Month: August 2012

Stretching Your Business’ Dollar

When you run your own business, every dime is precious. Cutting costs is crucial, and just because there might not be any obvious ways to do so, doesn’t mean that there aren’t any. In fact, there is almost always some way to run your business more efficiently and with less overhead. Once you have developed an eye for effective cost-cutting measures, you can generate more profit than you ever thought possible.

cost cutting tips
Image by o5com / Flickr

Simple Things

The first thing you should do is look at the cost of your utilities and determine what is actually essential. For instance, many small business owners can do without a landline telephone. Most people use a cell phone as their primary means of communication, and services like Skype and Google Talk are better for teleconferencing than traditional phones. If you must have a landline phone, you could potentially save some money by using a VOIP service like Vonage. Some packages cost as little as $10 per month, and VOIP services generally provide cheaper long distance and international calls than conventional phone services.

Re-Think Your Insurance

If you have more coverage than you need, you can go ahead and drop the extraneous parts of your small business policy without hamstringing yourself in the process. Once you have a decent buffer of cash in your savings account, you may want to opt for a higher deductible in order to lower your monthly premiums.

This kind of thinking extends beyond your home and business space. If you are working out of your house, you can lower your auto insurance costs by reducing the number of miles that your policy covers. This can have a domino effect as less time on the road means that you are much less likely to get into an accident, and your maintenance costs will be drastically lower than someone who has to commute every day. Depending on where you live, it may be possible to reduce your annual auto insurance premiums to a few hundred dollars.

Buy as Much as You Can

You will need lots of supplies to keep your business running smoothly, so make sure to purchase in bulk. Not only is buying in bulk cheaper over the long term, you can deduct the storage space from your taxable income. Even if your business supplies only take up two to five percent of your home storage space, that makes a big difference come tax time.

Use the Cloud

This is one of the biggest things that people overlook. The cloud provides a large number of services ranging from off-site storage to free Web applications that are capable of replacing standard word processing programs. The cloud tends to be cheaper than investing in a number of physical hard drives, and the backups are available from any computer that’s connected to the Internet. The cloud gives small businesses a huge advantage because it allows for greater flexibility and efficiency than the old way of doing things, but many businesses have yet to adapt to the technology.

Barter, Bargain, and When Possible, Get Things for Free

Networking is important for reasons that go beyond drumming up clients or catching wind of new opportunities. Entrepreneurs are more than glad to help each other out, and if you can trade one item you don’t need for something that you want, or you can procure something that you need in exchange for your services, then you may be able to save a lot of money.

There are countless resources devoted to frugal living, and you don’t have to go off-the-grid in order to opt out of the usual consumerist claptrap. If you learn the best ways to save money and cut spending before you hit rough times, you have a much higher chance of keeping yourself and your business afloat until the worst of it passes.

Geoffrey Williams blogs about good deals on car insurance for small business owners. If you are looking for affordable and reliable car insurance, try carinsurance.org.uk, where you can compare quotes.

How does international trade affect small businesses

When your small business has finally made it to go beyond the local boundaries, you will soon realize that it’s a whole different ball game out there. There are great markets to tap, meaning there are more golden opportunities available for you. Indeed, International trade is lucrative, but if you are not careful, you will get burnt out trying to putting off fire here and there.

International business
Image by bpsusf / Flickr

To help you do your due diligence, there are some issues you should address when trading Internationally – either exporting or importing:

1. Foreign exchange rate issues in making and taking payments

The fluctuative nature of foreign exchange rates can pose a threat to your small business in the form of currency risk. If you are not careful, your business might not be as profitable as expected. With that being said, you should start to benefit from corporate FX.

2. Shipping woes

Shipping is very important in getting your products delivered to your customers. There are some issues you need to be aware of, such as late delivery, damaged products during shipment, and so on – not mentioning how to handle returns effectively from your clients abroad. Making sure you understand the shipping terms and conditions can help you avoid potential disputes in the future.

3. Regional policies and regulations

Getting your products rejected and returned by the customs office – even worse, seized – abroad will negatively impact your reputation – not mentioning the loss of profits. Understanding the policies and regulations is the right thing to do when you are about to export your products overseas.

4. Cultural clash

Building a partnership with an International partner can be a complex issue as there are some sensitive matters involved in the deal making process. Understanding the culture of your International partners can help you close more sales, as well as opening up more windows of opportunity for you.

Responding to those warnings above will not only give you the edge in International trading, but also help you to gain trusts. And believe me, a trust is not something you can buy; it’s earned.

The Many Hats of Small Business Ownership

Small Business Owners Wear Many Hats… One at a Time.

As you launch your own business, you inevitably will “wear many hats.” Of course, day-to-day operations will require frequent changes of hat and headgear, but you always must remember, when you don more than one hat at a time, you just look and act silly. More importantly, you absolutely cannot change your mind each time you change your hat. Change-up the millinery as circumstances demand, but make sure each new brim contributes to building the business by commanding customers’ loyalty.

Pat on his Mac (next to another Mac)
Image by Kevin Galens / Flickr

Maintain Your Priorities and Solve Urgent Problems

Before you celebrate your grand opening, take time to examine your entire hat collection, assessing the relative importance of each. The collection surely will include marketing, public relations, advertising, accounting, finance, IT, forecasting and planning; as the business grows, you will add personnel management and training. Day by day, your profit-and-loss, your market share and the quality of your competition may influence your hat selection, but do not allow exigency or expedience to prevail over your genuine priorities. Baseball caps and hard-hats come and go, but your dedication to building the business persists. Therefore, go to the hat tree with a realistic sense of what to wear in the moment and throughout the day.

Customer service always comes first

Inventory management and marketing always seem urgent, but they never become so urgent you cannot set them aside and devote your undivided attention to a customer’s needs. You always have known this cardinal principle of good business, but the pace, distraction and stress of running a one-man-show may cause temporary lapses of memory. A well-chosen customer service cap will keep you safe.

Become exceptionally skilled at problem-solving

Skilled problem-solvers develop their powers of discernment, and they use those powers to determine which problems they can solve with their own resources and which require professional intervention. In order to remain focused on building your business, call-in qualified people to fix urgent problems outside your areas of expertise. If you cannot fix a toilet, call a plumber. If you cannot do taxes, call a CPA. In general, if you cannot see cause and solution in a problem’s symptoms, call an expert.

Dedicate your best efforts to building your business

Choose your hat with consummate respect for your own time, talent and temperament. If you have exceptional marketing and public relations skills, devote lots of time and energy to using them in service of boosting revenues. Conversely, if you have little accounting skill, devote even more effort to marketing so that you generate enough revenue to hire a bookkeeper. Even as you wear your PR hat, though, keep scanning the horizon for customers in need of your special attention.

Take time for reflection

No need to hire a small business consultant. Your conscience and intuition will tell you exactly where you went wrong, and they will outline the best ways to fix your mistakes. Take time each day for serious reflection, asking three essential questions: First, find courage to ask, “Where did I go wrong?” Then summon insight and imagination as you ask, “What can I do better?” Third, reward yourself as you consider, “What did I do well, and how can I do more of it?” Record your thoughts in a journal. Make journal-writing the last item on each day’s to-do list, using it to complete the day’s business and anticipate what comes next.

Add a mortarboard to your hat collection

When your journal routinely calls your attention to a big vacancy in your hat collection, fill the empty spot by going back to school. Several reputable online universities offer advanced business degrees in entrepreneurship. Because you take just one class at a time and you complete the work online, you can focus and study according to your schedule. Andrew Shigeru, an MBA student at Ashford University, exults, “I immediately can apply the benefits of each class session and every discussion in the next day’s work. I feel myself becoming more skilled and professional literally every day.” (interview. 2012. July 7)

Recruit dedicated staff

As your business grows, promote staffing to second place on your list of priorities. When you recruit devoted employees to wear hats that do not fit you well or complement your complexion, you relieve much of your stress and gain time for wearing your own favorite hat, the one that always has held a little magic and inspired your best work.

About the Author: Kelly Smith is a full-time writer for higher ed blogs and journals nationwide with a focus on online education opportunities. Several schools offer online degrees in strategic management, including New England College and Quinnipiac University.

5 ways banks are attracting more customers

For a bank, getting customers are pretty difficult these days; launching great bank account offers is a plausible way to get new customers, but having great programs alone is not enough; you need to get your hands dirty and be active.

Since what you are offering are pretty much similar with your competitors, your bet way in soaring above the competition is by adding value to your conventional banking products. One of the most effective ways to add value is via rewards.

unique bank ad
Image by IK’s World Trip / Flickr

If you are involved with any banking institutions here are some ways banks can attract more customers to give you an idea or two:

1. Offering unique – even quirky – rewards

Giving new customers rewards are quite common (and still effective, somehow.) However, sometimes banks need to spice up their offers. Offering something unique that has never been offered by other banks will surely make a bank stands out above the rest. For example, Hanmi Bank has given customers a bag of rice (!) for opening a checking account (source: MyBankTracker.com) The sky is the limit!

2. Ask customers for referrals – and reward them

Customers are banks’ best evangelists. If a bank’s service is top-notch, chances are customers will likely to tell their friends and colleagues about it. How about encouraging your customers to get you referrals by giving them rewards – shopping vouchers, etc. ?

3. Partnership

A good partnership is always crucial for any type of businesses – including banks. Partnering with, say, an education institution can allow you tap onto a strong customer base (students, teachers, etc.) How about cross-selling with a, say, department store to give customers special discounts if they have an account with your bank?

4. Use social media

Just like many traditional industry, banks are slow to adopt social media. According to The New York Times, banks are slow to embrace social media. Given the success of others in social media arena, banks should embrace social media more.

5. Go back to the basics

This is probably the best way to attract customers to your bank: Build a relationship in a good, old fashion way. Help customers with their needs – nurture and care them well. No advertising budget to spend; just focus your efforts in serving your customers. Local customers are indispensable, indeed.

So, there you go – some of the most effective ways for banks to attract more customers. Of course, there are many other (creative) ways a bank can do to get new customers; so if you have any please share with us by leaving your comments below.

Factors to Consider When Thinking About Starting a Business

Starting up you own business is often seen as a way of achieving a very comfortable working environment and making a lot more money than if you stay working for someone else. All of this is very often true, and a lot of people do make a lot of money from their own businesses.

There are also a number of advantages, from being your own boss and setting your own working hours to longer holidays, picking the jobs and contracts or type of work that you want to do, (rather than being told), building relationships with your customers and your staff and the satisfaction of building something that contributes to your community and provides for your family. These are all great advantages and all possible for anyone who does start their own business. However, a lot of people start out with rose tinted glasses and don’t weigh up the other side of the coin – how risky it can be going out on your own and what a massive decision it is to leave a career and work for yourself. Being your own boss also means the buck stops with you and there is no safety net.

Entering startup
Image by dierken / Flickr

If you are thinking about making the leap, here are some of the questions you should ask yourself first:

1. Can You Afford the Risk You Will Be Taking?

Starting your own business is a lot easier when you are younger and don’t have so many dependents. If you’ve got kids and a mortgage, outstanding debts and not much leeway financially, then you should think long and hard about starting your own business. You must weigh up what would happen if the business was to fail and how such a failure would affect you financially. Then work out how it would affect your family if it failed. Additionally it is necessary to weigh up how long your family could cope with a smaller income (or none at all) that would inevitably come with the first few months of starting your business.

2. Have You Got A Financial Safety Net?

If you have a family and people that depend on you for your income then the only way to start a business safely is with a financial safety net in place just in case things don’t work out as well as you hope they will. A financial safety net could be anything from a large amount of untouchable savings to stocks and shares to a family home that is fully paid off. Make certain that your family home and savings are fully protected from any potential failure of your business (talk to an accountant about this) and that you have something set aside should everything go wrong.

3. Have You Budgeted Enough Money for Your New Start Up?

However much you have budgeted for your new venture, it probably wont be enough. There are always costs that people forget about or underestimate so it is essential to have a good business plan and then get a financial expert to look over that business plan and critique it. Think about the startup costs of everything from leasing an office to buying furniture and stationery, computer equipment and setting up utilities. Then there will be website hosting, website design, SEO, copywriting as well as the cost of creating business brochures and cards and other forms of advertising. Once you’ve thought about all that you need to consider how much to pay yourself (and other staff) as well as the cost of business rates and other expenses. Lastly, there will be the costs of your lawyer and your accountant, both necessary when starting a business.

4. Can You Commit the Time to a Business Start-Up?

Again, if you have a family or a busy social life, are you willing to make the necessary sacrifices to make your business work? Almost certainly in the first year or two you will have less time available to spend with your family or to socialize with friends. If you don’t feel you will be able to commit nearly all of your time to the business and will be able to drop everything when an emergency, or big client, comes along, then starting your own business might not be for you. Similarly, make sure your family is ok with your decision too, as this will affect them as much as it does you.

About the Author: Esther is a business blogger and writer. She blogs every week about business and finance issues covering everything from business loans to credit cards and from small business marketing to SEO. She also blogs about consumer finance and short term loans for a payday loans uk blog.