Posts

An Important Leadership Lesson

/in , /by

The need to effectively manage others becomes increasingly important as our businesses start to blossom, yet it’s often difficult to balance your position as leader, teacher and every other hat you have to wear as an entrepreneur.

Indeed, some business owners consider undertaking an online masters of education in order to feel confident and competent enough to train their staff and lead their team by equipping them with the right knowledge and strategy to go out and deliver, yet this often isn’t necessary.

This article offers two important leadership lessons for small business owners, and encourages you to quickly learn new employees motivational style in order to manage them effectively.

1. BE THE BOSS

There is of course a fine line between being a leader and being a dictator.  It’s important to remember that whilst you are the leader of the company your role is more that of a director, in that it is directional rather than dictatorial.

Nobody likes being dictated to, and few people actually enjoy or respond well to being directed unless they have complete confidence in your decisions and leadership skills.  It can therefore be a psychological minefield to get this balancing act right.

The best approach is to remember that you are the captain of the ship, and that captain’s unapologetically give orders to their crew.  Now, in a business context, it’s of course much more important to be civil and respectful, than the captain of a ship, but it’s equally important you take the wheel and lead this project to its final destination.

2.  USE THE TWIN FORCES OF MOTIVATION

You may have heard of the metaphor with regard to the carrot and the stick which describes the polar forces of motivation theory.

In psychology there are two broad groups of people; they are known as “toward” and “away from” people.  This means that some people prioritise moving toward pleasure whilst others prioritise getting away from pain.  Of course, most people have a mixture of both, but there is normally one predominant force that motivates a person to take action.

The person that is motivated toward pleasure tends to be the more committed and advancement focused employee, whereas the person motivated away from pain, tends to be the type of person that will do what it takes to keep their job and not all that much more.

You want to get to know your team and see what motivates each team member; is it the possibility of praise and reward or is it the fear of loss, such as missing out on a staff incentive or even losing their job?

By applying both of these psychological forces, in your leadership style means you will be able to manage most people effectively.

The carrot could, for instance, be a cash incentive, public recognition, or simply some one-to-one verbal praise for doing a good job.  The stick, meanwhile, could be the fear of dismissal or having a penalty imposed such as having to stay late at the office in order to get things finished.

If you think back to school, there were gold stars (to acknowledge good behaviour) and detentions (to acknowledge bad behaviour).  Some people would be motivated toward getting a gold star whilst others would be motivated by staying out of trouble.  The same remains true in modern business leadership.

The Rise Of The Internet Entrepreneur

/in /by

With E-Commerce becoming a solid reality in the business world, many are now the chances for the young (and the experienced) entrepreneur to create a solid business… from a simple laptop. Not only purely E-commerce related, but also when it comes to mobile optimisation, trading and networking, let’s try to understand the breed known as “webtrepreneurs” in a more detailed way.

The Dropshipping Method

One of the most prolific ways of doing business when it comes to E-commerce is dropshipping without a doubt. Dropshipping, believe it or not, is way older than you think: IKEA, in fact, started as a dropshipping business and Amazon, too.

The process behind Dropshipping is quite simple: basically, you are selling products that you don’t physically own and that are not stored in your facilities.

In the current Shopify era, the whole concept behind Dropshipping evolved accordingly: the whole idea now revolves around having a store that focuses on selling niche products (phone cases, for example) that are provided by Chinese online suppliers (mainly Aliexpress and DHgate) and are ultra branded with a charge on their original price that currently fluctuates around 200/250%. The whole process is then automated with an app called Oberlo.

Dealing with such suppliers could be risky, that’s why many of these shops have quality professional indemnity insurance.

Digital Marketing Agencies

The business-savvy marketer nowadays knows that one of the best ways to get new clients is via proper marketing campaigns online, whether if they are content related, focused on SEO or PPC. For example, every modern drop shipping business is relying on Facebook (and Instagram) ads to increase their sales. This demand for quality marketing campaigns, of course, is giving power to the experts in the craft, that are of course making a big profit from it.

Marketing a store or a brand could be a hard task, so being able to properly show a solid ROI to clients is, of course, the top priority for the marketing entrepreneur.

The Influencer’s Path

Many are the ones who saw Instagram as a potential business environment all the way back when it started but no one knew about the level this platform could have reached: to this day, having organic, quality traffic on a big Instagram page is something that attracts companies, investors and literally everyone who wants to showcase his/her product. That’s why influencers are the most powerful form of paid social advertising now. By the way, no one will ever reach what today is known as “The Kardashian Effect“: in fact, whatever goes to Kim’s (or anyone from the family) Instagram page (currently fluctuating around 110 million followers) automatically goes viral a couple of (get ready) SECONDS after it has been posted.

About the Author

StrategyDriven ContributorPaul Matthews is a freelance writer and E-Commerce entrepreneur in Manchester. His aim is to inform people about the power of the internet, while he still focuses on Caunce O’Hara. You can often find him mountain biking or at the local library.

What You Should Consider When Hiring Your First Employee

/in , /by

When you own a small business, you’d expect that over time it’ll start to grow. As it grows there’ll be more tasks to deal with and not enough resources for it.  Help will be needed to manage your build up of tasks, in which case it might be worth considering hiring your first employee. It could be seen as a big step as you’ll now have to teach someone else how you run your business and you’ll be letting someone into something that’s really special to you. But if your business requires extra resources and you want it to grow further, it’s the jump you have to take. So, here are the things you need to consider when hiring your first employee.

What are the Requirements for the Job?

It’s good first of all to identify exactly what person you require to fit a job role and the skills they need. Note down what it is this person needs for them to be successful in the role you’ve put on offer. From running the business and working on day to day tasks, you’ll know where you need the help and what it takes for it to be completed. After you’ve done this, you should get a better idea of what you’re looking for to put into the job specification.

How Does your Brand Look to Others?

SImilar to how customers use a brand to buy services and products from, you want to be able to show the same to potential job candidates too. They should be able to benefit from working in the business and want to be attracted by your business in some way to apply for the job. You could conduct some market research on what others think of your brand, or just ask close family and friends. It’ll help candidates understand what you do so it can help them decide whether it’s right for them.

Do You Offer Any Training?

If there’s space for an employee to grow, it can be a great plus in attracting candidates. This is, of course, dependant on the type of person you’re looking for, as someone more experienced may not necessarily need the training. Someone who’s ambitious though may see training as a valuable asset for later in their career.

What Type of Working Hours Will You Be Offering?

Nowadays, there are more people looking to distance themselves away from typical 9-5 working hours, as flexible working becomes more popular. Consider the type of working hours you’ll be offering as flexible working hours is known to be more popular when candidates are looking for jobs.

Do You Have Any Perks That Come With the Job?

It can difficult when jobs don’t have a good work-life balance. It can be more appealing to job seekers when there are benefits in the role as it can have a great effect on morale, encouraging a better work ethic. Within the job description be sure to outline any benefits that you may be offering as it’s likely more people will consider working for you.

Writing Up a Contract

Let’s say that you’ve managed to find your successful candidate, and you can’t wait for them to start work. Bear in mind that details in a contract are one of the most important things when hiring a new employee. This is crucial in making sure all parties involved are on the same page and everyone’s protected, including your business. If you’re unsure of how to write up a contract there’s always employment solicitors that you can involve who can help you along the process.

It’s always worth considering the best ways your business can grow, and retaining your best staff for a successful future. Considering these aspects can go a long way as you want to make sure the first employee is the right employee.

Finding the Best Business Property for You

/in /by

A new business property can be one of the biggest commitments that you can make as a business owner. It is also, at its heart, a difficult thing to make a decision on as there are a lot of different elements involved. Especially if you have never owned a business property or rented one before.

Of course, some of your initial considerations will include a number of important factors, such as:

  • What’s your budget?
  • What size premises do you want?
  • Do you need a lease or a licence?
  • Where and when do you need to start looking?

Outside of this, there are also a lot of other considerations that you need to make in order to set your business off to a flying start. Including:

Transport Links

One of the most important considerations for any business – new or old – is the problem of transport. Can people, clients and employees alike, get to your location easily enough without it being a hassle? Buses, trains, parking for cars and just a generally easy to find entrance are a big part of ensuring transport is as easy as possible for everyone. If you choose to base your business in an office in the middle of nowhere, then you may find that very few people want to work for you. Nor will you have an easy accessibility that clients prefer. So, always factor transport into your property calculations.

Location, Location, Location

There are lots of places to look when it comes to finding the right property to base your business at, as many people say on the property hunt, it’s all about location, location, location. You need the right amenities, footfall and lots of other factors that come into play when choosing a property to be just right before you settle on a location absolutely.

Usually, your biggest concern should be being in the right area for your business. So, if you are a thriving digital agency then you will obviously want to be situated in a city centre. Or if you need foot traffic in order to generate enough sales then you need to be situated on a busy high street or at least somewhere a little more visible to the public.

Upgrades

Another important thing to consider is whether or not you plan to expand your business any time soon. If you do, settling on an office or storefront that is too small for your future business pursuits is not a good idea in the long run. Find a property which will be level up alongside your enterprise.

Getting advice from a commercial property agent could be the best solution for you when it comes to actually finding a good property, as it gives you more insight and knowledge to the sector that you might not necessarily have on your own.

At the end of the day, finding the right property for you may not be the easiest process to go through from start to finish. But, in the end, it will be worth it when you find yourself in your brand new business office.

Every Strategy Is Different

/in , , /by

Just like no two fingerprints are the same, no two businesses will be identical. There may only be minor differences, but these can make a big difference when it comes to planning a marketing strategy. What is right for one company can be totally the wrong thing for another, but sometimes you just have to try various things and monitor them to see which is working best for you.

Using An Agency Or Do It Yourself?

You may think that using an agency is outside of your budget although, to be honest, they are usually very good at putting strategies together. Doing it yourself might not be too bad if you have some knowledge about the different areas of marketing and know something about programming your website to do exactly what you want. You may find the website at Javabeat.Net very useful in this respect, as it has a lot of information and tutorials to help you.

There will be some aspects you will find easier than others in any marketing campaign, social media being one of the simplest for you to handle.

Let Social Media Help You

Social media is a brilliant marketing tool and should be part of any strategy to help your business. It can be time-consuming, which is why some people employ others to manage it for them, but nothing else will give you such a large reach or as much interaction with your customers. There are analytical tools to help you monitor which of the social media platforms are working for you as well, and that can be extremely useful information to have.

Emails Could Be The Answer

Sending regular emails is something else that you could do yourself. You need to make sure they are engaging and interesting for anyone to read, which is why many companies use a newsletter format. There are programs such as MailChimp, which enables you to send the same email to thousands of people at the push of a button.

Both emails and social media are strategies that could help your business and that you could do yourself if you wanted.

An Effective Website

Just as Javabeat.Net can help you with many aspects of your website, there are tools on the market that will help you to initially set up a website yourself in about an hour. It is not as difficult as some people think, and although it might not look quite so professional until you have made enough money to pay an agency, it can be a good way to start.

Your website can be the first impression a potential customer has of your brand, so keep it simple in its looks and precise in its content if you want them to stay for more than a few seconds.

The problem that many new businesses have is cash flow, and until the sales start to happen that does not improve. The strategy you use to market your business will not be the same as anyone else’s but should make your brand stand out from all your competitors.