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10 Tips for Managing Small Business Finance

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Finances Article |Small Business Finances|10 Tips for Managing Small Business FinanceManaging your small business finance is crucial to maintaining stability and growing your business over the long run. From setting a budget to regularly monitoring your books, you should be proactive when it comes to managing your finances. Here is everything you need to know about managing your small business’ finance.

If you want to ensure long term growth for your company, then managing your small business’ finances is a top prerogative. From paying your employees to purchasing supplies, cash flow management is crucial to business success. Small business owners often make mistakes that, such as not separating personal and business accounts, or not paying taxes in time. Some small business owners avoid taking loans, out of fear that they’ll only be an additional financial burden.

Many of these ideas affect sustainability as well as scalability for your business. Here are ten financial management tips that will help you grow your small business:

1. Keep Your Business and Personal Account Separate

As a small business owner, starting a business bank account should be your priority. There are several benefits you gain from a business account, such as incentives, interest rates etc. that are not made available to personal bank accounts. You also ensure that financial matters related to your business is conducted through your business account only – this includes business taxes, overhead costs and paying employees.

2. Pay Yourself

Small business owners also make the mistake of not paying themselves, thinking that the extra capital can help the business. However, despite being a business owner, you also need to take care of your own expenses. Remember that you are also an employee of your business, and that means that you should be paid accordingly.

3. Loans Can Help You

Don’t be afraid of business loans. Loans can help you scale your business. Not every business owner has the capital to purchase expensive equipment, or purchase surplus supplies during a time of high demand. A business loan can help you grow your business. When done right, the return on investment is more than enough to compensate your loan as well as the interest on that loan.

4. Maintain Good Credit

This means that you need to pay your credit card bills on time, pay off any loans by the time they are due, and file your taxes on time. Good credit can help you down the line when you need to get approval for business expansions. Say you want to purchase more property, or take out a business loan. In these situations, good credit can help you get what you need to grow your business.

5. Invest in Business Growth

Your small business might benefit from better equipment, more employees, or an additional store at a good location. Investing in such opportunities helps your business to grow. At the same time, partners, lenders and even employees are more likely to see you in a positive light. This is as they see that you understand the potential of your small business, and are willing to invest in its growth.

6. Create a Budget

A budget is the easiest way to ensure that you don’t spend more than you can afford to. Every business has three costs – one time costs, recurring costs and variable costs. One time costs include equipment purchases, property purchases etc. Recurring expenses are bills, taxes, payroll, overhead costs etc. Variable expenses can come out of anywhere – such as business travel costs. Keeping these in your budget prepares you against any business disruptions.

7. Monitor Your Books

Even if you have a bookkeeper, you should also be aware of your income and expenditure. Look at your books every month so that you’re aware of your business’ cash flow.

8. Negotiate With Vendors

If your small business purchases supplies from vendors, then don’t sign any contracts immediately. Negotiate with them and see if you can bring the cost down. Ask them about grace periods and penalties in case you’re late on payments. Ensure you’ve met multiple vendors so that you know you’re getting the best deal.

9. Inspire On-time Payments for Clients

Some clients and customers don’t pay on time. If this happens to your small business, then you could find that your cash flow is being affected. Introducing incentives in the form of discounts can help you mitigate these issues. Tell customers tat if they pay on-time, they can get a 5% discount, or else they have to pay the full amount. Introduce penalties for payments that are overdue past a grace period.

10. Think Ahead

Sustainable business growth depends on a long term strategy. You need to think ahead, invest in the future and continuously grow your business in order to succeed over the long run.

It is also important for your small business to have the best business insurance. To know more, click here.

Sources:

  1. D’Angelo, MAD, Updated January 7th 2021, ‘10 Tips for Managing Small Business Finances’, viewed 11th February 2021, https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/5954-smb-finance-management-tips.html
  2. Gregory, AG, Updated October 21st 2019, ‘5 Everyday Money Management Tips for Small Business Owners’, viewed November 11th 2021, https://www.thebalancesmb.com/money-management-small-business-owners-2951600
  3. Ignjatovic, AI, February 15th 2019, ‘The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Small Business Finance’ viewed 11th February 2021, https://www.shopify.in/blog/small-business-finance
  4. Square Contributor, September 25th 2020,’How to Manage Your Business Finances’, viewed 11th February 2021, https://www.forbes.com/sites/square/2020/09/25/how-to-manage-your-business-finances/?sh=452d16b237fc

3 Design Tips for a More Productive Office Space

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StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |Office Space|3 Design Tips for a More Productive Office SpaceWhen you are the owner of a small business, one of your top priorities is to help your employees be as productive as possible. There are many ways in which this can be accomplished. You might need to adjust your management style to help your workers be more productive throughout the day, or you might need to invest in new equipment and software geared towards increasing productivity.

You can help your employees be more productive that might not have occurred to you is to re-design your office space a bit. The layout, look, and overall feel of an office all play heavily into how productive a person can be when they are at work. An outdated and dingy office space will not be encouraging or functional enough to allow your employees to be as productive as possible.

If you are looking to improve your workers’ productivity and would like to start with the design of your offices, here are a few tips that can go a long way to helping you reach your goals.

1. Make Things Brighter

The first thing you will want to evaluate when you are re-designing your offices for maximum productivity is the amount of light in the space. If you are still working with outdated and depressing fluorescent lighting, then it is probably time for an upgrade.

The best thing that you can do is bring in as much natural light as possible. You will be surprised at the uptick in your employees’ mood when they can experience more natural light throughout the day. More energy, improved attitudes, and more can all be brought about with natural light.

Where traditional windows on walls are not an option, skylights are worth considering. By installing flat roof lights, you can reap all the benefits of natural light.

2. Incorporate Color

If your offices have maintained the same dull shade of white that they always have, it is time to incorporate some color. There are some colors that are proven to improve productivity levels when incorporated in the right way.

Colors that are more on the natural side of things like blues and greens can help you and your workers to feel more focused while on the job. Warmer hues are linked to increased creativity and intensity in the workplace.

3. Bring in a Bit of Nature

One rather simple thing that you can do to create an office design that is geared towards productivity is bringing in some plants. Not only can plants brighten up a space instantly, but there are several that can contribute to an overall improvement in the air quality of your offices, which is known to boost both mood and productivity in general.

Furthermore, when you use the right plants correctly, they can even help reduce noise throughout the office by acting as a natural sound barrier. Any clients or customers that enter your offices will also feel more comfortable in such a space.

Signs Your Business Could Benefit From a Mobile App

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article |Mobile App|Signs Your Business Could Benefit From a Mobile AppWhether you’re aiming to capture new customers or delight the existing ones, creating a mobile app is a fantastic opportunity to improve and market your business.

With the rapid adoption of smartphones comes a great deal of opportunities.

To enhance your business and create more effective communication with target customers, you need to determine whether your customers would embrace the app.

What kind of app do you need? Who is your target market, and who are your competitors?

Here are a few ways you can do that and create more business opportunities!

Check your mobile traffic visitors

The first and the most important clue that your business could benefit from a mobile app is checking your website traffic. If you determine that a large share of your overall traffic comes from mobile users, there is your sign!

Use online tools such as Google Analytics to count the number of visits and check the mobile traffic ratio.

These kinds of tools also allow you to detect priority markets by looking at the countries that your traffic comes from. This will additionally help you to examine your website traffic and develop your app according to the demand.

According to Statista, mobile traffic accounts for about half of the website traffic worldwide, with almost 51% of global website traffic, and this has been consistent since 2017.

When you examine your website traffic, you will be able to determine whether a mobile app is the right solution for your business.

Then you can follow up by taking the necessary steps, such as using a responsive design and optimizing the user experience.
Do your customers need to use your service offline?

Depending on the type of your business, it is up to you to determine whether your customers could benefit from using some features of your website offline.

What is it that the offline access to your app would provide for them? Is it your content or maybe the tools you offer in the app? Or are they more attracted by constant availability and the speed of search?

Firstly, your customer won’t be frustrated with poor connectivity issues anymore.

These kinds of apps are especially popular with businesses like games and mobile entertainment, news, and guides, training and education, online shopping, and traveling.

Some of the basic examples of successful offline apps are Spotify, Kindle, TripAdvisor, and Google Maps. Although the app requires a connection to download and install updates, you can continue to use all its content offline, unlike with a classic business website.

By granting offline access to your services through an app, you are gaining more customer loyalty and providing them with a faster loading process. It also saves their battery and simplifies work with storage.

Try to look at things from your customer’s perspective. Would you as a customer prefer offline access to your app?
This allows you to determine whether this option would make sense for your type of business.

Who are your competitors?

The next question for you to consider is: are your competitors using mobile apps?

If so, then chances are that there is a demand for an app in your industry. The competitors have already tested the waters for you, so you can use that to your advantage.

When you conduct detailed research on your competitors and study their efforts and strategies, you will easily get an idea of whether your business will benefit from introducing a mobile app.

The app market is huge and you can surely find a dozen competitors with a mobile app. Learn from them, improve their approach and examine their marketing plan.

Use your competitors to your advantage. Check whether they are using the offline approach and better working conditions. Notice if they are focused on a top-notch UX/UI design. Do proper competitive analysis and make sure to check reviews from current and previous users.

This will allow you to find the best fit for your business.

Examine your demographics

You need to adjust your marketing efforts and observe how user behavior varies depending on different factors.

Did you know that 49% of people open an app more than 11 times per day? And even more so, that 21% of Millenials open an app more than 50 times per day?

As mentioned before, it is not just a way to gain more customers, but to keep the old ones as well, especially if they spend a lot of time on their phones!

A mobile app has many advantages over a website and offers many new possibilities to personalize marketing and improve customer experience.

Going back to your competitors, you should determine the regions where their site traffic comes from. Define your typical app user. Define his age, gender, language, education, and familial status.

All of this information will help you create your target group, which is of crucial importance for creating your app.
Your target group needs to share similar demographics and interests. You start by defining them and go further into planning. You adjust your features and design according to their preferences.

Find out their occupation. You will know their purchasing power, whether they have time for your app, and whether they’ll need it for professional purposes.

Conclusion

To determine whether to introduce a mobile app for your business, it is important that you follow these steps and cover all aspects.

Bear in mind- all information you can gather is valuable.

When you examine your mobile traffic, competitors, and demographics, you will get a clear idea for the next step in your business. Mobile apps are on the rise, and this could largely affect your business’s future.

So do your research, adjust your app features and bring your business to a whole new level!

About the Author

Joe Peters is a Baltimore-based freelance writer and an ultimate techie. When he is not working his magic as a marketing consultant, this incurable tech junkie devours the news on the latest gadgets and binge-watches his favorite TV shows. Follow him on @bmorepeters

What Can Be Done To Attract More Clients To Your Business?

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StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article |Attract Clients|What Can Be Done To Attract More Clients To Your Business?The war for customers is fiercer than ever, especially after the challenges that all companies have faced in recent months. Therefore, finding ways to attract more clients should be a major feature of your business plan for the rest of 2021.

So, what steps can be taken to ensure that your brand reaches the right people and makes a bigger impact when it does? Here’s all you need to know.

Know Your Niche

It’s very easy to fall into the trap of trying to reach everyone. Ultimately, though, your company will only ever appeal to certain audiences. So, while you want to reach the largest client base possible, you must also respect your place. Working with a digital marketing agency allows you to identify your niche and build a brand that targets this client base. From web design to color schemes, resonating with the customers is key.

When there is a sense of connection, you won’t just see increased awareness. Crucially, it’ll bring more conversions, which means increased revenue.

StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article |Attract Clients|What Can Be Done To Attract More Clients To Your Business?Try New Selling Environments

You can only sell products to consumers who know of your existence. Therefore, allowing potential leads to find your brand and products in new spaces can transform your future for the better. A good example is to try out a pop-up store in a different town. Alternatively, your online ventures may focus on opening a Depop, Amazon, or eBay store. Some clients will only trust those outlets rather than your business directly.

In turn, they may come directly to your brand once you’ve established a sense of trust. Still, if you need to get noticed, those external places are ideal.

Get Outside Support

The value of a digital marketing agency has already been discussed. However, professional support doesn’t have to end there. You can look to use social media influencers, who will direct their fans to your business. When they have a similar demographic to yours, this vote

of confidence from an impartial source can impact their decisions. After all, they want to emulate their favorite social media stars.

Client reviews and affiliate schemes are also very effective tools. It’s one thing to hear positive thoughts from your brand, but outside support carries far greater weight.

Be A Better Company

It’s important to remember that your business will be judged for far more than its products. Consumers want to buy goods from the brands that they actively like. As such, making a commitment to be more responsible may be one of the smartest steps of all. This will increase your appeal to audiences that want to lead eco-friendly lives. Besides, the moves will often yield significant financial savings.

As well as encouraging better responses from potential leads, it should improve employee mindsets. And if you gain positive PR on the back of it, you can stretch your reach in style.

Good branding and marketing won’t deliver success without mastering other aspects of the business. Nonetheless, they will give you a far stronger platform to build upon. Embrace it.

A Guide for First-Time Entrepreneurs: How to Strengthen Your Startup’s Foundations

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |First-time Entrepreneurs |A Guide for First-Time Entrepreneurs: How to Strengthen Your Startup's FoundationsThe actions that you take during the initial stages of your startup’s inception will make or break its chances of success going forward. If you want to ensure your maiden business venture’s long-term success, you must go above and beyond to strengthen its foundations.

Here are three things you must do to provide your first company with the best possible start to life:

Make great recruits

Your talent, hard work, and vision will only get you so far in your maiden business voyage. If you are to succeed in your first entrepreneurial endeavor truly, you need to surround yourself with a dedicated support network. Above all else, this means that you must go above and beyond to optimize your hiring process. Once you start making great recruits, you will begin to build a team capable of taking your startup from strength to strength.

As an inexperienced recruiter, you must empower yourself with an expert recruiting enablement platform. With Oleeo’s Recruiting Enablement solution at your disposal, you will be provided with the support you need to pinpoint and expedite the top candidates in your target talent pool. This will save you a lot of time and effort in your attempt to unearth potential employees, which in turn means that you will be able to dedicate more of yourself to the interviewing process.

Become a great leader

No matter how many employees you hire during the initial stages of your startup’s inception, you need to showcase that you are a great leader right from the off. This will aid you in your bid to maximize the day to day efficiency of your workforce, which in turn will have a profound impact on your startup’s capacity to turn over a profit.

To become a better business leader, you must:

  1. Don’t just work over your team — work alongside them as well
  2. Remain humble and grateful at all conceivable points
  3. Understand that nobody is perfect
  4. Commit yourself to continuous learning and professional development
  5. Attain regular feedback on your leadership performance

Build a robust business plan

Building a robust business plan is one of the most important tasks you face as a startup company owner. As well as providing you with some much-needed direction, this strategy will also help to make your organization more appealing in the eyes of investors.

To build an effective business plan that actively grows with your company going forward, you must:

  1. Determine the exact purpose of your plan (guidance, investment, etc.)
  2. Create a company profile
  3. Document the financial aspects of your business (including your prospective fiscal aspirations)
  4. Research your target market and study your competitors
  5. Draw up an executive summary

If you want your startup business to grow from strength to strength over the coming decade, you must fortify its foundations. Performing this crucial task will provide you with the robust platform that you need to scale your market in the future.