POST CATEGORY : Entrepreneurs

Does Your Business Need An Emergency Contingency Plan?

having an emergency contingency plan for your businessDisasters can strike anywhere at any time. Whether it is man-made or natural, disasters can be crippling especially to small businesses. When you think about it, what small businesses should be investing in is a feasible emergency contingency plan. But the reality is, 62% of surveyed small businesses do not have an emergency plan in place.

An emergency contingency plan is a plan that is designed for preparation in case things go wrong. It is in effect, a preparation for anything that could happen. Having a contingency plan does not mean that you are dwelling on the negative, it means that you are giving extra protection for you business.…

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How To Combat And Learn From Negative Feedback

learning from negative feedback

Negative reviews and feedback for a small business can have a greater impact today than ever before due to the increased use and accessibility of the Internet. Unfortunately, one negative review can turn consumers away, but with the right proactive approach, negative reviews don’t need to have a huge impact on your business and can even be viewed in a positive light by incorporating the following into your reputation management campaign.

  • Confirm the legitimacy of the claim. Unfortunately, some do attempt to make other businesses look bad for personal gain, so first confirm the legitimacy of any negative feedback you receive.
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Implement Workplace Diversity In 5 Easy Steps

ethnic diversity in the workplaceThere are more and varied types of individuals in the workplace today than ever before. Along with various social and cultural challenges this diversity brings, the psychology of understanding people from various backgrounds and experiences can spell the difference between an advancing company and one stuck doing things the way they have always been done.

Instituting an effective workplace diversity plan need not be an overwhelming challenge if its directives are taken seriously by all involved. Those in charge of such implementation need only impress the earnestness of the overall organization, its management and leadership in contributing to the successful integration of all types of individuals into its workforce.…

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Creating A Socially Responsible For-Profit Company

We have all heard about corporate social responsibility and we all know how important it is to give back to the community. In fact, there are various initiatives led by large companies such as HSBC, IBM and yes, even American Idol has joined the fray.

creating socially responsible for-profit

One might say that it’s all good for businesses who earn big money to lend a helping hand to the community but should small business owners be exempt from participating in this noble and worthy cause just because we aren’t in the same financial boat? Should social consciousness be calculated based on how much a company is earning per capita?…

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6 Simple Ways To A Greener Business

6 ways to a green business

Start-ups to large enterprises are looking for ways to be greener businesses. Aside from the fact that your company does its share to preserve and nurture the environment, it is also good for business since it would allow you to conserve resources which means, more savings.

We cannot control underlying forces which are responsible for price hikes of almost everything from gas prices to energy costs. However, what we can control is our usage. I am not a full-blown nature advocate. What I am an advocate of is sustainable and growing businesses.

Without further ado, here are 6 simple ways you can increase your business’ bottom line by running a greener business:

  1. Turn off all your equipment when not in use.
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Reduce The Risk Of Employee Fraud

reduce the risk of employee fraudIn any business – small or large, good or bad economy – internal theft or employee fraud can occur.   Actually, in my experience, I have seen more employee fraud occurring in small to medium-sized businesses because there is a greater level of trust, a less formal process at times, greater familiarity with each person in the company, and a greater breadth of duties for each employee.

While the percentage of employees committing fraud may be low, I have seen some small businesses devastated and almost have to close their doors because of one or more employees who stole from them.

Types of Employee Fraud

There are a few types of employee fraud that are prevalent in small businesses.  …

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4 Ways to Beat Entrepreneurial Fatigue

Every person on the planet is prone to experience fatigue. As an entrepreneur, you are no exception. Some might say that running your own business would make you your own boss and that it would give you more freedom to do what you want, when you want to do it.

entrepreneurial fatigue tips

This of course is a myth. Running your own business does not mean that you have lesser things to do or a shorter to-do list than you had when you were employed. When you think about it, entrepreneurs get stressed out from the moment they start planning the business until the time that they are exiting it.…

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How Group Buying Can Help Your Business

Group buying or collective buying is fast gaining popularity among business owners. The idea originally hailed from China where it is known as Tuangou. Online group buying was first introduced through an e-commerce start-up, Mercata, ten years ago and they had dubbed this business plan as “We Commerce”. For those business owners who are still trying to grasp the concept of this phenomenon, let me break it down for you.

Let’s say you are a subscriber to a discount website or a daily deals site as it is more popularly known nowadays. You would see various offers on product discounts on the site and if you are interested, you would just need to enter your payment details and wait until the minimum number of people is reached.…

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Mobile Technology Is Changing The Way We Do Business

Technology has certainly changed the way we do things, the way we run our business. We are all constantly on-the-go and instead of doing just one thing at a time, we can now do everything (well, almost everything) at the touch of a button.

mobile technology changing how we do business

In a recent  Business Journals study, it is found that small businesses are increasingly relying more on technology, especially the internet, as a critical business tool. Business owners can be addicted to running the business, if you think about it.

According to the same study, 55% of SMB owners are online to be connected to their businesses.…

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Perfect Your Small Business Skills With Open Courseware

Perfect Your Small Business Skills With Open Courseware

While yes it is true that one doesn’t need a Masters of Business Administration degree in order to run and manage a successful small business, the leadership and business skills one learns pursuing an MBA can in fact help one launch their business to even further heights. Unfortunately not everyone has the time or the money to return to school in order to learn a new set of managerial and business skills. But thanks to open courseware, it might just be possible.

Open courseware is a term used to refer to free online classes offered by various prestigious institutions such as Yale University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.…

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