Should I hire someone?
Current workload, revenue and cash position, expected sales, cost of hiring, the work they would do, and alternatives such as outsourcing.
What would have to be true for the hire to pay off?
Running a small business
When the answer isn't obvious, don't guess. Find out what matters.
HUBL helps you think through difficult business decisions by working out what matters, looking at the information available, testing assumptions and helping you decide what to do next.
Questions owners ask
When the answer is not obvious, start with the decision.
Should I put my prices up?
Can I afford to hire someone?
Why are my profits falling?
Should I open another location?
Is this investment actually worth it?
Which opportunity should I pursue?
Why these decisions are hard
The numbers rarely tell the whole story.
There may not be one obvious answer. The numbers may point in different directions, important facts may be missing, and assumptions can start to feel like facts.
Cash, people and time are limited. A bad decision can cost more than money: it can use up attention, slow the business down, or make the next choice harder.
The decisions around the business
Different problems. The same need to see what matters.
Money
- Should I raise prices?
- Can I afford this investment?
- Where is the money actually going?
- Why is profit falling?
People
- Can I afford to hire?
- Should I outsource this instead?
- Where is the team overloaded?
Growth
- Should I open another location?
- Should I add another service?
- Which opportunity deserves my attention?
Customers and marketing
- Why are customers leaving?
- Is this marketing actually working?
- Which customers are most valuable?
Suppliers and operations
- Should I change supplier?
- Should I buy or lease equipment?
- Am I carrying too much stock?
Priorities
- Which problem should I fix first?
- What should I stop spending time or money on?
- What should I do next?
How HUBL helps
Think it through before you commit.
Understand the real question
What are you actually trying to decide?
Work out what matters
Which facts, numbers, risks and constraints could change the answer?
Look at what you know
What does the information you already have tell you?
Find what is missing
What can HUBL reasonably investigate, and what does it need to ask you?
Test the assumptions
What are you treating as true, and what happens if it is wrong?
Build a view
What does the information suggest, what remains unclear, and what should you do next?
New information can change the direction of the investigation. The point is not to follow a rigid checklist, but to understand the decision well enough to act.
Worked examples
One question can contain several decisions.
Should I put my prices up?
Current margin, costs, customer sensitivity, competitor pricing, demand and the likely effect on customer loss.
Is the current price sustainable, and what could change the decision?
Should I open another location?
Current location performance, expected demand, rent and setup cost, staffing, local competition and cash required.
Is success at the first location actually repeatable?
Practical outcomes
Know what still needs checking before you act.
- Make decisions with more confidence
- Avoid acting on assumptions you have not tested
- See which information actually matters
- Compare options more clearly
- Understand what could go wrong
- Explain a decision to partners, lenders, employees or advisers
Why inspect the reasoning?
See what HUBL is relying on.
HUBL should show you what you told it, what it investigated, which assumptions matter, what it still does not know and what could change the view.
See how HUBL approaches trustYour business, your judgement
HUBL helps with the investigation. It does not run the business for you.
Some things can only come from you: what you want from the business, how much risk you accept, personal constraints, unpublished facts and commitments already made. HUBL should ask rather than invent them.
Working with advisers
A better starting point for a useful conversation.
HUBL is complementary to your accountant, adviser or other professional. It can help structure the decision, identify questions, investigate available information, compare options and prepare a better discussion with someone whose expertise you trust.
It does not provide specialist legal, tax or regulated financial advice.
Early access
What are you trying to decide?
HUBL is currently in development. Register your interest to hear when early access becomes available.