Posted by The business coach on 9:21 AM
The catch phrase nowadays seems to be take your business online. Why all the hype about doing business online? Surely my website is sufficient to have a presence for my business online?Well, yes and no! A website alone is like a business card - you'll have to give someone the physical address to find your business online. However by optimising your website so that search engines such as Google can find your business online, anyone across the Globe will find you...Imagine people visiting your business online: instantly be accessed by 100 Mio visitors! What's even better with the correct optimisation you can easily have hundreds of qualified visitors everyday - visitors that are walking through the doors of your business online; picking up your product and wanting to make a purchase.This is...
Posted by The business coach on 9:29 AM
Correct small business plan research is vital to the long-term survival of any small business. The more comprehensive the small business plan research, the more accurate the decision making will be.
Does this mean you need to pay someone to do your small business plan research? Well that depends on the complexity involved in the small business plan research. I suggest you do your own initial research for your small business plan. With a bit of research into the topic you can probably come up with a very comprehensive small business plan. At least this research will give you a good understanding as to what information you need to research, should you have to pay someone to research your small business plan.
Crucial to any small business plan is market research. I'm going to show you a free...
Posted by The business coach on 3:42 PM
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Probably the most critical step in starting a small business is planning. Planning a small business has to be done in as much detail as you can, without delaying the process indefinitely. Remember indicision probably kills 80% of the businesses before they even start. You also don't need to hire someone to go about planning a small business, but if you do there are many freelancers that have experiance in planning a small business. To find someone just click here!
It's a good idea when planning a small business to do it the old fashioned way - pen and paper. This gives you time to think and somehow writing something down in ink is very decisive. Start with the concept: What product or service? In planning a small business you need to clearly define what sets you...
Posted by The business coach on 3:04 PM
Have you ever wondered when the best time is to book a flight. We all know to book well in advance and that prices are seasonal, but you might be surprised to find out that the time of day also influences the price of cheap flights - so save money on cheap seats - book cheap flights in the afternoon.
Here's a survey done by online travel engine TO. Conducted at various times through the day on 10 Feb 2010, it shows a definite trend indicating that you should be booking at 13:00 to save money on cheap seats.
A survey conducted by the Wall Street Journal also indicates that airfare is more expensive over weekends. Their research...
Posted by The business coach on 7:16 AM
The tragic events of Thursday afternoon, when a Pilatus belonging to Italtile crashed into the sea off Plettenburg Bay, highlights some of the not so obvious dangers of business and the consequences of a lack of succession planning.I’m not sure whether Italtile have a succession plan in place, but having lost many of their Exco in the crash could have dire consequences for the company. A tragedy such as this could have the following consequences, should there be no succession plan in place:If the CEO and CFO are counter signatories to things such as payroll; this function could be frozen. The solution to this is to obviously have 3 to 4 nominated signatories, of which any 2 suffice.The succession plan needs to be at least three levels deep within the structure. Obviously in such circumstances,...
Posted by The business coach on 8:06 AM
When a small business owner draws up his business plan, he takes it as a given that he will have sufficient small business management skills to grow the business. But often he loses sight of best practice in his business. Here is some small business advice:
1. Provide spectacular customer service -- every time. Introduce a “mystery shopper”. Have a friend visit your business and provide feedback from a customer’s perspective. This person should be unknown to your staff and willing to provide a candid assessment.
2. Make sure your front and back office work like a well-oiled machine. Are the front line and the back office telling your customers the same thing? Part of good small business management, it’s a good idea to hold frequent staff meetings where the business’ vision is reinforced.
3....
Posted by The business coach on 10:04 AM
The following HR practices in a small business should be guarded against. Never forget that all people want to feel valued, and part of achieving this, is sharing information. Company values, vision, mission statement, worker performance, company performance. All of this information is of interest to employees. You don't have to give detail, but rather share information that is pertinent to the worker and his level of involvement with the information being presented. It's important that this information is regularly updated.
Lack of policies and procedures. need to feel they are being treated fairly andconsistently.EmployeesMisunderstanding probationaryperiods. fail it should not be a surprise.If an employee is going toNo job description. expectation of what they should be doing.People need...
Posted by The business coach on 11:10 AM
Every Friday I'll be adding a little inspirational article, Feel free to print them out, or even copy any excerpts that you find motivational. This week it's about oppertunities and what we do with them.No man is kept poor because opportunity has been taken away
from him; because other people have monopolized the wealth,
and have put a fence around it. You may be shut off from
engaging in business in certain lines, but there are other
channels open to you. Probably it would be hard for you to
get control of any of the great railroad systems; that field
is pretty well monopolized. But the electric railway
business is still in its infancy, and offers plenty of scope
for enterprise; and it will be but a very few years until
traffic and transportation through the air will become a
great industry,...
Posted by The business coach on 8:54 AM
At some stage in any business' life finance will be required. Whether it's for start-up, bridging, asset aquisition or expansion. But Qualifying for a small business acquisition loan is ussually even more nerve wracking.
If the business being sold is very profitable, the selling price will likely reflect a significant amount of goodwill which is ussually difficult to finance.
If the business being sold is not making money, lenders can be difficult to find, even if the underlying assets being acquired are worth substantially more than the purchase price.
Although specifics vary here are some of the major challenges you'll typically have to overcome to secure a small business acquisition loan.
Financing Goodwill
The definition of goodwill is the sale price minus...
Posted by The business coach on 8:15 AM
Welcome to the first post of the business coach's site
I offer business courses that cover; identifying personal requirements, business plans, where to find funding as well as daily running of your business. I also assist in facilitating specialised services - HR/IR practioners; Legal services; Quality systems and problem resolution; accounting. These service providers specialise in SMME's and their requirements, and offer customised solutions.
My mission is to work with you in your business - so you can choose the level of involvement you require as well as the amount you can afford. My services range from full training...
