POST CATEGORY : Management

Money for Nothing? The Value of Consultants

They get a bad press, consultants. They’re sometimes thought of as being people who charge a lot of money to tell you what you already know. People worry if they’re getting any value from consultants.

Consultants

However, genuinely qualified and talented consultants can bring real value to your business. If you’ve wondered how, there are a number of ways they do it, and a number of benefits they bring.

1. Expertise

Typically, consultants have trained extensively in their chosen specialism. This means that they should have a level of expertise greater than is available to you in-house. For example, these days creating your own website is pretty easy using free and easily available software.…

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Structure Your Business With Kanban

Starting a new business?

Want to increase your chances for success?

Every company, regardless of its size, needs to plan and establish an internal processes. Not only does a well-ordered set of core processes allow your business to consistently improve and streamline its operations, it also makes the sustainable expansion of those operations more likely.

Kanban

Many new entrepreneurs are so eager to get going that they often haven’t given much thought to how they should design and build the operational systems that define their business.…

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Habits Of Highly Effective Small Business Owners

It is easy to see that some people in the world of business stand out among all the others. A successful small business owner requires a particular skill set and disposition. People often wonder what makes those “high rollers” so successful in business.

Success habit

It does not take much to understand that success is earned, and those who are successful in small business instill a certain set of behaviors that allow them to be focused and purposeful in life and work. Take a look at a few winning habits of highly effective small business owners.

Effective leaders take care of themselves

Effective leadership takes focus and consistency.…

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How 2 Kids And Working From Home Taught Me To Become A More Efficient Business Owner

At first, I felt euphoric.

It was 2012. I had ditched the 9-5 and I was my own boss. I no longer had to ask permission to leave work early and I could pick the kids up from school whenever I wanted.

But it didn’t take long for things to change.

Work from home issue

Sometimes I wasn’t putting the hours in when I should be. Other times I found myself pulling all-nighters and getting grumpy from the lack of sleep.

Something needed to change.

Pretty quickly, I realized that I needed to be more disciplined.

Here are 3 tips that taught me to become a more efficient business owner:

Tip 1: Set yourself a routine and stick to it

Most businesses have a normal working day, so why should I be any different?…

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Management Tips For a Staff That Works Remotely

In this digital era with the internet making communication and productivity so much easier, it is becoming more and more common for entire staffs to all live in different locations working remotely.

Remote employee

Telecommuting is something that is made possible not only to one specific type of career or only a few. Recent research shows that over half of Americans have a job that has potential to be done remotely.

While the convenience of working from home and running a business or working for a business in your pajamas is undeniable, it does have its challenges. Having your employees spread out instead of all together under the same roof can be a bit like herding cats.…

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7 Customer Service Best Practices Tips for Retaining Great Customers

Let’s face it: Getting customers is easy most times compared to actually keeping them. There’s so much competition to contend with these days, it’s near impossible to keep running with the best prices in your industry, your city; your little cozy niche that nobody knows about… Yet!

Then one day Joe Bigtime, who’s been watching your every move and figuring out how to do it even better than you, strolls into town and upsets everything you’ve been working toward. While you’ve been focusing on customer acquisition, your retention efforts have been left on the back-burner.

Suddenly, your customer’s lack of loyalty toward your business, and your obvious lack of loyalty toward getting their business again and again becomes of significant importance to your bottom line.…

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5 Tips for a Successful Product Launch

A successful product launch is what every business wishes for, but which a few achieve in real life. Having a revolutionary new product or service is no guarantee of success. After spending millions in product development, you can watch your brainchild fail to gain traction from day one. While it may look easy when Apple sells over a million new iPhones in the first few days, successful launches require strategy.

Product launch

Here are six strategies they use to ensure a successful product launch.

1. Focus on the Needs of Your Target Market

A good product solves a real and acute problem that buyers are facing and are frustrated about.…

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7 Steps to Being a Better Client (or, How to Make Sure The Job’s Done Well)

As the client, you’re paying for a service (in our case PR, video or integrated comms) because you either don’t have the time or the expertise to carry it out internally. And since you’re the one footing the bill, it’s understandable that you might think your job is simply to sign the contract and then wait for the agency to deliver.

Business relationship

They’re the experts after all, so there’s no reason to expect that they wouldn’t just get on with it. There’s a caveat to that approach, however. Because while you may well be paying for services rendered, it’s still a relationship.…

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Learning to Scale: How to Grow a Home-based Food Business

Many home-food businesses, particularly artisanal producers, fear that there is no way to sustain or scale their food business without investing in their own premises and resources. Thankfully it’s just not true thanks to rental commercial kitchens.

Coffee shop owner pouring coffee

If you’re one of the UK’s 2.9 million homepreneurs, don’t be afraid to grow your food business. Its intimidating at first but perfectly possible, with planning. There are plenty of opportunities to enable your business to grow at the rate you wish it to, even as you make the transition from home food business to stores.

Commercial kitchens are the first step

Graduating to premises is the biggest initial leap a home business will take.…

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Worker Worries – Preventing the Simple Mishaps of Workplace Safety

Workplace injuries are one of the worst things that can happen to your employees and your business. Not only does it cause your employee physical and emotional distress, but it also decreases work morale, and can also put your business in serious financial trouble if something drastic has happened.

Workplace safety

Don’t let your business fall victim to an injury or hazard that can be easily prevented; we’ve put together 5 simple tips and tricks that can help you prevent the simple mishaps regarding workplace safety.

1. Prevent injuries

Believe it or not, the most common occupational injuries are usually ones that can be easily prevented.…

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