Customer Service32:37 Support Tickets Frustrations33:52 Service Costs vs Delight35:15 Sales Calls That Convert38:24 AI Hype vs Reality42:01 Excel Limits at Scale45:21 Private Lending Boom50:46 Defaults and Risk Pricing58:08 Startup Lessons and WrapJoin the Relevate Community and get in depth guides, tips, tricks and tutorials on how to grow your business with digital skills and technology. Join our Digital Accelerator membership and take your business to the next level: https://join.relevate.com.auChoose the right software for your business with the Relevate Directory: https://directory.relevate.com.au