small business Archives - Page 2 of 3

Guest Post: 4 Services to Outsource While Building a Small Business

When launching a small business, it feels great when you have more work than you can keep up with because it means that your business is flourishing. Increased workload should not prompt you to have more employees. It makes more economic sense to outsource some of your company services. Outsourcing also takes off pressure from your internal team. Consider outsourcing these four tasks so that you can free your time for the core objectives.

Finance/accounting

Research by the American Psychological Association concludes that multitasking or attempting to manage several projects at once leads to a 40 percent decrease in productivity. The chances are that your projects will take longer to complete, and you might be under high-stress levels. Juggling is merely an illusion because the balls are thrown independently and caught independently. With such a high likelihood of error, it is not advisable to handle your finances. Allow an independent team to handle the bookkeeping. You also get to learn from the bookkeeping experts you hire.

Customer Service

When running a small enterprise, hiring trained customer service personnel is not always a feasible option. It means that the staff members have to manage this function by dividing their time between keeping the old customers happy and trying to get new ones. Consider outsourcing customer service to a contact center.

Content Marketing

Content marketing is one of the modern marketing methods that small businesses should embrace. The content should be easy to digest and not sound promotional. Its objective is to generate leads that later convert into sales. Rather than using your time to produce content or hiring a marketing team to handle it, you should consider outsourcing. You can also hire a design agency to create a website that fits the material perfectly.

Administrative Roles

It is easy to get overwhelmed by the dozens of small tasks that take up your time every day. As a business owner, your primary objective should be to expand your venture. If you don’t have time to focus on the core duties, the company may not succeed. By hiring a virtual assistant, you will save money because you pay only for the hours that the expert handles the tasks.

There is so much work you can outsource. All you have to do is to survey your team and process the work you should do regularly. Consider outsourcing tasks outside your team’s competencies. The cost difference between having an in-house team and outsourcing will also help you decide.

Emma Sturgis

Emma is a freelance writer based out of Boston, MA. She writes most often on health and education. When not writing, she enjoys reading and watching film noir. Say hi on Twitter @EmmaSturgis2

Guest Blog: Starting Off Right: What You Need to Begin Your Small Business

Starting a small business is typically a challenging undertaking. It will require a lot of research, dedication, and diligence. However, it can certainly pay off in the long run because you will be able to work for yourself and achieve your career goals. If you are successful enough, you may also be able to employ others, which is rewarding in itself because you will know that you are providing someone with the opportunity to earn a living in a difficult economy. The following information will provide a closer look at what you will need to do in order to successfully run your company and start things off right:

Determine What Type of Business You Want to Be

One of the first and most important steps is determining what type of business you want to operate. The most common types are LLC, sole proprietorship, partnership, and corporation. This will affect your taxes as well as your personal assets. For example, if you operate as an LLC, your personal assets will be protected from debts and claims.

Raise Enough Capital

Typically, opening a business can be rather costly. You will likely need to pay for things like insurance, equipment, supplies, staffing, and stock. Therefore, you will want to make sure that you start saving money ahead of time or that you have investors who are able to help you cover some of the costs. Finding investors can be tricky but you might want to look into crowdfunding, investor networks, and sometimes your friends or family might even be interested in helping you to get started.

Utilize Professional Services

Since opening a business can often be overwhelming, it can be beneficial to reach out to professionals for assistance. For example, business transaction law services can be helpful because they can assist you with resolving disputes, commercial transactions, and contract management.

Find a Suitable Location

In order to choose the right location, there are many factors you will need to consider. For example, you will want to research your demographic in order to find a location that best serves your targeted audience. You will also need to research crime rates in each prospective area as well as find a region that is affordable and within your budget.

Overall, starting a new small business will require a lot of planning ahead. It can be difficult to know where to start. So, doing your research or reaching out to a professional can be incredibly beneficial. All of your hard work will eventually be worth it once you are able to work for yourself because you can guide your company towards success and know that you did it on your own.

Lizzie Weakley is a freelance writer from Columbus, Ohio. In her free time, she enjoys the outdoors and walks in the park with her three-year-old husky, Snowball.

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.

2nd Brain Collective Podcast – Michael Rodgers of the Small Business Association of Michigan

Michael Rogers serves as the vice president of communications for the Small Business Association of Michigan, the association that helps small businesses succeed by promoting entrepreneurship, leveraging buyer power, and engaging in political advocacy.

In his role at SBAM, Michael handles all non-marketing communications, including the Focus On Small Business magazine, audio and video podcasts, social media, and news media relations.

Michael is also the host of three weekly shows for the Michigan Business Network: Business Next, This Week in Small Business, and This Week in Small Business Technology. On this episode of 2nd Brain Collective, we talked to Michael about how he helps entrepreneurs and the future of entrepreneurship in Michigan!

Entrepreneur Institute Profile-Connie Sweet from Connection Graphics

#BetterCallPaul: April 2015 Recap

This week, we take a look-back at our videos from April.

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Throwback Thursday: EVOLVE Corporate Wellness Stretches Part 2

In this episode for EVOLVE Training, it is a continuation of part 1. Focus on improving posture and defying our normal forward rounded sitting position.

Throwback Thursday:AdviCoach Strategic Planning Seminar #4 – SWOT Analysis

In this episode, Tom Hamp of Advicoach goes through the definition of a SWOT analysis.

Incu-BaKe-We Help with Getting Your License

One of the major services, Incu-BaKe provides is help with getting licensed in the food industry according to Michigan State Law. Marcy Bishop Kates explains why IncuBaKe provides this service and Diane Allarding of Glory Bee’s Sweet Treats talks about how beneficial it was for her. For more Incu-BaKe go to www.incubake.com