From Deadwood to Diamonds

Diamonds are graded into over 5,000 categories, and how they score in these categories determines their value. Your business is no different. There are many different aspects to making sustainable profits, and your business must score well in all of them if it’s to have a strong future. We’re going to examine your business on the basis of: Clarity: The first part of this book helps businessowners assess the clarity of their business. The more clarity you have, the more confidence you will have to move your business forward with purpose. The clarity of diamonds ranges from ‘Flawless’ down to ‘Imperfect’. While a diamond’s clarity cannot be improved, the good news is that business owners can add clarity to their vision and business plans.

Cut: The cut of a diamond is not simply its shape. The way a diamond is cut is primarily dependent upon the original shape of the rough stone, the location of the inclusions and flaws that need to be eliminated. Cut is often regarded as the most important criterion of a diamond.

In Part 2 of this book you will learn how to review the underlying foundation of your business and what you are shaping it for.

Colour: All natural diamonds contain small quantities of nitrogen atoms that affect the colouration, the same way that the internal processes in your business create predictability for profitability.

Part 3 of the book will show you how to work on improving your company’s colour to retain customers and increase referrals.

Carat: A diamond’s carat is a measurement of both the size and weight of the gemstone. One carat is equal to 0.2 grams. A carat can also be divided into ‘points’ with one carat being equal to 100 points, and with each point being 2 milligrams in weight. The size and depth of a small business is its ‘carat’.

In Part 4 we look at how you can add value to your business to make sure it has maximum carats. Conceptually, there is no limit to the weight of a diamond and therefore the number of carats – the bigger the diamond, the bigger the number of carats – just as there is no limit to the heights your business can achieve. Certification: Certification is how others see your business and provides the rubber stamp for what you do. How does your business rate? Are you building a base of raving fans who will help propel your business into the future?

About the Author

Stefan Kazakis has 20 years’ experience running successful small to medium sized businesses – including a family business which he took from near bankruptcy to be a multimillion dollar business. In 2005, he became an Action Coach because he wanted to share his business skills and knowledge with other people and help them turn their businesses around. He had a lot of success very quickly as a coach – he is now ranked in the Top 1% of Action Coaches globally and has the title of #1 Profit Coach in Australia. In 2012, he also won the Best Awarded Client at the ActionCOACH Global Conference and in 2013 he became the newest Millionaire Coach. One of only six ever in the history of the organisation to receive the award worldwide, this recognises client retention and consistency of results.