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Posts tagged business decisions
Bankruptcy Misconceptions
Jan 19th
Do you feel the hammer hanging over the head of your business' financial security?
There are so many misconceptions about bankruptcy that I thought it might be helpful to highlight a few. There were massive changes to the bankruptcy law back in 2005. Some people even came out of it believing that if you hadn’t filed by 2005 you never could! That’s how mixed up everything got.
I’m just going to highlight a few of the more common misperception here.
First, your house, car, and boat are not exempt from paying off the loan if they are listed in your bankruptcy filing. You’ll More >
Preparing To Be CRM Savvy
Dec 26th
OK, we’re at the starting gate. My husband and I are just finishing up getting all our piles of papers entered into the computer, so that we can manage tasks and information. As we settle in to complete our business plan, we’ll be looking at Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications.
One thing we’ve always had a hard time with was keeping track of our clients/students. After you reach a certain number, which was around 100 for us, you just lose the ability to keep track of who you’ve done what with. So, instead of trying to figure out a way to More >
The True Dollar Signs of Business
Dec 23rd
Just remember we're all one big, happy family!
During the holidays many businesses go crazy promoting buying their stuff. I have been getting at least one email a day from several companies trying to get me to buy something from them this holiday season.
Here in the west it seems that the holidays have turned into a buying frenzy with everyone, especially children, coming up with more and more elaborate and expensive gifts they expect to receive.
The true dollar signs for businesses are in repeat customers. I received some great words of wisdom from my sister recently. She’s been extremely successful in More >
My Own Biz
Dec 19th
Guest post written by my buddy Aldo Mays
I love having my own business and I really love working with food. People are my second passion so having this coffee shop is just the best thing you can ever imagine, you know? I get to spend all day talking with people about what excites them and what kind of food they eat and I also get to be really creative when it comes to making things in the kitchen and coming up with new menu items. There’s a lot of back of the house stuff, too, like going to smallbusiness.xo to look More >
Inspiring Others Through Training
Dec 9th
For most companies the bottom line is all that they care about, but that is not always true with Avnish Goyal. He was working in several other venues when he visited some relatives. He was inspired by the elder care business they had flourishing and decided to return home and start his own. That’s when he started the Hallmark chain of elder care facilities in the UK.
He now owns 17 facilities throughout the UK. According to an article in the Independent online edition (April 23, 2006) Avnish Goyal decided not to put his business up on the stock exchange, because he More >
Putting The Public Back In Public Relations
Dec 2nd
A good ad agency will make your brand newsworthy.
One thing that I’ve found extremely frustrating is how so many companies, both big and small, seem to think that the consumer is no longer important. For a short time after the economic downturn I was greeted, at almost every store I visited, with a hearty hello, and thank you for your business. That was very short-lived. Now it’s back to being ignored at the checkout counter, being talked down to by management, and having your complaints filed in the circular file.
A company’s first impression is just as important as an individual’s. More >
The Clock Is Ticking
Nov 28th
It would be great to have a crystal ball to tell me what profession to pursue.
Boy, I only have a few more days until I’m supposed to be ready to start on the business plan for my new business and I still haven’t decided what path to take. I did, however, discover a very interesting and instructive web page that gives statistics on the average income for various occupations.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has a wealth of information about various occupations, and although my exact “job description” isn’t found in one area I’m interested in, I was able to look at More >
What To Do With The Money You’ve Made
Nov 24th
Careful management of your savings will keep you from having to break the piggybank.
Once you’ve gotten past the initial financial trials of a new business, or maybe you had a winner from the start, what are you going to do with all the money you’ve made? For many people they’ll invest it back in their business. But how do you keep some of the money safe for personal use, for larger purchases like houses and cars, or retirement? If you’re managing your own investing, where is the best place to put it, CDs, IRAs or what?
The stock market is not More >
SWOT Before You Commit
Nov 20th
You’ve already done your business plan. It looks like a go. Before you commit to opening, think SWOT.
Your business has been open for some time. You’re looking at ways to help it grow. You’ve got a number of ideas on the board and are trying to decide which one is the most viable, think SWOT.
SWOT has become a buzzword in business these days. It takes the usual business plan or brainstorming meeting and gives it a different focus. SWOT stand for Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.
Looking at threats can help you plan a proactive strategy.
Strengths and weaknesses focus on the More >
Why Small Businesses Fail
Oct 15th
It is amazing that over half of small businesses never make it to their fifth birthday. In human terms that would be considered an epidemic and all kinds of resources would be used to find the cure. But in all my adult years, which are quite a few, this is still the prevailing figure for small businesses.
I was just reading an article about why businesses fail and, although they had ten reasons listed, I think that many of them would come under one umbrella – policies and procedures.
I can say that I’m even guilty of this, although I do have More >