Small Business

How Companies Can Monitor and Anticipate Financial Trends

January 10, 2018 by Tim McMahon

Current and future financial trends play a massive role in the success or failure of businesses. Unless a company can accurately predict financial trends, it can be difficult to manage many aspects of a company, from sales to supplier sourcing. Imagine a company embarking on a new adventure to rehab and flip houses in 2008. The banking crisis that ensued would have guaranteed their failure. On the other hand it might have been a good time to open a business to help retrain laid-off workers for new positions. The following guide explores some of the methods that companies use to monitor and anticipate financial trends.

Internal Analysts

Large companies often have analysts that monitor a variety of market conditions. [Read more…] about How Companies Can Monitor and Anticipate Financial Trends

Why is Employee Development Important for Small Businesses?

November 22, 2017 by Tim McMahon

In the corporate environment, there are plenty of opportunities for growth and development. However, on the flipside, it is just as easy to become overworked and stressed out, leading to a series of issues in both your personal and professional life. Although the anonymity of working within larger corporations can be a great way to build workplace relationships and climb the corporate ladder, working in small businesses tends to offer a much more intimate, personal experience.

However, when you do work in a start-up or small business, it is all too easy to end up taking on more than your job role and, often, more than you can realistically handle. With fewer opportunities for career progression, at least during the early days, you can also end up becoming stuck in a rut, performing the same tasks day after day instead of learning new skills and naturally progressing within your chosen field.

Getting a Grip on Employee Engagement

For this reason, it is more important than ever to ensure that employees are happy, content and busy at work; with development on a personal level comes growth for the business as a whole.

But what is employee engagement, and what makes it so important?

Equality and inclusivity are integral to employee engagement, where those at the top are committed to giving each and every employee the ability to work to their best. Each member of the team is dedicated to the business’ values, working together to contribute to its success. However, personal growth and development are also a vital part of this, where employees have plenty of opportunities to better their own careers, learn new skills and develop a greater sense of happiness and wellbeing at work.

Although they may seem like an unnecessary expense, particularly for small businesses, activities which relate to employee development can leave you reaping the rewards well into the future. It is important to get into the mindset where you see your employees not just as a means to an end, but as a real asset to the business and complex, individual people with hopes, dreams and goals in their own rights. In order to motivate your employees and leave them feeling connected, valued and appreciated, you must be respectful and mindful of their individual personalities.

4 Ways Small Businesses Are Changing Ancient POS Trends

August 29, 2017 by Tim McMahon

As a business owner, it is important that you set up convenient payment options for your customers to use when buying your products or services. An inconvenient, stressful or untrustworthy payment process can result in lost sales and the likelihood that some customers will take their business elsewhere. Technology for point-of-sale (POS) systems has dramatically improved in recent years, and this makes it easier for your company to obtain payments immediately from customers while also providing them with the more convenient methods of payment they desire. By learning more about the modern solutions available for point-of-sales systems, you may be able to improve your operations, make it easier for cashiers and increase customer satisfaction.

Online Sales Platforms

Online sales or shopping cart features have been around for over a decade now, but modern sales platforms are designed to be fast and easy for customers to use. Many companies offer an online checkout process as a guest or as a registered member. They may offer the ability to pay with a wide range of credit card options as well as to link to online payment platforms like PayPal. The best shopping carts offer protection against identity theft and fraud, and this gives your customer peace of mind when they are making a purchase that their financial information is protected.

https://youtu.be/YUqv7ibSgsE

Portable In-Store Payment Devices

In-store or in-restaurant purchases are now more convenient because of the

6 Things to Consider When Your Business Expands

June 29, 2017 by Tim McMahon

When you are considering expanding your business – that is always a cause to celebrate. Sales might be doing well and you decide you need to find a bigger space so you can hire additional employees. So far so good. But, are you really ready for the expansion? The decision to extend the scope of your business must be a result of thoughtful consideration of various factors, including the financial, logistical, even your emotional readiness. Many successful small businesses have faltered or even failed because they expanded too quickly before they had worked out processes and procedures that were scalable. Forbes lists the following cautions when considering expansion.

Once you get to a certain sales range, above $5 million or so, it’s harder to keep track of your financials.
Unfortunately, more sales does not always equate to more profit.
Once a company is really growing quickly, the quality of the people you hire becomes a big issue.
When you’re growing quickly, it’s harder to be sure your customers are happy.
Fast growing companies often see their accounts receivable run faster than their sales or their ability to collect.

The rule of thumb is that you should only expand when there are untapped opportunities that can benefit your business. You need to think about the following points before embarking on business expansion: [Read more…] about 6 Things to Consider When Your Business Expands

Ways to Make a Happier Blue-Collar Workforce

April 12, 2017 by Guest Contributor

Not enough is said about blue collar workers in the media today. While those in more prestigious industries are often written about, blue collar workers are the backbone of society and deserve more attention. If you oversee a staff of blue collar workers, here are some tips on how you can keep them happy, satisfied, and productive in their work.

Create A Managerial Staff That Cares

One of the biggest complaints amongst blue collar workers is that managers and superiors see them as nothing more than cogs in the machine. The simplest way to make your workers happier is by showing you care, and treating them like equals and individuals. Create a space where workers feel listened to and will be able to connect with management more personally. Make sure your different levels of employees interact often. When your employees feel appreciated, they’re more incentivized to work hard and will make the extra effort in.

Put Thought into Scheduling

Another common complaint of those in the blue collar workforce is that no thought is put into scheduling. Those who want to accumulate lots of hours and rack up overtime don’t get the time they want, and those who need a lighter schedule are often scheduled too much. If you put thought, time, and [Read more…] about Ways to Make a Happier Blue-Collar Workforce

The Most Outsourced Jobs

April 8, 2017 by Guest Contributor

The term outsourcing represents a business partnership between a company and an individual (or company). In this partnership, they agree that the company will contract services from an outside provider who will be paid an agreed upon fee for their services. This type of business partnership can be long or short term.

An important detail of outsourcing is that the company that does the work doesn’t become an employee of the company that hired them.

In general, businesses look to outsource their processes to some other entity for a variety of reasons:

Because they can save money
Because some other organization can do that job better
Because the need is short term and hiring is time consuming and expensive

This is a good arrangement which helps both parties benefit and enables them making money. This trend has grown so fast that today, you can find professional companies that outsource their services. This is their business model, and it works.

Here, we will talk about some of the most common outsourced jobs since the start of 2017.

Call Center Services

Call centers provide various services such as [Read more…] about The Most Outsourced Jobs

Pros and Cons of Hiring a Business Consultant

February 25, 2017 by Guest Contributor

With the “Gig” economy booming, hiring outside consultants has become quite fashionable these days. Even smaller companies and startups are hiring them. However, are they worth the price? Let’s look at some of the pros and cons of hiring a business consultant, especially for a smaller venture.

Pros:

Business consultants offer many benefits to companies. Here are some of them:

Outside Expertise

Sometimes you need outside expertise that just can’t be found among your in-house employee pool. Perhaps you need a computer system or network upgrade and your staff just isn’t up to the job or they just don’t have the time. Rather than hiring a permanent IT guy it might be more cost effective and result in a better job if you hire a short-term consultant who will come in, do the job and not be an ongoing expense.

Specialization

One common reason to hire a business consultant is because [Read more…] about Pros and Cons of Hiring a Business Consultant

Business Process Outsourcing (Infographic)

June 25, 2016 by Tim McMahon

What is Business Process Outsourcing?

Business process outsourcing (BPO) is the external contracting of services such as data management, accounting and creative design with a service provider. In contrast, manufacturing outsourcing involves businesses arranging for production of goods through a contract manufacturer.

This straightforward distinction can be more important than it might seem at first glance — while only companies engaged in producing goods will periodically use manufacturing outsourcing, all organizations in the private, public and government sectors can benefit from outsourcing various services to an external provider. For example, businesses of all sizes have functions like payroll and human resources that often require expert help from outside the organization.

Outsourcing is becoming more common as companies [Read more…] about Business Process Outsourcing (Infographic)

Prospecting for Success

June 20, 2016 by Guest Contributor

It’s the rare business that doesn’t want to increase sales and thus increase profits. Of course the most obvious way to increase sales is to get more prospects. However, prospects don’t just materialize out of thin air… you need a strategy to attract them. Notice that I said attract them and not hunt them down. A successful prospecting strategy is more like fishing than hunting. You need the right bait to get them to bite.

Value Proposition

The key to generating successful business prospects is to step back and think for a moment about what sets your business apart from your competitors. Successful businesses are not afraid to study competitors. In a competitive business environment, it pays to find an edge. The key to success is [Read more…] about Prospecting for Success

How to use International Commerce to get your Business “Booming”

May 28, 2016 by Guest Contributor

Untapped markets throughout the world are waiting for a product or service like yours. The problem is, you either don’t know they need what you have to offer and or you have no idea how to get it to the appropriate markets. While these are common barriers for entrepreneurs, they can be navigated with the right approach. Here is how to use international commerce to get your business booming.

Why Consider International Commerce To Get Your Business Growing

You don’t have to rely solely on a US customer base to get your business growing, which means you are subject to local economic trends and challenges that can influence sales. You can establish a presence in a marketplace and find additional business growth opportunities available to you. You can also become more competitive in being able to work and thrive in a foreign market.