It is always magical to watch a newly crowded Olympic champion beaming on the podium, knowing that for the athlete, this moment is the culmination of so many years of sacrifice and the fulfillment of a lifelong dream.  As they stand there on the podium, listening to their national anthem, the world celebrates with them.

In business, we also have wins, but often nobody is watching or acknowledging these moments.  It could be gaining a big contract or customer, having record sales for a period of time, or discovering an effective new product, service, or marketing strategy.  In the hustle and bustle, it is easy to let these moments rush past without acknowledgement.  I challenge you to look for and acknowledge the wins you may be having in your business and take the time to pat yourself on the back for a job well done.

The celebration doesn't need to be on the front page of your local newspaper.  It is more that you are providing yourself with an opportunity to reflect on the hard work which you have been putting in and identifying that you are achieving the goals you set out to achieve.  Celebrating your wins recharges your batteries so that you are ready to face the ongoing challenges which you will no doubt come across.

One thing elite athletes are known for is their mental toughness.  Not only are they physically fit and incredibly knowledgeable about their sport, they are also able to perform under pressure and make key moments count.  Normally they spend a lot of time visualising what they are trying to achieve.  This is great for focusing their efforts on the results they are after.

Business owners must also train themselves to be mentally tough so they can perform in high pressure situations.  It is important to remain realistic, but optimistic about your business, even though there will invariably be ups and downs.  It is also vital that to develop constructive ways to manage and mediate stress, whether that be via hobbies, time with friends and family, or exercise.

Having a balanced approach to work and life is important however there will always be time when work or family needs to take priority.  To ensure the longevity of your business or career it is also good to increase your self-awareness so that you can identify how you are performing and respond accordingly.

Becoming mentally tough doesn't just happen overnight. Like any skill it needs to be developed and improved over time.

Every athlete and team at the Rio Olympics has spent considerable time developing their game plan for the big day.  It is the combination of their consideration of their own strengths and weaknesses, the expert advice they have received, and their careful analysis of the competition.

For businesses, this is your business plan, which brings together your analysis of your business's challenges and opportunities, consideration of the competing products and services, and expert advice you have received; it provides you with a clear picture of what your business needs to do to succeed.

While different sports generate a wide variety of game plans the one common theme is that all athletes consider what it is that they have to do to be awarded a gold medal.

Not one athlete gets to that point without a significant amount of focus, determination and effort.  In a similar way there are countless athletes who don't receive a gold medal and there are always a variety of reasons.

There are a lot of similarities to owning and operating a successful business.  Not many business owners are able to create a sustainable business for the long term without having a thorough business plan.  The old saying goes 'if you fail to plan, you plan to fail'.  Generally a lot of businesses start up but don't survive as there is a lack of a detailed business plan which guides the business through the challenges which will arise.

So the question is how good is your game plan and do you know exactly what you need to do to create a sustainable business?

Just like the Rio Olympics, being in business is very competitive.  Regardless of what you do or provide, you are contending with other service providers or product providers for your customers' time and money.

Sometimes your success relates to timing and tactics but more often it comes down to a consistent offering which you have differentiated from the other options which are available to your potential customers. 

To be able to stand out in the crowd you need to know who else is in the crowd.   Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of your competition is a great way of being able to identify how you can position your services or products so that you are the first business they go to. 

Athletes are constantly examining their competition by watching hours of video footage of them competing so that they can identify strengths, weaknesses and areas which may cause problems with their competitors' game plan.

This also applies to professional football, basketball, rugby, etc.  Every high level team is reviewing their own individual team members' performance and identifying areas to improve.  They are also reviewing their competing team's strengths and weaknesses so that they can come up with tactics to reduce their strengths and take advantage of their weaknesses.

The aim is to know your competition, but not to focus on them to the detriment of your own business or strategy. 

There is no doubt that every athlete at the Rio Olympics has spent considerable time identifying and working to address their weaknesses, whether these be mental or physical.  I cannot stress enough the importance of doing this kind of analysis on yourself and your business.  What are your personal strengths and weaknesses as the owner of the business?  What skills could you develop within yourself to improve your ability to develop or market your products or better serve your customers?

If your weakness is public speaking then join your local toastmasters group.  For other weaknesses there are many self-help books available on a wide variety of topics which could be suitable for you – from how to develop your value proposition to how to improve your selling skills. 

If a further qualification would improve your capabilities then completing an MBA may be suitable. 

The moral is to make sure you are always doing something to improve yourself.  Olympic athletes are training every day to improve their strength, endurance or technique.  If you are in business then you need to be continuously improving as well.

The usual response to this is 'I don't have enough time' or 'what will that cost'.  The best response to this is 'will you ever have enough time' and if the answer is no then maybe time management is something you should improve on.  Regarding the cost, there is no doubt the initial cost of doing anything will be higher than the cost of doing nothing.  But if you do nothing then you won't improve however if you continuously improve then looking back after five years your weaknesses should be greatly reduced.

Every competitor at the Rio Olympics is a talented athlete.  It is highly likely that each could have been successful at multiple sports.  However, each has chosen one event to specialise in and has focused all of his or her energies on perfecting this.  In business, it is tempting to try to be all things to all people.  However, it often leads to you becoming a jack of all trades and a master of none.  Failing to specialise can be a recipe for disaster.  A good example is what happened when Woolworths tried to branch out into hardware through their Masters chain.  While there are benefits in broadening what your business can produce or provide you must ensure that you remain competitive with your core strengths.  You don't get to choose your competitors but you can identify and refine your service or product offering so that it is the best available. 

Personally, I decided years ago to specialise in small to medium businesses within my accounting firm and this has led me to hire more qualified and experienced accountants and set up and market my firm in ways which will best suit and serve these customers' needs.  

If you want to win an Olympic gold medal, the first step is to make sure that a medal is even on offer in your sport of choice and that it would be theoretically possible for you to get to the competition. There is no point in investing your time and resources if your goal is impossible to reach. Likewise, in business, I can't stress enough the importance of due diligence before you buy or start a business. Everyone's heard the joke about how it is impossible to sell ice to Eskimos, but sadly many people do enter into business ventures which are highly unlikely to succeed because there is not sufficient demand for their product or service within the market they enter; there was never going to be any gold medal on offer.  It is easy to become emotionally invested in an idea that seems 'good'; hence, I highly recommend doing thorough market research and having someone independent complete a due diligence report on any business you are planning to start or buy. I have done many of these over time and find clients are often very surprised by the opportunities and threats I identify for the proposed business; you really owe it to yourself to find out this information before you apply significant amounts of your time and financial resources into a venture.

Our athletes are about to get their shot at Olympic glory in Rio and I am looking forward to cheering them on.

But, what can business owners learn about success from Olympic athletes?

There are several relevant lessons we can take away to help our own businesses go for gold.

1)  Choose your event wisely
2)  Decide to specialise
3)  Listen to expert advice
4)  Invest in yourself
5)  Know your competition
6)  Have a game plan
7)  Be mentally tough
8)  Celebrate the wins

I will be writing about these over the coming weeks on my blog: stay tuned!

There has been a lot of press lately about industries which are being disrupted.  It is easy to see how Uber has impacted on the taxi industry and how things won't be going back to how they were.

Our new mantra we have been promoting is to 'disrupt yourself'.  We recommend that you undertake an unbiased review of your business plan including your value proposition.  Look at it as if you were looking at the business plan of one of your competitors.  Can you identify any gaps in your game plan?  If you were your competitor what would you do to gain advantage from the weaknesses or gaps you have identified?  As the business owner what do you need to do to improve these weaknesses and provide a more robust plan?

It is also a matter of identifying your key strengths which set your business apart and creates differentiation in the market place.  Are you communicating these strengths to potential customers? 

Making improvements to your business plan and customer offering will ensure that you are in a much better position to defend against other disrupting factors in your industry.