Archive for the ‘Small Business Tips’ Category

Tips for the First Time Business Owner

November 14th, 2011 webkriti

Young business owners and entrepreneurs face many trials when first starting out. These useful tips will help young businessmen and women to prepare for the tough and distracting challenges that the world of business may present.

Stay focused on your main goal.
Although it will be tempting to jump at every opportunity presented to you, be careful; these can often be a double edged sword. Although diversification and impulse decisions have helped numerous businesses to increase their profits, they have also spelled disaster for many more. By juggling multiple business projects, your effectiveness may become limited due to spreading yourself too thin. It is better to focus on one thing, and do it extremely well, instead of doing 5 things not very well. Although the 5 opportunities may seem like great short term earners, you must stay focused on the long term goals of the business.

Know your Elevator Pitch.
You never know who you may encounter on your day to day travels. You may bump in to a potential investor, or a number of potential customers. By practicing your “elevator pitch”, you will confidently and concisely be able to describe your business in 30 seconds or less.  State your business’s mission, ideology and goals in a short and convincing manner; try not to waffle, you will lose the attention of the person you’re pitching to!

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Four Etiquette Tips for Business Holiday Cards

November 9th, 2011 webkriti

When people send out holiday cards to family members and friends, often there isn’t a lot of thought about holiday card etiquette, beyond who to keep on the Christmas list and who to cross off. When a business sends a holiday card, however, the card is a reflection on the company and can either strengthen the relationship between customer/company or can sour it. In order to make sure that any holiday cards you send are warmly received by customers or potential customers, there are a few etiquette tips that you should follow.

While etiquette rules are always in flux as people’s perception of proper behavior changes (especially as the Internet changes the ways in which people communicate), there are a few basic rules you should always keep in mind if your business plans to send out holiday greeting cards.

1. Cards should be hand-addressed if possible. When you send a card that is not hand addressed, it lets your clients know that you didn’t take the time to actually care enough to write out the envelope. The card will be looked upon as just another example of a mass mailing from a business and may never be opened or looked at.

2. Hand signing is important too.

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Throwing a Holiday Party for Employees (on a Budget)

October 7th, 2011 webkriti


With the trickle-down effect of the economic crisis well and firmly entrenched, even small businesses are feeling the crunch of the recession these days.  So when it comes time to throw a holiday party, tiny mom-and-pop operations and mega-corporations alike may find themselves scouring the coffers to make the annual event a reality.  But if you don’t have a ton of dough to spend on bringing the holiday cheer to your employees this year, don’t think you have to cancel completely.  There are plenty of ways to create a fun experience for less

  1. Venue.  Forget renting a hall, a club, or a restaurant for the night; it’s definitely not in the budget.  Instead, have your party right at the office.  Set up in the cafeteria (if you have one) or clear the conference rooms to create spaces for food, dancing, and even games.  You won’t spend a penny on the rental, so extra money can go towards food and entertainment.
  2. Food.  Instead of paying beaucoup bucks for pricy caterers, consider making your holiday party a potluck.  Get every person in the office to sign up to bring a dish (make sign-up sheets for appetizers, entrees, sides, drinks, and desserts with only so many slots available for each to ensure that all the bases are covered).  This way there will be plenty of food to go around at very little expense to the company.  You should provide something, though, so think about tackling buffet-style entrees on the company dime (since this dish usually entails more work than the others).
  3. Decorations.  You really don’t have to go overboard with the decorations, but if you want to make it fun for employees, why not let them knock off early the day of the party to decorate the office themselves?  Let them bring in lights, banners, ornaments, and any hallmarks of the season to decorate their cubicles, the conference rooms, and pretty much whatever they want to for the party.  Think of it as a team-building exercise that also saves the company money.
  4. Entertainment.  In years past, you may have had the budget to hire a magician, a band, a DJ, or even singing waiters for your holiday party.  This year you simply can’t afford it.  But you can still provide for an entertaining evening.  Save a little dough by setting up a karaoke machine or even a game of Rock Band (bring your Xbox 360 and game equipment from home and set it up in the conference room).  Or ask if any employees are (or know) an amateur DJ or other type of performer, and if they would be willing to showcase their talents for the entertainment of their coworkers.
  5. Giveaways.  This is a hard area to save in, especially if your company deals in services rather than goods (since you could simply give employees product).  However, you do want to reward employees in some manner for their hard work and dedication throughout the year.  So why not think about setting up trades with some of your vendors?  Offer them an amount of free goods or services in exchange for the same, for gift cards, or for freebies that you can pass on to your own employees?  Although you will have to pony up the work later on, you won’t have to spend out of pocket for the party.

Sarah Danielson writes for Noel Qualter a popular magician Essex that performs at parties, weddings, and corporate events.

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Top 5 Business Board Games

September 5th, 2011 webkriti


While most board games are geared towards a predominately younger audience, many of the most popular games that we all remember from our childhood are actually steeped in adult themes like commerce and business. By looking back at a few classic board games that you surely played as a child, and some obscure ones that saw their time come and go, it’s easy to see that learning about business began with a roll of the dice for many American youngsters. The following list reviews the Top 5 business board games, providing a bit of historical context and commentary regarding the social impact of each business based game.

5.) Payday – The aim of Payday was to let children experience the balancing act of personal finance. Players made their best economic decisions and, like real business, earning the most money was the game’s only goal.

4.) Empire Builder – Harkening back to a bygone era in American business, Empire Builder is a game in which players use their initial capital to purchase a railroad. The strategic aim of this game is to expand your railroad through successful management and to build the nation’s largest rail network, just like the railroad tycoons of yesteryear.

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The Importance of Marketing to Your Small Business

July 16th, 2011 webkriti

If you have a small business you might have gotten into it because you knew the business from working for someone else.  You may be excellent at running the business itself and know exactly what to do day to day.  This is usually enough to get by, to make enough to cover the bills and bring a little profit home.  But what if you want to make your business grow?  How do you create a desire in those who use your business to return to you time and time again?

The answer is marketing.  Having a solid coherent marketing plan is what can set you apart from the others in the field.  Marketing is what you need to not just make do but to excel.  Why is this, you might wonder.  Think about how you select things to buy.  Do you often pay a little more for brands you know?  Are you more likely to remember and seek out a brand you are familiar with over choosing something similar but with an unfamiliar brand?

If you are like most people the answer is yes.

Then how exactly did those brands become well known to you?  Marketing, of course.

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What Small Business Owners Should Consider When Hiring an Accountant

July 8th, 2011 webkriti

Many small business owners reach a point in the growth of their enterprise when it is necessary to hire an accountant to manage the bookkeeping. Before bringing potential candidates in for interviews, it is important to analyze the demands of the company, the workload, and the type of accountant you may be interested in hiring. Although every small business has different reasons for hiring an accountant, there are a few basics everyone should consider before welcoming a new member to your team.

 

What are your accounting needs?  Working up a solid idea of your bookkeeping needs will give you a good idea if you can manage your books on your own, with the help of online accounting programs, or if your need is great enough to hire an accountant. If you have been personally handling the accounting for your small business, there is a good chance you’ll have a specific idea of what type of work needs to be done and how long it will take. Depending on the business you are in, you may want to hire a CPA for various reasons.

 

Many small businesses simply do not have the volume of work necessary to employ a CPA full-time or even part-time.

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Security Measures for Your Small Business

July 8th, 2011 webkriti

Most small business owners can ill afford the cost required to install the many security systems they might feel they need in order to protect their assets (both physical and virtual).  But in most cases, a small business has no need for the high-end (and expensive) security measures required by large corporations, for the simple fact that they are likely not as susceptible to outside attack.  However, that doesn’t mean that even smaller companies can afford to be lax with security.  Every business should observe at least a modicum of safety procedures in order to protect themselves from intrusion, theft, and damage.  As a bonus, you may even lower your insurance rates in the process.

Here are just a few measures that every small business should take.

  1. Alarm system.  This is a basic that every business should have.  It can be as simple as the type of touchpad (with a four-digit access code) that you might find in a home residence, to a more complex system with individual employee key cards, depending on the size of your business and the type of goods or services you deal in.  But when you open a physical location for your company, this should be the least of your security measures.
  2. Background checks.   Not all threats will come from the outside.  In some cases, sensitive information, valuables, and so on are subject to theft or tampering by employees.  In order to avoid this unfortunate scenario it is important to do thorough background checks on all potential employees previous to hire, especially if you are dealing in goods or information that are potentially valuable.  You may also want to keep a close eye on employees within the office setting.
  3. Surveillance.  Not all companies require this level of security, but it’s not a bad idea to install cameras (inside and out) to monitor your business.  You don’t even necessarily need to record anything (although it’s easier than ever these days, thanks to advances in computer technology). Sometimes just the threat is enough to deter people from doing something stupid.  And it will allow you to keep an eye on both customers entering and exiting your building as well as your employees.
  4. Firewall.  Computer security is another area of concern, especially with the easy access to information that abounds on the internet.  Whether you have a massive online presence or you only support an office intranet, you should take steps to ensure that prying eyes are kept out of your business affairs.  A good firewall will secure your system against outside attack by stopping anyone who is not allowed access.  You may also want to set up a system by which employees may only access their own information and do regular checks to make sure there is no funny business going on within the office.
  5. Antivirus/anti-spyware.  Although a firewall is made to protect you from virtual intrusion, most will not hold up to the efforts of hackers or the ignorance of employees (who may be visiting websites they shouldn’t during work hours and accidentally engaging in harmful downloads).  In any case, you’ll want to know immediately if you are under attack by malicious spyware or viruses, so make sure to install up-to-date antivirus and anti-spyware software.  Both are a must in this age of cyber-terrorism.

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Credit Card Fraud Prevention for Your Small Business

June 18th, 2011 webkriti

There are a few ways in which a small business could become the victim of credit card fraud: they might have their corporate credit information stolen and used fraudulently, employees could steal the credit information of customers for their own personal (and illegal) use, or customers could purchase goods and services with credit cards that are not their own.  All will spell trouble for any company, but especially smaller ones that may not be able to withstand the financial hardships posed by such a breach of security.  However, there are plenty of ways to protect yourself (and your customers) from potential credit card fraud.  Here are just a few that you may want to consider implementing for your small business.

1.       Only order from secure vendors. If you’re like most small businesses, you do a lot of ordering online (office supplies, materials for manufacturing, etc.).  You just can’t beat the prices and expediency.  But you need to make sure that you’re only providing your company’s credit information to vendors that offer security on their websites.  This will help you to avoid fraudulent activity on your accounts.

2.       Hide customer information.

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The Importance of Offering Ongoing Education to Employees

May 21st, 2011 webkriti


Many businesses these days are opting to offer educational assistance programs so that their employees can continue to learn while they’re on the job.  Of course, this may be a tough sell for small businesses, which face a lot more financial hurdles than larger corporations.  You not only make less money, but you’re budget is stretched tighter.  So providing for even a percentage of the cost of adult education could be way out of your price range.  But when you consider that there are a lot of options for continuing education, such as online universities, community colleges, trade schools, seminars, and even home tutors (keep the home tuition in mind), you just never know how far a few dollars could go.  So even if you can only offer a small stipend for those employees who wish to continue to learn and grow within your company, here are a few great reasons to do so.

1.       Attract applicants.  Anyone can work a job and earn a paycheck, so you’re going to have to offer more if you want to entice qualified applicants into choosing you instead of your competitors.  The salary is what really attracts potential employees, but the benefits will make them stay and keep them invested in your business.  By offering educational assistance, you’re showing employees that you’re willing to help them improve and you’re betting that they’re going to use their newfound knowledge to help your business improve in return.

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Designing an Office with Productivity in Mind

May 11th, 2011 webkriti


Most offices inherently produce a certain amount of disorganized clutter and waste (whether it is time, product, money, or all three that is being wasted).  And while large corporations can write this off as the cost of operation; or pay for a corporate analyst to come in, assess the situation, and make recommendations for change; most small corporations have little recourse in the matter since resources are already stretched to the limit.  However, if you go into the office creation process armed with a few tips and tools, you can easily design a space that is conducive to maximum efficiency and productivity.  Here are some of the areas you should consider before you even slap the paint on the walls.

1.       Paint color.  Have you ever noticed that most offices are decked out in a bland display of drab non-colors (neutrals like white, gray, or tan)?  Believe it or not, this dismal backdrop could actually leave your employees unable to focus and work efficiently.  Most people prefer a stimulating environment that gets their creative juices flowing and makes them feel happy.  So consider painting in bright primary hues like red, yellow, or blue (you can choose softer shades) as a way to instantly promote an energized workspace.

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How to Establish a Dress Code for Employees

April 23rd, 2011 webkriti


Most small businesses run a bit differently than large corporations.  While the latter is content to treat their employees as nameless, faceless numbers, all of whom represent nothing so much as identical cogs in the proverbial machine, the former generally prefers to view their small group as something more akin to a family.  In a small business, everyone has unique talents that they bring to the table so the group can function successfully.  And as a small-business owner, you want to encourage each member of your team to do their very best at whatever it is they do.  But when you nurture individuality, occasionally you lose a concurrent amount of professionalism in the work place.  In order to bring the environment up to professional standards, you may have to invoke a dress code.  Here are just a few things you might think about including.

1.       Office-casual attire only.  Tell Brenda to stop wearing sheer t-shirts with black bras underneath and inform Brad that, although he rides a motorcycle to work, leather chaps aren’t really office appropriate.  Being professional starts with looking professional.  That doesn’t mean that your employees have to leave their personalities at the door, but they do need to represent your company in a manner befitting a business rather than a bedroom.  It is the least they can do to ensure that the hand that feeds them doesn’t come up empty.

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Getting the Right Help for the Best Branding

January 8th, 2011 webkriti

Even as a small business, branding is a very important part of your business. It is the way in which your company will be recognized by those that you plan on doing business with now and in the future. The right branding is not always easy to create on your own. It is the reason why many have gone the route of getting help from professionals in marketing and PR. These firms have been able to help small businesses to get the help they need in creating the branding which will make the difference between a successful business and one which is on life support.

Getting the right help with branding means you will have to find the right people to provide the help that you are looking for. While there are many businesses available to help you in creating better branding for your business, there are a few things you should look for. First, you should make sure that the company you hire has professionals which know what they are doing. The business should have a proven track record of improving business for other companies based on branding. You should also make sure that the company is able to work with the industry you are working in.

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