small business ownership Archives - Page 2 of 2

Guest Post: 3 Benefits of a Unique Marketing Strategy

In the world of marketing, it can be difficult to stand out. Nevertheless, it’s important to do all you can to market your business in unique and creative ways. Failure to do so will cause your business to stagnate, relying on existing customers to stay in business rather than drawing in new customers to continue to grow. If you can find a well-planned and unique marketing strategy, there are many benefits to be had. To underscore the importance of good marketing, here are three benefits of a unique marketing strategy.

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Guest Post: 4 Little Ways to Show Your Employees You Appreciate Them All Year Long

When you’re an employee who’s working really hard for a company, it’s really helpful when the employer acknowledges that hard work with appreciation. As an employer, it’s very important to make sure you never take your great employees for granted. When you have loyal employees who give their all every day, there are many ways you can show honor and appreciation for all they do. Consider the following ways you can show appreciation throughout the year.

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Guest Post: Starting Your Own Business? 4 Legal Matters Before You Open Your Doors

It can often feel like there is an overwhelming number of things to get done when you first start your own business. While there are certainly some very major tasks to accomplish, you cannot forget about your legal responsibilities. Below are four legal matters you need to take care of before you open your doors. (more…)

Guest Post: Simplify Your Business Organization to Increase Productivity

Today’s companies need to embrace the latest disruptive technologies in order to grow and develop, and at the same time, they’re faced with an increase in customers’ needs and demands. All this means introducing a lot of new business processes, which, in turn, leads to complicating the workflow and increasing the workload. Needless to say, overhead costs grow too, while employees tend to become frustrated and disengaged. If we bear in mind that 85% of the global workforce are either not engaged or are actively disengaged at work, it’s clear that streamlining business processes and simplifying your business organization will increase productivity and boost your profit.

Reduce the number of meetings

While they are important for the flow of information, meetings can be huge time wasters and productivity killers. For example, senior executives spend more than 2 days a week while an organization spends 15% of its time in meetings. When translated into financial resources, it turns out that in the US, companies throw away $25 million a day, or a whopping $37 billion a year, on unnecessary meetings. Instead of running lengthy meetings, use email blasts, or even better, team communication tools to keep everyone informed and on the same page. Another idea is to have some quick, stand-up meetings during which only the employees directly involved in the process or task will be present. This way your employees will be aware that meetings won’t be dragged-out and tedious, which means that they’ll show up and be focused.

Leverage automation

Instead of relying on a mountain of paperwork, automate your document management and go paperless. With the help of professionals, you can implement document management solution that will improve the information flow within your company and have everything in one place where it’s easily accessible. Apart from enabling team and customer collaboration by sharing documents, you’ll also be able to speed up approval processes, prevent jams, and get things done faster by implementing electronic signature tools. Finally, given that your clients are concerned about the privacy of their sensitive information, a reliable cloud-based software will make sure that their data is absolutely protected.

Standardize processes

One of the best ways of simplifying your business is by standardizing recurrent processes. In other words, why wasting time repeating the same or similar task over and over again if you can create templates and save a lot of time? Standardization rests on finding the best way of doing things, that is, implementing the best practices. This results in better productivity and easier process improvement. In addition to that, adopting standard methods for doing things in your company will make it much easier to break in new employees and show them the ropes. Standardization is one of the key pillars of the Toyota Production System also known as Kanban, a management approach which focuses on quality and consistency.

Outsource

The advancement of new technologies has enabled a new way of outsourcing and finding the right people for the job from the global talent pool. This means that you’ve got a chance to hire various professionals who work from home as freelancers even if they don’t live in the same city, country or even on the same continent. Another way to boost the productivity of your business is by introducing a telecommuting option. If you’re having second thoughts, take your cue from Dell, as the IT giant managed to save $12 million on real estate costs only, while some estimates say that the company saved almost $40 million in total by allowing and even encouraging their employees to work from home. Besides reducing the overhead costs, Dell announced that their telecommuting employees were even more productive as they could work from the comfort of their homes and avoid numerous open-office distractions.

Add “no” to your vocabulary

Sometimes entrepreneurs and managers tend to bite off more than they can chew and pile up tasks and responsibilities. It’s only logical to always be looking for business opportunities, but if non-selectively applied, this idea can only lead to wasting your time, energy, and resources on things that aren’t your top priority. Instead of that, it’s essential to assess every situation separately and ask yourself “What’s in it for me and my business?” Learning to say no to things that aren’t exactly profitable can significantly increase your productivity. When it comes to making promises, make sure that you do that only when you know that you can deliver. Now that the multitasking myth has been busted and that research studies have shown that the practice of doing several things at the same time only reduces our productivity, it’s time to come to terms with our own limitations. A day has only 24 hours and the best way to be productive and get things done is to be 100% focused on every individual task.

These straightforward tips can help you simplify your business and boost your and your employees’ productivity.

Emma Worden is a startup funding consultant from Sydney. She enjoys reading and writing on different aspects of entrepreneurship, usually finance and marketing. If you want to read more of her work, you can find it at https://bizzmarkblog.com/

Guest Post: How to Successfully Run Different Types of Businesses

Becoming a business owner is a dream that many people share. For those that are successfully running a business, expanding it or starting a new business is often a great option. In many cases, it can make sense to open up a new business that is in a completely different field as it will allow someone to diversify. When you are looking to run different types of businesses, there are a variety of tips that should be followed.

Stay Organized

Being a successful business owner will require you to be organized and efficient. This is even more important when you own more than one business that is in a variety of different fields. When you own multiple companies, you should be able to develop a strategy to follow that could help you to be organized.

Hire People You Trust

If you want to own multiple businesses, you are ultimately going to need to rely on other people that work for you. When you are growing your business empire, you should be able to identify the people that you trust and that are successful. These individuals are extremely important and will be necessary to grow your business going forward. It is important that you continue to employ the people that have helped you grow and develop and that you find ways to ensure that they want to continue to work for you.

Outsource Necessary Tasks

Another tip that you will need to follow if you want to be successful in owning multiple businesses in different industries is to be able to outsource necessary tasks. All businesses today have a variety of different professional needs that most business owners are not able to handle on their own. Some of these services can include accounting, information technology, manufacturing, medical product kitting, and a variety of other services that are extremely necessary. By outsourcing these services, you can be assured that they are done well.

Have a Plan

Most importantly, you need to have a plan whenever you are looking to grow and develop your business empire. While you can be excited to start a new company, you need to make sure that you have an exit plan. This will allow you to continue to have goals and look forward towards the future.

Overall, when you do run multiple types of businesses, it is important to remember what helped you to be successful. More than likely, you were able to work off of one of your top skills and develop a business around it. By continuing to do this, you should continue to do well in the business world.

Meghan Belnap is a freelance writer who enjoys spending time with her family. She loves being in the outdoors and exploring new opportunities whenever they arise. Meghan finds happiness in researching new topics that help to expand her horizons. You can often find her buried in a good book or out looking for an adventure. You can connect with her on Facebook right here and Twitter right here.

Guest Post: How HR department can improve your business

Many small business owners spend countless hours developing human resource (HR) policies and procedures, especially those lacking an HR department. If this statement defines you, as an entrepreneur, you’d probably instead focus on other elements of your business such as your clients and customer service.

Human resources consulting firms take on the challenges you face as an employer, and in these days of recruiting, hiring and retention, HR support is a necessary must! Still, many businesses fear the costs of consultants when in reality the benefits outweigh the expense.

Not depending on the business industry and its employers’ numbers you have an HR consultant or department can help in some of the following ways:

Recruiting – The entire recruiting and hiring process can be harsh and lengthy. One must be savvy in assessing, interviewing, the legalities of pre-employment screening and background checks and compensation packages. HR experts can handle this entire process to improve employee retention and satisfaction.
Policies & Procedures – If you don’t have a set of HR policies, you will be in for a tough time when it comes to labor disputes, employee warnings, and terminations and general company rules. HR specialists can develop your policies based on your needs with your input and also ensure they follow federal and state guidelines.
Forms – Do you know if your job application, written warning forms, and required employee posters are legal and current? HR consultants will ensure they are.
Voice of the Employee – By utilizing employee engagement surveys, HR professionals can gauge the likes, dislikes, and needs of your employees and tell you how to use their feedback to increase motivation and productivity.
Training – Employees want training; they want to be able to advance in their careers. Human resources consulting firms can create training programs and help you implement them onsite or off.

Safety – OSHA requires every employer to ensure a safe workplace environment. It comes with specific policies and procedures, safety meetings and employee awareness. HR experts are versed in these policies and can provide a plan suitable for your needs.
Benefit Packages – These can be complicated and expensive, but HR consultants can help you design benefit packages within your budget. Today’s workforce seeks companies that offer benefit plans to cover health, employee assistance programs (EAPs) and retirement benefits.
Performance Reviews – Along with training, offering annual performance reviews is second in line when it comes to employee desires. They want to know if they’re improving and where they’re strong and weak areas lie. HR professionals can also help you create performance reviews designed for your industry and help you implement employee guidance plans—even mentoring programs.

These are just a few of the ways an HR consulting firm can improve your business—and the employer/employee relationship. Small business owners are knowledgeable about their product and services and know what their target markets are. They also know their customer’s wants and needs but many lack knowledge in the employment arena.

Perhaps the most significant contribution HR advisors can offer taking care of the “human” management side of your company. Employees are not just numbers, and HR experts are educated professionals that can provide a range of services to choose from or take care of all your HR needs.

So, doesn’t matter what kind or size of business you have, for any company it’s essential to have the HR specialist or department. With the help of their correct work, you will gain only impressive results for your company as increasing of the KPI, productivity, and quality of all staff job and growing of your business.

About the Author: Carol James is a writer and senior editor at writing service, so you can order essay template on any topic from EssayLab. She has MA degree in social sciences and writes articles, reviews on the different actual subjects. So, if you have any questions regarding the writing, feel free to ask her.

Guest Post: Business Location: 5 Tips to Making Your Clients Comfortable and Content

Having a business where clients come in to interact, purchase goods and explore options provides you with the opportunity to build rapport. Establishing a strong relationship does involve interpersonal skills, but it also means that you must create an environment in which your clients are comfortable and relaxed.

Offer Comfortable Seating

Whether clients will spend time in a waiting area or sit in your office, you must ensure that the chairs are pleasing. For example, Fit Small Business notes the importance of having chairs that both provide support and comfort. Keep in mind that a mix of armchairs and arm-less chairs is best. Some people need the arms for support, and others cannot fit into chairs with arms.

Control the Temperature

Ongaro And Sons suggests the importance of having an appropriate temperature in your office. Clients should not feel as though they have to stack on layers because the environment is freezing, nor should they be covered in sweat by the time of their appointments. If your clients seem uncomfortable, take a look at the number on the thermostat. Adjust it as needed.

Provide Proper Parking

When clients have to embark upon a prodigious journey from their car, they may soon start to seek other business options. While a stroll is enjoyable when the weather is pleasant, those benefits are negated by a rainstorm, a rushed schedule or an uncomfortable pair of shoes. If your business currently does not offer parking, scout out areas for lots. You could also consider offering complimentary valet parking.

Remember Safety

If your company is located in an area that has high crime rates, clients may worry about sitting in an unlocked office or walking through the parking lot. You could require clients to ring a bell to be let in so that they know others will have to do the same. Security cameras in parking lots can’t necessarily prevent crime from happening, but they can offer some level of security.

Fill the Waiting Time

Chances are that your clients may have a waiting period at least some of the times. While you want to make sure that you are seeing clients at the time of their appointment, you should also offer them ways to occupy themselves. Depending upon the nature of your business, you could put a television in the waiting room or spread out some magazines.

Comfortable and content clients are important. When your clients feel good, the transactions are likely to prove more successful.

Meghan Belnap is a freelance writer who enjoys spending time with her family. She loves being in the outdoors and exploring new opportunities whenever they arise. Meghan finds happiness in researching new topics that help to expand her horizons. You can often find her buried in a good book or out looking for an adventure. You can connect with her on Facebook right here and Twitter right here.

Guest Post: Key Ways To Help Reduce Your Risk Of Bankruptcy In Business

Your business is still new. It has been operating for only two years, but you’re very happy with the progress you’re experiencing. You contribute the success of your business to all the precautions you’ve done in the past. You’ve been very careful about who you hire, what processes you implement in the business and who should you work with as your suppliers. Sure, you might have been very keen on all of those things, but have you ever considered the possibility of your business heading towards bankruptcy? Your business is still new, and this makes it very susceptible to bankruptcy, and of course, you would never want that to happen to your business. Along with the precautions you’re doing right now, the tips presented below will also help reduce your risk of bankruptcy in business:

You should prioritize debt repayments: If you’re a sole proprietor, you must have acquired debts to start up the business. This usually comes in large amounts, which makes it difficult for you to pay one time to all of your creditors. But since your business is now operating, you should prioritize paying these debts. You can start paying secured creditors and pay those with the highest interest rates first. With your unsecured creditors and vendors, it’s best that you treat them all equally and pay them all something. You should not play favorites with your creditors. But if you still have problems with your debt payments after doing all of these, you should talk with your creditors and ask for possible repayment terms.
You should always maintain an updated business plan: Before you started your business, you should have a business plan. This document is vital to ensure that you know where your business is going and how you could possibly achieve that goal. Your business plan should also include everything about your financial decisions and the business’ cash flow, capital-expense budget and other business expenses. It will also aid in executive decisions to keep expenses and revenues in equilibrium.
You should be accurate and proactive in reviewing financial results: You might have hired employees to help you run your business, but you shouldn’t solely rely on them when it comes to financial decisions. You should take the time to review all of your business’ financial reports and journal entries so whenever you can notice something is off, you can immediately take measures to prevent it from worsening. Time is always crucial for any business.
You should budget for all expenses: Similar as to how you handle your personal expenses, your business expenses should also be budgeted. You should put funds for your quarterly, seasonal and annual expenses as well as additional funds for more unexpected expenses. Doing this will help you ensure that you’ll not be caught up in the expenses of your business and you know where your business’ expenses are actually going. If you haven’t done this in the past, you can start by writing down all of your possible infrequent expenses and make them part of your regular budget. You should be very conservative with your profit margin. You should also make sure that you have a “cash cushion” for your business.
You should consider purchasing accounting software applications: Almost all of the business processes can be done using an application and you should consider purchasing one for your accounting processes. Once things are done using an application, there’ll be less human intervention, which can mean less mistakes in the long run. This can work wonders for you, especially if your business is very young. You’ll not only ensure that your finances are on track but you can also generate accurate reports from these applications. Using these reports, you’d know which to improve in your business.
You should hire a consultant: Since this is your first time to handle a responsibility this big, chances are you don’t have in-depth knowledge of the ins and outs of the business especially when it comes to the finances. If you want to be sure of every decision that you make, hiring a consultant for your business might work out well for you. They’re the best people to ask for help because they have years of experience on the things that you’re doing now. Once you have a consultant working for your business, you’d be able to focus on your business operations while ensuring that you’ll not head towards bankruptcy.

Your business is basically like your child. You’ve exerted your time and effort into it, and that’s why you want your business to grow and operate for the longest time possible. You don’t want everything to go down the drain, and being careful of your financial decisions to stay away from bankruptcy is one way of ensuring your business’ long-term success. These precautions might be new or tedious on your part, but as a business owner you’ll be able to realize that all of these will be worth it in the end. You don’t want your business to head to bankruptcy, right?

This website will provide you more information on how your business can stray away from bankruptcy.

Gail Wilson has more than 12 years of experience under her belt when it comes to business, which she is currently sharing with her clients and peers as part of the law industry. She writes pieces on various law topics that she hopes could help the common reader with their concerns. A family oriented, Gail loves spending time with her husband and two sons during her free time.