Author: Nibletz Staff

As a startup business leader, one of the things you must do is ensure your firm has enough capital to pay its bills. While you may be waiting for your clients to pay their invoices, you shouldn’t rely on those customers to pay you on time. The ugly truth is that many businesses end up going bust because their clients are bad payers.

It’s likely you are reading this article because you are concerned that your company might be sailing a bit too close to the wind from a financial perspective. If that’s the case, it makes sense to rethink your cash flow strategy. If the whole subject confuses or annoys you, don’t worry because you aren’t alone!

In today’s blog post, I’m going to share with you some ideas on how you can improve your business cash flow and have a healthy balance sheet. Here is what you need to do:

Credit check your customers

Before you offer any clients a credit facility, it makes sense to determine how creditworthy they are first. Doing so will spare you the headache and cost of having to chase for invoice payment, especially if significant sums are involved.

Should any potential customers fail your credit checks, you can, of course, offer them to option to pay in advance for any products or services they use from your business. Companies like Equifax make it easy for businesses and organizations to check the creditworthiness of their clients.

Borrow some money or build up your balance to cover your regular expenses

Let’s face it. There will be times where your business experiences “quiet periods” and makes little profit. As you can appreciate, such times can be stressful for business owners! You want to make sure that you have enough cash to pay your bills, staff wages, and so forth.

One idea is to have a “float” of money in your bank account that takes care of such situations for you. Business loans can be flexible and cost-effective ways of navigating any stormy financial periods. Another option is to invest more of your profits into the business and essentially build up your company’s bank balance.

Set up a savings account for your tax bills

Anyone that runs a business will have to pay various taxes on a regular basis. To make your life easier, siphon off some of the profits from your main bank account into a savings one specifically set up for your tax bills.

In some cases, you might find that the cash you save could even earn a bit of interest! From a bookkeeping point of view, it also makes it easy to determine the financial health of your business.

Don’t forget to project your future revenue

One last thing you should never forget to do is calculate how much income your firm is likely to make in the next year or more. Doing so will help you work out how much money you need to set aside for your expenses (including tax bills). Plus, it gives you an accurate indication of how well your business is growing!

As a business; you’ll already understand how vital it is to keep up with the competition so that you can grow and succeed. Therefore, the smooth running of your company is an essential part of your brand that will ensure you’re able to progress. By making sure that each of the processes in your business runs as seamlessly as possible; you’ll be increasing your financial efficiency and your customer satisfaction. Take a look at the following areas and focus your attention on improving your processes, so your business can thrive and flourish.

Happy Staff

Keeping your team members energized and motivated will have a knock-on effect throughout the whole of your business. Regular meetings, where everyone is kept up-to-date and informed of what’s expected and what’s happening in the business is a great way to encourage people and ensure that they are fulfilling their job role with you.

Incentivizing your staff members to reach company targets and exceed their personal goals within the business is another great tactic to ensure each task is being carried out smoothly and on time. Check out some ways to motivate and empower your team here: http://seriousstartups.com/2014/12/01/4-tips-empowering-team/ and get inspired to implement some changes in your business. The more you encourage and inform your staff, the more they’ll feel appreciated and willing to contribute all they can to your company, so make sure you’re investing in them and your business’ future.

Stock Efficiency

Having enough stock available to supply your customers and clients at all times is crucial to the progression and growth of your business. Therefore, you need to make that all processes related to the intake, export, and delivery of stock are in place and working successfully. Looking into supply chain finance will ensure that you are given better control of exchange rates with foreign suppliers, and you can navigate and secure deals with your suppliers at a quicker rate. Utilizing a financing company, will ensure that you have a strong and secure supply chain, and you can manage any settlements, discounts, and the flow of your supplies with ease.

Becoming well-known for your great delivery system, or always having hard-to-get products and services on hand, will attract a loyal and ever-increasing group of consumers, who will keep returning to invest in your business. If mistakes and hiccups do happen along the way; make sure that your whole team know exactly what to do to rectify them as quickly as possible. Processes that result in successfully solving problems are another attractive quality to a company, and your customers will appreciate it.

Software And Tech Updates

Try to keep abreast of the latest technology and software that will help your business to run as smoothly as possible, without the effort you’d have to put in manually. Investing in the latest tech where you can will give your company a boost, and will free up time, so that your team can focus on the areas that software and tech can’t help with. Know when to update old processes and systems and always be forward-thinking with your choices; seek expert advice where needed, so that you can invest wisely and your business will grow in no time.

All business owners need to create emergency plans for their companies. Many different issues could affect your ability to accept orders and make a profit. With that in mind, you need to identify the most likely problems and come up with some solutions. At the end of the day, most firms will face the same threats, and so this advice could assist your research. Today, we’re going to offer some simple tips that could help your company to stay afloat if the worst occurs. So, put these ideas into action as soon as possible. That should be enough to ensure you can deal with most stumbling blocks fast.

Create a digital disaster plan

Firstly, you have to think about what might happen if your computer systems stop working. Maybe you become the victim of a hacker or something similar? Well, there are specialists out there who focus their efforts on providing support in those instances. With that in mind, it’s sensible to contact them as soon as possible to create a digital disaster plan. Once you have that in place, you should feel a little more relaxed. The experts will then swing into action whenever you report an issue. Hopefully, that should mean your network is never down for more than a few hours when something bad happens.

Design a physical disaster plan

You never know when your company might face a natural disaster. Global warming is affecting our planet in many different ways. For that reason, all business owners have to become a little more aware of the extreme weather. A storm could result in a power cut at your office. If that happens, you will struggle to continue working until the problem is solved. It might be worth taking the time to read a generator blog to assess your options. Sometimes arranging a backup power supply could mean you don’t fall behind. It should also mean you can continue you accept orders and work as usual. You also need to create a plan for what will happen if your premises suffer flooding.

Build relationships with legal experts

It’s impossible to know when a customer or another company might try to take your brand to court. Maybe you didn’t complete an order as you promised? Perhaps a rival thinks that you’ve infringed on their copyright? The Business Dictionary provides a lot of information on that subject. Whatever the situation, you need legal experts willing to swing into action. So, do yourself a favor and build a relationship ahead of time. If you do that, the specialists will find it much easier to begin fighting in your corner. If you overlook that tip, you might have to spend a long time explaining the ins and outs of your operation. You can’t afford to do that when you have an impending court date. You will need to work on your case as fast as possible.

In this article, we’ve covered digital, physical, and legal threats that could affect your company. Make sure you remember this advice and put it into action as soon as you can. Planning will make your life much easier when something goes wrong. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that won’t happen to your company because it will. Good luck!

You can ask a million different entrepreneurs, and you will get a million different answers to the question, what is the most important thing to your business? And while lots of people will answer in a roundabout way with regards to their finances or their workers, the most important thing is much simpler than that and carries weight in a small startup company, established business, or a multinational conglomerate, communication is the key. A lot of people look at saving money on communication because they can easily do it via emails, Skype etc., but communication only works in this technological setting if you have laid the foundations already.

The Importance Of Collaboration

A vital component of communication is the ability to collaborate with your peers, and while 20 years ago this could only be done by assembling everybody in a room, it is now possible to collaborate using software like Evernote, but this only works effectively if you’ve got staff that are willing to collaborate. Evernote and Google Docs are fantastic collaboration tools and work people who know how to work together already, so with these tools they have to be a natural extension of the fluidity of your team. If you don’t have a team that works together well, collaboration tools won’t nurture it.

Being Contactable

In this day and age with so many different ways of being in contact, we seem to be laxer in picking up the phone or answering those emails off the bat because we have too many things to keep track of. It’s important to remember that while technology is something that will get you ahead when it comes to social media marketing, PPC marketing, and general all-round communication, there are still some people who prefer the more traditional methods of contact. While it is being phased out somewhat, there are some people prefer to use fax as a means of contact. And so while getting an online fax number might not be a priority it will certainly help to navigate with those more traditional customers that seldom go online. Communication tools are great if you know how to use them properly, so use them all or just a core few.

Personal Communication

The bare bones of any startup are really all about a core team that communicates with each other well. And albeit, there is plenty of technology that can make for a wider network of contacts, clients, freelance contractors, etc. if you are looking for a staff workforce that can organically build your business you need to be promoting a culture of personal communication, not just relying on technology. This means regular team meetings and encouraging a working environment that is thriving and palpable and above all else, inspiring. This will be what pushes your business forward.

It appears that the more technology we have, the less we communicate properly with each other. Striking the right balance between technology and personal communication and making sure that you are using technology assist your endeavours rather than do them for you will improve your business.

Business graduates have a never-ending array of options when considering their career aspirations. Some graduates will venture into the thrilling world of advertising, the dynamic marketing industry or the stable environment of HR. However, many well-educated graduates seek the competitive finance industry as their career destination. The roles available within the finance industry are varied and exciting, enabling those graduates with numerical minds to utilize their skills within their day to day working lives. Take a look at these top financial jobs and consider which one may be best suited to you.

1. Banker

Investment bankers have had a bit of bad press recently with the most recent recession placed firmly at their door. Bankers are stereotypically seen as arrogant risk takers with a total lack of respect for those people whose money they are investing. This may be a tad harsh. Investment bankers work ridiculously long hours in an attempt to see the largest returns possible on investments for shareholders. Investment banking is a hugely pressurized job where your career will depend on meeting and exceeding targets. If you relish working under pressure and can analyze data and make astute financial forecasts, this could be the thrilling career that you have been looking for.

2. Tax Advisor

If you enjoy working with numbers and having your calculator permanently fixed to your fingers, then a jaunt into the world of tax could be your ideal career. Companies across the UK utilize the skills of specialist tax advisors to guide them through the arduous process of an HMRC tax investigation. You will need to be a good listener, non-judgemental and able to articulate solutions to people who struggle with their finances. Taxation is a notoriously difficult and, at times, an ambiguous area of finance that needs individuals who are confident with calculations and problem-solving.

3. Accountant

An accountant will always have a specialism. This may be working with large corporations to make them as tax efficient as possible, individual contractors to help them set up limited companies or self-employed sole traders that require help with their tax returns. Accountants need to be good with numbers, able to learn quickly and have a firm grasp of a wide range of financial legislation. If you venture down this career path, you will need to keep your finger on the pulse of government budgets and new tax laws to ensure you are always applying the most recent legislation to an individual’s or a company’s financial affairs.

A career in finance is seen by outsiders as a boring mathematical desk job. Nothing could be further from the truth. The finance industry offers opportunities for lifelong learning and qualifications, the ability to meet new and interesting people and the chance to become an expert in your field. You could find yourself on the busy trading floor at the London stock exchange, advising public sector bodies of their financial obligations or traveling around the country meeting with finance directors of large multinationals. The opportunities within an exciting career in finance are endless.

When starting up your first business, there is a lot that needs to be considered. What is going to be your company’s name? How much money are you going to need to get started? And, where are you going to base your business? This post deals with the latter. Choosing your very first office location can seem like a difficult decision. After all, it’s not something that can immediately be reversed if you make the wrong call. But, if you follow the tips below, this shouldn’t happen.

• Choose the location wisely – One of the first decisions you need to make is where you are going to be based in terms of location. Think about your target market, and choose a location that is going to enable you to be close to them. You also need to think about your competition and where they are based. A strategic decision could be to set up in an area that is renowned for your specific service or product. It can be good to fall in line with industry expectations, especially if it gives you the ability to focus on your competitors.
• Read the small print – We cannot stress enough how important it is to read the small print. You need to determine exactly what is included in the rental price. Don’t simply assume that it is all-inclusive. There could be additional costs for contents insurance, meeting rooms, high-level Internet usage, and phone line rental, for example. Not only this, but you need to make sure you are aware of all the terms, especially those in regards to ending the contract.
• Consider your requirements – Think about what your business is going to need on a daily basis. Most start-up owners will opt for a serviced office like those found at londonoffices.com. With a serviced office, you can expect everything to be included in your rental agreement. Of course, what is included depends on the office space in question, but generally, this will cover the likes of a reliable phone system, a reception area, Internet access, storage, car parking, cabling, and telephone requirements.
• Understand your image – When choosing your first office, you really need to think about the image you are trying to put across. Everything is about branding in the current day and age.  Your choice of office will say a lot about your company. In fact, you can find out what your office says about your brand at everybodylovesyourmoney.com. If you choose a cheap office, customers may worry that this is reflective of the service you provide, and they may be concerned about the stability of your business. On the other hand, they may question your rates if you choose to set up in an impressive city skyscraper. The best move is usually to tread the middle line.
• Determine your budget – Last but not least, you should never dive straight in without determining your budget. This is a recipe for disaster. You need to determine exactly how much you can afford to spend on your new office, and make sure you account for all of the costs that are involved. Nothing will sink your new business quicker than spending more money than you have.

A successful business relies on many contributing factors, but the ability to win new customers is at the heart of it all. Regardless of how well the company is performing, no entrepreneur would turn their nose up at the chance to increase their client base. Frankly, the thought of achieving that goal in just three months is simply incredible.

With the right strategies, though, you can easily see positive results in just 90 days. Try these ideas for size, and you’ll be amazed at how quickly things start to improve.

Sell The Brand, Not The Product

Regarding strategy, many companies fall into the trap of trying to sell the product in an overly explicit fashion. In truth, gaining interest in the brand is just as influential to the consumer decisions. Therefore, keeping the brand fresh in their minds should be top of the agenda.

This can be achieved in a number of ways. Blogging is a particularly good option as it gives new audiences an insight into the brand personality. If you struggle to express opinions through writing, experts at blogpostservices.com can take care of your needs. As well as reaching new audiences, it’ll give existing clients a reason to keep coming back for more.

Podcasts and social media interactions are great ways to encourage further positivity. It doesn’t take long for content like this to spread. Focus on quality, and 90 days should be more than long enough to increase customer reach.

Embrace Affiliate Marketing

Creative ad campaigns will spark interest from new customers. After all, you only need to catch the eye for a split second to plant the seed that can grow into a sale. However, those seeds will grow at a far quicker rate when customers are influenced by their friends and family.

With this in mind, using a referral marketing scheme could be one of the greatest weapons in your arsenal. You can learn more about this at createandthrive.com. Essentially, though, giving existing clients an incentive to recruit new business will see numbers grow. Meanwhile, you’ll only pay them once you’ve gained sales too. Moreover, it helps create that community vibe.

Apart from bringing in new customers, it keeps the business fresh in the mind of existing clients. Frankly, it’s a brilliant system that offers minimal risk and potentially huge gains. Given that you could have the system set up in a matter of days, what more could you want?

Dominate The Small Pond

In the bid for new clients, the natural thinking would be to try casting the nets further afield. While there’s no doubt that this can be the ideal way to increase takings, it’s not the only solution. In truth, gaining a stronger presence in your primary territory can be just as useful.

Even online activities can be geared towards improving local sales and visibility. Meanwhile, organizing a promotion day is another great way to gain fresh interest. Hand out free marketing materials as a continued reminder of your brand, and the positivity should lead to increased sales.

You may also want to team up with another, non-competing, company. Double the power, means double the chance of success. As long as the business can share an audience rather than fight for it, this can be a fantastic addition to the strategy. Try it for three months; you’ll be impressed by the impact it brings.

Setting up a startup comes with many stages, and for a while, it could just be you by yourself. When you finally get the finances to take more people on board, finding the right people can actually be a challenge – especially if you want to build a team of good people around you. One way to pick the best of the bunch is through adopting innovative hiring practices which could help you attract the best people to your business to get it off to a great start.

Pose a challenge

Have you seen the Benedict Cumberbatch movie The Imitation Game? In that, he posts a crossword that is actually a job advert designed to recruit only the greatest minds. Why can’t you do something similar? Of course, it doesn’t have to be a crossword, but some type of attention-grabbing puzzle that requires your desired skill set to solve it, could be exactly what you need to pick the best people for the job. Your test can be housed on your own website, in job pages or anywhere else where the right people will see it.

Think outside the box

Your innovative recruitment drive can not only serve as a good way to hire the best for your business but be an effective PR exercise too. Take inspiration from innovative recruitment practices that really paid off and see if you can find anything that suits your business and its aims. Use social media to shout out about it, and if your campaign goes viral, it could mean great things for your company.

Image: Wikipedia Creative Commons

Go global

Does your business need to hire local people? Why not attract the best talent from elsewhere? Cloud computing and flexible working mean that businesses, especially new businesses, can work anywhere in the world – with more and more companies having workers based in different countries. Could your recruitment work on a global scale? If not, but you still want to add an international voice to your business, you can still hire employees from abroad, but you may need to speak to some business immigration attorneys about your plans first. That may sound scary, but it’s the best way to avoid legal repercussions later on.

Try group interviews

Group interviews are a becoming more popular as a way to build teams. You can use existing ways of holding basic group interviews as well as try some of your own that will be better suited to the work of your company. By putting people in a team situation from the outset, you can see how people work together and whether they will be a good fit for your company, rather than interviewing on an individual basis only. You could start by doing an initial one-on-one interview based on your best applications and then put them into the team setting – almost like making a strategy with your chess pieces. This way of recruiting looks more at the bigger picture than just individual talents.

Once you’ve hired your new recruits, it’s important to create a positive work environment for them. Good talent is hard to come by, and after working so hard to get it, you’ll want to retain it.

Startups are often replete with creative ideas, and most of these can make use of online business, and solely operate online. As soon as the product is crafted and stored, all it takes is for online sales to help shift the product and the revenue will come in smoothly and easily. However, if you’re more of a practical person, and are making a living selling things crafted or repaired by your own two hands, it’s likely you’ll need a workshop.

However, starting out with a new workshop can be a costly affair. Acquiring all the tools, ventilation equipment, and finding the perfect place to rent to set up this shop can be tricky. If you’re on an industrial estate or in a barn converted into multiple shops, running a noisy workshop can provoke annoyance from your neighbors, and you can be sure they’ll let you know about it. If this sounds like you, then make sure you enact these following steps to keep you clean, well-maintained, conscientious, and doing all three of those things cheaply.

Buy Second-Hand Tools

Second-hand tools, purchased from an industrial market or on an online auction house can allow you to get set up with the basics without spending a fortune on the newer equipment. The goal is to get the newer equipment, so you have one of the best workshops in the area, but humble beginnings mean that you might have to limit your budget in this regard.

Depending on your work hand tools might work just as well as power tools for the time being, at the expense of convenience and actual intensity of labor you have to place into the work you’re doing. However, if you’re a carpenter or work in a similar profession, this period of doing the best you can with what you have can inform your practical skills for the better, so all hope is not lost in the early days.

Consider Your Sound Output

Workshops make noise. To prevent multiple noise complaints and getting off to a bad opening foot with those who you do business near, consider installing an Amcraft Industrial Curtain Wall, which correctly installed can help you reduce the sound made by your business to a staggering degree. From a purely social and ethical standpoint, this could be some of the best money you ever spend, regardless of the size of your business.

You Can Still Benefit Online

Just because you’re a real, salt of the earth business doesn’t mean you can’t benefit from some strong online promotion. Use your social media pages to flaunt your best creations, and you’ll be sure to gain a niche following online. People have much more time and tolerance for someone building or repairing a tangible physical object with real skills than they do being marketed digital solutions through their YouTube advertising. Take advantage of this.

Rent Bare-Bones Converted Workshop Spaces

The benefits of running a workshop is that despite the cost of setting up, you can save a lot of money on rent. For the most part, all you’ll need is a well-ventilated, barebones warehouse space of any size. This completely unfurnished look can do you wonders for your budget, and give you that feeling of genuine creativity when your operation expands.

Keep these considerations in mind, and your first workshop setup is that much likelier to be a success.

It seems like we’ve been using our smartphones to connect to the internet for centuries, but it was only just longer than a decade ago that our mobile phones were pretty useless when it came to business. Now, business owners would be foolish to leave their homes without their phones because it means they can stay connected to their business and customers at all times. Take a look at how mobile technology could improve your business.

Product Demonstrations

We all know that customers respond well to images and videos. Some of the newest Samsung phones allow you to take 360-degree videos to give your customers a sneak peek into your products, services and what happens behind the scenes. Pair that with the inevitable integration of virtual reality headsets to phone packages, and your customers have an experience that has never been available to them before. Get ready for the future of advertising!

Mobile Websites

If your business website isn’t mobile friendly, it’s time to upgrade with the help of managed IT services. Studies show that busy people often use train journeys, bus rides or work breaks to purchase items online. They may be shopping for a last-minute birthday gift or sending flowers to an ill friend. The point is, what do these people use to do their shopping? Their phones! If your website isn’t mobile friendly or doesn’t allow quick and easy payment options, you’re probably missing out on a lot of sales. Think convenience!

Communication

Never before has it been easier to communicate with employees and customers via your phone. Sites like Slack are a fantastic way of keeping communication lines open. So, if you’re on the go or out of the office when an important message comes through, the sender doesn’t have to wait a significant amount of time for a reply. There’s nothing that holds up work longer than waiting for instruction. And, it saves your clients receiving those terrible ‘out of office until November 2025’ emails.

Flexibility

Nine to five working hour jobs are dying out. Employees want more flexibility when it comes to their careers and it often suits customers too. Flexibility means that employees can focus on their work when they aren’t distracted by something else. Using mobile technology means that you can allow your employees to be more flexible without sacrificing the quality of the work produced. It also often means that employees will remain loyal to the businesses that they work for.

Save Time

There’s a mobile app for everything. If you need to scan a document and send it to a client, there’s no need to wait until you get into the office and then join the queue of co-workers waiting to do the same thing. Just download a scanning app on your phone and do it from wherever you are. Business owners can also deal with expenses via mobile phones and even pay invoices or send invoices. Using your mobile will also ensure your business doesn’t have mass paper use, which is as environmentally friendly as it gets for business.

Advertising has changed a lot over the decades. From the adverts of the 50s that leaned heavily on clichés and stereotypes through to the high-octane TV ads of the 90s, there’s no doubt that it’s an ever-evolving genre of promoting your business.

While the change is constant, advertising your business has changed more in the past five years than – arguably – than the rest of advertising history put together. No longer is advertising the realm of a strict number of agencies lead by charismatic Don-Draper-personalities writ large. Now, advertising is both more subtle and more overt at the same time – largely because of one element that has changed the game forever: brand ambassadors.

What Is A Brand Ambassador?

A brand ambassador is a person of note, be it through individual celebrity or having achieved a recognizable level of social media success, who promotes your business. Bloggers are frequently brand ambassadors, especially in the fashion and beauty industries.

The ambassador will, alongside their usual content on their blog/social media, promote your company. It will often be done in quite a clever way, incorporating their usual style so often the advert is indistinguishable from the rest of their content.

As well as elevating your online presence, a brand ambassador will often be involved with your company in person. They will attend trade shows and speak on your behalf, or feature as part of your corporate website.

What’s In It For The Business?

This kind of advertising is incredibly subtle. Rather than hitting people over the head with a TV ad they’re more likely than not to fast forward past, it’s a much simpler way of integrating your product or business into an existing content platform.

It’s also a perfect way of connecting with your core demographic, especially if much of your staff aren’t actually in that demographic. For example, if your board is predominantly males in their 40s and you are selling products aimed at women aged 18-30, then a brand ambassador could give you valuable insight.

Not only that, but this individual becomes a recognizable face to go along with your company. If the partnership is especially successful, then your brand ambassador might become known as the “your company girl”, such as the GoDaddy girls that have been so successful. This is permanent advertising, attaching your company to a single individual even when you may not be actively promoting something.

What’s In It For The Brand Ambassador?

Quite simply, it’s a financial transaction for the brand ambassador.

A lot of people are surprised by this. Given this is such a new form of advertising, a lot of companies make the mistake of thinking social media stars, bloggers, and celebrities will just do it for the “free stuff”. That sounds like a bargain to you as a company owner; a huge amount of evergreen publicity in exchange for a few products? Perfect!

There is a serious backlash against this attitude, however. If you’re considering hiring someone for this kind of role, then you need to be aware of the dos and don’ts you have to avoid falling foul of. While some people may be willing to create content and share your company with their demographic, the vast majority won’t. Arguably the ones that are really worth having as ambassadors definitely won’t.

A brand ambassador role is work; it might be unconventional or unusual, but it’s still work, and that means that the person in question deserves to be compensated for their time. With the industry maturing, many brand ambassadors are now partnering with the likes of https://tsmagency.com to handle the financial and legal side of the arrangement.

If you want to know more about the backlash against working for free, then there are some great primers on http://bigthink.com and even Twitter accounts dedicated to railing against the practice. You’ll find http://twitter.com/dontwork4free a great resource.

What Can A Brand Ambassador Do That Traditional Advertising Can’t?

• Offer a public face to associate with your company.
• Help you target a particular demographic.
• Elevate your company’s social media, which in turn makes a huge contribution to your online presence. If you want to learn more about the importance of your company having an online presence, then http://smallbusiness.chron.com has a great overview.
• A more organic form of advertising, which if done well is not overtly obvious that it is even an advert.
• A face for your company, which can help create cohesion when featured across your company website, social media, and even in person. This helps your brand become more recognizable as a whole, as customers are more likely to recognize a face than a basic logo.

What Are The Downsides Of Brand Ambassadors?

It would be unwise to think signing up a brand ambassador is the end of your focus on marketing your company – it should just be part of your overall strategy. At the end of the day, these people are playing to a relatively select audience.

It might also not be a great fit for the type of business you run. If you don’t particularly have a target demographic or your demographic is broad, then hacking into a specific section of potential customers is of relatively little use to you. However, it can still be helpful to have someone to feature in your promotional literature who can be a familiar face throughout your entire presentation.

How Do I Find A Brand Ambassador?

You have a variety of options.

• Look for popular social media users, bloggers, and influencers that already exist within your niche. You can then reach out to them and see if they would be receptive to partnering with one another.
• Contact an agency and ask for recommendations, based on what you are looking to achieve from such a partnership. This can be particularly useful if your niche is not particularly suited to an existing online presence you can make the most of. For example, if you’re selling a beauty product then you’ll have no shortage of options if you glance through a popular Instagram hashtag like #beauty. However, if you run a communications company then it’s going to be trickier, and a specialist talent company can help make a match that will work for you.
• Ask for them. Sometimes, the easiest way might be the most effective. Post online that you’re seeking brand ambassadors and see who applies and how it might work for you. This can be a good strategy as you’re likely to find someone who is already engaged with your company, as they were clearly paying attention to your social media and site as to see the notice.

How Much Does A Brand Ambassador Cost?

There’s no obvious answer to this. It depends entirely on a number of factors:

• What you want them to do. Do you just want them to post on social media? That won’t be too expensive. However, if you’d like them to attend trade shows or appear in adverts, then you’d expect to be paying more for this kind of representation.
• How big your company is. The larger your company, the more you should have available in terms of budget for advertising and marketing.
• Who you want to be your brand ambassador. If you’re looking for someone who is famous throughout the country, then you’re going to pay more than for an influencer who just has a social media presence. You can limit some of this cost by opting for normal, regular users who are otherwise a fan of your product and will still have something to offer your business.

Ultimately, you should treat the cost of a brand ambassador as another part of your marketing and advertising budget. As discussed, don’t expect people to work for a pittance even if you see the work as relatively inexpensive. You’re paying for people’s time and their influence; they deserve to be compensated for it.

Should A Brand Ambassador Always Be A Celebrity?

Absolutely not. Some celebrities and brands have partnered together for years to great success, but you don’t need a household name for this relationship to work. It all depends on your niche and who you are looking to target.

If, for example, you run a digital marketing company, then there would be relatively little benefit to you if you partnered with a Kardashian. They might be a big, recognizable name, but they’re not really useful for your niche. The crossover from Kardashian fans to people who own their own company and are in need of marketing is, in all likelihood, relatively small.

A good brand ambassador can be a relative unknown, provided they have something to offer your company. In fact, if you have a small company, then spending a fortune on a high profile celebrity is undoubtedly going to be a waste of funds – you’d be far better finding someone specific to your niche, and building your profile as a partnership.

Ultimately, this type of advertising is new, but you would be remiss to overlook the difference it can make to your business.

In business, you often find that you have a lot of responsibilities to cover off. Not only do you need to make sure that your day to day operations are running well and that your customers are happy, but you’re also responsible for turning a profit year after year. Sometimes, that can feel like enough to be dealing with however it very rarely is. There are always things that you need to be thinking of and covering off and making sure that you take care of. They can often be in your businesses best interest as well as the interest of your customers, target audience, and even your stakeholders.

One of these things that you should always be thinking of is your Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR. No matter how big or small your company is, or how long you’ve been established, making sure that your business doesn’t impact its immediate environment and your local community in a bad way, but adds to it instead, is the right thing to do.

Fundraising for charity is a great way for your business to be able to do that, it’s also important too. When you raise money for charity, your business is doing its bit, but you’re also helping to raise awareness of your business and boost your employee engagement. So if you want to start raising more money for charity in fun and interesting ways, here are a few ideas.

Bake Sale

During the fundraising process, you’re going to want to make sure that your employees can get involved. Not only is it going to be fun for them to be included, but it can also mean that you get a lot more manpower too. One of the ways this works is with a bake sale. Your employees can all make their favorite baked goods and bring them into work to sell. Or, you could open a stall at an event or outside of your business if you have the footfall and sell the baked goods to the public.

Charity Auction

Then there’s always the classic idea of hosting a charity auction. Now, you could do this in two ways. Firstly, you may want to host some kind of raffle at work, where your employees can win prizes. Or, you may want to hold a gala event to do the auction at. If so, you’re going to want to make sure you get some incredible items to encourage higher bids and donations.

Waxing

Sometimes, it can be fun to raise money for charity by doing something outrageous. Waxing is definitely one of the ideas that fall into that category. You as a business owner could offer to have your legs or arms or even eyebrows waxed for charity, and get other staff members involved too.

Brick Fundraising

Raising money is often successful when people get to purchase something or have a memento of their donation. That is certainly the case when it comes to brick fundraising. You could look into brick for profit ideas so that you not only have a healthy sum to donate but have a memory too. Building a new wall or part of the building or even your reception area could be a great way to raise money as your donors buy their engraved bricks.

Games Night

Then there’s always games nights. Hosting a gaming night can be a lot of fun for the entire business, and great for staff morale. To raise money, you could charge per game played or even for tickets to the evening if you’re going to make it into a formal affair. Whether you do board games or a Vegas night, it will be a fun fundraising effort for sure.

Spin-A-Thon

Spin-a-thon’s can be a lot of fun for everyone involved. Yes, they can be tough when you have to go fast or ride for a long period, but that’s part of the fun. You’re going to get a lot more sponsorship money and donations if people know you’ve got a tough gig coming up. You could bring spin bikes into the office or all head to a gym to do it too.

Car Wash

And you always have that high schooler classic way to raise money for charity of hosting a car wash. It could also be a great way to get your customers involved in the fundraising process too. By turning your parking lot into a car wash, your staff can both get involved and donate, and your customers or passers-by will be able to do their bit for a good cause too.

Miniature Golf Tournament

Then there’s always the sporty ways to raise money. Sporting events can be a lot of fun and a great way to get a lot of people involved in the fundraising process. A fun way to do both would be to host a miniature golf tournament. Not only can everyone get dressed up and get crazy, but you can raise money in a range of different ways, like charging an entry way or even getting other businesses to sponsor the uniforms.

Charity Run

Or maybe you’d all like to do a charity run? These can be a lot of fun. Whether you decide to do an obstacle course, a color run, or even a crazy mud run, it can be a great day out for all of your staff, friends, family, and anyone involved. You can raise money through sponsorship and entry, and even serving refreshments on the day to spectators. You may also find that you can use something like this in your marketing, and show off the fun you had to your customers.

Sports Match

Finally, you may also want to think about the kinds of charity sports matches you can fund raise with. A soccer, basketball or baseball match with your staff or even roping in local celebrities or public figures could be a really fun way to raise money. You may also get a lot of the general public involved too, which is another great way to raise sponsorship and donations.

Setting up a new business is both exciting and challenging. It is also very costly. Whether you’ve secured funding or not, you’ll need to be on top of your game. It’s likely as an employee that the company’s finances weren’t anything to do with you, and even if you managed a budget, you might not have known all of the running costs associated with your business. To help make sure you don’t get  off on the wrong foot, here’s how to ensure you cover everything when working out your startup’s finances.

Make a list of everything you can think of

Right down a list of all of your potential outgoings, including staffing costs, electricity bills, equipment hire and everything else. Use a list of startup costs compiled by experts to help you. When you’re done, put the list to one side. Pick it up again in a day or two, and see if there’s anything new you’ve remembered that should be on there.

Give the list to someone else

After you’re satisfied that you’ve thought of everything to your knowledge, give the list to someone else. It could be your business partners, a friend, a fellow business owner or a startup advisor. Choose someone that has experience in running a business who will be able to use their own experience to give you advice and help you work out any costs that might be missing.

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Think twice about the obvious

If you think you’ve got all your costs worked out, take some time to think if there’s anything obvious missing from your estimated costs. It sounds really basic, but say for example you’ve set up a construction company and will be working with sand or salt a lot, have you factored in the cost of salt storage or protective equipment? These things might seem obvious, but when you’re focused on other costs such as marketing or materials, the seemingly obvious things can be forgotten.

Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst

When it comes to working out startup’s finances, you should always take the ‘worst case scenario’ approach. How would you cope if you failed to turn a profit for longer than expected or how long could you survive without investment? Hopefully, it’ll never come to it but if you run into problems, at least you will have prepared for it in advance.

Know who to turn to for help

When setting up a new business, there is a lot you won’t know about all sorts of elements, but there is plenty of startup advice for newbies that will make the process much less painful. A financial adviser or a business coach could also help you to work out everything you need and a good relationship with your bank will be vital should you encounter any problems.

Managing your startup finances will be one element of establishing yourself as a successful startup leader and will be a good indicator of how you perform going forward. If finances aren’t your strong point, make sure you hire someone either as an employee or a freelancer to look after this element for you.

We all know that happy employees lead to better productivity. The way your employees feel about the workplace can directly affect how well your business operates. However, you have no control over what goes on in your employees lives, so your only option is to make the workplace as comfortable as possible. So, what do you need to do to create a positive environment for your workforce?

Praise

When an employee doesn’t know how much they’re appreciated, work becomes harder. Imagine working your hardest and not getting any recognition or thanks for it. As an employer, it’s important to always recognise how hard your employees are working. Pinpoint specific work that they’ve done and tell them what you liked about it. Bring in a box of cupcakes to share around during a coffee break as a thank you. Whatever you decide to do, make sure they know they are valued.

Make it Convenient

People are beginning to leave the nine to five lifestyle behind. Flexibility is the new must have for young and upcoming employees and businesses are working to make that happen. For example, with enterprise workforce management you can allow your employees to clock in and out via their tablets with facial recognition. It’s much more convenient for your employees and you won’t have to worry about monitoring each and every worker either. If employees know they won’t be reprimanded for having to leave an hour early to pick the kids up or dashing out to pick up a prescription for an ill parent, they’re more likely to work harder when present.

Lead by Example

Employees aren’t likely to do their best for an employer who spends all day on the golf course. If you want to get the best out of your employees, you need to set the tone. It’s also important that you don’t shut yourself away in your office all day. Walk around and say hello to people, smile and create relationships with the people working for you. If your employees see how hard you’re working and how approachable you are, it will make them much more comfortable.

Encourage Positive Attitudes

The best way to achieve productivity is by attempting to make your employees think they’re capable of achieving it. You can encourage employees by pointing out their skills or giving them tips for reaching their goals. It can also help to have a mission statement present in the office and inspirational quotes posted in break rooms or copy rooms and even toilets. It’s surprising how reading just a sentence can influence the way you think.

Have Fun

If you’ve got a good joke, share it around the office. If you want to give something back to the community, allow your employees to do a fancy dress. There are lots of ways of creating humor in an office and it can dramatically lift spirits. However, your employees are there to work, so make sure work is actually getting done when it needs to be.