Small Business Tips and Ideas - BizSieve.com

Is Your Small Business Leaving You with Less Energy?

For small business owners that are counting every penny, how many of them do you think worry about their heating and cooling needs during the year for their offices?

While some may check the thermostat every couple of hours, others are more likely to not be on top of how much air or heat they and their employees are actually wasting. As a result, money is essentially being thrown out the window, money that one can never get back.

Although some business owners may think that it doesn’t take much to heat or cool their buildings during the year, they would probably get quite an awakening if they knew the truth. In a day and age where the economy is still proving a challenge for many, saving money on heating and cooling costs is important.

energy saving tips — Image by butkaj.com / Flickr

In order to make your office as efficient as possible, keep the following in mind:

1. Check the thermostat – The easiest and most efficient way to save on your office energy bills is by checking the thermostat on a daily basis. Let’s assume you operate a 40-hour per week, 5-day a week office. With that being said, make sure you keep the thermostat at a reasonable level during both hot and cold weather. If the office will sit empty over the weekend, be sure to turn back/turn up (depending on season) the thermostat when leaving at the end of the day Friday so you spend less over the weekend. Two days may not seem like a great deal, but you should notice savings when doing it on a regular basis;

2. Work with the weather – If your office space has a number of sizable windows, make sure you take advantage of the weather to let light in and out. In the warmer months, keep the blinds or other coverings closed during the warmest part of the day to lessen the need for air conditioning. In the cooler months, keep the light coming in as much as possible during the day to decrease the need for heat, letting the sun warm your office space;

3. Review heating and cooling systems – One of the big money grabbers when it comes to your heating and cooling needs is having air conditioners and heaters that do not work properly. Before the start of winter, check the office heater to make sure it is running at full efficiency, along with it being clear of debris and dirt in any vent areas. The same holds true prior to the start of summer with your office air conditioning. If the appliance is only operating at half capacity, you are losing money by the hour;

4. Shop around for providers – While you may be limited on who provides your heating and cooling needs on where your office is located, that doesn’t mean you can’t investigate if there are other affordable options. Also shop around for office heaters, air conditioners, fans, etc. when possible. As more energy-efficient and environment-friendly products hit the market, you could realize additional savings with the right selections;

5. Sell your employees on savings – Finally, your employees can and should be your biggest proponents of saving money in the office. Remember, the more you save on your heating and cooling needs, the more you have to potentially give to them, increase your advertising and marketing budget to bring in more business, and the more the business can grow over time. Getting your employees to go along with a little higher or lower thermostat and not wasting energy helps them out too.

With the New Year right around the corner, are you energetic enough to see where your money is going?

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers small business topics for various websites, including louisville heating and its heating and cooling options.

The Wrong Payroll Solution for Your Small Business Doesn’t Pay

As a small business owner, what holds you up most at work?

If meeting your payroll needs on time has become an issue for you, what do you plan to do about it going into the New Year?

Payroll is one of if not the most important issues a small business owner must deal when employing others. Whether they are full-time, part-time or freelance employees, it is a no-brainer that workers want to get paid and paid on time at that.

So, if you are finding payroll to be an issue for your small business, is outsourcing it the right call to make?

When you find the right payroll provider, you can take the time and effort that you or one of your employees were doing to meet payroll and direct it elsewhere. Finding that right provider, however, can take some doing.

Among the things to look for in a payroll provider are:

Dependability – First and foremost, have you ever dealt with your workers not getting their paychecks on time? It can oftentimes lead to reduced effort on the job, not to mention disgruntled employees if it happens too often. By outsourcing your payroll needs to the right payroll service, you lessen the chances of errors happening on your watch for starters. Any well-run payroll service provider can easily cut checks or handle direct deposit, make sure your taxes are properly covered (see below), and handle items such as health insurance and 401k deductions;

Taxes – One of the biggest fears any small business owner has is getting a letter from the IRS, stating that the company’s taxes are off. With the right payroll provider handling your finances, you can make sure that the proper payroll tax deductions were made each pay period, and that W-2’s and 1099s are properly handled. Keep in mind, however, that you as the employer still maintain the final responsibility for the proper deposit and payments of all federal, state and local tax liabilities, not the payroll provider;

Direct deposit – While some employees still prefer a paper check, many workers in today’s fast-paced world like the money to go right into their bank accounts via direct deposit. Not only does this cut down on the paper expense, but it saves you from having to have checks mailed to your office, with the potential of course for being late or misplaced. Many payroll providers are happy to oversee direct deposit for your workers, making it one less thing for you to worry about;

Staying up to speed on changes – It is not uncommon for there to be changes in regulations, withholding rates and forms. As a result, do you really have time as a small business owner to review all of them? A payroll service provider has the time and the knowledge to deal with such changes, meaning your payroll will be handled according to the most recent rules and regulations;

Timing – With the New Year right around the corner, going with a payroll provider in 2013 could make it easier for both you and your workers. You start a new year off with a new service, you are up to speed on any new rules that oftentimes commence at the start of a new calendar year, and you can start saving money over the long haul by outsourcing your payroll needs;

Referrals – Last but not least, how will you go about finding the right payroll provider? Online searches and referrals are two good roads to travel. Make sure that each provider you look at is properly licensed and bonded, has a track record of proven customer service, does not come up under searches for numerous customer complaints with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), and most importantly, go over their fees. It is not uncommon for providers to charge per payroll check, along with a base account expense. With potential add-on costs, know what you will be financially responsible for before agreeing to any contract. Also, check to see if the provider has a security system in place so that no employees end up having personal data such as salaries and Social Security numbers compromised.

If you have been thinking about switching to a payroll provider, it could pay off in more ways than one for your small business.

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers small business topics for various websites, including why companies should consider payroll outsourcing.

Tips on Improving Your Business Sales

No matter what industry you find yourself in, there are probably multiple ways that you can improve on what you’re doing. Many companies have a hard time figuring out how to improve sales numbers without spending a ton of extra money to get the job done. If you are interested in improving your business sales, here are a few tips to keep in mind.

sales promotion girl — Image by nSeika / Flickr

1. Motivate the Sales Staff

If you want to be able to improve your sales, one of the best things that you can do is make sure your sales staff is motivated. When your staff is motivated, they’ll be much more likely to produce numbers. One of the best ways to motivate sales staff is to make sure that they are fairly compensated for the sale that they bring in. Come up with a compensation plan that rewards sales and extra effort. If your sales staff doesn’t think that your compensation plan is fair, they won’t be willing to go out of their way to get sales. Besides offering a better compensation plan, you should also consider offering some other incentives along the way. For example, recognizing your top performers were giving them some type of a prize for making the most sales can go a long way toward motivating them.

2. Get Your Marketing Efforts in Line

One of the biggest mistakes that many businesses make is that they allocate too much money to the wrong types of marketing avenues. You will probably need to spend a big chunk of your money on advertising, but you need to make sure that you’re putting your money into the right channels. For example, if you are throwing money away on a television advertising campaign that doesn’t work, it might be in your best interest to try to advertise online with pay-per-click ads or banner ads. Track your marketing efforts to make sure that you are getting the most bang for your buck regardless of which channel you choose.

3. Get Pricing and Promotion Right

As part of the marketing mix, every business has to focus on pricing and promotion. If you have your products at the right price point, this will go a long way toward helping you increase your sales. In some cases, you may have your product overpriced just slightly, which can drive business to one of your competitors. In addition to making sure that you have the right price, you also need to offer the right promotions. For example, you may want to offer a coupon discount or advertise a sale periodically.

Once you implement some of these strategies, you should be able to improve your company’s sales over time. Tweak the different variables involved until you have a strategy that works.

About the Author: This guest post is contributed by Debra Johnson, blogger and editor of Liveinnanny.com. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: – jdebra84 @ gmail.com.

Does Your Small Business Need More Mobility?

How does your small business go about trying to land more customers?

For some companies, it means providing better customer services. Others, meantime, turn to more advertising of their brand, be it through traditional ads and/or social media. Still others look to improve on their products.

In other cases, the man or woman running a small business comes to the realization that they need to be more mobile. When you break it down, it essentially means offering mobile payments to their clientele.

According to a Yankee Group estimate, the global transaction value for mobile payments will be around $984 billion by 2014, up from a figure of $162 billion just two years ago. That involves transactions including mobile banking, contactless cards and mobile coupons among others.

If your small business has been slow to adapt to the mobile payment world, you have likely been missing out on a decent share of revenue.

In order to better understand the world of mobile payments and how they can help your small business, consider the following:

Mobile payment providers work with you – As more mobile payment providers work their way into this growing market, small business owners have choices as to which provider they want to work with. Many mobile payment providers do not charge small business owners a start-up fee, while many provide free card readers. The goal here is to do your research of which provider best fits your business needs. Make sure you have a good idea of what your company’s revenue is to help you determine the best provider. Also research a provider’s financial stability, track record for customer service, and if there is any pattern of customer complaints (you can use the Better Business Bureau in this effort);

Get to work on mobility – Once you have a mobile payment provider lined up, the setup time is minimal, while there is little training for you or your employees to process such transactions;

Impulse buying – It is not uncommon for many customers to buy on impulse. That being the case, you stand to increase your revenue when you offer them a mobile payment option. If a customer has to wait to go online to buy from you, they may end up not making the purchase, meaning you lost out on potential revenue. On the other hand, letting them swipe a smartphone at checkout or when you visit their office or home (if you sell on the road) can lead to more sales;

Sell on the go – There are many small business pros who sell products and services on the road. For those occasions, offering mobile payments just makes sense. Whether you go to someone’s home or office to deliver products or services, you have the mobility to conduct a transaction without being tied to your store or office. Not having to rely on a point-of-sale terminal or magnetic-stripe card reader opens up more revenue opportunities for your small business, as customers like the flexibility of being able to do business with you in the comfort of their home or office, meaning they do not have to travel to your business locale. In the end, it is a win-win situation for both parties;

Emphasize security – One common concern customers can end up having with mobile payments is will there data be secure? Make sure you point out to them that the information they provide is encrypted and is entirely safe to transmit via a mobile payment. Once you have the customer’s sense of security covered as it relates to privacy and avoiding fraudulent charges, there is no reason not for them to want to do business with you in this manner;

Promote your mobility – Finally, make sure that your current and potential customers know about the fact you offer mobile payments. Use your social media outlets to advertise the fact, plus make sure you note it through both your employees and your traditional advertising venues. Offering customers specials and rewards for making transactions via mobile payments is a great way to increase such revenue.

While many small business owners are still warming to mobile payments, others have taken the ball and run with it.

The question is, are you ready to make your small business more mobile in 2013?

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers small business topics for various websites, including why companies should accept credit cards online.

The value of Outsourcing your Marketing

One foot here and the other foot there can’t help you in achieving what you actually deserve. Hire a marketing consultant and get back to focusing on YOUR areas.

As they say serving and satisfying an old and important client is not expensive as is going out to seek a new one in the market. Focus on taking care of your immediate business needs that you have taken charge of and divert your mind from the things that can be delegated to someone you can trust. One of the most important tasks that can enhance and widen your business (and should be the top item on your list) is hiring a marketing consultant. You need to take care of your acquired clients, but you can’t rely on them only. Here is an important business rule: never put all of your eggs in one basket. You can’t rely on that one client or those few to give you a large percentage of business; you need diversity!

Before you use outsourced marketing, you need to ensure the following points are considered;

How do you want to expand your business – geographically, product-wise, age-wise, by number of sales?
Do you need a marketing specialist, day-to-day consultant, or a general representative?
Do you want to set a deadline to achieve a certain target ie/ increased sales revenue
Do you want them to work remotely, or work in-house?

Fortunately, much of these answers are provided by an outsourced marketing consultant. But make sure that person/company has the qualities that you really need. A good consultant should have the following traits:

analyzes things well, thinks creatively and markets effectively
comes from a varied and experienced background to provide a wider scope of your business
can extract data from past trends, understands consumer behavior and identifies the medium through which your products can be easily approached by your targeted audience
can help determine pricing, packaging, distribution, advertising, to appeal and cater to therequired demographics of your customers
can also help build and implement a turn-around strategy.

It is always a better choice to outsource a marketing consultant as it frees up your valuable time and cuts down on your expenses. A full-time employee requires extra expenses such as allowances, promotions, year-end bonuses and perks, but this is not the case here. You can instead allocate resources on product development and promotions, as your consultant advises how to make the strategies work. This will in turn increase revenue and thus profitability over time.

Marketing may seem small to you when there are so many obstacles in the business world, but once you actually hire a marketer, you will soon realize how much you can increase business in so many ways that you couldn’t before.