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Make a Small Business Feel Much Bigger

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So you own a small business. And when you say “small business”, you mean small. Real small. Small enough to be intimidated by the much larger business sharks out there. Maybe you’re just a small group of people working from home on the same project. Maybe you’re even one or two people running the entire thing from a bedroom! However small your small business is, there are things you can do to increase your stature.

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Just because you’re not a massive company with vast riches, it doesn’t mean you can’t sit at the same table. You can get many of the same opportunities if you play your cards right. The best thing to do, if you’re a little anxious about the size of your company, is to make it look bigger. It’s true that some prospective clients or partners will be reluctant to work with really small businesses. So here are some tips that will help your company seem much bigger than it is.

Build an amazing website

A surefire way of detecting a really small business is by looking at their website. If the design is basic, haphazard or messy, then it can be a dead giveaway. The fact is that your website is how many people are going to be introduced to your business. It can’t look like something a newbie to Geocities or Freewebs might have come with.

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Look at the websites that bigger companies are using. They’re sleek, modern, easy-to-use, innovative. You want to spend time on them just because they’re a pleasure to visit. Consider working with a web design agency to ensure a professional look.

Get a prestigious address

A company that works in the heart of big business city is going to look more attractive to potential customers. If your office address is in the middle of some suburb on the outskirts of town, then people will know you’re pretty small fry. That, of course, shouldn’t reflect on the quality of your service. But people may make their judgements nonetheless. This is why you should consider working with commercial movers such as myBekins. If you can get your business into the big commercial cities of your country, then you’re going to have a lot more prestige to work with!

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If you don’t have the resources for a direct move, you can use a virtual address. This is an address in a desired business location that you can use as your official address.

Become incorporated

Incorporation is the process of officially forming a company with the government. Of course, you will have had to have declared yourself as a company to your national revenue service in order to get taxed correctly. This isn’t all there is to do, though.

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If you get your company registered officially as a limited company, this can make all the difference. You will officially be a company, with the ‘LTD’ tag and everything! This can help your business look a lot stronger on your website and other relevant copy. This can affect the amount of tax you’re paying, though. It will usually affect it for the better, but you might want to consult an accountant before taking this step.

Golden Rules for Maintaining a Healthy Cash Flow

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Photo courtesy of Nicholas Youngson of NYPhotographic (Title CC BY-SA 3.0 NY)

You have, no doubt, heard the saying ‘cash is king,’ and it may be cliché, but it is definitely the truth. No business can survive without any cash. It is the fuel that keeps the engine running. This is why all companies, especially SMEs, need to have a strategy in place for maintaining a healthy cash flow and dealing with any potential related problems that may arise.

Have a clear process in place…

Businesses run efficiently when they have clear procedures in place, and this is definitely the case when it comes to maintaining a healthy cash flow. You need to have a straightforward procedure for dealing with invoices and collecting payments. Don’t forget to practice what you preach; you need to send out invoices promptly if you are to be paid on time. How can you demand efficiency if you are not operating efficiently yourself? There are plenty of great tools available today to assist with sending invoices out and tracking them. By automating this part of your business, you can ensure everything runs more smoothly and quickly.

Don’t accept defeat…

One of the worst things you can do is simply assume that there is nothing you can do about late payments. Many business owners assume that it is out of their hands. After all, they cannot literally force the client to pay on time. You need to get rid of this defeatist attitude. No matter what frustrating business problem you are faced with, there is always a solution. Of course, you can improve your internal practices, but if this does not solve anything, there are other options. Working with a cash flow finance company is highly recommended. If you get an indication that a client is not going to pay on time, a finance firm will pay on their behalf. The client will then pay the lender instead.

Do your research beforehand…

It pays to do a bit of research about the customer beforehand. This is especially the case for any substantial orders. Begin by acquiring their credit report. This will give you a good indication as to whether the potential client is someone to trust. If they do not make payments on time, they will have a bad score, and this should be an immediate red flag. You should also find out about the payment practices of the customer. For example, do they pay on an ad-hoc basis? Do they only pay on a certain day per month? By knowing a customer’s payment habits, you can plan more efficiently. The more you know, the stronger your position.

Set an upper limit per customer…

Finally, make sure you set a bespoke upper credit limit for each of your customers. You can use the credit check you obtained to assist you with this. Also, obtain references from other businesses that have traded with them. You need to determine the risk you are exposing your firm to when arranging any type of credit agreement. Once you have set the limit, do not budge.

Leading Your Team One Step At A Time

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If you want to get far in business, one of the primary factors that you can’t afford to ignore is ensuring that your management team are as professional as possible. They are among your most important staff members, and it is vital that you hire people you think will succeed in leading your team in however they need to be led. Of course, there are always certain characteristics which you will need to look out for if you want your team to be led well, and it is worth looking into what those are. Let’s have a look at some of the more important qualities now, so that you can help to lead your teams as well as possible.

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Confidence To Lead

People will generally have a much easier time following someone if they appear to have the confidence to lead. This is something that you can’t really overlook when you are thinking of who should lead your teams. You probably don’t want to put in charge someone who is unable to display confidence in front of groups of people. However, it is also true that sometimes less confident people have better ideas. It seems fair to try and draw a balance, and not to immediately dismiss those who might not be strongly confident in comparison to others. Confidence, after all, is something which can be learned, and it is good to give people the chance to prove themselves. Sometimes, you find real gems this way, and it favors your business massively in the long run.

Cool Head In Emergencies

Being prepared for the worst is a good idea in business generally and in leaders in particular. No matter what happens, you need to be able to know that your management team will be able to properly deal with it. It is therefore a good idea to choose managers who appear to have a cool head, and who would continue to do so in an emergency situation. There are all kinds of emergencies which can crop up in business, and preparing for as many of them as possible always puts you in a good stead. You’ll find that your managers are more adept at remaining calm particularly if you have a number of good emergency procedures in place – get business insurance online, have a risk assessment done, coincide with all safety laws. This all helps, and your management will probably appreciate it.

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Easygoing Communication

The ability to communicate well with others is always going to be paramount for your management staff. When you can communicate strongly, it means that you are more likely to get things done properly and on time, and it also means that relationships in the working culture can be developed much more easily and fluently. Make sure your managers are all the kind of people that other can talk to easily – this really does make a world of difference when it comes to getting things done on a daily basis, and creating a positive working culture.

Spend Vs Splurge: Can You Afford Not To Invest In These Areas Of Your Business?

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In business, a company owner will often take steps to try and reduce spending, but there are certain areas where cutbacks should be discouraged. Often, it is possible to reduce overheads, but lowering spending could put you at risk. Before you make any budgeting decisions, consider whether you can afford not to invest in these key areas.

Legal advice

Even if you run a very small business, it’s beneficial to have legal experts in your corner. You never know when you may need to make that call and take advantage of expert advice. Running a business isn’t always as simple as sealing deals and selling wares. There are many legal aspects that you have to take into account as a company owner. If you employ people, the last thing you want is a personal injury case brought against you because your office doesn’t comply with health and safety regulations. If you’re launching a new product, you don’t want a rival firm to rip off your idea or customers contacting you complaining about the quality of the item. If issues arise, and you need to investigate insurance fraud, take action against a competitor or find out more about compensating a customer, it’s helpful to have people in the know at the end of the phone. It is sometimes possible to handle your own legal affairs, but cases can be very complex, and if you hire a professional, you’re much more likely to achieve a positive outcome.

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Accounting

There are few things that are more important than getting to grips with the numbers when it comes to managing a company. If you own a business, you may not have the time or the expertise to manage the books, and if this is the case, it pays to join forces with an accounting firm. If you have no idea what’s going on in your accounts, you may encounter cash flow issues, and your balances may be much lower than anticipated, which could result in missed payments or failure to hit growth targets.

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Training

If you manage a team of people, investing in training can help you upskill your employees, promote health and safety and increase productivity. In the short-term, you’ll be parting with cash, but in the long-term, you’ll be adding value. Training enables your employees to develop new skills, which could prevent you from needing to hire additional workers and enable you to diversify the services you offer. Think carefully about the programs you choose for your team, and have a look around at the opportunities that are on offer. Ask your employees what kinds of courses they’d be interested in undertaking, and read some reviews to find the best training providers.

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When you run a business, balancing the books is key. While there are some areas where you can save money, it’s wise to invest in legal advice, accounting services, and training. This will enable you to act swiftly if legal issues arise, keep an eye on your books, and upskill your workforce.

Ring Fence: 5 Ways To Prevent Theft On A Construction Site

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Photo courtesy of Matti Mattila via Wikimedia

Construction is booming at the moment as more people realize that manual labor is a suitable career. Of course, you have known that for a long time but are only now reaping the benefits. However, it isn’t all picnics and bouquets of flowers. When you run a site, you have to put up theft. Whether it’s your employees or burglars, it happens on a daily basis, and it costs the firm a lot of money. So, it needs to stop, and it needs to stop as soon as possible.

For those of you that won’t put up with it any longer, you have come to the right place. Below are five tips that will help you prevent of types of theft in the workplace.

1: Install Cameras

The obvious thing to do is to invest in construction cameras and create a high-tech security system. Now, if you think that cameras are reactive, that isn’t the case. Yes, they great tools for looking at incidents and figuring out what went wrong. But, they are also useful in the moment. For one thing, the majority of thieves don’t bother targeting a site which has CCTV. Because they are opportunists, there is too much risk even if the rewards are high. Plus, advanced systems allow you to monitor any incidents and take control in real time. A real time alert, for example, warns you of any suspicious behavior so that you can call the police or inform your people on site.

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2: Light It Up

Let’s stay on the topic of prevention for a moment. Cameras prevent theft because they add an element of risk, and lights do the same thing. Powerful lights take away a thief’s most treasured tool: darkness. Burglars use it all of the time to creep around in the shadows unnoticed, which gives them more time and a better chance of success. With spotlights, there aren’t many places a person can hide in the grounds. As long as the lights are bright enough, it should illuminate the entire site. And, if they sweep the area randomly, it only makes everything safer. If there is an incident, the light also helps identify the culprits the next day on CCTV.

3: Lock It Up

Construction sites are prime targets because they house lots of valuable materials. It isn’t uncommon to work with everything from copper to steel, and these have a high resale value. So, a common criminal won’t think twice about shifting as many raw materials as possible. Obviously, you need to make this as hard as possible, which is why lockers are essential. All you have to do is place anything of value in the lockers and keep it there until the morning. As long as the lock is strong enough, it should deter any person with light fingers. A safe is also a good idea if you can find one that is affordable. Regarding machines, there aren’t many ways to keep them under lock and key. Instead, stack materials around them to block off the path. Also, fit an immobilizer that cuts the ignition.

Don’t forget to lock up your personal items, such as your jobsite radio. To learn more about these radios, read this review of the The 10 Best Jobsite Radios.

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4: Background Checks

The biggest assumption bosses make is that they can trust their workers. That isn’t always true because employees are opportunists, too, especially if they think it’s a sure thing. As a result, the credentials of the people on your site must come into question. No one is saying that you need to grill them like a suspect under questioning, but you should look into their past. By talking to previous employers, it is possible to learn more about their personality and analyze whether they are a perfect fit. Also, a criminal background check should alert you to any major incidents in the past. No one likes to tar a person with a brush, yet you have to be careful. After all, it is your livelihood.

5: Security Team

Technology plays a massive part, but so do the people that walk around and stay on guard all night. The problem with a site is the size. It is too big to install cameras all around the perimeter, which leaves you vulnerable. Thankfully, boots on the ground can cover the places that technology misses. It is tempting to think that tech is infallible, particularly with recent advancements. The truth is that it is far from perfect, and that makes retro features like a security guard even more important.

The site is much safer when you put the new age and old school methods together.