Small Business Resource

Business Management Consulting

admin — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:43:00 +0000

Business management consulting is becoming more and more essential for any company who wishes to take their business seriously, and get on top of any problems they may have. Whether you are just starting your business, or have already been running for years, a consultant will always find areas of improvement and ways for you to increase your profits.

When you hire a consultant they will take a close look at your business and help you to discover ways in which you can change it for the better. This includes the management, employees and working methods you use. They will even help you to revamp the business should you be in need of a change, ultimately helping you to increase your profits. This may include training, personal development and other methods to help improve efficiency.

If you have noticed any problems in your business, whether that is a problem in managing your employees, or other problem, then consultants will help you to get past these. Sometimes all it takes is an objective outsider to notice what is really wrong and work out a solution. Just take advantage of all the ways they suggest to resolve any problems and get your business starting more efficiently.

If you are really serious about getting your business to the very highest level it can be, then business management consulting really is the service for you. The cost it takes is worth far less than the money you will save and make as a result of this invaluable insight. Just take a look online or in your local area for experienced management consultants.

By Scott Sheldon

Business Professionals-Guiding Through to Success

admin — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:38:00 +0000

Keeping in pace with the immense globalization and the consequent effects, more and more individuals are turning into business as the career option. But for the existing business owners and also for those who are thinking of business start-ups, the business transformation in the environments and evolution of modern techniques accompanied by the emerging market requirements almost regularly has somewhat created barriers in the overall business developments altogether.

Individuals are feeling hesitant in making any new business investments or even worried about continuing with the existing ones. Consequently business owners are left with no other alternatives other than hiring business professional to keep the progress of their business unaltered.

A business development professional has to operate on a wide array of activities. Business professionals should first and foremost focus on evaluating the upcoming markets opportunities and prospect of the business investments. In order to assist new business startups or for growth and improvement of the existing ones, business professionals need to propagate prospective business ideas. The innovation and implementation of the probable business ideas need to comply with the market requirements. Consequently study and research of the market conditions is essential for the business professionals to identify the fresh market thrusts and analyze the business opportunities for new as well as the existing ones. Even for participating dissolutions, the business professionals should possess considerable knowledge of the feasibility studies.

Business professionals are aimed at enhancing the business performances. It is essential for them to assess the competitive edge of any particular business opportunity and accordingly design the course of actions to accomplish the desired goals. The prosperity of any business investments is dependent on the customers and business professionals are on the threshold. Therefore business professionals should cultivate pleasant relationships with the new as well as the existing customers to maximize the profits. Business professionals also have to manage budgets. Implementing strategic planning for business within the esteemed budgets can boost the performance of the company and increase the cost effectiveness. Subsequently the optimistic approach of the business professionals increases the possibilities of any business to flourish.

Some key responsibilities of business professionals include implementation of predetermined sales strategies, taking care of previously allocated budgets and increasing business volumes by maintaining and developing relationships with existing as well as new customers. For best exploitation of the business investments, business professionals need to be aware of the market offerings so that they can get themselves equipped with thorough, well-researched resources. For business professionals it is very essential to determine the competitive edge and evaluate the key factors that keep a certain business ahead of another. Based on such feasibility studies, business professionals can implement plans to multiply the profits and thereby facilitating the overall business development.

A business professional should possess an excellent communication skill. Communication skills along with good time management skills are the essence of a good business professional. These characteristics come into play when business professional needs to handle multiple projects simultaneously, during negotiation and assessment of the market conditions. A dedicated and passionate business professional can not only make business investments worthy but also bring about his/her personal development.

By: John Williams

5 Ways Small Businesses Can Reduce Their Travel Expenses

admin — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:32:26 +0000

Without proper planning and careful consideration of how to handles travel expenditures, these expenses can break the monthly operating budget for a small business. Between airfare to visit clients and customers, food and lodging expenses to accommodate your employees, and all the little extras that accompany traveling and travel arrangements, you can swiftly find your costs skyrocketing. When employees realize that the company is paying, smart spending and economizing can quickly go by the wayside. By using a few smart saving techniques though, you can quickly find your costs reduced by hundreds, if not thousands of dollars a year.

1. Set out clear travel guidelines

It is pertinent to containing travel costs that you set clear and easy to understand guidelines for employees to follow. Let them know what is expected of them when they are out of the office on business related travel. Make sure they understand what costs the company will cover, what their travel budgets are, and how much they can spend on meals and miscellaneous expenses.

Having a defined travel policy will help eliminate confusion and keep costs lower since employees will know what are and aren’t acceptable charges and chargeable amounts while traveling. Rather than company credit cards, consider having employees use personal cards for expenses that they will have to submit for reimbursement. People will often be more reluctant to spend their own money even when they will be reimbursed later.

2. Open hotel house accounts

If employees will be frequenting certain hotels for multiple business trips, you can often request a group or preferred rate. By contacting the hotel sales department, you can set up an account that can provide lower rates based upon estimated stays. Contact a sales manager to discuss rates and discounts. Sales managers will often be willing to provide discounted rates to get the sales commission. Having an account with the hotel may also allow you to pay by way of a direct bill account, which delays immediate payment and allows you time to review bills, and dispute any issues, before you commit to paying.

3. Sign up for rewards accounts

Almost all major hotel chains offer rewards systems of some sort. Through these points plans you can receive free room upgrades, free or discounted room nights, and other amenities and offers for frequent stays. Finding one chain in particular and booking into their hotels can often build rewards quicker and increase the amount of discounts you are eligible to receive. Consider using credit cards that offer similar discounts and reward programs such as cash back or frequent flyer miles to maximize your company savings.

4. Combine or minimize travel activities

The best way to save money on travel costs is not to travel at all or at least to minimize your company’s travel activities. While eliminating travel expenses altogether might not be a plausible option, consider visiting multiple accounts on a single visit. This allows for the same number of account visits but on fewer trips. Instead of spending money on airfares, consider driving. Better yet, maybe teleconferencing or video conferencing are the ways to go in order to maintain that personal touch but without the costs.

5. Plan ahead

One of the best ways to minimize your travel costs is simply by planning ahead. By booking airfares, hotel rooms, rental cars, and other travel arrangements in advance, you can often get the best rates. Conversely, while in most situations you don’t want to wait until the last minute, if you aren’t pressed to be at a certain location at a particular time, sometimes you can luck out and get a great deal if flights or hotels are looking to fill planes or hotel rooms. Also, make sure you try to avoid holiday travel seasons or citywide events when rates will typically be higher.

About the author

Mark is a personal finance expert who writes for an Australian-owned website that allows Aussies to compare credit cards online such as frequent flyer cards and rewards credit cards. You can stay up to date with his writing by subscribing to their blog, The Credit Letter.

Why Accounting Plays a Vital Role in Every Business

admin — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 23:06:00 +0000

Accounting is the art of recording, classifying and shortening the transaction happened in terms of money which is significant to understand the economical level of a business and to make further financial plan. The importance of accounting seems to be unapparent in today’s business market with the harassed economy. Owing to this job market is turning down. The in depth study explains the reason for economical slide down which is absolutely due to the careless of spending money and not at all keep tracking on the amount being spent. It is necessary to account all your transaction. Accounting plays a vital role starting from an individual to a large industry. This article would help you to comprehend the significance of accounting.

Once we begin with the importance of accounting, we must initially know what is accounting and how it does work. At first this technique of recording was carried out generally to analyze the financial status of a business. We can study the economical growth only if we document the money we spent and the money we gained, the difference between these two terms results the profit we achieved out of doing the business transformation. We can say in brief, this is what all about accounting.

After commencing all sorts of taxes and complex laws, we are forced to keep these transaction records in a sequential format which merely helps us to be apparent in our economical status. The taxes and the laws help us to be apparent and reduce the fraudulence we face with debts. Now we understand what accounting is and we can begin with the importance of accounting.

Accounting is such an important aspect and every employee should have the knowledge of accounting and the basic application to understand the success of their business. The increasing fraudulence of business world pulls all the businesses under scrutiny and the entrepreneurs are held greatly responsible for their financial practices. The business must clear with their flow of transaction and adhere to the business and financial laws which really helps them to survive long in the ever changing business environment. As we discussed earlier, accounting competently helps us to determine the current and upcoming financial stability of an organization. It is evident that the companies that abide honest accounting practices have an aggressive advantage over their competitors. They have no stress and they have the ability to improve their decision making by understanding the current market scenario.

Accounting is essential not only for the business world but also it can be applicable for an individual. The skill of accounting helps a person to make fruitful financial investment decisions. They also utilize their knowledge while paying the interest for their mortgage. Forensic accountants are individuals who use the audit and investigating skills in legal matters. They would help us to understand the grey areas and reduce the future risks. The laws of accounting are like an ocean and we should keep strong and skilled sailors who could sail wisely and help our business boat to reach the land of success.

By: Mary Magdalene

5 Small Business Management Questions to Help Choose Marketing Programs

admin — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 01:35:00 +0000

As small business managers, we juggle limited resources in a quest for success. To an extent, when we focus on success in one area we forego attention elsewhere. Limited money and time mean we must choose from seemingly endless — and often conflicting — advice and recommendations from marketing service providers; marketing and management consultants; and internal experts. This creates a dilemma. How do you choose which recommendations to embrace and which to pass by?

Consultants, marketing business service providers, and/or other departments within your company will eagerly give advice from their viewpoints. You will hear the benefits of focusing on “___” (fill in the blank with appropriate specialty). This is not a bad thing; it is their job to sell you on the advantages of their specialties. It is your job to probe for the downsides and tradeoffs.

Different Perspectives

Back in my brand management days, it was sometimes frustrating when individual departments could not grasp The Big Picture. The graphics department and the outside ad agency wanted to focus strictly on graphical elements when other aspects of a campaign were just as critical. Manufacturing was worried about throughput and efficiency, never mind what the customer wanted. Each department was doing what it could to optimize its own function, but this did not always work in The Big Picture. A catch 22 of small business management is if all functions are “optimized,” it could be to the detriment of the business. When resources are spread too thin and timelines expand, implementation suffers.

In the online world the same Big Picture problems occur. Each specialist knows much about her or his own specialty, but often little about how it affects other areas. Most of the advice makes perfect sense. Toss in a dose of reality, however, and you may stretch your resources too thin if you simultaneously try for perfection in all areas.

The Big Picture

When reality hits, you find it is simply impossible to optimize all areas of your business. The obligations associated with small business management do not allow you to stop ongoing activities while trying to obtain detailed perfection. God may be in the details, but profit is in the implementation. As small business manager or “chief cook and bottle washer,” it is your job to make it work by bundling the advice into a profitable implementation package.

Once you accept that some areas are going to be initially less than perfect (providing you with opportunities to improve over time), the challenge is to figure out what makes sense for your business and site. When is it critical to optimize and when is less than perfect acceptable? When considering advice from a marketing consultant or other expert, ask yourself these five questions:

1) Does it solve a problem?
One of the best ways to comprehend the importance of an action is to relate it to a problem. If you think strategically – first identifying your major problems, then designing solutions to solve those problems – your business is more likely to thrive.

2) What are my alternatives?
There is always more than one solution to a problem. If you evaluate different approaches, you will ultimately make better decisions.

3) What are the downsides?
Perfection and optimization are in the eyes of the beholder. What you see as a disadvantage may seem trivial to the specialists. Ask questions and do some research on your own to uncover the downsides.

4) Is it likely to be profitable for me?
Larger companies can afford programs that smaller companies and individuals cannot. If you have to go into debt or dramatically reduce other critical activities to implement a program, your cost increases dramatically. In these cases, carefully weigh the resources required against the potential gain.

5) What happens if I do not do this?
Some activities are “niceties” and some are necessities. Know the difference. If you are losing customers to other sites or businesses, for example, taking action is critical. Some activities – those you want to do but do not help solve a significant problem – can be pushed to the back burner.

Incorporating The Big Picture into your decision-making is critical. When you ask yourself these five questions, you are in a better position to make the right decision. Your small business depends on it.

By Bobette Kyle
Bobette Kyle draws upon 15+ years of Marketing/Executive experience, Marketing MBA, and online marketing research in her writing. Bobette publishes WebSiteMarketingPlan.com, and is author of the marketing plan and Web promotion book “How Much For Just the Spider? Strategic Website Marketing For Small Budget Business.

Today’s The Entrepreneur’s Law School: Be Informed-Reduce Your Risk

admin — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:06:00 +0000

Our legal workshop was a big hit today at the UNF SBDC. The best legal advice is to consult a lawyer before you need one. Whenever you have an important decision to make or need to sign anything, it’s best to review it with your attorney to fully understand any potential risks before taking action.

Florida’s Small Business Resource Network (SBRN) assembled in one place all the legal advisors and experts in corporate law that a business owner would need. In just one day, these legal professionals will provided attendees an arsenal of information with the facts they needed to reduce risk and be fully prepared for their businesses to succeed.

Never before have so many legal experts been assembled in one place, at the same time, to answer questions—all for less than the cost of just one hour of one of these professionals’ time! Props to our sponsors as well as SBDC staffers Marice Hague and Stephanie Royal for making this happen.

International trade program enters final week

admin — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:53:00 +0000

The International Trade Certificate Program – Export Series introduces companies to every aspect of exporting. It’s designed for small businesses that are new to international exporting as well as growth-oriented businesses that want a better understanding of the opportunities and resources available. In today’s class Cindy Flores of SunTrust Global Trade addresses the clas on the topic of export credit risk management. The International Trade Certificate program, facilitated by SBDC Area Director Cathy Hagan, finishes up next week.

Why Business Consulting Might Be For You

admin — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 01:15:00 +0000

If you’ve ever wanted to start an online business, be it for part time income, or to replace your current job, you’ve probably noticed one thing above all else: there are literally a million different ways you can go. From affiliate marketing, to mlm, to business consulting, there are a myriad of options.

What do I mean? Well, you could do affiliate marketing, which is selling other people’s product for a commission. Should you decide to go that route, you need to pick a niche, pick a product, and then how will you promote it? PPC? A blog? Article writing?

Or you could decide that an MLM company is for you. MLM stands for Multi-Level Marketing (aka Network Marketing). In this model you will ideally have a retail product to sell to potential customers. But you have the additional option of building a business by recruiting people into the company as well.

Finally, you could also opt to build your company from the ground up either by offering services such as writing, web design or hosting, or catering. But one thing that you might not have considered is starting a business consulting firm.

But that is such a broad term it might be best to qualify it first. As an example, if you’ve been in business before (it doesn’t really matter WHAT business at this point), there were certain steps that you took that everyone who wants to start a business must take. For instance, you first need to register your business, then you need to decide what kind of business it is (LLC, partnership, etc.), and whether you should incorporate. If you need funding, you will have to have a solid business plan on paper. You need to decide how you will take profits from the business as well. You will need to have stationary printed up as well as either hire an accountant or get a bookkeeping package if you plan to do it yourself. And let’s not forget writing the copy for your promotional items, designing the graphics and getting setup online.

What I’ve briefly described above can cause some people to have absolute fits of panic, thinking that everything needs to be done at once and not being at all sure where to start.

This is where you could come in. Having gone through the above “baptism of fire” you could conceivably help people with getting the basics of business set up right the first time and be paid well for it.
Another option would be to help with the technical side of things. From setting up a new computer, getting your clients online, to consulting on their existing web site, there are many ways you can go when it comes to business consulting.

Before you do that however, you need to take some time and assess both your skills and your weaknesses so you can offer potential clients the best service possible. This is key and is not something to be glossed over quickly as it can mean the difference between a successful consulting practice and a mediocre “jack of all trades” one.
One final piece of advice: be sure you’re setting up consulting for the right reasons. If you solely setup a consulting service for the money it can generate, people will see that and respond accordingly. Make sure that you genuinely want to help people and then start. Done this way, you will find that the work might not feel like work. You will have eager, happy clients and more fun that you may think is proper!

By: Pat Plank

image source: http://andythesalescoach.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/businessman-with-questionmark-face.jpg

Starting and Running a Small Business in St. Johns County Just Got Easier

admin — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 02:07:00 +0000

Thanks to the financial support of the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners, the SBDC at UNF now has a full time office in St. Johns County. Marge Cirillo, St. Johns County’s very own SBDC Certified Business Analyst, has an office in the County’s Growth Management Building, also known as the “Permit Center”. SBDC receives federal funds from the SBA that must be matched by local sources. St. Johns County BCC 2009/10 budget includes $40,000 for the SBDC office, which is matched dollar for dollar (or more) by federal and state funding.

St. Johns County Commissioner Ken Bryan spearheaded the effort to put the SBDC into the budget. And his fellow commissioners fully supported the cause, proving that they recognize the impact small businesses have on the economy.

Marge has already started meeting one-on-one with St. Johns County’s prospective and existing business owners. Make an appointment by calling (800) 450-4624.

Leadership Skills: Delegating Responsibility

admin — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 01:13:00 +0000

by William Doyle

Support Strategic Objectives, by: identifying roles and responsibilities necessary to support strategic objectives; defining roles, responsibilities, and degrees of authority, needed by individuals and teams; designing policies and procedures for the management of delegated activities. The purpose of this is to review the distribution of roles and responsibilities at the senior level. The aim of the review is to ensure that the distribution is balanced and appropriate. This is also an opportunity to make certain that the senior, executive level management structure is appropriate for the strategic direction being taken. If mismatches are discovered at this point, then the leader(s) have an opportunity to adjust the organizational structure, at this level, to better match the demands of the strategies.

Make Decisions On Activity To Delegate, by: deciding which areas of work, routine activity, stand alone projects, absence cover, key operational decisions, emergency or business disaster events, and strategic level decisions, should have responsibility or authority delegated to specific managers. This is an essential stage, but a difficult one. It involves forecasting and scenario planning, in order to determine which activities, and in which circumstances, should responsibility and authority be given. It requires the delegating leader(s) to analyze thoroughly the planned activity and potential events, in order to identify where delegation should take place, and to whom it should be given to.

Selecting Managers And Specialists To Delegate To, by: identifying the current roles, responsibilities and authority of those individuals and teams; evaluating the skills, abilities, and development potential, of existing (senior management) individuals and teams; assessing the degree of responsibility and authority that can be given to individuals and teams; identifying coaching and-or training needs to prepare individuals and teams for delegation. Carefully profiling the existing senior management individuals is critical, because delegation will not be effective if it is given to an individual who is not capable of using the delegated powers effectively. Where gaps in capability are identified, individual coaching or training should be provided to fill that gap. If the corrective action needs to be long term, then the delegation should be delayed until that process is complete.

Agree Responsibilities, Levels Of Authority, And Objectives, by: identifying delegated responsibilities and levels of authority for each individual manager, specialist, and team; discussing these with the individual managers and specialists; agreeing the degree of delegation; agreeing the objectives delegated to the individual. One of the most critical stages, this is where the details of the delegated responsibility and authority are explained, discussed and agreed. It is at this point that the leader(s) should aim to gain commitment to the delegated responsibilities and authority, to targets and deadlines, both qualitative and quantitative.

Clarifying The Boundaries, by: defining the limits, the boundaries, of the delegated powers; discussing and agreeing these boundaries; agreeing action that should be taken when the boundaries are reached. This must be treated as a separate stage in the process, and applies to both the leader and the manager being given delegated powers. The leader must understand and accept that delegation does not mean abandoning responsibility. The ultimate responsibility lies with the delegating, coaching and mentoring to others. Delegated powers must be managed and supported by the leader. The individual being given delegated powers must be clear about the limits of those powers, and understand that when that boundary, that limit, is reached, they should refer back to the one who delegated to them.

Remove Or Reduce Barriers To Effective Delegation, by: identifying organizational policies, procedures, structures, practices, or cultural aspects, which work against effective delegation; discuss ways in which barriers could be weakened or removed; implement changes or adjustments to reduce or eliminate identified barriers. Most organizations have visible and hidden barriers that inhibit and hinder effective management. The role of the leader(s) is to introduce direction, strategic planning ideas, structures, policies, procedures, and influences, into the organization, so that managers and specialists can operate in a culture which encourages creativity, innovation, high quality performance, and success. In parallel with this, the leader(s) must also encourage managers and specialists to take local responsibility for activities and decision making. To do this, barriers and constraints must be reduced to a minimum, leaving an appropriate level of controls in place.

Provide Support For Delegated Activity, by: discussing and agreeing the level and nature of support needed; adopting a leadership style that provides appropriate availability, support and guidance to those with delegated responsibilities, but also allowing them the freedom to carry out the delegated powers without unnecessary interference; reviewing levels of personal support and adjusting that support appropriately; consistently behaving in a manner that inspires and motivates those who have been delegated to. There are two most common reasons for delegation to fail. One is that the analytical and decision making process was not thorough enough, leading to the degree of delegation being inappropriate. However, the other most common reason for failure is that the leader delegates and then does not provide appropriate support to the manager being delegated to. Once the leader has delegated, they must then provide an appropriate level of personal support, encouragement, and resources, to the individual. This support should include: publicising the delegated powers to relevant individuals and teams internally; informing other stakeholders such as suppliers, customers, clients, of the delegated powers; coaching, mentoring, providing training, as appropriate.

Reward Performance, by: openly praising consistently high quality operational performance and exceptional event performance; building performance on delegated powers into the organization’s performance appraisal system. An important part of the process because delegated powers are, by default, in the highest group of demands made on the individual, and when performed well, are deserving of recognition and praise. Rewards do not have to be substantial, nor monetary in nature. Recognition and praise will be appreciated by the receiving individual and by their teams and other observers. The leader who delegated the powers must ensure that, when appropriate, high levels of performance in delegated areas, are achieved.

Monitor, Review, And Adjust, by: implementing regular reviews of the delegation process and of individual instances; reviewing the appropriateness of current and planned delegation, against the most current strategic objectives; taking corrective action where necessary. The leader(s) delegating powers to others should implement a monitoring and review process that requires them to review the whole process, and individual performance. Individual performance should be monitored continuously, with formal review points at least quarterly. The overall process should be reviewed at least every six months, at which point the success of the process should be evaluated against the original objectives and then adjusted to take into account changes in operational activity and in strategic direction. In Summary: Leaders must delegate, but must delegate effectively. The most successful leaders treat delegation as an essential strand of their leadership approach. Senior management structures, processes, and objectives are reviewed to ensure suitability for delegation to take place. Areas of work, activities, routine and event-specific decisions, are analyzed, evaluated, and where appropriate the decision is made to delegate responsibility and authority. Delegated powers are explained, discussed, and agreed, and measurable objectives set. The leader then builds on this by adopting a consultative, supporting, coaching, role, as appropriate for each of the individuals delegated to. Individual performance on applying delegated powers is monitored and adjusted as necessary. Finally, the performance of the delegation process itself is monitored and reviewed by the leader(s) and the senior management team, to ensure that it remains compatible with the strategic direction being taken by the organization.