Essentials That Every Business Owner Should Have

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Business Essentials|Essentials That Every Business Owner Should HaveBecoming a business owner is something that some people stumble upon. On the other hand, some have always known they would own a business one day. Whatever the case, entrepreneurship comes with a significant amount of responsibility that many aren’t often prepared for. There is so much you have to learn to set you on the path to success, and also to ensure you’re protected along the way. While some are business matters, others are legal matters or related to managing people. Here are a few essentials that every business owner should have on that note.

Insurance

As you likely know, starting a business comes with several risks. Aside from failure, you’re dealing with people virtually and physically every day, so you need to be protected from any unfortunate events by having insurance. There are different types of insurance you should have as a business owner, so you’ll need to determine which are most needed. However, some are mandatory, such as employer insurance and commercial business insurance. Some optional ones worth looking into include general liability, product liability, and auto insurance.

A Good Lawyer

As an entrepreneur, you can’t predict if and when a lawsuit will come your way. For this reason, having access to an experienced and talented lawyer is essential. Getting into legal trouble of any kind can affect your personal life, finances, and your brand. When looking for a lawyer, make sure you do background checks and look for legitimate reviews. In case you need suggestions for a good lawyer, take a look at dcwattorneys.com as you’ll find information on practice areas such as criminal defense, mediation and much more,

Savings

As an entrepreneur, having money saved is crucial if you want to have a level of financial stability. You can’t always predict which direction sales will go in, so having a reserve helps. Every month, put a specified amount in your savings account so that you can pull from it on rainy days. As you won’t be getting pensions from your workplace if you’re a full-time business owner, you should also have a retirement plan in place.

A Simplified Employee Pension IRA is ideal if you’re a sole proprietor as it’s easy to manage and annual fees are relatively low. There is also the Individual 401(k) if you want to build your retirement account quickly and have large amounts to contribute.

An Accountant

Unless you happen to be a star accountant on your own, hiring one could be a good investment. The slightest financial mistakes could have a ripple effect on your finances and put you in a bad place. Your accountant can help keep your books in order as well as make sure you’re keeping expenses as low as possible. They should also help you stay up-to-date with your taxes so that you aren’t owing money. When you’re on the lookout for an accountant, make sure they have sufficient amounts of experience and make clear work arrangements to avoid misunderstandings later on.

When to Use Off-the-Shelf or SaaS vs Bespoke Software Solutions in Your Business

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |SaaS vs Bespoke Software|When to Use Off-the-Shelf or SaaS vs Bespoke Software Solutions in Your BusinessWhen growing a business, dealing with software can be a headache. You need certain tasks to be completed, and off-the-shelf software often doesn’t quite hit the mark. One package might have some useful features but exclude others that are required. Or the interface is not very user-friendly creating lost time for staff as they battle to get the most out of a cumbersome design.

For small businesses especially, it’s difficult to figure out what to do. In this article, we cover some key points on the decision-making process between buying off-the-shelf, using a SaaS or ordering bespoke software solutions.

Off-the-Shelf Software

As a business owner, you’re most likely familiar with buying software off-the-shelf. Whilst some is no longer sold from retail stores because it’s now downloaded digitally, this is essentially still the same thing.

These are software packages made for the masses. It could be Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop or another application for a PC or Mac. It’s affordable because the development cost is spread over the revenue generated from millions of unit sales. For a low cost, companies can purchase a suite of apps that are highly useable and work in a familiar way that many people in the workforce already have experience using.

The downside with off-the-shelf software is that it’s usually not customisable to a great degree. It’s possible to hire a company to tweak it a little here and there, but not extensively.

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)

Software-as-a-Service is a software solution that’s based online. Usually entirely so. Therefore, it’s a website developed as a virtual application that any staff member can sign up for and use. Usually, a company will purchase an enterprise or small business account that allows a certain number of staff members to use the software at one time.

The online software isn’t directly customisable, but it is sometimes possible to access some feature modules while skipping others that aren’t needed. For instance, an accounting package might separate out the sales ledger, bought ledger and payroll functions with companies able to include or exclude these modules, as needed.

Bespoke Software Solutions

Bespoke software is designed especially for a single business. It’s created as a custom solution to provide a perfect answer to address one or more business problems. It is the costliest of the three options because it’s a one-off solution.

When considering going the bespoke route, it’s usually a good idea to seek out a local provider because you’ll need to meet them in person and run through your requirements. So, for instance, in Australia one of the best providers for bespoke solutions is www.cosource.com.au.

CoSource, at www.CoSource.com.au, provide upgrades or modifications to existing software, or create entirely new software built to order. Additionally, they can design a new database for the specific digital needs of your business. Also, if you wish to beef up the e-commerce capabilities on your website, they have been developing online solutions for 15 years and know how to drive sales.

Most companies have software solutions of all three flavours. There’s no one right answer here. Each business situation is unique.

5 Reasons Why You Should Be Cleaning The Cubicle Walls in Your Office

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Office Cleaning|5 Reasons Why You Should Be Cleaning The Cubicle Walls in Your OfficeWhen was the last time the cubicle walls in your office cleaned? Unless the cubicle walls have food or drink splattered on the fabric, most office personnel don’t think about the allergens and germs that hide within the fabric. Cubicle walls should be cleaned on a regular basis to keep an office smelling clean and fresh.

Allergens

Indoor air quality is a problem in many buildings. The air quality involves more than the ventilation system. According to the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, ten percent of the population is sensitive to dust mites and are dust mites are responsible for 90 percent of the allergic asthma cases.

Mold

Mold can be found anywhere there’s moisture. Mold will grow in any type of organic material and trigger asthma symptoms in people with allergic asthma. Not only will mold cause asthma, but it can also result in serious health issues if you’re exposed to it for a long period. Smart Commercial Cleaning Brisbane has years of experience keeping offices free of allergens and bacteria that can make employees sick.

Bacteria

Cough! Sneeze! Where do these germs go into the office? Into the fabric on the cubicle walls for the next person to touch. A sneeze or cough is not the only thing that causes bacteria on the cubicle walls. When was the last time a coworker washed their hands? Did they wash them long enough and use soap? Bacteria can be rubbed into the fabric on a cubicle wall from unsanitary practices of your coworkers.

They Are Expensive

Have you priced the amount of a cubicle wall recently? The cost of cubicle walls has drastically increased over the last ten years. It’s definitely a lot cheaper to have the cubicle walls cleaned in the office instead of replacing them. Regular cleaning will help to extend the life of the walls and reduce that added expense to the budget.

Face Lift

Let’s face it, as things age, they look old. Things that are kept clean and fresh last a lot longer and look a lot better. Cleaning cubicle walls will extend the life of the walls and provide the office with the added facelift it needs. Employees tend to keep their workplace cleaner when the surrounding space is properly maintained.

According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, over 50 million Americans alone suffer from various types of allergies and they are the sixth leading cause of chronic illness. Do you really want to be sick or suffering from asthma or allergies because of dirty cubicle walls?

A cleaning company or maid service should be ISO 9001 certified, and their employees should have a background check performed. Customers should never be concerned about their safety. The customers should also expect high cleaning standards and great customer service. Chemicals are often a concern of customers because of health and breathing issues. These concerns should always be discussed with the cleaning company before the job begins. Healthy work environments are easy when regular maintenance like cubicle wall cleaning is performed on a regular basis by a reputable company. Stop breathing the dust and germs in daily when you can breathe healthy and clean air instead.

Five Steps of Hiring An Ad Agency

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StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article |Full-service Ad Agency|Five Steps of Hiring An Ad Agency No matter what the size of your business – whether it’s a large organization or a small business, hiring a full-service ad agency is essential if you want to get the word out about your business. Creating invaluable marketing campaigns for your business, that can advertise your services/products over a multitude of platforms (including radio and TV), they have the expertise you need, can offer an unbiased opinion and will save you time that you would have spent on marketing in-house. So what are the five steps of hiring an ad agency?

1. Research, research, research

The first step in finding the right ad agency for your business is doing your research online. If you have noticed any advertisements that other companies have produced, find out who did the advertising for them and get in contact with them. Alternatively, ask other business owners directly who they would recommend. You can also do a simple search online before arranging to meet with an ad agency. Many specialized magazines for business owners will also advertise ad agencies that you can enquire about and discover what campaigns they have worked on previously.

2) Arrange an initial meeting

When you have decided on an ad agency, you should book in an initial consultation with them. By meeting with them you can get a better idea of what they have worked on in the past and how they can help you with your marketing in the present. You can showcase your vision for the marketing campaigns and see what they can do for you.

3) A formal pitch

Once you have had your initial consultation, you can arrange a formal meeting with them. They will demonstrate a detailed plan that they have designed especially for your campaign/s, recommendations on what they can do for your business and what you are currently doing that is working effectively.

4) They will create an assessment

After the formal meeting, the ad agency will create an assessment that will thoroughly analyze the web traffic that comes to your website, how the business is doing within its industry, previous ad campaigns (if there are any), your competitors and other factors.

5) They will create a marketing campaign and analyze how it has performed

The ad agency will then create marketing materials based on your vision. This can either be advertisements for radio or TV, web design, email campaigns, etc. They will then closely monitor the performance of the campaigns, building upon the campaigns which are successful and seeing how they can create an even more successful campaigns in the future.

Hiring a full-service ad agency can have many benefits for your business. Adding value to your company and giving it the exposure it requires in order to succeed, it is an expense that is worth spending for any size business – but especially so if you have a small business that’s just starting out and needs to get the word out about what you’re offering.

Have You Considered Postcard Printing?

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StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article |Postcard Printing|Have You Considered Postcard Printing?They’re Not Just For A Holiday

Postcard printing can provide a whole host of benefits – and postcards aren’t just bought and used on holiday and sent to loved ones. In fact, due to their versatility, postcards have a lot of potential uses. They’re perfect for beautifully-designed invitations or even presenting your company in a professional way – no matter whether one is distributing the postcards via the post or in person. So if you’re tempted to purchase online printing services from a digital company for yourself, here’s a short guide on what you can use postcards for and where to find the best printing deals.

Here’s What You Can Use Printed Postcards For

When most people hear the word postcard, they immediately think of being on holiday or visiting another country overseas and sending a cheap, low-grade quality postcard back home. But that’s pigeon-holing postcards and they have more multipurpose uses than perhaps first realised. High quality postcard printing acts as great promotional items for business, notifying interested clients of upcoming promotions, attractions, announcements and events too. Due to their size – which is usually A5 or A6 set in landscape format – postcards can easily be posted and sent through the homes of many people in the local area or beyond. Its width and length means that postcards are the ultimate promotional material for your business. But to make the most out of postcard itself, there are a few rules to abide by. The headline on the card has to hit home – keep it short, interesting and informative. Simplicity is key, so don’t over complicate the message. Issue a call to action within the text so that readers do actually follow up and visit your website or shop as soon as possible. And last but not least, online postcard printing is a resource that is also cost-effective so you can buy them in bulk and send the cards to a variety of different places. From the homes of the public to the shop fronts of potential clients, you’ll be able to get your message across efficiently and economically.

Creating An Impactful Postcard Campaign

Postcard printing services are widely available nowadays. All you need to do is take a quick look on the Internet and you will see that you have plenty of different options to choose from. Nevertheless, this is definitely not something that should be rushed into. With that being said, read on for some top tips on creating a powerful postcard marketing campaign.

The first tip is to always select a leading postcard printing company. Don’t cut corners when it comes to this. If your postcards are of a poor quality, it is going to have a negative impact on your brand image. People will assume that you cut corners in all areas of your business. In addition to this, you should get rid of the employee. One of the biggest challenges when it comes to a direct mail campaign is getting people to open the envelope. With postcards, there is no need to have one at all. You also need to ensure that the message is brief but powerful. Try to say your message in as few words as possible. You don’t want to overcrowd the postcard with information or people simply will not read it. Engage the reader and make the postcard easy to read. White space is your friend – if you don’t have enough of it, this is a sign that the postcard is overcrowded. You also need to have a strong call to action. The whole point of a postcard is to get the person to do something, whether it is make a purchase or sign up to your newsletter.

Where To Find Quality Postcard Printing Services

To locate and hire cheap postcard printing, you don’t have to trawl through the high-street looking for a printing company that can do it for you. In fact, you don’t even have to leave your own home or office to find a company that specialise in postcard printing. Instead by simply browsing online you can find a business that will be able to tailor the postcard to your specific needs. The Agency Loft gathers marketing agencies all in one place. Whether it’s the material the card uses – from silk, matt lamination, to gloss and even uncoated white paper – or the graphic design of the card itself, you will be able to buy an invaluable asset for your business.

Most importantly though, the price is perhaps the most significant factor that inevitably sways the decision of buyers who are interested in printing. Due to the nature of running a business – which is an extremely costly operation in the first place – many are turned off away from the idea due to the costs. But by finding a reliable company that offers to print a postcard inexpensively, you’ll be able to take advantage of the low costs in addition to gaining new promotional material you can readily use for your business. As it’s so unbelievably easy why delay in acquiring cards?