by asail | Mar 26, 2015 | Business
By Rashida Begum | Submitted On March 19, 2015
If you are a father or mom, you undoubtedly would like to create something big to pass onto your generations. Starting a family business also offers an excellent way to bring together your entire family to work on something that will be mutually beneficial to the entire family. As a parent, you get to mentor your kid and help them cultivate desirable traits such as office management.
Gather the Right Skills:
If not properly planned, starting a company has the potential to cause fractures in the relationships within your family. Therefore, before you set up the family, clearly analyze the capabilities, skill and knowledge of each family member involved. Carefully plan the management roles that each one has to play such that they are in line with what the person is capable of doing. Wrongfully assigning unmanageable tasks to your members may result in discord whereby some members feel oppressed or under appreciated. Any gaps that exist in capabilities and skills can adequately filled by employees hired outside the family.
Assess the Environment:
Besides bringing your family together, the business ought to be profitable. This is what will make the entire venture enjoyable and stress-free. You must, therefore, work out a detailed business plan that looks at risks, target customers, and productivity among other things. If for instance you and your wife invest money together, you have to be sure that you will not be sinking your fortunes in something that will amount into nothing. It is also essential that everyone involved is convinced that the decision is the proper one and that the family investment is worthwhile.
Work Together:
A successful firm will only be realized if the members are committed to working towards similar goals. Sacrifices may have to make, and everyone ought to be willing to make one when the time comes. Personal commitment is thus critical to business development and progress. This may at times come at a cost of lifestyle adjustments and other extra demands such as time and money. Starting any business is not easy, and it may be time before business picks up. Therefore, the family members involved ought to be patient and wait for the business environment to pick up.
Be Informed:
Trends in business keep on changing. It is essential that you keep your company ahead by moving with the latest developments especially in information technology. Technology is constantly being developed to streamline business and enhance productivity. Such emerging trends in business such as e business will ensure that you compete favorably with competitors.
Structure the Business:
Family and business are distinct entities that may adversely affect the business when they are mixed. Therefore,create a management information system or a proper business structure that clearly outlines the roles of each family member. When each member clearly discerns the limits of his or her responsibilities and authority in the company, conflict will be averted, and success for the enterprise will be ensured.
A family venture may be an excellent way to get your family integrated to your career. Your business day could be transformed to a day with the family. You thus get wealthy and keep family ties.
family business, information technology
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by asail | Mar 6, 2015 | Business
By Russell D Armstrong | Submitted On March 02, 2015
The best strategies for business development include focusing on the outcome of the endeavors such as about the market demand for a product or service. There are several fascinating products that are simply limited by the universal application of the product. Therefore, the strategies must include a focus on a niche or wider market. The new business may provide a service that is not offered by the current competitors such with services for mobile windshield replacement. The service would allow the customers to have a windshield installed at a home or office location.
Market
The market may have several competitors that offer a variety of services for a wide range of prices. Therefore, the target market for the new business should be identified with demographic details, occupational details, economic details and details about the method for doing business. There are several things to consider to develop a business such as the information about the customers who will use and purchase the services. The product or service must have a marketable value to customers, which could include homeowners or songwriters.
Prices
The prices for products can be lowered with more advanced methods of production. Large corporations make huge investments in equipment and machinery, which can produce an individual product for less costs than would be incurred if the product was made by a skilled craftsman who had used hand tools. Therefore, the product should not be an item that can be mass produced more cheaply such as a plastic toy. The best approach for lowering prices is to offer products that are unique or to offer customized services, which includes landscaping services.
Outsourcing
Some of the functions within the business may need to be outsourced. Several companies may not be able to afford the costs for monitoring a phone line for 24 during each day. Those same companies may also prefer to not have recorded messages from the customers because the managers want to be advised immediately about any concerns. Therefore, those companies may need to use an answering service or outsourced customer service department that will contact a manager if there is a problem such as with hazardous wastes.
Partners
Some companies may form a network of partners who can work together to complete a project. There could be system designers, experts who make models, software engineers and plumbers who work together to install a new plumbing system in a building. The software engineers could write code for new software that would be used to make virtual presentations that would be presented to the customers for the projects. Therefore, the best strategies for business development include planning for solutions to any potential problems such as with finding an electrician who has the necessary skills to complete a project.
Quality
The business organization should have a structure with ethical business practices. The customers should receive the best services, which must be protected by a promise from the company to correct any problems. There is no attraction for a customer to do business with a company that does not stand behind the services and products because a lawsuit is the only way to achieve a resolution. Therefore, there are several things to consider to develop a business, which may be financed with the personal investments from entrepreneurs who only want to succeed.
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by asail | Feb 19, 2015 | Business
By Kristy M Lopez | Submitted On January 27, 2015
Our experiences mold our views and decisions in the future. For example, if the first time you ate raw sushi it wasn’t prepared correctly or the fish was bad, then you could very well develop an opinion that you don’t like sushi. On the same track, if you have tried something for your business and it didn’t work, do you just give up because it’ll never work, or do you change your strategy a little and try again? I would venture to say that the majority of small business owners do the former, but they should be doing the latter. Just like the sushi – I don’t always get the best sushi when I try a new place, but then I move on to the next restaurant and try their sushi until I find a place where I like how it tastes.
Maintaining an open mind, especially when doing things for your business, is critical to learning from your mistakes to help grow your company.
Have you looked back to last year yet to see what worked and what didn’t? If you haven’t yet, I highly recommend doing this now. If you launched a new product line, entered a new marketing space, targeted a new demographic, changed your business structure, changed vendors, or even changed your business hours – look at it and determine if your business increased, decreased, or stayed the same around that change.
If you didn’t see any change in the business, then that specific change may not have impacted your bottom line. If it didn’t it may not have been a large enough change to make a difference. Maybe it wasn’t a change that was meant to change the business. If it wasn’t, then no change is a good thing.
If the profits dropped at all directly after the change, then the change may not have been good for the business. Another explanation is that more funds went out than came in due to the change, which happens a lot, especially when a new product is introduced. Account for ramp up time if this is the case and then reevaluate the change in profits. If no ramp up time is required and you determine that the profits dropped, look at how you can learn from that change and do it better this year.
If the profits increased, then you certainly did something right! Look at what that change was, when you made that change, what else was going on in your business and the industry. Plan for similar changes this year to continue growing your business and increasing the profits.
Remember to keep an open mind with the things that didn’t work the way you had hoped the first time. Maybe the timing wasn’t right, maybe the industry wasn’t stable enough at the time, maybe it wasn’t peak buying time for your specific product… there are tons of maybes for every situation. Look at the big picture, what exactly was happening in the industry, with your customers, and with your businesses. You have surely made other changes to your business since then. Look at it from a different approach and try again, possibly changing a few details (small or large) of your plan.
Of the businesses I have worked with that do look back at what they did yesterday to help guide their decisions for tomorrow, most do this at least once a year. Looking back more frequently may not give you the big picture you need to make informed decisions about why something did or did not work.
For more information on business, sales, and profit visit http://www.kristymlopez.com
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by asail | Feb 19, 2015 | Business
By Mike Mirshams | Submitted On February 16, 2015
If you are a business owner, you must already know that any business absolutely cannot operate without a reliable customer base. So, it makes sense that you should make customer focus a top priority in the workplace. Here are 5 easy tips to improve the customer focus of your business.
Size Up the Competition:
Step one of improving your customer focus is to size up the competition. What do other businesses in your field have going for them? What do they have in common with you? What do they offer that makes their company different from your company? Make note of the things that you think are better about your business and the things that you think are worse. Then, look at how you can improve to get a leg up on the competition.
Focus on the Customers:
It may seem silly, but one of the simplest tips for improving the customer focus of your business is to focus on the customers. In other words, make sure that you have a clear understanding of what your clients want and expect.
There are a number of common methods for figuring out what the needs of your clients are. They are commonly known as customer relationship management techniques. One such technique is doing periodic customer surveys. Those can be done by phone, e-mail, regular mail, or even in person, if you regularly have face-to-face meetings with your clients.
Another customer relationship management technique that cannot be ignored is social media. These days, it’s absolutely amazing how much can be accomplished online. If you don’t have the time to manage your social media websites yourself, you may want to hire a person whose sole job it is to handle online customer service and social media interactions.
Make Your Customers Feel Important:
The next tip for improving customer focus in your company is to make your customers feel important. People like to feel like their opinions are valid and their concerns are being addressed. So, you need to be able to really listen to what your customers are saying. Depending on the size of your company, you may even want to set up a designated customer service department to handle complaints.
Agree with Your Customers:
The phrase “the customer is always right” may seem like a cliché, but there’s a reason that it’s still a common phrase. It can often pay in multiple ways to replace goods or give refunds, even if your company didn’t necessarily cause the problem. Of course, there are some times when that’s not practical, but most of the time it pays to agree with your customers. After all, happy customers will refer friends and family members to your business.
Adjust Your Business for Your Clientele:
A large part of customer relationship management and general customer focus involves adjusting your business for your clientele. Consider what types of clients you have and when and how you can cater to them best. For example, if most of your clients are other businesses, you may want to adjust your hours of operation to accommodate them. You might also want to offer special bonuses or incentives to larger businesses that use your products or services.
If, on the other hand, the majority of your customers are individuals, it helps to take a more hands-on approach to customer service. Be sure to make yourself accessible and visible to the clients. Essentially, you can build up your client base as if it is a big, happy, family. Something as simple as a friendly smile can go a long way towards turning a one-time buyer into a repeat customer.
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by asail | Feb 15, 2015 | Business
By Brian Hurlburt | Submitted On January 30, 2015
Minding your business is a short look into the many aspects to minding, or managing, your business. The things that nearly every business owner is aware of, and perhaps a few things you never thought about!
Minding your business in a way that you understand the wide range of activities, is important in making your business run smoothly. This can mean the success or failure of your business.
Somethings may come easy to you, others may seem more daunting, while others may mean hiring someone else to do things for you.
Things like recruiting and training employees, or finding consultants, and sales and marketing are key components and things with which most, if not all business owners should become proficient.
While other things like the accounting, payroll, and taxes, may require professional services. Additionally, depending on the type of your business you may also want legal services regarding local regulations, city ordinances, and so on.
Also, depending on the size and scope of your business and the day-to-day operations there may be additional areas that need special attention.
Another, I would say, crucial aspect to all businesses today is that of e-business! It’s not enough to simply create a website and expect the sales to start flowing in! Much the same as opening a business on main street would not guarantee your success if no one knew you were there!
For small, and home based, businesses many of these things are often handled by the proprietor… That’s you!
So, knowing where to go for answers becomes crucial.
Although there are a ton of articles online and increasing on an ongoing basis, one of the places I like to gather information is definitely online! However, it’s also nice to go visit the local library, and it’s a good idea to find others in the same, or similar niche.
Seek out someone you can confide in, someone who deals with the type of situations you’ll be encountering in your business. Other business owners may, or may not be receptive, but when you can find those you can trust they can be a very valuable resource. Mainly because they have likely encountered and already addressed many of the situations you’re likely to experience.
Another thing about business owners, especially small, and home based, business owners who have become successful, is that they are often lonely! Which often leads to a willingness to help! Especially those who recognize their success and doubly for those who sincerely want to learn!
So, seek out someone who is successful in the field of business you’d like to become successful in. Put in the time to become a friend, and you may just find a mentor! A most valuable asset in teaching you to mind your own business!
For more information on minding your business please contact me… Brian Hurlburt, or visit http://YourIndependentBusinessConsultant.com
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