Shopping Tactics: Online vs In-Store

by Mark Simpson, Chairman of shop4pop.com

For small businesses, building your client base is crucial to success. For 85% of small businesses, interest is drummed up through word of mouth – and whether you’re trying to drive traffic to your site or increase footfall to your store, a powerful marketing strategy is key.

Whether they’re shopping online or in-store, immersing your customers in a fluid brand experience will undoubtedly increase sales at the checkout. In today’s post, we’re breaking down some tried and tested marketing tactics to help your business on the path to a profitable 2016:

In-store:

Visual displays

Encouraging customers into your store starts with your aesthetic appeal. From posters to window clings, visual aids offer you a chance to advertise your services before a customer enters your store. Once they’re inside, you can harness the power of high quality visual displays to encourage an increased customer spend-per-visit.

Reduction of abandoned carts

Online, it’s easy for customers to abandon their shopping carts – but in real life, buyers are far less likely to ditch their goods. Choosing to enter a store means a customer has already decided they want to shop there – unlike online purchases, where visitors might accidentally stumble across your site.

The customer journey

Shopping in-store takes customers on a journey – and with cohesive branding in place, you can influence the path they take. Boosting business is all about increasing customer satisfaction and ultimately the number of items in their basket. From strategically placed fast-moving products to optimising the location of your point of sale displays on the shop floor, a clear customer path will ensure boosted sales when customers checkout.

Online

Competitive prices

Whether it’s new or existing products, customers can find price comparisons online at the touch of a button – giving you a chance to win businesses simply by offering competitive prices. Shoppers are often drawn to big brands, but offering online shopping as a channel means you can advertise your best prices without the struggles of convincing customers to believe in your brand first. Once a customer completes their first successful online sale with your business, they’re more likely to come back. This encourages repeat custom and grows brand loyalty – without the need to compete with the bigger brands.

Creative content

Online shopping isn’t all about product placement. Being creative with your online store gives you a chance to provide your customers with relevant information they wouldn’t have the opportunity to peruse in-store. A prominent and logical navigation bar can encourage customers to move around your site – leading them to an online blog or other relevant material.

Social media can also play an integral role in your customers’ online shopping experience. By cohesively branding your business across a number of online platforms, you can grow your audience reach and maximise brand recognition. Data from L2 Think Tank suggests that Instagram provides 25% more engagement than any other social media channel – so make sure your business is making the most of this valuable platform.

Convenience

Enjoyed from any remote location, online shopping brings a sense of personability that customers don’t get with shopping in-store. This form of shopping allows users to purchase items of their choice without feeling uncomfortable. On top of this, online stores are open around the clock – meaning customers can shop anytime, anywhere, without the need to make it to stores before they close.

In business, bigger isn’t always better – and whether you’re looking to boost sales online or in-store, with an array of marketing techniques to add to your arsenal, you can set about enhancing your customers’ shopping experience and propel your small business towards big success.

 

Mark Simpson is Chairman of shop4pop.com. With over 40 years’ experience creating and producing full POP campaigns for large national clients, shop4pop.com has been able to transfer their expertise from the Simpson Group to their new web-to-print website.

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How To Keep Your Business Secure And Financially Protected

Financial protection is a top priority for businesses. As well as making money, you want to make sure that you don’t lose any because of poor security of preparation. This guide is designed to ensure you know where all your money is and how you can keep control of it. Even in the event of a disaster, your business should have as much protection as possible against the loss of any revenue.

Keep reading this tips to find out what preparations you should already have laid.

Know your cash flow.

Cash mismanagement is one of the key ways a business’s finances can start to sink without the owner even knowing it. If you don’t already have one, set yourself up with a cash flow plan by going through this guide. You should know how much is going out and how much is coming in, as well as the value of all your assets. This way you can tell what to optimise, what to cut off and what shows a sign of becoming a potential major problem.

Business insurance.

Damage and natural disaster are some things you can’t always be completely prepared for. From power failures to malicious damage, you shouldn’t have to pay the cost for losses to the business that aren’t your fault. Unfortunately, if you’re uninsured, that’s exactly what is going to happen. Secure the future of your business by finding affordable business insurance. Find out more about the kind of insurance right for your business and talk to a firm to learn how to keep yourself protected.

Accounts Payable Software.

Every invoice processed comes at a cost to your company. Time, efficiency and perhaps the wage of your accounts payable department. The right software can eliminate delays as well as lessening the administrative burden on your company. This way, you can have those newly available man-hours focused on a task that will gain you money instead of losing it.

Keep your network safe, wherever you are.

There’s a high chance that you will be accessing financial information online. Businesses move too fast to be able to wait for a bank visit each time you need it. The chances are that you already have your home and business networks secure. However, safety should be even more of an issue when you’re out and about. Keep these tips in mind when you’re relying on public wi-fi to make sure your information doesn’t fall into the hands of someone who will misuse it.

What to do if your financial information is compromised.

Finding that your finances have been breached will very understandably put you in panic mode. However, if you take steps immediately, you can cut down the risks of major costs to your business. Whatever the kind of identity theft, take these steps. They’ll help you shut down any unauthorised access and track whoever has been misusing your details.

Financial security is paramount to your organisation. By being insured and vigilant, you are future-proofing your company as best you can.

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5 Benefits Of Accounts Payable Software

by Steve Smith, U.S. Chief Operating Officer at Esker

The efficiency of your accounts payable department can have a significant impact on your business’s financial stability and reputation among clients and vendors. However, even the most talented accounts payable team can present inefficiencies that cost your business unnecessary time and money.

Here are just five of the benefits accounts payable software can provide your business:

1. Reduce costs.

Every invoice processed through an accounts payable department presents some kind of cost. Consider the amount you pay accounting staff to do their jobs, and how the majority of that pay is spent when manual processes are in place. For example, experts at consulting firm RPI Consultants estimate that the average accounts payable team member is paid a salary of about $45,000. Because manual accounts payable processes are often tedious and time-consuming, RPI experts estimate that a business ultimately pays about $60 just to process an invoice; 75 percent of that cost is associated with basic data entry.

Accounts payable software can ease this burden from your accounting staff, with tools like invoice image capture, which eliminates the need for manual processes like data entry and reduces the likelihood of human error. Not only will your accounts payable staff have more time to focus on more sophisticated business functions that impact your bottom line; but improved efficiency allows you to better manage the size of your accounts payable department — even as your business grows.

2. Eliminate bottlenecks and delays.

Manual invoice tracking and approval processes inherently delay workflows. For example, if a manager must provide sign off on an invoice before it can be processed but is out of the office on business travel, he or she can access the accounts payable software remotely from anywhere, to provide the approval required. Accounts payable software also allows you to schedule electronic notifications to alert those who need to be involved in the workflow of an invoice’s status, and reminds them their sign off is needed before the task can be completed if they don’t respond within a certain time frame. 

3. Improve collaboration.

Accounts payable software improves transparency with a real-time status view. Any member of your team who has access to the accounts payable software can quickly see what phase an account is at any given time. Instead of wasting time researching what someone else in the department has or hasn’t done with an invoice or trying to decipher what functions need to be completed to move processing forward, accounts payable software provides an accurate, real-time view of all the activity that has taken place with an account or invoice.

4. Improve customer service.

Your vendor relationships are important, and accounts payable software can ensure they remain in good standing. If one client requires a different approval flow or cadence than your typical processes entail, for example, accounts payable software allows you to customize workflows to reflect those needs. The ability to view account information in real time, including remotely with a cloud-based system, ensures that you can provide your clients with accurate answers to questions whenever they arise.

5. Eliminate paperwork burdens.

Paperwork costs your business directly and indirectly: Not only must you pay to store paper records, you must absorb costs associated with printing, mailing and cutting paper checks. Accounts payable software allows you to capture digital images of invoices, reducing the need to keep cumbersome files of hard copy invoices, which could easily be lost, misplaced, destroyed, or stolen. When you choose an accounts payable system with cloud-based features, you can be confident that your technology is secure and protected, even if you don’t have a full-time IT team on staff.

 

As U.S. Chief Operating Officer at Esker, Steve Smith is responsible for all operations in North, South, and Central America. Esker is a global leader in the business software industry. Their main focus is to help organizations around the world automate their manual business processes and increase their productivity.

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Finding The Right Incubator For Your Business: The Three Most Important Questions To Ask

by Dr. Xiao Wang, Chief Fire Starter, InnoSpring Silicon Valley

So you’ve decided to enlist a technology incubator to help your new business get off the ground. You have a great idea and a strong business plan, and an incubator is just the partner you need at this stage. Luckily, there are a good number of incubators now available to burgeoning entrepreneurs. Some are tailored to serve specific industries or specialties such as the high tech sector or cross-border and international markets.

The first step to making the most out of your partnership with an incubator is finding the right one for your business. Choosing the right incubator will help jumpstart and bring your startup to the next level. When researching an incubator program, you need to ask three very important questions: What do you want out of the partnership? Does the incubator have the right offerings for your business? Lastly, how should you work together?

Before delving into these questions, we need to address the many misconceptions about what incubators can provide to start-ups. The major misconceptions are that the incubator will help you form your founding team, will guarantee funding for the company and that they will directly invest in your company and possibly take a lot of equity away from the founders. Knowing these misconceptions, you’ll be able to set expectations, ask better questions as well as better leverage the connections and networks that incubators provide.

But don’t fret. Asking the right questions will help lead you in the right direction:

1. What do you want out of the partnership?

Regardless of the type of incubator, there are many benefits that startups can take advantage of including work space, networking opportunities and contacts, mentorship and training as well as support services. The three areas that are usually most important for entrepreneurs are mentorship and networks, resource accessibility and fundraising.

Key questions to ask or look into are:

1. Does the incubator have entrepreneurs and specialists with experience and networks that are beneficial for my startup?
2. Are accounting and legal resources available to me?
3. Are there resources that can help me craft a fundraising plan and improve my pitch and/or presentation?
4. Can the incubator provide seed funding or help connect you to their investor network? 

2. Does the incubator have the right offerings for your type of business?

Not all incubators are the same. Some are strong in specific services, are tailored to specific industries, and vary in their offerings. Be sure to look into these as there are specific incubators that might be better at serving your industry focus, the stage at where your startup is currently, and at meeting your technical requirements. In addition to weighing in the incubator’s history and reputation, entrepreneurs should assess what the incubator’s business model and set of conditions are.

Key questions here are:

1. How have they helped startups like mine in the past?
2. Can they share some past success cases? 

3. How should you work together?

Like all important relationships in business, there must be an understanding of how you should and want to work together. This is especially important with an incubator since you may be sharing workspace and closely collaborating in refining your company, products and/or services and market entry strategies. And not only that, incubators are also serving other entrepreneurs like yourself so gauge how accessible advisors and staff are.

You’ll want to ask:

1. What is the culture like at the incubator? Do entrepreneurs work alongside one another?
2. How much time do entrepreneurs have with key mentors and technical experts? Who are these mentors and their experience?
3. What shared business support services do you offer such as administrative support?

When young entrepreneurs approach tech incubators, they must do their homework in order to find the one that works for them. Get recommendations too. Entrepreneurs have found us mostly through word-of-mouth and referrals from existing residents or invested companies. Actually, half of our current resident companies have come from referrals. The other half have come from outbound outreach. Some incubators like ours are very entrepreneurial with investment teams that actively seek out interesting and innovative companies that fit into our mission and focus. So, incubators might just approach you.

The ability to learn and receive support from incubators can be very valuable especially when it’s the right fit. When you find one, then it’s working to get accepted into the incubator of your choice by impressing the decision makers.
Dr. Xiao Wang is the general manager and chief fire starter at InnoSpring Silicon Valley. InnoSpring, with offices in US and China, is the first US-China technology incubator platform for globally minded startups. In 2011, she co-founded the China America Innovation Network (CHAIN), a professional non-profit organization envisioned to help transform innovation into value through fostering entrepreneurship. She is the president of the Tsinghua Alumni Association of Northern California (THAA-NC) and an honored associate member of the Tsinghua Entrepreneur and Executive Club (TEEC).

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Using A Trade Show As An Effective Marketing Opportunity

So: You’ve decided to market your business by taking it to an industry conference or event. This will give you the opportunity to engage with an audience of thousands of industry professionals, which is why it’s important that you make the best impression possible. The whole event is full of prospective customers, so follow these suggestions to ensure you stand out:

How Do You Go About This?

Make sure to invest in good signage for your booth or table.

If your signage is of quality material and content, you can use it over and over again, as long as it remains properly stored. Have your business logo and name prominently displayed, as it will end up being in lots of photos. If you are allowed to have a “step and repeat” at your booth or table, make sure the lighting surrounding it is good. The better people look while standing in front of it, the more people will have it in their background. It makes them look important, and it is an easy way to promote your business.

Bring plenty of business cards.

You may think that stack in your hand is plenty, but it’s not. It’s far better to have extra business cards to pack up at the end of the conference than it is to run out in the middle of the day. The former is only a mild issue, whereas the latter could result in you missing out on a huge networking opportunity. Plus, it makes you look unprofessional to be at an industry event without a business card.

Remember that social media is your friend.

Use various social media platforms (especially Twitter and LinkedIn) to monitor keywords that are related to the event, conference, or trade show that you are attending. Before the event arrives, watch its hashtags and keep abreast of what the reporters, speakers, and sponsors are saying and sharing. Be sure to use your own social media accounts to let everyone know that you will be there. Make sure you tag the event’s social media pages, since this will give additional exposure and increase audience engagement. You can run a promotion in which anyone who re-tweets (#RT) your post will get a special product when they stop by your booth. This will drive up Twitter impressions, Twitter engagements, and get more traffic to your booth or table.

Blog about it.

If your business has a blog (which it really should!) be sure to write up a blog post announcing the fact that you will be at the event. Go over the various aspects you are most looking forward to, and hint at any new products you will be showcasing. For some extra leverage, offer a special to anyone who stops by your booth! All of this will create some pre-conference buzz, which will bring your business into the excitement attendees are feeling before the event hits.

Have plenty of freebies on hand!

Everyone loves freebies, and you can use that to your advantage. At your booth, be sure to hand out some freebies that promote your business. If you’ve ever gone to a convention, conference, trade show, or other such event, you know how expensive the food and beverages are. Again, you can use this to your advantage. Pick up several cases of water before the event, and add a custom logo to the bottles. People will appreciate the free water (it gets hot in that crowd!), and they will be walking around with your business logo and name showing to everyone they pass. Essentially, using a custom water bottle logo turns all the people carrying a bottle into mobile advertisements for your business.

Wrapping It Up.

There are several ways to get your business name out there, and use a local trade show or event to your advantage. By following these methods, you are turning regular networking into a highly effective means of business promotion.

• Invest in great signage and marketing collateral to use again and again.
• Perfect your pitch, and be sure to hand out your business card to everyone you meet.
• Increase your audience exposure by leveraging social media in your favor. Use it to get more profile views and new followers.
• Prominently display your business logo in a creative fashion.

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Finding The Right Commercial Property For Your Startup

At some point, it will no longer be possible to run your company from a home office. The fact that you have reached the point where you need business premises is a sign that you have a successful firm on your hands.

Here we explain how to find the right commercial premises for a start-up. Following our advice will help you to avoid common mistakes and quickly find the right office for you.

Research is vital.

As with all things related to your company, it is very important to do your research. Leasing business premises is a big step. You will likely be signing a long-term lease meaning that if you make the wrong decision you could be stuck with the consequences for months.

Be realistic about what you can afford.

Finding your first business premises is an exciting time. It is easy to be over enthusiastic and end up leasing somewhere that you cannot really afford.

You may want to lease commercial property in Mayfair, but very few start-ups have the turnover to be able to justify leasing in such a high-end area. Mayfair is a great place and an example of somewhere you should be aiming to relocate yourself to when your business has grown sufficiently.

Move to the best area you can afford.

In the meantime, the best approach is to look around the edges of this type of location. The rents are much lower, but you will still be close enough to the best business districts to benefit from the good reputation of these areas.

Make sure it is easy to get to.

For most firms it is important to be located in a location that is close to good transport links. This is important for you, suppliers, your staff and your potential customers.

Good services and facilities.

Visitor facilities are also important. For example, access to public transport and parking are beneficial.

It is also a good idea to try to locate your company in an office block with a manned reception area. That way when visitors arrive they will not be left wandering around the building looking for your offices.

If you regularly entertain customers, it can be a good idea to look for premises that are close to a nice restaurant or somewhere you can take them for a coffee. Being near these types of facilities will also make it easier for you to find and retain staff. People are usually not keen to work for a company that is based on an industrial estate in the middle of nowhere.

Employ a good agent.

By far the fastest way to get a feel for what is available within your budget is to use an experienced property agent. They will quickly show you premises that fit in with your budget and the needs of your business. This can save yourself a lot of time and stress by taking this approach. That is time that you can better use to build your business.

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The Best Ways To Boost Employee Productivity

Even if your employees come in on time and work for their contracted hours, you might notice gaps in output. Not meeting your quotas but feeling that everything’s fine in your business can be confusing and frustrating.

The issue could be with your employees’ productivity. Target this as a weakness, and you may well notice your problems diminishing.

Here are three ways to boost productivity at your business:

My first tip would be to relax your internet restrictions. I know, this might sound a little counter-productive. I’m not suggesting you let all of your employees mess around on YouTube all day. There are dozens of tasks in day-to-day business which could be sped up through unrestricted internet use. For example, a number of social media platforms are becoming a larger and larger part of business. In 2016, social media marketing is pretty much a necessity for any business’s success. Things like Facebook and Twitter can be used to communicate with customers and monitor your competitors. Remember that a lazy employee is a lazy employee. Whether they have access to the internet or not, their productivity will remain low. Loosen your restrictions, and you’ll notice all kinds of work being turned in faster.

Next, consider some outside help. You might want to avoid this to save money and keep up a sense of calm. However, if your company’s productivity is going downhill, it’s better to ask for help sooner rather than later. These days, there are countless corporate training services out there. These firms are made up of experienced HR professionals. Many usually tailor their services to your specific circumstances. When these guys have a look at your figures, they may point out weaknesses that you’d never even considered! After having a thorough look at all aspects of your business, they’ll know exactly what to target in their training programs. Soon enough, you’ll have a professionally drafted training program to help productivity.

Once you’ve made these fundamental changes, don’t let up! You need to be monitoring your employee productivity constantly, and jumping on any holes the minute you see them. This area of HR can often go hand in hand with sales. If you want to increase sales for your company, you need to understand the root of all current sales. Similarly, if you monitor and study your most productive employees, you’ll be able to pin down the factors which make for a good worker. This has long-term benefits too. If you move offices, or undergo some other big change, you’ll have results to look at. You’ll be able to see which changes improve output and which ones harm it, and then act accordingly. Once you have a good system in place, any firing and hiring will become much more informed.

With these changes, you’ll be able to improve the productivity of your entire workforce. Some business owners seem to forget that all companies are made up of people. When all of those people are motivated and active, every last branch can show considerable improvement!

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Beyond The Basics: Create A List Of Interview Questions That Reveal The Truth About A Candidate

By Omer Tadjer, CEO and co-founder of Comeet

Hiring mistakes and turnover can be costly for any organization; according to the Society for Human Resource Management, it can cost as much as half of an employee’s annual salary to replace them. Hiring the right employees in the first place can help prevent your losses by ensuring that the people you add to your team truly belong there and will stick around for the long term.

Asking the right questions during the hiring period can help narrow down a field of applicants and ensure that you are hiring the best person for the job.

It also helps you identify the most promising candidates, aids inexperienced interviewers to have meaningful and worthwhile conversations, ensures that the candidate evaluation process is tightly aligned with the job description, and also prevents the asking of illegal or otherwise inappropriate questions.Which questions should you ask – and why do they matter? These beyond the basics questions could give you some valuable insight into how an applicant thinks and what they are truly like.

How did/do you ____?

Asking a question related to the creative process or how a task was handled allows the candidate to truly show off their communication skills and give an insight into their personality. Giving the applicant a chance to expound and offer the information they want to could reveal interesting information about their creative process and give you an idea of what to expect. Candidates that are open and passionate about their work will shine when it comes to this type of question.

What was the best part about (your last job)?

The answer here will give you some insight into not only the candidate’s past performance, but what is important to them. This question can also bring out some conversation that might not show up in other queries (as in “our team was great, but management was terrible”).

What task did you complete well – but wouldn’t want to do again?

HubSpot VP Michael Redbord suggests this question, which reveals key insights into how the prospect feels about everything from working additional hours to performing menial labor in a pinch.

A few other open ended questions that can give you insight into how well the candidate will match your organizations include:

• What few businesses or people do you admire – and why?
• What does your perfect dream job look like?
• Is there anything we should have asked you – but didn’t? The answers here can be astonishing, from revealing a criminal history and college  study abroad experience, to even a shared hobby or interest.
• Breaking up your regular list of questions with some open ended and less familiar ones can give your perfect applicant a chance to shine – and help identify those who look great on paper but aren’t the right match for your organization.  The more you learn about a potential applicant through the interviewing process, the less likely you are to make a costly error when it comes to choosing the top candidate for the job.

 

Omer Tadjer is the CEO and co-founder of Comeet, a collaborative recruiting company that provides innovative software that transforms the way companies hire new employees. Omer has been involved in high-tech companies for more than 15 years, a decade of which was devoted to software development and managing development teams. Omer is passionate about applying his practical IT and management experience to creating valuable products and transforming the way the HR industry operates.

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When Small Businesses Meet Big Opportunities

by Raj Subramaniam, Executive Vice President, Global Marketing and Communications, FedEx Services

For many visitors to Thailand, a trip to Bangkok’s famed Chatuchak Weekend Market is one of the highlights of their holiday. A hub for traditional retailers, the bustling, 27-acre site houses 15,000 stalls that sell an incredible variety of art, antiques, silk, and handicrafts from around the country. Today, the flea market features prominently in tourist guidebooks and makes a respectable contribution to the local economy.

It can, however, be easy to overlook the importance of small businesses like the Chatuchak stallholders, not just to their surrounding communities but also to the wider national economy.

Globally, small- to medium-size enterprises – or SMEs as we often refer to them – make up 90% of all businesses, more than 99 % of all employer firms and more than 50% of employment worldwide, so it is important that they continue to succeed and grow.

Serving the community by looking beyond it

Today’s modern technology means that the growth potential of SMEs is not limited by the size of the communities around them. New suppliers and customers can be found much further afield, and even internationally, literally with the click of a mouse.

In a recent independent research study commissioned by FedEx4, we were struck by the large proportion of SMEs worldwide that are missing out on the opportunity to leverage international trade. Globally, only 38% of SMEs currently export overseas, even to markets right next door.

So, while SMEs may be driving economic growth, they’re doing it mainly from within their own borders. Could it be that exporting overseas is simply not worthwhile? Or is there actually a significant reservoir of untapped growth potential for SMEs?

A world of possibilities

It appears to be the latter. Globally, SMEs that sell overseas generate average revenues of US$1.5 million from those exports each year.

There’s also a clear correlation between exporting and achieving rapid growth. In every market surveyed, SMEs that export are more likely to be experiencing annual growth of 11% or more than ones that don’t. In China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Spain and Taiwan, exporting SMEs are roughly twice as likely to report such rapid growth compared to their non-exporting counterparts, while exporting SMEs in Brazil, Colombia and India are between 1.1-1.3 times more likely to achieve rapid growth.

Taken together, the study’s findings suggest a highly compelling business case for SMEs to export goods to other markets, beyond intrinsic benefits such as economies of scale, lower unit costs, reducing risks and balancing growth.

A good example of this is Australian fashion label, Jane Ramsay. A stint working in the L.A. fashion world convinced Jane that a gap in the market existed in her native Australia for original, genuine design. Determined to fill that gap, she founded her own label seven years later. Right from the start, Jane recognized the potential of exporting and designed a business model comprising physical and online stores. This allows her to make her collection available to both domestic and international consumers – particularly those in the U.S., the world’s biggest e-commerce market. The strategy has paid off, and Jane Ramsay womenswear is today available on four continents around the world.

Jane Ramsay is not an exception when it comes to recognizing the potential of overseas markets. In fact, almost three quarters of the SMEs surveyed say they’re excited by the potential of their business to go global.

Unlocking SMEs’ potential

With so many SMEs recognizing the significance of the export opportunity, but so few actually doing it, there are clearly barriers that need to be overcome. Globally, SMEs harbor concerns about not being paid or incurring foreign exchange losses. Some worry about the costs of exporting. However, one common thread runs through all these misgivings – in most cases, they can be overcome with the right advice and support.

Such support programs do exist, of course.

Most are national initiatives, but there are also supra-national sources of support. One example is the International Trade Centre (ITC). Established jointly by the United Nations and the World Trade Organization in 1964, the ITC creates integrated solutions by building institutional, managerial and entrepreneurial capacities simultaneously at government, institutional and enterprise levels. It offers up-to-date information solutions that cover tariffs, trade agreements, and the competitive landscape in potential export markets. Its custom-built market analysis tools have over 340,000 users worldwide and it ran almost 450 capacity-building workshops in 20135. Both in terms of what the organization provides and the way it delivers, the ITC sets a good example for national SME support programs to follow.

Whether it’s from national or international sources, most exporting SMEs realize that there is information out there to help them, but the majority would welcome more support. When it comes to SME non-exporters, over three-fifths in the research study said they’d never received any advice or support. This is the group that is in most need of support programs. Left to go it alone, SMEs turn to the internet, the media and their logistics service providers for expertise on exporting.

A shared imperative

At FedEx, we’re happy that SMEs view logistics service providers as a valuable resource when it comes to exporting. However, we see the imperative to support SMEs as a shared one. Only 10% of SMEs believe they have the support they need to export successfully, and this should serve as a shot across the bows for the other stakeholders involved, such as banks and national governments. Whether they have adequate support or not, many SMEs plan to break into export markets in the next few years. Doing more to help them succeed will benefit communities by creating jobs, wealth and a more efficient pipeline for goods and economic growth worldwide.

 

Raj Subramaniam is Executive Vice President, Global Strategy, Marketing and Communications for FedEx, a world leader in transportation, e-commerce, and logistics services. Raj oversees all aspects of the company’s marketing and communications efforts globally including advertising, brand and reputation, product and business development, digital access, e-commerce, retail marketing, and corporate strategy.

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3 Ways Your Website Can Grow Your Startup In 2016

by Wes McDowell, The Deep End

If you’re a startup, you probably already know the importance of having a killer website. In addition to being your lifeline to the rest of the world, it can (and should) be a major tool to allow you to grow your prospects, and gain traction in the marketplace.

The way I see it, your website should cover two major bases:

1. It should be current.
2. It should be designed to actually contribute to your success.

Luckily, there are actually a few web design trends poised to be very prominent in 2016 that have been tested, and shown to improve conversion rates on any website when used correctly.

In other words, if you use them right, your site will not only look extremely current, (which helps in the credibility department,) but it will actually help convert more visitors into customers or qualified leads.

Here, we will look at three of the newest trends in website design and user experience that you can use today in order to increase conversion rates on your own site.

(For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term “conversions,” it simply refers to any time you actually make a sale, or get a lead from your website.)

Trend 1: Prioritized Navigation.

One of the biggest roadblocks between your site’s visitors and making a conversion is an overkill of options.

Every web page should have one distinct, all-encompassing goal. As an example, on my site, I want people to fill out a form to set up a consultation. That is the ultimate goal, so I employ a few tricks to get people to do just that.

According to a recent study, when presented with too many options, the average person is 10 times more likely to take no action at all. I don’t know about you, but I hate those odds. So it makes the most sense to structure your site in such a way that they don’t have an overwhelming number of options to choose from.

Here is a simple action plan to follow:

1. Figure out your main goal, which will become your Call-to-action (CTA) button. (Example: “Get a No-Strings Consultation”)
2. Decide which are your biggest “money pages.” These are the pages you count on users being able to find and browse in order to properly entice a conversion. Then ask yourself, is there any way to reuse some of that content all in one landing page? If not, then pick your top two or three pages, and keep those in a standard header navigation bar.
3. Move all links to the rest of your pages and place them in a hidden-drawer menu. This will be accessible by clicking a menu button in the header.
4. Remember your CTA from before? Style it as a button for maximum impact, and place that in the header as well.

What we have done here is successfully prioritized where you want your users to go. Your main CTA will stand out the most, since it is styled as a button. But if your visitors would rather visit some of your more important pages first, they are also very accessible. If they still need more, they can find the other pages in the hidden menu if they choose. But the idea is, those less important options don’t clutter the playing field.

Trend #2: MInimal Lead Capture.

Let’s say you don’t actually sell anything on your website, but you do want to use it to get qualified leads you can market to later. This trend is a great tool you can use to maximize those leads.

Drawing upon our last trend, we already know that too many options and distractions will only get in your way. So, what better way to get loads of email addresses than to simply ask for them?

Ok, not simply. There is a bit of finesse involved here if you want to get the most out of it. This can work on its own landing page (recommended,) or as a section on any page(s) of your choosing. Here is all you need:

• A short, snappy headline. It should speak to a benefit your offering delivers, or alleviate a pain point. (For example: “Stop Wasting Time and Start Being Productive.”)
• A persuasive one sentence subheadline that supports the headline (“Discover the only project management software that combines time tracking and team communication in one easy-to-use package.”)
• An email capture field. Resist the urge to pump your visitors for too much information, as every additional thing you ask for will lessen the probability of getting the lead at all.
• A direct CTA. You should use words that make people think of getting something, rather than giving something or taking on a task. For example, “Get a Free Consultation” is much more clickable than “Schedule a Free Consultation.” The word “schedule” sounds like a hassle.
• Plenty of breathing room around the whole thing. This eliminates distractions, and alerts your visitors that this is the one and only thing they are supposed to do.

Trend #3: Video.

While video certainly isn’t new in 2016, it is still widely underused, and we can expect to see that change this year. I am a huge proponent of video in websites for many reasons, but mainly, I love it for the trust it adds to a site. And trust leads to conversions.

What can impede a conversion more than a lack of trust? When is the last time you bought something online without seeing any reviews? Or went to a restaurant for that matter? Reviews on sites like Amazon and Yelp provide trust, and video can work the same sort of magic for one very important reason: it’s extremely hard to lie on video. People’s B.S. meters are just too strong. Consider this example:

How much would you trust a written testimonial about a business when it’s on their own website? Marginally at best, since they ultimately control the content of the site. Maybe they’re filtering out bad reviews, or maybe they just made it up completely. The point is, you don’t know. But what if the testimonial were a video?

Unless you have access to Meryl Streep herself, the odds of falsifying a convincing video testimonial are slim. People can spot acting (even if it’s good,) and they can also recognize the truth in a human face. A testimonial is just one example of how you can use video on your site to build trust, and increase conversions. Here are some more ideas:

• Welcome videos are great for making users feel comfortable with your startup. They can get to know the people behind it, and see the human face of the company.
• Product demos. If you sell a product or service, show it in action. It’s the next best thing to users being able to interact with it themselves, and it breaks down the “I won’t buy it till I can see it” barrier much better than still photos.
• Ambient background videos can take the place of a large slideshow on your homepage, and they have been shown to perform better too. Just keep it fairly muted in color, and limit the movement so you don’t distract your visitors from following your CTA.

Final Thoughts.

Starting a business from scratch is very difficult, but you can use your website to help launch it to success. The days of having an “online business card” type website are dead, and for good reason. You’re working very hard to make a go of your new business, so make sure your website is pulling its weight. By using these techniques properly on your website, you are helping it help you.

 

Wes McDowell is a web designer and usability expert at The Deep End, a web design agency in Chicago. He loves staying current on everything in the realm of website design, development and user experience, as well as sharing his knowledge through the magic of the interwebs.

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Pay Per Click Companies And What They Do for You

The internet is a world of its own, and it has a language of its own. There are also many professionals within the world of internet, and whenever you get a group of professionals together, you inevitably get complicated jargon and acronyms that mean very little to the general public. One such acronym that you may have come across is PPC. This actually stands for ‘pay per click’. However, that doesn’t really leave you none the wiser. After all, it doesn’t tell you how or why you should be involved in any way in PPC management.

Hopefully, the following will explain all that a little:

Understanding PPC Management

Basically, PPC management is a method used to get websites out in the public eye. By using PPC management services, you ask a professional to drive traffic (potential customers) to your site. They know how to do this, generally by applying keywords that are relevant to your target audience.

Your store logo will be placed somewhere with high levels of traffic and people can then click on it and navigate to your website. It is important that your management company places it in such a way that it stands out and that people actually click on it. Pop ups, for instance, do not work at all. In fact, most computers now block them. It should also make sense for the logo to be there. For instance, if you sell dog food, it would make no sense for your ad to show up on somewhere with information about alcoholic drinks. However, it would be perfectly placed on a site with information about pet supplies.

The goal of the advertisement is to make sure it is seen by people who are actually looking for your type of business. It is vital, therefore, that you work with a management company that understands your business and that is able to identify the best locations for your ads. If they get it wrong, after all, you will simply be losing money. As the name suggests, you have to PAY for each CLICK, which means you want each click to be worth it.

In most cases your PPC agency will also be able to offer you a number of related services. Logo design is an important service, for instance, as it is important that your logo is actually able to stand out from the crowd. They may also be involved in SEO (another jargon acronym) or search engine optimization. Those are techniques designed to make sure your website is found on the first page of Google for a variety of different keywords. Other services that they may offer include localized SEO and reputation management and/or repair services.

Mostly, however, they are responsible for making sure that your website is found by the right people, using tools and techniques that have been proven to work in terms of attracting the audience that you are actually look for in your business.

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How To Find An Advisor To Help With Mergers And Acquisitions

When business owners go through mergers and acquisitions, they often enlist the services of specialist advisors. This is for a variety of reasons. They may need legal representation, they may want to have a company evaluated, they may need capital or they need a good exit strategy. Either way, merger and acquisition services are vital to the success of such an enterprise.

What to Look for in Merger and Acquisition Services

1. What is the experience and expertise the firm has in cases similar to yours?

Look at how many cases they have completed and are currently handling and what their success rate is. Ask for a list of references so that you can verify information and hear from others whether or not they were satisfied with the service they received.

2. Educate yourself in the world of mergers and acquisitions as well.

Once you have done this, you need to request meetings with the companies you are considering and ask them questions about the process, your expectations, how they intend to handle your case and so on. Remember that you have only educated yourself, whereas they are true experts. So it is their job to explain things to you in a way that you can truly understand. You have to feel comfortable with your advisors and know they have your best interest at heart.

3. Look into the professional background of your advisor as well.

They usually have excellent credentials relating to enterprise, banking, law, business, insurance, accountancy and so on. Having specialized knowledge in business and contract law is an absolute must. Your advisor should be fully qualified and certified and they should also be committed to their professional development. Ask them about the qualifications they hold and what studies they have completed since.

4. Finally, trust your gut instinct.

A merger and acquisition is a huge enterprise that could go either way. If it goes well, you could end up a very successful business person. If it goes wrong, you could end up out of business altogether. You need to find someone who you can trust with that level of responsibility. This means you also have to be able to build some personal rapport with them, and have a feeling of comfort, albeit on a professional level. If you don’t like your advisor, it is unlikely that they will be able to provide you with good advice either, as you will automatically be resistant to it. You do have to understand, however, that your advisor may tell you things that you don’t like. They may say that your ideas are bad ideas, for instance, or that you will not do your own business any favors in going ahead.

As you can see, there are a few things you have to think about when choosing an advisor. Remember that this is a decision not to be taken lightly. After all, the future of your own business depends on it.

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The Best Way To Get More Traffic To Your Website

Having a snazzy website is not enough to become a successful online business. You also have to make sure that your site gets found. This is something a search engine optimization company can help you with. Search engine optimization, or SEO, is a strategy that gets more relevant traffic to your site, thereby increasing your ranking on the Search Engine Result Page, or SERP.

An SEO consultant is fully aware of the various algorithms that determine the popularity of a website. They apply these rules to the codes and structure of a site, but also its content, presentation and more. SEO helps a site get indexed and this, in turn, attracts traffic.

SEO is now an industry term that encompasses all work done to improve the quality and ranking of a website. Various tools and techniques are included in this work. This is why SEO companies do a lot more than only work on algorithms.

SEO Is a Business Marketing Strategy

SEO has to become part of your marketing strategy. Did you know, for instance, that people look from top to bottom and left to right? This is an important fact to be aware of in order to make sure your site looks good and is easy to find. But there is much more to it than that. You may also want to consider paid advertising, a full redesign of your website, including site maps, guest blogging, review posting and more. All of these actions are designed to increase your conversion rates.

The Benefits of SEO

SEO has a number of clear benefits for businesses. These include:

• Getting more high quality, targeted traffic. The visitors you get to your site will increase, in other words, but they will also be visitors that are genuinely interested.
• Your brand awareness will raise. In fact, you can even build an international profile. Plus, you can delve deeper into your brand and focus on specific products or services.
• Your brand will be marketed around the clock. There is 24/7 exposure, even when you are sleeping.
• Ultimately, it leads to higher sales. If you are a business, sales is what it is all about so any efforts that work towards that is a good effort.
• Your positioning will be more long term. Once you have engaged in proper SEO practices, you should notice consistent high listings, so long as you don’t incur penalties. This is different from Pay Per Click, which works but requires you to constantly pay for what you get.
• You get fantastic value for money. SEO isn’t cheap, generally, but the return on investment is significant. Additionally, the guarantee of return on investment is much higher than with Pay Per Click advertising, particularly because you don’t have to pay for those people that do come to your site through SEO.

Of course, none of this is possible if you don’t know what you’re doing. This is why it is so important that you hire a professional to do the work for you.

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Five Steps To Amplifying Retail Profits In 2016

by Brandon Levey, CEO of Stitch Labs

The New Year is here! You’ve made it through the hectic holiday season and it’s now time to start planning for success in 2016.

But how can you start striving for success if you don’t know definitively what success should look like for your business in comparison to your competitors?

Laying the Groundwork for Success.

The first step in effectively growing your business is to benchmark how your current sales and operational efficiencies stack up against similar companies. While establishing your 2016 business goals, wouldn’t it be valuable to know how many orders your competitors processed last year? Or how many different channels they’re selling through, and what eCommerce solutions they’re utilizing?

To establish a competitive benchmark for your business, you must:

Determine Key Metrics – What data points are most central to your business? Focusing on key business-driving metrics like revenue, order volume, and cost of goods sold will make researching competitors and measuring success is much more clear.

Identify Competitors – No business exists in a vacuum. It’s important to know who your current and future competitors are and how they’re operating within the market.

Research and Assess Competitors – How are your competitors differentiating themselves in the market? What different sales channels and retail technologies are they utilizing? These are the types of questions you’ll need to answer.

Leverage Benchmarking Tools – Aside from costly industry analyst reports or anecdotal trade stories, the data generally available to small and mid-sized business (SMB) retailers will not provide enough specific information for effective planning. Thankfully, free business insight tools are becoming newly available to help make the research and discovery process easier.

Develop an Actionable Plan – Once you’re clear on what your competitors are doing and what changes you need to implement to drive business success, it’s time to determine key goals for the year and start developing tactical plans to achieve those goals. Follow it weekly and monthly to confirm you’re meeting important milestones.

Benchmarking Made Easy.

While benchmarking is easy for larger retailers who have vast resources and public companies as competitors, there are very few tools for SMB retailers to accurately assess their company’s performance against similar, privately held competitive companies.

If you want to see how your company truly stacks up against SMB retail competitors, free retail amplification tools can provide you with a detailed custom report comparing your business details with that of other SMB retail companies. Now, business owners can quickly see how similar retailers are performing and identify areas of improvement for 2016.

 

CEO of Stitch Labs Brandon Levey holds a BSE and MSE in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan. While working on domestic nuclear security systems analyses at Sandia National Securities, he started two retail businesses on the side. Through his experiences in the design and manufacturing world, he identified many problems faced by small businesses, leading to the eventual launch of Stitch Labs.

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Three Counterintuitive Ways To Build A Business That Lasts

by Gareth Wilson, Head of Marketing at Fog Creek Software

Follow the leader in business and you’re almost certainly doomed to fail, especially when you consider that 90% of new companies go under. Those that end up in that successful 10% follow a less obvious, even counterintuitive trajectory.

Although it’s key for every business to forge its own path, there are certain non-obvious hacks any entrepreneur or small business can take on board to swing the odds in their favor. In this article I will talk about some approaches that have continued to work for my company, Fog Creek, over the last 15 years.

1. Invest more in what counts.

When you consider that 88% of people leave their jobs for a position with a matching or lower salary you come to understand that the reasons for changing companies is rarely financial. It costs up to one fifth of an employee’s annual salary to replace a team member when they go, so it certainly pays off to keep your staff on board for as long as possible.

The environment you work in has a big effect on your staff and is one of the major factors contributing to employee retention or turnover, according to Abasyn Journal of Social Sciences. The chairs, desks and lighting, even the flooring and decoration all go towards creating (or hampering) a productive environment.

Though it may sound trivial at first, it’s important to set aside a good portion of your budget to establish a comfortable place to be and show your staff that you care about them.

This is the route Fog Creek took 15 years ago when we were first starting out. Despite being a bootstrapped company with little revenue, we over-invested in a central New York City office at a rate of 15% rent to revenue. Our customers never visited our workspace; this was a decision made solely for the comfort of our staff.

We then created private offices for each developer and provided them with catered lunches. We also established a rule: there would be no cap on employee spending on furniture, software and hardware, nor would we have any process to go through to get those things. It’s a simple philosophy – if you need it, you buy it, we pay for it.

Of course, there’s a drawback – it costs the company tens of thousands of dollars a year. But in reality, that’s tiny in comparison to the costs of replacing staff. It’s an unconventional approach, but it helps keep the good people we’ve hired onboard, happy and extremely motivated.

The same is true for companies working on a shoestring budget. The key is to make investments count. While you might not be able to spend thousands of dollars (just yet), it is hard to go wrong when investing in your team – the most important resources you have.

2. Don’t focus too hard.

It may sound strange, but many businesses make the mistake of being too focused on one particular goal, product or service. The truth is, it’s better to be more diverse in what you do.

Although short term objectives are good, markets ebb and flow over time, and products have a lifecycle. There are also unforeseen disasters, such as the 2008 financial crisis, that businesses need to be agile enough to overcome.

A survey undertaken by the Council on Competitiveness took the views of 400 international CEOs, and focused on competition in manufacturing. The key finding was that innovation trumps labor or manufacturing costs when it comes to success.

If your business is set up to do one thing very well, it’s probably too specialized. It’s far better to create a culture of innovation, following market trends, listening to your customers, trying new things and seeing what works.

However, a Mind Matters survey outlined a huge problem with innovation in the USA. Findings showed that 81% of participants said that their companies don’t have the resources required to innovate and remain competitive, and a mere 5 percent of innovation program participants said they were motivated to innovate. What’s more, just over three quarters of workers consider their ideas are poorly reviewed and analyzed.

In light of these results, it’s clear that companies need to dedicate more of their resources to innovation and also take on board what their employees put forward. If innovation is encouraged, but ideas are swotted away, employee motivation is bound to take a dive. 

Successful skin care company Ella Baché has been in operation since 1936. It dedicates approximately 10% of its annual turnover to innovation, and invests it in product, company processes, marketing options and sales channels.

Companies like GoogleX, also encourage employees to experiment, even going so far as to reward failure. By giving their engineers dedicated time each month to focus on side and personal projects, team members keep their creative juices flowing and stay motivated. It’s about creating a “culture” of innovation, even if it’s not all directed internally.

It’s far better to base your business on a culture of innovation and be ready to change your ideas at the drop of a hat than it is to get set in your ways and fail as soon as market conditions change.

3. Hire great people to do boring work.

According to an article from the Harvard Business Review, “Who’s got the Top Jobs?”, while more than 50% of executives had started their careers with their current company in 1980, this fell to 45% in 2001, and now it’s less than a third. This underscores a real problem in business today: we’re not investing enough in our entry-level employees.

Many companies spend a lot more time and effort searching for top level employees, but somewhat slack off when comes to looking for people to fill less glamorous positions.

It’s a big mistake not to hire the best talent, whatever role you need to fill. If you look at each employee as a potential VP working from the bottom rung up, you’ll spend enough time, effort and money helping them get to where they want to be – and the business will benefit a hundredfold.

What’s more, when you trust great people to come up with great solutions, like automating menial tasks, they can then focus on more important things. It means resource-consuming issues are resolved, which would otherwise have continued and been ignored because those doing them usually don’t have the nous to bring about the change required to fix them.

It’s important to give your new hires a career path and development days, which take them away from their daily grind, and give your team the chance to develop their skills on any project of their choosing. Not only does this compensate for when they get bored, but also it means you have a developing and motivated team. Following that tack, three of our top level executives came to Fog Creek directly out of college and rose through the ranks, and of course this benefits the company as well as the employee.

Although some of these approaches might have you shaking your head at first, they’ve helped us get through the tough times, and kept our team motivated. By investing your time, effort and money in your team, and giving their ideas the attention they deserve, your business is laying solid foundations for the future and up the odds for success.

 

Gareth Wilson is Head of Marketing at Fog Creek Software, a company specializing in project management tools for helping the world’s best developers make better software.  

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Using Tools Like Pubsio To Monetize Your Online Creative Effort

If you are an online creative, particularly someone who writes about specific niches, there are probably more chances for revenue and monetization than you are presently taking advantage of. If you have an audience, however large, chances are you could be earning a lot more money off of their online browsing activity. While this will be obvious to some, others simply don’t understand that the simple relationship between advertiser and content creator is one that can produce lots of money, depending upon which side of the relationship you find yourself and how well you do your job.

Here’s how it works. Advertisers are constantly looking places online where lots of people spend their time, attention, and money. It’s even better for an advertiser if that site or web experience is perceived as credible. Credibility, for our purposes, means that the word of the content producer is seen as somehow authoritative. If you are known for consistently contributing helpful information to one online conversation or another, and people are coming to your blog or site to seek out this information, then you already have a measure of real credibility in the eyes of at least a few people.

This is a significant event in the life of your blog, or whatever else you produce on the internet. You are developing a following. For our purposes, a following is a group of people who are like-minded in at least one respect. They’ll probably have a lot of things in common, actually. If you are producing a lifestyle blog related to the possibilities of long term travel for people who do what you do, the demographic of your following will likely be young, educated, lower-middle class, and interested in upward mobility.

Those characteristics produce certain spending behaviors in normal individuals, especially as the months and years go by. By having a stable of like-minded people (and it doesn’t have to be people with those characteristics I just described. Any common traits will do.), advertisers will see your following as a potential revenue stream. But how can you reach relevant advertisers to convince them to send you their ads and their money?

Ad networks like Pubsio are one of the answers. Advertisers are unlikely to approach you one by one, on their own. That’s simply not how advertising works. In most cases, content creators like yourself will approach ad networks like Pubsio who have a stable of vetted advertisers looking for relevant content and branding to attach their advertising efforts to. If it’s a good fit, the advertising will actually be of value to your following. It won’t seem like something tacked on just to fleece them.

This balance can be hard to strike. Just as it is difficult to produce consistently great content, it’s hard to find and maintain advertising relationships which work harmoniously with your established brand. Ad networks like Pubsio make it easier, however, as specific ad content can be tailored to the needs of your following, in terms of content, duration, and frequency. It’s hard work to get to this point, but once established, quality advertising/content relationships can pay huge dividends.

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9 Things You Need To Start A Construction Business

There is no denying that the construction industry is once again experiencing growth! It seems that we’ve got over the worst of our economic woes and are enjoying a growing economy. Without the construction industry, nothing would ever get built. It’s a crucial industry that will remain regardless of trading conditions.

Of course, it makes sense to run a company in such an industry when people are spending money! The good news is more construction projects are getting undertaken. There will soon be a point where demand outstrips supply!

If you’ve wanted to set up a construction business, now is the best time to get started. But, how do you get one up and running? Well, you need the following nine things first:

1. Industry experience.

There’s no point setting up a business if you know nothing about its industry. This applies to construction just like it does with other industries. I recommend that you spend a few years working with construction companies first.

That way, you’ll get first-hand knowledge of industry practices. You can then use that information to your advantage. After all; you don’t want to waste money by doing things wrong!

2. Skills.

Next, you will need to learn how to carry out various tasks. As the owner of a construction business, you should know and be able to carry out all kinds of work yourself.

There will be times where you may need to advise or train your new staff on certain aspects of their jobs. By having the right skills, you can pass on that knowledge to others.

3. Financial backing.

Unless you’ve got a lot of money saved up, you will need some capital investment in your business. I recommend partnering up with an investor. They will take a percentage of your profits in exchange for cash investment.

Let’s face it; you need the cash to set up and grow your business. Your staff and machinery won’t pay for themselves!

4. IT Equipment.

Today’s modern construction companies use computers for a raft of reasons. From emailing customers to viewing architectural drawings online, computers and IT are essential.

You may also need IT equipment to help you manage your staff too. For instance, you may wish to record the hours worked by labourers using kit from Advance Systems. Or you may want to set up a CCTV system viewable over the Internet at your construction sites.

5. Plant machinery.

It’s no secret that heavy plant machines make light work of big jobs on a construction site. From diggers to pipe drilling machines, construction companies use all kinds of equipment.

If you don’t want to buy such items outright, you have the option of hiring them on a contract basis. Regardless, you still need to use plant machinery, whether you own them or not.

6. Employees.

As much as you’d want to do everything yourself and save money, you need to hire people to work with you. Construction is an industry where many people want to start their careers. You’ll have no shortage of candidates to choose from when setting up your business.

Just make sure that you only choose the best ones for the job. You don’t want to end up wasting money on people that are useless at their roles!

7. Vehicles.

Construction companies use plenty of plant machinery as you know. But, they also need to transport themselves and their tools to various sites. They must also have some way of transporting materials like concrete across sites.

You will need to invest in some vehicles suitable for the type of work you wish to offer. From vans to trucks, you’ll need an assortment of vehicles for your company. Again, you can lease them instead of buying them to ease your cash flow.

8. Insurance.

What happens if a member of staff injures themselves at one of your sites? Or what if a client isn’t happy with your work and is threatening to sue you? Those are just two of many scenarios where insurance can cover such issues.

There are various insurance products on the market. Employee and public liability, and professional indemnity cover are essential. You can get other insurance products too, such as ones that offer cover for data theft or loss. This is useful if your IT systems get damaged or stolen, for example.

9. Marketing.

Last, but not least, you’ll need a marketing plan for your new construction business. That way, you can target your audience and start getting new contracts sooner.

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Why Is Physical Storage Space Good For Business?

There are a number of variables you need to consider as a business owner, and storage space is one of the most important. On the face of it, storage space may not seem too important as it comes across as insignificant. But, when you delve deeper into the subject you start to realize that without the space to move your business is going to suffer.

If you are a non-believer, take a look at the reasons outlined below. Hopefully, these will help you see that your business needs to take storage a lot more seriously.

Offers Security.

Take a look around your office. Where are your most important assets? The answer to that is a storage space like a drawer with a lock. Of course, a lot of your assets will be stored digitally on your computer. But, those of you that are responsible will hold a hard copy just in case. For those of you that like a backup plan, you won’t have anywhere to store your assets without storage space. When you look at it like that, it becomes blindly obvious that physical storage is essential to your company.

Backup Plan.

Speaking of backup plans, let’s stay with the theory for a moment. As you know, a backup plan is essential because computers are not infallible. In fact, they have a tendency to break down on quite a few occasions. If this happens, you could lose the files and data that are essential to the success of your company. However, with a secondary storage solution, you will be able to perform a factory reset and start over again. All you have to do is download your files onto a portable memory stick and then put it away for safekeeping.

Improves Office Environment.

Your office is important in lots of ways. But, one of the most important is the image that it gives off when people walk in the room. For the most part, guests and potential business affiliates will judge your company from its appearance. And, if the appearance is cluttered and disorganized they will think your business is the same. The result is that they will probably refuse to do business, and you will lose lots of money in the process. With Space Maker self storage solutions, you can clear all that junk off the premises to leave your offices looking clean and tidy. Or, you can store them on site if you have the capabilities. The decision is yours.

Increases Productivity.

Aside from helping to impress your clients, storage space also impresses your employees. Employees hate working offices that don’t have any space and that suffocate them while they are working. They like to be free as it is more comfortable. A simple change to your storage needs, then, can lift productivity levels. Your employees will like coming to the office and will start to enjoy their job more, which will reflect in their work.

Do you still have any doubts?  You shouldn’t because cheap storage could be the difference between a successful business and one that fails.

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5 Small Business Mistakes And How To Fix Them

By Lea Schneider

Small business owners tend to make instant business decisions that they probably wouldn’t make otherwise. At home, you wouldn’t hand your credit card to someone working around the house and tell them to go get whatever they needed. At home, you wouldn’t feel as though you must do every single chore on your own. Yet these things often happen at a small business.

However, many of the errors owners will make in the coming year can be easily fixed with a few simple strategies. Here are five common small business mistakes and their solutions.

1. Careless with Cash.

Every business has a stream of daily financial needs, from supplies for a project to sending out for lunch. But handing out cash to quickly solve a problem can lead to you wondering where all your money went.

Smarter Strategy – Develop a cash control plan to prevent theft and unnecessary expenses.

• Set a rule not to reach for personal funds.
• Keep gift cards on hand for the stores your business frequents. Give them to runners who need to get supplies. That way, they don’t have access to company debit or credit card numbers. You can then reload the gift card with more funds as you need to do so.
• Establish controls for cash. Require a receipt for every purchase, and limit access to funds to specific people. Keep cash locked, and reconcile it on a regular basis.
• Limit who can use company debit or credit cards. Assign a particular card number to a single user.

2. Forgetting to Organize.

Small business growth sometimes means being impulsive and acting quickly—you just grab something and do what needs to be done in the moment. This is okay in the short term, but over time it can lead to disorganization and chaos. Soon you’ve got piles of papers and jumbles of supplies sitting around, and everything takes longer than it should.

Smarter Strategy – Building in time to get organized can pay off in many ways. You’ll waste less time and money, meet deadlines with less stress, and have more focus. Concentrate on just one of these items at a time to help keep your workload manageable:

• Filing paperwork
• Organizing the supply closet or storage
• Tracking projects and clients
• Preparing a marketing plan
• Creating easy-to-follow systems for your employees

3. The Do-it-All Dilemma.

You picked up supplies, cleaned, delivered products, did accounting, paid bills, posted social media, delivered ads, checked on insurance and answered emails, when you suddenly realize that doing it all yourself doesn’t really make any money.

Smarter Strategy – It isn’t just that you can’t keep up the pace of doing it all forever, but that you can’t get ahead.

• Devote more time to growing your business so that you can make enough money to pay for things to be delegated.
• Make a list of tasks that you perform for your business, then figure out which ones you may be able to outsource in order to use time wisely to produce revenue.
• Be realistic about your expectations for yourself and try not to take on more than you can handle.

4. Inconsistent Marketing.

One day, you might be all about marketing, only for it to get shoved to the bottom of your to-do list the next. Having no clear marketing scheme creates an up-down cycle. Customers taper off, and once again you are trying to catch up on marketing to get more business.

Smarter Strategy – Change your up-down pattern by realizing that marketing is a necessary must-do item on your calendar every week. For a healthy business, plan for marketing. Create a checklist of things that you need to do, which may include:

• Setting up advance social media posts
• Updating your website
• Arranging for ads

Try assigning a theme to each month, so that your various marketing approaches are all coordinated under one common idea.

5. Delaying Rewards.

Waiting to reward an employee too long may mean that he or she has already moved on. The same can be said for customer loyalty. While we recognize the need to thank people, by the next day, we’ve found other issues, and the moment is lost.

Smarter Strategy – Create a rewards plan that has a sense of immediacy to it. Choose something that you can keep on hand or quickly do for a customer or employee. Here are a few ideas:

• Purchase gift cards in advance for both customer and employee rewards.
• Give your employees time off—it can even be as simple as saying they can come in an hour later.
• Reward employees with your product, or coupons toward your product. (Employees often can’t afford the very thing they sell!)
• Offer employees time to learn something new or work on a project.

By reevaluating your business strategies and following these simple steps, you can save money and grow your business!

 

Lea Schneider is a well-known organizational expert who has advised business owners for many years. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in business. Lea writes on a variety of organizational issues related to businesses for The Home Depot. For more info on gift cards, which may be used as a budgeting tool with employees, you can visit Home Depot’s website here.

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Top 4 Networking Tips From Startup Founders

by Emma Rosser of Publicize

87% of top level executives network 2-3 times every week. 90% increase their business opportunities through taking part in these events, according to National Networking Statistics.

Whilst communications today rely heavily on technology, nothing beat good old fashioned face-to-face networking. Whether you jump in guerrilla style, or equipped with a team of marketing pros your experience will undoubtedly rely on the same fundamental core strategies.

In 2016 entrepreneurs can look forward to whole range of events, from trialling the latest Oculus VR headset at CES in January, to attending the largest event in the mobile calendar next month, on the coastline of Barcelona. Here are the top high profile events in tech, that CIO have highlighted for 2016.

Whichever networking opportunities and industry events you settle on, don’t miss your chance to make a meaningful first impression, transforming these connections into an effective drive for your business.

Four entrepreneurs in the tech industry share their top tips for effective networking:

1. Be Selective And Remember Your Goal.

Networking opportunities may vary between industry. They may involve attending industry events, acting as a key speaker in a conference, a member in a professional association. There are a great number of options – be sure to broaden outside of your own industry groups to reach your customer base. You want to position yourself as an expert in your industry, but consider how your business will directly benefit through investing your time in these activities.

“Naturally, I’m an introvert. Which is quite odd for an entrepreneur. I usually try and do my homework and only attend networking events that I can have a particular “ask” at. That way I have goal in mind, selecting who I want to talk to and for what reason. I think this is a good rule of thumb so time isn’t wasted.” – Chris Buttenham, Tasytt

2. Create a strong dialogue.

A networking situation is not an opportunity to test others. This should be a chance to gain contacts, potential business leads as well as comrades in your industry. Simple tactics such as an easy opening question that will lead another into a light conversation, and open-ended questions can go a long way. Positivity is key. As a leader you have a passion for your industry at the core of your product offering, share this passion with others.

“The main thing is to be confident about yourself and your business when entering into a conversation in a networking scenario. Don’t underestimate the power of light humour, through remember your focal purpose, keep a contact card handy and follow up.” – Sergio Torres, Blackartel

3. Don’t Overdo The Pitch.

Try not to fall into the trap of sales pitching each person you come into contact with. A more subtle approach, igniting a common interest, will make a far better lasting impression. Likewise don’t be aggressive in the conversation – let others speak, listen to what they say and remember it.

“Like friendships, it’s better to focus more on the other person than on yourself. A lot of people stress over the phrasing of that perfect elevator pitch, or of not missing the next opportunity. The truth is if you’re passionate about what you do and are a generous person in the moment, that generosity will come back to you.” – Jordan Wills, Cloud9 Smarthome

4. Be professional, but personal.

Remember relationships take time to cement. A personal approach can go a long way. Rather than simply searching for business leads you also have a huge wealth of information and experiences accessible through communicating on a more personal level.

“My approach to networking situations is just to have fun and try to know people at a personal level.

Let people talk, people love to talk about themselves, this will make them feel good and remember you the next time you try to establish contact. You can also learn a lot but simply listening to others. Whilst networking is primarily a way for you to make some noise in your industry it is also a way of connecting with your contemporaries and this should not be forgotten. It is important to be prepared. Have an idea about what you need to know or achieve with the person you talking to and ask those questions while socializing.” – Ali Benmoussa, Searchub

Today various forms of technology exist to support your networking experience. Online professional networking platforms such as LinkedIn let users connect with others, and share valuable information. This is further supported by the huge number of digital industry sites and communities that help entrepreneurs keep up to date on relevant topics. There are a whole range of apps to find relevant local events, remember contacts and even matchmake professional profiles.

Only last year the founders of popular dating app Tinder transferred their technical expertise to the business world, in the creation of their new networking app for Forbes Under 30 professionals. Launching the app at the Forbes Under 30 Summit in October, they provided a way for young professionals at the conference to connect. This innovation is a great example highlighting the successful synergy of tech and human interaction used to build new connections at the event.

As online business communications continue to replace personal face to face experiences, more and more leaders are remembering the importance of networking in building personal relationships and business success.

 

Emma Rosser resides in Medellin, Colombia, and splits her time covering current affairs in the country with leading publication Colombia Reports and exploring trends in the tech start-up space with PR experts Publicize.

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