Tag: running a business

Advice That Will Help Your Business Soar

Scott Asai1 Comment

Owning and running a business requires a lot of dedication and hard work on your part. Unfortunately, there isn’t a playbook to ensure everything goes right all the time.

The reality is that you are going to have challenges and setbacks in your career. What’s most important is that you stay focused on the initiatives that matter the most. Here you can review some advice that will help your business soar so you can find long-term success and outsmart your competitors. 

Set More Detailed Goals

It’s essential that you have a business plan when you are running your own company. It’s a roadmap that will help get you through the good times and bad. Make sure that you not only establish goals and define what resources you need but that the information is very detailed. You should know exactly what you’re after now and in the future and have a step-by-step process documenting how you will grow and move your business forward. 

Focus on Your Clients & Sales

Your customers should matter a great deal to you as a business owner. They are the reason you are in business and why you will stay in business down the road. Focus on your clients and train your sales team so that you can increase your profits. Get more organized and consider looking into using the solutions at ZBrains to help you stay on top of all the moving parts as it relates to your customers. It’s important that you are as efficient as possible when it comes to serving and managing your clients.

Treat Your Employees Well

These days it can be challenging to find good and the right kind of help. Therefore, consider having a recruiting strategy and that you don’t always hire the first person who comes along as an option. Once you have the top talent in place then commit to treating them well and offer attractive benefits. Make sure you are dedicated to keeping them working for you and that you work together as a team to achieve your goals.

Gather Feedback Regularly

You should never assume you know it all as a business owner. The reality is that you can always be growing and learning from others. Think about different ways you can gather feedback regularly from those around you. Other business professionals, your staff, and customers all have different perspectives in mind and can share information that’s only going to help you accomplish more in the long run. Once you gather these insights make sure you use them to your advantage.

Invest in Training & Professional Development

Another piece of advice that will help your business soar is to invest in consistent training and professional development opportunities. You and your employees should always be striving to do better and correct past mistakes. Get to know your strengths as well as your weaknesses, and then commit to working on the areas that need your attention the most. Your employees will likely stick around longer when they can see that you care about their personal and professional growth and development.

5 People Your Business Cannot Afford to Annoy

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Running a business is a bit like hosting a never-ending dinner party. You’ve got a house full of guests, and they all have their quirks. Upset the wrong one, and the party could come crashing down! Here are the guests, or rather, people, that your business simply cannot afford to annoy.

1. Your Customers: The Life of the Party

Customers are the life and soul of your business party. They’re the ones doing the Macarena on your sales floor and giving your business its beat. Annoy them, and you risk turning your party into a ghost town faster than you can say “the customer is always right!”

2. Your Employees: The Unseen Party Planners

Your employees are like the invisible elves working behind the scenes, prepping the nibbles, mixing the drinks, and keeping your party afloat. If they’re unhappy, your party (read: business operations) could descend into chaos. A disgruntled employee can disrupt productivity, and their discontent can quickly spread.

3. Your Suppliers: The Key Ingredient Providers
Picture this: you’re throwing a pizza party, but you’ve annoyed your cheese supplier. Result? No cheese on your pizza, what a bummer, right? Your guests will be so disappointed. So, you can see how your suppliers are crucial to the success of your business. If you find a good industrial supply of metal or bolts or whatever it is you need to sell your goods, then you need to hold them tight. Annoy them, and you might find yourself trying to make a Margherita without mozzarella!

4. Your Investors: The Party Sponsors

A good party needs money. If you want to blow your guests away with amazing decorations, a lit band, and catered food like they have never tasted before, then getting a sponsor who can pay for it all and them some is the dream. And, you’ve guessed it, your company’s investors are like the sponsors of a truly great party. They’ve backed your idea and given you the means to proceed with your soiree in a way that is impressive and effective, Keep them happy and the party will never end. 

5. The Local Community: The Party Neighbors

Just like throwing a party in a residential area, you need to keep in good graces with your local community. They aren’t just youtube business’ neighbors, but they could well be your best customers too, so if you annoy them by taking noisy deliveries at 3 a.m. when they’re sleeping, for example, it could spell .ots of bad reviews for you, not to mention less revenue too.

Navigating the Business Party

Your business is the ultimate social affair, a carefully balanced ecosystem of diverse roles and relationships. Rubbing any of your key stakeholders up the wrong way could upset this balance and disrupt the harmonious functioning of your business. 

So, make sure your party stays bumping! Keep the tunes pumping, the guests happy, and most importantly, keep yourself from becoming the host of the world’s worst business shindig. After all, everyone loves a good party, and your business is no exception!

Practical Ways To Improve Safety In (& Around) Your Business Premises

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If you run a business, making sure it’s safe is a vital concern. This is because poor safety can have all sorts of negative impacts on the success of your company including injuring valued employees or customers, creating a PR nightmare, and even causing long and expensive court cases. The good news is there are some simple, practical ways you can improve the safety of your business premises and the area that surrounds it. Just keep reading to find out what they are below. 

Maintain equipment and utilities

One of the most effective ways you can improve safety in your business is to properly maintain any equipment that staff and customers will come into contact with. Indeed, many injuries every year are caused by equipment that is faulty or that is not being used correctly. 

Of course, if such a situation occurs in your business, it is highly likely that you will be held responsible, and could be sued for damages. To that end, regularly serving all equipment, and clearly marking any that should not be used is essential. 

Ensure the approach to your business is as safe as possible

There are many things you can do to make a site that you make the area surrounding your business as safe as possible. One of the most important of these is to ensure that clients and employees feel safe walking to and from their vehicles in the car park. To achieve this installing outside lighting can be very useful as it prevents those with nefarious intent from hiding in the shadows. Similarly, using CCTV to monitor the safety of clients, employees, and their vehicles while in the parking lot can help put everyone’s mind at ease.

Another way you can ensure that the approach to your business is as safe as possible is to maintain the pavements and roads leading to and from your business. Something that can reduce the likelihood of accident and injury on your property. 

The good news is that through Pavement preservation you can be proactive about this type of maintenance. Not simply waiting until there is a problem that needs to be fixed, but actively preventing any issues that would impact safety from arising in the first place. 

Install safety and security measures at the entrances and exits of your premises 

Just as it pays to take care of the approach to your business, installing safety and security measures at your entrance and exits is also a good idea. The most obvious of these is making sure that any potential safety issues such as steps, stairs, or glass or automatic doors are signposted to prevent accidents or injury. 
Additionally, getting employees to use swipe cards to enter the building can be helpful in several ways. The first is that it prevents any unauthorized person from gaining entry. While the second is that it also acts as a fire register, ensuring you know the location of your workers at all times within your premises, and indicating whether they need rescue in an emergency.

How to Properly Ramp Up Production

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When you run a business for so long, the time inevitably comes when you need to increase production. If you are lucky enough to be in that position, then you are blessed. Production increase means your service is in demand, and that means you are doing something right. For that, you can be proud of yourself and your team.

But taking the next step into increased production isn’t quite as simple as more input = more output. Therefore, it would be best if you made many considerations. The first one being, can you do it? If the answer is yes, you need to adapt to your new situation quickly and address the needs of your clients, employees, and company accordingly.

Here are some things you will need to consider.

Invest in Adequate Equipment

One of the first things you should think about is expanding your production infrastructure and methodology. Mainly, you will need to consider significant investment in new machinery capable of reaching your desired output goals. For example, you may need to invest in a top-of-the-line gummy machine facility to process your CBD-infused candy range that is capable of 30,000 gummies per hour.

Strategize Your Plan

The best machinery in the world is useless without a forward-thinking strategy. When you need to cater to a few thousand orders a week, everything is relatively straightforward. However, operating at ten times capacity requires a whole new approach. First, you have to figure out if company assets can afford to divert the necessary funds. If not, where will they come from? Then, detail the current situation and amend plans for the next 30 days and beyond in a detailed proposal.

Invest in Employees

Should your proposal be accepted by internal company shareholders or investors, the next stage is to provide enough workers to execute your vision. Again, referring back to the CBD gummy machine, consider whether existing employees can safely operate the machine. If not, it is helpful to calculate whether it is necessary for existing employees to attend physical or online courses, or hire new employees. Additionally, increased production means additional administration work.

Improve Existing Processes

Production increase requires that you adapt your existing approach or completely redefine a new model. For example, your current process might constrain requirements. In this case, you need to figure out where you can insert a new system, if at all. You might also require more area for operations, and a premises move could be beneficial. Value and non-value time, needed production cycle processes, and actual throughput should form your process basis. 

Ensure Suppliers Can Keep Up

A significant factor in determining whether your suppliers can keep up with your requirements is of paramount importance. For example, a combination of Covid-19 meant that manufacture had to be stopped. As a result, supply chain disruptions all but halted the semiconductor market. In addition, increased demand because of new video game console launches and a growing PC market means that companies like AMD, Intel, and ARM have come under stressful production demands.

Effective Ways to Proactively Level Up Your Online Reputation

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When you are running a business, it is essential to pay attention to your online reputation. It’s one of the most important things you can do if you want to stay in business for long. 

It would help if you were proactive about protecting and improving your reputation when you see negative reviews or articles coming up. It takes work and careful planning, but this guide will help provide the information that you need to level up!

Get Rid of Bad Content

It may seem like a lot of work, but it is essential for any business to regularly search through their online presence and remove content that reflects poorly on them. Whether negative reviews from customers or old photos you no longer want up, having destructive content tells people there are other problems with your company besides what they see in the positive posts. 

Luckily, social media has made this process easier as most platforms have an easy way to delete individual posts if needed. If not, it would be best to invest in a reputation defender, to remove, suppress and repair your online presence by ensuring the right information is visible. 

Continuously Monitor Your Online Presence

Monitoring your online presence is the first step to proactively managing your reputation. This means you will have an idea of what people are saying about you, and more importantly, how they say it. You want to make sure that any negative reviews or mentions come up as red flags for why you need a plan in place.

Not only should you be monitoring where customers mention your business – such as review sites like Yelp! – but also places where potential clients might research before reaching out, including Google Places, social media channels (Facebook page), and other search engines commonly used by new audiences who may not know much about your company yet

Create an Online Review Strategy

Your online review strategy should be more than a one-time project. You should have regularly updated and monitored reviews, with new testimonials added at the same pace as your business grows or changes. 

This way, you will always have fresh content to share on social media posts and other channels to remain current with what people are saying about you across the web. It’s also essential to make sure all of your questions include a rating scale. Hence, customers know how to rate their experience before submitting feedback. 

Work With Influencers Having a Good Reputation

One way to improve your online reputation is by collaborating with influencers with a good track record and credibility. The best thing about working with them is that it’s the easiest method of increasing visibility on social media: you can reach their audience quickly, which will be interested in reading what they share. 

Of course, you might not know any influencers personally or how to collaborate instead, but there are many platforms where people create profiles so that others may contact them. It’s essential to choose wisely, though, because if an individual doesn’t seem trustworthy enough, then this could damage your branding and thus ruin everything else you’ve done up until now!

In conclusion, it is essential to level up your online reputation proactively. The more you are proactive, the less likely it will be that something negative happens, and there’s nothing you can do about it.

How Essential Are Qualifications to Running a Business?

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Do you find that when you are trying to grow your business or make sense of certain components, you wish you had more knowledge behind you? As an entrepreneur, education is undoubtedly an invaluable aspect of developing and growing, but we could place a lot of importance on the idea of education in a traditional sense, perhaps too much importance. Getting a qualification is something that proves helpful in certain respects, but if you are looking to run a business, exactly how essential is it? 

What Do You Think You Are Missing That Education Can Fill? 

The fact of the matter is now that you can find a qualification to cover almost any aspect of running a business, from the accountancy side to project management. This is where we see many people getting an Agile certification and Scrum qualifications to help them learn the ropes with regards to project management, but you have to ask yourself if you have the skills necessary to run your business in the way that you see fit. Qualifications provide insight, and they can certainly help fill skills gaps, but you must remember that to be an effective business leader, it doesn’t just help to have qualifications, you must have real-life visceral skills as well.

How Can Education Inspire You? 

When we talk about education, we believe that it is the best way to get a variety of skills, and it is, but only to an extent. Education also provides you with worthwhile experiences, just as long as you go about it the right way. For example, there are people coming up through the ranks now who have used their time in college to learn how to run a business, by running student groups or societies. That being said, entrepreneurs don’t need to have a degree. Many people go to university to get that piece of paper under their belts. 

The Double-Edged Sword of Education

To be able to get onto the career ladder, it can be a prerequisite that you have a degree, however, you can run a successful business without venturing into education at all. There are plenty of people who have never gone through traditional education and have made a very successful life for themselves. If you have a solid business idea or plan, there’s plenty of support. But this is where colleges can provide an opening if you do not have what it takes right now. But you won’t know until you start to develop yourself in the right way. Some people feel that going into education is a step back. But we also must remember that education is an amazing stepping stone. 

It’s not the be-all and end-all, and it is a wonderful way to fill certain skills gaps, however, if you think you’re missing out on certain business skills because you didn’t have the right education, you might find that taking a few courses will give you those skills, but an education, no matter how over or underpriced it is, can never replace actual real-life experience.

4 Ways To Make Running A Business Easier

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Running a business isn’t easy, as you will probably understand if you have already decided to start a business. 

With a to-do list as long as your arm, with responsibilities that won’t always lie within your skill set, you have probably experienced moments of doubt, frustration, and stress. 

But while running a business isn’t easy, there are ways to make life easier for yourself. Consider the following for example, and concentrate on anything that you know makes sense for you.

#1: Surround Yourself With Experts

As we suggested, there will be some responsibilities on your to-do list that don’t correlate with your skillset. Should you struggle with these alone? No. While it is a good idea to work at them to better your abilities, it is also a good idea to pass them onto somebody else. Struggle with your taxes? Hire an accountant. Don’t know how to attract more customers to your website? Hire a web designer. Consider the same for any facet of business where you fall down and enjoy having more time for the things that you are good at. 

#2: Find The Right Supplier

Whether you’re selling a product or providing a service, you will probably be reliant on a supplier. It might be somebody who provides office supplies if you are based at home or it could be a welding & industrial supply company if your focus is manufacturing. Or it could be somebody else besides but one thing remains true: You need somebody reliable to provide the goods you need. A good supplier will provide and source everything you need to keep your business running so it’s worth spending time finding the right one. They will also make sure you have what you need on time to reduce the risk of downtime in your business. Commit to research then and buddy up with the supply companies that can support your business needs. 

#3: Automate what you can

Why spend an age on a task when you can get things done in double-quick time? With the right app or software program, you can automate those tasks that are complicated and time-consuming, and have more time for other aspects of your business. You can pretty much automate anything, from your accounts to your Google Ads marketing, so it’s worth researching the tools that are available to you. Here are just a few small business automation tools you might be interested in but continue your search online. 

#4: Say ‘no’

Finally,  this is something you need to get into the habit of doing if you are forever saying ‘yes’ to things. You might say ‘yes’ to every project that comes your way, and you might say ‘yes’ to every meeting you’re invited to, as examples. And while you will need to take on new projects and attend meetings, you need to remember that you are only human. If you take on too much, you will have less time on your hands to produce quality work, and you might even burn yourself out. Saying ‘no’ can sometimes be good for business so give yourself a break and whittle down your to-do list.

So, here’s the thing. Running a business isn’t easy. But by following the suggestions given here, it can be easier. Take note then, especially if you’re feeling the strain today.

Business Expansion Made Easy | Top Tips For Business Owners

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Despite popular misconceptions, expanding your business doesn’t mean that you need to work longer hours or deal with more stress. In fact, business expansion often means that you can expect your workload to decrease a little, as it gives you the chance to get a better hold over your finances or delegate tasks across a larger workload. However, business expansion isn’t always as straightforward as it seems – meaning it can be hard to figure out exactly what you need to do in order to grow and develop.

With that in mind, here are some top tips that every business owner can use to grow and expand their business.

  • Focus on improving workplace efficiency by investing in new technology or software. This will allow each employee to make the most out of their time, meaning that tasks will be completed at a quicker rate and to a higher standard. This also allows you to boost your revenue.
  • If you’ve been running your business from the comfort of your own home, consider renting out a workspace for your business. Whether you open up a shop or offices, this is a great way to take your business to the next level or develop your relationship with your staff and customers face to face. To get started on this venture, you simply need to reach out to a commercial real estate agent who can help you find the property of your dreams for a price that won’t break the bank.
  • Focus on growing your team by bringing in new employees, focusing on candidates who are enthusiastic, and bring something new to the table. For example, sometimes innovation and new ideas could be far more beneficial to your business than previous industry experience. You should also ensure that you provide your employees with training that will allow them to develop new skills. 
  • Create a friendly working environment where every employee will feel appreciated and comfortable. This will allow them to work more productively and ensures that they know how to reach out whenever they need help. Putting your employees first will also help you become a better manager.
  • In order for your business to grow, you need to ensure that you can stay up to date with current trends and consumer habits. To put it simply, you need to find a way to stop your business from being left in the dust in a hypercompetitive and ever-changing world. The easiest way to achieve this goal is to prioritize innovation, as this will encourage you to come up with new ideas, which will enable you to stand out from the crowd. 
  • Be sure to invest a considerable amount of time and money into your marketing campaign – as this is one of the most straightforward ways to expand your customer space. Thankfully, you can market your business in a variety of ways, through growing your online presence, networking, or through traditional marketing techniques such as flyering. You should also update your marketing strategy regularly, using your analytics to guide you and ensuring that you capitalize on popular trends.

5 Ways To Keep Your Staff Content Throughout The Year

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In terms of running and business and leading the staff working under you, there needs to be high elements of contentment along with productivity. If they aren’t happy with coming into work every single day, then you’re not going to get the best out of them. In professional work, management is more than just getting the job done and making sure you bring in all the money you need. It’s a case of being aware of the staff’s well-being and overall condition. If they’re in a good place – then it’s going to be a much easier ride for all involved. 

Many business owners struggle to get the best out of their team, though, as they neglect the people skills required. They also struggle to keep everyone happy throughout their time in the job. It’s not too much of a difficult task, though. You’re not expected to be a wizard that puts spells on everyone. Here are some things you can do: 

Be Positive For As Long As You Can

When you have a lot of work to do and a lot of stress on your shoulders, it can be quite difficult to relax and be positive. It’s a habit, though, like most things are. Make sure you’re optimistic about most things and upbeat around the rest of the group. It’s a contagious way of behaving and everyone around you will bounce off it. If you have a positive and happy environment, then it’s going to make the working day so much easier. 

Have A Plan And A Setup For Everyone

If everyone knows what they’re doing, then they’re going to have a much easier job on their hands. Not everyone wakes up on a Monday morning with 100% certainty of how things are going to go. If you ensure that you have a plan for them, then they’ll be more content. You can use Crew scheduling software and other project management tools to help you out with this kind of thing nowadays. Don’t let them feel like a spare part.

Work With Individuals As Well As Groups

Narrowing down your leadership and focusing on each person can help out so much in terms of overall contentment. It’ll make them feel a little more special and it’ll allow them to know that they aren’t just an extra worker. If you focus on how they’re doing mentally as well as their performance at work, then they’ll be appreciative. 

Make Sure They’re Working In A Wonderful Environment

Keep the place nice and clean because you just never know how someone might feel about the environment in which they work. If you have to, then hire cleaners to come in a couple of times a week. If you have the capacity, then create a rota that involves every employee. If they know they’re working in a clean, tidy workplace that they’ve all helped to create, then they’ll feel a sense of pride and happiness in where they are. 

Hire The Right Kind Of Personalities

It’s all about personalities and chemistry sometimes. Sure, the qualifications and experience matter, but hiring the right people can take a business from good to great. If everyone gets along and the personalities all fit together, then you’re going to have a healthy group.

Online Platforms and Apps to Make Business More Efficient

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If you run or manage a business, likely you’re always looking for ways to streamline practices and make everything go smoother. No matter what type of business you’re in, you need software, platforms, websites and apps at your disposal to make day to day practices go smoother, increase productivity and make everyone’s job easier. 

Lucky for us all, there are so many platforms and apps out there these days for pretty much every single need, no matter the industry or area of business you’re in. You can find all sorts of helpful resources at various price points, so long as you know where to look. We’ve outlined some of our favorites below.

POS software and websites

There are lots of great POS software programs out there as well as apps you can download to use for any retail business. For those who don’t want to buy and install separate software, you can also use online-only platforms to handle all of your sales data, inventory, invoicing, returns, and more. Most of these POS programs are super-intuitive and use up to date technology to make sales so much easier and more efficient. They do practically all of the work for you. 

Testing Sites

If your business requires you to run a lot of tests, you need good software or an efficient website to log into everyday to complete those tests. You need something that is efficient, safe and gets you accurate results. There are lots of test platforms online that allow you to run accurate, high-stakes tests that are designed by you with your own specifications and criteria. No matter what type of testing you need to do, these sites can accommodate you. 

Graphic Design

We all have our favorites when it comes to graphics programs, but did you know that you can do a lot of your graphic design and marketing design right online without ever downloading or purchasing a software program? Via apps and websites you can now tweak, design, draw, edit and adjust any type of graphic, quickly and easily. Best of all, a lot of these graphic sites are very affordable, sometimes even free. 

Web Design

Just as with graphic design, there are a number of amazing web design templates that walk you through the entire process of designing a website, writing HTML and publishing content online in a snap. These sites are super intuitive and easy to learn, making it a quick and stress-free process. Some are free, but even the pay-to-design sites are quite affordable and have a wide range of options to fit any aesthetic, style or preference. 

These are just a few areas in which you can improve your business and increase productivity simply by hopping online and visiting a website or app. Handle your design and marketing, design websites, run testing, and even handle sales all while surfing the web. Nowadays, it’s easier than ever to run a business online.