How to Navigate Small Business during Financial Crisis

December 2, 2013

How to navigate during crisis
Warning to all budding entrepreneurs!! Almost 75% of small businesses fail during their first year. This number goes even higher during financial or environmental crisis. During Great Recession of 2008-2009 number of businesses, large and small, failed because they were not in the best position to manage during the time of crisis. They either did not have sufficient financial cushion or failed to generate enough sales to meet their expenses. The key to succeed in the crisis is to prepare for it ahead of time and take decisive actions once the crisis does hit. This is the time not to panic, and you will not, if you have planned ahead. If you do run into financial turbulence here are 3 important steps you can take to navigate through the crisis.

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Safety First! How to Safeguard Your Building against Fire

December 1, 2013

Fire Safety
Fire safety is usually not on top of mind for many business owners. After all, they have business to run and fire safety does not help them improve their sales or customer service. Most business owners probably include fire safety equipments as part of building construction and pretty much forget about it as they go about running their daily business. There is nothing wrong with focusing on your business first, however it should not be done at the expense of safety of your employees and yourself. There is a good reason why fire safety is taught to us from a very young age.

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5 Must Have Project Management Skills for Every Business Leader

November 30, 2013

5 must have project management skills
Project management is a must have skill for small business owners as well as managers and executives of large companies. Anyone can dream up new projects without much effort. Only those who can execute those projects stand to succeed in their endeavor. History is rife with examples of projects, large and small, that have either failed or overrun their time and budget because they were not managed well. The managers in charge of these projects did not possess and exhibit necessary skills required to take them to the finish line.

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Can Bundling Save Money for Small Business Customers?

November 26, 2013

Can Bundling Save Money for Small Business Customers
Bundling products and services is a time honored technique used by businesses of all types. Walk into a McDonald’s and you will see bundling in the form of Value Meal where you can buy burger, fries and drink for the price that is lower than if they were bought separately. When you book your vacation package that includes airfare, hotel and car rental for one low price you are buying a bundle. In customers’ mind bundling saves them money by paying less than what they would have to pay otherwise. Businesses also benefit from bundling because they are able to sell more even if they sell at a discount. It appears that bundling is a win-win for both customers and businesses.

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Leaders are Trained, Not Born. How to Develop Your Leadership Skills

November 13, 2013

Leaders are trained not born
It is said that leaders are not born, but made through hard work and dedication. It takes different types of skills to advance in your profession and be a true leader that everyone admires. Unfortunately, these “soft skills” are not taught in the classroom. You have to learn these skills on the job and by seeking advice from friends and professional colleagues. The good news is these skills can be learned, and once you master them the payoff is significant in terms of promotion and pay increase / bonus. You don’t even have to wait till you get a job to learn these skills. You can teach your school going kids these skills to give them jump start on their future careers. After all, you need a combination of school education and soft leadership skills to get hired and advance in the career.

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What is the Best Organization Structure for Small Business

November 6, 2013

The benefits of SOA organization
How your business is organized can have a major impact on the outcome of your business. Business organizations have morphed in many different ways from the early 1900’s when Henry Ford invented an assembly line. Even today, you are likely to find different organization structures in different parts of the world as well as industries. The way Google is organized and operates is quite different from how organization is structured at GE. A new organization structure concept based on the principle of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) is a different way of thinking than the traditional hierarchical organization.

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3 Ways to Be a Better Coach to Your Employees

October 22, 2013

3 Ways to Be a Better Coach
A great leader or business owner not only knows how to run his company, but he is also a great motivator and coach to his employees. Think about it – your business is only as good as the contribution made by your employees and you are only as good as the value you can get from your employees. That is why coaching and motivating your employees to bring out the maximum potential from them is one of the most important jobs of any leader.

The problem is not every leader is a born coach. There are those who are natural at bringing out the best from others and there are others who make employees run away from them. With little help and determination it is possible for a leader to improve his coaching skills. All you need is to put yourself in your employees’ shoes. Below are 3 important steps you need to take to be a better coach.

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5 Simple Techniques to Keep Your Employees Stress Free

September 27, 2013

5 simple techniques to keep your employees stress free
According to NHS, an estimated 10 million days are lost each year as a result of work related stress, depression and anxiety. This is despite businesses spending enormous amount of money on employee health care. Many small business owners feel like there is no end in sight to this vicious cycle of rising healthcare cost for their businesses, increasing stress for their employees and reducing productivity and profit resulting from both.

While the situation may appear dire at times, there are some simple and effective ways by which businesses can help their employees reduce daily stress, and in turn reduce their health care cost and improve business productivity. The key is to take these steps before the situation warrants immediate attention and make them part of your and employees’ daily routine. Below we provide some tips to do just that.

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From Seating to Heating: 5 Factors to Consider for Effective Business Meetings

September 23, 2013

5 factors to consider for effective business meetings
Having an effective meeting is as much dependent on people participating in it as it does on the surrounding environment in which the meeting is held. Proper environment can foster healthy dialog and quick decision making. It may sound trivial, but having the right room temperature or proper seating arrangement can sometimes be the difference between having a fruitful meeting versus the one where everyone departs thinking why they had the meeting in the first place and what they accomplished.

So, what factors do you need to take into account when arranging business meetings that are highly effective? Here are 5 important ones we have come across in no particular order:

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Preparation is Key to Managing Crisis for Small Business Owners

September 16, 2013

Preparation is key to managing crisis
Wikipedia defines crisis as any event that is, or is expected to lead to, an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, community, or whole society. For small businesses a crisis can wreak havoc if they are have not made adequate preparation in advance. Most small business owners do not really think about or planned for crisis until it is too late. This is unfortunate because with just little advanced planning and preparation they can not only withstand crisis, but come out much stronger from it.

Here are some basic rules of crisis management to consider and to familiarise yourself with in the event that your company is faced with such a situation. The key to managing any crisis situation is advanced planning.

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