September 30, 2008
Maintaining proper business financial management
A key aspect in business management is to know your business finances. Tracking your business finances can often times be a tedious chore. Many companies find themselves hiring accountants to keep track their finances. Some simple things you can to track your business finances are as follows:
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- Cash Flow. Is your company spending more than it is earning?
- - Accounts Receivable. Is your Accounts Receivable department lacking in following up with invoicing?
- - Sales. Check with your sales team on what they are telling customers about payment options and terms.
- - Are your books adding up? Who is in control of your companies' books? Are they stealing money from the company?
If you don't have the money to hire an accountant to control your business finances, there are many software programs available now that can use to track your businesses expenses. Having proper procedures in place for financial management will pay off in the long run.
Continue reading "Maintaining proper business financial management"September 29, 2008
Improving your business with simple changes
Improving your business is always a great idea, but making that idea become a reality seems like a painstaking task for many people. With just a few simple changes, you can significantly improve your business not only financially but emotionally as well. You can make the people who work for you, want to work for you. In turn, the happy employees will see your vision of the future and do everything in their power to help you achieve it. Let's look at a few things you can do to improve your business.
Start off by showing your employees that you value their work. When you value employees, they know it. Employees know when they are being treated fairly and know when you care about them. This not only builds trust, but it inspires them to work harder on the quality of their work. Most anyone will tell you they like to have their accomplishments recognized by others. Allowing your companies to share the success stories of employees also makes it meaningful. It shows your employees you care about them when they do a good job and you don't just see them when they are underachieving.
September 26, 2008
Improving your Business Management Leadership Skills
Being a good business management leader is more than just having people listen to you or doing what you tell them. It requires you to have clearly defined goals for the company and good listening skills. A manager looks at their job as a day-to-day career; a leader wants and needs people to follow them into the future. Your employees need to look to you for trust. First, they need to respect you and this isn't always easy if you have fallen flat on your face in the past and didn't make strong efforts to recover. Second, give your staff a reason to follow you. Let's look at these two topics a little closer.
Trust
Establishing trust is one of the most difficult things a business leader faces. Trust involves feeling that you can depend upon another person to achieve a common goal. You know how people feel about you and how you feel about them. If you have had past incidences with employees and they have formed a negative opinion of you, it will be difficult to change their minds. Change the way you treat people and start pointing out their achievements and telling them why you appreciate them.
September 25, 2008
How to manage your cash flow
For most companies, positive cash flow is the key element that keeps their company operating on a day to day basis. Maintaining proper control of your cash flow situation is not easy. It not only covers all the operating costs, but it also impacts you're investing and financing activities as well. Depending upon the size of your company, you have a few options to look at for managing your cash flow.
Start out by predicting your cash flow. If you are in retail, you should be aware of the peak shopping periods (like holidays and weekends) and you should know when you won't have as many sales coming in. Cash flow forecasting helps you plan your cash balance and know if you will need to borrow at certain times of the year and how much surplus cash you are likely to have at certain times. If you are considering a loan, you need to have a cash flow forecast in hand before they will consider lending you money.
Your cash flow forecast is usually done for one year or a quarter in advance and divided into months or weeks. For company's who are barley making the day-to-day expenses, a daily cash flow forecast many be needed. Pick periods in which most of your fixed costs will be spent.
Your forecast should include:
- Salaries
- Receipts and payments
- Opening bank balance
- Closing bank balance
- Excess receipts that may put you in a negative cash flow situation
September 24, 2008
How to maintain proper customer retention
Maintaining proper customer retention is one of the biggest challenges facing many companies. The Business Report states that "On average, U.S. corporations lose half their customers in five years, half their employees in four, and half their investors in less than one." So how do you retain your clients? Easy answer, by being loyal. How do you do that? Time, patience and money. It is far easier to please your existing customers then to search for new ones.
To gain clients, you need to market and if you don't retain those clients, why bother marketing? Keeping your customers happy is very challenging. Start by learning about your customers.
Continue reading "How to maintain proper customer retention"September 23, 2008
How to evaluate your employees as a business manager
Doing a routine evaluation of your employees will impact the overall outlook of your business. Many businesses rely on their employees to be the "face" of the company. After all, the employees are the ones who interact with the customers on a day to day basis. When you hire an employee, you should always lay out certain "ground rules" that pertain to performance standards, goals and performance appraisal.
By doing a yearly or semi-yearly employee evaluation, you can see areas of strength and weakness of each employee. You are given the chance to discuss one on one with that employee about how they feel about their job and what their goals are within the company. This can help you forecast your business plan if an employee shows interest in growing within the organization.
Continue reading "How to evaluate your employees as a business manager"September 22, 2008
Establishing monthly reporting procedures
For most companies, having monthly reporting procedures in place will allow for a smooth, effective working environment. Good organizational skills go a long way in developing proper procedures to be followed by your employees. You will need to sit down and determine every part of your company you would like a monthly report from. Here are a few reports you need to know each month.
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- Finance reports
- - Sales Reports
- - Marketing Reports
- - Human Relations reports
- - Distribution Reports
Finance Reports
Your finance department should always be one of the top things on your list. You need to be aware of your day-to-day cash flow information and make sure you are maintaining a positive cash flow. Your finance report should include the following:
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- Salaries
- - Receipts and payments
- - Opening bank balance
- - Closing bank balance
- - Excess receipts that may put you in a negative cash flow situation
Continue reading "Establishing monthly reporting procedures"
September 19, 2008
Business process management and business process improvement
Most businesses that are looking to make a change in the way they do business look into business process management (BPM) or business process improvement (BPI).
BPI looks at three main things to help determine how it can help improve your business:
1. Defining the organization's strategic goals and purposes (Who are we, what do we do, and why do we do it?)
2. Determining the organization's customers (or stakeholders) (Who do we serve?)
3. Aligning the business processes to realize the organization's goals (How do we do it better?)
BPI uses the following goals to help your business achieve success:
Business Goals: The Company's goal is the driving factor behind any business process. Every process within the organization should be aligned to the business goals.
Process: What does your company need to be successful? Do you need to upgrade equipment, reduce staff budgets or IT budgets? BPI focuses on evaluating your costs and becoming goal oriented.
Customers: Having good customer satisfaction is what most companies strive for. Looking for the best possible way to do this is where it gets tricky. Looking at new technology is always a good option.
Continue reading "Business process management and business process improvement"September 18, 2008
What to do if two people on your staff do not get along
Your employees won't always get along.There will be one person who doesn't get along with others, two people who just hate each other, or a group that doesn't like another group.It is just human nature to be upset sometimes but there are ways to resolve issues between employees.
Mediation between the two parties is a great idea.It brings in a third person and lets them decide what the other is going to do to resolve the issue or who should apologize and what not.There are several consultants who will mediate between two parties at work.It is probably the best way to resolve issues between a couple people or a small group of people.
Mediation helps the two people communicate.Often arguments come up because people aren't communicating.Even if someone has a different opinion than another person they will usually have respect for the other persons views.
Continue reading "What to do if two people on your staff do not get along"September 17, 2008
What is a recession?: Feature Article
What is a recession?
According to macroeconomics a recession is a decline in a country's real gross domestic product or negative real economic growth for two or more successive quarters of a year, so basically for half of the year or more. In fact a recession can actually involve simultaneous declines in coincident measures of overall economic activity including employment, investment, and corporate profits. But recessions are also associated with falling prices, which is also referred to as deflation. But a recession can also be associated with sharply rising prices, which is called inflation, as long as these sharply rising prices are in a process known as stagflation. If a recession goes on for a long period or is a particularly bad recession then the recession is no longer considered a recession, but it is now an economic depression.
Continue reading "What is a recession?: Feature Article"The coming economic crash: Feature Article
Introduction
The coming economic crash has been attributed to a lot of different things.While some look to the changes that are being made by other countries for an explanation of this country's woes, others are quick to point the finger at politicians and local leaders for not having foreseen these hard economic times and done something to prevent them.It is also important to realize the idea of a coming economic crash is still a matter of opinion.While few will argue that we are in a period of a recession, many people still have faith in the ability that the U.S. market has in maintaining long-tern financial stability.Whether we are facing a complete crash or a stumbling block that we will look back on with little recollection, it may be impossible to say definitely one way or the other.What can be said is a report of what has happened in the past and form theories for what economic situations lie ahead.
Continue reading "The coming economic crash: Feature Article"Staffing problems common to business managers
Staffing problems range from not having enough employees to having too many.You can always hire regular employees but sometimes you only need someone for a little while.When you're company needs help they often need it right away.Markets change and the economy changes with it.Businesses need to have that type of flexibility also.The economy could change in one or two days. So you have to be prepared to make changes in your business within a day or two as well.If you're not prepared it could mean your business goes into a slump and if the rest of the economy is in a slump too it could be really hard for your business to recover.
Every manager has to make sure that they have enough employees.Without employees there is no product or company.So how should you deal with staffing problems?There are many types of temporary workers that can help you get through the busy season or tough time in a company.
September 16, 2008
Recession proof your business: Feature Article
Introduction
Times of recession can really break a lot of businesses down.Lower demand makes doing business hard and making money even harder.Some businesses do not have what it takes to weather the storm of uncertainty that a recession brings, while others are able to adapt and maintain their presence in the market.There are ways that even the smallest of businesses can become "recession proof."With planning, innovation and a strong foundation, the following suggestions can aid you as you recession proof your business.
Continue reading "Recession proof your business: Feature Article"How to make money in a recession: Feature Article
Introduction
The first thing that goes through people's minds when they think of a recession is usually a worst case scenario.People think of the most catastrophic situations where they loose all of their money and end up impoverished when really there are plenty of ways not only to remain financially secure but also to actually make money in a recession.Recessions are different than a depression in that recessions affect far fewer people and the people that are affected generally belong to specific groups of industry.But it is the ripple effect that tends to make a recessionary period seem more far reaching than it may actually be.This is in no way meaning that recessions are nothing to be worried about, they are real and real people loose real jobs and are out real money, but so long as you are able to adapt to the changes that the recession may have on your particular stream of income you should be just fine.
Continue reading "How to make money in a recession: Feature Article"How recessions affect various job industries: Feature Article
When it comes to facing a recession one thing that most people fear is that they are going to lose their jobs. And in fact this is a very real free because millions of people actually do lose their jobs when our economy is in a recession, which is why the unemployment rates go up during the times of a recession. But just because you have lost your job or even if you are looking for a job during a recession that doesn't mean you won't be able to find that job. The reason for this is that even though we might be faced with a recession or we are in a recession there are still certain employers who are still hiring, in fact they are actively looking for people to fill various job positions. Not to mention the fact that there are numerous job industries that will actually thrive during a recession.
In fact 32% of employers actually plan to add full time, permanent employees in 2008; this is according to a survey that was done by CareerBuilder.com. But on the other hand there are many employers who still plan on hiring but they don't expect to hire a bunch of people at once, they actually expect a slower, yet steady hiring environment.
Continue reading "How recessions affect various job industries: Feature Article"Making the tough decisions when down-sizing a department
Downsizing a department is always hard on managers.You have to decide who to fire and who to keep.Also if you want to switch someone to another department.And then moving on when all the others are gone.And of course everything else.
When deciding who to fire and who to keep the best thing to do is take your time to make sure you're making the best decision for your company and the department.If it's an option switching someone to a different department is always a good idea because it can keep a loyal employee and one that knows the company.Sometimes people think they are good at one thing and are actually better on another project or area of the company.So it works out for everyone in the end.
Management usually gets hit the hardest.The best thing to do is to make sure you don't stress too much and just figure out what you need to do and how to do it the fastest you can.Make a list at the beginning of the day and start with the most important thing on your list and continue on throughout the day.If you don't get everything done, don't worry just add it on to your list for the next day.
Continue reading "Making the tough decisions when down-sizing a department"September 15, 2008
Making sure new hires fill out the paperwork right
Every new employee has to fill out tax forms and other various papers before they can work.There are many confusing parts to all the forms so making sure every person fills out every single form correctly can be difficult.Even if a new hire forgets to fill out one part of the form or check one box it can mean a lot of extra work for someone.
The easiest way to make sure every new hire fills out the paperwork right is to have a member of human resources there to help.Having someone there to give step by step instructions and to supervise everything the new hire writes can be boring for the employees but it helps to make sure everyone fills it out correctly.To make it less boring have everyone start to fill out the forms but explain the hard parts.Have the new hires do one section at a time so similar questions can be answered at the same time.
You can have a member of human resources only there to answer any questions as well.This way there isn't any explanation, just letting the new hires do it at their own pace.This is a good idea if you have employees who have filled out the tax forms before and know what they are doing.They might still have a few questions but this way they feel like they are partially in control and that the company is going to let them be on their own and not baby them.
Continue reading "Making sure new hires fill out the paperwork right"September 12, 2008
How to keep morale high amongst your staff
Making sure your employees are happy is one of the best things you can do to improve their productivity.Every employee gets depressed about their job once in a while.They hate being at work or just want to quit because of all the pressure.As a manager you can control how happy they are at work and how they are performing.Let's look at some ideas to make sure you staff is happy while at work.
One idea is to play team games.It's not exactly the most common thing to do but if you have the facilities it is a way to interact with everyone and have a good time.It is also a good stress reducer.Take your office out to a volleyball court and play for an hour.It will help reduce stress in your employees and help them get along better together.It will also help everyone relax and not think about all the stressful things at work.
Another great idea is to maybe do a potluck or a catered lunch with your department.Doing it at someone's home or even in your break room is a good idea.Once again it helps to relieve stress and is just a fun way to get together and to let everyone talk about things, not related to work.
Continue reading "How to keep morale high amongst your staff"September 11, 2008
How to Handle Layoffs
Layoffs are one of the hardest things to deal with as a manager.Layoffs are stressful, not only for the managers deciding who will be let go but the employees who might lose their jobs.The best things to do are to make sure that you take the time to make a decision based on detailed research and take the time to relax and really think about what you are doing and the impact it will have on your company.
Deciding who to let go is probably the hardest part of the whole process.The best way to decide is to rate everyone.You should rate people not only based on skills that they have but also on how long they have been with the company and how they get along with other people.
If an employee doesn't have good skills or isn't good at their job, then of course they should be let go.However other factors are important if someone is competent but they need improvement it might be good to still keep them, as long as they are willing and able to learn.They also have to provide other valuable assets to the company.It just depends on how many people you need to let go and how many people there are that are the obvious choice to be let go.
Continue reading "How to Handle Layoffs"September 10, 2008
Helping Your Sales Team Increase Profits
Every business depends on its sales team to build the company.Without a sales team you wouldn't have a company.They are the ones who get out there and tell everyone about your product.Making sure they are as profitable as can be is extremely important to your company so here are some ideas to help them become even better than they are.
First of all, every one can handle sale, but if your team isn't doing so well they need some encouragement.Make sure as a manager that you are strict on the rules but yet kind.You have to be someone they can talk to about what's really going on and not some guy they hate talking to.If you yell at someone every time they come to you with bad news, then they will hate talking to you.Often the people at the front lines have some really good advice and know why a product is or isn't selling.Getting their opinion is so important.If they are afraid of you they will spend the whole time intimidated and won't give you their honest opinion because they will be afraid to talk to you.
September9, 2008
Helping Your Employees Manage Stress
Every single person deals with stress in life.There is no way to ignore it.How you deal with stress makes or breaks you.At work stress can be particularly hard because it often impacts a lot more than just you. For example if you were to lose your job it would impact your whole family not just you and therefore giving you a lot more stress to deal with.There are ways to help your employees deal with the types of stress that they are going to have to deal with no matter what.
Making sure your employees are getting their breaks is the first thing.If someone isn't getting a break from work in an eight hour workday they will just feel more overwhelmed.Taking a half hour lunch where an employee eats and just relaxes helps them refresh themselves.It gives an employee the chance to just focus on nothing for a short time.Then when they go back to work they are more productive and tend to do a lot better.It works every time.
Continue reading "Helping Your Employees Manage Stress"September8, 2008
Benefits of Team Sports for Your Business
Team sports are fun to watch.You watch them with friends and everyone loves going to a football game.And everyone loves watching the Super Bowl.Most people like playing sports too.Even if you don't like watching or playing sports you love to be around friends.That is why team sports at work are an awesome idea.They bring together something that everyone loves.
In order to have a good time try to plan what you are going to do a few days in advance.Let everyone know what the plans are too.This will get your employees excited to join in and will let them have something to look forward to on Thursday at eleven.Have someone bring a volleyball and bring an extra.That way if the person accidentally forgets or is sick that day the plans won't be ruined.Try to plan something for afterwards, like smoothies or pizza in the break room.It will make the whole experience really fun for everyone if it is planned and though out.
September5, 2008
Great Search Engine Rankings, For FREE!
Search engine rankings (where you appear on Google, Yahoo, and MSN for your major keywords) are key to profits in today's competitive world.
But most of us have no idea how to get them!
We may think we know, but unfortunately, much of the information freely available on this subject is faulty at best, outright incorrect (and likely to get your site penalized) at worst.
Until now.
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Here's my video review of the product. Keep in mind as you watch it, that since this video was created, StomperNet offered this product for free in exchange for a subscription (cancellable at any time,) to their new print journal, The Net Effect.
You can see my full review at https://www.StompingTheSearchEnginesReview.com or go directly to the page where you can get Stomping The Search Engines 2 for free!
Background checks and drug testing, what you should know
When you hire someone you want to make sure that you are hiring someone who will do a wonderful job and who doesn't have a history of stealing or drug use.Most employers now make new hires pass a drug and background check before they are hired.Usually the company will just hire an outside company do the testing for them but it's good to know what the company you are paying is actually doing.This way you can make sure you are getting the most from the company performing the background and drug tests. Getting this kind of information can also help you decide between two employees.
Getting a good company to do the background check and drug tests is important.If you want to save some money on a company that seems cheaper, be careful because not all are good.Some won't give you legitimate results or don't take the precautions necessary to make sure the new hires aren't cheating on their tests.
Background checks include checking someone's credit, their criminal record, and driving records.Some companies also will check the sex offender registry and do reference checks in order to make sure they are not getting someone they don't want.Checking a person's references can also help in making sure you are getting a good employee.Depending on what position the new hire is applying for should determine how much information you might want to get in the report.
Continue reading "Background checks and drug testing, what you should know"September4, 2008
What to do when you are under staffed and at a deadline
Meeting deadlines in your company is a must for making a profit or getting new business. Sometimes when you are trying to make a deadline for your products you may find yourself under staffed. You may need to get a presentation together for a new client and run into staffing problems.Deadlines for both product and presentations need to be met to keep customers and future customers happy. As a manager what are you to do when you are under staffed and at a deadline.
You should begin looking at your staffing problem right away. Do not wait until the last minute hoping that the few people you have will get the job done on time. It is not fair to any of your employees or the customers when you do that. While looking at your staffing problem you will want to determine how many people you are under staffed and how many it will actually take to get the job done in a timely manner. Once you decide how many more staffers you may need start looking at other areas of your company to get these extra staffers. Do you have part-time employees that would like to pick up some extra hours? Ask these employees for some extra time in helping you meet the deadline. These part time employees are familiar with your business and how it works. This makes it easier for them to move into a new role for a short amount of time.
September3, 2008
What to do when an employee takes a maternity leave and you aren't sure if they are coming back for good or not
Most companies or businesses are often faced with the tough question of what to do when an employee takes a maternity leave and you aren't sure if they are coming back for good or not. Legally you and your business or company is required to give your employees 6 weeks of maternity leave. After those 6 weeks it is up to you what you do for your employee that is on maternity leave. There are some options to look at if you are not sure the employee is coming back for good or not.
Before your employee goes on maternity leave you should make sure that you have other employees who are trained to take her job for at least the 6 week leave. You can cross -train someone else to take on this employees responsibilities. This will help you in covering the employees' job while they are gone on maternity leave. If the employee does not come back you will also have someone to take over until you find a replacement or the employee you cross trained can take over the job.
Continue reading "What to do when an employee takes a maternity leave and you aren't sure if they are coming back for good or not"September2, 2008
Tips for turning sales around by improving employee morale
Business's fall into sales slumps every now and then. You may be wondering what you can do to turn your sales around. Improving employee morale can be one of your options. Improving employee morale can improve productivity, customer loyalty, workplace absences, and any safety related costs. When all these are improved so is company morale and your sales can skyrocket. Keeping morale in the workplace should be high on the list of all managers and business owners.
Some of the ways to improve morale will require money and time. You as a manager need to be willing to invest money into employee morale in order to get better sales. Better employee morale can equal better sales and a happier work environment.
One of the easier ways to improve your employee morale in any company is simply to make your employees feel appreciated. Talk to them when there is a job well done. Thank your employees for their work and let them know that you value them. Some of the most productive companies have managers that are seen everywhere in the company and tell the employees how much they are appreciated. Do not interact with employees only when there is a problem. That is one of the worst things you can do for morale.
September1, 2008
Tips for enforcing policy
In any business there are policies that need to be enforced. These policies can pertain to anything from dating co-workers to drug abuse or even e-mail and internet usage while at work. How is a manager supposed to enforce all these policies? There are so many policies that companies or businesses legally have to obey that it may not always be easy. However, it is a must to enforce any policies in the workplace. Enforcing policies will keep your employees safe and happy. Enforcing policies will also keep you in business and reduce the risk that you are legally sued because of unfair practices. Any manager or business owner could benefit from some tips for enforcing policy.
Because workplace policies are so broad there are many options for enforcing those policies. First you will need to make sure that you have all your workplace policies written down in either an employee handbook or the company's website if you have one. This makes it easier to enforce any problems you may have with employees who do not follow the policies. You will have the full policy written out for everyone to see and should be signed by all employees. When a policy is then not being followed it will be easy for you to enforce it. The policy was written down so that there was no guessing as to what was really meant. You are more able to then document which policy was not being followed and which employee it was.