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Archive for November 6th, 2009

Are you considering starting a business or are looking to make your business larger or more efficient? The the first step is to sort out a proper business plan. Business plans are a great way to make sales projections for your business and to lay out all the steps that you need to go through to make your business larger or to start a new business. A business plan will take you step by step through all the areas that you need to be considering. It will also include profit projections for your business (the ‘bottom line’ ) So, it is both an essential first step, and also a great strategic planning tool to “sell” your business to bankers, lenders, friends, and family that you may need to borrow money from to begin the business. On the flip side, down the track, it can also show your vision of how a business can grow in the future if you wish to expand. Essentially then a business plan provides a structre for success.
Business plans can be simple or complex depending upon your needs and your desires, but regardless of the complexity it will ultimately have to cover several different areas. The first thing you need to do is to create a vision statement. This sentence will concisely describe what the purpose of your business is and the goals that you have for your business.
Include the people that will be helping you to start this business in your plan (they are the ‘team’ who will be making your vision a reality after all). You need to include any work experience that they have and how the experience will apply to the business that you are creating. The resume of each person that will be working with you needs to be included in your business plan. This is a good visual guide apart from anything. Because it reminds you of the combined skillset that you have at your disposal currently. What areas you might need further outside help with. And where you should be looking to get further training for your staff.
The business plan that you are creating needs to include what your business is and how it will fit into the market. Describe your business and the services or products that you will be offering. Focus on the specialized market that you will be catering to and working in. As the unique skills that you bring to that market will help to differentiate you in it.
An economic assessment is an important part of your business plan. This may or may not include studies about the region that you will be opening your business in. For example if you are setting up a real estate business in Texas USA, then profoundly different market conditions are at work then if you set up a real esate operation in Texas, France! This is a great way to help you see exactly how your business will fit into the market that you live in. (You can read how to write a business plan in five steps here – http://www.all-business-plans.com/12090.php)
Make a cash flow assessment to add to your business plan. This will include the capital that you will need to start your business as well as the monthly costs for one year. Include anything that you think can go wrong and what you will do to take care of any problems. A key thing to remember here is to always be an optimist. BUT always plan for the worst. In that way you will be ready for all contingencies.
Include a marketing plan in your business plan. This will include any promotions you need to run imminently, and how you plan to get your business noticed. Marketing is very important when starting a new business.
Making a business plan is a very important part of starting a business or expanding a business. It allows you to be sure that you have all the tools you need think through your decisions. A business plan is used to get business loans from banks and other lenders and as a tool to get investors for your business. It should be the foundation of any large business decision, whether starting a new business or enlarging an existing one. It focuses the mind on the real task in hand. So, Gather all of your information and create a business plan to start a business that is sure to succeed!

At some point in your business planning and development process, you will want to give serious thought to establishing a professional online presence for your business. In today’s modern global economy, having an online presence is essential for any business, no matter what size or region you plan to operate your business in.

In this article, I want to outline a practical strategy you can use for setting up, growing and establishing an online presence for your business which, from the very outset, will adhere fully to the criteria below:Small Business website

All of the above criteria can be easily satisfied if you are willing to consider a smarter, better, cheaper, easier and faster option to setting up a normal website for your business. This alternative method is called a blog.

A blog is much like a website, but it offers business owners – especially small business owners – many additional benefits and advantages that regular web sites simply don’t provide. Website for non profits

Let’s now take a deeper look at how a business blog meets all of the criteria that we have outlined above:

An Inexpensive Web Presence

Many people will argue that you can’t get cheaper than “free”. When it comes to having a “free” web presence for your business, however, there are many pitfalls that you will want to avoid, such a “free” webhosting, or building your web presence on a domain name that you do not own. In this situation, “free” could turn out to be costly in the long run, especially when you require proper and timely support from your host, or if you decide to make certain customizations or configuration changes to your site.

So, let’s ignore “free” solutions and let’s focus instead on creating an “inexpensive yet professional” web presence. Regardless of what kind of web presence you ultimately decide for your business, plan to at least own your own domain name and use a professional web hosting service. You can find inexpensive resellers for both domains and web hosting from different online locations for around $150 or less.

Getting a website built by a web developer or web designer, however, is a different story. For certain, you can always ask someone who knows HTML to build you a website for next to nothing, but it will probably also end up doing nothing for your business, just like most websites out there.

A blog is different. With a WordPress blog, for example, you can download the full working version of the publishing software at no cost, host it on your server, and then choose a professional design from hundreds of available free WordPress blog templates to give your web presence the look and feel of a site that might cost thousands of dollars to design.

A Web Presence That Is Easy To Manage

With a regular website, unless you know how to modify web page coding like HTML and upload files to your server, you will need to get someone like a web developer, web designer or webmaster to help you manage your site. This not only makes managing your web presence more complex, but it can also cost managing your web presence very easy. You simply write out your thoughts and click a few buttons to instantly publish your information online. There’s no messing around with HTML code, no uploading files to servers and no fiddling about with technical stuff. Just write and click to publish. It can’t get any easier than that!

A Web Presence That Helps You Grow Your Business Fast

Most websites are static, which means that once your content is published, you then have to figure out ways of getting people to visit your site. A blog, on the other hand, offers many dynamic features which can help to automatically drive visitors to your site.

A Web Presence That Gives You Measurable Results

Whether you decide to build a website for your business or set up a business blog, you will want to have an information system in place that gives you access to data about your site (like what words people are typing into search engines to find your site), so you can evaluate your site’s performance and make better business decisions. Google’s own web analytics application is an excellent tool for this. It’s free and gives you access to an incredible amount of useful and valuable data about your site.

A Web Presence That Is Flexible Enough To Grow With Your Business

Adding new functionality to an existing web site can mean a whole new level of complexity and added expenses and time, especially if you need help from web developers to integrate new software, set up databases, etc ..

With a blog – especially one powered by a content publishing platform like WordPress, for example, adding new functionality to your site can be done in a matter of minutes and a few clicks of the mouse. Simply download one of thousands of available plug-ins – most of which are free – upload them to your server and activate them inside your blog’s can grow your web presence to a whole new level, such as adding e-commerce, creating a membership site, enhancing its multimedia capabilities, and so on, by simply adding simple modules created by plug-in developers for the blogging community.

In terms of flexibility, therefore, it is very hard to beat blogs. You can start off with a very simple barebones blog to inform and educate your site visitors about your business and totally scale things up as and when you need to.

Hopefully this article has helped you gain some new insights into setting up a web presence for your new business and I wish you a very happy and successful business blogging experience.

http://www.thebestinternetm… – If you’re going to get started with affiliate marketing, consider this guide a great way to get started learning about it.

I used to coach “professionally”. One o…

“If we lived in a perfect world, there wouldn’t be a need for managers.”
- Bryce’s Law

INTRODUCTION

I recently had a good friend experience a troubling termination
of an employee. This was for a national retail distribution
company where my friend serves as Sales Manager for one of the
company’s regional outlets. The problem centered on a young (thirty-ish)
salesman who was well trained but acted like a loose cannon,
e.g., policies and procedures weren’t always followed, and he was
caustic and abrasive with customers and suppliers alike. This
inevitably resulted in some serious customer relations problems
for the company. On more than one occasion, my friend was called
in to bail out the salesman. His conduct and attitudes were well
documented in his performance reviews and my friend went beyond
the call of duty to counsel the salesman. Regardless, the salesman
recently insulted a young female supplier by using the legendary
“f***” word on the telephone (along with several other choice
expletives). Not surprising, this traveled up and down the
management chain of command until it finally landed on the desk
of the Sales Manager who was told to fire the salesman. Dutifully,
my friend called him into his office, explained the situation,
and gave the salesman the option of allowing him to either resign
or be terminated. The salesman flew into a rage and called the
Sales Manager every name in the book and came close to exchanging
blows with him. It was very ugly.

I talked with my friend at length about the incident and told him
if he was guilty of anything, it was that he was too kind and
too often gave his people the benefit of a doubt. Whereas he always
hopes for the best from an employee, I generally expect the
worst and am pleasantly surprised when things work out. In
other words, they have to earn my respect; they cannot take it
for granted. This got me thinking about how we terminate
employees these days. In the old days, if you screwed up,
you were fired on the spot and shown the door. No questions
asked; it was a done deal. But in today’s litigious society,
managers have to be more careful or face a costly lawsuit.

I remember firing my first employee several years ago. Even
though I hadn’t hired the person, it was my duty to terminate
him. The night before the termination, I agonized over how
I would do it and what I would say. My stomach flipped-flopped
and I definitely did not look forward to doing it. Nonetheless,
the next day I called the employee into my office, explained
his services were no longer needed, and let him go. In
hindsight, I’m sure it was less than perfect, but I somehow
got through it (and had a stiff drink afterwards). Since then
I have had to terminate a fair share of people over the
years. I no longer get upset over it and have learned a
few things along the way. Perhaps the biggest lesson is
that firing employees isn’t for sissies. There are not many
things worse a manager can do than botching a firing. We laugh
at Donald Trump saying, “You’re fired,” on television, but that
is a rigged situation where contestants already understand
there is going to be only one survivor. In the real-world, a
termination affects a lot of people other than the employee
and yourself; it affects the employee’s co-workers, family
and, in the situation described above, customers and vendors. Firing
an individual requires great skill and, as far as I’m concerned
should be left to professionals.

BACKGROUND

There is a big difference between firing a person and letting a
person go. Whereas the latter could be the result of work stoppages,
the former is due to the performance of the individual. As such,
this article is primarily concerned with firing. From the outset
understand this, keeping a poor performer employed is a disservice
to the company, the co-workers, you (the boss), as well as the
individual. As mentioned in the beginning, a poor performer causes
co-workers and/or the boss to work overtime to cover for the
employee. Consider this though, it hurts the individual who is
either unskilled for the job or has risen above his level of
competency. This type of person has hit a “dead-end” in his
career and it is unfair to keep him in a position where you
know he will undoubtedly fail. Let him get on with his life in
another capacity where he might succeed.

Prior to any firing, a paper-trail is required to document the
person’s performance. An Employee Performance Evaluation (or
“Review”) should be conducted routinely, particularly in the
early stages of employment. Such a Review should highlight both
the person’s strengths and weaknesses giving the boss an opportunity
to offer advice to the employee on how to better himself. Very
important, have the employee read the Review carefully and
SIGN IT. Thereby, the employee can never say he was unaware of
any problems.

If the employee is struggling and you have to put him “on notice”
(either improve or face termination), this should be written
into the Review as well. More importantly, if you put a person
“on notice” be sure to follow the worker’s progress carefully,
not only to make sure he is improving, but to see if he is preparing
to bail out on you.

PREPARATIONS

Assuming you have adequately documented the employee’s performance
and you are convinced you have just cause to fire him, now it is
time to properly prepare yourself:

First, you may need to get permission from your superior or
someone in Human Resources to fire the person. Be prepared
to give a detailed reason for terminating the employee and
be able to substantiate your claim. This makes for a
convenient rehearsal for the firing.

Consider the person’s current work assignments and what affect
his firing will have on your department (co-workers, vendors,
customers, delivery dates, etc.). Even if a person is working
on something critical for the company, and it is absolutely
necessary to terminate him, do not let the employee hold
his job hostage. Even if you kept the person, there is
no telling whether his work would ever be completed to your
satisfaction. If he has to go, he has to go. Do not
procrastinate.

Determine an exit strategy. To minimize disrupting the
work of others, determine a proper time and date to terminate
the employee. More people are fired on late Friday afternoons
than any other time or day of the week. Why? Simple. It is
the end of the work-week and people are more interested in
going home than listening to someone being fired. By Monday,
the person will already be a memory.

Psychologists might suggest Monday mornings are a better
time for terminations as opposed to Fridays, simply because
the employee won’t have time to think about it over the
weekend and become despondent or irrational. As for me,
I am a Friday man as I don’t want this to weigh too heavily
on the staff.

In preparing for the employee’s exit, consider what corporate
paperwork is involved (see Human Resources), what keys, locks,
badges, computer passwords may need to be changed, and back up the
employee’s computer files. Under no circumstance should the
employee be allowed to touch his computer after being dismissed;
there is no need to invite sabotage.

Select a witness to attend the termination meeting (this should
be done in all cases regardless if you are expecting a hostile
firing or not). Even better, be prepared to record the
termination if possible in case it is needed in a court of law.

If necessary, have a box prepared for the employee to empty
his desk.

DO IT PROFESSIONALLY

Now the hard part; actually terminating the employee. Now you
have to prepare yourself psychologically. If you go into it
with any emotions (guilt, anger, sympathy), you are doomed to
fail. Always remember you are an emissary of the company, not
an individual with a vendetta. It is hard to be cold in situations
like this, but you have to be well organized and in the proper
state of mind to pull this off. Ideally, the objective should be
that the employee being terminated comes away from the dismissal
knowing he had been fired by a pro, not a clown.

Just prior to the dismissal, talk to your witness and let
him/her know what you are about to do and what will be expected
from the witness during the termination (which should be to simply
observe and not to speak during the firing).

When ready, invite the employee into a private room, preferably
away from the co-workers. Be cordial but avoid idle chit-chat as it
is not relevant at this point. Inform the person of the purpose
of the meeting and why he is being terminated. It is important
the person understand why they are being fired. Some people feel
this is unnecessary. I don’t for two reasons: First, if a person
starts litigation against you or the company, he cannot claim he
didn’t know the reason for the termination, and; Second, if the
person is ever going to improve in the future, he should understand
why he is being dismissed.

It is very important you remain in control of the meeting at
all times. Stick to the facts and do not waver. The employee will
react one of two ways: either surprised by the termination (didn’t
see it coming) or knew it was inevitable. The emotional
reaction to the termination may take many forms:

Regardless of the emotional reaction to the termination, stay in
control of the meeting. Do not show weakness by back-peddling or
allowing second chances. Remember, you reviewed the employee’s work
performance in the past and the employee should have already adjusted
his work habits. Providing an employee a second chance at this stage
only invites sabotage.

Do not prolong the termination either; keep it short and to the
point (do not give him time to think and react). Sympathy is
not necessary, nor is gloating. Also, it is not necessary to be
apologetic, after all, you have a valid business reason for terminating
the employee don’t you? Just keep things in a “matter of fact” tone
of voice. Again, you represent the company in this capacity;
maintain your composure.

If it is necessary for corporate papers to be signed as part of the
exit, have the employee sign them at this time. If the employee
refuses, have it so noted by the witness. Also explain to the
employee how he will receive his final paycheck.

In some situations, it is better to try and get the employee to
resign as opposed to being fired. If the person is fired, they
are automatically eligible for unemployment (which the company has
to ultimately pay). If the person resigns, collecting unemployment
is considerably more difficult to obtain (although the government
loves to give away your money anyway).

If the employee shows signs of being upset, allow them to regain
their composure before exiting the meeting. An emotionally distressed
person can have an adverse affect on the staff. It also allows
the employee to save face.

POSTMORTEM

Fired employees should clean out their desks of their personal
items as soon as possible. This should normally be supervised by
someone, preferably not the witness or the person who just fired
the employee. Further, when the employee is gone, make sure the desk
is cleaned out to your satisfaction; leave no traces.

Farewells are not necessary and should be discouraged. The less
contact the employee has with your staff, the less chance he has
of “infecting” your people. Some companies also find it
necessary to escort the person off company premises.

Following the termination, prepare a report reviewing the
termination which should be filed in the employee’s personnel
jacket. Keep it factual and to the point (include time, date
and the length of the meeting). If the employee made any threats,
this should be documented. The witness should also make a
similar, but separate, report. Both reports should be simple
and to the point and reflect what actually transpired during
the termination. Also, if the termination was recorded, it
should also be filed in the employee’s jacket.

Your staff will inevitably be wondering what happened. It
may be necessary to briefly discuss it at a staff meeting (do
not call a meeting just to discuss the termination). When
reviewing the termination with the staff, it is not necessary
for you to rationalize why the employee was terminated (if he
was a loser, they should be able to figure it out). Further, the
fired employee may have friends on the staff who might testify
against you in the future. Instead, keep it simple; that the
employee is gone and discuss who is going to pick up the
pieces. Do not belabor the firing. Its over. The only thing
you, as boss, should be concerned with at this point is problems
in staff morale as a result of the firing.

After the employee has left, be careful of requests for job
references for the employee. You can state the employee’s job
title and length of employment but little else. Do not discuss
why the employee was terminated or his job performance. If
you make disparaging remarks about the employee, he might learn
of them and initiate a lawsuit; In contrast, if you give a glowing
report on a former employee and he turns out to be a dud, the
employee’s new company may consider a lawsuit over false claims
and misrepresentation. Therefore, do not discuss the employee’s
performance. The only exception is if you are asked if the
former employee is eligible to be rehired (a simple Yes/No will
suffice).

CONCLUSION

We live in a strange time where managers are afraid to fire
employees in fear of possible litigation. Instead, there is a
great temptation to transfer or promote the misfit to another
department, thereby transferring your problems to someone
else. This is horribly irresponsible and does your company a
disservice by allowing the employee to screw-up elsewhere (and
badmouth you to boot). Do not prolong the agony. Get on with
it. As my old football coach used to say, “Have a little STUG”
(that’s “Guts” spelled backwards).

Firing a person is an important part of being a manager. It
goes with the territory. Do not procrastinate and never live in
fear of firing someone for if you do, you will become ineffective
as a manager. But if you are going to do it, do it right. Let
the employee know he was fired by a pro. If done properly, you
will win the respect of your superiors, your subordinates, as
well as the person you are letting go.

Firing employees isn’t for sissies.

Small business bookkeeping tips from BizLaunch expert George Wall

Making business plans and drafting a business plan can help save time and energy and can help a businessman like you to know exactly where you are heading. It is always better to know what you want and how to go about getting it. A good business plan will guide a business towards a success and help a businessman reach the targeted goals. A business plan helps you to understand the business better and make necessary changes in order to improve your business.

Know Your Requirements and the Market
Once the kind of business entity has been decided, the next important step is making business plans. Plan in detail exactly what you need as in equipment, employees needed and the ideal location and work area best suited for the business. Research and determine the price of the product you are going to sell or the price of the service you offer, check out the competition and write down how to compete and the improvements needed to do so.

Plan Your Source of Funds
Make a correct estimation of the cost of starting a business and determine if the funds available to you are sufficient if not do research and find out what is the best option in loans that best suits your needs. Plan if you want to use you personal assets as collateral or if you want to go for a loan without personal guarantees. Plan what actions need to be taken in case of temporary cash flow problems occur incase you have to pay the creditors before the customers pay you, if a business line of credit is an answer to your problems etc.

Cost Management is the Key
Making business plans that are straightforward and believable, presenting the plans with confidence can help while securing a business loan. Once a loan has been granted a proper plan is needed to manage the finance and make the right use of the money by prioritizing and curbing unnecessary expenses.

A good plan and its implementation is needed to ensure accelerated debt payoff, helping build a good credit profile that will come in handy incase business credit is needed in future.
Planning and implementing the day-to-day operations of a business will save time and energy. This can be put to good use in helping the business to grow. A carefully-planned and well-managed business will definitely succeed.

Advertisement
Making business plans involving advertisement and marketing of the product or service by using yellow pages or putting up signboards or using electronic media will help boost the business and sales. Knowing what the customers want and planning to cater to their needs by creating a niche in the market will help a new business flourish.

Planning also helps to identify what areas of the business need extra attention and to rectify management errors. Planning how to invest the profits will help as if it is invested in buying assets; these may come in handy when cash is needed for expansion or for other emergencies.

Making business plans and implementation of the plans will help in the smooth operation of the business as well as ensure that the business has taken the first step towards success. Knowing what you want, how to get what you want and what will be the next step once you have got what you want are some of the information you will understand better by making business plans.

Several companies offer software that will help in running a business making implementation of the business plans very easy and less time consuming.