by asail | Jul 10, 2015 | blog, Business
By Robert Dokhani | Submitted On June 30, 2015
“You have inherited $1,000,000 from a government institution in Nigeria and your personal details are required so that the transfer may be completed. You must act now.” I’m sure all of us have received this email at least a dozen times. Or how about the one where you receive a mailer (or text message) stating that your email address (or phone number) has won a huge sum of money in an overseas lottery and all the so-called “contest officials” need is a small amount of money to release your winnings?
While the boom of the internet has been beneficial in many ways, it is also made us extremely vulnerable to a world of manipulative and unscrupulous elements. And no matter how careful you think you are, it isn’t long before you find yourself the victim of some sort of con or financial theft.
Now, this is not to say that there aren’t any legitimate online businesses. From setting up websites to writing your own blog, there are many ways for retirees, part-timers, the disabled and even the illiterate to earn decent money over the internet. Service platforms such as Freelancer, Odesk, and others have created and offer good avenues for regular income. Likewise, well-established affiliate programs offer great opportunity to earn money online.
Yet, the web is full of predators just waiting to scam you out of your hard-earned money. One of the main reasons for this, of course, is the complete anonymity afforded by the internet. Another is the naivety of the people. Simply saying, “That would never happen to me” is not enough, because, the reality is that we are all vulnerable in some way or the other. If you’re not careful enough, you could find yourself the unfortunate victim of an internet scam.
Awareness is thus the key. Remember that old adage, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch”? No one wants to just give out money. There’s always a catch. If an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Scammers rely on an inherent quality we all have – greed (not called one of the seven deadly sins for nothing). They exploit desperate situations, earn your trust and take undue advantage.
Some scammers rely on your generosity of heart. Also called the “stranded traveler” phishing scam, this is where you receive an email from a friend saying that he/she was mugged while travelling overseas and lost all his/her credit cards and money. There is an urgent plea requesting you to wire some money to pay for the hotel and the trip back home. Always be wary of such requests and confirm with your friend or his/her family the veracity of such claims. You would be surprised to learn that over 3 million people in the UK fall victim to such rip-offs each year.
But aren’t we partly to blame for falling for these hare-brained schemes? Are we just being caught off-guard? Or our curiosity and our need for making easy money without doing any of the hard work getting the better of us? Whatever the reason, just remember that the next time you receive an email offering you money, don’t even spend time reading it, just hit that delete button as fast as you can.
Robert Dokhani, founder of Web Insight Seminars ( http://www.webinsight.ca ), has over twenty years of experience as an entrepreneur and business consultant. These days, Robert is ecstatic to give back to the business community through this site and his seminars run globally. Much of the high quality content on this site is completely, no-strings-attached, free. Have a look around – we look forward to seeing you…
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by asail | Feb 13, 2015 | blog, Business
By Raphael Huppe | Submitted On February 06, 2015
1. Cash Flow Hiccups: A tight cash situation can cause your business to struggle. Your inventory runs low, you skip payments thus accumulating debt, and you certainly can’t reward yourself for all your hard work. Most importantly, you can’t afford to invest in new merchandise and keep your stock up-to-date with the latest trends, which in turn leads to lost sales opportunities.
The Cure: If you want to turn your business around, every penny spent should be accounted for. A thorough assessment of your business financials will help you get a clear view of your current situation. Make a list of your monthly operating costs and look for items you can leverage. For example, you could re-negotiate old debt payments, ask for a rent reduction, or get some of your employees to work part-time. Eliminate all unnecessary expenses, or try to keep them at a bare minimum.
2. Suppliers’ Pain: If you’re buying from a single supplier, you may find it hard to negotiate better terms because your business’s day-to-day survival relies on a sole provider. On the other hand, if you’re using multiple suppliers, you may have trouble managing payments while losing the benefits and discounts that large purchases grant you. How can you make the best of both worlds?
The Cure: Renegotiate your contract with your supplier to see if you can achieve better terms. If that’s not possible, you can shop around to decide whether you’d be better off taking your business elsewhere. Ideally, you should stick to one or two main suppliers, while also looking out for promotional offers and special deals from independent sources.
3. The Impulse Buy Syndrome: When a sales rep pitches his brand new, limited-time offer, you instantly jump on board. The price feels right, your profit margin becomes better, and you may even sell the products at a discount to attract more customers. That sounds like a great deal, doesn’t it?
The Cure: When it comes to wholesale purchases, there are more important factors to consider that the price you’re paying. The main volume of your inventory should consist of products with a short sell-out time, which is the amount of time it will take you to sell the entire quantity of a product. Therefore, before placing an order, you should examine whether the product is in season, how attractive or necessary it is for your customers, and how well the specific product category sells in your store. Running ad campaigns and media coverage also help a product sell faster.
4. The Best-Sellers Amnesia: It’s hard to manage your inventory if you can’t recognize the items that bring in the cash. In other words, you need to know not only how many units you sell per code, but also the amount of money they earn you over a given period of time. These sales figures will also help you identify the products you need to discontinue or put on sale.
The Cure: You need a reliable inventory management system, and plain excel sheets won’t cut it. Inventory software will allow you to instantly check your current stock, and collect and view valuable sales stats. You may even create promotional offers and coupons for slow-moving codes, or set up automatic re-orders for your best-selling items. This way, the process is simplified and your business is always well-stocked.
5. The Discount Plague: Big box retailers and chain stores sell lower than you because they can afford to. By buying massive amounts of products, they score better deals that allow them a more flexible pricing strategy. Given that you lack this kind of flexibility, an aggressive discount strategy will have a devastating impact on your bottom line.
The Cure: Forget about the price war. There are numerous ways to add value to your products while maintaining high price points. Boost your competitiveness by providing stellar customer care and make sure you keep up with the latest trends in your field. You can also attract more customers by offering personalized services and rewards to your loyal clientele. After all, you don’t want people to come to you because you’re the cheapest; you want them to choose you because you’re the best option on the market.
The first step to reviving a business is identifying harmful habits and behaviors, and correcting them. From then on, all you need is a solid plan and lots of determination. As long as you’re willing to put in the hard work and long hours it requires, you can turn your struggling business into a success story.
Raphael Huppe’s extraordinary and impressive career is that of a businessman who has overcome a variety of obstacles. Mindful of his achievements, Raphael Huppe realizes that his greatest reward has always been his ability to contribute to the success of other people.
http://www.raphaelhuppe.com
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