bizthreads.net: Business Information for Entrepreneurs by an Entrepreneur

How to Motivate Your Employees Through a Points System

For your small business to succeed, you will need to continually motivate your employees, especially your key employees.

Your employees need to feel appreciated for the hard work and sweat that they put into ensuring that your business surges ahead. One of the most effective ways to motivate your employees is through a points system.

Here’s how it works.

Set Points for Different Tasks

You could first set up different points, that you would like to award to your employees according to the quality of their work or their duties.

This will eliminate the chances of any ill-will popping up later on. You can post the plan in a prominent place and mark the points down as your employees complete their given tasks on time.

Let Your Employees Observe the System

If your employees can see the system, then they will have a good idea of their position. You can even help employees that have lower points by finding out their problems and trying to solve them.

On the other hand, you should also offer words of encouragement to those employees who are top on the list in order to keep them motivated. Ensure that this internal competition is fair and healthy, so that it does not turn into internal combustion.

Reward the Top Employees

After a month or a quarter, you can give away rewards to your top-rated employees at a public function, which should be attended by all employees. This will provide satisfaction to your top employees and motivate others to work harder.

By posting the points, your employees will know their standing - and this will inspire those who are behind to try harder to catch up. It will also compel those on top to try even harder to maintain their lead.

Overall, it is an excellent system to keep your employees motivated and happy and working hard to help your small business succeed.

How to Ensure Safe Product Shipping

If you are running a small business where you need to ship your products to your clients, then it is vital that your product reaches your clients intact. If not, your business’ reputation will suffer.

Here are some points to consider to ensure that the products that you ship reach your clients safely.

Pack Them As You Would Pack an Egg

It is important that you use proper packing materials, such as bubble wrap or recycled cardboard or even newspapers to ensure that products are not damaged during transit.

You can also use shrink-wrap to complete the final wrapping, so that products are not damaged if they somehow come in contact with water.

Use the Services of an Efficient Shipper

The transporter or courier that you use should be efficient and should have staff that is conversant in handling your products.

Inefficient staff is usually responsible for products reaching customers in a shabby or damaged state. Even if your shipper is marginally expensive, use their services if his deliveries are timely and safe.

If your shipper offers some type of guarantee, even better!

Ensure That You have Adequate Insurance

You should insure your products during transit and storage, so that you do not suffer financial losses if the product does not reach your customer, or arrives in a damaged condition.

This will ensure that you can at least send a replacement product quickly without worrying about losing money.

Get Feedback from Your Clients

You should call your clients and get their feedback regarding the promptness of delivery and the condition of your product at the client’s end. This will help you to change your packing methods or take your shipper to task if they are lacking in any area.

Important Tax Tips for Your Small Business

For your small business to prosper, it is important that you save the maximum amount on your taxes.

Here are some tips to help you do just that!

Distribute Your Income Within Your Family

You can legally distribute your income within your immediate family by paying wages to your children and spouse.

This way, you can pay lower taxes by diverting your income to another family member who might be in a lower tax bracket.

Claim All Available Deductions and Tax Credits

Your tax consultant can guide you on the maximum deductions that you can claim. They can also advise you of any tax credits that you are eligible for.

When you have a small business, it pays to have a tax consultant, even if it means paying a little bit extra.

Save and File All Receipts and Invoices

You should save and file all receipts and invoices related to your business.

This is very important; otherwise, the IRS will not allow any tax deductions or relief without any documentary proof if your business is audited.

Change Your Business Structure

You can explore changing your business structure from a sole proprietorship to an S Corporation or a Limited Liability Company (LLC), if it offers you tax relief.

Your tax consultant will be better equipped to guide you on the pros and cons of such a move, depending on your business and the state where you are located.

Invest Your Income in Tax-Free Instruments

You can invest your income in tax free instruments, such as government bonds or other tax-free funds.

Even though you will not be able to use the money immediately, this is better than frittering it away in taxes, and it will safely grow over the years.

Most Importantly, File Your Returns on Time, Every Time

By filing your returns and paying your taxes on time, every time, you will be indicating to the IRS that you are serious about paying your taxes. You will also avoid penalties and late fee charges.

By paying attention to the above tips, you will save on taxes and increase your savings and peace of mind.

5 Email Management Tips for Your Small Business

If you want your business to keep up with the changing times, then it is essential that you have a regular interaction with your clients and your suppliers by email.

Here are 5 tips that can help you to manage your email effectively.

Keep a Regular Check on Your Email Account

You should check your email regularly. This will help you in retrieving all your received messages and acting on them immediately.

There is no point in advertising your email address and then ignoring the messages.

Create Different Folders

You can create different folders in your account so that you can attend to them according to their priority.

Keep separate folders for complaints, orders and inquiries, and attend to them in order of urgency. Avoid unwanted emails by utilizing a spam filter.

Have a Dedicated Time Slot for Answering Emails

If you are busy throughout the day, then keep 2 or 3 slots open during the day when you cannot be disturbed and sit down to answer to all your email.

This will help you to concentrate on replying, and you will avoid costly mistakes when quoting rates or delivery schedules. You can also send out emails to any prospective clients during this time.

Keep a Record of all Email

You should maintain a record of all your received and sent emails. This is because if a dispute should arise, you will still have all your messages on hand.

Send all unwanted emails to the trash to reduce clutter.

Keep a List of All Senders and Receivers

Keep the auto save function on so that your email addresses will be saved. This will help you in creating a directory of all your email contacts, and help you to identify email senders and recipients quickly.

Follow the above tips and keep the online aspect of your business as efficient as your offline one. Times are changing - and so should you.

5 Easy Steps to a Positive Cash Flow

Most small businesses fail due to poor financial planning they run out of cash before the business even has a chance to get going. Therefore, it is essential for every small business to have a positive cash flow.

If you do not have adequate cash on hand when you need it the most, your business expansion plans will be restricted and you may not have enough money to meet your day-to-day expenses.

1. Concentrate on Collections

You should concentrate on collecting payments from your clients. Any delay in collecting payments will only result in less cash available to settle your expenses.

2. Send Invoices Immediately

As soon as your products are sent to your clients, make sure that your invoices are made and sent out.

This will ensure that your accounts department can start processing your pending invoices in a timely manner.

3. Research Your Clients Thoroughly Before Giving Them Any Credit

Conduct thorough research on the credit worthiness of your clients before agreeing to supply products on credit.

That way, clients who have no intention of paying on time will not be able to take advantage of you.

4. Ask Your Suppliers to Increase Your Credit Period

If you have been paying your creditors or suppliers on time, every time, then you could negotiate a longer credit period with them.

This will leave more cash in your accounts for a longer period of time.

5. Look into Taking out a Short Term Loan or Invoice Factoring

These 2 measures can provide you with an immediate injection of cash into your business. However, be aware that you will need to pay interest on both these financial tools.

Use the above 5 tips to stay out of financial trouble - and keep an eye on your expenses to ensure that your money doesn’t simply evaporate. These tips will help you keep your business running successfully.

How to Leverage Public Speaking to Increase Your Business

In addition to increasing your confidence in dealing with customers, public speaking can also increase your business.

Read on and find out how public speaking can help you grow your small business.

You Will Be Branded As an Expert

Once you start public speaking at conferences or workshops, the people listening to you will soon look at you as an expert in your field. They will come to you for advice or help regarding the products or services in your field.

This will definitely build up your reputation, and result in an increase in your business.

Speaking Will Bring You into the Limelight

Your speeches will bring you into the limelight and will shift the focus of your future customers and suppliers to your small business. This will differentiate your small business from the many other businesses that could be present at that conference or workshop.

This means that after your speech, there will probably be many people approaching you for business instead of the other way around.

Speaking Will Help You to Understand Your Market

By interacting with your audience, you will get the right feedback regarding your market much faster than your competitors - and this will help you to put your marketing strategies into action quicker.

By observing the reactions of your audience, you will also be able to determine their likes and dislikes regarding any new products or services. This can help you to alter any strategies that you might have devised.

It Does Not Cost Anything

Except for the time factor, public speaking does not cost anything - and usually, your expenses will be taken care of by the organizers themselves.

Unlike other expensive advertising strategies that might drain your pocket, public speaking requires only your time for adequate preparation and presentation.

Try starting small by addressing a small seminar or workshop, and proceed to bigger speeches as your confidence increases.

5 Ways to Have a Productive Day in Your Small Business

Just putting in more than 10 to 12 hours everyday does not mean much if you are still unable to clear the backlog of your pending work.

Here are 5 tips to have a productive day in your small business:

1. Make a List of All the Overdue Things to Be Done

Make a list of all the pending and overdue items to be done first and devote a particular time of the day to do them.

It doesn’t matter if you have a fixed time to do them or not. But you should devote some time to take care of overdue work bit by bit everyday.

2. Organize Your Work in Different Folders

You should prioritize your work and put each item in different folders according to their priority level. Do not ignore work that is lower in your priority list.

You can also use an electronic organizer with an alarm system to remind you of your pending work and when it should be done.

3. Concentrate on the Job at Hand

Concentrate on the work at hand and do not leave it half-completed to start another project. This will lead to many half-completed jobs.

Complete all pending jobs within a fixed time period.

4. Learn To Delegate

You can offload some of your work to your staff.

However, you will definitely have to learn to monitor your employees on a regular basis - otherwise you will end up with even more confusion on your hands.

5. Keep Your Office Neat and Organized

You should keep your office neat and organized with an efficient office filing system. This will save a lot of time which otherwise would have been spent in searching for misplaced records and other items.

Use the above 5 tips to increase your productivity every day - and create a little spare time for you to relax and enjoy running your business.

The Advantages of Advertising in Trade Directories

In order for your business to get effective publicity, it is important that you advertise in some media as your budget dictates. You can advertise in newspapers, on the Internet or by other means.

An excellent way of advertising is to advertise in trade directories. Below are some of advantages of doing so.

Your Advertising Hits Your Target

By advertising in trade directories, you are assured of reaching out specifically to your target audience. This ensures that your advertising budget is put to its full use.

This move also ensures that you get the right inquiries and orders from people that you intend to serve. This is in contrast to newspapers or other media, where you may get a lot of time-wasting inquires.

You Can Meet New Suppliers

By advertising in trade directories, you not only get new customers, but you will be able to reach out to new wholesalers or manufacturers that can supply you with products at lower rates.

This will provide you with a wider variety of suppliers, and also give you a chance to expand your product range.

Costs Work Out to Be Quite Reasonable

Advertising in newspapers or on television requires a lot of money in order to have a sustained campaign. However, just a couple of advertisements in a reputable trade directory will give your advertising budget more mileage for a longer period of time.

Normally, people tend to hold on to trade directories for at least a year.

Your Small Business Gets Respectability

By advertising in trade journals, your business will also get more respectability as compared to advertising in newspapers.

If you can write articles related to your business for the same trade directory, then that will be all the more better for your business.

Start advertising in trade directories if you have not yet done so. You may immediately meet new customers and suppliers, taking your small business to a new level.

3 Tips to Make Your Small Business Bullet-Proof

In these uncertain economic times, you need to take every step possible to make sure that your business will survive in your market.

Here are 3 tips to help make your business bullet proof:

1. Ensure That You Have a Loyal Customer Base

After starting your small business, you will have to ensure that the quality of your products and services is above par.

You need to handle potential and existing customers so that they instantly feel comfortable with you. This will help in generating a lot of business, as satisfied customers become loyal ones, and will also refer people to you.

Stay true to your word and work when dealing with customers - and do not just look for profits in each and every deal.

2. Get Your Finances in Order

To succeed in your small business, especially during tough times, it is essential that you have a strong financial foundation.

You should control your expenses and totally eliminate all expenses that do not contribute to your business. Whenever you have additional cash, you should spend it on priorities such as insurance, mortgage payments and other business expenses.

3. Ensure That Your Skills Are Razor Sharp

As new products and services are introduced into your market, you should keep ahead of the times and update your technical and financial knowledge about them.

This will help you to stay ahead of your competition and will help you to make money before the competition does. Even if you have to attend additional classes or workshops, do it because it will help your business in the long run.

Using Invoice Factoring To Help Your Small Business Grow

If you are running a business that involves supplying products to clients on a credit basis, then you may have realized that this method is creating a bottleneck in your cash flow.

This is where invoice factoring can help you out.

What Is Invoice Factoring?

This is a process by which factoring companies “buy” your credit invoices after you have created the invoice in your client’s name. The factoring company will then pay you the invoice amount minus their ‘factoring fee’, normally between 1.5% to 4% of the invoice value.

The fee will depend on the credit rating of your client, the number of days of credit given by you to your client and the total volume of business that you provide to your factoring company.

What Is The Advantage?

The biggest advantage in this arrangement is that your cash flow will improve dramatically, since you will get your money within one or two days instead of waiting for the due date for your payments.

You can now take care of your business expenses. You can also use the money to purchase your products in bulk quantity, thereby getting additional discounts. You will then be able to service larger orders and also use the money to expand your small business.

Why Not A Bank Loan?

A bank loan is a fixed amount of money lent for a fixed period of time. A loan will also require documentation and collateral - and you will have to pay interest as well.

Invoice factoring will require less documentation and will only depend on your credit invoices. Thus, this system can grow along with your business, without costing you more money.

Where You Can Find a Factoring Company

There are many factoring companies advertising in various media, including the Internet. Cross-check their services before hiring any one of them.