Posts Tagged ‘Business Owners’

Principle # 1 having a clear vision

Many times when I ask business owners (and particularly new business owners) what they want to achieve with – where do they want to take – their business in the next 5 years, along with asking them what profit margins do they want to achieve and What markets do they want to get into?, they are unable to tell me the answer.

When you come to plan business growth, or even start a new business, one important question needs to be asked? Why do you want to grow your business (and please don’t just say ‘to make more money.’) What is it you want to get from it? What is your outcome? What do you want to achieve from it?

An architect doesn’t say to a builder “Place some bricks over there. Build a wall so high here. Maybe a window this big there” They begin with the end in mind. The architect knows what size the building needs to be, what supports, joists, levels of foundations are needed. They know what materials are needed to get the job done, and how much it will cost and how long it will take. They have clarity as to what they want to achieve. It’s the same in business.

The clearer you are about what it is you want to achieve with your business, when you want to achieve it and what you are going to do to achieve it, the easier it will be to achieve and the quicker you will able to achieve it.

Why not try the following experiment to understand this principle.

Make sure you are in a room with lots of space and stand in the middle of the room away from anything you can bump into. Pick a point on the wall in front of you. This point is going to represent your business’s future. Then you will need to close your eyes and spin around five times. Finally without opening your eyes point to the spot on the wall that was depicting your business’s future. When you think you are pointing to it, open your eyes and see how you did.

How did you do? Did you point to your businesses future?

Ok I know it’s a silly game but you would have got the principle behind it. So many business owners spend their time moving around with ‘their eyes shut’ thinking they know where their business’s future is when unfortunately they don’t know at all, far from it.

Before moving on to the next principles please take a few moments to write down in a note pad or on a piece of paper that you can keep safe, the following question. ‘Where do I want this business to be in 5 years time?’ Then write out your answer making it as clear and concise as possible, because this is going to be the starting point for you to build your business the way you truly want.

Principle # 2 moving from point A to point B

In principle one I talked about the importance of knowing where you want to end up. In this principle I want to talk about how to get there.

If I were to ask you what is the shortest and most direct route from point A to point B? You would more than likely answer; ‘a straight line!’ After all everyone knows that from learning geometry in school. Yet so many business owners I come across who want to grow their business go in every direction but the most obvious and simplest one, a straight line.

A great example of this is a new business owner I met once who told me that he was going to set up a graphic design company helping new businesses to create their branding. Great I thought he knows exactly where he is going. The problem was he started getting involved in so many other things too. He began providing web design, organising printing jobs, and then adding photography as well. In fact he started doing everything but graphic design. He was like the motorist who wanted to go from London to Leeds (obvious route straight up the M1) but went via Southampton, Bristol, Birmingham and Manchester first.

If you are going to be a Graphic Designer, be a Graphic Designer. Be a good one then maybe once you have reached your destination add extra things then, not the other way round.

If you decide that to grow your business you need to do a specific task, think about what is the easiest and shortest, most direct way of doing it. Then stick to it, don’t deviate, divert, get distracted or add other things.

Another thing I commonly see with business owners (especially new business owners) is the urge to not take the simple route. It probably is great to come up with a completely new way of doing something, but to be honest by the time you have created a new fuel injected, glittery, all singing all dancing way of doing it, you could have done the simple thing and taken the most direct route.

Take your note book or piece of paper that you wrote your five year vision on and now underneath that write out how you are going to get there. This is going to take you some time but it is important to ensure that before you start on your journey you know where you are going. Remember the straighter and more direct the route, the better.

Principle # 3 focus your attention

Have you had the same experience as me when it comes to the day before you go away on holiday? You’re at work and you have stacks of jobs still outstanding on your desk. It can be filing, invoices to send out, accounts to pay, it doesn’t matter what the jobs are that still need doing; the point is you actually get them all done! Why is that? They have been sat there for ages then suddenly the day before you go away on holiday you get them all completed. That’s amazing isn’t it? No! That is what is known as focused attention?

One of the main reasons why businesses fail to grow, and in particular new businesses fail to survive, is because the business owner will do everything else but focus their attention on their business.

I had a client who recently called me in a panic. They are an Estate agent and their sales had suddenly begun to dry up. They weren’t selling their properties like they used to. When I sat down with them it came apparent why their sales had dried up when I asked them the question, ‘Talk me through a typical day’

They told me about all the paperwork they had to do, the filing that needed doing, the advertising that had to be sorted out and so on and so on. Not once did they mention the viewings they need to arrange or the actual selling of property they needed to do. Why not? Because their attention was focused on everything else but the actual thing they were there for; selling houses. As soon as they redirected their focus, sales began to rise.

New business owners do this all the time. They spend time sorting out their new office, getting the furniture all straight and correct. They focus on getting their letter head right and their paper work systems in order. They focus on anything and everything except the most important thing to insure their survival… getting customers!

Why is Tiger Woods so successful at golf? Quite simply, he focuses his attention on being the best. He doesn’t worry about or waste time designing golf courses. He isn’t putting all his attention into opening golf academies. When he is not hitting a ball 400 yards he is practising hitting it 400 yards. When he is not winning tournaments with great short game play, he is practising his short game play so he does win tournaments that way. It is because of his focused attention that he has been #1 in the golf rankings for such a long time now, winning more tournaments than any current player and the reason why he was the #1 highest paid sports star in 2006, earning a massive $100 million.

Now that you have written down where you want to be in five years time and then followed it up by planning the most direct route to get there, I want you to write down the key areas you believe you need to focus on to ensure you get there in five years or less. What areas do you need to really focus your attention? What will need the most attention? Once you have written them down, keep referring to them to ensure you are not deviating from them and getting off track.

Principle # 4 who do you do business with?

This may seem like an obvious question to you, but you would be surprised to discover that many businesses that fail to grow do so because they have forgotten who they do business with.

I knew of a very successful business that went from start up to one of the fastest growing and most successful businesses in the whole of the UK, all within 2 years. Within 4 years it went into administration.

The main reason why the company went into administration was a simply one. It grew so fast in the first place because they had a unique service that none of their competition provided. What’s more there was a need for it, but only in a particular market place. The company wanted to expand by moving into market areas where they were unknown. The problem was the company had lost sight of what made them successful in the first place and stopped focusing on the service that gave them that success. They tried to be a player in a market place unfamiliar to them. The company had a number of outlets located in different towns across the region and before long the previously successful outlets had to increase their performance to support the new ones who were not doing so well. Eventually because these new outlets were not being successful, the existing ones could no longer support them, and the company had to call in the administrators.

It costs 6 times more to generate new clients than it does to service and keep selling to the ones you already have. So let me ask you – Who are your clients? Who is providing you with your revenue? If you don’t know exactly, you need to find out because not only is it more cost effective but 80% of your revenue will come from around 20% of your customers, those that have bought from you in the past. So as long as you have provided them with a good service in the past they will buy from you again. If you are bringing out a new product or service, tell them about it, get them to buy it from you. Don’t make the mistake of looking for new clients when you have them already at your door step.

In your book / on your piece of paper write out a list of your top 20 – 50 customers. The ones you deal with the most and who buy from you the most. Once you know who they are then you can focus your attention on having them buy from you again and again.

Principle # 5 who can help you?

The most successful businesses and those business owners, who know how to build a successful business, know the power of leverage.

There are three main sources we use in business:

• Time

• Money

• Energy

Each one of these sources if we use them personally, are a drain on both our business and ourselves. Think about it for a moment. Business’s that fail to grow do so because they are wasting either time, money, or energy and in the worst case, all three. If you are a one man operation are you wasting time and energy doing the filing, accounts, invoices, bills, orders etc? If you employ staff are they wasting time and energy by focusing on things that are not important, or to put it as principle # 3 says, not focusing their attention. Is the job or task you are currently doing really important? Can it be done later or if you really tap into leverage, can someone else be doing it? Can you be using someone else’s time, money or energy?

In you note book / on your piece of paper Write out all the tasks you currently do daily in you business and ask the following questions about each task.

• Is it going to eventually save me time or am I wasting time?

• Will I be making money doing this task or wasting money?

• Can only I do this task or can I pass it on to someone else?

For your business to really truly grow you need to learn to tap into OPT, OPM and OPE:

Other Peoples Time,

Other Peoples Money

Other Peoples Energy.

Those who do this successfully are seeing not only their business grow, and their profits increase, but as a result they have more time, more money and more energy to do the things they really want, be it in business or in their private life.

By going through these five principles and working on the task I set you on each one, you have begun to create a plan that will help you work towards growing your business. You can also visit www.yourbusinessgrowthcoach.com and try our 10 Day Business Boost programme to begin boosting your profits immediately – ITS FREE – plus if you would like to discuss how as Your Business Growth Coach I can help you and your business in other ways, call me on 0800 2982910 to discuss further.

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A lot of theories have been propounded and even studies have been advanced on the subject of business expansion. But one that is worth taking note of is the study of Dr Ichak Adizes. In most of his research, he brings out the fact that every association has its evolution and it builds up starting from a normal formation stage and progresses into a mature stage. At every phase of its existence, the association will have to experience upheavals. In most cases, success in business will only have to be experienced by those business owners who have all the resources, the expertise as well as the experienced required in sailing through financial difficulties. The following lines will identify the various ways through which a business can be financed as soon as it is set up and even right up to when it is fully established in the market:

The Formative Phase of the Business

This is one of those very delicate stages in which every entrepreneur will want to take all measures not only in making sure that the business takes off smoothly, but to ensure that the business has come to stay for good. What every type of business will need at this phase as identified by Adizes is a running capital and an appropriate administration to take care of that capital. What should be observed at this phase of business is that so many unforeseen circumstances may come up. It is for this reason that enough capital should be hoarded to take care of any unforeseeable risk. What the entrepreneur has individually gathered may not be enough. Therefore, it is good that a resort to angel financing, venture capital, corporate venture capital and loans is opted for. Keep in mind that once a business is at this starting phase, it will need a lot of finance to surmount the odds often posed b market forces or even from competitors. This is necessary for a continuous operation.

The Business Flow Phase

This is phase where the business is already running and it is at least expected that the inflow of money is certain. This is also a phase at which the entrepreneur starts to develop some form of confidence that the business will thrive amidst the odds. Although the entrepreneur will have some measure of satisfaction, there is a need to obtain some form of security for the future of the business. This is the main reason why much of what is received in the form of profits should either be ploughed back into the business or should be used to acquire some fixed capital that the business can rely on in the future. The business can also use this to employ more qualified staff.

The Youthful Phase

This is a phase in which the business will experience a lot of unpredictable circumstances. It should be noted that growth in the business will still be experienced, but this will not be stable. It is certain that at this phase, the business will already have made some significant amount of savings. It must also have gained some standing within the business environment and can conveniently surmount any hurdle within the business environment. The money that has been saved should therefore be taken to counter any shortcoming. But the entrepreneur should also make sure that the business can first of all rely on what it has kept in stock rather than seek for external help.

The Mature Phase

This is a phase in which almost everything is certain. Every objective must have been put in place and every priority must have been identified. Growth or expansion at this stage should be maintained to remain stable. The business should also seek for means of spreading out its risk by opening up to possible investors. Also remember that this is the stage in which financing becomes much easier to obtain. This is because the business must have developed some credit worthiness.

An understanding and appreciation of all the phases that your business goes through is important if you have to maintain its growth or develop ways to compete within the business environment.

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The first thing about choosing your employees is to measure their competence based on the following characteristics:

• Attitude – willingness to do the job that is assigned to them
• Aptitude – ability and capacity to be competent in their position
• Integrity – honesty and loyalty when you’re not there
• Intelligence – common sense and the level of academic skills required to perform their job
• Intensity – their ability to focus

You will choose your employees from among those who are applying for a position with your company. Among your applicants will be those who are looking to change jobs and those who are unemployed. The ones who are unemployed are a red flag; there is likely a reason they are unemployed; they don’t get along with co-workers; they are not productive; there is likely something negative about their quality as an employee. There are exceptions; but you don’t have the time to investigate this. Your best bet is to look at those who are changing jobs.

The common reasons for changing jobs are:

• To acquire a position at a fun, exciting place to work
• To acquire a position that allows them to make a difference, do good and be appreciated
• To build their career experience, to grow with your company
• Salary is number 4 on the list; they understand that it is necessary, but they are mainly focused on their education and growth.

Remember that the best employees you hire are not necessarily going to stay with your company forever. The best, quality employees are likely to grow and succeed as business owners themselves some day. These are the people you want working for your business now. The important thing is the difference they will make with their contribution during the time they have this relationship with you.

So, how do you go about recruiting new employees? The best people to get referrals from are your current employees. They do their jobs well and they want others on the team to do their part. They are not likely to recommend that you hire slackers who will take the company down by not pulling their weight. Offer a bonus incentive to anyone who recommends a good employee if you should hire them.

There are four items that are crucial in your ability to retain high-quality employees. Remember, you likely will not keep them forever, but they are likely to perform more and stay longer if they are shown:

• Respect – recognition for their contribution
• Appreciation – thanks and acknowledgment for a job well done
• Vision – share your vision; let them know where your company is going and the likelihood of growth within your company
• Perks – money, benefits, rewards

Notice that money is last on the list of items that encourage employees to stay with a company. Of course, the income is needed, but so is the respect and appreciation they are shown. A good employee will take pride in his work and be happy if they are recognized for their contribution to your company.

Salary

Never negotiate salary with employees. Know what your pay range is, then ask them what they think would be a fair wage to be paid for the position which they are applying. Let’s say, for example, you are prepared to pay $40 to 50 thousand a year for a quality employee and their answer is $45,000. You have three choices of how to reply:

• Agree to pay $45,000 – you’re both happy as you have someone to do the job for a salary that is within your range
• Offer a little less, say $42,000 – they will likely accept this, but they may be somewhat disgruntled
• Counter at $50,000 – already, your new employee loves his job! He is eager to start work; you have offered him more than he asked for; he will likely give you more than you ask for by being a very productive, hard worker.

Now, what if the employee says that their salary expectations are $55,000? This amount is outside your range; therefore, this is when you will discontinue the interview. Thank them for their time; they likely have other interviews to go to; one of them may be better suited to them.

Lead by Example

Are you the type who manages people or leads people? Employees are human beings; they don’t want to feel they are being managed or manipulated. They want strong leadership. Don’t isolate yourself from your employees; set an example; show up to work every day; be accessible; don’t always be in your office with the door closed. Be a role model in attitude and in action; share your vision. Your vision impacts everyone in your organization. Let your employees know that they are contributing to the growth of your business; they are working together to build something rather than each performing their individual tasks separately. Show them that their contribution is making a difference.

Measure Results

People will only do what is measured. Hold your employees accountable for whatever is most important to your business. Measure for productivity. It is better to let an incompetent employee go than to keep them on as this will only cause stress and frustration while holding them back as well. Letting them go can be an opportunity for them to find work where they fit in and can grow as well as an opportunity for you to fill their position with someone more suited to your business.

Relationship

Your relationship with your employees depends on your ability to communicate and to be sure they understand exactly what is expected of them. A good relationship depends on the 3 C’s

• Communication – what you expect and a deadline
• Concurrence – the employee should be able to repeat back to you exactly what is expected to show they understand
• Compliance – you don’t have to stand over them constantly, but ask when is a reasonable time for you to check on their progress

It is important to communicate in this manner to remove all doubt and to avoid misunderstanding. Employees do not like to have to guess what you want and they don’t enjoy getting into trouble for failing to do what they didn’t understand they had to do.

You are showing your employees that you respect them and that you want them to feel good about accomplishing just what is required of them. When you assign them to a specific project, ask them how long it will take them to accomplish it and have them repeat back to you what they agree to do. This may sound strange, but it eliminates doubt and reinforces an understanding. Finally, let them know that you will not be hovering over them; you trust them to get the job done, but you want to be able to check on their progress at some point to see if they are on track.

Create an environment where the employees think of themselves as a part of your company rather than one where they distance themselves by saying things like “at the place where I work;” rather, they say, “at our company,” or “our policy is to…”

Bill Bartmann has had over 10,000 employees over the course of his career. The time and energy spent on employee relations has proven to be well worth the effort for the rewards to the business. For more information on good employee relationships go to http://www.billionaire.com and check out Bill Bartmann’s Billionaire Business Systems, an online business course for entrepreneurs.

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Going back to basic, marketing is a system to present your offer in front of your customer. You can go out and present the offer using different advertising channels or you can create a system to attract customer to your product or service. Business Franchising There are tons of ways that you can use to market your business without burning a hole in your pocket.
Most business owners feel that they don’t need marketing because they are doing ok. They forget the natural system of business. If a business is not growing each day then it’s shrinking. Nothing in this world stands still. It can either grow or become extinct. What you choose to do will decide the fate of your business.
Here are five ninja marketing techniques that you can use to market your business both online and offline. It only takes few minutes each day and you don’t have to spend any money. This is not some old school marketing approach. These techniques are measurable and solid.
1. Blog – Blog is a web diary where you can post the daily activities of your business and marketplace. These posts should be more directed towards your customers.
You can create a free blog at wordpress.com or blogger.com. Blogs can become an automated customer attraction system because search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN love blogs.
2. Simple SEO – Most people think that search engine optimization is too technical and scary but its not. If you can create an email account and login to your email then you can perform basic seo to your website easily.
If you have your web hosting details then you can change the following in 10 mins without reading any technical manual. Just get access to your index.html or index.htm page
Title tag – Your offer with a main keyword (no more than 60 word count)  Meta description – Your offer explained in more detail with your phone# (no more than 200 word count)  Meta keyword – few keywords related to your business ( no more than 60 word count)
3. Social Media – Most people use Face book and My Space for fun but you can easily use these free tools for business. You can create free face book groups and MySpace pages with your business details. Add new content each week to these pages and watch your network sky rocket.
4. Articles – One of the easiest ways to generated tons of traffic to your business website is by writing articles. You must writer 2-3 articles every week and submit to popular article directories like EzinerArticles.com. Article positions you as expert and build credibility.
You can go to news.google and search for new content related to your business.
5. Google Analytics – Marketing is not only about getting new customers but it’s also about measuring current conversion.  Google Analytics is free and most powerful tracking system. You can install analytics on a 5-10 page website in minutes.
To quick install Google Analytics you must go to google.com/analytics and create a new account. It will ask you to enter your website address and then it will give you a code. Copy the code and paste it every where before the < /body > tag on your website.
Now you can track your website and get tons of data on customer value, loyalty and conversion.

For years I have seen small business owners struggle to grow their business. Most business owners think that they need lot of money to market and grow their business to next level. I agree that it takes money to advertise and hire a sales team but I can argue whole day about money and marketing.
Going back to basic, marketing is a system to present your offer in front of your customer. You can go out and present the offer using different advertising channels or you can create a system to attract customer to your product or service. Business Franchising There are tons of ways that you can use to market your business without burning a hole in your pocket.
Most business owners feel that they don’t need marketing because they are doing ok. They forget the natural system of business. If a business is not growing each day then it’s shrinking. Nothing in this world stands still. It can either grow or become extinct. What you choose to do will decide the fate of your business.
Here are five ninja marketing techniques that you can use to market your business both online and offline. It only takes few minutes each day and you don’t have to spend any money. This is not some old school marketing approach. These techniques are measurable and solid.
1. Blog – Blog is a web diary where you can post the daily activities of your business and marketplace. These posts should be more directed towards your customers.
You can create a free blog at wordpress.com or blogger.com. Blogs can become an automated customer attraction system because search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN love blogs.
2. Simple SEO – Most people think that search engine optimization is too technical and scary but its not. If you can create an email account and login to your email then you can perform basic seo to your website easily.
If you have your web hosting details then you can change the following in 10 mins without reading any technical manual. Just get access to your index.html or index.htm page
Title tag – Your offer with a main keyword (no more than 60 word count)  Meta description – Your offer explained in more detail with your phone# (no more than 200 word count)  Meta keyword – few keywords related to your business ( no more than 60 word count)
3. Social Media – Most people use Face book and My Space for fun but you can easily use these free tools for business. You can create free face book groups and MySpace pages with your business details. Add new content each week to these pages and watch your network sky rocket.
4. Articles – One of the easiest ways to generated tons of traffic to your business website is by writing articles. You must writer 2-3 articles every week and submit to popular article directories like EzinerArticles.com. Article positions you as expert and build credibility.
You can go to news.google and search for new content related to your business.
5. Google Analytics – Marketing is not only about getting new customers but it’s also about measuring current conversion.  Google Analytics is free and most powerful tracking system. You can install analytics on a 5-10 page website in minutes.
To quick install Google Analytics you must go to google.com/analytics and create a new account. It will ask you to enter your website address and then it will give you a code. Copy the code and paste it every where before the < /body > tag on your website.
Now you can track your website and get tons of data on customer value, loyalty and conversion.
For years I have seen small business owners struggle to grow their business. Most business owners think that they need lot of money to market and grow their business to next level. I agree that it takes money to advertise and hire a sales team but I can argue whole day about money and marketing.
Going back to basic, marketing is a system to present your offer in front of your customer. You can go out and present the offer using different advertising channels or you can create a system to attract customer to your product or service. Business Franchising There are tons of ways that you can use to market your business without burning a hole in your pocket.
Most business owners feel that they don’t need marketing because they are doing ok. They forget the natural system of business. If a business is not growing each day then it’s shrinking. Nothing in this world stands still. It can either grow or become extinct. What you choose to do will decide the fate of your business.
Here are five ninja marketing techniques that you can use to market your business both online and offline. It only takes few minutes each day and you don’t have to spend any money. This is not some old school marketing approach. These techniques are measurable and solid.
1. Blog – Blog is a web diary where you can post the daily activities of your business and marketplace. These posts should be more directed towards your customers.
You can create a free blog at wordpress.com or blogger.com. Blogs can become an automated customer attraction system because search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN love blogs.
2. Simple SEO – Most people think that search engine optimization is too technical and scary but its not. If you can create an email account and login to your email then you can perform basic seo to your website easily.
If you have your web hosting details then you can change the following in 10 mins without reading any technical manual. Just get access to your index.html or index.htm page
Title tag – Your offer with a main keyword (no more than 60 word count)  Meta description – Your offer explained in more detail with your phone# (no more than 200 word count)  Meta keyword – few keywords related to your business ( no more than 60 word count)
3. Social Media – Most people use Face book and My Space for fun but you can easily use these free tools for business. You can create free face book groups and MySpace pages with your business details. Add new content each week to these pages and watch your network sky rocket.
4. Articles – One of the easiest ways to generated tons of traffic to your business website is by writing articles. You must writer 2-3 articles every week and submit to popular article directories like EzinerArticles.com. Article positions you as expert and build credibility.
You can go to news.google and search for new content related to your business.
5. Google Analytics – Marketing is not only about getting new customers but it’s also about measuring current conversion.  Google Analytics is free and most powerful tracking system. You can install analytics on a 5-10 page website in minutes.
To quick install Google Analytics you must go to google.com/analytics and create a new account. It will ask you to enter your website address and then it will give you a code. Copy the code and paste it every where before the < /body > tag on your website.
Now you can track your website and get tons of data on customer value, loyalty and conversion.

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Business owners are faced with more than just the direct challenges that are a result of operating their businesses. Not only do business owners have to perform the duties of their specific business; but they also have the responsibility of managing any staff, and keeping track of finances.

Business finances can be a nightmare! Most business owners are very pressed for time, trying to get everything accomplished- and it could be their record keeping suffers as a result of the lack of time. Business credit cards can help you resolve this situation, and actually save you time and money. You might be wondering how a credit card could save you money, considering they have interest fees and finance charges and all sorts of “hidden” expenses; but with the right business credit card, your financial record keeping will not only become easier to manage, but will in fact reduce the time it takes you to pay your business expenses and saving that time will result in your ability to put your time into money-making activities.

Pay All of Your Business Expenses With a Single Credit Card

The first step to easier financial management and record keeping is to obtain a business credit card and designate it your one-and-only method for paying your operating expenses. Whenever you need to purchase business supplies, make a utility payment, order lunch for staff appreciation day you’ll whip out your new card and that’s where the charges will go.

That means you won’t pay with a personal check and have to transfer funds later to make sure you’re keeping your business and personal money separate. Using a single credit card for all your business needs means at the end of the month, you’ll receive a statement that itemizes every expense you had for the month.

Have you discovered the value in this yet? When you pay for everything on the single credit card, you’ll receive a single statement with a list of everything you’ve purchased or paid for, all in one- convenient place! You’ll easily be able to divide your expenses into categories for tax reporting purposes, and see at a glance what you’ve paid for the month versus what your business income was for the same month.

Give Key Employees a Business Credit Card

If you have office managers or other staff that have to make purchases for the business from time to time, there is a simple solution to this situation as well. Simply order additional business credit cards in the employee’s names and all of their purchases will appear with yours on the itemized statement. Many credit card companies will divide the purchases by each of the credit cards you have on the statement, so you can also easily see at a glance which cardholder made which purchases.

Easier Checkbook Balancing

Once you’ve begun making all of your business purchases and expenses using your business credit card, you’ll find that keeping your checkbook under control is a much easier task! Rather than having numerous entries throughout the month, you could very well have only the need to write out just one check each month to pay your credit card balance. It’s much easier to balance a checkbook with one or two transactions than one that has a few hundred checks and ATM card purchases going through each month!

Additional Benefits of Using Business Credit Cards

In addition to each of the benefits described above, using credit cards for business expenses makes it possible for you to earn rewards from various rewards programs offered through card issuers. You could be earning cash back or airline miles, among other benefits, that build up rapidly when you use your card to handle all expenses each month.

It is inevitable that every business owner will need finance to properly run his business. The question that is always at the mind of every business owner is how will finances be pumped into the business to make it profitable? This is true for every business owner, be it on a large or small scale or on an international or local scale. There will be so many responses to the above question. The responses will depend on the person providing answers to the question as well as it may also depend on the particular period in business at which such as question is being tendered. Despite the varying responses that may be put, all these ideas about getting a business being financed will turn to a single direction. The following lines are meant for those coming into businesses, who want to identify the various options of financing their business and who will want to determine which of these options is the most appropriate for their businesses.

Individual Finances

There are so many business owners who will individually and single-handedly provide the money that is needed by their businesses. The sources of such type of capital may spring from their personal savings and other forms of capital which solely belong to them. However, these sources of finances are really workable if the business owner has substantially built up a good amount of money. If the capital is in the form of assets, it will be easy to dispose these to get some cash for the running of the business. If you intend to make use of capital through the credit card as a means of financing your business, you must take some reasonable precautions. You must be aware that this source of capital is usually best for interim financial provisions.

Angel Financing

This is yet another good way to oil the machinery of your business. When we make reference to this type of financing, we are referring to that type of financing that is often provided to new businesses. This is commonly found in the United States and most upcoming markets. In this type of financing, a group of affiliates belonging to the informal risk sector combine their resources to finance a business. What is usually done is that a business suggestion is proposed to a business owner and if the business owner finds the suggestion interesting, he will be given the option to get the business financed by the group of financiers. This group will also have the option to ether finance the business and take part in running its daily affairs or to stay aloof from the day to day running of the business.

Venture Capital

This is another way of making finances available to a business. In such a case, the business owner will approach a proficient financier and this must be a financier will is willing and capable to venture his or her money into businesses that are not only at the inception, but equally to businesses that have future prospects of expansion. Another form of financing related to this is the corporate venture capital. This is an idea often used by corporations to endow capital in some relatively young but vibrant businesses that may have some relation with these big corporations.

Credit from Banks

This is a source of finance that is commonly sought for. In most cases, either secured or unsecured loans may be provided to business owners. However, lending institutions will warrant that you provide some form of credit worthiness which will have to be carefully scrutinized ahead of making a decision if the loan will be given or not. It is sometimes easier for an unsecured loan to be given to experienced or well established businesses than new ones. But a secured loan will be provided for all types of businesses.

If You Want To Get The Financing You Are Seeking For:

Make sure you find out what the financing is all about, opt for a proficient group, set an objective, make sure your business is properly registered, investigate what type of financing will be suitable for your business and make sure that you have established the necessary connections.

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A lot of theories have been propounded and even studies have been advanced on the subject of business expansion. But one that is worth taking note of is the study of Dr Ichak Adizes. In most of his research, he brings out the fact that every association has its evolution and it builds up starting from a normal formation stage and progresses into a mature stage. At every phase of its existence, the association will have to experience upheavals. In most cases, success in business will only have to be experienced by those business owners who have all the resources, the expertise as well as the experienced required in sailing through financial difficulties. The following lines will identify the various ways through which a business can be financed as soon as it is set up and even right up to when it is fully established in the market:

The Formative Phase of the Business

This is one of those very delicate stages in which every entrepreneur will want to take all measures not only in making sure that the business takes off smoothly, but to ensure that the business has come to stay for good. What every type of business will need at this phase as identified by Adizes is a running capital and an appropriate administration to take care of that capital. What should be observed at this phase of business is that so many unforeseen circumstances may come up. It is for this reason that enough capital should be hoarded to take care of any unforeseeable risk. What the entrepreneur has individually gathered may not be enough. Therefore, it is good that a resort to angel financing, venture capital, corporate venture capital and loans is opted for. Keep in mind that once a business is at this starting phase, it will need a lot of finance to surmount the odds often posed b market forces or even from competitors. This is necessary for a continuous operation.

The Business Flow Phase

This is phase where the business is already running and it is at least expected that the inflow of money is certain. This is also a phase at which the entrepreneur starts to develop some form of confidence that the business will thrive amidst the odds. Although the entrepreneur will have some measure of satisfaction, there is a need to obtain some form of security for the future of the business. This is the main reason why much of what is received in the form of profits should either be ploughed back into the business or should be used to acquire some fixed capital that the business can rely on in the future. The business can also use this to employ more qualified staff.

The Youthful Phase

This is a phase in which the business will experience a lot of unpredictable circumstances. It should be noted that growth in the business will still be experienced, but this will not be stable. It is certain that at this phase, the business will already have made some significant amount of savings. It must also have gained some standing within the business environment and can conveniently surmount any hurdle within the business environment. The money that has been saved should therefore be taken to counter any shortcoming. But the entrepreneur should also make sure that the business can first of all rely on what it has kept in stock rather than seek for external help.

The Mature Phase

This is a phase in which almost everything is certain. Every objective must have been put in place and every priority must have been identified. Growth or expansion at this stage should be maintained to remain stable. The business should also seek for means of spreading out its risk by opening up to possible investors. Also remember that this is the stage in which financing becomes much easier to obtain. This is because the business must have developed some credit worthiness.

An understanding and appreciation of all the phases that your business goes through is important if you have to maintain its growth or develop ways to compete within the business environment.

Almost every potential business owner is faced with the trouble of seeking for ways in which finance can be acquired to run the business. However, it should be noted that such troubles are not only identified with potential entrepreneurs. Research has shown that even experienced business owners also faced such difficulties. Keep in mind that in seeking solutions to such difficulties, there will be accuracies as well as inaccuracies and these will all determine the success or failure of the business. The above is an indication that starting a business and running the business should not be an end in itself. You must seek for means through which the business will be able to stand the test of survival often posed by its competitors. The following lines are aimed at identifying ways through which a business can be financed, be it incorporated or unincorporated:

Unincorporated Business

This type of business will refer to those that have unlimited liabilities. In most cases, such businesses have not been properly documented and the status of legal personality is absent. There is no distinction between what the business owns from those of its owners. Keep in mind that in the event of any problem, the owners are personally liable for the debts of the company.

Any source of finance on this type of business organization will weigh on the owner. Keep in mind that there is no legal personality in the business and this will deter any lending institutions from providing capital to the business. What is normally open to owners of such businesses is finance through the use of credit cards or some other forms of personal savings. But the problem with using credit cards is great. Remember that you may sometimes make use of these cards out of intuition. It is simple to ‘charge it’.

For this reason, there are lots and lots of lending institutions which will be afraid or unwilling to lend to unincorporated associations. They will not want to place their finances in ventures in which they are uncertain about their future. A good number of such businesses have been known to disregard certain essentials in running the business or even in repaying back their loans.

Incorporated Businesses

These are businesses that have fulfilled all the essentials of setting up a business and that have adequate cover in the event of any crises. Such types of businesses will include limited liability companies or partnerships. In most cases, the records of these businesses are open for appraisal and the administration of such businesses will conform to the required business standards.

It is very easy for these types of businesses to receive the required finances. Keep in mind that lending institutions are more confident of their ability and willingness to pay back. Financing with such businesses will be easily obtained at any phase of the business. Remember that there are lots of individuals as well as groups who will be willing to come in with finance that the business needs. This is however possible only when the appropriate individuals or groups have been identified. This type of situation is known as angel financing. Remember that when a business is properly administered and it has a sound reputation, it will attract more investors. Investors will also find it appropriate to be part and parcel of the current affairs of the business.

Besides the above type of financing, there are also many financiers who are willing and able to invest in high risk ventures, but with an expectation of equally taking home more profits. The business can also make open its shares for acquisition by the general public. In some cases, banks and other finance institutions will be willing to finance these businesses if they see a convincing business plan. However, if you are in search of any means to finance your business, it is necessary to carry out proper research ahead of resorting to any source of finance.

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Every year analysts take a look at the business world. They measure the trends, validate what is new, evaluate what is disappearing. Some new trends have a real significance on the business world and will define success in the coming years.

Some current trends are the increase of eco-awareness and the number of new businesses popping up to meet new consumer needs. Eco-consultants for the home are learning their trade while passing on their skills. This is one business that is changing almost daily.

The disappearance of down time and down space is the next trend. The message ‘The office is closed…’ anymore. They expect the office to be open 24/7. They expect to be able to talk to someone whenever they click the button on the website, or telephone the office. The work at home, remote, and virtual offices are eliminating the term ‘down time.’

Radical Transparency

The Internet and more particularly blogs have given birth to Radical Transparency. Businesses are revealing their secrets online. Their CEOs are admitting when they do not have the answers. The blog reports when they are facing financial difficulty. In the old days businesses hid their secrets. Today, business owners are working and living among a world of customers who are as business savvy and able to read between the lines as the business owner is.

There are many stories of CEOs and business owners who saved their business by offering full disclosure. They won their client’s respect and confidence.

Personal Responsibility

Two decades ago the boss was the boss. He did as much or as little work as he wanted. His secretary or personal assistant did the major part of the workload. The manager took long lunches, attended meetings, and was often emotionally abusive.

Today’s bosses are learning about horizontal responsibility, and self-actualization of their employees. They hire life coaches to help them learn the ’7 habits of successful people’ and keep them on the path to success.

A Small World

The concept that ‘The World is Local’ has been growing for several years. It is now possible to be in Japan one day and Germany the next. Small business owners can talk with a supplier in Africa and one in Asia at the same time.

VoIP telephone service has made unlimited long distance the norm. Satellite has linked the globe’s network in ‘real time.’ We can read the newspaper online, watch thousands of local television shows via our computers, and watch video streaming from our competitor in Australia. It is easier for people to meet locally. The cell phone has made us instantly accessible.

However, local products and services also are more desirable. Consumers want to be part of the wide world. They want the world at their door. But, they prefer locally made products over imports. This gives small business owners an edge over the international corporations.

Queen Trumps King

The boys club is quickly becoming extinct. The shift in power is forcing businesses to think twice about their management and marketing practices.
Women make most of the purchases. Statistics say that women make 60% of all purchases – without consulting their husbands. That is why you now see children saying Vroom-Vroom in car commercials, and women selling legal services.

Power is shifting from men to women. Hotels now have rooms that are designed just for women and offer amenities that are not found in other rooms, such as chenille blankets, ionic hair dryers, and women’s floors will have extra security and women only lounges.

Management is shifting too. High powered women start their own businesses, and bring down the companies who wouldn’t promote them. This is forcing management to become more ‘women friendly.’ The world is too competitive to turn away talent just because the professional is a woman. Businesses need every edge they can get and that means hiring the best, even if it is a woman.

Every year analysts take a look at the business world. They measure the trends, validate what is new, evaluate what is disappearing. Some new trends have a real significance on the business world and will define success in the coming years.

Some current trends are the increase of eco-awareness and the number of new businesses popping up to meet new consumer needs. Eco-consultants for the home are learning their trade while passing on their skills. This is one business that is changing almost daily.

The disappearance of down time and down space is the next trend. The message ‘The office is closed…’ anymore. They expect the office to be open 24/7. They expect to be able to talk to someone whenever they click the button on the website, or telephone the office. The work at home, remote, and virtual offices are eliminating the term ‘down time.’

Radical Transparency

The Internet and more particularly blogs have given birth to Radical Transparency. Businesses are revealing their secrets online. Their CEOs are admitting when they do not have the answers. The blog reports when they are facing financial difficulty. In the old days businesses hid their secrets. Today, business owners are working and living among a world of customers who are as business savvy and able to read between the lines as the business owner is.

There are many stories of CEOs and business owners who saved their business by offering full disclosure. They won their client’s respect and confidence.

Personal Responsibility

Two decades ago the boss was the boss. He did as much or as little work as he wanted. His secretary or personal assistant did the major part of the workload. The manager took long lunches, attended meetings, and was often emotionally abusive.

Today’s bosses are learning about horizontal responsibility, and self-actualization of their employees. They hire life coaches to help them learn the ’7 habits of successful people’ and keep them on the path to success.

A Small World

The concept that ‘The World is Local’ has been growing for several years. It is now possible to be in Japan one day and Germany the next. Small business owners can talk with a supplier in Africa and one in Asia at the same time.

VoIP telephone service has made unlimited long distance the norm. Satellite has linked the globe’s network in ‘real time.’ We can read the newspaper online, watch thousands of local television shows via our computers, and watch video streaming from our competitor in Australia. It is easier for people to meet locally. The cell phone has made us instantly accessible.

However, local products and services also are more desirable. Consumers want to be part of the wide world. They want the world at their door. But, they prefer locally made products over imports. This gives small business owners an edge over the international corporations.

Queen Trumps King

The boys club is quickly becoming extinct. The shift in power is forcing businesses to think twice about their management and marketing practices.
Women make most of the purchases. Statistics say that women make 60% of all purchases – without consulting their husbands. That is why you now see children saying Vroom-Vroom in car commercials, and women selling legal services.

Power is shifting from men to women. Hotels now have rooms that are designed just for women and offer amenities that are not found in other rooms, such as chenille blankets, ionic hair dryers, and women’s floors will have extra security and women only lounges.

Management is shifting too. High powered women start their own businesses, and bring down the companies who wouldn’t promote them. This is forcing management to become more ‘women friendly.’ The world is too competitive to turn away talent just because the professional is a woman. Businesses need every edge they can get and that means hiring the best, even if it is a woman.

The goal of most businesses is to make money. To achieve that the business needs to sell a particular product or service. However, to sell that product or service, business owners need to alert the potential buyers.  A customer cannot buy a product or a service if they do not know that it exists. So, naturally, a major function, if not the main function, of any business is advertising and marketing.  

When it comes to advertising there are many business owners who literally cringe.  Are you doing this now?  There is a good chance that you are because many advertising methods cost money. As a business owner you want to make money not spend it, right? Fortunately, not all forms of advertising cost money. Although you may have to spend money to make your business what you want it to be, there are ways to promote your business and the products or services that you sell without having to spend any money at all.

Curious? One of the ways that you can promote your online business, without having to spend a dime, is by using something readily available online. That is an online social networking website.  A large number of internet users, in fact millions of them, belong to at least one social networking website.  

When it comes to social networking, many people think of online friendships or online relationships. While these types of relationships are the most common, did you know that social networking is also used for businesses? If you are a small business owner, especially one that operates an online business, there is a way that you can use social networking sites to your advantage.

Although social networking websites are traditionally focused on those that would like to make online friends or develop online relationships, there are networking sites that are designed for
business owners.  These websites will not only allow you to share your business information with other business owners, but it will also allow you to develop close relationships with those that share an interest that is similar to yours. Essentially, this means that you could not only learn valuable business information, but you could also walk away with a new business partner or a new friend.

Wikipedia has a list of social networking sites which you can find here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_networking_websites. All have a description/focus field which will help you find your target market.

Social networking websites with a focus on businesses, are a great way to promote your business. However, this does not mean that you should completely forget about the other online social networking websites, the ones that are designed to make online friendships. Although you may not learn any valuable business tips by joining Yahoo! 360 or MySpace, you may be able to get new customers and new customers is exactly what your business wants and needs.

If you are looking to join an online community, you will need to create your own profile or profile page.  If you are planning on joining a traditional social networking website, to gain access to
millions of potential new customers, you are urged to be careful when making your online webpage or profile.  One thing that internet users hate is being solicited for business. This does not mean that you cannot use social networking to your advantage; it just means that you need to be careful how you do it. Instead of creating a MySpace page or a Yahoo! 360 page for your business, you are advised to make one for yourself, but, of course, you will want to include
information on your business.

By joining a social networking website, especially one that is popular and has a large number of members, you should be able to generate interest in your business, including the products or
services that you sell. Who knows, the interest generated could turn into sales, thus making your social networking experience more than worth it.

All business owners like you, are always worried about the popularity of their business. Who don’t want his business to become popular and gain him more and more profits? The popularity of any business depends on many things. These may include good customer service, proper marketing, timely delivery of products, customer satisfaction and may more.

If you want your business to grow more and become popular so that people like to buy products or service, you should consider some ideas that will be helpful for your marketing. In this article, you will find such ideas. Read on the article and explore the ideas about the success in business.

The internet marketing is new way to attract people to your business. If you explore your business globally on the internet, you can get global people to be attracted to your business and they may also use your services or buy products from you. Business directory is the latest and popular concept of internet marketing. A Business Directory is a website thst lists description of various businesses. It provides facility to its user to find the business in which the user is intrested. The information that is provided is name of the business, location, services and products provided by the business, and the region of the service. The business directory can be used by the general customers as well as business owners. As a business owner, you can upload the information about your business to the business directory. The next section describes the tips for exploring your business to the business directory.

Start with the introcution to your company. Provide a detailed information of your company in a short and sweet manner. Avoid giving long history of the company. The information that should be provided includes name of the company, location, information about the products or service, and contact number and website address. After the introduction to your company, the detailed information of the products should be provided.  The information about the products should be in the form of a table, if possible. Provide product name, description, and price of the products.

Post the current offers available at your store to the business directory. This will attract more number of people to your shop. The promotions or sell offers is the first demand of the customers. What customer wants is the quality with less price. If you offer such products, you can be the king of the market. Also consider to remove the offers that are closed and you don’t have enough stock of the products offering such offer. Always try to make your business directory content fresh and intresting for the customers.

You can use the business directory to get the best suplliers of the raw material for your business. You can find the suppliers that provides you best services with affordable price in your local area. Look for the web business directory that provide you information about the various suppliers of business processes for your business and the suppliers that provide you best services with affordable price.

The use of internet has grown in each area of life. People find internet to be helpful in almost all matter of life. Business is an important area of anybody’s life. Internet can be very useful to you in your business. The concept of internet marketing is not new now. People promote their business to the global people around the world and get increased number of customers. Business directories are the services provided to the business owners to promote their business online. Business directories are very helpful to them in order to boost up the business and earn more profit.

In this article, we are going to provide you information about such business directories. The usage of the business directories is explained here in a lucid and interesting way. After reading this article, you may be eager to promote your business to the business directory. A Business Directory is a website that lists description of various businesses. Users can find the business in which they are intrested. The information that is provided is name of the business, location, services and products provided by the business, and the region of the service. The business directory can be used by the general customers as well as business owners. General customer finds the business that provides them the services which they need. Business owners finds suppliers, transportars and other service providers that are needed in the manufacturing process and marketing.
You can gather the information about  all types of products and services that are avialable on the website. Business directory can be very helpful to you when you are finding some products online. The business directory will provide you complete description of the product as well as the name, address and contact number of the reseller. You can find hundreds of resellers for the same product and can choose the best one for you.
If you need to import something, you may be worrying about the cost of seeping. You can get a list of suppliers online and compare their shipping costs. You can also try some supplier for temperary business and if it is good for you, its need to carry on business with him.
Monitering the market is another good advantage of the business directory. Many of the business directories provide newsletter service, with which, you can get the latest news in your market. By using this service, you can also watch on the activities of your competeters. Whenever your competeter announces some new change, you will the first one to know about it. By this way, you can plan your business as per the market need and the plans of your competeter.
The business directory websites are easily available on the internet. You shoud search for your local business directory on any popular search engine. You will get a list of the specified directory websites and you can choose the best one for you. Although the business directory will charge you to use their services, there is a lot of advantages of using the services. Most of the directories use paypal or other popular online payment systems.