Keeping Your Business Up And Running

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | Managing Your Business |Keeping Your Business Up And RunningPerhaps the most fundamental axiom of business life is that if you hope to generate revenue as a business, you must first be operating. This is so profoundly obvious that we usually don’t even consider it. Sure, your business having to stay open makes perfect sense. But unfortunately, there are little issues that can crop up from time to time to prevent this from happening in the way you might intend. Some might be twists of fate or difficulties that you weren’t expecting. Some downtime might be due to your own large mistake, or a plan gone wrong. Others might be more in how you have decided to run your business, such as what services or utilities you have opted to help your business through its lifespan.

Keeping your business up and running is an important thing to take care of, but perhaps so obvious that we fail to keep all the considerations close to hand in order for it to remain that way. With the following advice, we hope you find a range of methods or potential tips to help adjust certain decisions that might be threatening the temporary closure of your company, even for an unwarranted day or two. After all, time is money. Alternatively you could use this list as a confirmation you are doing everything quite brilliantly. That works too.

Utilities

It’s essentially important to consider your utility needs as a business. Leaks can cause damage, and electricity downtime can affect your entire operation, particularly if you host your website in-house. Without certain basic utilities, it is impossible for you to call your staff into work. Even something as simple as no bathroom access can legally put you in a grey area when asking your employees to come into work. This is where you need the help of an emergency electrician or tradesman, someone on call most of the time and able to find solid solutions to your problem. When you find one as suggested, you should understand that they are worth their weight in gold. Show them around your entire office and give them a working understanding of your office utilities layout, such as your wiring network or problem plumbing. This can give them a good idea of how to work should they be asked back again for an emergency job.

Pay for complete solutions, rather than quick fixes. Issues must not be allowed to repeat themselves, even if it’s something as simple as a leak in your storage basement. On top of this, be sure to have a competent reporting system in-house to ensure that maintenance requests are taken with the utmost speed and priority. This could potentially help you avoid further office downtime.

Health & Safety Code

Your business might be functioning well to a degree, but it’s not just restaurants that need to hit excellent results when it comes to the health and safety code they follow. An office is a co-habited space, and as such can bring with it all the human worries that usually follow a large group of people, no matter how well behaved and civilized they seem to be. Scheduling bi-yearly health and safety meetings can help your staff continually remain updated with the best practices for personal space tidying, for wearing protective gear in construction environments, and any other regulations you feel important to self-impose. It sounds like a harsh reality, but a business must never be afraid of imposing rules to sustain safety, no matter how arbitrary or small they seem to be. If there’s a brand of soup known for exploding hot liquid in the microwave, it might be a good idea to impose a ban on that particular brand to avoid injuries. It’s often the little things that matter.

But of course, you would also do well to schedule regular pest control maintenance measures with the use of a professional. Any leak, wiring difficulty or other construction failing must result in an evacuation of that area. You must take extra special measures of control if renovating or constructing part of a new building or office. After all, if you take care of your staff, they can continue working in their operational capacity day after day. Be sure to inspect your business often to see where these issues might arise, and to catch them early.

Opening Times

The opening times of your business are important to consider, specifically if running a business that doesn’t need to follow the standard 9-5 structure. You might be running a retail store or a restaurant, for example. Opening times are important to consider. It might be that you don’t enter your salon until 11am every day and open up shop then, which is comfortable for you. It gives you time for a cup of coffee after dropping the children off at school, or might give you an extra hour in bed each morning. But you live in a populated area, an area where anyone could enter from 9am. This way, you might be missing a few worthwhile customers. For a simple convenience, the funding of your business might be missing out.

Sometimes, keeping your business up and running means taking those small personal sacrifices to take opportunity where you can. It might not feel like the nicest thing to do, but can surely help you build the reputation you deserve. This helps you meet the demand and need of the local environment, no matter if you’re a restaurant/bar now serving breakfast, or someone realizing that them always being closed on Tuesdays, no matter how long this has gone on for, makes no real sense when there’s money to be made.

Consider your opening times if you have the freedom to, and don’t be afraid to tweak them around a little. It could open you up to the financial lifeblood your business might be looking for, even if it means staying open an extra hour a day.

With these tips, you’re sure to keep your business up and running successfully.

How to Keep Your Business Sustainable

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | Sustainable Business | How to Keep Your Business Sustainable No matter which industry you are running your business in, you will need to ensure that you are offering more value or lower costs than your competitors to protect your market share. At the same time, you have to protect your reputation and ensure that you are making long term plans, instead of simply focusing on surviving from one month to the next. There are certain areas you will have to pay attention to to guarantee sustainable growth in your business.

Keep Up with the Regulations

One of the main risks for your business is related to regulatory and legal changes. If you don’t stay on top of the latest law and have a legal expert to monitor the changes, you might face fines, or even have to close your business down. In case you run a business with a high environmental impact, you might consider installing a ground water monitoring system to ensure you are not putting communities at risk or breaking the law.

Increase Your Research and Development Budget

It might also be a good idea to do your research and invest in the latest technology, or you will be left behind by your competitors. Investing in improving your efficiency and productivity will help you create more value to your customers and maintain your reputation. From software to the latest tools, there are various areas you can spend your research and development budget on.

StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | Sustainable Business | How to Keep Your Business Sustainable Delegate

If you are trying to control or even micromanage every process in your organization, you are going to get overwhelmed very soon. That is why you might want to create a plan to delegate some of the tasks, so you can focus on strategy development and other aspects of your business that will make a long term difference.

Nurture Your Talent

One of your most valuable talents apart from your reputation is the talent pool and your employees. If you look after them, you will be able to offer better quality services and products to your market, and reduce your recruitment and human resource costs. If you would like to run your business in the most effective way, you will have to nurture your talent and focus on organizational learning and knowledge sharing.

Keep an Eye on the Trends

It is absolutely crucial that you look into the future and spot the customer and market trends as soon as possible. Industries, technologies, and market trends change faster than ever before, and this means that you have to be a leader instead of a follower to win the game. Invest in business intelligence and market research, ask your current clients for feedback, and run trials before launching a new product.

There is a lot of talk about business sustainability these days. You might automatically think about green investments, but it actually means much more. Focus on your long term goals and the market trends, invest in new technologies and talent development, and you can remain competitive for decades to come.

Do You Have A Network Infrastructure In Place?

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | Network Infrastructure | Do You Have A Network Infrastructure In Place?Networks have become integral to businesses. Nearly every single company uses some form of a network. It doesn’t matter whether these businesses are large companies or small startups. As long as the use of technology is evident, then the need for a network is there.

Just think about how many computers are used around the world today. Technology has a place at the core of all business activities nowadays. As soon as a company has more than one computer in their premises the need for a network arises. After all, they need to have a channel of communication. This is so common files can be shared, whether they be different software applications, client files, or databases. It is unfeasible to manually implement everything on to one computer one by one. This would take forever and the process would need to be repeated constantly. And then you must think about networking on a different scale, such as through outsourcing. This requires some form of network capacity so that you can work together and join forces with an outside source.

Quite frankly, if you don’t have a network infrastructure in place then you are dramatically halting the progress of your business and putting huge stumbling blocks in the way for your growth. However, if you do have an effective and well thought out network infrastructure you can reap mass rewards. This will bring a lot of benefits to your business.

One of the main benefits your business will experience through using a network infrastructure and investing in network support is an increased level of communication. This will see your productivity levels soar as your staff will be able to communicate more efficiently with one and other and get tasks completed at a faster rate. This communication also relates to the dialogue between your business and your suppliers and customers. All in all, because information is being shared more efficiently your business runs a lot more smoothly. Problems will be resolved quickly and any queries will be answered at a rapid pace.

You can also benefit from cost efficiency as well. After all, it is much cheaper for all of your data to be stored in one centralised place. Just think about how much you will save on IT support alone. Employees can also share the use of key equipment, such as scanners, printers, external disks, and so on and so forth. Not only do these points mentioned represent cost efficiency, but also general efficiency levels regarding the work rate of your company. There will be a smaller scope for error too. As everyone will be using the same network people will be able to pick up on any issues and quickly fix them, rather than one person having to be responsible for all.

It is quite evident to see that there is a lot to be gained by using a network infrastructure. You will note your business productivity and efficiency levels will increase, there will be a higher quality of work, and you will be able to save some money at the same time too.

Business Politics Practices – Creating a Power Position Environment

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StrategyDriven Business Politics Practices Article | Business Politics Practices - Creating a Power Position EnvironmentSuccessfully exercising personal power for political gain requires overcoming those who would oppose you. Winning these engagements, both strategic and tactical, becomes far easier when starting from a position of power. While you may not possess an initial starting position of strength, manipulating the engagement circumstances can tip the balance of power in your favor.

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4 Proven Strategies to Boost Income from Amazon FBA

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Articles | Entrepreneur | 4 Proven Strategies to Boost Income from Amazon FBAAmazon FBA is an easy option for entrepreneurs who want to try their hand at e-commerce. You get to enjoy the benefits of running your own business while taking advantage of the conglomerate’s massive network and diverse customer base. Plus, Amazon also houses your stocks for you, so you don’t need to worry about renting a warehouse.

If you’re looking for ways to boost the income of your Amazon FBA business, here are some strategies you must consider:

1. Partner with a Reliable Forwarder

While Amazon may be responsible for storing your products on your behalf, you still need to send them to the retailer’s warehouses. This is where a trustworthy Amazon FBA forwarder and prep center comes in. If you bought goods overseas, a partner like FBABEE could streamline the sourcing and shipping process for you, including picking up the inventory, preparing and labeling the items, and shipping them directly to Amazon.

2. Focus on Fast-Moving Products

After you’ve created a smooth channel for your products to be sent to Amazon fulfillment centers, you should study your current sales and identify which products are popular with consumers. Concentrate on those particular items and eliminate the others from your catalogs. This way, you prevent the e-commerce giant from penalizing you with fees because of long-term storage.

These are the factors that determine highly sellable products:

  • Cost – Your initial capital per item should only be 25% to 35% of your target selling price. For a product that’s $50, find a supplier who can give it to you for $17.50 or less.
  • Price – Consumers are more likely to buy from you if your products are in the $10 to $50 price range.
  • Weight – The goods should weigh a total of around 2 to 3 lbs with the box and packaging so that you can save on shipping costs.
  • Strength – Your products should be sturdy enough to endure the delivery process without damage.
  • Consumable – Focus on selling products that your customers will use up or need to replace. These items should also be used throughout the year for better profitability.
  • Quality – Be sure to sell the items with the best quality so you have the upper hand in the marketplace.

Amazon provides its sellers with valuable tools and information such as the Best Sellers Rank (BSR) and Customer Reviews to identify which products consumers are buying. Do your research and compare prices with stores who sell the same products as you to check if you can improve on the cost of your merchandise to boost sales.

3. Regularly Review Amazon Fees

Examine your bill from Amazon regularly to check if there are any inaccurate charges by the site. There are different shipping fees for various package sizes, but there are times when an incorrect measurement can prompt Amazon to double your fees or provide you with variable shipping costs.

One way to solve this is to contact Amazon and have them remeasure the products. You can also ask for reimbursement for the error because you paid them extra for that particular mistake. Moreover, regularly check the size, weight, and description of your stock keeping units (SKUs) to prevent erroneous charges and increase the profit margin of your Internet-based business.

StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Articles | Entrepreneur | 4 Proven Strategies to Boost Income from Amazon FBA4. Check Your Product Titles and Descriptions

Optimizing your product titles and descriptions for Amazon’s search engine will vastly improve your FBA business’ income. Aside from having a competitive price and improving your seller rating, you need to place relevant keywords on your product titles and descriptions so that your items come up first when a customer searches for it.

For example, if you’re selling sunglasses, it’s not enough to put your brand and the word “sunglasses” as a title. You need to think like your shoppers and determine the keywords that they will use when searching for sunglasses such as the color, shape, and lens type.

Some guidelines on how to get your title to rank well on Amazon:

  • Be as specific as possible within 100 to 200 characters for your product title.
  • Make the most of pipes (|) and dashes (-) to improve readability.
  • Place primary keywords at the beginning of the title.
  • Add compelling secondary keywords.
  • Highlight primary and secondary functions through keywords.

Conclusion

Amazon’s FBA business model provides sellers with cost-effective shipping rates as well as excellent support from their team of customer service representatives. This is the perfect setup for individuals who want to start and manage their business in the comfort of their homes. With the right strategies, you can ship your products to Amazon and send them to customers without leaving your personal space.