Tag: Small Business

  • The Basics of Small Business

    The Basics of Small Business

    Now a day’s business is getting increased. The online business and marketing is also increasing rapidly. So it is very essential to understand the basics of business and marketing. Customer is the king in every business. Every business man should focus on the needs of their valuable customers.

    Focus on your valuable customers

    Business man should understand about their ideal customers. What is their requirements and products. Business owner should research the market and maintain profile for valuable customers.

    Search Engine Friendly

    Your business should be search engine friendly. It should be visible online on the first pages of major search engine like Google, MSN and Yahoo at the time of searching information.

    Required a strong business relationship

    It is found that some small kinds of people purchase the products immediately and rest of 70 percentage of people to learn and plan to purchase in future after calculating the profit and loss.  If we keep good relation with the buyers, definitely we will expect something great business according to their requirements.

    To get success in business, you have to satisfy your customers. so identify your best customers and share your business information to get more and more business deals so that definitely it is expected a good sales time to time because customer is the king in every business.

    These are the basics of business and nothing else. Business owners should be sincere in the every station of their business while dealing with the customers.

    The key to small business marketing success then is to start with the customer. With the customer defined, deliver the information they need and develop a relationship that ultimately results in a sale. It is important to make sure the message goes out via a method that is most likely to be read and engaged with. Don’t be invisible, forget the marketing hype and focus on the basics.

    Customers are God in every business. If customers are happy, we as a business owner definitely get more and more business.

    Marketing strategy

    Marketing strategy is a vital point in every business. Business owners should follow some important points while doing the business according to the products. We have to carry out a survey according to the market and requirements of those subject products. Survey can be done both offline and online with a low budget so that we can implement the next action plan of business. These are the basics of business one must carry out before starting the business so that business will definitely run without any problem and expect a good return in future.

  • How to succeed in retail

    How to succeed in retail

    Successful retailers are passionate about the field. They spend a lot of energy to beat their competitors and give their 110% to their employers and careers. Their companies are ahead of the competition in offering better products, exceeding the sales figures of the previous year and since their sales teams are meeting and exceeding sales targets. That’s probably where they find their motivation.

    In the competitive world of the retail industry, it’s becoming increasingly important for those who care about it to know the competitor’s products (as well as their own products) and technology.  Here are some tips to ensure you a successful career in retail.

    Make your own promotion

    In the retail industry, a promotion can happen very quickly and is usually related to performance. Follow these tips to get your next promotion:

    Set and achieve goals to acquire new skills and knowledge and seize opportunities to grow and take on additional responsibilities.

    Demonstrate to management that you are very motivated by your current job.

    Meet or exceed the expectations of your current position.

    Be a team player and be flexible.

    Find solutions to problems take care of your customers and demonstrate your sense of initiative and creativity and a good code of ethics.

    Familiarize yourself with the corporate culture

    Some workplaces in the retail industry are jacket / tie environments. Others are casual and informal. Most are in between. Find the environment that’s right for you. Here are your options.

    Entrepreneurial culture: Emphasizes risk taking and independence. Evolve quickly to always exceed the competition. Ensures products and services are on the cutting edge of technology. Often uses a commission system for the compensation of his sales team.

    Small business culture (although not all businesses of this type are small and not all small businesses adopt this culture): Ready to take risks, but that are usually based on more than just brainstorming and about more only in the case of instinctive management. Promote cooperation and profit sharing.

    Corporate culture: Hierarchical organization. Most of the time, there are several levels of supervision. Salaries and benefits are generally stratified and formalized. Often has more rules than other cultures.

    If you want to climb the ladder quickly, a company that tends towards the entrepreneurial culture may be more suitable for you. If you do not like competing with your co-workers, maybe you should choose a small business. But if you prefer stable and predictable schedules and have a clear idea of ​​organizational boundaries, corporate culture might be a pleasure.

    Find a mentor

    A mentor can teach you things about retail that are not learned at school or reading a book. Experts advise retail professionals to find someone from a higher level who has been working in the field and in this business for a long time. Choose someone with whom you can speak confidentially and who can guide you.

    How do retail professionals manage time constraints? Here are some tips:

    Take your work to heart. Make sure you know what you have to do and what your boss wants from you on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Openly discuss issues that may arise in the performance of your duties and responsibilities as they arise.

    Conclusion: Set priorities and organize your time with the help of your supervisor if necessary. All those who pursue a career in retail trade juggle with several tasks at once; its part of the pleasure of the job. But be sure to invest time and energy in the right places. Avoid procrastination, distractions and time-wasting activities.

  • 4 Mistakes to Avoid When Applying for Small Business Loans

    4 Mistakes to Avoid When Applying for Small Business Loans

    The truth is that if you are an entrepreneur, it doesn’t just require you to have a working business idea; however, it also relies on how you raise the capital. Talking from a realistic perspective, no business can start or expand without enough money. Often, business owners (small business) face financial difficulties, which push them to let go of what possibly could have turned out being a worldwide changing idea.

    Now, many financial institutions are ready to finance and support brilliant ideas of entrepreneurs through small business loans, but you can just get financial backing if you are able to represent yourself as a strong business package.

    Not all financial decisions take place in a vacuum. Today, banks conduct a thorough assessment of the applications they receive before they proceed with an approval. In such a case, unfortunately, so many small business owners end up missing these loans and this is all because of poor business ideas, and a lack of clarity on their business loan application.

    Know that even a single mistake you make in the application could decline your request for a loan. In many cases, this is because the lender may not examine some information or loan application requests. However, if you wish to avoid rejections, then here are some of the common mistakes you should watch out for when applying for small business loans.

    Having Outdated Financial Records

    A common mistake that most small business owners make when they seek a loan from their financial institution, such as Aurumfi, is not taking more time to work on all their financials. All banks need to require you to provide this information in order to determine exactly how stable your business actually is before you risk investing money in it.

    In this case, if your aim were to work on expanding your business, then any financial institution would want to make sure that your business is stable enough to repay the loan when the time comes, or whether it can sustain itself in the future or not. The information you provide regarding the business has to be tangible and clear.

    Since most loan providers demand this information, small business owners end up creating figures to please the bank, forgetting that the bank still verifies the information you provide on the application. Eventually, this leads to denials of the loan verification process as it shows different figures from the one you provide. The right decision is, to be honest with the information you fill in the applications and you will increase your chances for loan approval.

    No Clear Use of the Funds

    Any organization you choose, lending the loan would keep a keen eye on exactly how you as the applicant plan to use the funds to boost the success of the business. Unfortunately, another common mistake that small business owners make is not having a clear and well-described idea of how they should spend the money that they request. Eventually, this leads to denials of loans by most lenders since the lender will not be able to know whether you can repay the loan with the interest.

    The lender wants to know that you spend the money on the right things that will improve your business position. They want to see all your business needs and evaluate whether the amount you wish to borrow is enough to meet all your needs.

    As the loan borrower, you have to show the lending party that if you receive the loan, it will improve the performance of your business and create a good impact. Ensure that your points are clear and the benefits you wish to get with the finances you that you qualify for in the days to come.

    Late Application of the Loan

    So many businesses wait until it becomes too late for them to submit their application for the loan. Usually, this happens when they are desperate for the business funds. This is something that makes them go for any offer. At such times, some of the offers that the small business owners take up turn out with higher interest rates and unfavorable terms. In order to avoid all these, you should take some time and search or the best loan providers or people who can help you make the right decision. Before you make a choice, however, do it slowly, and give yourself enough time to evaluate the different choices that you need for the growth of your business.

    Applying for a Wrong Business Loan

    From the view of a financial expert, before any owner applies for the loan, they need to consider the capital that they need and the right type of loan that works for your area. Before you apply for a loan, you need to know there are different types, meant to cater to different needs of your business and hence if you wish to borrow, you have to match your needs with the right type of loan.

    This simply means that if you apply for an inappropriate loan, this could end up costing you much more on the interest rate. Hence, it is always advisable that you do a complete research on the right type of loan available, one that matches your business needs, to reduce the chances of encountering a rejection.

     

  • Hidden Costs of Running a Small Business

    Hidden Costs of Running a Small Business

    Many people dream about starting their business and being their own boss. Only one small part of them have a real and achievable plan, others just want to run away from boring 9 to 5 corporate jobs. First-time entrepreneurs often underestimate costs their new company requires which leads to financial troubles and possible bankruptcy. In this article we listed some of the hidden costs entrepreneurs tend to overlook.

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    Employee turnover

    Having talented and steady workforce is a life saver for any small business entrepreneur. Unfortunately employees tend to leave their firms in order to find better conditions, higher salaries or positions among company’s ranks. When this happens entrepreneurs face several different costs, including:

    Unemployment benefits claims- unemployment insurance costs will rise if entrepreneurs don’t contest their ex-employees benefits claims.
    Recruiting replacements- recruiting process can be very difficult and tiresome and it also costs a lot of money, especially if it is done by outsourcing HR firm.
    Training- new employees require long and difficult training. It can be internal or external and both kinds cost a lot. First one will take a lot supervisor’s time and the second will require fix rates that should be paid to licensed firms.

    Legal fees

    One time or another every entrepreneur is forced to settle some business dispute in court. The dispute can start from a simple copyright or patent infringement and it can turn into frivolous lawsuit that will hurt your company’s finances and reputation. There are plenty costs that are tied to this lawsuits and these are just some of them:

    Attorney costs- if you don’t want your company to bankrupt over a minor patent infringement or employee dispute you need to hire an expensive attorney;
    Settlement- best way to end a lawsuit is to reach a settlement, but this will also cost you a lot;
    Higher insurance costs- your insurance rates will definitely increase, after you have been sued by bogus lawyers;
    Lost opportunity- time you will spend on preparing your defense can be used in much more productive and profitable ways.

    Maintenance and office equipment costs

    Entrepreneurs usually count operating costs in their budget, but smaller maintenance and office equipment costs usually passed unnoticed, at least until the printer or the computer breaks down for the first time. Many companies that require lots of printed documents are closely following their monthly printing costs, and constantly trying to make their business more efficient. This is always recommendable, and cost-reevaluating concept should be applied for all equipment costs.

    Professional help

    Even in the first phases of your business development you will need professional help for various tasks. You will definitely need to hire some sort of tax lawyer or accountant to help your with your finances. Tax agencies won’t give you a free pass, which is why the whole accounting process should be done by professionals. Also you should be aware that tax laws defer from one country or state to another, which is why you need to hire local accountants. If you running your business in New South Wales, you should contact accountants form Sydney CBD, while if your company is registered in California hire accountants from LA, San Francisco, Oakland or some other city in CA.

    Insurance

    All smart business people know that insurance is very important for corporate level risk management. Other than regular insurance companies should choose policies that fit their business model in the best way. Some of the things your business should be insured from are: illnesses, negligence, work-related injuries etc. You should try to negotiate better deals with insurance agents. Try to tailor several policies and pay them in the bundle. Even if you succeed you should review your coverage at least once a year to see whether they meet your business needs.

    Even with all these unexpected costs, entrepreneurship is still one of the most dynamic and rewarding ways to continue your career after you quit your corporate job. With minding every detail and hiring professional help when you are in doubt, you will be able to boost your company growth and continue its development even in the toughest moments of your entrepreneurship career.

  • How to Improve Your Startup Business With Good Marketing

    How to Improve Your Startup Business With Good Marketing

    Starting a business means that you have to deal with a lot of challenges in order to climb the corporate ladder. Getting out of the small business label might take a while, and you will have to heavily invest in marketing to happen. Without advertising and promotion your company, you cannot expect customers to recognize your brand.

    Market Online and Offline

    Nowadays, you will be able to market online and offline as well, meaning that you can utilize what the Internet has to offer. Make sure to use this to your advantage, because it will not cost you a lot, but you could have an amazing outreach. Furthermore, you will have a chance to really get creative and innovative, making the marketing campaigns fun and interesting.

    Define Your Target Audience

    Unless you understand and know your target audience, it will be hard coming up with marketing ideas which will attract more. Be sure to research and to find out what they like, what the current trends are and how you can make use of it. Not every consumer will be the same, and you should account for the fact that your marketing campaign should be for a wider viewing angle. Otherwise you will not be able to engage with customers as you expected.

    Set Bite-Size Objectives

    In order not to go off-track and to stay focused on what is important, you will have to set objectives and make sure that you can follow through. Promotional events will be there to remind customers what you are working on currently, and what they can expect, as well as to keep you on the right path. Avoid losing battles, as you will be squandering precious resources on it only, and it can end up badly. Moreover, achieving goals will make your employees feel better and more satisfied.

    Understand Your Business

    Be clear with what your strength and weaknesses are, because only then can you start working on improving yourself. Moreover, your marketing strategies cannot be set if you are unsure which qualities you can promote. By doing a SWOT analysis you can find out what makes your business tick, as well as to see where you have to make minor improvements. To appeal to the public, this will be a crucial part of self-assessment.

    Promotional Events Are Mandatory If You Want Better Results

    To have a good outreach, and to maximize your marketing’s effects, look into what kind of promotional events you can hold. Furthermore, gifting promo items and personalised water bottles will be a good way to spread the word about your business, and to attract more customers. It will be easy for your customers to use these gifts in places where others can see them, and if you have printed your logo and brand, they will recognize your business right away. Bear in mind that customers will like to receive gifts, showing them that you care and that you will make sure they are happy and satisfied.

    Transforming your business from a simple startup to a famous big shot will take time and lots of effort. On the other hand, your marketing strategy and campaign should reflect what your business stands for and how it can reach a wider target audience to grab the attention of customers. No matter how you try to understand consumers, it will be nearly impossible, which is why you need to focus on feedback and finding out what they like. In the end, make sure you have daring but not daunting campaigns, and customers will come pouring in.