How to Make Your Money Grow in Business

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Finances Article |Growing Your Business|How to Make Your Money Grow in Business Making money as an entrepreneur has so much to do with your ability to identify opportunities and make the most of them. If you’ve started a business in the first place, then this means you’ve found a gap in the market that you can fill. In light of this, you should always be thinking about how you can grow beyond where you are and ultimately increase your reach and income further. There are several ways to achieve this, and all require you to get out of your comfort zone. If you consider that being uncomfortable is typically where all of the magic happens, then you’ll be more enthusiastic about exploring new territory. Below are practical ways to make your money grow in business.

Be Frugal

Just because you’re making money as a business, it doesn’t mean that you have to spend it at the same pace. It is crucial that you learn to manage your money and be frugal if you want to see your money experience steady growth financially. To be a frugal CEO, here are three approaches you could take.

Budget on Office Set Up: When setting up your office, it can be tempting to go all out. However, spending exorbitant amounts on furnishing isn’t necessarily going to give you the best return on your investment. Instead, look for ways to furnish on a budget such as by getting furniture that is slightly used or on clearance. The charity shop often also has fairly used or even new furniture that you can get at an affordable rate. Ask around to see how you can find affordable functional furniture so that you save space and money.

Control Legal Fees: Every business needs a lawyer but be careful not to spend too much on legal fees. These fees can eat out of your finances if they aren’t carefully managed. Focus on setting clear expectations with your lawyer before meetings, especially when their cost per hour is high. In some cases, you may even find that it’s better to pay on a per project instead of an hourly basis.

Monitor Cash Flow: As above use a fixed monthly fee accountant to keep your cash flow up to date on a monthly basis. 3 in 4 startups who do not monitor cash flow fail whilst 3 in 4 who do monitor their cash flow succeed. Be sure to shop around to find an accountant at the right cost.

DIY Marketing and PR: Aside from the mentioned, you should also make the most of the cost-effectiveness of digital marketing. Instead of hiring a PR firm in the early stages, try doing the pitching yourself to begin with. Doing this could also help build both trust and a good rapport which are tools that will get your business far. Social platforms are also ideal ways to get your brand out there without spending thousands on advertising too.

Consider Mixed Use Development

Mixed-use development is a way to grow your money as an entrepreneur. In case you’ve never heard about it before, in summary, it refers to buildings that have multiple units that are used for different purposes which are usually residential as well as commercial. You may be wondering how exactly this could benefit you as an entrepreneur. How it would work is that you could buy one or more mixed-use buildings and run your business in the commercial area while you live in, lease out or sell the other units. This could serve as a great business opportunity so read more here to find out how you could go about doing it.

Offer New Products and Services

Another straightforward way to make your money grow when running a business is to offer new products and services. Learn from the performance of your current range meaning you should do more of what’s working and improve on what isn’t. If, for instance, your customers seem to love a certain product, take the feedback and see how you can create something even better. Here are a few tips to consider when you want to launch a new product or service.

Ensure it Solves a Problem

Whether you’re launching your second or tenth product or service, you want to be certain that it solves a problem. If you look at some of the most successful ones you know, you’ll notice that they make people’s lives easier in one way or another. Creating a product that sells is about making something that’s simple, interesting, meaningful, entertaining, and long-lasting. The more value that it adds, the more likely it will do well in the market.

Build Buzz

Before launching a new product, it’s so essential that you first take the time out to build buzz. This is key as you want to build excitement and get people to anticipate this product and the value it could add to their lives. By doing this, you’re more likely to get the kind of response you want form customers and prospects.

Devise a Strong Strategy

A product launch strategy will help you map out how to launch your product from start to finish. Start by doing this as it will work as a guiding force to help you execute your plan. When you have an effective strategy in place, you’re less likely to miss out on important elements of a product launch and also more likely to prevent major mistakes. With that being said, there are several templates you can use online to help you flesh out your strategy.

Have a Growth Strategy

Earlier on, it was mentioned that you should have a strategy for launching a product, but you should note that you also need one if you want to grow. When you have a growth strategy in place, you’ve got a better idea of where you’re going as a business and how you’re going to get there. You may decide that you’re going to start with one product for the first year and then diversify your income as a business in the second year of operating, for instance. It’s essential that you think through what direction you want to grow in, so you put measures in place to ensure that you get there.

Every business has to steadily grow if they want to remain in business and expand on to do bigger and better things. However, in order to see the growth you want, you’ve got to commit to learning and trying new strategies.

Internal Communications Within Your Business

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StrategyDriven Business Communications Article |Internal Communications|Internal Communications Within Your BusinessHow your team communicates could be the difference between a project going smoothly, and some serious miscommunication that blows the budget. There isn’t a single communications style that is applicable to all industries.

For example, those who work within an office will be able to communicate via video calls, instant messaging, and emails. For those who work in construction, or in fieldwork a two-way radio can often be a better option. For more information about that communication type, read here for more.

Internal communication for your business can always be improved and modified to make sense for your company and team. Here are some of the ways that you can improve your business comms within the team.

Be the example

All of the management and team leaders should be in a position to show what great communication looks like. Since we aren’t all blessed with natural communication skills, it might be best to have training.

Work with certified communications experts to improve the skills of your leadership team. You can do it with formal training, having assessments, open feedback sessions, and more.

The better of an example that your leadership and management sets, the more likely it is that your other staff will follow suit.

Online

Face to face meetings, although they can be useful, take up a lot of time. 2020 has leaned heavily on online video calls and meetings. Taking communications online saves time and money. Although there is a balance to find within the online world, it is usually faster to communicate this way.

As leadership, it is important that you research and understand what video call fatigue is, and how you can best support your team.

Value

If there is no value for the people attending the meeting, then ask yourself do they need to be there? Requiring attendance at multiple meetings should serve a purpose for all involved. Make meetings impactful, so they always have a reason.

If there is a value for the project updates or they play a vital role it will be of value to them.

Attending meetings for the sake of it takes up time, resources, and costs money.

Open goals

There will be team specific goals and company-wide goals. Making these public will mean that everyone will always be held accountable for themselves, and within their team too. We know that setting goals are the best way to achieve progress, making the goals transparent to your team will encourage them to achieve more

Tools

When your team is working remotely, you need to make sure they have the tools to communicate well. It might include some of the following tools:

  • Slack
  • Zoom/Teams
  • Asana/Monday/Trello
  • Company email account access
  • VPN or otherwise managed security to keep communications secure
  • Hardware like a laptop, mobile phone, and other items to be able to do their job

Internal communication is one of the keys to ensuring that your projects, services, and products meet the high standards you set for your company. The right communication system can save money and increase productivity – but it starts with management.

What is Multimodal Shipping?

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StrategyDriven Tactical Execution Article |Multimodal Shipping|What is Multimodal Shipping?When you ship items from your warehouse, you likely place them on a truck and send them on their way. Not all shipments stay on the ground the whole time, though. An increasing number of transportation providers are implementing multimodal transport to improve the efficiency of their operations and get shipments to their destinations at a lower cost.

In the simplest terms, multimodal transport or multimodal shipping means that a single carrier uses a combination of round, air, sea, or rail transportation to move goods from one location to another. Opting for this type of shipping offers a variety of benefits to both the shipper and their clients alike, and preserves the supply chain in the face of challenges brought on by major businesses like Walmart and Amazon, as well as disruptions like those created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Multimodal vs. Intermodal Transport

Before getting into the benefits of multimodal transport, it’s worth discussing the difference between multimodal and intermodal transport.

Although both types of shipping use at least two forms of transport (for example, land and air), the primary difference is that intermodal shipping uses multiple carriers. In other words, one carrier manages the ground portion of the shipment, and then hands off the shipment to another carrier for the air transport, or vice versa. The shipper pays each carrier separately, and your reports, receipts, and tracking details will come from each carrier individually, and only deal with their portion of the journey.

Intermodal can help speed up shipments, but it can be complex to manage. That’s why many shippers are turning to multimodal shipments instead.

How Multimodal Shipping Benefits Businesses

Opting for multimodal shipping can benefit your business in a number of ways.

Reduced Costs

Although you may receive competitive rates from an intermodal shipping company, opting for multimodal can be a more cost-effective option. Transport providers often provide more competitive rates when you allow them to handle the entire shipment, and offer priority status. Multimodal shipping can also result in tax incentives for shippers. Because these arrangements typically involve making infrastructure investments, companies that opt for multimodal transport enjoy certain incentives that would not otherwise be available. Multimodal transport also reduces carbon offset costs, further reducing expenditures.

Improved Communication

In contrast to intermodal shipping, multimodal shipping only requires communicating with a single operator. The central provider manages all of the communication with the actual transportation providers, ensuring you have a single point of contact in the event there is an issue. For instance, if you receive data from an impact recorder indicating rough handling or excessive vibration, you can work with the multimodal provider to solve the problem.

Faster Delivery Times

There are times when intermodal transport may be the faster option, but multimodal transport is often the faster option. Federal regulations govern how long a single carrier can move freight in one trip under the Electronic Logging Devices (ELD) Mandate. Essentially, this only allows freight to be in motion for a certain amount of time before the operator must rest. It’s mostly applicable to trucking, but it does add time to truck transport.

When a driver can transfer a load to another form of transport, like a train, though, the shipment is able to keep moving despite those limitations. Instead of sitting idle for 24 hours or more while the truck driver rests, the shipment reaches its destination more quickly. Using multiple modes of transportation can also cut shipping time for shipments traveling long distance. For example, shipping partially by air cuts a significant amount of time, even when the last leg is handled by truck or train.

Getting the Most from Multimodal Shipping

Using multimodal shipping can be beneficial to your company, but it does require proper management. That begins with evaluating all of the modes before selecting one for your shipments. Not all shipments are well suited for all modes, and what works for other companies may not be ideal for yours.

It’s also important to connect your transportation management system with the carrier, so you can effectively monitor your shipments at every stage. All of your freight processes should be data-driven and based on real-time, contextual data collected at every step of the shipment process. Armed with this information, you can implement efficient, cost-effective shipping policies and procedures that align with your company’s strategic goals and budget.

A breakdown of different types of consultants

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | A breakdown of different types of consultantsThere are many types of consultants to choose from. A lot of people think that consulting is all strategy-driven, where companies hand a few slips of paper to the CEO and then leave. But this is not actually the case; there are all kinds of companies offering advice right along the value chain. This is why it is vital that you do your research into the kind of consultants you need for your organization and think about the types of problems you are experiencing.

1. Strategy consultants

Strategy consultants are the most obvious type of consultant. They are often slightly more expensive and have access to the CEO suite because they affect executive decisions. They give advice on the fundamentals of a business, such as pricing, product mix, and target market. They make decisions on the basis of profit margins, thinking about sales and costs and how to maximize the former and minimize the latter. They often work longer hours but do shorter projects because they have less need to engage with employees across the company, and a lot of their time will be spent on crunching numbers.

2. Technology consultants

Technology consultants will look at the IT systems which a company has in place and think about whether they are working as well as they could be for both the employees and the customers. In this digital age, technology is extremely important as customers often expect a seamless experience. Businesses often go to firms such as HLB System Solutions for longer-term solutions, including managed IT services. Often consultants in this area can tell companies how to migrate their systems across from legacy infrastructure to cloud computing, which can be more efficient for all concerned.

3. Operations consultants

Operations consultants look at the processes in place across the organization. They think about whether things could be done more efficiently. They may look at sourcing and where products come from, in addition to whether the cost makes sense and whether any element of the supply chain could be changed. They may look at executing projects or suggestions put forward by strategy consultants. They tend to spend a lot longer at organizations than strategy consultants because they need to be there through all the stages of implementation.

4. People consulting

Last, but far from least, in these times, HR is the most important function in a company. This is where people advisory services come in – they can understand what employees need to be more engaged and how to serve them better. They can also understand what competencies are needed for the job at hand and how those employees at the firm can meet those requirements by initially creating a checklist of different competencies, surveying employees on what they know, and then working with firms to fill in those gaps. This may be through training or learning and development – there are so many tools they have at their disposal.

There is bound to be the right kind of consultant out there for you – it’s just a question of what type you need!

How Your Business Can Become Christmas-Proof

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As we draw closer to the festive season, business owners need to be wary of the holiday rush. Just because the world has been in lockdown for so long, doesn’t mean that you can take your foot off the gas. All market indicators are showing that we will, in fact, see the same old surge around the festive season, despite most customers not shopping in-person. Online shopping dictates everything, and for the most part, has done so for the better part of a decade. But, with this comes new and old challenges, as every business needs to be sharp and ready in inventory management, sales, marketing, customer service, and invoices. This is how you can keep your business up and running, without backlogs and hiccups during the holiday rush.

StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article | How Your Business Can Become Christmas-Proof

Conduct a health risk assessment

In a risk assessment, you’re not just calculating the health and safety risks, but also the threats to your business. Customers and staff are equally as important, don’t forget this! As the number of cases rises in the Coronavirus, the threat of spreading occurring in your business rises too. This is why whether you’re still working in the office or working from home, you should take the same precautions or have precautions in place. Here’s what you need to do safety-wise.

  • Determine whether any activities you have to do, could promote transmission? Do you work in the office alongside employees? How can everyone avoid getting the virus? Wear masks, have hand sanitizer bottles on the desks, and keep airflow strong in the office.
  • Your workers in warehouses and or production plants need to take similar precautions. They should also be wearing protective gloves if they can, and making sure that they are aware of tight spaces, gathering and a lack of airflow.
  • Determine how likely you can control a spread if it occurs. Do you have a track and trace system you can use? Can you give employees sick pay, to keep them at home? Can you ask them to work from home if they do strike positive for the virus?

Analyze the competition

Alongside your own desires as a business, you need to study and know your competition. For example, you should be keeping tabs on your rivals, seeing what kind of marketing ploys they have, what kind of sales, discounts and deals they are offering, as well as what kind of products they are going to be selling alongside yours. In the latter, you need to know the pricing, quality and branding efficacy, etc.

Some rivals will be pitching to your consumer base, comparing your prices and your products to their own, openly in ads. You must be wary of this. Many retail companies will literally show a product you sell and compare the price of the same or similar product they sell, in an ad. How do you fight back against this? You must be ready for your rivals to do this beforehand!

Increase your storage capacity

The only thing worse than being caught out by a rival, is catching yourself out. This occurs during the festive season more than any other time of year. Small businesses don’t plan ahead concerning their capacity for inventory management. What if you need to have a large storage capacity because sales are much higher than anticipated? You can carry on the Christmas rush over to New Year’s and beyond if you are wise.

That’s why you should consider building one of these custom industrial sheds. These metal structures can withstand any weather, they provide ample room for lots of stock storage, as well as being very easy and quick to erect. Such an industrial shed can be the perfect way to expand your business and reach. If you have export needs as well as domestic sales, but you need more storage space, this is the kind of affordable option entrepreneurs and small business owners should try.

Segment your base

Every single company in the world has a consumer base. These are people that love your brand, they keep coming back, they buy products you make and they will hold your brand in very high regard among your competitors. But you must know who they are, what kinds of individual groups there are and how to market to them.

Your base will have the following types of groups.

  • Veterans. These are consumers who have been with you for years and always check to see if you sell something they want, every other week or month.
  • Loyal consumers. These are people who will put you in their top 5 companies to buy from when they are looking for products in the categories you sell.
  • The new and enthused. The types of customers that have just found out about and are wondering what on earth took them so long. They will be excited to see what you have to offer as opposed to the companies they have always bought from.

Get ready for rules changes

We live in a Covid-19 world now, and the government can change the rules at any moment. Rather than wait for this to happen, you should have plans in place that give you leeway no matter what kind of changes occur.

This again, requires a risk assessment, because you need to know what your options are. Evaluate the following.

  • Tunnel sales. If your country goes into lockdown, can you still make export sales? Can you still make sales to other business clients?
  • Plan your most drastic sales and discount offers. If worst comes to worst and the market begins to freeze up again, consider what kind of sales you can offer to break even at the least and make a little profit at the most.
  • Work with governments. Engage with the representatives and respond to calls and emails. Accept invitations for consultancies and express your concerns to the elected officials.

The festive season is always a rush and hectic time for consumers as well as businesses. While you still have time, make as many positive changes as you can. With these measures, you should be able to proudly call your business Christmas-proof.