3 Knowledge Gaps That Small Business Owners Need To Fill

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Business Owner|3 Knowledge Gaps That Small Business Owners Need To FillThere are a lot of misconceptions about running a business, and the biggest one is that some people are born to be business owners and some aren’t. But the idea that you either have it or you don’t isn’t really true. There are certain qualities that a good business owner needs and some people do have those natural talents. But if you are going to be a successful business owner, there are a lot of skills that you have to learn as well. A lot of new business owners don’t realize this and they think that they are guaranteed to succeed because they are a born business leader. Unfortunately, that means that a lot of new business owners have some serious knowledge gaps, and they run into problems. If you are about to embark on your business journey, it’s important that you fill these skills gaps.

Finances

The most important thing in any business is the finances. If you are an accountant that has experience working for a business, you should be fine. Otherwise, you won’t have a clue what you’re doing when it comes to business finances. Poor money management could sink your business, so it’s vital that you learn about business finances and where to turn for help when you need it. This small business bookkeeping guide will give you more information on how to manage your money and find the right bookkeeping service to help you stay on top of your finances. If you start a business without a good working knowledge of how to handle your money, your chances of success are slim.

The Law

There are a lot of exciting things about starting your own business, like watching your simple idea progress through the development stages until it finally becomes a working product. But it’s not all fun and games and there are some boring bits to deal with as well. One thing that people struggle with the most is the legal aspect. Business laws can get very confusing, and if you make mistakes, it could land you in a lot of trouble. These legal tips can help you out, but it’s important that you spend some time learning about business law and you hire a lawyer when you are out of your depth.

Process Management

Process management really catches people out because it’s not something that you will have to deal with when you first start the business. With a small team of 2 or 3 people and a relatively low number of sales, it’s easy to manage the workflow. But when your sales and marketing team start to grow and your sales volume increases, things get a lot tougher. Productivity will take a big hit if you don’t put processes in place to manage things, but a lot of new business owners don’t know how to run a business on that scale. You can use automation software to help a lot here, but you need to spend some time learning how larger businesses use process management to handle a large workload efficiently.

If you can’t fill these knowledge gaps before you start your new business, you will soon be out of your depth.

Have You Found The Right Idea For Your Business?

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Business Idea|Have You Found The Right Idea For Your Business?Finding the right idea for a business is still a hard thing to do for a lot of entrepreneurs out there. You have to do your research. You have to reach out and talk to people. And when you’ve done all of the necessary leg work, there’s no saying your work stops there.

And coming up with the perfect idea – viable enough to put down on a business plan for an investor to look over, and clear enough to follow through when you’ve established yourself – doesn’t just happen overnight. There’s some things you’ve got to do first, before anything else.

So, without further ado, here are those exact things. If you’re sitting there with a business concept in mind, make sure you get these out of the way before you try anything else.

Target the Market

The market you want to sell to needs to be the first thing you come up with and get your eye on. If you’ve got a product idea, it’ll mean nothing until you find out whether or not people will want to buy it – and no, there’s not a gap for every single half baked idea an entrepreneur has ever come up with!

You’ll need to look into the people who might want to buy what you’re selling; their age, their schedules, their price ranges, and even their generational shopping habits. A lot of previous research has gone into these, so you won’t have to start from scratch either.

Mingle with the Professionals

You’ll want to get a bit of one on one time with the people who know what they’re talking about. Before you fully set out in your business venture, talking to the people who have been and gone before you is a great way to get to know the scene, and just how long it might take for you to reach the same level of success.

For example, if you’re planning to start an online only business, you’re going to be relying solely on the income driven through your website. That means you’ll want to talk to an ecommerce business consultant; someone who knows what it’s like to sell online, and how fast rates, prices, and demand can change.

Are You OK on Your Own?

You might be of the mind to run your business entirely on your own; it’s a micro venture, or it might just be a small home run operation. But when you think about it, no business is set up entirely on its own – no one is really a self made person.

A lot of us have to rely on the experience and labor of other people, especially in the early stages of a small business. And if you’ve already got quite a tight schedule, some serious rearranging might need to be done.

Finding the right idea for your business takes time, so don’t try to rush this stage of the process. A lot of work lies ahead, and it’ll require full attention.

Tips for Strengthening Your Wi-Fi Signal

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | Tips for Strengthening Your Wi-Fi SignalWhether you need it for streaming TV shows or getting work done, your Wi-Fi is a necessity in your home. However, you may not be getting the most out of your wireless internet router. Slow speeds and poor performance may cause you to wonder what you can do differently to improve your Wi-Fi. To increase the speed and signal range of your home Wi-Fi, follow these guidelines.

Adjust the Antennas

This simple step can make a big difference in the strength of your Wi-Fi signal. While not all internet routers have antennas, the ones that do can be adjusted to improve the overall signal range and strength of your Wi-Fi. To do this, simply angle one antenna so that it is completely vertical while angling the other antenna until it’s completely horizontal. This strategy allows your Wi-Fi signal to travel efficiently through the walls and ceilings of your home, resulting in a faster and stronger internet connection.

Move the Router

In some cases, the problem is simply that your wireless router isn’t placed in the optimal spot in your home. The placement of your router has a direct impact on the effectiveness of your Wi-Fi signal, so be sure to carefully consider where you’re placing the router in your home. The best spot for your router is often in an elevated area that is free of any obstructions. Routers that are located in lower, crowded areas may have trouble sending a strong signal throughout your entire living space.

Update Your Router

If you seem to be experiencing persistent problems with your router, it may be due to having an older device. In this situation, it’s best to look into new wireless network services that can do their job more efficiently. Many routers even come with special security features and improved compatibility to allow for a more convenient internet experience. No matter what kinds of issues you’re experiencing with your current router, purchasing a new one can help to solve many of them.

Add a Wireless Range Extender

If all other strategies fail, your home may be too large for your router to transmit a signal throughout the entire area. Luckily, you can solve this problem by incorporating a wireless range extender into your home. This device simply detects the signal from your router and retransmits it across your living space, which allows the signal to become stronger and faster.

Slow Wi-Fi is frustrating. However, these tips can help you boost the signal in your home easily and effectively.

Four Things Your Company Needs To Stay Alive

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article|Startups|Four Things Your Company Needs To Stay AliveThere is so much more to business today than just money, charm and good looks, which means that there is more for you to do to stay successful. There are new startup that are emerging into the business world every minute, and staying up to date with them is not always easy. Only 50% of those new startups are going to survive, which means you need to make sure that you’re in that 50%.

There is a lot of pressure for you to stay relevant, and you need to communicate to others how valuable you are as a business. If you don’t know your value, you’re not going to be able to do better for others, and you’re not going to be able to keep your business thriving and alive for others. So, let’s take a look at four things that your business needs to stay alive.

A Purpose. More than anything, you need to know what you’re doing it all for. Your business should be a solid one, and it can be if you are careful about how you treat people. You need to be able to offer something to society, whether that’s a business that has a good handle on its technology (read more about this here) or a good handle on its finances. What do you have to offer? Ask yourself this again and again. If you can’t come up with an answer, you’re in trouble.

Exploration. You want to make a difference to the world and the only way that you’re going to be able to do that is to keep educating yourself, keep learning and keep exploring what you can offer other people. You want to be able to connect to others and learn from them all in one go, and you can do that when you are open to diversification. Diversifying is going to keep you alive!

Sociability. Are you online? No? It’s a problem. You need to be on social media in the same way you need to save money – your business depends on it. You need to be out there and sharing your ideas with your customers, and you need to get as much engagement going as possible. Without it? Well, you’re going to fail. We don’t mean to sound doom and gloom, honestly. It’s just that your business depends on you – so don’t let the side down.

Feedback. If you are asking your audience what they need from you, then they’re going to give you the feedback that you need to stay current. Always check online forums and review sites to know that you are doing enough for your customers – without them, you wouldn’t have a business at all. Feedback and reviews are what keep your business alive and kicking, and you shouldn’t discount even the negative ones. There is always something to learn, and customers need to feel heard by you. This is the way to do that!

Skills To Look For In A Commissioning Agent

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Commissioning Agent|Skills To Look For In A Commissioning AgentWhen you are undertaking a new building project at your business, you need to decide which building commissioning agent you should work with. In a lot of different ways, the project is going to rest on the shoulders of the commissioning agent. Therefore, securing the services of a premium quality commissioning agent is very important. So, with that being said, read on to discover some of the important skills you should be looking for in a commissioning agent.

Organized – The first thing you need to do is make sure that the commissioning agent is organized. This individual needs to be on top of every element of the project, so that any small mistakes or issues are limited and do not turn into bigger issues. Excellent communication and organization between all of the people involved in order to ensure that the project is delivered efficiently and effectively.

Clear and reliable communication – As touched upon in the former paragraph, communication is also going to be critical, and so this is something you need to look at. A new building commissioning project tends to be an arduous and long process. This is rarely finished without a few unexpected and small bumps in the road, as all business owners. There is also data to collect, tests to perform, materials to secure, contractors to manage, and design work to be done. All of these requires clear communication.

Attention to detail – Aside from this, you need to make sure that the commissioning agent has exceptional attention to detail. Small details that go overlooked can result in big-scale budget overruns at the end thanks to expensive and costly adjustments that need to be fixed. Ask questions to the commissioning agent about how they handle different situations that are probable to arise in order to get a better understanding on this.

Reputation and certification – Last but not least, aside from the skills that have been discussed so far, you need to make sure that the commissioning agent has a great reputation in the industry. You can read the reviews that have been left by others. This is always a great place to start. It is also advisable to see if the agent is certified. You can click here to find out more about the different options available in this regard when it comes to commissioning.

As you can see, there is a lot that needs to be considered when you are looking for a commissioning agent. If you think about the different factors that have been discussed above, you can give yourself the best chance of finding the right commissioning agent for the project you are working on.