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vineri, 16 noiembrie 2012

What's the difference between successful businesses and struggling businesses?

Have you ever noticed how some businesses seem to do extremely well, and go from strength to strength, whilst the majority just seem to muddle along?

Since starting my own business I've met many small business owners and what I've noticed is that the vast majority of them seem to just about get by, but few reach the level of success that they're actually capable of. Some of them end up failing altogether, some lurch from project to project, and some do OK, but never really achieve the success or lifestyle they envisioned when they started their business.

On the other hand, I know a handful of extremely successful service business owners, who are making high 6 and 7 figure incomes every year (and rising) - and yet they don't work longer hours, their products and services are not magnitudes better than their competitors and they aren't geniuses!

So what is the difference between the successful businesses and the struggling businesses?

In a word: Marketing

Whilst there can be other factors that affect the ability of a business or practice to be successful, such as the economy, trends, cashflow and product/service quality or innovation, the number one difference between successful high-flying businesses and their struggling counterparts is good marketing.

Here is the lament of one survey respondent which is typical of the angst felt by service business owners who know they do a good job, but who don't understand why they don't have a queue of clients at their door:

"We know our products and services are good - we get great feedback from those clients we've worked with - but we still have trouble getting potential customers to buy in. Our services offer real benefits to clients but we are not as successful as we should be when we see what other companies offer (not as much) and yet are still very successful."

If you offer a quality service or product that produces great results for your customers or clients, and yet you're still struggling to get all the clients that you want or need, or to charge the fees you deserve, you probably have a marketing problem.

What do highly successful business owners do that others do not?

The first thing that they do is to realise that their primary objective is to build their practice or client base. In the words of Michael Gerber (who wrote The E-myth) they "work ON their businesses, not IN their businesses". What this involves is making the time to work on the business - in particular on marketing and product or service development, rather than spending all of their time handling clients, delivering services and dealing with administration.

They also look for areas where they can gain "leverage". Simply put, this means gaining maximum return for every hour they work. Instead of trading hours for pounds or dollars, they find ways to do the work once and get paid for it many times. They find ways to market their services one to many, instead of one to one (thus reducing marketing and sales effort and time). They delegate those activities which take up a lot of time (but which don't add much value in terms of moving the business forward) or which they are not skilled in such as admin, accounting, website maintenance and copywriting.

They also develop a success mindset, understand their strengths and weaknesses, take risks, innovate, hang out with other successful people and build a support network around themselves.

But above all, they learn how to market their businesses and create a marketing system that keeps a steady stream of prospects knocking at the door, without taking up all of their time!

Policies and Procedures Used as Management Key

Managers know the difficulty of getting people to do the right things the right way. And employees need their expertise and understanding of the way things should be done. But how do you get it across so it actually sticks? The answer is well-defined policies and procedures.

Quickly Convey What’s Right

Managers can convey the exact way things should be done with policies and procedures, and they can do it faster than ever with pre-written documents. This speeds an organization’s standard operating procedures project effectiveness to get results.

Create Strong Operating Procedures

Departmentally-focused manuals provide an excellent opportunity to create strong, consistent Standard Operating Procedures across multiple functions. This includes added savings of time and resources. Departments that benefit with improved results include:

• CEO Management - Build an effective management procedures system based on best practices for the entire organization
• CFO Controller - Simplify the job as a CFO or Controller, and speed the development of comprehensive Accounting and HR manuals
• ISO 9001 Quality Manager - Create ISO 9001 quality policies and procedures manual with prewritten policies, procedures and forms
• Human Resources Manager - Create HR policies and procedures manual with prewritten policies, procedures and forms
• Security Manager - Create complete facility security procedures and disaster recovery plans

Customize to any Business

When researching effective solutions, the content should be well-researched and follow industry-standard formats. Moreover, the applications such as MS Word-based standard operating procedures documents should be easy to edit and simple to customize for any business or organization.

Utilize Essential Procedures

Management should have a solution to implement their entire policy system with essential procedures in one concise, consistent format. And they can do it effectively and efficiently because pre-written documents:

• Saves research time
• Improves procedure writing
• Speeds policy development
• Eases document editing
• Enhances policy knowledge
• Simplifies implementation

The Right Documents

Business owners and executives should select a pre-written policies and procedures package specifically created for a particular management scope. And choose the one that identifies their role and needs.

Here is the latest and accurate assistance relating to laptop bags.

Here is the latest and accurate assistance relating to laptop bags. When you are on the lookout for excellent information relating to laptop bags, you'll find it's complex sorting out the best information from unprofessional laptop bags proposals and guidance so it is important to know how to judge the advice that is offered.

Here's a few tips which we sincerely believe you should use when you're searching for information about laptop bags. You need to understand that the advice we present is only relevant to web based information about laptop bags. We do not offer you any advice or guidance for conducting research offline.

A good hint to follow when offered help or advice concerning a laptop bags site would be to confirm the sites ownership. This could reveal the people behind the website laptop bags authority The quickest way to work out who owns the laptop bags web site is to find the sites 'about' page.

All decent sites providing information on laptop bags, will nearly always have an 'about' or 'contact' page which will record the owner's details. The info should make known major points about the site owner's capability. This permits you to make an informed assessment about the vendor's education and practical knowledge, to give recommendations about laptop bags.

Resume Writing and Preparation is Free Online

Creating a strong resume is a very important part of applying for a job, either online or off line. There are many resume writing services that will help you build an impressive resume for job interviews.

You can also learn how to write a resume for free by surfing the Internet for resume writing help. Many sites will show you tips and advice on choosing a resume style that works best for you.

You can also find samples of resumes, resume templates, resume software, and examples of resume cover sheets or letters.

Whether you’re looking to create a business resume, marketing resume, military resume, electronic resume, accounting resume, nursing resume, acting resume, sales resume, teacher resume, executive resume, student resume or a customer service resume, you can find great advice online with a little research.

When preparing your resume, keep in mind that employers use resumes for several purposes:

** Screen Applicants – Most employers will only look at a resume for about 30 seconds to determine whether or not an applicant is a good fit for their organization.

** Develop Interview Questions – Statements on your resume can be used to formulate questions they may ask during an interview.

** Communication Skills – Employers want to see how well you express yourself.

** Qualifications – Employers will reference your resume when making hiring decisions based on how closely your qualifications match their needs.

Writing a resume isn’t easy, but by studying various tips and advice, you can learn to create a type of resume that will get you one step closer to your ultimate goal of finding a great job.

HOW TO STAY FOCUSSED AND BUILD YOUR BUSINESS

You have a detailed business plan, which showed the overall intent of your company. You presented the business plan to your bank before start-up and they submitted funding in the amount that you both deemed acceptable. The original business plan contained the basis of the procedures that will help you stay focussed while the company grows. Let's examine some of these processes that you will use to give your business the focus it needs to grow and succeed.

1. A marketing plan. If sales are a part of your operation (and it seems that some form of selling is always a big part of every company), then, you will need to have your sales group focussed on a marketing plan. Short term and longer-term analysis should be a part of this planning and will likely contain an analysis of your competition, market potential and sales projections. Be careful not to fall into the trap of letting “the business take care of itself”, stay focussed at all times and be sure your managers are tuned into this market monitoring regularly, nothing is more defeating to the general manager/owner than to be told by a sales manager…I didn't see that coming! YIKES!
2. Accounting procedures. If sales are important, then the need to stay focussed on receiving the proceeds from sales is equally important. Accounts payable, expenses and accounts receivable need to have fixed procedures in place to allow money to flow freely through the company coffers. Focussing on these procedures at regular weekly and monthly meetings will put the accounting and marketing groups on the same path. A rift between marketing and accounting is a common bureaucratic occurrence; so don't be surprised if one point you hear from someone from sales state, “We make the money here, how come I have to live by their rules?” Getting these two operations to stay focussed on a bottom line results oriented approach is a regular part of an owner's job description.
3. Human resources. If you have ever worked for a manager, who considered his employees as expenses rather than assets, then you will be familiar with the need for managers to stay focussed on human resources within the company. A manager who is fixated on staff reduction regardless of their accomplishments will create an atmosphere of fear. Certainly, no one wants to be grossly over-staffed, but a good owner/manager will focus on keeping adequate employee base numbers, and ensure continuing training, safety programs and top of the line employee benefits. It's your campground, why not have “happy campers?”
4. Selling your business. This does not mean selling in the true literal sense. It means focusing on being sure your company image is one that is the envy of your competitors and is known in the business world as a first class operation. You can do this by having key managers attending industry conferences. Be clear and tell them that their focus at these seminars is to network, thoroughly gathering as much new information that they can. They should also 'sell' other attendees on the importance and efficiency of their company in the industry. Upon their return, have follow-up meetings with these managers where they will report in detail on what they have learned. Managers attending conventions and seminars should take opportunities to enjoy themselves, nevertheless, they will be the “face” of your company, it's wise be sure that they focus on making them business meetings, and not all “playtime.”

If planning, organizing, staffing, direction and control are five major factors in managing a company, staying focussed throughout the process, is paramount!

3 Essential Tools for Starting and Maintaining a Small Business

We believe that there are 3 factors that drive the success of small businesses.


1) Acquiring start-up capital
2) Finding customers
3) Accounting for, budgeting and controlling sales and expenses



The following resources will help your small business achieve these success factors.

Acquiring Start-Up Capital


An adequate supply of capital is essential as many profitable businesses fail because they don’t have enough cash to pay their employees and suppliers. But what is an adequate supply of capital? The only way to tell is by doing a significant amount of research on your potential market and formally documenting this in a business plan. I’m sure you know that a business plan is a very important document that is crucial to convincing your banker to lend you money.


There are two ways to obtain a business plan.


1) Do it yourself by amending a business plan template, or
2) Hire a professional to do it for you.


Obviously obtain 1) will be a great deal cheaper.


Our research led to a website that has over 60 high quality and free business plan templates. We also found a directory that you can use to easily find a business plan writer in your city – where ever you live in the world.


Finding Customers


Finding customers is a difficult and expensive task for service business owners such as accountants, lawyers and plumbers. We believe that a cost effective marketing strategy for service business owners is to simply give all their personal contacts a few business cards.


Our research led to a few websites that have pre-designed business card templates. We felt that the diversity and quality of these designs was outstanding. In addition, we found that you can obtain a significant saving by finding a printing service on the Internet. We found that you could get 2,000 full color business cards for as little as US $150.


Accounting For, Budgeting and Controlling Revenue and Expenses


Accurate accounting is very important for small business owners. It’s essential that you have timely access to information that could make or break your business. If stocks are running low – you need to know about it. If a large proportion of your debtors haven’t paid – you need to know about it. If you do not react to these situations quickly you may have a situation where you don’t have enough money to pay your employees – or worse still someone is stealing cash out the till.


Our research led to a website that compares and reviews top accounting software for small businesses. The cheapest software cost US $89.99 and the most expensive software cost US $1,499. It was interesting to note that the top 3 ranked websites were not the most expensive and cost between US $250 - US $300.


Hopefully you now have an idea of some of the tools that you can use to grow and maintain your small business. If you would like to benefit from our research please visit our website. We do not charge for this research and offer the content freely on our website.

How to Stop Waste, Fraud and Abuse

Each year, businesses write-off six percent of revenue to waste, fraud and abuse. But why would managers throw all that hard-earned money away when there is a reliable way to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse using accounting policies & procedures to create internal controls. Internal controls eliminate uncollectible receivables; prevent theft or embezzlement; optimize inventory; and stop waste, fraud, and abuse. Utilizing just a single control will add real money to your bottom line each month.

Look for Easily Customizable MS-WORD files to Save Time

You can quickly and easily develop customized procedures and internal controls for your organization, no matter what size it is. WORD templates reduce the stress of writing clear internal controls, policies or procedures; of staying late at the office to research “best practices” or of worrying over what format to use.

Use Prewritten Text by Industry Experts

It's much easier to edit prewritten controls than to develop them from scratch. Let experienced CPAs, auditors, and business process experts think through the steps for each procedure or form. Then, save even more time by using the resulting content that technical writers have edited in MS-WORD instead of re-entering the text.

Vital Procedures Resource used by Thousands

Accounting Policies and Procedures is one such vital resource used by thousands of executives and managers to strengthen their financial operations. Such a manual contains an introduction to accounting, an explanation of how to create your own controllers manual, an example of a complete prewritten manual, ample policies, procedures and forms for the most common processes (revenue, cash, assets, purchasing and administration), a detailed index to every keyword, phrase and regulation used, plus a Guide to Embezzlement Prevention.

Examples for Every Owner or Executive

Every month executives share their stories about satisfying their auditors with new controls, of increased earnings found in their business and how much time was saved. So, if you want to increase the profits of your business then consider an Accounting Policies & Procedures manual.

Help Your Business Grow Now

Can you afford to let a single precious hour pass without finding out what Policies and Procedures can do for your business?

Accounting Methods – Cash and Accrual

When starting a business, you have to determine the method you are going to use for accounting and paying taxes. The two choices are the cash method and the accrual method.

Cash Method

If you are looking for simplicity, the cash method is probably your best accounting choice. Generally, income and deductions can be claimed when payment is actually received or made. This is best shown with an example.

I open a small business and have to order business cards and stationary. I receive the products and pay the invoice on November 18, 2005. Under the cash method, I can deduct the cost on my 2005 tax return.

Some businesses are restricted from using the cash method. C corporations may only use the cash method if they have less than $5 million in gross revenues for a particular year. Professional Service Corporations can use the cash method without limit, while farming corporations can due so if gross revenues are less than $25 million. Tax shelters are prohibited from using the cash method.

Accrual Method

The Accrual Method of accounting is a bit more complex. Under this method, the focus in on the date the expense is incurred, not paid. Although this may seem a small difference, it can play havoc with your books and piece of mind.

Using our previous example, assume I order business cards and stationary on the December 18, 2005. I receive the products on December 30th, but don’t pay the invoice until January 20, 2006. When can the expense be claimed? It depends on when economic performance occurred.

Generally, economic performance occurs when goods or services are provided to you. In the above example, economic performance would arguably occur when the business cards and stationary were delivered with the invoice on December 30th. Thus, I would be able to deduct the expense for the 2005 tax year.

In Closing

As you can see, the cash method is the easier of the two accounting methods. To determine the best method for your business, speak with a tax professional.

After the latest and accurate help in relation to accountancy.

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NetSuite: Small Business Accounting
NetSuite offers an integrated online accounting application with ecommerce, sales, inventory, shipping and support. Free Trial.



Now we would like to offer you some advice which we advise you to use when you are searching for information about accountancy. You need to realize the guidance we put forward is only pertinent to internet based information concerning accountancy. We don't really offer any direction or assistance when you are also conducting research in books or magazines.

OpenPro: Web Based Accounting
Offers Web-based, open source ERP accounting system with financials, supply chain, manufacturing, CRM and ecommerce features.



An interesting tip to pursue when you're presented with information and suggestions on a accountancy website would be to determine who owns the site. Doing this could reveal the owners accountancy credibility The easiest way to reveal who owns the accountancy web site is to find the sites 'about' page.

Any reputable site providing information concerning accountancy, will always have contact information which will record the site owner's contact details. The details should make known some key points concerning the owner's requisite knowledge. You can then arrive at a decision about the webmaster's depth of experience, to offer guidance about accountancy.