Posts Tagged ‘Small Business Owners’

How to Get Low Interest Rates on a Business Credit Card
Business credit cards offer many benefits to small business owners, but those benefits are reduced if the interest rate on the card is too high. There are many ways business owners can keep the rates on their business credit cards low. These include selecting the right credit card, always paying on time, keeping the balance under the limit, and keeping their credit scores high.
Credit Scores for a Business
You might not realize that businesses have credit reports too, but they do. When a small business owner applies for credit, the lender often considers both the business credit score and the owner’s personal credit score when determining eligibility for the loan or credit card. For this reason, it is important for business owners to keep both of these scores as high as possible.
Like a personal credit report, business credit reports can contain errors. Before applying for credit, business owners should check both their personal and business credit reports and dispute any errors that they find. A business with a strong credit report will qualify for lower interest rates than one that has a lot of negative items on its report.
Choosing a Business Credit Card
Try to obtain the card with the lowest possible rate that your business can qualify for. Every extra percent you pay in interest is less money that your business will make in profit, and less that you will be able to take as income or reinvest into the business.
If you are considering a credit card that offers an introductory rate, make sure you know what the rates will be once the introductory period is over. It is not always beneficial to choose a card with a low starting rate, and it is detrimental to your credit score to keep transferring the balance from one low-introductory rate card to another. It is best to carefully evaluate the credit cards that are available and choose the one that will be best for your business in the long run.
When deciding on a credit card, be sure to check with your bank. You might be able to get a lower interest rate at the bank where your business already has a checking account. The most important thing is to shop around for the best card rather than accepting the first offer that comes your way.
Tips for Keeping a Low Interest Rate
Always pay the payment on your business credit card on time. These cards often have terms that allow the credit card company to raise your interest rate significantly if you are late even one time. Also be sure to stay under the credit limit. Exceeding your credit limit can lower your credit score, which may lead to higher interest rates.

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Look at more cost effective ways to market your business.

E-marketing is a very powerful and cost effective way to market your business.  It enables you to send out newsletters, mailshots, special offers and loyalty schemes directly to your customers via their email address at no extra cost, you save on postage and/or printing costs too. It also encourages them back to your website to see what other services you offer. The only investment is the time needed to design your promotional e-mail material it is so simple!

Invest in an on-line business management tool to help you save time and money .

Using a business management system that offers an ‘on-line diary feature’ to enable your customer’s access to book their appointments direct is a great way to reduce down the volume of calls and work generated for reception cover.   Business tools to analyse the productivity of your staff against work load and business demand is invaluable to ensure that your business is running efficiently and recruitment of staff is being spent wisely.

Ensure that your business software is not costing you in the long run in hidden costs.

Check that you are not tied into lengthy maintenance & costly technical support contracts for your business software.  There are a few companies now that offer business software on-line, saving you in set up fees, annual subscriptions, free maintenance and technical backup as well as data protection. You automatically get free upgrades to keep your software up to date and switching over could not be simpler.  You just register and pay on line and you will be up a running within hours not days.  You also have technical support via email or phone so help is at hand as and when you might need it..

Reduce your staff overheads with a virtual pa/receptionist.

Staff overheads are one of the first things that get cut in a recession.  An excellent way to compensate staff cuts but not lose on quality of service is to look at the virtual pa/receptionist option.   To ensure that you get adequate phone cover for your clinic without having to overstretch your existing resources, you can opt for a pay as you go virtual receptionist that will represent your company.  She will answer calls, take messages, book appointments and send out marketing material for mail shots, create and send out invoices, update account spreadsheets etc.  She is totally reliable and does not require holiday, sick or lunchtime cover, you simply use her as and when you need to – costing as little as £75 a month!  A fraction of the cost of a full-time pa/receptionist

Save on the cost of telephone calls

Look at reducing your phone bills every quarter by installing VoIP technology.  VoIP allows you make your phone calls over the internet at the fraction of the cost of a normal phone call saving you hundreds of pounds on your annual business phone.  It is really easy to set up and run don’t be put off by telecom technology.

Increase customer retention through improved customer care

Ask yourself not what your customer can do for you but rather what you can do for your customer.  Customers are driven by both emotional and practical needs – make sure you are satisfying both of these.  Look after them by offering customer loyalty cards – stop your clients using your competitors, and reward customers with referral schemes.  Most important listen to what they have to say about your products and services as well as your staff, ask them to complete questionnaires – there opinion is vital to your success long term.  They may even give you new ideas that you may not have considered.

Reduce your operating costs.

Look to see where you can save money on basic essentials i.e. stationery, raw materials etc source suppliers on-line  and save money or go direct to the manufacturer and cut out the middle man.  A little time spent on researching on the internet will reduce down your material and equipment costs.  You can search via brand and model number and then go to price comparison sites to get the best deal.

Understand your customers needs better.

Keep up to date with your customers, a good customer database is an invaluable investment to your business.  It allows you to share information amongst your team improving knowledge and communication as well as customer confidence in the way you implement it.   A database can identify customers needs – their likes and dislikes and will provide vital clues in helping you to cross sell other products and services you offer to increase customer spend.

Reassess your products and services.

Look at all the products and services that you offer in relation to how much you sell and how profitable they are.  At times it is necessary to eliminate treatments that are simply costing too much to operate i.e look at materials and labour costs in relation to net profit.  The products and services that are the high profit earners are the ones that you and your staff should be pushing make sure you all understand this.  Or look at your existing products and services and ways to save money on materials and time but not compromising quality of service.

“You wouldn’t drive your car by looking solely in the rear view mirror, yet in effect many business owners do just that

when they make decisions based solely on reports that provide historical data,” says Michael Emaus, President and

CEO of eEnterprise (www.eEnterprise.com), a global integrator of NetSuite, the world’s leading on-demand business

management software. “Small business owners who don’t have real-time, nuanced information about their companies

just can’t navigate toward their destination – growth and profit – because they don’t have an accurate roadmap of how

to get there.”

As an example, Emaus offers a comparison of two companies, both of which know that they have sales of $1 million

and net profits of $122,375. Company A has reports that show its return on sales was 11 percent last year and 12.24

percent this year; the owner is pleased that profits have gone up. “What the owner of Company A doesn’t know – and

won’t know unless he implements business management software that provides real-time actionable data – is that 80

percent of one segment of his client base brought in $420,000 while the other 20 percent lost $20,000,” says

Emaus. “Because he doesn’t have this knowledge, Company A’s owner may direct his sales staff to sell more to the

20 percent of the client segment that is actually costing him money.” Company A’s competition, Company B, uses

on-demand, real-time information, so Company B’s owner directs his sales staff to find new clients that fit the profile

of the profitable 80 percent. “Because Company B can drill down and analyze any number of variables, Company B

will navigate around and past Company A in a relatively short period of time,” says Emaus.

In today’s marketplace, the key to success for any small business is having actionable information that allows the

business to nimbly adjust its allocation of resources. In the above example, Company B’s Web-based business

management software could easily break down sales by products, client groupings, and geography, allowing the

owner to differentiate the profitable clients from the unprofitable clients. With the click of a mouse, he could, for

instance, determine that a certain client who carried multiple products produced the highest return on sales.

Company B’s owner could then direct his sales team to cross sell to that particular client, and watch his returns on

sales rise because of advances in where to target resources.”The bottom line for any small business is that

information is power,” says Emaus.

If a business owner isn’t able to drill down informative data points that go beyond historical or financial reporting, he

ends up targeting obvious areas of improvement instead of delving into the next layer. And, concludes Emaus, the

next layer is what separates successful small businesses of today from those that are stuck looking in their rear

view mirrors. “A business owner who can see his company from a 360-degree vantage point can readily exploit his

competition’s inability to do the same.”

Managing an online business can be a major challenge. But by employing the right aids, internet business owners can make money and sleep easy knowing their business will generate an income. The challenges are in how to operate efficiently and market ones products and/or services. Without sound marketing strategies online business can be quite frustrating.

Never before has prudent business management made more sense than in this hard economic times. Ways of cutting down on cost of operation at these particular economic times is an attractive option. With the economic down turn it’s become paramount that small business owners revisit ways of operating their businesses. Marketing is a good example of internet business management that is giving marketers sleepless nights.

Some significant challenges being faced by online business owners include reduction in purchasing power of their customers and competition for market share. However with a combination of marketing ingenuity it is possible to succeed in online business. Apart from offering quality products it is prudent to go for marketing systems that have been proven to work, improve competitive position and cut the cost of marketing.

Go for marketing systems that generate positive responses from your targeted audience. Also use marketing strategies that direct real visitors to your online business. Avoid marketing systems that generate a high bounce rate to your website for this will affect your ranking from search engines. In today’s business world it’s important to know that marketing is a crucial element. Empower yourself with up to date marketing strategies in order to maintain a competitive advantage.

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Different requirements and business strategies are required for the management of any business no matter what the size is. The bottom line should be to make more profits and fewer losses, whether it is a small, medium or a large scale business. It is never been easy to add handling accounts, transactions and other financial details to any business but KNR-Accounting-Services.com provide you with the services of small business accounting services with which all these can be achievable.

Our small business accounting services provides customized solutions to suit your business needs and if you are owner then rest easy as with the help of our accounting services your business can grow by leaps and bounds. The main benefit of our small business accounting services lies in the areas where sometimes running a small business can become overwhelming in the long run. It also offers accounting software that eases the whole process of making records and tallying them over and over again. However, we also know that most of the small business owners or for that matter any other business owner is not a qualified accountant, and that is why they need to hire the services of a professional to handle this. And small business accounting services is the right choice as it not only reduces time but also personnel resources.

Small business accounting services with KNR Accounting Services have professionals who specialize in providing business accounting services to clients. The accountant will handle the small business accounting work of your business. But just make sure that from time to time you oversee the work is being carried out by the small business accounting services professional. As the business owner, you will like to be informed about all the work that is being done with regard to accounting and bookkeeping of your business, so that you know where your business is heading and if you are making any profits or not.

This is of great deal by having well maintained accounts and this also makes your life much easier during the tax paying season. We also provide tax services, payroll services as well as consulting services. Everyone has to pay taxes and you must make sure that you have all the calculations done properly before the season approaches. Surely you do not want to hurry things in the last moment and in the process end up doing major blunders. The whole purpose of having a professional from small business accounting services will make things easier for you, so that you pay your tax on time. It also helps in preparing a daily report on the regular transactions and the client is updated through online file transfers. Small business accounting services additionally provides the business with a transparency that gives it a good reputation among investors, shareholders and even the general public.

KNR-Accounting-Services.com gives advice to business owners about how to manage their business efficiently without any hassles. To know more about Bookkeeping Services, Payroll Services, Tax Services, Consulting Services and Small business accounting services.

If you’re a small business owner, you need to check out the Small Business Administration website. You may have been reticent to visit as the SBA has not always been perceived as the most helpful or efficient agency out there. But they do, in fact, have some really helpful tools for small business owners that you should see. They’re not only for businesses just starting out, but also for businesses that are well-established. Here are 5 tools to help you.

. Starting Your Business. This is a helpful section that provides great tips for individuals who are interested in starting their own businesses. The first piece of advice in this section is to find a mentor who can guide you through the many steps involved in starting a small business. SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) is a great mentoring group that is loosely affiliated with the SBA and provides free-of-charge guidance to those hoping to start small businesses. This section also includes comprehensive information about financing your startup, creating a budget for your business, and even a break-even analysis.

Other information included in this section covers buying a franchise, deciding on a business name, structuring your business, buying a business, obtaining a business license, and how to lease equipment for your business.

. Small Business Planner. This section includes questions to help you start thinking about what it takes to start your own business. It also includes a list of characteristics held in common by many successful entrepreneurs. Finally, an assessment tool can help you determine if you’re ready to start your own business.

. Business Management. This is a great tool to help you think about the management aspect of your business. It talks about leadership skills that you’ll need to be a successful business manager, as well as how to set up a business meeting, how to delegate tasks to employees, networking within your community, and running an ethical business.

. Exit Strategies. If you’re chomping at the bit to start your own business, chances are you haven’t given much thought to your exit strategy. After all, why would you be thinking about the end of your relationship with your business before even starting it? But an exit strategy is an essential part of starting your business because it will make a big difference in the way you start and manage it. This section talks about getting the most out of your company if you decide to sell it. It even goes so far as to discuss how to work with CPAs, how to determine the value of your business, and how to announce that you’re going to sell your business.

. Tools. The SBA website has a huge selection of tools for you to use. Do yourself a favor and just look through them. Chances are, you’ll find tools you didn’t even know you needed! There are sections on regulations and statistics, a glossary of business terms, and some stories of small business owners who have been very successful. There are even videos, podcasts, chats, and forms for download.

Given the reputation of general inefficiency assigned to most government agencies, you may be surprised to find out that the SBA website is so thorough and helpful. It certainly isn’t the only resource you’ll need as you prepare to start your own business, but it’s definitely a great resource to have at the ready as you go about the physical and mental preparations required of entrepreneurship. So add it to your toolbelt and enjoy your success!

There’s no doubt about it – building a business in today’s economy can be difficult. There are pitfalls everywhere. You may feel as though you’re on an eternal yo-yo. However, there is help available, but you have to know where to look. There are several business management online companies that can help. They provide the business development tools that can help your company grow, but also help you streamline your operations.

When you first begin looking for a business management online company, you’ll find you have many choices available. You want to find one that is reputable and can be trusted with your company’s information. You also want one that has been around for a while and has the best business development tools available. Some companies offer several of these tools at no charge, while others may require a nominal fee. The best way to find a great business management online company is to find one that you feel will suit your needs and then do your research. Look for online reviews of the company. Take a look at the pedigrees of the advisors. This will help you to decide if they are the right choice for you.

There are many areas of your business where you might need some help. From payroll and human resources to service and operations, you can find the business development tools that are best suited for your company’s needs. For example, perhaps you want to know how to identify the risks your business may incur or how to handle your tax questions. Maybe you are having difficulty finding the right personnel. A business management online company can provide you with resources for background checks, testing, and even job opening advertising. There are so many possibilities for your company and the right business development tools will help you attain the success you dream of.

Many small business owners are completely stressed out. The day-to-day problems that arise can sometimes feel overwhelming. However, a business management online company can help you reduce this stress by providing the right business development tools. Learn how to effectively operate your business, especially in a tough economy. You can find advisors that have been in your shoes before and learned, sometimes the hard way, how to deal with all those problematic issues. Through their wisdom and experience, you’ll learn which techniques work and which ones should be avoided at all costs. You will also learn the most common problems and how to apply effective solutions.

In closing, a business management online company is one of the best resources for helping your business grow. You’ll find the business development tools that will best suit your needs. One of the hardest things to do is to compete with other companies. If you feel as though your business is simply not achieving the goals you set, then it’s time to ask for some help. Get your company on the right track and start seeing your profits increase. What more could you ask for?

Many new small business owners often believe that they must spend all of their free time working to help their business be successful. Instead of working the regular nine to five hours that many people are accustomed to, these small business owners might work more than 15 hours a day. Working that hard might make it possible for the company to be successful but one has to ask at what cost? If the individual that is trying to get the company up and running checked with some of the many business management online companies, they might find that business development tools exist to help.

A great business management online company can provide the right business development tools to help the company be successful. Because many of the tools can provide ways for an individual to streamline their operations, one might find that spending so much time working to make the company successful is not required. Finding ways to hire new employees that are qualified to help your company is just one of the tools that can be used to save time. Freeing up time and resources from the human resources department can help the company when it comes time to allocating resources.

If the company is looking for help with marketing or advertising, a business management online company could other business development tools that can reduce the need for extra expenditures. Reducing the operating costs associated with marketing and advertising can free up funds that may be needed to help the company expand. Many small companies do not have the funds to conduct adequate research. Taking advantage of the resources provided by a business management online company can help to get better results from the marketing campaigns that rely on such research.

So many options are available for the small business owner that utilizes the help of business development tools. If the owner wants to spend that time working to make their business a success, it would be better spent on things that you enjoy. This does not mean you cannot spend long hours working to make your company a success, but that the key to being successful is understanding how to manage the time being used. Growing your business can require a great deal of time. If you utilize the business development tools that a good business management online company offers, you have access to an invaluable set of tools.

A great deal of resources is available for those who are ready to look. The right tools can provide resources that a small company may not have access to. The resources could make it possible for the individual to save time and money. Restructuring the way the company operates when it is trying to expand and grow can be helped by the different development tools that are offered for this very purpose. Avoid the mistakes that many people make when they spend a great deal of time working harder than is necessary. Learn how these tools could help anyone work more efficiently and still take advantage of this special key to being successful.

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Some Reasons to Consider

The process of selling your business is usually similar for many people – get your business ready to be sold, talk to a business broker and have them help you find a buyer and complete a transaction.  There are, however, many different reasons why someone might consider selling a business.  This article explores some of the major reasons behind the decision to sell.  All too often people end up selling their companies because they have to and not for any other reason.  With some planning and foresight though you can sell your business when you want to – not when you have to.

Get your Equity Out

This is a very popular reason for selling your business.  If you have worked hard and built up a successful venture then deciding to pull your money out is good reason to sell your business.

Retirement

The next 10 years will see a major increase in the number of companies for sale.  As baby boomers retire many will need the equity in their businesses, as this is their nest egg.  Unlike an employee, a small business owner does not have a company pension plan and must rely on the equity in their business to fund their retirement.  This is an increasingly popular reason for selling your business.

Family

Being an entrepreneur is a tough business.  Selling your business for family issues is quite commonly done.  Perhaps the hours are too long or the strain on family relationships is difficult.  Putting your family first is a noble decision and is a good reason to sell.

New Business Opportunity

Small business owners are usually quite entrepreneurial by nature.  Perhaps you have discovered a new business venture that interests you more and decided that it’s time to make the switch.  Selling your business for a new business is done quite often.

Bored

Owning a business can be exciting for many people.  The thought of being in direct control of your destiny is a thrilling experience for a lot of people.  However, there are long hours and much work associated with achieving this dream.  Oftentimes, business owners get bored or frustrated in their businesses and decide it’s time to move on.  Unlike employees at companies who can simply resign and move on, small business owners must find a business buyer to take over their business.  If you are thinking of selling your business due to boredom, rest assured that it happens very frequently.

Business is Getting Complex

Suppose you started a brand new business from the ground floor.  You work very hard to bring it to the next level and nurture it to make it a resounding success.  When this happens though, the company can change from a dynamic smaller business operation to a much larger organization with bigger challenges.  For example – suppose you start a dry cleaning business and work very hard to grow it to 5 then 10 outlets.  Managing a 10 outlet business is much different than running a growing a single shop store.  There are more human resources issues, management control must be delegated (which is difficult for some people) and more administration overall.  Selling your business to get back to your roots of starting a smaller, upstart company is done and is a good reason to consider selling.

With whatever reason it is, when you decide to sell you will want to make sure you are ready to sell and get the best value you can in the transaction.  Although it’s sometimes unavoidable, selling your business because your have to can put you in a time crunch and increased stress and affect your judgment and patience during the business sale process.

Please contact our business brokerage to discuss how we can help you sell your business.

For most small business owners, the idea of firing their banker has probably never occurred to them. Most of us would like to view our banker as one of the family. In the world of SBA loans and working capital financing, the average business owner is happy to have one less decision to make, so thoughts of “when to fire your banker” rarely become a high priority.

Banks are just not what they used to be (as most of us have by now realized). In a manner similar to many automobile manufacturers that are now a tarnished and shriveled version of what they once were, it seems like almost overnight most banks have lost our confidence. In this shifting reality, business owners are now forced to adapt quickly to a changing environment for small business loans. Candidly speaking, even if their commercial banker is their best friend, small business owners are increasingly realizing that they must look out for their own best interests because it is unlikely that their business banker is up to the task anymore.

While this assessment might seem cold and harsh, it is nevertheless a candid and practical evaluation of current circumstances. Unwinding a long-term relationship with a particular bank or banker is likely to produce some of the same trauma that occurs when any positive relationship suddenly goes sour. In such circumstances, we should try to move forward after doing the best that we can. As in any change-related decision, the decision-maker (in this case, the business owner agonizing over the firing of their banker) should openly evaluate the probable consequences of not changing at all. If they are being truthful to themselves, most business owners will conclude that they should seek a new banker if keeping the old banker is holding the business back, either by bad advice or inadequate small business loans.

This discussion is in no way meant to suggest that all banks are now bad or that all bankers are now bad. In today’s complex economy, there are still good banks as well as bad banks. Of course there are similarly both bad bankers and good bankers. When their current banking relationship involves a bad banker working for a bad bank, this is probably the worst-case scenario to confront for most commercial borrowers.

We will leave the discussion of good banks and bad banks to another report. The remarks below are intended to highlight a few characteristics which business owners should take under consideration when determining if it might be time to find a new banker.

Overall we would conclude that if the current situation involves a bad bank and a not so bad banker, the most prudent outcome for a business owner is likely to be firing both the bank and the banker. Simply by working for a bad bank, a good banker can often be transformed into a bad banker. Many banks have suddenly stopped making normal business loans and working capital loans, often without even explaining why. This can force an otherwise good banker to rationalize the actions of the bank in a way meant to keep the business owner as a customer while at the same time asking them to accept sub-par business financing. Just say no.

One of the most predictive signs of a bad banker is an increasing frequency of situations in which they are unable to achieve the results which were promised or suggested. This could include lowering a business line of credit after suggesting that it would either be increased or held at the same level. Another common illustration is based on circumstances in which the banker reports that they recommended a commercial loan for approval but the bank loan committee turned it down. Business owners should not be reluctant to hold their banker accountable for producing inadequate results, since results are what count for any business. For prudent commercial borrowers, firing your banker and your bank has become both a more acceptable and necessary solution when your business is not able to obtain sufficient business finance and working capital help.

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