John Knight
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CONTRIBUTORS
John Knight: how to get the right people on the bus
Jim Collins taught us about getting the right people on the bus, but businessDEPOT'S John Knight says there's a lot more to leadership. John says you need to keep your team facing the front to reach your destination. …
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CONTRIBUTORS
John Knight: How to make hay while the sun shines
The predicted pandemic doom hasn't happened and the market is flush with profits. John Knight says now is the time to invest to build wealth …
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CONTRIBUTORS
John Knight’s end of financial year top tax tips
It can be difficult to determine where to draw the line with tax deductions. While we all want to make the most of the end of financial year (EOFY) savings, it can be easy to slide into dubious territory. BusinessDEPOT founder John Knight outlines the simple ways you can improve your EOFY with his top (and legitimate) tactics. Instant assets We’ve all seen the EOFY advertising spruiking sparkling new cars with major savings. …
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Elite Agent
Finding strength in adversity: John Knight
There's nothing like a worldwide crisis to test a business's resolve and ability to adapt. John Knight examines what great real estate businesses did when the going got tough and what lessons you can adopt at your agency. …
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Elite Agent
Leading the revolution
Starting a new business can be a daunting task. John Knight shares the lessons he has learnt on developing a vision, empowering others to follow you and forging towards success as a team. …
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Elite Agent
Staying on track
Running a real estate business requires its leaders to wear many hats. We are still people businesses, so the discussions that drive accountability remain critical. Sales divisions still rely heavily on the commission structure to drive performance, but moving forward it may not be enough on its own. As technology becomes more and more a critical part of the business model, …
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SELLING + MARKETING PROPERTY
Big versus boutique
Not that long ago there was a distinct concept, theory or trend I could see happening in the real estate industry that I was yet to come up with a name for. It was occurring across the professional services industry, including professions such as accounting and in legal firms. Everyone is talking about disruption, but… …
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TECH + SOCIAL
5 ways real estate businesses can save money on technology
I may not be across every technology opportunity in the industry, but I do see the impact it can have on a business. More specifically, I see the impact technology changes can have on its bottom-line profitability. If you can juggle the changes required to introduce new technology, the rewards can be huge. Get it wrong though and it will often do more harm than good. …
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Elite Agent
The number one reason partnerships fail
Many businesses are owned by more than one principal. Sometimes these multipleprincipal businesses are family businesses with one spouse looking after sales and the other looking after property management and back office. Sometimes, they are successful businesses with unrelated principals working together. However, not all partnerships are successful. Many of them fail. There can be a whole range of reasons why partnerships fail, …
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Elite Agent
Strategies to reduce your break even point: John Knight
In the last month’s article, we talked about the one number every business owner needs to know – their breakeven point. Once you know your breakeven point, what do you do about it? Irrespective of how your specific market is travelling, the lower your breakeven point, the lower the risk in your business. The lower the risk in your business, the stronger your business and, …
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Elite Agent
Finding your break-even point to make better business decisions: John Knight
In business, there are hundreds of numbers you could be tracking and the key is to know which one to focus on at the right time. Recently we’ve had a number of discussions with clients where they have expressed concerns about whether or not they should cut costs in their business. ‘Is it time to batten down the hatches?’ ‘We are behind in our tax debt; …
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LEADERSHIP
Independent contractors and the tax man
Everyone wants to recruit and grow their team, but for many the costs and risks associated with adding more employees are prohibitive. While it may seem like an ideal solution, entering into independent contractor arrangements is fraught with danger for both the business owner and the contractor. Even before we worry about the industrial relations risks, the main tax risk for a business owner is that any payments made to the contractor are essentially deemed wages. …
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LEADERSHIP
What are the real costs involved in funding a startup?
As a sales agent, you’re one of the best! You’re winning awards, have a dominant market share, lead a small team and the cash is flowing. So what’s next? John Knight looks at the costs of starting your own office. …
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BEST PRACTICE
5 reasons your business has no cash in the bank
No one expects you to work for nothing, but principals are often surprised by how much they really take out of their business in a year. The answers are hidden in your balance sheet but, because this is rarely looked at or understood, you are left in the dark. If wages or commissions are taken from the business by the principal it will impact the reported profit. …
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LEADERSHIP
How to secure a tax-free business sale
It is not often as an accountant that I can tell a client they have no tax to pay on the sale of their business. For many real estate agencies, however, that is exactly the case thanks to the Small Business CGT (SBCGT) Concessions. It doesn’t matter whether you are selling all of your business, part of your business, units in a unit trust, …
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LEADERSHIP
John Knight: How much should my business be making?
When I am presenting at industry conferences or hosting principal workshops, there is always one question I am asked: ‘How much should my business make?’ Usually when people ask this question they are really fishing for a benchmark profit percentage. It is a question that is hard to answer; hard, because every real estate business is different. It is near impossible to compare a sales-only business with a property management-only business, …
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LEADERSHIP
John Knight: The 10 Traits of Future Leaders
I see businesses start. I see businesses stop. What makes one succeed where another has failed? Through our experience of working with agents and real estate businesses of all shapes and sizes, we have been able to iden-tify the traits of those agents able to make the transition to the ultimate role – principal. EVERYONE IS A BUSINESS I love the philosophy of ‘everyone is a business’ – this is a great philosophical base for how every future principal should start thinking now. …
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Elite Agent
John Knight: How to Create a Successful Succession Plan
Only an estimated 10 per cent of real estate businesses have a succession plan in place. Many default to the idea that when the time is right they will simply sell the rent roll, while others assume their kids will take over at some point. As John Knight explains, neither of these plans are in fact ‘plans’ unless you have wrapped around them a full succession and exit strategy. …
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LEADERSHIP
Making Your Business Goals a Reality: John Knight
Juggling your to-do list between strategic and operational issues can become a job in itself. Once you have a clear picture of where you want to take the business and a plan as to how you will get there, it is then all about implementation. These are our top tips to make your business goals a reality: TIP 1: KNOW YOUR NUMBERS NOW Building a business plan based on unreliable numbers is no different to building a house on weak foundations. …
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Elite Agent
How to Survive the Business of Family
Many real estate agencies are classic ‘family businesses’ with more than one family member working within them. John Knight looks at the challenges and the opportunities unique to family business. Growing up in a family business, I never knew any different than the sound of the fax machine early in the morning and Dad being on call 24/7. Although I became the disappointing son who did not want to be an electrician and take over the business, …
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LEADERSHIP
Ready, Set, Start!
Many a successful salesperson has walked into my office exclaiming, ‘I’m ready to start my own office’. Many do start, but not all survive. It’s not uncommon to hear a new principal declare it is not what they thought it would be and ‘I just want to sell again’. Firstly, I do not think selling and being a principal are mutually exclusive. …
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Elite Agent
To Sell or Not To Sell?
Some say that if you are ‘working on the business, not in the business’, then you cannot be a selling principal. I disagree. Selling-principal businesses are still a ‘business’ that you need to work on – they just have a different business model behind them. WHAT THE DATA SAYS When I analysed the data, I found that selling-principal businesses typically make more as a percentage of income than non-selling principals. …
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Elite Agent
Purplebricks and Purple Cows
Are you getting noticed? John Knight looks at the importance of standing out from the crowd to make sure your business is top of mind for the right reasons. Almost anyone who has heard me talk at events over the years will know my favourite business book of all time is Purple Cow by Seth Godin. Yes, an accountant whose favourite book is marketing-related. …
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Elite Agent
Has Your Business Lost Its Mojo?
When someone is on their game, the energy they exude is contagious. In the same way, when a real estate business is on its game you can feel it when you walk in the door – they are ‘on a roll’ and can do no wrong. But what if you’re not feeling refreshed and positive going into the new year? What can you do if you feel like your business has lost its mojo? …
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Elite Agent
Why Your Business Is Worth Squat: John Knight
If you are looking to sell your business, we all believe the real value is in the rent roll. John Knight says it is time we challenged this notion to create sales businesses that are actually worth something too. I am often asked ‘What is my business worth?’ The reality is that most sales businesses are worth squat; rarely do you see one sell for a material sum of money. …
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Elite Agent
Planning For the Best, Protecting From the Worst: John Knight
No one knows what’s around the corner with the Australian economy, but instead of planning for the worst and hoping for the best, Business Depot CEO John Knight suggests doing things a little differently. The real estate agencies who are ahead of the game are already looking to the future and are scouring their business models to identify strategies they can use to reduce various risks, …
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Elite Agent
7 Things Top Principals Are Doing To Achieve Great Results
There are always standout real estate principals who are ‘smashing it’ in one way or another, regardless of whether it is a tough market or not. John Knight pinpoints what these top principals are doing that makes the difference in their business success. If you are a business leader or owner, clarity on what is working is just as important as knowing what is not working. …
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Elite Agent
Don’t Leave a Dollar on the Table
No one likes to pay a dollar more of tax than they have to. John Knight looks at some surprising facts about hammers, ping pong and what you do on the way home from work when it comes to the perennial question: can you claim it? Clients of ours ask if they can claim a tax deduction for some weird and wacky expenses. …
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BEST PRACTICE
Waste sucks – so bin it!
How much wasted time, money and effort exists in your business? John Knight from BusinessDEPOT applies the ‘seven deadly wastes’ criteria to real estate and asks: What are you going to do about it? LET ME PUT my cards very clearly on the table – I hate waste, yet it is rife in most real estate businesses. The word ‘waste’ itself has such a negative connotation. …
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Elite Agent
The Top 10 Mistakes of New Principals
John Knight from Business Depot looks how to avoid the most common errors when buying into or starting a new real estate business. I OFTEN FIND MYSELF (unfortunately!) advising new principals and picking up the pieces when things don’t quite go to plan. ‘Stepping up’ is an exciting time but here are some things to look out for. WRONG LEGAL STRUCTURE Once in place it is often hard to change a legal structure without incurring a big tax bill; …
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Elite Agent
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
When was the last time you had a “no holds barred” discussion about what is working and what’s not working in your business? John Knight from Business Depot has some tips for effective team workshops that will prioritise the your most urgent actions. Jim Collins was spot on when he said you need “the right people on the bus”. But not only do they need to be on the bus; …
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Elite Agent
Sales Staff Pay-packets: What’s Working?
Enquiries regarding commission splits have well and truly jumped in the last couple of months. Many commission arrangements reset on 1 January each year, so now is a good time to reflect on the effectiveness of your current commission structure to drive your strategic objectives. JUST WHEN I thought I had seen it all with commission splits, another variation comes up. …
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LEADERSHIP
Equity: To Share or Not To Share?
Exploring the idea of equity for key individuals in the business is today a common topic of discussion. While there are stories of success beyond expectations, there are also stories of epic failure. Equity is not the only option; before you do go down this path you need to be aware of the pitfalls and possibilities. John Knight explains. When people start talking ‘equity’ they are typically considering the issue of legal equity in a business – usually shares in a company or units in a unit trust. …
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Elite Agent
Find your Business Rhythm
CAN AN ACCOUNTANT PREDICT your success in real estate? We can come close, says John Knight, who has studied the business management practices of top agents over a number of years. WHEN WE launched our business late last year our team of accountants looked to stretch the boundaries. We wanted to move out of our comfort zone and take a giant leap towards reaching our potential. …
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