Time management is probably the number one most effective success building tool for any small business or entrepreneur. Without it, creating long-term success is like trying to catch that elusive brass ring on a merry-go round. Round and round you go, just hoping to grab that ring (and more than likely missing it over and over). If you can put a reliable time management system into place from the beginning; however, week after week you get to avoid some pretty big pitfalls. What kind of pitfalls? Let's start with missed deadlines.
There's no way around it, deadlines are hard to manage if you work on your own. Projects and clients can easily start to become a blur during busy times. And if you get busy enough and are lucky to have a team - or need to hire subcontractors to contribute to one or more projects - well, you get the picture. People and tasks and timing can get pretty overwhelming. The sooner you have a flexible mechanism in place to help you make sure that project benchmarks are met and things stay on track, the better.
There are unimaginable rewards to having this type of foundation solidly in place at the start of your business. One is that you will obviously build and KEEP a great client base - and the other is free time. Without a system, believe me, you'll find yourself working twice as hard and for many more hours than you would otherwise, and you'll be so busy treading water that even finding ONE day off will feel like a miracle.
Another pitfall of poorly managed time? Money! I won't even talk about the potential money that you can't make because you're busy spinning your wheels ineffectively and NOT marketing in those lost hours. Let's just talk about the inaccurately tracked project time that you can't invoice your clients for. Or the time that is forever lost when you spend it tracking down team members and following up missing documents and unmet deadlines.
Look, when it comes to running your own business, big or small, you MUST have a time tracking system BEFORE you start invoicing. Preferably you'll choose one with easy reporting. That will allow you to not only invoice your clients simply and correctly, it will also let you easily cross-check your incoming subcontractor's invoices.
The POM Factor. Finally, when it comes to the business of business, NOTHING beats POM: Peace of Mind. It's tough enough to do the work, run the show, and please everyone on every side of every equation. Putting foundational tools into place before things get crazy will allow you to focus on creating great work and marketing your services and your company. It's extremely difficult to be mentally available for great, unexpected opportunities when you're tracing and retracing the same issues and questions every day. Managing your time and your projects is like having a safety net under your high-wire act. It leaves you free to focus on the work directly in front of you and the other people you're performing with (and for).
Dave Churchville
dave@myclientspot.com
ClientSpot by ExtremePlanner Software
http://www.myclientspot.com
For a free 30-day trial of the best time / project / team management software, go to http://www.MyClientSpot.com.
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What is really at the heart of business success? Ideas. Without new ideas, companies can achieve no more than the status quo. Ideas lead to better products, more effective marketing and sales, efficient operations and communications; you name it. Without ideas, organizations have nothing.
The most widely used tool for generating and developing new ideas in organizations is group brainstorming. Literally hundreds of thousands of brainstorm sessions take place in offices and conference rooms across the globe, every single day.
In our innovation work, we have the opportunity to question business people about the effectiveness of their brainstorming efforts. And it is rare that we don't hear a negative response. "Boring." "Intimidating." "A big waste of time." "The same old ideas over and over again." "Nothing ever happens with the concepts we do come up with." These are all comments we hear repeatedly, from individuals at every level of an organization, and from every business category.
In fact, brainstorming as traditionally practiced is a sloppy, haphazard process. Remarkably, this single activity, which is so vitally important to business success, is allowed to take place in a manner that is completely lacking in structure, facilitated by individuals with little or no training and who have no idea what tools or techniques might make their efforts more productive. One can only imagine the cost of ineffective brainstorming to business, in wasted manpower, lost opportunity and damaged employee morale.
The topic of brainstorming is a big and important one. But here are seven things you can start doing today to make your sessions dramatically more effective.
1. Make a Plan, Stan
It is sometimes said that professionals plan, amateurs wing it. Before your brainstorm ever begins, take the time to plan your session. What is the challenge you will present to the group? What is your objective for the session? Ten new ideas? One hundred? What idea generation techniques will you use to inspire your group's imagination and make new connections? When you create a vision and a plan for the session, you increase the odds you will actually realize it.
2. Invite Diversity
Tired of getting the same old ideas in every brainstorm session? Maybe you should consider not inviting the same usual suspects. By including individuals with refreshingly different backgrounds, perspectives, ages, genders, ethnicities, etc., you will be creating a group mind with a wealth of divers experience to draw on. Consider who in your organization might make an unexpected contribution to your idea pool, and make sure they're there.
3. Kick Out The Boss
I once knew the president of a company who would insist on attending every brainstorm session, and then start it off by saying, "You know how they say there are no bad ideas? That's wrong. There are very bad ideas that should never be expressed. So, anybody got anything?" Nothing will more effectively shut down a brainstorm session than the fear of saying something stupid in front of the boss. It's sometimes easier said than done, but unless your company leadership is extremely supportive and accepting, they shouldn't be in a brainstorming session. Idea generation requires a safe environment, where people aren't afraid to share their thoughts. Ensure the boss you'll review everything with her after the session is over.
4. Play By The Rules
Of course it's not just the boss who can derail and brainstorm. Anyone with a big ego, loud voice or attention-seeking personality can do the same. Negativity and judgment bring instant death to spontaneous idea sharing faster than negativity and judgment. Make a list of guidelines or rules for your session as soon as you begin. Ask for everyone's agreement. No negative comments. One person talks at a time. Crazy, even audacious ideas are encouraged. If anyone breaks the rules, ask others in the group to good-naturedly remind him-perhaps by pelting him with crumpled paper balls!
5. Hold The Phone
"Phone" here, of course, means any device that will distract one's attention from the task at hand. The remarkable convenience and productivity provided by PDAs is nothing short of miraculous. They also make brainstorming sessions come to a grinding halt. One of your most important rules is, "All phones, smartphones, iPhones, Blackberries, Blueberries, Raspberries, whatever OFF during the session-and put out of sight, out of temptation's reach!" Reassure attendees that you will provide breaks during which they can check messages or email.
6. Ask Lots of Questions
Not getting what you want from your brainstorming group? Maybe you're not asking the right questions. You can immediately change the consciousness and output of any group by simply posing a provocative question? "What if we combined the last two ideas?" "That was a wild idea. How can we rein it in to make it more on strategy?" "What are three more ideas like that one?" Learn and apply the art of powerful questioning and you will get an exponentially greater return on your ideation investment.
7. Maintain Momentum
Most brainstorming sessions tend to start out slow and low energy. People are feeling their way into the process. After awhile, the energy sometimes picks up for a few minutes. Ideas come from everywhere. Then it stops. They've run out of steam. They start talking about last night's episode of Mad Men. You're lost. A great facilitator is like an accomplished surfer-they can "sense" the crest of the wave, where it is now and where it's going, and ride it all the way to the end. Be tuned into the energy of the room, when it's high, let it rip. At the first sign of dropping energy, ask a provocative question that takes the group in a new, interesting direction and gets everything going again. Brainstorming facilitation is work-fun work, but work nonetheless. Stay focused, ride the wave and you'll walk out with a stack full of great ideas.
Great brainstorming and creative idea-generation is multi-faceted process that requires structure, trained facilitation and a full toolkit of proven techniques. There's a lot to learn. But you can start your ongoing education with these seven key improvements, and start seeing better results right away.
How's that for a great idea?
Mitchell Rigie and Keith Harmeyer have a combined 40+ years experience working in the strategic marketing communications field. SmartStorming: Advanced Training in Innovative Thinking is the result of their personal experience and expertise, as well as extensive research and practical application. To learn more about SmartStorming, visit http://www.SmartStorming.com
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Business presentations are a vital part of the business process. They occur internally, to share knowledge and keep teams informed on the status of projects. They occur at the B2B level where new business in the form of wholesale supplies, products, and services are bought and sold, arguably lifeblood of local and global economies.
And of course, they occur at the B 2 consumer level - every TV commercial, online ad, even many "editorial" articles you read, have business development as their core agenda.
No matter what your profession, business, or line of work is - the better at giving business presentations you are, the more successful you will be, hands down. And I don't care if you are a building maintenance worker, a computer programmer, or a plumber, i.e. you're in an occupation that seemingly has no place for business presentations - because they do have their place, whether it's obvious or not.
Every time you need to explain or even "justify" a decision, strategy, or approach to your boss, team members, or clients, you are engaged in a business presentation. The better you are at doing this, the more success you will have, even if you are a coder sitting behind a monitor all day long. In that case, and you get this skill right, it will be the difference between being "just" another coder, and that of a team leader, manager, director, or business owner, along with commensurate increases in salary and bonuses.
What I am saying here is nothing new or original, and I am not proposing a "theory". Mastering business presentations ( and some would just call it simply selling ) is a fundamental success principal. It plays a role in personal relationships as well as business. It ties directly in with concepts like charisma and persuasiveness. In case you have any doubts about this, read some of the classics in personal development and success, such as "Think and Grow Rich" by Napolean Hill, or "The Magic of Thinking Big" by David Joseph Schwartz, and "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie (as corny as the titles sound to many, there is powerful information in these books.)
So, why do so many of us get this wrong? Why do we not learn the importance of presentation skills for business and life, starting at the grade school level? The complete answer is beyond the scope of this article, but I would suggest that at the core of the issue is the near-universal fear of presenting, including and maybe even especially business presentations, that most people have. And this is no joke; fear of public speaking is higher on the list of common phobias than fear of death...So what is the solution then?
Business Presentation Training - The Antidote for Fear
The solution to this, or any other fear we may have, is simple (while not always "easy".) All fears must be conquered, or else they will hold you back - in business and in life. In this case, our fears are generally based on lack of confidence in ourselves to be good at business presentations; it's really a fear of looking bad in front of our employers, peers, colleagues, friends, etc. So, it stands to reason that getting specific training for business presentation skills can be massive weapon in our arsenal as we face our fears of public speaking and business presentations. When it comes to any skill, and especially those relating to professional and personal development, one the surest ways to make strides and grow is to get coaching - whether that be an actual business presentation coach or a business training program.
There are many options out there for business presentation training, from books, to CDs, online training, seminars, workshops, to one-on-one business presentation coaching. There is a ton of free information that will at least get you started, including my other articles at this directory. Regardless of which route you choose to take, do yourself a favor, and do take action. Business presentation training is vital to your professional growth and personal success, and this skill is just too valuable to avoid, procrastinate, or ignore.
For more great, free tips on Business Presentation Training, visit our site where we feature a large selection of informative articles, blog, and video content.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Douglas_Gargaro
In the high tech industry, a work environment with proper implementation and management of technology is vitally important. Any great manager will agree that human resources still plays the most important role in any successful high tech venture. Employees are the backbone of this industry, and they need effective leadership so that they will be motivated to do the best jobs they can do.
In the United States today, the high tech industry is beset by several factors that make it difficult to hire and retain good employees. The economy is down and the national unemployment rate is high.
Good leadership, however, can inspire employees and motivate them to work harder at their jobs. The question is how. Leadership is not a random event. Rather, it is a dynamic process continually adjusted to an ever-changing environment. A great leader is able to influence the behavior of individuals and groups. Harry Truman once said, "Leadership is getting people to do what they don't want to do, and like it."
In the past, a leader's personality or charisma was considered key. Leadership effectiveness also was defined in terms of attitudes. The most effective leaders were deemed to be those who placed the greatest emphasis on "people and production."
Today, this view has been modified. Now the leader needs to vary his style to fit the readiness of his subordinates.
A leader's attitude is based on his concern for both his people and their productivity. Leadership behavior also is based on two dimensions: task behavior and relationship behavior. In attempting to lead, an individual always engages in each of these behaviors to some extent.
Task behavior involves directing others - telling or showing them exactly what to do and how to do it correctly.
Typically, direction is characterized by "unilateral communication," which may take the form of oral or written instructions expected to be carried out as dictated. Instructions to employees may be explained by saying, "This is how you would do this."
By contrast, relationship behavior is characterized by more supportive, facilitating actions and by bilateral communication among individuals. Here, direction typically involves dialogue between a manager and his subordinates or between co-workers.
Bilateral Communication
Bilateral communication takes place when employees are directed to complete given tasks, but are allowed to exercise their discretion as to how they should be completed, and are given more latitude to offer input.
Thus, while a manager telling an employee, "This is how you would do this may characterize task behavior" relationship behavior may be characterized by employees explaining to their mangers, "This is how I would do this." This distinction can be an important one.
Whether a leader uses task or relationship behavior, he must first assess the readiness of the employee.
Readiness is the extent to which a follower has the demonstrated ability and willingness to accomplish a job. Job-specific readiness is a function of two variables: ability and motivation.
Ability is when an employee possesses the skills needed to complete a job successfully. In evaluating whether an employee will be able to perform a job satisfactorily, a manager should consider that employee's training for and past experience with similar jobs. An able employee must also understand the expectations of the job.
Motivation is determined by two factors. First, an employee must have a desire to achieve. He should not only want to complete the job, but to complete it successfully. A manager can ask himself whether a particular employee has a good incentive to do the best job he can do.
Equally important is the employee's confidence level. Does the employee feel he will be able to accomplish the job successfully? In answering this question, a manager can look at whether the employee has been willing in the past to assume responsibility.
An employee who consistently takes initiative and assumes responsibility also is the one who is confident in his decision-making skills. Where an employee does not take the initiative and tends to shun responsibility, there is an implied message: "I can't."
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
Managers can take this message as a warning, lest it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. They should consider their behavior when giving a job to someone who feels he cannot do it successfully. If the "I can't" mentality becomes self-fulfilling, it can have the residual effect of diminishing an employee's confidence in his ability to perform other jobs.
Leaders cannot just take one style and think it will work for everyone. With the trends toward employment empowerment, you may think that relationship behavior is more effective. After all, employees tend to feel more empowered when they are asked for their input about a task than when they are told exactly how to do something.
This is true. But not all employees are alike. A leader needs to access an employee's ability and motivation. Some seek the empowerment that comes with being able to exercise their discretion to complete certain jobs. Others do not consider latitude a desirable direction. An employee who lacks confidence may want to be told how to do something before he is asked for his input on how to do it.
In addition, an employee who lacks confidence but who succeeds at completing a job because he had been given specific instructions may, in the future, feel more confident about providing input on how to do the same job more efficiently.
An effective leader is able to alter their style by adopting an appropriate mix of task and relationship behavior. In doing so, we can provide employees with the leadership that motivates them to come to work and do a great job for themselves, the customers and the company.
Make more money faster by easily connecting with hard-to-reach decision makers who can buy your products and services...NOW! Get started free by getting Michael McCann's new Special Report excerpted from his newest edition of his popular business development book, Connecting with Key Decision Makers (How to Reach Hard-to-Reach Businesspeople Who Can Say "Yes")...just for asking at http:/www.GlobalBusinessCafe.com/ or http://Twitter.com/MikeHMcCann Go now!
Michael McCann is a 25-year veteran of developing unique and professional business development programs that create tangible results for individuals and companies. Let him help you instantly...free!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_McCann
Today I heard that Wal-Mart is expanding its number of stores in the USA by about 150. That means a ton of new jobs and stores. So what does Wal-Mart know that we don't? Obviously with the economic downturn, people are turning more and more so towards the stores that sell for the lowest prices. This represents quite a change from 18 months ago when price was no issue for the buying public. People were spending without any real concern about price. Today the consumer has become very price sensitive. So Wal-Mart is doing better and better, with their low cost model.
Wal-Mart's expansion plans have barely had a hiccup through this recession. They obviously have an understanding of the economy that we should be taking note of. Perhaps they see this recession as being really protracted and drawn out. Under these circumstances the public will still demand low priced products.
Alternatively Wal-Mart is planning for the future by expanding now. They will be ready when the recession has turned around and the public have started buying again.
So in either scenario price sensitivity seems to be the new norm. One thing that seems to be a new reality is that recession or not the buying public will not be spending as freely in the foreseeable future as they did just a short while ago. Wal-Mart seems to have really understood this change in the public's buying patterns.
This means that retailers and service providers had better be more competitive on price than they have been in the last decade or more.
To survive in business today, pricing will become even more cutthroat, margins even smaller and competition even fiercer.
So if you have not already started doing so, start negotiating with your suppliers for the best deals that you can possibly get. Start thinking of new and creative ways that are perceived as adding value to your products and services to entice new buyers. People are doing price comparisons on their purchases. Give them something that makes price only one component of their purchase decision, like offering better service, speedier delivery, more flexibility on terms, and longer warranties.
Put yourself in your customer's shoes and see this new reality through their eyes. What would bring you to buy your products from your business today?
Mark Bergman helps and advises business owners with the starting up of their new businesses and improving the running of existing businesses.
If you would like to receive a weekly Small Business Newsletter, and access to FREE REPORTS, EBOOKS and other interesting information on business issues, go to http://www.startupmysmallbusiness.com/blog
Mark has 25 years in business experience, covering areas of consulting in business strategic planning and software and general business consulting. He also has started up a number of businesses which he successfully ran and sold off.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mark_Bergman
We are all bodies in motion. And since we are, we are always interacting with others. In other words, networking.
Being in motion means that unexpected things happen. Take bees for example. When bees are gathering nectar for their honey, they inadvertently cross pollinate flowers. O.K. then. What about business networking? Do you think that unexpected things might happen here?
Sure they do.
You talk to Tom at an after hours event. You mention that you have a boat. Tom talks to his friend Mary. Mary mentions that she took a sailing class last year. Tom tells Mary that you have a boat. Tom introduces you to Mary. You invite Mary to go sailing. Mary thinks you're hitting on her. Mary tells her friend Monica that you're a jerk. Monica happens to know your ex wife, Patty. Monica tells Patty that you're a jerk. Patty tells Monica that she already knows that, that's why she divorced you. Patty, who is now thinking about you and how much of a jerk you are, calls her attorney. The attorney gets you into court to jack up your alimony payments.
Unexpected, right? See how this all works?
On the other hand, what if Mary didn't think you were hitting on her and went sailing with you. It so happens that Mary is an entrepreneur who started a company that you've been trying to get a contract with for your business. You now have a business opportunity here. If you play your cards right and follow up with Mary, perhaps you can not only get that contract, but also get referrals from Mary.
You never know what will happen from networking. Like a bad smell...I mean, like ripples in a pond, spoken words or social connections can spread out far beyond what you may have imagined and positively or negatively affect your business growth. Like it or not, networking happens in business. So why not learn to do it correctly and effectively? You may be surprised at the unexpected benefits you receive.
Oh, and if you meet my ex wife? Pretend you don't know me.
Networking is not sales! Networking is creating relationships that can lead to sales. If you've ever wondered if you should network or how to network effectively, then we can show you how it can be done while having fun at the same time. Networking is the marketing strategy that can super-size your business without gaining all those ugly pounds or raising your cholesterol. If you're a people person, networking is for you. if you're not a people person, this can help you overcome your fears while profiting. Visit http://www.networkingfun.com to get answers to your questions and see how networking can help your business. C'mon....check us out. What have you got to lose?
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steve_Blumenfeld
For Canadian small business owners there's a surefire way to improve your cash flow, reduce your outstanding receivables save trees and mailing costs and overcome the "cheque is in the mail" syndrome.
It's called the e-mail money transfer. This method of payment is reliable, inexpensive and once you've trained your customers to use it, it's an incredibly effective way to get your invoices paid fast.
If you do your banking on-line it's available through all the major banks in Canada and some credit unions. This method of payment is not available internationally. If you don't do your banking on-line then set it up - now! It will be well worth the time for you to do so.
Briefly, here's how it works. You e-mail your invoice to your customer in whichever format you prefer (PDF, Word etc). Your customer receives it, goes to their on-line banking portal and creates an Interac money transfer for the amount of the invoice and e-mails the funds to your e-mail address. No money actually gets e-mailed, this step is more of a notification that funds are pending deposit into your account.
Usually, you receive the notification within 30 minutes or so of it being sent. You simply click on a link within the e-mail and then click on the logo of the financial institution and account that you want the funds deposited to and the money is now in your account.
Wouldn't it be an ideal world if you could collect all your receivables this way? The reality of course is that this is unlikely to happen any time soon but if just half your customers paid you this way, then imagine the improvement in your cash flow!
A word of advice, if you have kids living away from home don't let them know that you know how to e-mail money, otherwise you have no excuse when you get the "I need money" call. Be smart of work. Act dumb at home!
Martin Povey owns buildingyourbusiness.ca and is a business and marketing coach who helps entrepreneurs and small businesses who need focus direction and creative solutions to build their business and achieve their goals. He can be contacted at: martin@buildingyourbusiness.ca or 403-529-9259 or visit http://www.buildingyourbusiness.ca/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Martin_Povey
How to prevent your NEIS business failing
Joining the NEIS Business program and starting your small business using their support is a great idea. However, you still need to put in a lot of hard work to make your small business profitable. As a business coach I have helped NEIS business owners get results from their business and now I would like to provide that advice to you.
It is your Business.
You need to remember that no one else will come along and help your business if you can't be bothered to spend your own time working on building it. You are responsible if it fails or succeeds and can longer blame the boss for not running a good business, because you are the boss. Make sure that in the first three months you devote at least 40 hours per week to building and promoting your business. If you spend a day doing nothing on the business, don't complain when you it suffers a cash flow problem later.
Treat your business like a job by starting work at 9am and finishing at 5pm with only an 45 minute lunch break. There is a saying that states "work will always expand to fill the time you have" so take control of time and don't let work expand more than necessary.
Your value to your business
Calculate how much you want your business to make in a year then divide that dollar amount by 1,800 to give you an hourly amount that you business needs to generate to reach your goal. For example if you want to make revenue of $50,000 you will need to bring (50,000/1,800) $27.80 revenue into your business every hour you work. Ask yourself, have I done anything to enable my business to earn $28 this hour.
Be realistic
Make sure you have accurate information about the number of sales you will make in the first three months. I have seen NEIS business owners forecasting 700% sales with no advertising budget allocations. Have a look at your projected sales revenue forecast and detail exactly how you expect to get that result. How many customers will you get from your advertising campaign? What will be the average dollar spend of each of your customers? What percentage of your customers will return to you and how often? Project the lowest expected sales forecast and highest level of expenses and you might be more accurate than you realise.
Use the Mentor's experience
NEIS business owners get 12 months support and help from experienced business mentors when they request it. Don't wait until your government grant expires to start asking for their help. Every month your mentor will arrange a meeting to review your business so prepare in advance and have a list of problems that you would like help with, such as;
• How to complete your Profit & Loss statements
• How do I design an newspaper advert effectively
• What is the way to set up my business website
• Give me examples of how I can reduce my operating expenses
The NEIS program will only provide you with the knowledge and skills to run a business if you put the hard work into your business as well.
© Copyright 2008 by Paul Baker
Information supplied by Paul Baker
I help small business owners achieve higher results from their advertising, market research, website positioning, and business strategies by providing my business development experience in their business.
Small Business Coach
Paul Baker
pbaker@small-business-coach.com.au
http://small-business-coach.com.au/index.html
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paul_Baker
A professional broker or real estate agent is a reliable source of information for an investor or potential home or office buyer. Real estate agents' reputations are a crucial part of business as they deal with numerous business transactions and coordinate with top management. Materials such as portfolios, business reports, and business cards are the tools essential in conveying professionalism and reliable services. The factors below areelements to consider when printing real estate business cards.
• Brand or Logo placement-In order to establish services and highlight them, a business card should include a brand or logo. The business card should serve as the "best foot forward" and should create a great first impression. Logos serve as a badge or a professional seal that represents an agent's profile. Online printing companies offer high-quality printing of customized designs and logos.
• Information-Whether free-lancing or part of a brokerage firm, real estate brokers need to consider how much and what type of information should be printed on the card. It would be ideal to include professional certifications and license numbers. Take advantage of this limited business card space to print information that will be most helpful to the customer. The information printed should also be interesting. Printers can now print information on both sides of a card in order to include information such as the range of services offered.
• Design-A business card gives a summarized projection of the broker or agent's image of himself and his services or business. Professional industry standards use white or shades of it. Real estate agents who would like to step out of the convention can choose a different paper or font color. Aside from being able to upload custom designs, online printing companies enable customers to print business cards choosing from expertly-designed graphic templates, sizes and finishes. Finishes include a standard matte, cover or glossy finish for an even more polished look.
Visit Uprinting.com for more information on real estate business cards and print business cards
Article Source
How to prevent your NEIS business failing
Joining the NEIS Business program and starting your small business using their support is a great idea. However, you still need to put in a lot of hard work to make your small business profitable. As a business coach I have helped NEIS business owners get results from their business and now I would like to provide that advice to you.
It is your Business.
You need to remember that no one else will come along and help your business if you can't be bothered to spend your own time working on building it. You are responsible if it fails or succeeds and can longer blame the boss for not running a good business, because you are the boss. Make sure that in the first three months you devote at least 40 hours per week to building and promoting your business. If you spend a day doing nothing on the business, don't complain when you it suffers a cash flow problem later.
Treat your business like a job by starting work at 9am and finishing at 5pm with only an 45 minute lunch break. There is a saying that states "work will always expand to fill the time you have" so take control of time and don't let work expand more than necessary.
Your value to your business
Calculate how much you want your business to make in a year then divide that dollar amount by 1,800 to give you an hourly amount that you business needs to generate to reach your goal. For example if you want to make revenue of $50,000 you will need to bring (50,000/1,800) $27.80 revenue into your business every hour you work. Ask yourself, have I done anything to enable my business to earn $28 this hour.
Be realistic
Make sure you have accurate information about the number of sales you will make in the first three months. I have seen NEIS business owners forecasting 700% sales with no advertising budget allocations. Have a look at your projected sales revenue forecast and detail exactly how you expect to get that result. How many customers will you get from your advertising campaign? What will be the average dollar spend of each of your customers? What percentage of your customers will return to you and how often? Project the lowest expected sales forecast and highest level of expenses and you might be more accurate than you realise.
Use the Mentor's experience
NEIS business owners get 12 months support and help from experienced business mentors when they request it. Don't wait until your government grant expires to start asking for their help. Every month your mentor will arrange a meeting to review your business so prepare in advance and have a list of problems that you would like help with, such as;
• How to complete your Profit & Loss statements
• How do I design an newspaper advert effectively
• What is the way to set up my business website
• Give me examples of how I can reduce my operating expenses
The NEIS program will only provide you with the knowledge and skills to run a business if you put the hard work into your business as well.
© Copyright 2008 by Paul Baker
Information supplied by Paul Baker
I help small business owners achieve higher results from their advertising, market research, website positioning, and business strategies by providing my business development experience in their business.
Small Business Coach
Paul Baker
pbaker@small-business-coach.com.au
http://small-business-coach.com.au/index.html
Article Source
The credit card processing industry doesn't exactly have a stellar reputation and merchant account complaints are far more common than they should be. In this article I'll talk about how you can avoid doing business with the bad eggs in the industry, why it's so tough to be heard when you have a merchant account complaint and what you can do to get the word out about a poor provider that you've encounter.
Figure out who you're dealing with
First up is the issue of pre-screening potential merchant service providers to avoid a bad situation before it begins. But before you can do that, you have to figure out exactly who you're dealing with. There's a hierarchy of players in merchant account sales that starts with organizations that are registered with Visa and MasterCard to sell processing services and ends with independent sales representatives. In the middle of the mix are independent sales organizations (ISO) of varying sizes. Some are registered, but they don't have to be. However, everyone has to be affiliated with a registered merchant service provider in order to offer processing services.
Once you ascertain the type of organization or individual that you're dealing with, you can begin to check them out. Performing Background checks on larger, registered ISOs is usually easier because they tend to be registered with the Better Business Bureau or similar third-party reliability outfits that you can use to get an idea of their performance.
Checking on smaller ISOs and even individual sales representatives is often a bit tougher but well worth it. In order to complete with the big guys, smaller outfits often pride themselves on offering superior, more personal customer service. Of course, that's not always the case so due-diligence is required before doing business with smaller companies.
The best way to check the performance of smaller outfits is to ask them for references. If they refuse to provider references, you should probably move on to the next prospect. You can also try to look them up in the directory that we're building at the web site CardFellow. At the time of this writing it's still building steam, but there are a few great provider reviews.
Getting your merchant account complaint heard
If you do end up working with a not-so-good provider it can often prove frustrating to get your merchant account complaint heard. The first thing to do is to climb the internal ladder. Going back to what I described earlier, ascertain if you're dealing an individual agent, ISO or registered merchant service provider. If you're having issues with an agent, try calling the ISO that they're affiliated with. You can even try going all the way up the ladder by calling the acquiring or processing bank. Their number will be listed on your credit card statement.
Unfortunately, even the best of efforts may yield little results and you may have to take your complaint elsewhere. Reporting your merchant account complaint to organizations like the Better Business Bureau is often effective. If there's a loss associated with your dilemma, you also should contact your State's Attorney General and file a formal complaint.
As the merchant processing industry continues to grow, progress is being made to quell the stereotypical injustices that have existed in the past. If you've had a bad experience with a merchant service provider, do your best to get the word out to help fellow merchants.
This article about merchant account complaints and more information to help businesses that will start accepting credit cards is available at the MerchantCouncil.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ben_Dwyer
Many franchisors require that their franchisees actually work in the franchise outlet and there is a very good reason for this, no not all require this in the franchise agreement, but many still do. It really is an issue of good management and customer service. Poor management of a multi-owner franchisee can lead to very poor customer service and rapidly deteriorate the franchise brand-name.
How many times have you gone into a franchised outlet and noticed that the employees really didn't care about you, basically throw the food at you at a fast food restaurant, and even were a little bit rude? Surely, it happened a lot more before the recession when business was abundant and happens a little even now during the recession where each company is fighting for every customer.
It still happens doesn't it, and does it make you wonder who on earth would hire such a jerk to run their front counter? You see socially inapt franchisee employees, or rude employees quickly destroy the customer retention of the franchisee.
Often people complain that the number of franchisee failures is a lot higher than the franchising industry will admit. But I submit to you that most of franchisee failures are not because the business model is flawed, rather that franchisee does not care enough to hire the right employees, or they are too busy trying to run multiple stores and have failed in their management and the hiring practices.
We all know it's unacceptable to have rude employees at the front office or at the front desk. We all know that we do not like poor customer service at fast food franchises, or at the counters of franchise outlets, and yet these things continue. Part of the problem is the lack of caring from the employees, but a franchisee which is diligent and careful when hiring will find the right people to work for them, and if they work alongside of them their habits of good customer service will rob off on the employees.
Most customers believe that if the franchisee's employees are not giving good customer service that the franchising system should remove-that-franchisee from the franchise-system. Of course, most franchisees do not wish to be removed or terminated from their franchise-agreements for such things.
It is amazing how a few bad employees can destroy even a business which has a superior business model. Please consider this and understand how important each employee is to the brand-name.
Lance Winslow - Lance Winslow's Bio. Lance Winslow is also Founder of the Car Wash Guys, a cool little Franchise Company; http://www.carwashguys.com/history/founder.html/.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lance_Winslow
As a new start up or small business, a website is a must have, it does not have to be big, complicated or e-commerce, but you do need to have one. So I know you have many things to think about and do so I have put together a quick easily readable list to answer two of your key questions namely:
1. Why do I need a website?
2. What will my website do?
Why you need a web site?
* To be seen by potential customers
* To capture potential customers details
* To inform potential customers of useful information
* To promote your products and services to a wider audience
* To sell your products and services
* To support your existing customers
* To provide useful information & updates to existing customers
* To build customer relationships
What your website will do?
* Promote & enhance your marketing strategy
* Strengthen your brand
* Opens your business up 24/7
* Promotes your products and services to a global arena
* Explains why people need you product or service
* Enables potential customers to make informed decisions
* Enables you to get customer testimonials to be seen by many
* Enables you to talk to your customers when they want
* Enables you to talk to many more of your customers & prospects
* Enables you to receive customer feedback and to improve your products & services
* Provides opportunities for alliances and partnerships
* Enhances peoples perception of your business
* Customers don't know how small you are, just how good you are!
* Last but not lease people expect a business to have a website.
"A website is the best way for you to talk to your customers, whoever they are, wherever they are, whatever their doing and whenever they want."
So in summary your customers can now find you, talk to you, gather the information they need, when they need it, how they need it and tell you what's good and what's not so good.
Complaints are not necessarily bad news; they can be great opportunities for you to turn that person into your best, most loyal customer and your biggest fan who is happy to tell others.
Vanessa Hodge is the owner of Image Connect, a web design, marketing communications and printing company for new start up and small businesses. You can read further articles, hints & tips and more at Image Connect or Image Connect London Blog
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Vanessa_Hodge
I've been negotiating contracts as an entrepreneur and lawyer for more than 20 years and I've found one of the greatest challenges we face in making deals is countering the "dirty tricks" others try to pull on us.
I catalog more than 101 good and bad techniques in university and corporate classes. Dirty tricks range from purposely missing deadlines, to crying poormouth, to outright lying about pertinent details such as prices.
What can we deploy as countermeasures, without falling into the ethical trap of using deceptive and underhanded tactics, ourselves?
One of the best ways to chasten a scurrilous counterpart is to "call" him or her on their tactics, to bring them out into the open, instead of feeling we have to reflexively react to them.
For instance, I was negotiating the deal points of a proposed training program with the VP of Sales at a large manufacturing company in the heart of the Midwest. He seemed less than completely above board, to state it nicely, casting darting glances here and there, consulting little note cards as we chatted.
So, I asked him: "Which guru's techniques are you using in this negotiation: Nierenberg, Cohen, or Karass?" These were the names of the most widely known experts at the time.
He cleared his throat and replied, sheepishly, "Karass."
"Ah," I sighed and nodded, smiling all the while.
That little challenge brought him back into the here and now, and he seemed much less strategic and more spontaneous, enabling us to quickly forge a suitable agreement.
If you can actually name the ploy someone is using, that's even better.
"Hey, you two are using 'Good Cop, Bad Cop' aren't you?"
Educate yourself in what to expect by studying the best practices in negotiation. Forewarned is forearmed!
Dr. Gary S. Goodman is a top speaker, negotiation consultant, attorney, real estate broker, TV and radio commentator and the best-selling author of 12 books, including SIX-FIGURE CONSULTING: HOW TO HAVE A GREAT SECOND CAREER. He is the creator of Nightingale-Conant's successful audio seminar: THE LAW OF LARGE NUMBERS: HOW TO MAKE SUCCESS INEVITABLE. See: http://www.nightingale.com/prod_detail~product~Law_Large_Numbers.aspx His original class, "Best Practices in Negotiation," is offered at UCLA & UC Berkeley Extension and at a number of other fine universities and organizations.
Gary conducts seminars and speaks at convention programs around the world. He can be reached at gary@customersatisfaction.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dr._Gary_S._Goodman
Most of us spend a lot of time thinking about what we want to accomplish with our business. We imagine having many clients, and hope to achieve great success and financial freedom. The thing I often notice with clients, however, is how many people think about what they want, but never manifest their full vision. Nor do they create an action plan to make it happen. How can you expect to earn more money if you are just thinking about what you want and not taking the right steps to achieve your desired results?
Of course, you have to believe in yourself. So much of my coaching work is helping clients to own their worth and reduce the fears that get in their way. The other and equally important piece is to connect your higher vision with a practical action plan. Know what you want to accomplish and set the intention to do so. I plan for the future and create a success map each year. The following should support you to solidify your foundation and the steps you'll need to do so.
Your Success Steps:
Know Why You Do Your Work: Are you still inspired by what you do? It's important to continually focus on why you do your work - the work of helping people. Let this higher vision inspire you, even on dark winter days. Know that YOU make a difference.
Decide What You Want to Accomplish: Think about your goals, how many clients you'd like to have, how much money you want to make. Sit down, write out your goals for the next 12 months. Put the ideas on paper. When you get things out of your head, you become more focused.
Think Big: Don't limit yourself. Be realistic, but dream big, go for your goals. I believe that you can accomplish anything if you truly believe it's possible and set your mind to it. Stop playing small, you are not serving the world by doing do.
Match Your Marketing with Your Vision: What will it require to make your goals a reality; have you matched your goals with a tangible marketing plan and action steps? Develop a plan to consistently reach out and build relationships of trust. Work smarter, not harder. And keep adapting your plan as you learn and grow.
Work with Clients You Love: When you work with people you enjoy, you will be more successful with those clients, and will have more energy to find even MORE ideal clients. Keep considering who is your ideal client, and think about how to attract people into your practice who energize and inspire you.
Get Support: Don't over isolate yourself. You don't have to do this alone. Other people are on your side, and want you to succeed. Be open and ask for help when you need it.
My Question to You: What is your next step? How will you put a plan together to manifest your vision, and translate that into more clients and a more fulfilling practice? Focus on taking the first step now - one practical action that will start the Book More Clients energy flowing. Take out your planner, set the time aside, and start accomplishing. Your business is worth it!
Robert Notter is founder and president of Robert Notter Business Coaching, a company devoted to empowering health and wellness entrepreneurs to build a successful and fulfilling business
Based in New York City, he works with client all over the world in person and by phone. His practice is focused on helping individuals find more clients, increase their income, and have long term personal and professional success. He has worked with and taught to over 4500 people nationally.He is also a faculty member at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition, where he leads the Marketing Education Program.
Your next step: You can learn more about Robert and receive his Free Ecourse on Finding Your Ideal Client by visiting: http://www.BookClientsNow.com
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The Chief Executive Officer of a prominent business in Australia was recently asked to describe a lesson that they had never forgotten. This Chief Executive Officer replied "Intuition plays a huge role in business". How important is intuition to you?
I would wholeheartedly agree with this CEO. In my observations intuition plays an enormous role in the way, commerce is conducted and the way decisions are made. This does not necessarily mean that this is a good thing but it must be recognised that the intuition of managers and owners of businesses strongly create the direction that those organisations travel.
So what is intuition? The MacQuarie Dictionary defines intuition as the direct perception of truths, facts etc independently of the reasoning process. Wikipedia says that it is the ability to sense or know immediately without reasoning. You'll note that in both of those definitions the absence of reasoning is a key part. What? What are you saying? Are you saying that many business decisions are made without reasoning? Absolutely!
My observation is that we are generally proud of our intuitive skills. I have particularly observed this in people that lead organisations or who are in management positions. Those who hold leadership positions like to think that their experience will lead them to make correct decisions, often without a detailed reasoning process.
Where do we get our intuition from? Generally, this comes from our past experience and knowledge. Throughout our lives we experience different people, commercial situations and other factors that build up in our brain and that help us to make sense of the world that we are in. This is necessary, but it does not mean that our perception of the world, which is an aspect of our intuition, is correct.
For example, say you are looking for a new salesperson in your enterprise. There are five resumes that you have been given to consider. The candidates all seem to be reasonably qualified and experienced in the particular product that you sell. Yet, you develop thoughts and feelings about the people described in the resumes without ever having met them. These thoughts and feelings come from the words in the resumes, the way they are presented, your perception as to whether the candidates are being completely truthful and other factors. Your intuition may lead you to interview two of the five candidates only. But was this the right choice? You will never know.
The benefit of intuition is that it can cut down the research and deliberation time in making a decision. The drawback is that our intuition (which I think most of us are proud of) can lead us into making irrational decisions. Instead of applying a proper reasoning process, we go with our "gut feel" because we are so convinced that it is right and that our years of experience can be relied on to make the correct decision. In a sense, you are saying to yourself and to those affected by your decision "Just trust me. I know that I am right, although I can't say why".
We get into trouble when we are convinced that our intuition is always right. Going with my gut feel is easy because it takes no work. It also may appear to be decisive and leader-like to my employees. But if this happens frequently, it is more likely that I am operating out of arrogance rather than accurate intuition.
Nevertheless, I do think that intuition is an absolutely necessary part of the commercial world. This is because each day there are millions upon millions of decisions needed and taken. If research was applied to each of these decisions, nothing would get done much.
The reliability of your intuition is greatly determined by the depth and breadth of your past experiences and knowledge and your ability to process that information through to a logical conclusion. Of course, when we are using our intuition, we don't usually stop and think about whether our past experiences have qualified us to use our intuition in a particular situation. Perhaps we should do this more often.
So what should we do with intuition? Like the CEO I mentioned at the start of the article, there is no doubting that intuition does play a huge role in the business world. To be effective, we must use our intuition constantly. However, it is only as good as our knowledge and experience. Therefore we must ensure that we keep honing our knowledge and experience so that our intuitive decisions are more accurate. We must also learn to resist the urge to use our intuition when an important decision demands a more thorough thought process.
Wishing you easier business.
John Jeffreys
John Jeffreys wants you, the business owner or manager, to have an easier life. John Jeffreys helps you to achieve this by drawing on his 30 years business experience as a Chartered Accountant and partner in major accounting firms. For instant access to videos, audios and software products, visit http://www.businessease.com.au
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Do you have music playing while reading this? How is your choice of music affecting how you feel right now? Are you feeling relaxed and want to read something light? Are you moved to dance to the music? Do you read/work faster when you listen to music with a faster tempo? Are you someone who sings along to the music (and know every lyric)? Are songs with lyrics distracting when you need to do work (and you play only instrumentals during those times) or is your concentration the same with any type of music?
Think of an organization's culture as a virtual soundtrack of the work environment. It's always playing in the background in a continuous loop (whether you're actively listening to it or not, whether you're unconsciously mouthing the words or not, whether you're stirred to action). It sends subliminal and direct messages to all those within hearing range (remember that hearing and listening are not the same). That's why the culture you choose and nurture is so important to the ultimate success of your business.
All the questions I asked at the beginning have a counterpart in the work environment. Do your company's oral communications as well as leadership behaviors set the tone that will yield the results you want? Are your employees energized and itching to get out of their seats and take action? Does your company's performance go up when you introduce technology that is meant to 'speed up' productivity? Are you creating distractions that prevent people from doing their best for your company?
As with all business decisions, you have to start with the end in mind. What is the most important thing your business needs to accomplish? What needs to happen to make it so? What beliefs, actions, values, and traditions (culture) will help your company to achieve your goals? Is your culture working for you? If not, what needs to change?
Your company's culture holds a lot of power. Listen to what it's saying. If it's getting your organization to dance, that's great. Otherwise, it may be time to switch to a different soundtrack so you can use your unique organizational culture to gain a competitive advantage.
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Whether you are someone just getting into the vending business or a seasoned professional, your success depends heavily on the manufacturer and/or supplier you partner with. When you partner with someone like the Coca Cola Company, a company that boasts 40,000 active vending machines around the world, you can be assured of having a strong partner on your side. But what does being a partner with Coca Cola mean?
Coca Cola vending machines are one of the most than any other type of soda machine. Part of their popularity is due to their brand name recognition, but a more significant reason is due to the way they design their machines. These designs are made up of two categories: one with Plexiglas fronts and the other with metallic fronts. These vending machines are designed to meet national and international standards. Coca Cola can furnish customized vending solutions for clients in terms of price, size, security and appearance of the machine as well. The units are also designed to suit the specific locations they are to be placed at in terms of the types of products being sold.
High-tech traits provide confidence to their owners while simultaneously reducing theft and machine abuse. This is achieved by equipping some models of machines with surveillance cameras. Other machines implement automated "back-to-base" monitoring. The system allows two-way on-demand messaging between the machine and its owner or customer service department. This assists in procuring real-time information that determines how much of a product has been sold and what remains in the machine's inventory. Consequently, this data helps to inform customer service representatives when the machines need to be refilled and with what product and how much of that product is needed. Knowing this ahead of time reduces the need to ship more products than what is necessary and to do so in a timely manner.
Coca Cola vending machines are stocked with a range of popular brands like Sprite, Fanta, Glaceau, Vitaminwater, Powerade, Isotonic, and Nestea all of which have proven to be welcomed by consumers. You can also decide to go with combination machines that dispense both sodas and snacks like chocolate bars, chips, cookies, and packaged fruits.
Coca Cola also helps you to determine the ideal location for your machine, product offering, and what prices should be to stay competitive within your desired location. This, coupled with Coca Cola's superior customer support, professionalism, and cutting-edge technology, the result is the perfect vending solution. They also provide a scale structure in place that allows you to know your current and forecasted product specifications. The latest feature to be incorporated in their machines is the ability to accept payments with credit cards. This method of payment has already been used in Japan with great success, but they have just been introduced in the US market.
So if you want to install a Coca Cola unit at your place of business or at an offsite location, all you have to do is give your representative a call to work out the details. Coca Cola vending machines are by far the most hassle-free yet the most lucrative vending option in the industry.
Even though they are considered low-tech, bubble gum machines are commonly used in high-traffic areas such as grocery or convenient stores. Kids enjoy them and owners find the machines to be profitable. Mark Sierra invites you to visit Vending Equipment Online to find out more.
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Starting a small business can be pretty overwhelming especially for first-timers. Here's a guide that you can use to avoid committing costly mistakes:
1. Business ideas. You will need to create or choose a business idea to get started. What products and services would you like to sell? Who are the people that you would like to target? For budding entrepreneurs, you may opt to buy a franchise or start a small retail store. It's important that you choose a business that is aligned with your areas of expertise and areas of interest to increase your chances of succeeding in this field.
2. Business plan. After choosing the type of business to run, the next thing that you need to do is to write your business plan. This is very important so you'll know where your business is headed and how you can grow it. When seeking for financial backing, this is one of the requirements of banks and financial institution before they will approve your loan.
3. Legal issues. Having a business ideas and business plan isn't enough to get started. You will also need to take care of legal issues like choosing your business' legal structure. Your choices are partnership, corporation, or sole proprietorship. After that, you will need to register your business to the state where you want to operate to obtain federal identification number.
4. Location and other things. The next thing that you need to do is to figure out where you would like to operate. Will a home office do or would you need to rent a commercial space? Then, you will need to determine if you need to hire employees and determine your bookkeeping needs. You will also need to pay attention to your taxes.
Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have just completed a brand new free guide.
Download it free here: Internet Marketing
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Sean Mize teaches coaches, consultants, and small business owners how to package their knowledge and sell it in high priced coaching, consulting, and online class packages, and is an expert at using articles like this to drive traffic to his website, and has taught hundreds of clients his secrets. Sean says "If you have an existing marketable service or skill that you can teach others, I can teach you to package it into a high-priced class or coaching program, guaranteed"
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If you've ever dreamed about running your own business, you're not alone. Millions of people yearn to start their own business, and as many as half actually take initiative and create a business. If you have the resources and time to take on such a project, but lack ideas, look no further. There is a variety of products and services that can be marketed, your job is to find one that you will enjoy.
Services are something you actually do, rather than making a product and selling it. When you market a service, you are marketing your work ethic as well. If you're interested in creating your small business based on a service, think about what it is you do well. Landscaping, pet grooming, and small scale accounting are just a minute example. Your expertise is the deciding factor here. If you're a technical genius, you may go into business fixing computers, for instance. It's all up to you.
If you can make something and sell it, you are making a product. Your own ideas work amazingly for businesses in this field, especially if you can make something no one else has thought of yet. Hobbies are easy inspiration in this field. Plus, if you can market something you would make as your hobby anyway, you get the benefit of enjoying the production, not just the profit. Consider things like needlework, knitting or crocheting, or jewelry making.
While you're brainstorming ideas for your small business, keep in mind what you do well, and what hobbies or crafts you enjoy. Consider how you would feel if you had to complete that service or make that craft every day. Think about your financial resources, as well as your time constraints. Remember that you should put your time and energy into a business that will make you happy, and not just make a profit.
Dustin Heath recommends that you visit http://www.EBookProfitSite.com to learn how you can start your own home-based business earning multiple streams of income with a Plug-In Profit Site - Complete Money Making Site Setup FREE!
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If your business accepts credit cards, there are a number of ways you can reduce the amount you pay in fees for your merchant account. This article will help you identify any 'leaks' in your current merchant account and explain how to best handle transactions at the point of sale.
Here are 7 effective ways to save money on your merchant account:
1.) Double check the customer's signature against the signature on the back of his or her credit card. Make sure they match. If the card is not signed, get another form of ID to verify this information.
This one sounds simple, but think of how rarely this happens when you buy something with a credit card. This can be tricky as sometimes the last names will match up, but not the first. You'll have to make a judgment call here, but keep in mind that situations like divorce or a child using a parent's card without permission do occur. Making sure both first and last names match will help prevent charge backs and disputes, which typically result in fees to merchants of $25 to $40.
2.) Make sure you 'batch out' every day you accept sales. Transactions left sitting for longer than 24 hours will downgrade - and cost you more in processing fees.
3.) Swipe the card whenever possible vs. keying in the transaction. Try running it through the reverse direction if it doesn't 'take' on the original swipe. Transactions tied to a 'swiped" card are normally passed through at the lowest possible discount rates. The reason for this is that the risk is lower if a card is physically swiped.
4.) If the magnetic strip isn't working or you find you have to key enter a transaction - make sure you obtain the zip code of the customer that matches his or her billing information. This is important, because if the zip code isn't provided (or doesn't match) - you will end up paying a higher rate on that transaction.
5.) Make sure your merchant account is set up so that your business name and phone number appear on the customer's receipts. Also, you'll want to have it set up so that your phone number appears on the description line of your customers' credit card bill. The reason for this is that you want to provide open lines of communication between your customers and yourself. That way, if there are looking at their receipt or monthly credit card statement and have a question, they will call you vs. their credit card provider. (If they can't easily figure out where a charge originated from and call their credit card company, it can end up costing you anywhere from $10 to $40 in retrieval or charge back fees).
6.) If the terminal is prompting for corporate card data (i.e. the tax amount on a sale) - do NOT bypass that prompt. Providing that information will also help you qualify for lower rates than if you don't go that extra step.
7.) Ask your processor for a lower discount rate if you accept a significant amount of debit/ check cards. Generally, merchants with a smaller ticket size will see a large amount of these cards and the discount rate is always lower than on credit cards.
There you have it - 7 easy ways to save money on your Merchant Account.
These tips are all fairly easy to start implementing immediately - and you should start seeing significant savings as soon as your next billing cycle. However, make sure your current processing company will allow you to take advantage of these cost-saving efforts. Not all will, simply because they make more money on your downgraded transactions than on your swiped, or qualified, transactions.
T. L. Lindemood is a serial entrepreneur with a passion for helping other business owners save money on their necessary business expenses. For more money-making (and saving) tips, visit http://beyond-the-bank.com and http://processing411.com Use the 'Contact Us' tab to request a complimentary, no-obligation review of your current processing account.
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Many small businesses have been affected by the current economic situation. Even in a flourishing economy, running a small business can be challenging. Today's small business owner is finding that it is more difficult to get financing, the cost of doing business has increased, and consumers are just not spending as much as they have in the past. But it is not hopeless! Here are some ideas to help you and your small business survive an economic downturn.
Consider ways that you can cut down on expenses. Other business owners may be more willing now to barter services, and it never hurts to ask. Shop around for the best prices on materials and equipment. If you use a fax machine in your business you may be able to save money by switching to an online fax service. Compare the costs of ink, paper and a dedicated fax line to the costs of a service such as eFax or myfax. Make sure that you are doing everything you can to lower your utility bills. It will not only save you money, but is good for the environment.
You may be tempted to cut prices, but do this with caution. If you have set your prices based on what your competitors charge, and on your own level of experience and expertise, they are probably in the right range. Cutting prices may send the message that your prices were too high to begin with. It may be better to offer temporary specials rather than cut prices across the board.
Take a hard, objective look at the way you market your business. Small businesses do not have the luxury of huge advertising budgets. Make sure you are listed on free online directories. You may also want to consider some sort of free giveaway to increase customer traffic. Look at the way you have advertised or promoted your business in the past. By focusing on the marketing strategies that have actually brought in business, and letting go of those that haven't been helpful, you can get more out of your advertising dollar.
Look at ways to improve customer service. The best way to know whether you need to make improvements in this area is to simply ask your customers or clients how you are doing. Continue to educate yourself on improving your business and managerial skills. Attend networking groups to learn how others manage their businesses and keep their customers happy.
Re-evaluate the way you operate your business. Do you need to change or modify a product or service? If the costs are not prohibitive, consider adding products or services so you have more to offer consumers. Consult with SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) or your local Small Business Development Center for other ideas on improving the way you do business.
Keeping your business alive in the current economy is certainly challenging, but not impossible. It is important to be objective about your business and that means you may have to make some difficult decisions. But if you can stay flexible, positive, and open-minded you can come up with some creative ways to keep your business going until the economic situation improves.
Louann Vertrees is an entrepreneur and freelance proofreader and editor. She has also worked as a counselor and teacher. Visit her website at http://azproofreader.com
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When you feel as though you have met and spoken with everybody that could possibly provide you business, what do you do? Host an after-hours mixer for your customers and prospects!
Earlier this year, I wanted to test the idea of "good things flow when people are relaxed" theory. This being my first business social, I had no idea what would ultimately happen. Choosing a neutral location, such as a professional downtown club, seemed to be the best choice.
Opening the yellow pages as well as browsing through the local event papers, I called several nice clubs that appeared the most promising for a professional, relaxed event. The first club I called, I listened intently for hints or ideas the person could offer to make my event a success. From this first call, I prepared answers for the most frequently asked questions. Questions from each of the five clubs called went something like this:
• How are many are in your party? (I guessed between 20 to 40; had no idea)
• Will you be providing food and drinks? (First drink, yes; each club had a happy hour)
• What time do you plan to begin and wrap-up? (5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.)
After mulling over the pluses and minuses of each of the five locations for a couple of days, I chose a landmark establishment that everyone in my city knows. I chose Thursday for the event because most guests would be in town that day and more inclined to be in a good mood (the following day is Friday).
If you have the idea at this point that I am "winging it," you are correct! Recognizing that I have the entrepreneurial spirit and am willing to take calculated risks, hosting a social for relaxing business seems easy enough. Truth is, hosting a business social in my hometown scared me more than any business decision to date. This is only the beginning!
On top of the routine logistics of inviting guests and making arrangements, the fact that this is my FIRST business social loomed ever near. Questions arose, such as:
• How do I deliver invitations to enough customers and prospects so at least 20 professionals attend?
• How do I make this event a relaxing success for everybody so we can have an encore event?
• Why would anyone want to come to my event in the first place...what is my unique selling proposition?
• What do I do if only five or so professionals show?
Now you can relax. My first business mixer turned out a big success! Here are some of the details.
Distributing invitations became a fun event and good reason to contact customers and prospects. Even if no one had shown up that fateful Thursday night, I still made progress with all the calls, faxes and e-mails to people with whom I wanted to communicate. On top of that, every person I spoke with liked the idea of meeting other professionals after hours for great food and a free drink. After the fifteenth or so call, my confidence began to re-appear. I have a winner with this idea! Over 400 invitations were delivered by a variety of means. Now it was too late to change my mind.
The next question involved what to do when people arrived? I have been to business mixers where elaborate events were planned and others where no events were planned. The answer in my case was easy. After paying for the guests' first drink on a peanut-butter budget, there was no entertainment budget left. How can I communicate this to guests in a positive way? Here is the theme of the event:
"No Reason To Get Together But Enjoyment"
The guests did not know that I was referring to my budget in the theme. The guests liked the simplicity. From the theme came my unique selling proposition: "Come together for no reason but to enjoy yourself and you may meet someone to do business with"
Now the magical moment arrives: Thursday at 5:00 p.m. The host is very nice and promises to warmly greet each of my guests as they arrive. Soon after I sit in the section designated for my group, several nice looking people I do not know sit in "my area". When approached, I discover these people are with another group similar to mine, competing for the same floor space. Damage control to the rescue. A friend and I quickly arrange tables and chairs for 30 people and protect this space with our lives. I am determined by this time that this event will be a success, regardless of the numbers.
Gradually, my customers, prospects and some I have no idea where they came from, begin to arrive. The atmosphere in the room is upbeat. A pianist is playing relaxing music and the guests are beginning to "gel."
With the help of the club's waitstaff and host, I am free to mingle and enjoy myself with guests. To my delight, guests are laughing, exchanging business cards, talking about ISDN lines and everything else under the sun.
When the evening was over, there had been 35 guests who ALL seemed to enjoy themselves. Over the next week, I heard from most of the guests telling me how much fun and business they actually realized from participating in my mixer. I never heard from those people I "had no idea where they came from" group, but noticed they enjoyed themselves that Thursday night as well.
Conclusion. I am planning "no reason to get together but enjoyment" mixers in 2010. Now, the "butterflies" I had before the event have flown away.
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"There are lies, dammed lies, and statistics." No doubt you've heard it before, but the fact remains that in business, all of us need to know how to use numbers in a way that makes sense of all the information that we're exposed to on a daily basis. How can we do this? Read on for a quick understanding of the basics of benchmarking.
What is benchmarking? A good definition is that benchmarking is the process of measuring products, services, and practices against the toughest competitors or highest standards of quality. Another definition is "the search for and implementation of best practices. The adoption or adaptation of best practices allows an organization to raise the performance level of its products, services, and businesses processes to leadership levels." From this, you can see that a Benchmark is a measured, best-in-class achievement that is used as a reference or standard for comparison.
How is it used? We've already seen that it helps you identify best practices. But what do you do once the process is complete and you have the performance scores? When scores meet or exceed the benchmark (best practices score) in a particular area, you have a strong tool for your marketing department. It can help you identify waste as in cases where you use more resources (space, energy, materials, etc) in your business processes. And it helps show where you have performance gaps and areas for improvement.
How do you do it?
1. Make up a list of your organization's processes, procedures, products, and services.
2. Learn what best practices benchmarks are available for your industry. Sources for this are professional organizations you belong to, the Internet, technical/trade publications, and the library. Just be sure that this information is current and reliable.
3. Find out what the process was that these organizations used. How did they do it? What did they measure? How did they use the results? Can you replicate these processes in your benchmarking efforts?
4. Use the list from step 1 and this information to write a plan describing what you are going to measure and how you are going to do it.
5. Measure and compare your own performance against these best-in-class metrics.
6. Compare, analyze, and learn about performance gaps (and about places where you've exceeded the benchmark!).
7. Develop an action plan to correct deficiencies.
8. Implement the plan and monitor progress and success.
9. Repeat the entire process on a regular basis.
Time to go crunch some numbers!
Benchmarking definition is from Business Process Benchmarking: Finding and Implementing Best Practices, Camp, Robert C., 1995
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I have been asked many times about starting a small business part time while continuing to work for some else. I always have said "yes", it can be done. The issue is how much time and how committed are you to this new small business of yours?
Here are some of the pros and cons.
In many respects the part time route can be just as tough as going out on your own full time. For one thing, you now have two jobs, your old one and now a new one starting up your small business.
You only have so many hours in the day and how can you give each job the time that each requires. Both your current job and the new additional one running your small business will take up a whole bunch of time. Are you prepared to work 12 to 14 hours a day, when you combine the hours from the two jobs? Over and above this, you will most likely have to work on weekends too. This will call for great patience and support from those close to you. Your free time will be almost completely taken up by this new business.
You have only so much energy too. One can "burn the midnight oil" only so long before the energy and sleep deficits catch up with you.
Will you be able to be as productive and focused on each job while having the other constantly nagging at the back your mind? Can you juggle the stresses of both while focusing on both simultaneously?
Discipline is another key requirement. Can you come in after a day's work, shift gears and begin your night job? Can you also do this consistently every night?
The downside to the part time element is that it is only part time. Your new business is hampered by the fact that you are unable to give it your full time attention. Therefore its growth is stunted because of your time constraints.
On the plus side, the part time business does allow one to reduce risk considerably. You still earn a salary while building up the new business in the background. You still have whatever job security your current employer offers you. So financially, your risks are minimized greatly. You also have some money coming in which can be used in part to fund the new venture.
In the final analysis, everything comes down to the of key elements of time, discipline, passion, determination and commitment
If you are able to bring all five to the table and are willing to do whatever it takes, you should be able to eventually transition to running your small business in a full time capacity.
For FREE REPORTS, Ebooks and Articles on Small Business related subjects, visit http://www.startupmysmallbusiness.com/blog
Mark Bergman has 25 years in business experience, covering areas of consulting in strategic planning and software and general business consulting. He also has started up a number of small businesses which he successfully ran and sold off. He has formal qualifications in both business and computer science.
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Honda in particular plans on exploiting the potential of the Indian auto-market to the fullest extent. They have recently launched the Honda Jazz in the small-size higher fuel-economy segment. This seems to be a well planned move after looking at the past facts and figures about the automobile sales in the Indian economy.
Well, sure thing you can sell the luxurious cars like Mercedes Benz, BMW and the likes of them, even in the Asian markets, but those who wish to play in big numbers, should always plan the smaller segments. And, this is what Honda has really done in past few months. After the launch of the revived Honda City VXI, Honda has launched the Jazz, which is priced just a bit lesser than the city.
The starting model in the segment costs around 7lacs or $15,000, while the top-end version goes up to 7.5lacs. The elegant pictures of the Honda Jazz and the Honda Jazz wallpapers that were released a few weeks back, had brought a whole lot of enthusiasm amongst the potential car buyers in India. It has not only served as a big promotion, but also contributed to advanced bookings in the showrooms as well.
Honda has promised that they'll be launching yet another economy class car in India within next 12-18months, which will be even more affordable than the Honda Jazz. Skoda had done something similar by releasing Fabia few months back, while Ford's Fusion as well as Fiesta have also been quite successful too.
More than 74% of the total cars sold in Indian market belong to the economy class range, no wonder everyone is eying the market with bulls-eyes.
Check out the latest Honda Car pictures and the latest Honda Wallpapers on our massive online Honda Car Pictures Collection
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Are you a gun guru? If you are like myself, and just love guns, then you need your F.F.L. Now your thinking about selling firearms on the side to have a second income or maybe opening your own shop to sell guns as a full time business. What ever your reason, one fact holds true, if you want to sell, repair, or collect any of them, you well need a federal firearms license.
What are the requirements to obtain a federal firearms license? Here are just a few of the basic requirements that you will need to meet before the bureau of alcohol,tobacco,firearms, and explosive (B.A.T.F.E.), or known as A.T.F., will even think about approving your application. Just remember that this is only the basic requirements. There are a lot more requirements that you have to meet to be come licensed. These will only get your application looked at by the A.T.F.
1. You must be 21 years of age or older. Even though you can buy and poses guns if your younger than 21, you are not allowed to have a federal firearms license.
2. You need to be allowed, legally, to poses firearms and ammunition. This means you have not been convicted of any federal or state felonies.
3. You have not violated the gun control act of 1968. There is some over lap of the previous requirement here.
4. You can not fail to disclose any information that would be relevant to your application, or your right to apply for a federal firearms license.
5. You must have the proper place for doing business, selling guns, or collecting guns. In this requirement are some more specifics that help ensure that your premises are legal.
As you can tell from these basic requirements, the process to apply for a federal firearms license (F.F.L.) gets very involved. Now that you have dove into the process, you have realized rather quickly, that applying for a license is not as easy as you thought. There are many mistakes that can and will be made and this will slow your application down, or even cause you to be disqualified from getting a license if you answer them wrong.
For more information on obtaining your FFL. Follow the link here. http://newgundealers.blogspot.com
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Is Your Team Motivated, Energized and Enthusiastic? Does your team work well together? Do they look forward to coming to work each day to be a part of the process? If not, it's time to drive better teamwork and reignite team spirit.
Great teams don't just happen. Teams are comprised of people. People need to feel both needed and wanted. One of the key factors in getting the most out of your employees is for them to realize they can and do make a difference.
Here are 10 Valuable Tips to Reignite Team Spirit:
1. Get Back to the Core Vision. Management teams need to do a routine pulse check on the core objectives and values of the organization. Oftentimes these are the reason employees chose your company to begin with. If you wander off the path, they can become disillusioned and cynical. Purpose to make a speedy course-correction.
2. Promote Collaboration. It's not true teamwork if everyone is not included. More minds equal better ideas. People need to feel and be a part of the process together-community is key to fostering positive results.
3. Teams Need a Mission. You know the quote: "without a vision, the people perish". As humans, we are thinkers, visionaries and doers. We need to have a mission, understand our part in that mission and work toward its fulfillment.
4. Show Intelligent Progress. Don't play shell games. Be able to demonstrate quantifiable progress that links back to the team's efforts. This is pivotal to instilling confidence and to encourage more of the same.
5. Open Lines of Communication. Open and honest communication should always be modeled by management first, and it must be bi-directional. One of the surest ways to damage or destroy team spirit is to fail in this area.
6. Desire to Win. Remember the Eye of the Tiger? Part of management's job is to coach. You need to give your team a reason to want to win--a reason to show up, apart from just collecting a paycheck. When the fight starts to fade, watch out... the vultures will start circling.
7. Strong Leadership. Your team needs assurance that they can trust you, rely on you and be successfully coached by you. If not, they will shut down one by one for lack of respect and the foundation of the team will slowly corrode.
8. Need to Feel Valued. Employees need to know that you see and hear them and that their contributions are important. If they don't feel valued, they will start to retreat and that's when apathy can set in.
9. Get an Alignment. Make sure the right people are in the right places.
10. Encourage Winners Along the Way. Imagine your employees as mountain climbers with the summit as their ultimate goal. What a difference it would make if management cheered him or her on as they successfully maneuvered each new hand and foothold toward their final destination. Praise and recognition inspire the whole team. Don't wait until they arrive--do it along the way!
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If you have background as an educator, a daycare provider, preschool provider, or are an entrepreneur or a business executive that loves children and would enjoy the challenge of making a difference in their educational lives, perhaps a Childhood Education and Development franchise might be the perfect business for you.
In general, education is one of those industries that people invest in no matter what the economic climate. In fact, in difficult financial times, families invest more heavily in educating their children because they want their kids to have better opportunities than they had themselves, so childhood education is most definitely a recession-proof industry.
Below are some of the features of a Childhood Education franchise opportunity.
* Currently, the child education industry generates about $60 billion in annual revenue and provides more than 3.5 million jobs.
* Normal business hours. You won't be working during the evening or on weekends. Business is conducted during "normal" business hours, so it truly is a lifestyle opportunity.
* It's a business you can truly feel good about. Promoting education, whether via standard teaching practices, or by utilizing a tutoring curriculum, is, in itself, a "feel good" type of business.
* Most available opportunities feature low start up and operating costs. Some can be run from a home office.
* State of the art software is provided, which effectively manages all student academics.
* Professional tutors are readily available. Many franchisees never have found the need to advertise for tutors.
* As the owner/franchisee, your only role is to run the business. You will be managing people and scheduling sessions. You will not be providing the core service, but leveraging the time and efforts of others.
Some Children's franchise businesses have specific niches and features that they focus on. They may specialize in early educational enhancement, language education, art education programs, educational technology solutions, and tutoring programs, to name a few. Your franchise consultant can help you zero in on your skill set, goals, and background to help you in determining which opportunity is the best match for you.
Find Your Perfect Business
Cory Barber is a professional franchise consultant affiliated with the world's top franchise broker network. His free, confidential consulting services help guide you through the entire process of purchasing a franchise based on your background, skill set, lifestyle, and financial goals. For more information about his free Franchise Consulting Service, please visit: http://www.thefranchisingauthority.com or contact him at his office: 877-271-4305.
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