After recently updating our office phone system, I have a few pieces of advice to share about purchasing an office phone system. We thought we did enough research to make this a simple purchase and installation, but found out later that we really had little idea of what we were getting into. This, in itself, wouldn't be so bad, but the phone supplier we went with flatly refused to help us out after the sale. We ended up having to contact another vendor for the information we needed to make our new phones function properly.
First, and let me stress this; always contact the vendor prior to the purchase. Not only do you want to know who you are dealing with, you need to know if it is someone who can and will answer your questions and who will stand behind the products they sell.
Second, always go with a vendor who has more than one option for phone systems. We found out after we had already purchased our new phones and equipment that there were phones on the market which would have served our specific needs better and would have cost less than the phones we went with.
Third, always think about compatibility. We thought that because we had purchased the same brand of phone, that we could simply switch out the new phones for the old ones and that our line equipment would never notice. We did ask the supplier before the purchase if there would be compatibility issues and were told, "it should be fine". That should have set off a red flag, but one likes to assume that someone selling phones might know a thing or two about them. See rule number one.
Finally, do a healthy amount of comparison shopping. We went with the first supplier because he was the cheapest of three that we had looked at. Three was nowhere near enough. We found out after it was too late that the vendor we contacted for help had the same phones for cheaper (although he would have been kind enough to steer us toward what we really needed) and offered far superior customer service.
In short, purchasing a new office phone system, whether you have five lines or five hundred, is a big investment. Follow the step that we didn't, and you'll save a lot of time, money and effort. You'll be glad you did.
Showing posts with label Business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Business. Show all posts
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Before Starting A Business
For some people the idea of starting a business sounds like the worst idea in the world. They would rather work all the years of their life for someone else than even consider having a business of their own. For others, however, there is nothing more exciting than the thought of starting a business.
Many people dream of starting a business from the time they are young. These people love the idea of being creative and of selling products they believe in. They love the idea of convincing others to love the same things they love and they usually like the idea of working with money. Starting a business of their own sounds like the ideal way to spend years of their life.
If you're one of these crazy people that dream of one day starting a business, you can begin the process by taking the time to ask yourself some important questions that will give you more understanding and direction of how to proceed. First, if you're considering starting a business, try to brainstorm the kind of business that you would want to start. Do you dream of selling books or of having coffee shop, or is the idea of selling sporting equipment more your style? You see, you can have a business for just about anything, so it is important to narrow your ideas into a couple of focused ideas for starting a business. It is usually true that starting a business will go better if your business is focused on something that you love. Without passion you will not get very far with your dreams.
You should be a combination of realistic and idealistic when you're making plans for starting a business. You have to have a real understanding of factors like money, time, and resources for your business, but you will never have the business you dream of if you wait until you have all of the details figured out. So allow yourself to get pretty detailed in your ideas for starting a business. Write out parts of starting a business that seem easy and possible and write out parts of starting a business that seem hard or like they could never happen.
Another important thing to do before you rush off in starting a business is to sit down with current business owners and learn everything they can teach you. Their years of trial and error will be invaluable to you as you seek to begin the process of starting a business yourself. Many have gone before you, so utilize their resources and be a learner.
Take steps of planning and preparation and your dream of starting a business can become a reality quicker than you'd expect.
Many people dream of starting a business from the time they are young. These people love the idea of being creative and of selling products they believe in. They love the idea of convincing others to love the same things they love and they usually like the idea of working with money. Starting a business of their own sounds like the ideal way to spend years of their life.
If you're one of these crazy people that dream of one day starting a business, you can begin the process by taking the time to ask yourself some important questions that will give you more understanding and direction of how to proceed. First, if you're considering starting a business, try to brainstorm the kind of business that you would want to start. Do you dream of selling books or of having coffee shop, or is the idea of selling sporting equipment more your style? You see, you can have a business for just about anything, so it is important to narrow your ideas into a couple of focused ideas for starting a business. It is usually true that starting a business will go better if your business is focused on something that you love. Without passion you will not get very far with your dreams.
You should be a combination of realistic and idealistic when you're making plans for starting a business. You have to have a real understanding of factors like money, time, and resources for your business, but you will never have the business you dream of if you wait until you have all of the details figured out. So allow yourself to get pretty detailed in your ideas for starting a business. Write out parts of starting a business that seem easy and possible and write out parts of starting a business that seem hard or like they could never happen.
Another important thing to do before you rush off in starting a business is to sit down with current business owners and learn everything they can teach you. Their years of trial and error will be invaluable to you as you seek to begin the process of starting a business yourself. Many have gone before you, so utilize their resources and be a learner.
Take steps of planning and preparation and your dream of starting a business can become a reality quicker than you'd expect.
Are You In The Right Profession?
All of us are busy working in a particular area to earn our living. Some of us are business persons and some are employed. Some are engineers, others doctors, carpenters and so on. We have painters, architects, firemen and all types of professionals.
The question is - Why did you choose a particular profession? Were you tested scientifically in our childhood about your aptitude, or whether it was your family profession, or you wanted to become one because you had fancy for that, or you had nothing else to chose so you chose your current profession?
Along the way in life, we stop asking these questions and continue doing what we are doing. We never think about why we are doing a particular kind of job. We never look around for total change in the job. For example - an engineer would very rarely think about dropping out of his/her profession and becoming a full time musician. Why?
why most of us don't think about changing our profession altogether? Why don't we think in that direction at all? One reason is to maintain status quo, which gives us comfort. We want to live in our comfort zone. The second reason is that we never question ourselves- Am I in a profession that I like fully? Can I choose another profession that will give me more success and joy?
Please think about what I have said and rethink about your profession. You may find something else that may give you not only satisfaction but great success.
The question is - Why did you choose a particular profession? Were you tested scientifically in our childhood about your aptitude, or whether it was your family profession, or you wanted to become one because you had fancy for that, or you had nothing else to chose so you chose your current profession?
Along the way in life, we stop asking these questions and continue doing what we are doing. We never think about why we are doing a particular kind of job. We never look around for total change in the job. For example - an engineer would very rarely think about dropping out of his/her profession and becoming a full time musician. Why?
why most of us don't think about changing our profession altogether? Why don't we think in that direction at all? One reason is to maintain status quo, which gives us comfort. We want to live in our comfort zone. The second reason is that we never question ourselves- Am I in a profession that I like fully? Can I choose another profession that will give me more success and joy?
Please think about what I have said and rethink about your profession. You may find something else that may give you not only satisfaction but great success.
Are you in the right business?
Are you in the right business? - Part 1
If you have just started out with your home business
or even if you are a home business veteran, there is
ONLY one very important reason that will determine your
failure or success...
If you are in the right business you CANNOT fail.
Which is the right business for you?
This depends on several things, but the first and MOST
important thing you have to ask yourself about your
home business is:
Would you recommend the product or service your business
offers to a friend or relative?
What would you say if they ask you about it?
Would you tell them that it is a valuable product they
can use, in case, of course, they need products of this
kind?
or...
you would just tell them that it's totally worthless,
but the payplan is great...and you are in this business
just to make money?
Think about it, and if the answer to the last question
is YES, then you are definately in the WRONG business.
In other words, if the product your home business offers
is not something you would recommend to a relative, a
friend and/or any other person you care about, then it
is NOT the right product to sell or promote.
Instead, if the answer is NO, is that enough?
No, there are more things you have to know to be
sure that you are in the RIGHT business.
Are you in the right business? - Part 2
In the first part, I talked about the 1st step you have
to take in order to determine if you are in the right
business...
The second and also very important step is to know your
product fully.
Have you bought and actually used the product you are
promoting?
It doesn't matter if it's top notch, recommended by 10s
of gurus, or it's been advertised all over the net...
What matters is, what do you think about it.
Forget about the compensation plan, the commission
pay out...and any possible residual income opportunity...
and ask yourself the following question:
If there was no income promise, would you buy this
product for that price?
If the answer is NO, then you are definitely in the
wrong business.
Why?
Simply, because that's what others will also think when
you try to sell it to them and they won't buy, except
of some people like you, that will buy it just to make
money, and after not making any, they will disappear...
and with them your 'residual' commissions will disappear,
too.
If you are just a free affiliate for that product, then
do you need to buy it?
Yes, only if you want to make money - if you are an
affiliate just for fun and don't care about profits,
that's ok!
But, if you do want to make money, or if you have already
sold 1-2 copies of that product, the first thing you
should do is buy it to see for yourself what this product
actually does, do they deliver what promised? do they
provide top notch customer support?
Even, if you have sold 10s of copies of that product for
some time, you need to be sure that it is of the highest
possible quality, in order to not waste your money and
time with it…because even if people buy it, if the product
does not deliver what promised many people will get a
refund and you will eventually end up losing money and time...
So, that's it...
Before you decide to maximize your marketing and advertising
efforts...
Before you decide to focus your time and money on that
product or opportunity...
Make sure to spend that little amount needed to buy it and
also take the time to use it to see for yourself if
this is for you.
You can't imagine how easier it is to persuade others to
buy something you have used and know that it works!
I hear your question...
'What if the product is a very expensive one, but has a
very attractive compensation plan? like for example, those
opportunities where you are asked to buy some online tools
for $500 or more and then refer others to earn 80-90% of
that huge price?'
Please, answer this simple question:
Would you pay that amount, for example the $500, for these
tools, if there was no compensation plan? just for the
product - nothing else? would you do that?
If the answer is no, then, you really don't have to lose
any more time and money with it...
Is there anything more you need to know to be sure
you are in the right business?
A Solid Choice for Business cards
In order to keep pace with today’s busy world, you go out with a potent handy tool. It must be so accessible that you can put them in your pocket. Tiny yet powerful, what do you think will it be?
Whether you are a businessman, lawyer, doctor, engineer, model, marketing analyst, you are definitely in need of business cards. Let’s face it, we cannot cope up just by talking the whole day. Our facilities are limited thus, we have to extend them through the help of marketing tools.
Business cards are powerful in the sense that it can transmit valuable information by just handing them to individuals. Whether you know them or nor does not matter. What matters is that you give them to the right recipients.
Who then, are the right recipients? They can be your prospective clients or customers, your friends, your associates and employees. With this, you can be assured that your money will not be put to trash but will serve as an investment to make your business or profession productive.
Brochures need to be eye-catching so as to attract attention. Thus, they must be printed in the most effective manner. The solid choice though is 4 color business cards printing. Why? Simply stated, it is outstanding – outstanding for the cards, outstanding for your resources.
To choose how many colors to use in a brochure printing job is an easy task. You will just have to consider the text, image, graphics, logo and the likes. This is another reason why 4 color printing is such a big hit. With it, colors are like a huge palette available to be used by the printer. Second, it is not expensive like six-color printing and spot colors.
To achieve color quality, avoid doing color separations just by yourself. Seek assistance from printers. 4 color process is pretty exacting and may not be tolerated by amateurs. Thus, you have to have assistance from the pool of experts when it comes to 4 color business cards printing. Printers can adjust to your business card printing needs.
Business cards are advised to be printed on coated paper. After that varnish or liquid lamination is applied. This will make them durable and lasting. To be sure that you will be getting high-quality prints, request for matchprint proofs.
Make a lasting business card impression, 4 color business cards printing can be your valuable formula!
Whether you are a businessman, lawyer, doctor, engineer, model, marketing analyst, you are definitely in need of business cards. Let’s face it, we cannot cope up just by talking the whole day. Our facilities are limited thus, we have to extend them through the help of marketing tools.
Business cards are powerful in the sense that it can transmit valuable information by just handing them to individuals. Whether you know them or nor does not matter. What matters is that you give them to the right recipients.
Who then, are the right recipients? They can be your prospective clients or customers, your friends, your associates and employees. With this, you can be assured that your money will not be put to trash but will serve as an investment to make your business or profession productive.
Brochures need to be eye-catching so as to attract attention. Thus, they must be printed in the most effective manner. The solid choice though is 4 color business cards printing. Why? Simply stated, it is outstanding – outstanding for the cards, outstanding for your resources.
To choose how many colors to use in a brochure printing job is an easy task. You will just have to consider the text, image, graphics, logo and the likes. This is another reason why 4 color printing is such a big hit. With it, colors are like a huge palette available to be used by the printer. Second, it is not expensive like six-color printing and spot colors.
To achieve color quality, avoid doing color separations just by yourself. Seek assistance from printers. 4 color process is pretty exacting and may not be tolerated by amateurs. Thus, you have to have assistance from the pool of experts when it comes to 4 color business cards printing. Printers can adjust to your business card printing needs.
Business cards are advised to be printed on coated paper. After that varnish or liquid lamination is applied. This will make them durable and lasting. To be sure that you will be getting high-quality prints, request for matchprint proofs.
Make a lasting business card impression, 4 color business cards printing can be your valuable formula!
9 Ways to Increase Web Traffic
There are many ways to increase web traffic; the most valuable of course is
offering some ongoing and dynamic value such as blogs or online discussion
that keep the same people coming back, but a host of other options exist
including:
Search Engine Optimization
We’ve touched on this in previous chapters but “Search Engine
Optimization” or “SEO” as it is often referred to is a huge success for
many sites, and has even spawned a service industry in its own right
where people are getting paid to optimize your site and site
submissions to try and increase how well your site ranks on various
search engines. Ideally you should do this yourself by submitting to
various directories and using the tips and hints I’ve already mentioned but if you are ‘Internet Impaired’ it may be worth paying a consultant
to assist you.
List your site in Directories and Search Engines
There are many search engines and directories out there where you
can list your website for increased exposure. Some charge a fee while
others are free or low-cost but the important thing to remember is to
go through each one IN PERSON and optimize the data you provide
each to ensure the listing provides the best interface to your site as
possible.
Participate in Link Exchanges
A ‘link exchange’ refers to the act of having a URL or ‘hyperlink’ from
another site either on your page or another site pointing to pages on
your site. With Exchanges another webmaster will link to your site in
exchange for you linking to theirs – hopefully complimenting each
others sites.
Advertise your site via AdWords or other resources such as
banner ads
There are many advertising avenues out there to get your website
increased recognition, the simplest of course link exchanges and wordof-
mouth, but paid methods such as using Google’s AdWords program
to pop up a link to your site when certain keywords are entered into
search engines is a very effective way to increase traffic to your sites.
From the vendor side it works like this: you bid (or offer) an amount
that you will pay for a list of keywords used when people query.
Depending on your bid and the maximum daily expenditure settings
you specify (the largest amount of payout you are willing to do on any
given day) your ad shows and you’re charged for each user who “clicks
through” the ad to your site.
Get published on other sites
The Internet is a wide place and a lot of people are out there every
day so try to participate in other sites with a similar interest to yours
and post articles and stories – be sure to include a link or reference to
your web site and viola! Free advertising!
Request Reviews from magazines and online webmasters
Many other sites have a link or ‘rating’ page where you can ask them
to provide feedback and suggestions on your page and its content –
doing so will often not only gather additional interest and visibility but
can help you to tweak your site and improve it to better meet your
needs.
Post in chat rooms and on blogs
Just as with posting articles using chat and blog entries to promote
your site is a good ‘semi-permanent’ way to get your website address
out there before the public.
Give away free gifts and hold contests
This is actually a variation of the customer rewards program idea – by
holding a contest, say a $100 grand prize eBook contest where you get the rights to all submitted eBooks and the winner gets $100 you can
generate traffic and often get other benefits. Ideas include ‘help
create a logo’ or ‘closes predictions for the upcoming election’ …
anything you can think of can be pressed into service in fact!
Join local business organizations
An often overlooked benefit of any community is the local businesses
and merchants as well as the Better Business Bureau. Being a
member can not only let your fellow businesses be aware of you and
your site, but can also introduce you to new concepts and tools you
can use to increase both your visibility and profitability.
offering some ongoing and dynamic value such as blogs or online discussion
that keep the same people coming back, but a host of other options exist
including:
Search Engine Optimization
We’ve touched on this in previous chapters but “Search Engine
Optimization” or “SEO” as it is often referred to is a huge success for
many sites, and has even spawned a service industry in its own right
where people are getting paid to optimize your site and site
submissions to try and increase how well your site ranks on various
search engines. Ideally you should do this yourself by submitting to
various directories and using the tips and hints I’ve already mentioned but if you are ‘Internet Impaired’ it may be worth paying a consultant
to assist you.
List your site in Directories and Search Engines
There are many search engines and directories out there where you
can list your website for increased exposure. Some charge a fee while
others are free or low-cost but the important thing to remember is to
go through each one IN PERSON and optimize the data you provide
each to ensure the listing provides the best interface to your site as
possible.
Participate in Link Exchanges
A ‘link exchange’ refers to the act of having a URL or ‘hyperlink’ from
another site either on your page or another site pointing to pages on
your site. With Exchanges another webmaster will link to your site in
exchange for you linking to theirs – hopefully complimenting each
others sites.
Advertise your site via AdWords or other resources such as
banner ads
There are many advertising avenues out there to get your website
increased recognition, the simplest of course link exchanges and wordof-
mouth, but paid methods such as using Google’s AdWords program
to pop up a link to your site when certain keywords are entered into
search engines is a very effective way to increase traffic to your sites.
From the vendor side it works like this: you bid (or offer) an amount
that you will pay for a list of keywords used when people query.
Depending on your bid and the maximum daily expenditure settings
you specify (the largest amount of payout you are willing to do on any
given day) your ad shows and you’re charged for each user who “clicks
through” the ad to your site.
Get published on other sites
The Internet is a wide place and a lot of people are out there every
day so try to participate in other sites with a similar interest to yours
and post articles and stories – be sure to include a link or reference to
your web site and viola! Free advertising!
Request Reviews from magazines and online webmasters
Many other sites have a link or ‘rating’ page where you can ask them
to provide feedback and suggestions on your page and its content –
doing so will often not only gather additional interest and visibility but
can help you to tweak your site and improve it to better meet your
needs.
Post in chat rooms and on blogs
Just as with posting articles using chat and blog entries to promote
your site is a good ‘semi-permanent’ way to get your website address
out there before the public.
Give away free gifts and hold contests
This is actually a variation of the customer rewards program idea – by
holding a contest, say a $100 grand prize eBook contest where you get the rights to all submitted eBooks and the winner gets $100 you can
generate traffic and often get other benefits. Ideas include ‘help
create a logo’ or ‘closes predictions for the upcoming election’ …
anything you can think of can be pressed into service in fact!
Join local business organizations
An often overlooked benefit of any community is the local businesses
and merchants as well as the Better Business Bureau. Being a
member can not only let your fellow businesses be aware of you and
your site, but can also introduce you to new concepts and tools you
can use to increase both your visibility and profitability.
8 BIG Small Business Mistakes
Here’s an interesting notion: Do you realize that there are mistakes you can make at various stages of your business’ growth that can be slowly killing it for months or even years if you don’t watch for them?
Well, these mistakes do exist and they are not just reserved for the rookie companies. Many working businesses, including those you might think are “successful” because they’ve been around for 10+ years, are often still making them… and are possibly losing a lot of money and/or wasting a lot of time in the process.
Although some of these big and sneaky mistakes seem aimed more at service type companies, they really do fit the bill for almost any type of industry. I’ve done my best with the listings below to give examples to prove it.
Underestimating Project/Service Time- This is a big one and it pertains to service companies as well as companies that sell a product. This is a service company’s bread and butter. If you don’t estimate your time to perform each and every service in your repertoire, you will get burned and there is little you can do about it but bite the bullet and learn from it. The best way to estimate time is to do it once yourself or watch your best employee do the task and then throw in a little fudge factor on top of it. For product companies, time becomes an issue with logistics so be aware!
Not Knowing YOUR Company Numbers/Incorrectly Setting Prices- Notice I emphasized the word “your”. It’s a common mistake to use a competitor’s as your pricing gauge without actually knowing why they use those numbers. Think about the nightmare you will get yourself into if you take a competitor’s price, cut it by 10% and then start selling. What if the competition has a bad pricing structure and is barely making money or even losing money?!?! What if your costs are more than theirs?!?! You can use competitor as a starting point but you can’t base your whole strategy on it.
Different industries have their own variables as far as costs go and you need to be aware of them for your project or product pricing. What you pay for a product you are going to sell is not the only cost to have in your head when you are pricing products. How much your labor and materials cost for a service is only a piece of an hourly rate. Employees cost more than just salary and not every employee is part of your labor cost. Every company has insurance to pay for. There are tons of overhead expenditures that need to be part of your price. Oh, by the way, the big one that many people forget about in their price is the quality factor. What you include as “standard services” or “standard product features” as well as job site etiquette or in store service or warranties all need to go into your pricing. I’ll get to more on why in the next segment.
Not Charging for All of Your Time & Costs- This seems like a stupid statement to some but I bet most business owners will admit that they have given away a little too much of the farm at times. Hey, there is nothing wrong with giving a little extra here and there to show you care. But either way, that’s not what I’m talking about here. What concerns me are those that put a lot of quality into their work or products or stores and do not cover the cost for it. As an example, say you run a service company and your competitors don’t do a certain standard service that you do. You can’t just undercut their price to steal a job; you need to have that cost covered in your rate and advertise the fact that it comes with the price upfront. Stores undermine themselves, for example, when they put more people on the floor for customer service but don’t charge for it. These things cost you money and when your competitors don’t do them it costs them less money. Put out better service and then under price them, and your competition just has to wait a little bit for you to fall on your face so they can swoop back in.
As a business owner you need to believe that you are providing your clients worthwhile wares that deserve to be paid for. If you get the chance to explain why your prices are higher, then take that opportunity and do it. If they don’t like the fact that you include things that others charge extra for later or that you treat them better, then they are most likely completely price shoppers. You don’t want them as regular customers anyway. Trust me.
Not Getting Paid Fast Enough- That’s right, the old cash flow issue. As long as you are actually making enough money to pay the bills, this problem can be solved, prevented or at least made to be not as bad as it could be. Here’s the deal:
First off all, bill customers very promptly. It is very common for a small business to not have the procedures or systems in place to get invoices generated and out the door in a timely fashion (see the next segment for more). Again, this would seem unlikely since that’s the reason why we are doing the work- to get paid. But it is very easy for the people responsible for getting this info to the billing people to be too busy to get it there or not have enough organization to give it to them the right way.
The second part to slowing down or stopping a regular cash flow crunch is to make the quickest payment deals possible with customers and the slowest possible with vendors and employees. If there is any way not to pay employees any more than twice a month, you better do it. Contractors always have an issue with this. If you must pay weekly, then tell them before they are hired that they will be getting the first week held back, essentially buying you a week. It will help, I promise.
Part three involves credit. If your company can get a credit card, then get it. This allows for certain important things to be bought (that you can afford) that might come up during a cash flow crunch. Better yet, especially if you have no choice but to deal with 45+ day customer payments, do your best to get a company line of credit. This is a must if you plan on selling to the government or doing commercial service work. These clients often have 60 to 90 day wait periods.
Failure to Have Solid Systems and Procedures in Place- Too many procedures (known as “red tape”) is the reason why many people start their own business in the first place. Unfortunately, having no procedures and systems in place at all is not an alternative. Depending on the type of industry, business owners must come to a happy medium or chaos and the unknown will ensue. Some basic examples where procedures or systems are needed include billing, collections, payroll, hr (interviewing, hiring, vacations, benefits, job responsibilities, etc.), manufacturing, operating equipment, maintaining equipment, inventory, sales calls/visits and logistics to name a few.
Even a one person show needs to have some admin procedures in place. This will make it easier to hire temps and subcontractors and control what they are doing for you. Without at least a watered down version of a system or procedure to do everyday work, you will be to blame for causing many major headaches as your company grows. I can’t emphasize how important this is for when you bring on new employees. I’m sure you heard this before, but I am also a big proponent of having an employee handbook even for one employee. It’s amazing the trouble people can cause business owners just because they allow you to pay them.
Spending Advertising Money Just to Say You Advertise- I would almost rather see my clients not advertise then to spend without regard to tracking the results. There is no point in a marketing campaign if you do not put things in place that allow you to measure how well the plan is working. The other wasteful part of marketing that many people make the mistake of doing, is not tracking their previously successful campaigns. Why some people think that just because a $400 dollar a month ad worked once very well for one busy season, that it will automatically work every year after that is beyond me.
Spreading Yourself Too Thin- This is a classic mistake made by every entrepreneur. The key is to figure out when you are at that “wearing too many hats” point and start getting some help. The solution here is to know your strengths and to be able see when you are not performing the duties that demand these skills. If you are the best sales person on the company, you can’t get caught up in day-to-day operations. If you do, sales will slip and eventually you won’t have any operations to worry about. Think about this to help you figure out if you are spread too thin: Did you really go into business for yourself to work 80+ hours a week?
Not Getting Help Soon Enough- Set goals to know when to hire people to take over where you are light on knowledge. Not getting help or waiting too long can kill a company. Most people who start a business do it because they are good at the technical end or the sales end. If you know the best way to make a widget, then your strength is in production and that is where your time should be spent. Hire an outside company or consultant to take care of the sales and marketing and then hire inside when you can afford someone full time. Don’t be something to your company that you are not. It will only hold you back.
The three big issues people like to tackle themselves but usually are least knowledgeable about are legal issues, accounting/bookkeeping issues and daily operations issues. The odds are that these three things are your weakest link so if you don’t have a partner that has the background for these subjects, then be prepared to get help as soon as possible. It’s preferable that you do this before you start a business.
Although looking for these problems at any time is a good idea, the end of a year or season is an excellent business interval to make sure you are not making these errors. Take the time, or make the time, to fix these problems. If you don’t know how to reverse the problems, then get some help. If you really don’t have enough time to either figure out if you have these issues or know they are there and can’t break away long enough to do it right, then get some help.
Well, these mistakes do exist and they are not just reserved for the rookie companies. Many working businesses, including those you might think are “successful” because they’ve been around for 10+ years, are often still making them… and are possibly losing a lot of money and/or wasting a lot of time in the process.
Although some of these big and sneaky mistakes seem aimed more at service type companies, they really do fit the bill for almost any type of industry. I’ve done my best with the listings below to give examples to prove it.
Underestimating Project/Service Time- This is a big one and it pertains to service companies as well as companies that sell a product. This is a service company’s bread and butter. If you don’t estimate your time to perform each and every service in your repertoire, you will get burned and there is little you can do about it but bite the bullet and learn from it. The best way to estimate time is to do it once yourself or watch your best employee do the task and then throw in a little fudge factor on top of it. For product companies, time becomes an issue with logistics so be aware!
Not Knowing YOUR Company Numbers/Incorrectly Setting Prices- Notice I emphasized the word “your”. It’s a common mistake to use a competitor’s as your pricing gauge without actually knowing why they use those numbers. Think about the nightmare you will get yourself into if you take a competitor’s price, cut it by 10% and then start selling. What if the competition has a bad pricing structure and is barely making money or even losing money?!?! What if your costs are more than theirs?!?! You can use competitor as a starting point but you can’t base your whole strategy on it.
Different industries have their own variables as far as costs go and you need to be aware of them for your project or product pricing. What you pay for a product you are going to sell is not the only cost to have in your head when you are pricing products. How much your labor and materials cost for a service is only a piece of an hourly rate. Employees cost more than just salary and not every employee is part of your labor cost. Every company has insurance to pay for. There are tons of overhead expenditures that need to be part of your price. Oh, by the way, the big one that many people forget about in their price is the quality factor. What you include as “standard services” or “standard product features” as well as job site etiquette or in store service or warranties all need to go into your pricing. I’ll get to more on why in the next segment.
Not Charging for All of Your Time & Costs- This seems like a stupid statement to some but I bet most business owners will admit that they have given away a little too much of the farm at times. Hey, there is nothing wrong with giving a little extra here and there to show you care. But either way, that’s not what I’m talking about here. What concerns me are those that put a lot of quality into their work or products or stores and do not cover the cost for it. As an example, say you run a service company and your competitors don’t do a certain standard service that you do. You can’t just undercut their price to steal a job; you need to have that cost covered in your rate and advertise the fact that it comes with the price upfront. Stores undermine themselves, for example, when they put more people on the floor for customer service but don’t charge for it. These things cost you money and when your competitors don’t do them it costs them less money. Put out better service and then under price them, and your competition just has to wait a little bit for you to fall on your face so they can swoop back in.
As a business owner you need to believe that you are providing your clients worthwhile wares that deserve to be paid for. If you get the chance to explain why your prices are higher, then take that opportunity and do it. If they don’t like the fact that you include things that others charge extra for later or that you treat them better, then they are most likely completely price shoppers. You don’t want them as regular customers anyway. Trust me.
Not Getting Paid Fast Enough- That’s right, the old cash flow issue. As long as you are actually making enough money to pay the bills, this problem can be solved, prevented or at least made to be not as bad as it could be. Here’s the deal:
First off all, bill customers very promptly. It is very common for a small business to not have the procedures or systems in place to get invoices generated and out the door in a timely fashion (see the next segment for more). Again, this would seem unlikely since that’s the reason why we are doing the work- to get paid. But it is very easy for the people responsible for getting this info to the billing people to be too busy to get it there or not have enough organization to give it to them the right way.
The second part to slowing down or stopping a regular cash flow crunch is to make the quickest payment deals possible with customers and the slowest possible with vendors and employees. If there is any way not to pay employees any more than twice a month, you better do it. Contractors always have an issue with this. If you must pay weekly, then tell them before they are hired that they will be getting the first week held back, essentially buying you a week. It will help, I promise.
Part three involves credit. If your company can get a credit card, then get it. This allows for certain important things to be bought (that you can afford) that might come up during a cash flow crunch. Better yet, especially if you have no choice but to deal with 45+ day customer payments, do your best to get a company line of credit. This is a must if you plan on selling to the government or doing commercial service work. These clients often have 60 to 90 day wait periods.
Failure to Have Solid Systems and Procedures in Place- Too many procedures (known as “red tape”) is the reason why many people start their own business in the first place. Unfortunately, having no procedures and systems in place at all is not an alternative. Depending on the type of industry, business owners must come to a happy medium or chaos and the unknown will ensue. Some basic examples where procedures or systems are needed include billing, collections, payroll, hr (interviewing, hiring, vacations, benefits, job responsibilities, etc.), manufacturing, operating equipment, maintaining equipment, inventory, sales calls/visits and logistics to name a few.
Even a one person show needs to have some admin procedures in place. This will make it easier to hire temps and subcontractors and control what they are doing for you. Without at least a watered down version of a system or procedure to do everyday work, you will be to blame for causing many major headaches as your company grows. I can’t emphasize how important this is for when you bring on new employees. I’m sure you heard this before, but I am also a big proponent of having an employee handbook even for one employee. It’s amazing the trouble people can cause business owners just because they allow you to pay them.
Spending Advertising Money Just to Say You Advertise- I would almost rather see my clients not advertise then to spend without regard to tracking the results. There is no point in a marketing campaign if you do not put things in place that allow you to measure how well the plan is working. The other wasteful part of marketing that many people make the mistake of doing, is not tracking their previously successful campaigns. Why some people think that just because a $400 dollar a month ad worked once very well for one busy season, that it will automatically work every year after that is beyond me.
Spreading Yourself Too Thin- This is a classic mistake made by every entrepreneur. The key is to figure out when you are at that “wearing too many hats” point and start getting some help. The solution here is to know your strengths and to be able see when you are not performing the duties that demand these skills. If you are the best sales person on the company, you can’t get caught up in day-to-day operations. If you do, sales will slip and eventually you won’t have any operations to worry about. Think about this to help you figure out if you are spread too thin: Did you really go into business for yourself to work 80+ hours a week?
Not Getting Help Soon Enough- Set goals to know when to hire people to take over where you are light on knowledge. Not getting help or waiting too long can kill a company. Most people who start a business do it because they are good at the technical end or the sales end. If you know the best way to make a widget, then your strength is in production and that is where your time should be spent. Hire an outside company or consultant to take care of the sales and marketing and then hire inside when you can afford someone full time. Don’t be something to your company that you are not. It will only hold you back.
The three big issues people like to tackle themselves but usually are least knowledgeable about are legal issues, accounting/bookkeeping issues and daily operations issues. The odds are that these three things are your weakest link so if you don’t have a partner that has the background for these subjects, then be prepared to get help as soon as possible. It’s preferable that you do this before you start a business.
Although looking for these problems at any time is a good idea, the end of a year or season is an excellent business interval to make sure you are not making these errors. Take the time, or make the time, to fix these problems. If you don’t know how to reverse the problems, then get some help. If you really don’t have enough time to either figure out if you have these issues or know they are there and can’t break away long enough to do it right, then get some help.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Small Home-Based Businesses -- Five Simple Steps to Success
Did you know that, in Australia, 60% of small businesses fail in the first twelve months? For those of us who would like to start a small business -- maybe even work from home -- that’s a very discouraging statistic.
Does that mean that your business idea is doomed to failure? Far from it! There are steps you can take that greatly increase your chances of success. With a little time and some serious research you can hit the ground running. Let’s start from the beginning…
The bright idea
First, of course, you need to come up with an idea. Typically, business opportunities can be divided into four groups:
1. Offering an existing product/service in an existing market.
2. Introducing an existing product/service to a new market.
3. Offering a new product/service in an existing market
4. Introducing a new product/service to a new market.
At this stage of the game the only limit is your imagination. Inspiration can come from anywhere -- maybe you have a hobby that you’d like to turn into a full-time job; you may be on the receiving end of bad service one day and decide to try doing it better yourself; or you may have a talent that you’d like to capitalise on.
Once you’ve come across something that you’d like to do, it’s time to take a look at the market and see what’s on offer.
Passing the test
So you’ve had a great idea and you’re keen to roll with it; now it’s time to put it through its paces. For the purpose of the exercise, let’s say that you have a passion for healthy living, and that you want to distribute a range of lifestyle accessories that promote healthy living with a do-it-yourself approach.
Ask around: Is there a market for products that promote healthy living? What sorts of products are available? Who would you be competing with and what do your competitors offer? Do you have the necessary skills to run such a business and -- more to the point -- what would those skills be? Where would your business be located?
Once you’ve answered those questions you should have a fairly clear picture of what your business will look like.
You source some products and decide to do some further research into the range of lifestyle products offered by a company called Vitality 4 Life. Your own life experience plus some work you’ve done as a dietician has given you the necessary skill sets, and you think that you’ll be able to work from home, giving you more time for family. There is an existing market, but there’s room for expansion. Now it’s time to take a closer look.
To be or not to be?
It’s time to get down to the nuts and bolts. You don’t want to jump into something feet first and find out the hard way that the budget just doesn’t work.
To get started, sit down and work out if you need to hire staff, which means paying wages.
If you lease a premises you’ll need to be able to pay the rent, and your location will have to be suitable for your business and target market (which also means that you’ll have to think carefully about just what that target market is). You’ll also need to work out the likely demand for your product/service.
Ok… you’ve worked out that there is enough demand for good quality juicers, sprouters, water filters and other high end accessories to take a shot at a distributorship as a home-based business opportunity. Now you need to make some marketing decisions.
Look at me! Look at me!
Advertising can be costly so you’ll want to be sure that your advertising budget is spent wisely. That means more market research, this time one-on-one. Profile your customer groups so you can aim your marketing at the right group/s of people.
Draw up a questionnaire (a short questionnaire -- people run out patience if you ramble for too long) and hang around outside a few of the local gyms (for our particular example). Come up with a mixture of open questions (What do you think of……..?) and closed questions (Do you have a gym membership? Yes/No.); sliding scales can be useful too.
For our health accessories business, a good question might be ‘How did you hear about this gym? Radio, tv, newspaper, word of mouth etc…’ Such a question would then give you an indication of the types of media that your target group responds best to.
Choose a business name, print up some business cards, buy some stock and get ready to trade!
Measure it, manage it!
A teacher of mine made the point that, in business, if you can’t measure it you can’t manage it.
You need to be able to plan ahead, and to do that you need to know -- or to be able to accurately predict -- your total sales. The equation is simple: number of customers x average sale x frequency of visits per customer per year = total sales. Remember it, revise it often, measure your business and you’ll be able to manage it!
Keep an eye on your bottom line and, most importantly, always be aware of your cash flow -- the cold, hard cash that you have in the bank. Allow for invoice periods (14 days, 30 days etc) when you’re planning your budget.
The market place has a life of its own, and no one can prepare for every contingency. Put some thought into your idea; make sure that there’s a market for what you’re offering; research, research, research; promote your business effectively; always know what’s going on in your bank account and don’t forget about cash flow!
It’s not perfect but, if you follow these few simple steps, you’ll be miles ahead of many new small business ventures. If you’ve heard of a great home-based business opportunity, or have a product or service of your own to market, you’re off to a great start!
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
COOL PHOTOS BANK
WORLD'S BEST DREAMY PHOTOS
NATURE OF GOD
WORLD'S BEST WILDLIFE PHOTOS
Amazing Filter
VINTAGE DESI
MYSTERY OF LIFE
FOR UR COMPUTER
VIRGINE DESI
ART OF LIFE
FASHION OF LIFE
DREAMY HEALTH
FEATURE TECHNOLOGY
PHOTOS WAR
SECRET OF EARN MONEY ONLINE
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Does that mean that your business idea is doomed to failure? Far from it! There are steps you can take that greatly increase your chances of success. With a little time and some serious research you can hit the ground running. Let’s start from the beginning…
The bright idea
First, of course, you need to come up with an idea. Typically, business opportunities can be divided into four groups:
1. Offering an existing product/service in an existing market.
2. Introducing an existing product/service to a new market.
3. Offering a new product/service in an existing market
4. Introducing a new product/service to a new market.
At this stage of the game the only limit is your imagination. Inspiration can come from anywhere -- maybe you have a hobby that you’d like to turn into a full-time job; you may be on the receiving end of bad service one day and decide to try doing it better yourself; or you may have a talent that you’d like to capitalise on.
Once you’ve come across something that you’d like to do, it’s time to take a look at the market and see what’s on offer.
Passing the test
So you’ve had a great idea and you’re keen to roll with it; now it’s time to put it through its paces. For the purpose of the exercise, let’s say that you have a passion for healthy living, and that you want to distribute a range of lifestyle accessories that promote healthy living with a do-it-yourself approach.
Ask around: Is there a market for products that promote healthy living? What sorts of products are available? Who would you be competing with and what do your competitors offer? Do you have the necessary skills to run such a business and -- more to the point -- what would those skills be? Where would your business be located?
Once you’ve answered those questions you should have a fairly clear picture of what your business will look like.
You source some products and decide to do some further research into the range of lifestyle products offered by a company called Vitality 4 Life. Your own life experience plus some work you’ve done as a dietician has given you the necessary skill sets, and you think that you’ll be able to work from home, giving you more time for family. There is an existing market, but there’s room for expansion. Now it’s time to take a closer look.
To be or not to be?
It’s time to get down to the nuts and bolts. You don’t want to jump into something feet first and find out the hard way that the budget just doesn’t work.
To get started, sit down and work out if you need to hire staff, which means paying wages.
If you lease a premises you’ll need to be able to pay the rent, and your location will have to be suitable for your business and target market (which also means that you’ll have to think carefully about just what that target market is). You’ll also need to work out the likely demand for your product/service.
Ok… you’ve worked out that there is enough demand for good quality juicers, sprouters, water filters and other high end accessories to take a shot at a distributorship as a home-based business opportunity. Now you need to make some marketing decisions.
Look at me! Look at me!
Advertising can be costly so you’ll want to be sure that your advertising budget is spent wisely. That means more market research, this time one-on-one. Profile your customer groups so you can aim your marketing at the right group/s of people.
Draw up a questionnaire (a short questionnaire -- people run out patience if you ramble for too long) and hang around outside a few of the local gyms (for our particular example). Come up with a mixture of open questions (What do you think of……..?) and closed questions (Do you have a gym membership? Yes/No.); sliding scales can be useful too.
For our health accessories business, a good question might be ‘How did you hear about this gym? Radio, tv, newspaper, word of mouth etc…’ Such a question would then give you an indication of the types of media that your target group responds best to.
Choose a business name, print up some business cards, buy some stock and get ready to trade!
Measure it, manage it!
A teacher of mine made the point that, in business, if you can’t measure it you can’t manage it.
You need to be able to plan ahead, and to do that you need to know -- or to be able to accurately predict -- your total sales. The equation is simple: number of customers x average sale x frequency of visits per customer per year = total sales. Remember it, revise it often, measure your business and you’ll be able to manage it!
Keep an eye on your bottom line and, most importantly, always be aware of your cash flow -- the cold, hard cash that you have in the bank. Allow for invoice periods (14 days, 30 days etc) when you’re planning your budget.
The market place has a life of its own, and no one can prepare for every contingency. Put some thought into your idea; make sure that there’s a market for what you’re offering; research, research, research; promote your business effectively; always know what’s going on in your bank account and don’t forget about cash flow!
It’s not perfect but, if you follow these few simple steps, you’ll be miles ahead of many new small business ventures. If you’ve heard of a great home-based business opportunity, or have a product or service of your own to market, you’re off to a great start!
COOL PHOTOS BANK
WORLD'S BEST DREAMY PHOTOS
NATURE OF GOD
WORLD'S BEST WILDLIFE PHOTOS
Amazing Filter
VINTAGE DESI
MYSTERY OF LIFE
FOR UR COMPUTER
VIRGINE DESI
ART OF LIFE
FASHION OF LIFE
DREAMY HEALTH
FEATURE TECHNOLOGY
PHOTOS WAR
SECRET OF EARN MONEY ONLINE
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
$1000 in 24 Hours For Experienced Internet Geeks. Interesting Read.
This is a review about the opportunity at,
http://www.clickingz.com/fastmoney
There you are taught a way to raise a big amount of money in a very short time. I'll explain it here how its done, in short.
First, you make a report with a big promise. For example,
"Your Acne disappears in 3 days or your money it totally back"
"Claim Free Airline Tickets or Your Money Back" (For example, I have a book at http://www.clickingz.com/travel , and I can change its structure to reflect this system)
Then, you sell that report with a big promise at a very affordable price, which your customers cannot miss - for about $5.
This is exactly what is done at http://www.clickingz.com/fastmoney and it teaches you how to do the same. As a bonus, you can sell this report itself once you buy it and everytime a sale is made, you get instant payment (full payment) of $5 to your paypal account. No hosting or any hassle, once you buy the report, you'll be given a link to promote this report itself and you are paid 100% for every sale.
Realistically, even if you buy the report and just resell it for 4 people quickly, you would have made a 400% ROI.
For more info, you can read http://www.Clickingz.com/fastmoney
You will also be explained about how to implement this system successfully.
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
COOL PHOTOS BANK
WORLD'S BEST DREAMY PHOTOS
NATURE OF GOD
WORLD'S BEST WILDLIFE PHOTOS
Amazing Filter
VINTAGE DESI
MYSTERY OF LIFE
FOR UR COMPUTER
VIRGINE DESI
ART OF LIFE
FASHION OF LIFE
DREAMY HEALTH
FEATURE TECHNOLOGY
PHOTOS WAR
SECRET OF EARN MONEY ONLINE
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
http://www.clickingz.com/fastmoney
There you are taught a way to raise a big amount of money in a very short time. I'll explain it here how its done, in short.
First, you make a report with a big promise. For example,
"Your Acne disappears in 3 days or your money it totally back"
"Claim Free Airline Tickets or Your Money Back" (For example, I have a book at http://www.clickingz.com/travel , and I can change its structure to reflect this system)
Then, you sell that report with a big promise at a very affordable price, which your customers cannot miss - for about $5.
This is exactly what is done at http://www.clickingz.com/fastmoney and it teaches you how to do the same. As a bonus, you can sell this report itself once you buy it and everytime a sale is made, you get instant payment (full payment) of $5 to your paypal account. No hosting or any hassle, once you buy the report, you'll be given a link to promote this report itself and you are paid 100% for every sale.
Realistically, even if you buy the report and just resell it for 4 people quickly, you would have made a 400% ROI.
For more info, you can read http://www.Clickingz.com/fastmoney
You will also be explained about how to implement this system successfully.
COOL PHOTOS BANK
WORLD'S BEST DREAMY PHOTOS
NATURE OF GOD
WORLD'S BEST WILDLIFE PHOTOS
Amazing Filter
VINTAGE DESI
MYSTERY OF LIFE
FOR UR COMPUTER
VIRGINE DESI
ART OF LIFE
FASHION OF LIFE
DREAMY HEALTH
FEATURE TECHNOLOGY
PHOTOS WAR
SECRET OF EARN MONEY ONLINE
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
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