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Small Business Information
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Small Business Success: Thriving During Change (And Landing On Your Feet!) If I had $1.00 every time I heard someone say " I don't like change or, change makes me uncomfortable" I'd be a millionaire. Some people thrive on change ? they love it and even create more of it. Others view change with anxiety and resistance. So often, we don't associate potential, excitement and wonder with change. Instead, we react to it; we try to control it; we create situations and problems to avoid dealing with it. We experience change daily in many forms ? the clothes we wear, the food we eat, the conversations we have, traffic patterns, the WEATHER. Mobile Pressure Washing and City Contracts Many mobile pressure-washing companies turn to government contacts to make money. It is very easy to acquire such municipal contracts for cleaning, as the government needs some cleaning up. The cities generally have a fiscal year starting in June, so you want to check on the available contracts around the end of March to see what is coming up, which departments will have budget monies available and also go and visit the local department heads to see what is needed. Believe me even local cities waste money and you may as well get some. If this bothers you, then make the money and donate some to a candidate who promises to trim some of the fat next year. Small Business Health Check-Up If your home business is not performing the way you hoped for, rather than stay away at night...use this simple list to check-up on possible reasons why your business is under performing. Cleaning Service Stations with a Pressure Washer Fuel prices these days are quite high and they take their toll on a service business. It is time to strike back. If you own a cleaning business that uses pressure washers why not clean service stations and get some of your money back as you pay $2.30 per gallon for fuel? Gas Stations are usually franchises and have cleanliness commitments as part of their franchise agreements with the oil companies they sign on with. This means they have no choice they must keep their gasoline stations spiffy. Currently with unemployment rates so low 5% on average many stations do not have the extra labor needed to keep up with the cleaning. Facts About Starting Elderly Group Home Businesses There's been a recent rise in the number of elderly group home businesses springing up everywhere around the world, what with an estimated one in four families providing care for an elderly relative today. Before you decide to jump on the group home business bandwagon, though, you need to know as much as possible. This brief guide will help. Franchise Company Operations Manual Sample Outline Many companies wish to expand and a few wish to use franchising as a method of expansion. Not a bad idea, but one must consider the importance of the fine details. One book I recommend you read is the "E-Myth" by Gerber it is available at all the usual places. You see when going from a small business to a franchise company it is important to make sure you take out all the mistakes you have made in the past in building your small business and insure that your future franchisees never make those mistakes themselves. After all they need not go thru the rigorous minefields and brick walls you had to in order to be successful. Especially considering you will most likely be charging them a substantial upfront franchise fee. How to Start an Office Support Service Office support services can range from basic data entry to a fully-staffed office handling all the details of a client's business. 10 Hiring Tips for Small Business Owners As a successful small business owner,you're accustomed to long hours; non-existent holidays and weekends spent working. Success Tips for Small Business Owners Running a small business requires many skills. However, to do this successfully you need to organize yourself first. Avoid procrastination - read the following and take action. The 5 Traits of Baby Boomer Business Owners As a practitioner and student of Small Business Marketing, I was recently contemplating ways to enhance my business. I found it fascinating to realize that over 95% of my customers and hot prospects were Baby Boomer's who own a small business. 11 Things Small Business Owners Can Learn From Punxsutawney Phil 1. Look Over Your Shoulder ? Of course, Punxsutawney Phil has to look over his to search for his shadow. You should, too, every so often, to check out your competition?and see whether they're gaining on (or leading) you. How to Write a Credit Policy for Your Business The book, "Become the Squeaky Wheel," by New Hampshire author Michelle Dunn, says the different ways people use and extend credit makes or breaks your credit policy and bottom line, which could result in less or more sales and money for your business. How to Compete with the Big Guns?! Many small business startups fail within the first 2 years of existence. There are several different factors reason for the failure. One reason many entrepreneurs often under estimate the need to find a niche market and to serve it well. Instead of finding the niche market they attack the big guys head on. If you have enough money to throw at 'this problem' you might succeed, but in reality almost every small business doing this will fail and eventually shutdown operations. 6 Ways Small Businesses Can Survive In A Crazy Economy Contrary to popular belief, small businesses can survive a crazy economy by taking some proactive steps. Provide spectacular customer service -- every time. Have a friend or colleague visit your business and provide feedback from a customer's perspective. This person should be unknown by your staff and willing to provide a candid assessment. Make sure your front and back office work like a well-oiled machine. Are the front line and the back office telling your customers the same thing? Manage your customer relationships -- return customers take the least amount of effort -- use that to your advantage. Keep in touch often. Review your strategic plan monthly (weekly is even better). Make sure you're doing the things that will get you where you want to go. Adjust your strategic plan as necessary. Your "smallness" makes you more flexible. Communicate, communicate, communicate -- with your employees and your customers. Nurture those relationships. Ask for feedback often. How to Protect Yourself & Your Business As a business owner, you already know how important it is for your customers to feel safe about doing business with you. After all, if a customer even suspects he may not receive everything he was promised, then chances are he's taking his business elsewhere. So to prevent that you offer guarantees, secure payment methods, prompt customer service, and more. You do whatever it takes to show each customer that you are sincere and trustworthy. Is Your Business Legally Prepared? It is imperative to have your business legally prepared. How you ask? You need to have a business license, a home occupation license, if running your business from home, a city or county license, (depending on what State you live) plus you need to register your business as fictious if you are not using your name as a business. For instance, If John Doe has a business name as John Doe's Grooming Parlor, a fictious name isn't necessary. Lawyers Everywhere Telling Regulators What Laws to Make The Federal Trade Commission decided to sit down and revamp the franchise rule of the 1970's. They started to do it in 1995 and postponed it then had some comments collected in 1997 and then in 1999. One thing, which is very interesting is most all the comments came from attorneys who specialize in either suing franchisors or suing franchisees. A little conflict of interest isn't it. Worse off; the government looks at their comments closely when determining new rules of law. Lawyers are out to make money suing business people, not helping free-enterprise, few of them have ever worked an honest day in their lives. 3 Ways To Make Certain Your Business Fails Most small businesses incorporated in 2005 will fail by the year 2007. No matter the industry or the economic times in which the company was initially conceived, the fact remains that businesses fail on a daily basis due to general lack of knowledge and know-how. What follows are my opinion on three very common methods to ensure not only mediocrity but failure as a business entity in today's world. The More you GIVE the More you GET Why give freebies? Three Ways to Add Leverage to Your Small Business Remember those drawings from science class of how a lever works?
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