Author: Nibletz Staff

There are times during any business’ existence where it becomes clear that something needs to be done to improve the way it functions. Whatever it is that your business does, if you have come upon one of these realizations, then you are probably keen to discover what you can actually do to improve your business’ performance. In general, these methods are based around tuning up the business in such a way that it runs more efficiently and effectively. But knowing that you need to do that, and knowing how to do it, are two very different things. In this article, we are going to look at some of the genuine nuts and bolts of getting this done. Bear these in mind if your business needs to change its act sometime soon.

Automation Is Your Friend

A lot of business owners are worried to use automation, perhaps because it seems as though you are losing control of those vital in-house processes your business relies upon so much. However, the truth of the matter is that you still have ultimate control – you are just allowing the computers to do the actual work for you. There is no reason not to make the most of automation that you possibly can. Just make sure that you don’t use it for anything which you really want to ensure the quality of. If it directly affects the customer, keep it in human hands. Follow those rules and you should find that automation works hugely in your favour.

Look At Your Tech

The IT that you use in your business makes a huge difference to how that business functions, and it is worth remembering that you need to make sure it works as well as possible if you want your business to be as efficient as you need it to be. In general, it can be difficult ensuring this is the case, which is why you will probably need the help of the professionals on this one. Using managed IT services, you can get a consultant to look at all your systems and ensure that they are functioning as well as possible, and that they are set up so as to best serve your business. When you know that the tech is in order, it’s amazing how much easier the process of running a business can become.

Train Your Staff

The employees remain the most important element of all, and you need to make sure that you are looking after them and improving their understanding as much as possible. Make sure that you have a decent training course in place for newcomers, but also remember to keep the older employees well trained too. This really does make a world of difference when it comes to ensuring that everything is running as smoothly as possible in your business. The more knowledgeable the employees are, the better and more confident they will feel, and the better their quality of work. It is clear that this is an important aspect to your business being tuned up well.

For most people starting their own business, there is a point where you will have to network and promote yourself in order to keep yourself going. This means taking what you are offering, whether it is physical or digital, an item or a service, onto the road. It shouldn’t be too daunting; everybody has had to do it at some stage in their freelancing career, especially when they’re first starting out. It’s like the initiation process to successful startup.

Roadshows

Depending on what you’ve got to offer, you may find that certain roadshows and exhibitions are very useful to get a pitch at. These don’t come cheap – the more well known the company organising it, the more you will have to cough up. This means that you are getting more exposure though, and will look great should you have to send a resume over to anybody requiring to know a little more about your business. Not only is it good for exposure to clients and customers, but it’s a great way to mingle with other startups like you. It can be a way of either making friends, new business partners or you can leave it at just a chat. Either way, be sure to take a lot of business cards to pass on to people who may have shown an interest in what you do. You never really know who you’ve been talking to until they’ve put their money where their mouth is.

Markets

Markets, whether they’re craft, farmers or general, are brilliant things to go to if you’ve got something physical to sell. Even if it doesn’t directly tie in with the theme of what the whole setup is promoting, organisers still give some companies the chance to exhibit their wares at a stall there to offer diversity. Stall sellers are moving into the new digital age now, and no longer do you have to rely on your customers having to visit an ATM before they reach you – you can take payments using apple pay, a wireless card reader or even by an app you can download onto your phone. Good old-fashioned cash should never be shied away from, but having other systems available will only boost your profits for the day; the more ways you can offer people to part with their money, the more likely they are to take you up on that offer. It’s a win-win situation for both of you, but more so you.

Community Events

There is always a chance to immerse yourself into your local community by taking part in events that are happening around you. Look for things that your local church is doing, or maybe even a project that the whole town is getting involved in. By offering a helping hand in whatever they’re choosing to do, you are on the way to promoting not just yourself, but your business, too. It’s also a great way to meet like-minded people like you, too – you will meet them in the most unlikely of places, but it’s always good to keep them close to you just in case you need them at some point.

Sponsorship

This isn’t so much you physically getting yourself out on the road with your startup, but can be a great way to get people thinking about it. In the UK recently, the Grand National race was sponsored by a different company that usual, and surprisingly one that few people had heard of. The fuss about who Randox Health were was just the promotion that they needed as the Google searches went off in their thousands, with people desperate to know just who on earth they were. You probably don’t have the funding behind you to sponsor a major race watched by millions, but if you can give a little to help out a local school soccer team or put a bit of cash into a church or community scheme, you just have to let the words do the talking from then on. Choose a vibrant and memorable logo, or give yourself a punchy tag line that people will remember. Getting yourself involved by going to watch a few games or offering a hand in the scheme that you’ve invested in is a way of putting a face to the name (or the brand, in this case). This can’t be done forever, but as a startup company, it’s a valuable thing to do in terms of getting yourself out there and earning the trust of those who you want to invest back into you.

If you want to start a business, there are a thousand manuals out there telling you what exactly you have to do. Be prepared to work all the hours under the sun, make sure you treat your employees well, make sure that you’re easy to contact… there are a thousand things that you’re supposed to do, but it can be hard to know what exactly you should focus on if you’re focusing on public relations. Here are some tips to help…

What Is PR?

First of all, it’s important to be certain of what you’re actually doing – after all, you want to make sure that your company is doing exactly what it claims it is, or you’ll get in serious trouble with your clients. You need to decide what area of PR you’re going into, first and foremost. A lot of publicists either work with people or with brands, so you need to pick which you’d like to focus on. Your role will be to figure out how your brand or individual communicates with the media, and to create the strategy behind that. You need to work out how to create a positive public image so that the public will support and follow the individual or brand that you’re working with.

Build Good Relationships

In PR, there’s absolutely nothing more important than building good relationships with both your client and with the media. It’s important to talk to your client as you work out your PR strategy – authenticity is always a really crucial thing when it comes to the way that people and brands relate to the media, because let’s face it – the public is smarter than you might think, and if you’re trying to spin a story with no basis then they’ll end up smelling a rat. Make sure that when you’re talking to members of the media, you always exchange niceties with them – ask them how they are, thank them for their coverage, provide whatever they might need. You’re aiming to find a symbiotic relationship where you work together so they get stories and you get coverage.

Learn To Network

Learning to network is important with any job, but it’s especially crucial if you’re working in PR. Make sure that you attend as many events as you can, and that you talk to plenty of people at those events. It’s important that you create business cards that you can give out to people with all your information on there like your email address, phone number and your site so they can check out your work. Remember that you need to try to sell yourself, but not in a way that’s too obvious or obnoxious – get to know people before giving them your sales pitch. Not everyone is going to work with your company but if they get to know you, they might recommend you to their friends and other industry contacts.

Improve Your Communication Skills

There’s very little that’s more important in PR than learning how to communicate effectively with people. Remember to keep it cheerful and breezy but professional at all times – don’t get too familiar with journalists, and make sure that your mailing lists are all appropriate addresses to send your press releases to.

Learn From The Best

Take a look around you at PR campaigns that are working well, and learn from them. Of course it’s important to have your own ideas and to work creatively, but the industry stalwarts are there for a reason, and it isn’t just the fact that they’ve built up long relationships with their clients and with the media. If you’re working with brands or events, check out an AMW Group PR campaign for an example of a campaign done well. If you’re working with books, then the Headline publishing group’s press team always reliably gets a lot of coverage. A lot of beauty companies and fashion houses have their own in-house publicity teams, so check out their ads and campaigns for examples of what’s been done well – and look at Pepsi’s recent tone deaf campaign with Kendall Jenner for an example of an ad that you should absolutely avoid.

Create Your Company Culture

Finally, it’s time to make sure that you create a healthy company culture. The media industry can be full of vultures, which means that in order to create a team that works well, you need to make sure that you foster a warm atmosphere in your offices. Don’t entertain any backstabbing and make sure that everyone works together to share their ideas. Treat all of your team fairly and they’ll follow your example.

When it comes to recruiting talent for a new startup or any business, the process can often be long and drawn out. And while that may have been acceptable in days gone by, in today’s fast moving world, potential employees are much less patient than they once were. That is why your business should be aiming to speed up the recruitment process wherever possible. This way, you will be in a much stronger position to make sure you don’t miss out on getting the top talent. Here are a few ways that you can make your hiring process a lot more efficient.

Reduce the Number of Hoops Employees Have to Jump Through

Of course, you want to make sure that you are getting the best candidate for the job. But if you hit them with lengthy application forms, background checks, pre-interview tasks and several interview stages, they may well end up accepting a position with a company that has moved at a faster rate. Make sure your application form gives you all the information you need without being overly complicated. A maximum of two interview stages should give you everything you need to know about your candidates.

Organisation

This one may seem pretty obvious and self-explanatory, but the number of businesses that don’t have a streamlined hiring process is startling. The vast majority of application are done online these days, meaning that it should be easy to keep each and every candidate’s file in a single location so that everyone that needs to access them can do. You should contact each applicant and let them know of the next stages and the timescales that everything will be achieved in. This will go down as a major plus point for potential employees who will see you as meticulous and well organised.

Get Outside Support

If you don’t have an HR department of your own, you may choose to outsource this service in order to speed up your hiring process. Alternatively, you may want to get the support of a professional recruitment agency so learn more about Nelson Staffing. Calling in the professionals to help out can relieve a major headache for your business.

Comprehensive Job Description

The job description should include all the vital information in a way that is coherent and effective. If your description is particularly complicated or opaque, candidates may well be put off from applying. And this means that you may well have to re advertise if you don’t get the level you were expecting. Try to be as succinct as possible, utilising bullet points wherever you can. At the same time, make sure you are clear in what the role entails and the type of candidate you expect to attract.

Use Mobile Hiring

Many people are looking for jobs using their smartphones these days, so having a process that encourages them to apply through their phones may well work in your favour. You can even have a self schedule interview option to further streamline the process.

Running a business can be a heady mixture of feelings, emotions and wishes. If you are ken for your business to succeed as well as possible, as fast as possible, there are a number of ways of doing that. The truth is that many people fail to look kindly upon their own business, even if it is a venture they started themselves. If you want your business to do well, you need to show it certain kindnesses. As long as you are doing the following, there is every chance that your business will succeed.

Promote It Far & Wide

It helps to think of marketing and advertising as like the fuel of your business. Without them, there really is no hope for the business in the future. You might last for a while, but there will inevitably come a day when the customers stop flooding in, unless you promote the business far and wide. Getting to grips with marketing is one of those aspects of being an entrepreneur which is so important, and which nobody can teach you. You just have to gradually figure out for yourself what works and what is not so good. Then before you know it, your business will be booming and you will be in a strong position financially.

Simplify It

The simpler, the better. In business, you want to be able to keep an eye on everything that is going on. Otherwise, you can all too easily find yourself worrying or wondering what you might need to be doing to improve things. The simpler you make the basic everyday processes of doing business, the better off your business will be. One of the easiest ways to do this is to simplify the processes through regulated automation, by using services such as www.dataserv.com/solutions/ap-automation. With that kind of assistance on board, your processes will be easier, and your time will be freed up, both good news for your business’ future.

Partner It Up

Partnerships have something of a mixed reputation, but make no mistake – for new businesses, they are pretty much vital to your ongoing success. With a partnership, your business will get all the benefit of the more experienced company, but without having to pay for it. All you usually need to do is share resources, and this is perfectly acceptable for even the weakest of startups. Partner your business up with noncompetitive similar businesses as early as you can.

Be Patient With It

Patience is key for any business owner, for the very good reason that no business experiences any real success very quickly. Most businesses fail in the first five years, and mostly what causes the final push is a lack of real enthusiasm. You have to rally believe in the venture enough so that you can have patience with it when things aren’t looking so good. This is how you get it out to the other side, and onto greater and greater success. This is the difference between a business which succeeds and one which fails. See http://www.ibtimes.com/exnet/four-reasons-why-you-need-patience-right-now-797121 for advice on cultivating patience in business.

The most commonly asked question about startups is always to do with money. People want to know which investors to approach and how to best approach them. But what a lot of new entrepreneurs seem to ignore is the fact that not all startups attract funding straight away; a lot of new businesses have to go down the self-funding route or bootstrapping as it is known.  

Don’t get us wrong, this is can be a fantastic route to go down and one that has major advantages further down the line, should you survive and succeed. You see, not only will you retain 100% equity and 100% control over your company, you will also be more attractive to investors because 1) you are risking your own capital and 2) you will be able to show how much progress you have made off your back when it comes to seeking investment to help your expansion. But that doesn’t mean it is easy.

Nope. Bootstrapping is hard. It is tough and challenging and, at times, a battle for survival, which is why we have come up with some survival tips.

Go Into Business With Someone

Launching on your own is not only hard but unwise. You will want to have a co-founder there alongside you, someone that can give you a second opinion, and someone that can complement your skill set. When you are bootstrapping you are forced to wear every hat you can think of to save money. You are every department, so pick a co-founder that can make up for your weaknesses and bolster your strengths.

Make Sure You Make Money Fast

You may think this is a stupid thing to say because it is so obvious, but some business ideas are better equipped to generate cash than others, so make sure you a business model that celebrates this. The last thing you want is to see your stockpile of cash get used up before you see any returns.

Only Outsource What You Can’t Do

Money is tight and the risks are high, that is a fact. So when it comes to outsourcing certain tasks, make sure they are tasks you absolutely can’t do and make sure you get the most bang for your buck. If you know nothing about SEO then, yes, it is worth speaking to an expert like LdSEOSydney.com.au. If it is designing a logo then why not approach a graphics student. If it is about your taxes then bring on a bookkeeper for two days a month. Whatever it is that you are outsourcing, though, always make sure you pay attention because you won’t want to miss out on any organizational learning experiences. Nothing is impossible to learn, remember that.

Keep An Eye On Your Cash At All Times

Clarity and transparency are absolutely critical to your success. On that note, make sure you are operating out of a business account and not a personal bank account. If you don’t do this you’ll find it extremely hard to know what is being spent where what is turning a profit and what is costing you, dear. So get a business account and then make sure you study it daily. You don’t want to be left in the dark about anything. Of course, there are bits of software you could use, free software like Mint, which is designed to track spending and analyze the rate at which you are going through your cash. If this isn’t the one for you, though, http://www.lifehacker.co.uk has a list of great money management and budgeting tools. These can be a big help.

When it becomes to your business, you shouldn’t underestimate just how beneficial it can be to have a group of workers who aren’t just individual employees, but a proper team. It is every manager’s dream to have a workforce with individual skillsets that complement each other well, a team that can be given a task and work towards it efficiently. Doing it this way maximizes your output and also limits the niggling problems and conflicts that can derail teams. But how do you do it, when it’s unlikely to happen by itself? We take a look below.

Hiring the Right Employees

This probably won’t help improve your current team, but it will make things easier moving forward. If you hire the right employees then it’ll be all the more straightforward to foster the type of workplace you want to create. When hiring, remember that an employee is about much more than just what they can bring to your business. An employee who has a stellar working background but who has trouble getting along with others might cause more harm than good. When you’re considering which potential employee you should hire, make sure you’re factoring in their interpersonal skills as well as their work attributes. If you don’t, you’ll soon realize you’ve made a mistake.

Evaluate the Problems

If things seem to be a little disjointed in the workplace, don’t just sit back and bemoan your bad luck. Take a look at what the problem might actually be. Sometimes it is just a simple, easily corrected oversight that disrupts people’s ability to work well with one another. For example, if you have employees sectioned off into separate areas of the office then it might be that they don’t actually have all that much time to actually see each other. Even creating a shared space for breaks might be the difference between your workers chatting with one another and spending their breaks alone.

Getting Social

You can try everything you like in the workplace, but nothing will create bonds than a corporate event. It can be anything, really, so long as the emphasis is on having fun and/or working with one another. If you hire a corporate event venue, you’ll be giving your workers a platform with which to talk with one another in an informal setting. When people are at work they don’t really have the time to talk beyond initial pleasantries – put them all in a room and tell them to have fun and you’ll soon see friendships being formed.

Mix Things Up in the Workplace

After your social event, you should try to capitalise on the new bonds by mixing things up in the workplace and inviting new groups to work with another. All too often people end up working with the same one or two people in the workplace. Try to set a task for a new group and you might find that certain employees work better with one another than others. Ultimately, it’s all about ensuring everyone is on the same page and striving for the same goal – making your company is functioning well – and this is best if people have as large a network of co-workers as possible.

Let Teams Do Their Thing

The best way to make a team work efficiently is to…actually let them be a team. Of course, you may wish to oversee things in your role as manager, but for the most people you should be adopting a hands off approach. Teams are productive because the individual players of the team are less afraid to mess up compared with when they’re working alone, and your constant watching may inhibit this. Instead, give them as much space as possible. If they tell you that they might work best in one particular environment, then let them work there. To create a good team, your job is to give them the resources to succeed and then let them do it.

Rewarding The Success

It is a two way street. If a team does manage to work well and produces results that exceed your expectations, make sure they’re rewarded for their efforts. Sending a team of employees for a day of fun or a meal is a great way to let them know that they’ve done a good job – and it’ll also further cement their bond, which will pay off in the future when you assign the same team another task. The victory that they have achieved should benefit everyone: the company, you, and them as individuals and a team.  

The sad truth about the business world is that it’s full of naysayers telling you that most startups will fail. They believe that newcomers to industries don’t have what it takes to offer innovative products and services that consumers want to buy. Of course, we all know that there’s plenty of room for innovation in each niche market.

With that in mind, there is one question that would-be entrepreneurs ask themselves: do startups actually build profitable businesses? In a word, yes! Believe it or not, many of the top name brands that you know today started from humble beginnings. They also had radical ideas that transformed how we live and work.

By now, you might be wondering what the “secrets” are to starting a successful new business. Well, it turns out there isn’t anything secretive that successful startups do; it just all boils down to common sense and practical thinking. Still unsure? Here’s what you need to know:

Successful entrepreneurs stick to what they know

There’s always the draw of moving into a new niche that promises lucrative returns to those that invest in it. The trouble with such an approach is that you will have little to no experience of that other sector. Having good business sense is one thing, but knowing lots of information about your chosen industry is another.

When you’re new to a niche market, you have to spend some time working in it, understanding how it works, and what drives consumers to spend their money. Some startups assume that they can “pick things up” as they go along. Sadly, that can often result in an expensive concept and one that could effectively kill their new businesses!

The need for keeping costs down

Anyone that runs a profitable business will tell you that there is a great need to keep operating costs down. Doing so enables you to maximize your profit potential, of course! As you can appreciate, many startups seldom have plenty of cash to invest in their new enterprises. Many will even need to borrow money to pay for certain expenses such as machinery and professional tools.

A successful startup is one that finds a way to keep their costs down to the bare minimum. The good news is that it’s easier than you think to lower your startup costs without compromising on the quality or level of service that you offer to your customers.

Here are a few examples:

Outsource where possible. There is no need to do everything in-house yourself. There are only so many hours in the day where you can get things done.

If you do about five different jobs in your startup, things will begin to suffer as a result. Outsourcing makes it easy to delegate tasks without the need to hire employees.

Look at ways to make what you do more efficient. Let’s say that your startup sells physical products and ships them out to customers. If you knew where those items get stored in your warehouse, you could dispatch your stock quicker, thus increasing the amount of orders you can fulfill each day.

There are many ways to make a warehouse area more efficient. For instance, you could invest in some galvanized pallet racking systems from places like RedSteelmh.com. Or have a conveyor solution installed to move products quickly from one side of your stores area to another.

Only hire employees on a freelance or contract basis. One of the biggest costs to any startup is the hiring of staff. If you haven’t already, you will soon discover that employees cost a lot of money – and I’m not just talking about their salaries! A good way to get around that conundrum is by hiring them on a freelance basis. In essence, they work for you as another business, invoicing you when they’ve completed their work.

Another advantage of hiring contractors is there’s no requirement to keep them employed on a permanent basis. It’s perfect if you need help on a project-by-project basis and can’t guarantee there will always be work for them to do.

Have the right attitude

You can do all the cost-cutting in the world to keep your startup expenses down. But, if you don’t have the right entrepreneurial mindset, you won’t achieve your objective of becoming and staying profitable. That’s why it is crucial that you have the right attitude towards your business.

All too often, you see would-be entrepreneurs come up with all kinds of innovative ideas and even get to the point of starting businesses around them. Sadly, their startups don’t survive for very long because they don’t have the right attitude in business.

Whether people like to admit it or not, one needs to be somewhat strict and even ruthless in the business world. Sure, being professional and courteous to your clients is one thing. But, your job is to persuade them to spend their money with you and not a competitor. If you’re the sort of friendly person that bends over backward to give people free help and advice, they will keep coming to you for it. However, they will seldom spend any money with you!

Don’t assume the dream can always be reality

Another aspect of having the right attitude in business is knowing when to quit chasing an idea. Sometimes, entrepreneurs will find that their concept or innovation for the market isn’t turnout out how they expected it. Throwing money at an unprofitable venture is akin to chucking cash out of your window! It makes sense to stop, step back, and determine what changes you need to make.

Even if you have a brilliant idea, it could be that your target audience just isn’t ready for it yet. Sometimes, it can take a while for consumers to get used to doing things differently. One example of that is using the Internet from a mobile phone! Take a look at this post over at Quora.com to find out how to determine if the market is ready for your products or services.

Well, I hope you have found today’s blog post insightful and useful. Thank you for reading it.

These days, everyone wants to have one of those cool, modern office made popular by tech companies. While that’s not practical or affordable for most businesses, there are small changes you can make, no matter how big or small your office is, that will bring a modern vibe into your office space while also improving the way your employees work.

One way to modernize your workstations is by using monitor arms.

Whether it’s a single screen or a dual monitor mount, your employees will love the comfort and versatility of these handy computer accessories. Monitor arms let your employees make their workstation their own and help to accommodate a variety of tasks and circumstances.

Save space

By lifting your monitor off your desk, the monitor arm creates more space and reduces clutter. The desk becomes easier to use during the day because you utilize your desk space and easier to clean later without a bulky monitor in the way collecting dust. Employees will appreciate the opportunity to keep more personal items on their desk and have a more productive workspace.

Reduce glare

Natural light is a welcome addition to any room, until an afternoon glare hits your screen. Glare can be distracting and hurt your eyes, and with a traditional monitor stand, you’re pretty limited in your ability to avoid it. With a monitor arm, you can move your screen in any direction to avoid the glare and get back to enjoying the natural light.

Rotation

A traditional monitor stand pretty much gives you one option to view your screen: a landscape view. However, depending on what tasks you’re trying to do, it might be more useful to have your monitor flipped to a portrait view or even flat parallel to your desk. With a monitor arm, you can flip your screen any way you want with minimal effort. If you have a dual monitor arm you can even have multiple screen views!

Compliment a standing desk

The ergonomic benefits of a standing desk are widely known and are becoming adopted more and more in offices everywhere. But standing desks aren’t a one stop fix. A monitor arm takes the benefits of a standing desk even further by providing more specific screen adjust-ability. A standing desk allows you to adjust the height of your desk, but if your screen is stuck at a certain angle or position, your desk height will only do so much.

Improves posture

Like a standing desk, a monitor arm works to improve your posture.

By bringing your screen into your line of site, instead of taking your line of site to the screen, you are able to reduce back and neck pain. This is particularly true if you use a laptop as a second screen. Looking down at a screen puts pressure on your neck and upper back. Using a dual monitor arm with a laptop attachment is a great way to fix this.

Hide the cables

With all the technology that surrounds us throughout our days, it can sometimes seem like we’re constantly plagued by a tangle of cords, whether it’s the various lamps and chargers on our nightstand or all the unidentifiable cables that somehow keep our workstations together. Monitor arms help to consolidate and hide those cables on your desk through various hooks that hold them to the arm and direct them neatly below your desk.

Accessability

On top of the many benefits monitor arms have in everyday situations, they can also be helpful in meeting special requirements for employees. Multiple arm attachments allow for multiple user scenarios, while adjustability can solve common problems for those with injuries, bad eyesight or to accommodate an aging workforce.
Monitor arms have such a wide range of benefits that they make a solid investment for any office. While you may not be renovating to look like Google anytime soon, installing monitor arms bring a modern touch your employees will notice.

Business owners are generally always looking for a way to improve the way that the business is run. Something which is probably always on your mind as a business owner is how to make it so that your business is running as efficiently as possible. This incorporates a number of different things. For a start, you need to know that you are not overspending on anything you shouldn’t be spending on. You also have to make sure that all your internal processes are as streamlined as possible, meaning that they are designed in such a way so as to not be at all wasteful. This way your business is much more likely to carry on for a long time in the best way possible.

Reduce Usage

The most important rule in keeping a business streamlined is to make sure that you are doing everything you can to reduce usage. This applies to anything that you might use as part of the everyday process of running the business. A good example is the use of paper. If you make a conscious effort to reduce the amount of paper you use, then this will make a huge difference to how streamlined your business is on the whole. This can seem like a difficult thing to achieve, but with the right focus it is actually pretty straightforward. All you need to do is to make sure that you are only using paper when absolutely necessary, and for all else use digital records. This will make a huge difference and is relatively easy to implement.

Storage Solutions

For what you do need to store, it makes sense to try and find a solution which is going to help you out in terms of space. The space in your building is vital as an aspect of streamlining, as it can be used for a number of things. The trick is to ensure that you are using it in the best way possible. That way, your business will be operating at a much more effective level on the whole. There are many storage solutions you might want to consider. You could use an outsourced record storage services to keep your records somewhere which is both off-site but secure. Or you might decide to hold your servers in another building, so that you can both improve security and keep your business running sharp.

Empower Employees

As with anything else in business, the more your employees know, the better that they will be able to help you out. If you are serious about streamlining, therefore, you need to make sure that you are happy to share with your colleagues exactly what you are trying to achieve. Let them know all about what streamlining is and what your actual goals are for the business. If you really want them to work wonders for your business, then you could consider giving people individual personal goals in line with the overarching goals. When you put people in charge of a certain area in this way, it really helps to empower them and improve your business in one fell swoop.

Starting a new company means you expose yourself to lots of problems and hassle. That is especially the case if this is the first time you’ve attempted to become an entrepreneur. You don’t have much experience, and so you’re prone to make mistakes others wouldn’t. With that in mind, we’ve tried to predict some of the most likely errors in this article. Hopefully, reading about them now will stop you from repeating them as your business grows. At the end of the day, even the smallest mistakes could cost you dearly. That applies in particular if you don’t have a lot of cash from investors. If you waste money on anything at all, you could dig your venture a shallow grave. Nobody wants that to happen, which is why we encourage you to pay attention. If you manage to avoid the problems mentioned below, you might stand a fighting chance.

Spending too much money before you launch

There is no getting away from the fact that you will have to invest some cash before your start date. However, the last thing you want to do is overspend. You have to remember that you could encounter many new problems when customers begin to place their orders. Maybe there are bugs in your system that you didn’t notice until that time? Perhaps you identify new methods that will speed your packing and loading processes? There are lots of different reasons you might want to spend money in the weeks and months after your company reaches the market. So, the last thing you want to do is discover empty accounts. With that in mind, try to save at least 50% of the cash you got from investors.

Giving away too much of your company to investors

Getting investment for your business idea is never easy. However, most people manage to get the cash they require. Firstly, you would take your business plan to the bank and ask to speak to the manager. With a bit of luck, they would offer the capital you need to get your company off the ground. If that doesn’t work, you have to think outside of the box. If you don’t know anyone with a lot of cash to spare, you might have to contact private equity firms. The chances of getting the investment you need will increase. Even so, you will have to hand over a percentage of your operation. Whatever happens, you should never sell more than 49%. If you do that, you lose control of the venture.

Failing to create a growth plan

As a business owner, you need to know when the time is right to expand your operation. That could mean hiring more employees or moving to larger premises. Ideally, you should aim to create your growth plan before you accept a single sale. There are business experts out there who can assist with the process if you’re unsure. The document just needs to outline the milestones you need to reach before you take action. Maybe you’d like to wait until you’ve made $100,000 in profit before you relocate? Whatever you decide, make sure you stick to the plan unless new information surfaces. You can also use that file to ensure you understand your goals and ambitions. It should give your company an element of direction at the very least.

Employing workers too early

Regardless of the nature of your venture, there will come a time when you need assistance. You’ll notice that when you find yourself working all the hours God sends. Even so, you don’t want to offer permanent contracts too early. So, it makes sense to use temporary workers from a recruitment agency. You pay a little more for their services per hour. However, you don’t have as many financial responsibilities. For example, you won’t have to worry about sick pay. You also don’t have to provide the individual with holiday pay if they decide to spend a week away. If the person starts slacking on the job, you can swap them for another worker straight away. So, don’t make the mistake of employing full-time staff too early. It’s not worth the risk, and it could cause cash flow issues.

Not factoring your business

Like it or not, some companies might not pay your invoices as quickly as they should. When that happens, your business could suffer lots of cash flow issues. You provided the goods or services, and so you want your payment as fast as possible. Thankfully, there is a solution, and it comes in the format of factoring. Specialists like Business Factors & Finance purchase unpaid invoices and provide the money when you need it most. Firms in that industry will perform a credit check on the brand that hasn’t paid. If everything comes back clear, you could have the cash you require in a matter of hours. The factoring experts will then chase the original payment on your behalf.

Failing to develop a marketing strategy

Advertising and promoting your new business could require a lot of hard work. For that reason, it makes sense to design your plan as early as possible. Spend some time researching the most fruitful marketing avenues available to you today. You should then create a plan that explains how you are going to utilize them. Failure to do that could mean you waste your investment on techniques that don’t produce the desired results. You probably can’t afford to outsource promotion at the moment, and so you need to get things right. The internet is your friend, and there are many digital marketing tips articles online. Now is the time to read as many of them as possible.

Not using social media to your advantage

Hundreds of millions of people use social networks on a daily basis. They do that to keep updated with the latest news and stay connected with their friends. Facebook and Twitter are excellent platforms for marketing. You just have to open a business page and start posting updates. With a bit of luck, your audience will grow at a steady rate. You can make an investment in the paid advertising tools on those domains if you have enough money. That would assist you in making sure your posts reach as far as possible. You just need to know some information about the people in your target market. For example, their ages, sexes, locations, and interests will assist you in getting better outcomes.

Trying to manage the books without assistance

No company boss wants to make mistakes when it comes to recording financial information. An IRS investigation could cripple your operation during the early stages. So, you need to ensure your accounts are always correct and up to date. It’s sensible to employ the services of an experienced accountant at the very least. You might also consider buying some specialist software to simplify the accounting process. There are programs available that will record all outgoings and income automatically. So, you’re left with more time to concentrate on expanding your firm.

Not keeping a close eye on your competitors

The brands that compete with yours can play a significant role in your success. You need to watch them carefully if you don’t want to miss anything important. Specialists like Michael Hunter have said that for years. It’s essential that you keep your prices in line with theirs. You also need to know when they are running deals and offers. If you keep a close eye on your competitors, you’ll manage to counteract their moves. With a bit of luck, that should mean you can compete with and counter any new strategies they develop.

Failing to offer routes of progress to employees

There should come a time when you have lots of permanent workers, and you’re making a healthy profit. You’ll want to maintain that success as much as possible. So, it’s sensible for you to develop routes of progress for your employees. You want the best workers to stay with your company for as long as possible. That stops you from having to train new people, and it means you can relax a little. Always try to offer training and advertise any vacancies internally. That will show your staff that they can move on to better roles if they have the motivation. If your managers started as order pickers, you should create a stable operation. That is because the people in power have risen through the ranks to reach their positions.

That’s all we’ve got time for today guys. We hope you will learn from the mistakes mentioned on this page and stop yourself from repeating them. Don’t worry if you get things wrong from time to time because that is always going to happen. You just need to ensure you don’t waste time and money on errors you could have avoided. After reading this article, there is no excuse for falling into the traps we’ve mentioned. With that in mind, we wish you every prosperity for the future and hope your new business goes from strength to strength.

All startup company bosses will need to work hard to master the art of marketing. The truth is, it’s not an exact science. That means an idea that should work won’t always produce the best outcomes. All promotional strategies can become hit and miss. However, certain techniques seem to work well across the board. With that in mind, we’ve released this post today in the hope of giving you some inspiration. Take a look at each of the points below and then try to find a way to apply them to your operation. You’ll never make a killing in the business world if you don’t market effectively. So, now is the time to improve your approach and learn some new ideas. With a bit of luck, that will assist you in reaching a wider audience this year.

Getting better results from social media

You’ve probably opened social media pages for your business already. Well done! That suggests you performed at least some research in the past. Websites like Facebook and Twitter are essential to the success of modern businesses. They allow you to reach almost anyone in the world and increase the size of your customer base. If you want to get better results, now is the time to start using the paid advertising tools. Both Twitter and Facebook offer them, and they could assist you in attracting lots of new people. You just have to know some basic information about those who you want to contact. You then enter the targeting details into the platform and let it work its magic. The best thing about social media ads is that you don’t usually have to make a minimum investment.

Improving your Adwords campaign

Google Adwords is the single most valuable tool for marketers today. It allows you to place advertising banners on millions of relevant sites all over the internet. With a bit of luck, people from within your target market will click those banners and discover your website. However, it’s easy to waste your investment with Adwords, and you probably aren’t getting the best results. Still, we have a couple of tips that could make all the difference. Firstly, you need to learn more about your target market. Try to work out what type of website they might visit most frequently. That information would allow you to refine your targeting. You also need to make sure you use professionally-designed graphics for the best outcomes. Don’t worry if you don’t have the cash to contact an established design firm. You can save money by using freelancers.

Reaching more people with print advertising

Print advertising seems like a thing of the past to some forward-thinking business owners. Still, lots of smaller companies use it if their customers are based in a particular geographical area. Getting some leaflets printed and pushed through doors could have a positive effect on sales. However, the process of doing that can become time-consuming. You can’t afford for a member of your team to take a week off while they make deliveries. That said, there is a solution you might find suitable. Search online for leaflet distribution firms in your local area. There are sure to be at least a couple of them. Companies of that nature handle large deliveries on your behalf. They don’t charge a lot of money for the service, but they do employ a lot of workers. So, it’s possible your leaflets could reach their destinations in no time at all.

Attracting more smartphone users

Hundreds of millions of people are walking around this planet with a smartphone in their pockets these days. It makes sense that you will want to use that device for business promotion. The best way of doing that involves creating a custom app for your customers to download. They can use the program to check your latest items and make purchases at the tap of a screen. So, it’s convenient for both you and them. Most business owners don’t have a clue how to build an app, but that doesn’t matter. Many professionals working in the industry dedicate their time to that process. You just need to find a specialist that has a history of creating superior designs. Upload your app to all the most popular smartphone stores, and allow people to download it for free for the best results.

Achieving more conversions from your mailing list

Many company bosses decide to purchase email mailing lists these days because they help them to reach more new customers. However, you might not get the results you desire when you send your bulk messages. With that in mind, it makes sense to improve the content as much as possible. If you want to boost conversion rates, you’ll have to think about the way in which you construct the messages. Make sure they always open with a tag line to get people hooked. You should then include a short paragraph that seems fun or humorous. After that, you need to highlight products or services and publish website links. The links are important because lots of people will click them, and you should notice a spike in traffic. With a bit of luck, that will lead to more conversions.

Whatever happens this year, we hope you now have some brilliant ideas about the best ways to improve your marketing strategy. As we said at the beginning of this post, it’s not an exact science. Sometimes timing has more to do with success than anything else. For instance, you might try an idea out today and fail to achieve the desired results. However, if you did the same thing tomorrow, the outcome could blow you away. So, never slate yourself too much if something goes wrong. Most of the time, success is mainly out of your control. That said, using the right strategies and working hard every day is the best way to tip the scales of balance in your favor. Thanks for reading guys! We’ll see you back here tomorrow for some more actionable business tips. Remember to take a look around before you leave us.

The statistic that eight out of ten new businesses fail in the first year isn’t surprising. What is shocking is that entrepreneurs don’t learn from their forefathers mistakes. There can be no doubt that a lot of the reasons companies fail are hard to avoid. A lack of capital, for instance, isn’t a quick fix even if you plan ahead in advance. Still, there are plenty of obstacles that firms can hurdle. Avoiding the significant barriers is the difference between success and becoming a statistic. Here are a few tips to help you beat the odds.

Be Conservative

Do you want to know a secret? The reason businesses fail in their first year is because they bite off more than they can chew. Yep, new companies aren’t very good at keeping the bar low in the beginning. By the time they get half way through the year, their targets come back to bite them on the ass. New firms have to start slow if they want to maximize success. By going slow, there is more room for flexibility should something go wrong. Problems often occur out of nowhere, so it’s a savvy move as expanding too fast can lead to cash flow issues and irreparable errors. There is plenty of time for that later!

Know The Customer

The sad truth is that businesses like to think they know their customers, but they don’t. Over a longer period, it becomes easier to spot the people that are going to make a difference. After all, you know the products inside and out, so you know who is likely to make a purchase. In the beginning, the usual suspects are hard to spot, a lot like Keyser Soze. What you have to do is figure out who the key players are so that you can market to them to maximize sales. Surveys, questionnaires, and focus groups are good places to start, as is analyzing customer data.

Think Security

Far too many firms don’t take security seriously enough in the early stages of life. Not treating security with respect is a huge danger because it leaves the business vulnerable. You might only be small, but any hacker can take a shot just because they are bored. Companies have to turn to sites like https://hstechgroup.com in their time of need. These sites not only deal with cyber security, but they also cover physical security. As https://www.wsj.com says, people don’t place enough emphasis on non-cyber security any longer. Don’t make the same mistake because not all thieves use a keyboard to steal.

Spend Wisely

As the introduction alluded to, money will be tight. To survive, you have to stretch your budget or make more. It’s that simple, but it isn’t a simple goal to hit. An error that is common among startup bosses is the unwillingness to splash the cash. Because they don’t have much of it, they want to hoard it for a rainy day. The problem with this tactic is that it encourages you to miss opportunities. A security camera could reduce employee theft and save money, or a new hire could raise productivity. You’ll never know if you are scared to dip into the budget.

A firm needs to be frugal, but they also need to have financial conviction.

Networking groups can be an incredibly valuable tool in the business world, especially when you are just starting out. They are a great way of making contacts that could bring in business, and they are also useful for scoping out the competition. The links that you make at networking events can make or break a business so it is important that you attend them. But even better than attending them, is setting them up yourself. That way you can invite people that are most beneficial to you, and maximize the effectiveness of the event. It can be difficult to set up a successful networking group, but if you do it right, the benefits will be enormous. Here are some of the key things you need to do to make your networking events successful.

Do Your Research

There is a simple way that you can do this, attend as many events as possible. Not only will you get the benefits that come with attending a lot of networking events, you will also be able to see which ones are most popular and work out why. That way, when you start your own networking group you will be able to imitate these features. In some cases, it might be possible to change the focus of an existing networking group to suit your own interests, this will save you a lot of work.

Have a Clear Aim

The best networking groups are clear in their purpose. You need to remember that the idea of networking events is that they are mutually beneficial. If you have a clear idea of the types of links you want to forge, it will be a lot easier to decide who to invite. As a result of this, everybody in attendance will make better connections and will be more likely to be a regular member of the group. If people arrive and the guests they speak to are not really in their field, they are not likely to return.

Make your Events Enjoyable

This might seem a bit obvious, but it’s still worth mentioning. After all, people are giving up an evening to attend these events and while they are there to make business links, they will still be reluctant to come again if the event is boring. Make sure that you have interesting and relevant speakers. You should also make sure you get the best catering, you would be surprised how much difference it could make. The venue needs to be carefully considered as well, if it is not very accessible to your guests, you might find that people stop showing up. Pick somewhere that is easy to get to and is a nice venue.

Listen to Your Members

If you have done everything else right, you should have some regular members by now. Speak to them regularly about any changes they think could be made to the group and listen to them. After all, you want them to keep coming back. If you do not listen to your members, and just operate the group in a way that is only beneficial to yourself, you will soon see it fall apart.

If you follow these steps, there is no reason why you can’t create a successful networking group and widen your professional circle.