Frequently Asked Questions

What is the outcome I can expect from the Project?

There are many reasons you may want to start the Project. It could be more Profit, efficiency, and world domination 🙂 but we believe there should be two reasons.

To increase the value of the business by creating a business that runs itself and is worth more without you than with you
To build a business that gives you options so you can ‘Retire into your Business’. Have the choice to continue working, to be the Chairman and set the strategy, semi-retire, and pursue an alternative to working.
Building your Team’s Capability and Capacity through a series of Management Training Programs so you feel confident and do not have to micro-manage.

We like to use the phrase “Get the business ready for sale, but don’t sell it”

How long does a Business Alignment Framework Project take?

It depends! The initial Business Investigation and Analysis typically takes between 3 and 5 days to complete.

This includes all the detailed functional investigation, interviews, analysis and then an additional few days to write the Strategic Road Map Report.

The Report has a suggested project plan with resource allocation, estimated costs and implementation times. Most importantly recommended priorities.

Typically you can allow 2-3 months for each section. Obviously, the more resources you allocate the quicker the plans can be implemented, but it’s not always about seed, it’s about effectiveness.

What does the Business Alignment Framework Project Cost?

Yeah, that’s always an important question. Our fees are not as expensive as a Partner in an Accounting or Law Firm at $500/hour.

The initial Deep Dive Analysis is a Fixed amount of $5,000 plus gst. This is an introductory offer to businesses that value the opportunity to work on their business.

The Strategic Road Map is the output document and includes a fully documented Project Plan with Resources and costings.

If you were to engage us as a part of your implementation team and annualise my fee it would be similar to an FTE Senior Manager in a mid-sized organisation. So depending upon the length of the engagement, it’s between $1,500 and $2,500 per day.

How is my Project Implementation Managed?

The Strategic Road Map includes full Project Management Plan that you can manage. You can upload the details into your favourite Project Management tool.

By engaging us as you Project Manager, we use the Waterfall Project Management methodology for the key Milestones and Tasks.

We do however use the Sprints Model, also known as Agile, for tasks that have a development component, like a new product or strategy.

Sprints are used extensively in Software development and we have adapted this methodology as it allows teams to experiment and build a culture of creativity.

You will be asked to allocate resources from within your business to be a part of the Project Team. We do this so you have total transparency and eventually you may wish to take over the project Management function.

Who from your Company needs to be involved?

The most important person in the Project is you, the Business Owner!

You are the Project Champion and you have total control of the ‘sign off’ process.

You will most likely have a role inside the Project in some Functional capacity but that will depend upon your staff capability and capacity. The idea is to spread the load across your team and our Consultants.

As a part of the deep Dive Analysis, we determine the capability and capacity of your Staff and how we can use their expertise without disrupting the efficiency of the operation. This will be clarified in the Roadmap.

How are the Project details communicated?

If you do your own implementation then we suggest you invest in a Project Management tool so that each member of the Team is able to communicate and Activity Reports can be provided. You may already be using a CRM or tool like Slack or Trello.

If you engage us as your Project Manager we will design and implement a Project based off our existing Project Templates. We use a program called Zoho Projects and Zoho Sprints with internal communication tool Zoho Cliq and Zoho Connect.

Zoho also has the ability to report on the progress of the Project with total transparency.

You and your team will be given varying user access to the system based on their Project engagement.

Who else needs to involved in the implementation?

You may already have existing external service providers who can provide part of the solution. It could be your Accountant, Web Developer, Systems or CRM provider. We will find out during our discovery.

If we need additional resources I have a network of trusted collaborators that I can introduce you to who have been personally curated by me and therefore I have no difficulty advocating for them.

They are typically engaged by you as external Contractors as you may want to continue with their services after the Project has finished.

If I engage them as a part of the project and need to manage their services, I add an admin fee and a PM fee and i ask for a deposit to cover the initial work they are engaged to do.

Do I need the services of Inspiring Business throughout the whole Project?

We are fully engaged at the beginning of the Project. This is to set things up and get the process rolling. Once we have gained momentum there are times when we don’t need to be involved as much. For example, the project may need to rationalise the product range focusing on the most profitable and greatest opportunity for growth.

This now requires a Branding and Marketing specialist to work with the Web developer and Systems group to make sure all the platforms are working in synch. Our role here is merely as the Project Manager to make sure the Milestones and tasks are met and report back to you on the progress. Our job is to make sure the project comes in on time and within budget.

Can I stop the Implementation at any time?

Yes you can. We know sometimes stuff gets in the way.

The only thing we ask is that you allow us to complete the Task or Sprint that we are currently working on. This usually requires a months notice but it could be longer. Once we have completed the Task or Sprint we will pause the Project.

We do ask that you pay all outstanding invoices for that Task or Sprint in advance of the completion. I’m sure you can appreciate we have made commitments to you, and although we understand situations change we do ask that this is brought to account.

Do I have to sign a Contract?

Yes you do. The Contract will be sent to you in 2 parts. the first part is the Deep Dive Analysis. This is a fixed price deposit for the investigation, interviews and preparation of the Strategic Road map. This is an investment of Five Thousand dollars (AUD $5,000) plus gst.

The Strategic Road Map includes the Project Plan and the Inspiring Business Fees associated with the implementation and the Project.

Estimated Fees associated with external Consultants and the Notional Cost of your staff may also be included.

What is my total investment and expected ROI?

It’s definately not in the hundreds of thousands of dollars!

It obviously depends upon the depth of the Project and what the main objectives are. One of the first investigations we make is your Cash-Flow position. there is no point putting you under unnecessary financial stress unless there is a guaranteed ROI. In most cases this is impossible to predict so we take a more conservative approach.

You would expect to increase your long term profitability in the specified area of between 15% and 30%.

In the case of People, the metric may be retention of staff or an improved Employee Engagement measure.

What if we've started this process?

That’s great news. It means that you’re serious about making a difference to your life and those around you.

We are happy to work with your existing team to see if there are any areas we can add value.

Even if you don’t engage us we can even offer you an obligation free analysis of your input or output documents.

Our genuine purpose is to help you develop a business. Period!