The World Business

Archive for the ‘Small Business’ Category

Running a small business allows you an impressive amount of flexibility. You can move with speed and dexterity if an opportunity arises and a trend proves popular – and profitable. Compared to the stately ocean liners of big business, small businesses are speed boats with good steering, which comes in handy if land is sighted unexpectedly.

One of the main trends of the last few years has been the rise of organic produce. The most obvious examples are the ones sitting on supermarket shelves, labelled as organic and costing more than the equivalent non-organic foodstuff. In this way, small farmers can make a virtue of quality over quantity and not lose out too much because of economies of scale. However, there have been all kinds of niche markets into which have fitted opportunist small businesses. Organic chicken farmers may not have wished to use antibiotics in their poultry farming, but there was a need to find an alternative that would help prevent disease. One such equivalent was duly retailed: Herban is an essential oil based on oregano oil that can be added to the birds’ feed or drinking water.

Although the concept of the Internet revolution is beginning to feel like old hat, the opportunities it offers are still spectacular. The current success stories, like Facebook, are splashed across the media business pages, and occasionally disappear very fast. But behind every major success are thousands of steady small businesses that are doing just fine. CPD (Continuing Professional Development) has been a mainstay of professions like healthcare and law for many years, but some small businesses are realising that they can offer an online CPD service – the technology is there and people’s minds are open to the possibility. Profits are not currently enormous, but certainly decent.

Other opportunities have sprung up from what initially seemed to be ‘amateur’ or ‘socialising’ websites. If you think eBay is only for comic-book collecting geeks then think again. With millions of users worldwide it attracts many small businessmen and women who use it as their main sales channel. Some home-based operators have been able to turn hobbies into viable businesses, selling anything from chairs to bikes to rare Roman coins. Now, third parties are jumping onboard, offering to streamline listings or sell software to optimise listings.

But a word of caution is needed. Although it is great to realise that you have spotted a niche and have the flexibility to go for it, it is always important to look at the bottom line – your business’s finances. This is an area where experience and a steady attitude is invaluable. Small business advice is available from a number of organisations, including government bodies and banks. Banks tend to define a small business as one with a turnover of less than one million.

So if you can combine opportunism, professional advice, and a great deal of perseverance you might yet hit those business pages.

Diclaimer:

This article has been written for information and interest purposes only. The information contained within this article is the opinion of the author only, and should not be construed as advice or used to make financial decisions. Expert financial advice should always be sought and any links contained within this article are included for information purposes only.

Mention the Six Sigma process and what almost immediately comes to mind is a proficiency process for Big Business to implement. But aren’t small businesses also vulnerable to costly errors in time and asset management, customer service and accounting mistakes? So, what’s the problem?

Cost is the biggest obstacle in deciding to implement the Six Sigma process into a small business entity. Unfortunately, most consulting firms try using a one-size-fits-all mentality when it comes to implementation and its associated costs.

Luckily, there are options available for small businesses to take advantage of the 6 Sigma process and reap the same revenue-increasing benefits.

Small Scale Focus

Small and medium-sized businesses must seek out either consultants or consulting firms with the knowledge and know-how to implement the process in a cost effective manner for the smaller entity. Many small businesses are family-run, and would best benefit from one or two people being trained in the 6 Sigma process and then have them keep their certification level current with ongoing training.

Part of their work load will be implementing the necessary changes discovered during the Six Sigma process and making sure all are being employed and used effectively.

Selective Auditing

Another avenue available is to hire Six Sigma trained and certified consultants to come in on a yearly or bi-annual basis to selectively audit the weaker or less productive areas of the small business. Obviously, the stronger more productive operations are in as much need of the 6 Sigma system, and thus the consultant can focus on the business areas where revenue generation is lacking or nonexistent.

The certified consultant can then explain the needed changes to the company owner and employees in order to ensure an effective transition.

Every company, whether large or small, can greatly benefit and improve their bottom line by adopting and implementing the Six Sigma process. The scope and breadth of the system can be tailored or designed to accommodate any business entity and should not be discarded because of the higher price of across-the-board implementation costs.

The beauty of the Six Sigma system is its adaptability and flexibility; this does carry over in to its actual execution into any company’s business model. The small or medium-sized business owner must be persistent in finding a Six Sigma consulting firm with the vision and insight to employ this application on a small scale.

Small business origination doesn’t have to be a hassle. In our electronic day and age, the Internet has made small business origination loans almost instantaneous. There are several professional and high quality small business loan origination services available now that use the Internet to quickly find affordable financial assistance to beginning small business owners.

 
Why Small Businesses Fail

A novel could be written about the reasons why small businesses fail. One of the major reasons is from miscommunication between owners, or owner and investor. Take a new restaurant for example: A passionate chef and a wary investor will most likely butt heads when it comes to what makes the most financial sense to each one. And there is guaranteed to be some disagreement along with what each believes to be money well spent verses too much.
 
Undercapitalization

According to business researchers, the general rule of thumb for beginning small businesses needing a loan is “to have a sum of money at least equal to the projected revenue for the first year of business in addition to anticipated expenses.” For example, if the restaurant owner believes he or she will make $200,000 in revenue for the first year, with $250,000 in building and starting up expenses, than they should have no less than 350,000 available. Otherwise, the restaurant owner could be faced with huge amounts of debt or bankruptcy.
 
Poor Planning

Without an accountant, advisor or proper funding, small businesses can aim high but end up falling short and blow their opportunity to do it right and become successful. The first step they can take is to get the assistance from a small business origination service that help small business owners reach their financial goals and give them the assistance they need to be successful in all areas of their business.

For small businesses looking for the perfect credit services, there are plenty of professional organizations who specialize in giving small businesses quality, affordable loans.&nbsp

When it comes to small business banking, this can be a confusing issue for those just starting out. Some banks will use this situation to get the most out of those customers and independent advice on small business banking is always a good idea.

One of these issues regarding the finances of small businesses is the problem of staff. Offering staff enough incentive to stay with the smaller firm and not succumb to the added bonuses and attractions of a larger corporate firm is a hurdle to be overcome.

Small business banking dictates that large salaries and perks are not possible. However, there are some things that can be done. There are schemes that are currently running where small business managers can offer their staff the chance of private healthcare plans. These are discounted to the company and also have the added advantage of reducing time employees take off work sick. This is a bonus to small business banking as no money is lost through sick employees or having to find temporary staff and pay their wages too.

While some may think this wouldn’t be enough to keep staff it has been found that eighty per cent of employees actually liked the idea of voluntary healthcare benefits. ‘Voluntary’ is always a good word to use for staff benefits as it is also widely known that employees feel happier about their jobs when they are in charge of decisions that affect themselves. In fact, a quarter of those employees polled stated the choice of healthcare benefits as a deciding factor when choosing an employer.

Staff are the most important asset to any small business and healthcare plans are just one aspect that small business banking would advise is on offer. Other choices encompass pension schemes, bonuses and gyms, depending on disposable income and numbers of staff as to whether or not it would be viable.

A choice of some benefits as well as good treatment of staff can be the deciding factor over whether or not a small business will retain staff or not and is just one of the issues they face.

Another necessary problem that small business banking advice would suggest is that of keeping an eye on your charges. If you think you have suffered unfair small business banking charges, then you must find the time to act to reclaim them and not just put up with it. Hundreds of thousands of people have done this successfully.

Despite claims for unfair personal banking charges being currently on hold, this is not the case for business banking. The difference is that business accounts are covered by Common Law rather that Consumer Law and to this end, need to be worded differently. Always make sure you keep accurate records in case you ever need to claim back unfair charges.

It also pays to direct all mail concerning overcharging to your local branch rather than head office as this will ensure that if your case makes it to court it will be a court local to you. Always make sure you read the small print before trying to claim back small business banking charges. There can be nothing worse than shouting about a discrepancy and finding you were in the wrong.

Be on the lookout for excessive charges. It is only lawful for the bank to charge a fee in relation to what the inconvenience has actually cost them. Charges over and above this are seen as penalties and are not enforceable. Go back over old statements and records and work out exactly what you are owed. Your first step should be to write to the bank and request your unfair charges back. This often has favourable consequences and can remove the need for lengthy and costly court proceedings.

Take a close look at the court action choices open to you. Listen to what the bank has to say and if you decide to proceed, inform the bank of your choice. You will often find that this is when they back down and repay your charges to avoid the bad publicity.

Above everything else, ensure you keep a close eye on your small business banking. Avoiding the charges in the first place saves a lot of time and hassle that most small businesses can ill afford.