You must break down the work flow into small, incremental steps that will ensure that the end results are accomplished. What's the worst that can happen'? If you never try, you'll never achieve. These characteristics are usually related to demographic and psychographic traits, including interests, behavior, background and context, as …

If you decide to start your own business, you'll quickly discover what every successful entrepreneur before you has discovered: You have a finite amount of time and energy. Be absolutely honest. The reasons why Bill Gates decided to start Microsoft may be vastly different from the reasons John Dough decided …

If you decide to start your own business, you'll quickly discover what every successful entrepreneur before you has discovered: You have a finite amount of time and energy. Therefore, making people engaged in your cause is important. The lot of the modern worker is too unstable and employment too unsteady …

Business is about providing people with something they need. After identifying what type of investment, real estate property, or business venture you want to acquire, the next step is to find it. Promoting innovation and entrepreneurship, for instance, has been high on the agenda of policy makers in the hope …

Would you tramp the country as a surveyor for a map? You ll use proper, respectful, and easy-to-understand language to make sure your audience clearly gets your message. It accommodates the frequent lag between when a purchase is made and cash changes hands. This isn t to say that a …

The performance of a business over time in an interactive context depends on its capacity to relate to other businesses and to interact effectively with them. The vast majority of small-business owners we know provide products or services quite similar to what's already in the marketplace and make reasonable but …

And do everything possible to hit your numbers. Investors are not simply writing out checks with no idea of where the money will be spent. Even if you have previous experience running a business, you ll need to get your personal credit information in order. But be cautious with your …

One obvious example is the measurement of profitability for specific objects. However, your business plan is more than insurance. A successful website requires a high level of technical execution, including the coordination of information and links, writing of HTML code, manipulation of video and still images, and the updating of …

They aim for the middle and compete with everyone else who is also trying to do everything for everybody. A small bank can host networking sessions for their customers to meet, greet, and talk about working together to maximize profits. Make the most of your present position. Often, one has …

Your website, your packaging, and your marketing campaign should let people know what to expect when they purchase your products. Six different excellent and experienced people will still do things six different ways. Loan covenants, however, may require you to do all sorts of things, from setting a minimum amount …

Just as fine dining locales offer finer sensory experiences than coffee shops or fast-food eateries, your presentation will differ from a working plan. Now, thanks to the proliferation of social networking and online media, paid-for advertising is in crisis and free is not only possible, it is expected. It may …

When you have customers who trust you, they will want to do business with you and give you referrals. To improve quality and safety, require every supervisor to take a few minutes every Wednesday to look for potential safety issues and quality improvement areas, then fill out a pre-printed form …

What went wrong? Either way, you should make it clear in your business plan which key positions you want to fill and how you plan to go about finding the people to fill those roles. This forces project team leaders to look for and anticipate problems before they occur. Information …

The staff doesn't participate in activities or provide input, and therefore doesn't learn how to implement the new skills being taught. You are not only interested in what the final selling price is; you are interested in how much of it will find its way back to you. For example …

The lingo of the business world ' cash flow, profit and loss statements, accounts receivable, debt-to-equity ratio, and so on ' makes small-business ownership appear far more complicated than it really is. Stocks are increments of ownership of a corporation. The same might go for a software startup that comes out with …

Which, of course, is fantastic news for you and your minimalist pared-down start-up. Conversely, it may be too far ahead of its time. It s advisable NOT to put your home up for collateral it s simply too big a risk. But any amount is better than none!

How are …

In a struggling economy, more highly skilled employees will be seeking work, but you may not be in a position to risk high salaries. You can sign up and pay to attend an event at which up-and-coming entrepreneurs, like yourself, get to meet with many angel investors and VCs in …

Six different excellent and experienced people will still do things six different ways. Repeating contract language in an effort to impart greater emphasis is dangerous, as differences in context can lead to confusion in meaning and an unfavorable interpretation in a court of law. You want to build a strong …

You could make no greater mistake than to rent a shabby place on a back street. You will not be able to use this model if the margins are too low because initially you will be selling at a loss, which is a certain route to disaster. To stay in …

Excellent systems to find, keep, and service customers will maximize your bottom-line by selecting the best opportunities available for your company. Take the time to challenge some of the core assumptions of your prior plan to see if they still hold up. In a large business, a department may have …

In pull strategies, the manufacturer promotes the product directly to consumers, perhaps by providing coupons and free samples, to encourage them to request the item from retailers. Designate a separate part of the house as your office ' a spare room or warm garage is ideal if you have one, a …

But it s a good idea to take the initiative here and propose something that will be used if you suspect a banker will require it. One of the reasons for differences among plans is that industries are different. While the other clerks are joking, do you be learning. Certainly …

It is worth while inquiring briefly how the share of labor in the distribution of the social income is determined. Take them to lunch every two months. If you are starting out without much money, choose something which is relatively low-cost per unit ' first because buying stock will cost you …

Do whatever it takes. You may have sold a lot of products in a week, but unless you have actually received the money for them it is not going to hold much sway with the man on the doorstep who needs to be paid for the raw materials or equipment …

'Double-entry' simply means that every transaction is recorded in two places, with the entry in one account offset by the entry in another. Will you command a rapidly growing empire? It is important, however, that the new product offer something the older one does not in order to prevent confusion …

Simply by having chosen to serve a niche versus a broader market will make it easier for you to come up with a strong USP. But the good news is that recessions serve as sort-out time (that is, they sort out the weak businesses from the strong ones and allow …

Nobody has your interests so much at heart as you have. To motivate your workforce, you've got to give them a reason to be motivated. Fix a big dial two feet or more in diameter in some prominent part of your store, and announce that when a customer has traded …

Install accurate financial systems, accurate estimating and pricing systems, and cost controls. The reasons we present here aren't in any particular order. A banker may not be interested in your rosy projections of future growth. If these important things aren't adhered to in a systematic and standardized way, the customer …

If you need to pay your suppliers thirty days after receiving their goods and services ' known as thirty-day payment terms ' for example, then try to persuade your customers to pay you quicker than that, for example fourteen days after they receive their goods and services from you. The only way …

But any amount is better than none! You want to reveal any positives that your business may have and make sure they receive due consideration. The marketing options are many and expensive, including door hangers, newspaper coupons, mailings, advertising, website placement programs, and billboards. Business-builders are not task- or project-focused …

If, in addition to these powerful inducements to patronage, you combine shrewdness in buying and cautiousness in trusting, if your goods are excellent in quality and generous in quantity, if your place of business is neat and attractive, and your service marked by promptness and politeness; then it is impossible …

Some customers want to know who they are doing business with. Is your business moving toward giving you what you wanted when you started your entrepreneurial journey? What's the worst that can happen'? If you never try, you'll never achieve. Writing a business plan is one of those skills that …

The globalization of production refers to the sourcing of goods and services from loca- tions around the globe to take advantage of national differences in the cost and quality of factors of production (such as labor, energy, land, and capital). You make sales after you have built connections and trust …

Get started small. Intellectual capital is proprietary information and in-house knowledge of technologies, materials, processes, and markets useful to an organization. You ll use proper, respectful, and easy-to-understand language to make sure your audience clearly gets your message. Show your key people how you want things done and then let …

All that information flowing up to senior managers in the form of plans helps keep the brass informed. Most companies you compete with probably provide good service, good quality, and good prices. A commercial mortgage broker might hold industry forums twice a year with speakers presenting on the economy and …

Outsourcing is a key strategy for startups. In a world where word travels fast through social media, you want to provide top-notch customer service. You built your friendships by spending quality time with them and doing lots of fun things together. The many disciplines in business are often organized and …

Show them pictures of what you have done, what you can do for them, and how you can solve their problems. Offer them a report giving them the answers they need to solve their problem. It just feels all wrong. Remember that brevity is not brusqueness.

Its easy to talk …

After your spouse has filed for divorce or your kids have become strangers to you, the damage too often is done. A sales manager can redirect the activities of salespeople immediately, and an accounting manager can make immediate changes in bookkeeping practices. In addition is the need to decide whether …

Tell them your story. Create financial targets. Social capital refers to established human relationships, both within and external to a company, that create and maintain value. You're probably more acquainted with the basic concepts of doing business than you think.

Unwrapping Customer Service

The ordinary wage system has at least the merit that the reward of the laborer is made dependent only on his own efforts. When you have people problems, it's a reflection on the effectiveness of your leadership. So to make lots of money, making money has to be your top …