Trying To Find Alternatives For Your Business Mail As The USPS Struggles

At one time, the entire country depended on the U.S. Postal Service to get messages around. Postal workers went about their rounds proud of how they practically held the country together delivering personal and business mail.

And then, the telephone became popular, FedEx and UPS became inexpensive and affordable and more dependable. Postal workers began to "go postal", the postal service began to lose money and salaries and benefits were cut. The worst came around Thanksgiving last year when they said they were closing down thousands of post offices and around the country and they began issuing pink slips to hundreds of thousands of postal workers.

How does all of this affect your business mail needs? If you are a small business owner, you are likely to see prices rise for for your postal needs. Perhaps it's time now to take a second look at your business mail needs and find cheaper, more reliable ways of getting your mail around.

The first thing you can do to help cut down on your business mail costs would be to review your mailing list and see how current it is. Perhaps there are people on there who are really not interested. You could send a postcard out to everyone on your mailing list and ask them to tell you whether they wish to stay on.

Whenever you need to send products to your customers over the mail, try not to use overnight delivery. It costs a lot of money. Instead, advertise longer delivery periods. Your customers will still only get their deliveries when they are told they will, and you'll save a bundle.

If you want to send brochures and flyers to your mailing list, you may consider sending virtual ones out instead of real physical ones. They'll help save the environment, too. All you need to do is sign up for MailChimp or AWeber for one of their e-mail marketing programs, and they will design a really attractive looking flyer or brochure for you and send it out. All you need to do is to send postcards out to your mailing list and ask everyone if they would like an e-mail opt-in.

It will be an added bonus that they'll give you their e-mail IDs, too.

Private electronic mail by companies like Zumbox is really taking off now. You get to send your promotional material to customers' virtual e-mail boxes, and it'll be cool.

Outsourcing Payroll Can Mean Major Cost Savings

There are any number of reasons why businesses choose to go with outsourcing payroll. Surveys have found one thing - that almost nine out of ten businesses, when they choose to outsource, do it to save on the cost of maintaining an in-house department. While they save considerably on the hassle, that doesn't really figure that high on their list.

So if you are considering outsourcing payroll at your company, chances are, that your company is interested in it for the cost savings, too. But is it possible that those kinds of savings will really not come your way? Are those cost savings real or illusory?

Well, outsourcing payroll, without doubt, can save a business money - up to 20%, by most accounts. But it really depends on the exact circumstances of the company in question. Not every company will stand to save as much.

Let's look at what those circumstances might involve.

The first circumstance to consider is the size of the business. The bigger the business, the more they're going to need to spend on maintaining a payroll department. They are likely to see huge savings in absolute terms. Small businesses are likely to see savings too even if they won't be much. For a small company though, the savings can truly mean a lot more.

Payroll usually falls within the HR department in most businesses. If outsourcing payroll becomes a point to consider, companies should begin to think about outsourcing the entire HR Department. They call it HR BPO, and the savings can be great. When a business decides to go the whole hogand outsources the entire department, they can expect savings of up to the third. That can mean quite a lot in these times of financial difficulty.

Companies might wonder - if they were to run an in-house payroll department, but if theyh equipped it with cloud computing software instead of on-premise software, would the savings achieved make outsourcing payroll unnecessary?

Not exactly. Major studies done on the matter say that while you can save something this way, it's nothing compared to completely outsourcing payroll and everything else.

The reason many businesses fail to consider outsourcing payroll for the cost savings seen therein is that they don't correctly calculate what it's costing them to maintain an in-house department. If theyy would only take everything into account, they would quickly see how spectacular the savings can be.

What Should The Medical Billing Companies Do Come 2015

Electronic health records are going to become mandatory by 2015. This will come amid resistance. The medical billing companies aren't happy at all. When electronic health records come online, the software will be able to automatically find out what insurance codes go where and it will look for submission errors. This is the kind of work that the medical billing companies are doing right now. When all of this is automated in the future, they'll be left without a job.

Most experts believe that there will be all kinds of opportunities for the medical billing companies. For instance, hospitals and other medical establishments will need a lot of help learning how to use electronic health records. This is a new area of business for the medical billing companies that they are eminently suited for.

There are a number of things that EHR cannot do, too. When a hospital gets the medical billing company on the line and begins to hem and haw about how their services aren't as useful as they once used to be, the billing company just needs to talk about all the things that EHR cannot do. For instance, how about collection calls from people who won't pay? Or how about attaining supporting documents or follow-ups? Software can just not replace this kind of thing.

Medical billing companies need to really work hard on preparing a sales pitch on how EHR cannot do everything. Once they get that through, there's another step. They need to tell their medical business clients that the transition to EHR isn't going to be easy, either. It could take years to make everyone become fluent its use. And who better to do it than the billing companies?

Seriously, those aren't even the oldest services that medical billing companies can provide hospitals that have EHR on the brain.

The EHR companies don't provide troubleshooting or tech support. They don't provide template customization. And even if they do, the medical billing companies can really go to town with it, providing personalized  high-quality service. That alone should keep them in business.

They have to help your client hospitals understand that it's a waste of time for them to invest themselves in learning about their EHR systems or finding out about tweaking them. It's not the kind of thing a medical professional is supposed to do. They're supposed outsource this to someone - like the medical billing companies.

Basic FAQs In Human Resources Outsourcing

In Western Europe, business process outsourcing is nearly universal. Nearly every company outsources at least something. Outsourcing in  human resources though, isn't that prevalent yet. Seeing as how it is one of the most expensive departments to run in any company though, interest in outsourcing HR should start growing. If your business is interested in this, there is probably some industry body in your country that you can look at. In Britain, the HR Outsourcing Association is the place to head to.

Outsourcing in HR is relatively new, and understandably, everyone has questions about it. Let's take a look.

The main question that anyone's likely to have to do with human resources outsourcing, understandably, is how much money they can save  doing it. Price Waterhouse Cooper, the auditing firm, puts the figure at 33%. That's how much your average company can hope to save by outsourcing the entire department. Even if businesses begin to look into human resources outsourcing for the cost savings potential alone, they do need to look into how it can possibly result in reduced quality of services.

It isn't just that when you outsource something, that the outsourcing service provider may not take enough of an interest in the whole thing or that they may not be equipped to deliver the quality required. It's also that  every company has its own way of running things, and when an outside company comes in and tries to take the whole process off their hands, it can be very difficult for them make sense of what goes where.

Basically these days, outsourcing service providers do not try to look at every client with fresh eyes. They won't try to provide a unique system for them. Instead, they provide a standardized service, and ask each client to rearrange  the HR department in the company according to the model provided by them. This way, one can be sure of an efficient, well-tested model.

Often, businesses stay away from human resources outsourcing for the simple reason that they see a lot of opposition among their ranks. Employees usually don't like the idea that HR should be outsourced. They fear for instance that they won't get the kind of support that they have always depended on.

If there's a mistake with their paycheck for instance, they worry about how they might get it fixed. Basically, it's up to the management at any company to make sure that the rank and file are made to completely understand and accept how these things work well.

And then of course, there's the actual move to outsource. How do you find a good company? Well, Accenture, IBM, Chen tax, HCL – all these major names in outsourcing provide excellent services in general. Basically, you need to look for monthly reporting, flexibility, great communication and so on.

Janitorial Cleaning Services

Your business may be running smoothly, but there is one chore that you hate. You have to clean when you could be doing other more important things, or you have to stay late to do so, leaving less time to spend with your family. Even worse, you may be paying your employees to do it when they should be waiting customers, dealing with inventory, or other chores that you feel are better served during operational hours. If you find cleaning is a bigger chore than you thought, think about finding janitorial cleaning services that can come in after hours to take the burden off of your shoulders.

There are many janitorial cleaning services that work with small businesses exclusively. They are tailored to clean businesses and not homes. This means they know what you need and can get things done quickly, saving you time and money. This may be just one person, or the company could have many employees. Look around your local yellow pages or ask around to see what companies or individuals in your community offer these services.

When you choose a single person that does not necessarily work for an established company, but they offer janitorial cleaning services, there are a few things you should do. For one, you have to run a background check on them whether they are going to be there while you are or after you have left for the night. A background check cannot tell you if someone is going to rip you off if they have yet to be caught, but they can alert you to someone with problems in their past. You can then make your hiring choices accordingly.

You also want to be sure the most important things are done in the time that you can afford to pay your janitorial cleaning services. If you want five hours a week, you want to make a list of the things that should be done first on down to optional things they should do if they have time to do more. This will be tailored to your business. If you have a restaurant, obviously eating room and kitchen cleanliness will come first. If you have an office, you may think that restrooms and vacuuming are at the top of the list. Any good cleaning company will tailor their services to your most urgent needs.

Lastly, expect the best from your janitorial cleaning services. If they are not up to snuff, be sure to talk to them about what is wrong and what you want done differently. If you are not getting what you want after that, do the same thing you would do with an employee that was not performing to your standards. You are going to have to find someone else. Most make mistakes only because they have not been instructed. The cleanliness of your business is important so make sure you get it right. One of the biggest reasons people avoid a business can be about something as simple as how clean the premises is or is not.

With Sales 2.0, Businesses Want an Even More Complete Picture of the Customer Than Ever Before

Remember how a couple of years ago, you couldn't go anywhere without having people bring up Web 2.0? You knew what it was, but if anyone were to ask you for an explanation, you'd struggle - because there are so many parts to it. It's kind of that way now, for sales 2.0.

To people in sales, the whole 2.0 thing makes them quite uncomfortable. Sure, anyone who comes in trying to promote it has wonderful stories to tell about how you can expect better sales and commissions and less work. But often, they just roll their eyes at it - they suspect that the person talking is just spouting some spiel the way they do when they need to sell something to someone who doesn't need it. At the end of it all, they suspect that if management seems this interested in having them buy sales 2.0, it must be because it gives them a way to keep them a short leash. And you know salespeople - they love their independence.

As well, perhaps they think this way, because face it - salespeople tend to be cynical about how honest people can be when they try to sell something. In truth, sales 2.0 isn't a management tool. It's something that salespeople can use to get better results. The thing is, there is so much hype and buzz surrounding it, that it's hard to see it for what it really is.

Let's try to define it now - with no buzz or hype. With sales, the  way it's always been done, it's always been about data harvesting. That's how sales departments get to know about where to head for the next the lead. With sales 2.0 though, it's mostly about customer engagement. This isn't as difficult or new as it might sound.

Customer engagement is about keeping all the information you need about a customer in one place so that you have everything you need to pursue the sale successfully. It's about creating a digital breadcrumb trail of everything one knows about a customer, and using that to establish contact with him at all times.

But even this doesn't adequately explain what sales 2.0 does. This is only superficial engagement - as when you use your registered number to call company, the number right away puts your name on the call-center person's screen and they address you by name. Everyone knows that this is just phony. Sales 2.0 is about going deeper with the customer engagement thing then just this.

Traditionally, the data harvesting sales techniques have just been about keeping a record of everything the customer has done with the company in the past and assuming that it's relevant information. If a customer comes in once to buy four bottles of Chivas for a boss who is retiring, they'll keep sending e-mails about new more whiskey. That's not the way sales 2.0 works.

In this system, you try to build a complete picture of what the the customer's life really is like. They'll try to learn why exactly of customers buying something.

One way to do this is, they use software to track every single move a customer makes when he arrives at the website. It's all about speed, it's all about taking advantage of the moment, and it's about the complete picture.

Keeping Your Eyes Trained On Your Business Credit Score

As the owner of a small business, be it a new one that's just finding its feet or an established one, you do know that there are few things on your plan that are more important than the job of managing your finances properly. Your ability to manage your business credit record responsibly and effectively should be one of the most important things you do here.

Business credit doesn't work much differently than individual credit does. You do need to realize though that the credit rating that your business enjoys should be kept separate from your own. If your business is to stand up on its own and survive as a separate entity, it needs to be able to establish and maintain an independent credit reputation.

Why does your business need to stand on its own reputation? The answer is simple - when your business needs to borrow money, it will get far lower rates if it has a great credit score. You need to keep your business finance completely separate from your personal stuff. Your business has its own credit cards, its own business account and there's no reason they should ever mix.

Of course, there's a lot more to getting your business a good credit reputation than just that.

The first thing you need to do is to establish one name for your business that you decide on. You need to use it everywhere and for everything. It has to be the same name, address and contact information right from the start. This is the only way the credit reporting agencies will be able to keep track of your business and to know that it's been a responsible and dependable entity for a long time.

Whatever purchases you make for your business, you want to pay them through checks written on your business account. You want to make sure that vendors you do business with actually do report to the credit agencies. Make sure that you pay even before payments are due. You get extra credit for that.

When you go in to apply for a loan for your business at any time, the lender will usually ask to see earnings statements and tax records for your business. They also want to see how well you plan for the future of your business - they want to see a business plan too. This kind of thing goes in your favor.

For businesses, Dun & Bradstreet has a big name and credit reporting. As soon as you get into business for yourself, apply for a DUNS number. It'll take a month to arrive. Once you do that, you want to make sure that whatever business your business deals with, report to D&B. You want to milk everything as far as possible.

And finally, do check your business credit from time to time. PAYDEX is the firm that compares credit scores for businesses. The top score for businesses is 100. Get anything above 80, and you are doing well.

Putting an SEO Team at Your Business

Just about everyone who runs a business now knows that they need a website and they need search engine optimization to make the website come up for all relevant searches. The question is, what is the best way for a small business owner to get said SEO done on his company website? Should he outsource it to a company that's skilled in this kind of thing, or should he build an SEO team in-house right from the start?

Well, you have to understand that it's always an SEO team. It's never just one person tinkering about with the website. For instance, a search engine optimization person cannot do anything for your website if he doesn't have content creators who write large amounts of content for him or create videos or something for him to put on there. So when you hire an SEO person, you will need to give him perhaps two or three creative people to work with.

He will need other experts to help manage the whole project and to do data analysis for him so that he'll know what kind of keywords are bringing in what kind of traffic, and so on. It's also a full-time job for one professional, to do link building - an activity whose importance cannot be over-emphasized. In short, when you hear that you need an SEO team, no one's just saying that.

Now if you go with building an SEO team in-house, you may find that you don't really have to hire new employees. You can just create the department, and staff it with people pulled from other departments part-time. You may find that you don't really need people who are trained in this. They may have the right kind of skills obtained from other areas that help them. All you need is to get someone who will train them a little bit. There are online training courses too by the likes of the University of San Francisco and Bruce Clay Inc.


If you just don't have the kind of staff that you need to build an SEO team from scratch in your own company, an outside SEO consultant might be a good idea. You could retain such a professional, and you could get your SEO project underway in no time flat. It could be cheaper and quicker. Usually, they charge you per-project - it could cost you anything from $2000-$10,000.

Your SEO professional will tell you if perhaps, your SEO needs are far too involved to be wrapped up in one single project. If that's the way he feels, you might have to  build an SEO team from the ground up - at about $100,000 a year.

3 Ghastly Family Mistakes As A Home Business Professional

"What are these ghastly mistakes?" you ask.

They are:

1. Don't listen.
2. Don't care enough.
3. Do move full speed ahead.

*** Ghastly Mistake Number One: Don't Listen ***

Walking in the front door of your home, you hear your spouse say: "I need you to listen to me for a few moments (or more) and I need your attention."

And glancing his or her way, you do "listen" -- at least to a degree.

You hear, but you don't hear the heart.

You take the time but you come up just shy of really "being there."

You give attention, but in reality it falls short of the dedicated attention you would normally give to a business associate who needs your assistance.

"Listening" in this way, the one interacting with you immediately senses the reality of your presence in the room: you are not "there."

Not totally.
Not for them.
And not tuned in to their needs.

*** Ghastly Mistake Number Two: Don't Care Enough ***

During the middle of your normal 60 plus hour business week, your child hints at going to the park...

Or visiting the pet store,
Or taking a ride,
Or getting something for school,
Or playing catch,
Or anything else her or she might enjoy.

You, however, remain too busy: again. And your "being too busy" was not the first time: not by a long and very, very sad shot.

*** Ghastly Mistake Number Three: Move Full Speed Ahead ***

You don't listen because you must keep moving.

You do not stop to enjoy, care or spend time because you must keep moving forward or "it will never happen."

And what is this somewhat illusive yet never too far from the home front "it" that must take place? Answer: it is whatever occupies your time, energy and/or personal space at the expense of the needs, joys and realistic desires of those in your home.

You simply move forward because successful, on target, purpose-driven business people keep moving.

They set the pace.
They keep up the momentum.
They make things happen.
_________________________________________

How To Avoid The Three Ghastly Mistakes!
_________________________________________

1. Listen.
2. Care.
3. Move Forward In Wisdom

*** Avoiding Ghastly Mistake Number One: Listen ***

Listed below you will discover three suggestions that will help you avoid this all too common blunder made within the home environment:

1. Decide in your heart that you will listen: *truly* listen.

2. Train your heart to hear the heartbeats of those closest to you.

3. Don't give up!

Simply deciding helps. Easy? Is it easy to *truly* listen?
Absolutely not.

But it is absolutely necessary.

Honestly decide to improve your skill set as a listener.

Learn.
Grow.
And train your heart.

You train by trying, failing, getting back up again on the inside and working at it again and again on the outside.

1. Work at hearing the heart and not just the words being said.

2. Watch the body posture, listen to the voice tone, look at the eyes.

3. Work at carefully listening to the spoken and unspoken needs of those closest to you.

*** Avoiding Ghastly Mistake Number Two: Care! ***

Care "enough."

That is, care just enough so that the other person:

Knows it,
Feels it,
Senses it,
And is Grateful for it.

Can you guarantee "being grateful" for your efforts? No, you cannot.

You can, however, know from the inside out that you: (1) took the time you needed to take; (2) listened as best as you could; and (3) loved as you would love to be loved.

Allow your caring heart to drive you deeper and deeper *toward* those you love as opposed to farther *away* from them as you care for the needs of your business.

Keep working at caring in these ways and your own heart will guide you in the process of caring yet more.

Listen.
Listen to your heart.

As you listen, act and respond in love to the promptings of your own heart, you will increase the probability that those around you will feel in their hearts that you are caring... "enough."

*** Avoiding Ghastly Mistake Number Three: Move Forward In Wisdom ***

What does moving forward "in wisdom" mean?

It means that as you learn, grow and develop in the disciplines of listening and caring for those closest to you, that you:

1. Pay attention to your shortcomings and correct them as you go.

2. Affirm your worth as you continue to grow and experience your various "at home successes."

Notice the two concepts involved: personal correction and personal affirmation. Moving forward in wisdom means carrying on a healthy balancing act between these two important aspects of self-development.

*** Now Go And Do! ***

Listen.
Care.
And Move Forward In Wisdom as you do!

Learning the Basics of how to Sell your Business

A strange thing tends to happen to even the most hard-nosed businessman, when it comes to considering an offer for his business.  He tends to just let everything he knows about selling go out the window. When it comes to selling the business that you have put years of your life into, sometimes, you can become a bit self-absorbed. You can just be all about "me, me, me". That's not how you succeed in selling anything. To sell something successfully, you need to focus on fulfilling the needs of the buyer - and not on fulfilling your own needs. Let's look at what you need to know to learn how to sell your business.

The first thing you need to realize learning how to sell your business is, that this happens to be like any other sale you've made in your life. As any sales intern knows, selling is supposed to be about first determining what it is that a customer is looking for when he walks in. You need to ask the buyer of your business what he hopes to achieve buying you up. You need to know how your business will make a good act extension of theirs, what kind of returns they expect once they do acquire your business, and so on.

It can be a complex equation what determines the price of your business. But to simplify, if the value of your business is $100, and the buyer is looking for a 20% return on their investment, they're basically looking for a five-fold return on what they pay for your business (100/20=5). The fivefold return would be earnings before taxes and everything. It's the figure they call EBITDA. The more they expect your business to bring them, the less they will be willing to pay for you. Now why is that? Doesn't that sound kind of counter intuitive?

It's just that the more a business is expected to earn in a short period of time, the riskier this supposed to be. And more risk there is involved, the less a buyer is usually willing to pay. It's the way it is when you invest your money in shares. Usually, when your broker points out a high-performing small-cap fund to you, you know that since it's a small-cap fund that's performing usually well, it can't be all that solid an investment. You're taking a risk, a bet on it. And for that, you expect a lower price.

Learning how to sell your business then is all about learning to make your business look like a low risk investment for the buyer. How do you do this? Well, if you are a business that relies on just two or three important clients, if you are a business that has just one or two suppliers for everything, if you have just one or two important employees whose skills you depend on, and if you have handshake agreements to put all of these in place, you happen to be high risk business. Fix all these, and suddenly, magically, you turn lower risk and become worth a lot more.

Putting your Best Foot Forward Entering the Organic Restaurant Business

The serving of organic foods was once a mere niche in the restaurant business; today, it makes more than $1 billion every year for the restaurant business. Even with growing demand and an established base, starting and running an organic food restaurant business is hardly a straightforward matter. A restaurateur who deals in the business of serving organic food needs to take into account how his raw materials cost far more than regular raw materials (organic lemons, for instance, cost three times what conventional lemons cost); and you have to find a way to remain competitive against other restaurants that serve regular food. With the right strategy though, success is certainly possible.  As many businesses have demonstrated.

The future appears to be very bright for the organic restaurant business; even through the economic downturn, organic food sales have arisen at four times the rate of conventional food sales. The average restaurant costs about $400,000 to start. Work in the part about your restaurant being organic, and you'll need to count on be prepared for another $100,000. An organic restaurant usually needs expensive equipment that other restaurants don't need - things like materials for takeaway items that can be composted. If yours is a vegetarian organic restaurant, you could face lower insurance costs if you only serve raw foods. When there is no stove on the premises, your insurance costs fall.

An organic restaurant business needs to be completely prepared to keep changing the recipes to help manage costs. Whenever a specific organic ingredient becomes scarce or too expensive, you need chefs who are prepared to experiment with and reshuffle recipes so that they can improvise. You basically need to keep the menu steady, but find new ways to make them without the usual ingredients. When ingredients like tomatoes go out of season, the organic versions become exorbitantly expensive. Flexibility in the chefs one employs is key.

Typically, going vegetarian isn't the route to success in the organic restaurant business. The moment you go vegetarian, you lose half your potential customer base. And while we're on the subject of catering to your customer base, you need to know that the more seriously you take government regulations for the organic label, the more favor you will win with your customer base. You need every recipe to be 95% organic to be considered deserving of the Wholly Organic label. The more fervently you cater to your customer base, the more popular you will be. It might take a little extra work at first, but it'll be well worth it for the success prospects of your restaurant.

McWorld - a Surreptitious McDonalds Fast Food Ad. Aimed at Children?

Have you ever heard of proxy advertising? This is where a company that deals in a product that is illegal to advertise, finds roundabout ways of advertising it anyway. For instance, in India, where it is illegal to advertise alcohol and tobacco, manufacturers get around the law by trying to design and sell a product whose packaging looks exactly like the alcohol or tobacco they would rather advertise. For instance, if they wish to advertise whiskey, they'll do it by manufacturing and advertising a line of mineral water with packaging that looks identical to the whiskey; they even call the water almost the same thing. And instead of advertising to cigarettes tobacco, they'll advertise packs of playing cards that are made to look like packs of cigarettes. Fast food is perfectly legal to advertise; but to directly advertise unhealthy food to children doesn't get very far with parents these days. So, the McDonalds fast food company has found itself in a position where it needs to advertise itself without actually appearing to advertise itself. That's where the McWorld website comes in.

By itself, McWorld happens to be quite an entertaining place for children. As a child, you get to make your own imaginary characters, you get to go on treasure hunts in a virtual landscape, and so on. And in a surprising show of restraint for a company that doesn't hesitate to stoop to advertising its products even in schools there isn't a single mention of buying any McDonalds fast food menu items.

What they're doing has been well tried and tested; they're trying to build a kind of fun place where children can have fun and learn to associate fun with the McDonald's name. The hope is that children who play at McWorld will naturally make the mental leap of associating fun at McWorld with fun eating at the parent company's restaurants.

You've heard of product placement advertising; you'd heard of proxy advertising; this thing McDonald's is trying out is the latest thing and it has its own snazzy name as well - it's called engagement marketing. It's about engaging the interest of an audience in the company name without necessarily getting them interested in the company's products. The final joining up of the dots is something the audience is supposed to on its own.

Now while McWorld doesn't try to directly tell children how delicious McDonalds fast food is, they do engage in quite a bit of indirect pressure. For lots of fun activities on the website, a child needs to have codes that are only to be found on Happy Meals. They may not actually ask you to go out and buy stuff; but if you want to have fun, the message is clear.

McDonald's, of course, feels that they are doing nothing wrong. They're just trying to get children to like them. What could be wrong with that?

Learning to Read an Accounting Balance Sheet

When you run a business, you often tend to be pretty focused on having the accounting department produce the kind of financial statements that give you the best chance of impressing investors. The financial statement that does the best job in that area is usually the income statement. The poor accounting balance sheet, on the other hand, is a document that remains in the background, uncared for, and barely heard about. And yet, the balance sheet is the financial statement that starts everything off.

Basically, the accounting balance sheet is something that gives you a snapshot of everything about the financial position of a business that you need really know. This double-columned financial statement on the one side, gives you a list of everything that the business owns, what they call its assets, and another list of everything that the business owes outside parties, what they call its liabilities. What is a professional accountant actually see when he sees two lists of stuff set out one next to the other? Once you know how to read a balance sheet, there's so much you will find it can tell you.

When a professional accountant casts an expert eye over the accounting balance sheet, the first things he looks for are clues to the liquidity and solvency of the business. To most people, the two terms are quite interchangeable. The two terms do both refer to how a company is able to deal with money it owes. But there's a difference.

Liquidity in a business is all about how ready it is with cash to deal with immediate obligations. Solvency is how well set up it is to deal with obligations that are spread out over years. When a professional accountant casts an eye over a balance sheet, he tries to look at something called a coverage ratio. That's a figure that tells one about how much a business owes right away as compared how much it has in cash and money coming in right away in the short term. In general, in the short term, a business needs to have twice as much money as it owes. That's what a bank likes to see when a businessman approaches them for a loan. So there's a figure that you need to keep in mind for what you can learn from an accounting balance sheet - it's the current ratio.

A pro can look at a balance sheet and right away see something he calls a common size analysis. Now what is that? Basically, for a common size analysis, you take individual assets or liabilities that the business has and you try to see how that measures up against the total assets or liabilities that the business has. They call this a vertical common size analysis. If you want a horizontal common size analysis, you take the same figure an average it out over three years. It gives you better idea of the direction the company takes over time.

Finding the Best Advertising Company

Everyone wants to work with the best advertising company for their advertising needs but for most people, getting the best is never a walk in the park. One of the best ways of knowing that an advertising company is ideal is by conducting a thorough research that will reveal everything in terms of the kind of work done as well as the prices that are paid for each project. There are different modes of advertising and working with the advertising that works for the specific product is key. One should therefore look for a company that knows how to place their advert as well. The kind of help that is needed is often very instrumental in determining the kind of advertising firm that will be used to advertise a particular product. For instance if the campaign is going to be huge, then most likely a small advertising company will not be able to handle it because of lack of proper mechanisms.

Quite a number of people have gone into advertising without putting a thought in the kind of scope that their business bears and this is not only for that time, but for the next six months to one year. This usually works against them and more so when they go out to look for a suitable advertising company to send out their message for them. It is advisable that a person should give a though to their business’ overall scope for about a year before going into advertising. Having specific, measurable goals should also come into play when one is looking for the ideal adverting agency as well.

Unlike a few years ago when most people had to do with only offline advertising companies, these days there are also online advertising companies which provide another alternative to advertisers. When choosing an advertising company to use it is important that one considers their product as this is what is going to guide them as to whether they should use an offline advertising company or one that is on the Internet. It should be noted that the best advertising companies will go out of their way to give their clients the best online and offline services that are within their clients’ budget.

When looking for the ideal advertising company one should also look at how responsive they are. Being responsive means their manner of dealing with calls and emails. If they respond to pre-sales questions on time and properly then it means they are the best to work with. Some clients often request to have a number of meetings with the agency that they want to hire and this is usually a good idea as afterwards they usually go through the details of each meeting in their minds. It is after these sessions of searching the mind that most of these people have been able to know the best advertising company to work with.

Advertising Billboards Seem To Be a Lost Art Form

The other day, I was driving down the freeway when I saw two advertising billboards that were pushing technology products. I wondered why I was so impressed by the advertisements, when it occurred to me that I rarely see them anymore. I am not sure why it is, but it seems that advertising billboards are a lost art form.

I had the very good fortune to ride along with my father on his mail route when I was a young boy, and it was a very bucolic area to which my father delivered mail, and we would often drive for miles down the highway without seeing a home or business. One thing we would see were advertising billboards that pushed everything from chewing gum to cigarettes to fireworks.

I remember looking down at my father's half-smoked pack of Marlboros at the same time we saw a billboard with the Marlboro Man on it, and I looked up and said, “hey Dad, that's the kind of cigarettes that you smoke.” Little did I know at the time why billboards like that existed, nor did I make the connection between my father's choice of cigarette and the advertising billboard. I just thought it was an amazing coincidence.

I saw another billboard for Skittles on the way to a little town called Christoval in central Texas. I asked my father if I could get some Skittles at the next convenience store we visited. He asked me what made me think of Skittles, and I said I didn't know. He just laughed, and the next time we stopped he got me some Skittles.

I have always felt that advertising billboards were a good way to bring in customers, but I have noticed fewer and fewer as I drive these days. I have tried to figure out why that is, and I have come to a couple of conclusions.

First, there are so many other ways to advertise these days that people just might not even think about using advertising billboards as an overhead medium. I know that I still see billboards for fast food places and gas stations, but that is pretty much it.

I also think that maybe a lot of companies view advertising billboards as a bit old-fashioned. I know they were pretty popular 25 years ago or so, and maybe they are still popular in other parts of the country, but they are rare in my neck of the woods.

Whatever the reason is, advertising billboards seem to be a lost art form, and I think that is really sad. For me, they are not only an excellent marketing tool, but also a part of my childhood that I look back upon with great fondness.

Advantages of Working from Home

As the song goes, "the times they are a changing". More and more people are working from home now. With the onset of technology it is becoming commonplace. Whether they are setting up their own home based businesses or working for someone else but doing it from their own home, there are many advantages.

First off is the cost savings, this cannot be easily ignored. If you do not have to go into the "office", you are saving on transportation costs which include gas, parking and wear and tear, clothing costs, food and beverage costs and other expenses that just add up when you are commuting to the office.

As for the employer, there is also a cost savings of not having the extra work stations and with remote workers, a business can have minimum office space if its workers are virtual.

Let's not also forget the reduction of cars on our roads reduces the impact on the environment, so the benefit is felt not only for the individual and the employer, but for the community also.

Followed closely by cost savings is time savings. For those that have a long ride to the office, you can be saving two hours or more from your day. Instead of getting up at 6am and leaving the house at 7am to start work at 8am - you can roll out of bed at 6:45am and get a jump on the day by 7am!

If your children are old enough or are in school, you can also schedule work around the times that they are away or sleeping. Many work from home moms do a lot of work once the kids are in bed for naps or the night. This allows them the flexibility to spend quality time with them during the day and also save on child care - which can be really expensive especially with more than one child.

Another advantage is the flexibility of the work schedule. If you have appointments or other commitments, it is possible to work around them, work later or do some extra time on weekends. One must however be committed to getting the job done and not just let those non-work commitments take over.

Which brings us to the question, with all these advantages of working from home, is it for everyone? Only the individual can answer that question but generally, if you can work independently, are motivated and committed, then you too can enjoy all these advantages and work from home.

How A Handwritten Card Can Increase Business

If you are a small business you will know that a large part of your time is spent attracting new business and referrals and one of the most effective and best ways to do this is by sending out hand written notes and cards to customers.

At first glance this may not seem practical to a business owner for the following reasons.
1. You need to develop a system to track people's important dates/information, which can be overwhelming when you think about the number of people you meet.

2. You then have to go to the card store and find the right card. This can be a very time consuming and costly if you have to drive.

3. After that it's the writing and posting of the cards.

4. The cost of the cards could average between £1-2.00 per card depending on what you get.

However do not overlook this method. There is something powerful about sending a client or patient a hand written note or card. It conveys that you are thinking about them and that they are worth your time and effort to write. Believe me in an age where the personal touch seems to be missing from many aspects of our lives. It speaks a lot.
If you are just starting out you may be able to do this for every customer, if not provide this service to your very best customers.

You do not have to say much, even if it’s only to thank them for their purchase and offer some after care. People appreciate it and even if they do not contact you straight away, they are more likely to keep the card and come back to you eventually, providing you follow up. If you fail to follow up regularly you may lose that one customer that could turn your business around.

Out of sight is out of mind. Someone who may not need your services now, may need you in six months time, but will they think of you first before anyone else. By keeping in touch regularly and sending them a hand written personal card from you, they have no choice but to stop and think about you, even if it is only for a moment. Do this several times a year and you will be in the forefront of their minds.

So get into the habit of sending out at least three hand written notes or cards a day thanking clients for their custom and offering help.

A. Keep a stack of letterheads, cards, envelopes and stamps with you at all times.

B. Write the note immediately after seeing or interacting with customer while the details are still fresh.

C. Keep the note or card personal and sincere.

D. Keep the note short and sweet.

E. Be alert for any opportunity to send out a handwritten note or card.

Not only will you feel better about yourself and make a difference to others but see an increase in repeat business and referrals.

3 Simple Steps to Empowered Action

One major challenge to operating a home based business is overcoming the challenge of being in action everyday. Have you ever experienced being in a rut? Of ending the day without having done anything or having done very little? Do you tell yourself tomorrow will be different and then it's not? Have you had thoughts of quitting on your dreams because you are feeling helpless and less and less motivated?

These feelings are very common and are faced by most people who have the courage to begin a home based business. Taking action can be intimidating and scary but it can also be the most empowering thing you can do. Action is the fuel that keeps people motivated; that supports a persons dream for having a lifestyle business.

Let's lay out the three steps to support empowered action:

1. The first thing you will need to do is to own that your business is where it is because of your lack of action. The importance of owning this is that you have a base to work from. Ask yourself this question, "where would I be today if I had taken the necessary actions instead of avoiding or being anxious?" The answer helps you to be clear on how taking action will support the growth of you and your business.

Now, let's decide what is the first action you will take to get this ball rolling. Where is your business right now and what specific situations do you want to change or improve? Look at different aspects of your business - financial, development, web presence, customer service, and any other areas that need to be identified. Now pick one easy, productive action you can take today to improve your business. This does not have to be a big action, any action will help to build momentum.

2. Now that you've chosen your action step, you will have to commit to pushing yourself to accomplish this action - no matter what! Whatever has stood in your way, push past it. Ask yourself this question when you encounter fear or uneasiness - "what is the worst thing that can happen if this fails?" If the answer is anything but "death", keep moving forward! Most things we fear really never happen except in our minds.

3. After you have completed the identified action, congratulate yourself and keep moving onto the next action. Remember, action is the fuel of your business like gas is the fuel to your car. A key is to end your day with a list of actions you can take and complete the next day. If you accomplish small actions everyday, in less than a month you will be amazed by the amount of progress you have made and how much better you feel about your business.

Continuing to take action then becomes the new habit versus the old habit of inertia, anxiety, and fear. You made a decision to have a home based business for a reason. Remind yourself what your reason was and what lifestyle your dreams and visions will support for you, your family, your friends, and the world.

10 Tips to Finding More Clients!

Getting new business clients or reviving old customers are much simpler than we make it. Most times we cannot see the forest for the trees, so here are ten tips to bring back the basics into your business.

1. Tap into old business for new business. Begin to ask your existing clients for more business when they are buying from you; e.g., remind them of all the products or services you have that they might need. Ask satisfied customers for new referrals - everyone knows people you don't know.

2. Pitch a stranger. Let strangers know who and what you are about. Always be prepared to showcase your company without forgetting about meeting the needs of the new prospective client.

3. Be direct. Don't waste time "warming up" clients. Know what you're going to say - be well-prepared. People will appreciate you are getting to the point intelligently and quickly. If you are communicating via email, make sure you get to the point sooner than later. You only have about ten seconds to get their attention and keep them reading.

4. Discuss your failures. What? My failures? Yes, discussing your failure actually builds credibility. Everyone makes mistakes so being able to admit your mistakes and failures shows clients you're human. Telling a client how or why you lost a customer and what you learned would be a welcome change to the norm.

5. Create a "loss-leader." Creating a loss-leader helps relationships build over time. Allowing clients to get to know you through loss-leaders helps develop trust.

6. Get sold yourself. Visit your most successful competitors and allow them to sell you. By playing the customer you can learn what and how their approach works. As you are being the customer, be aware of how you feel and what techniques are most effective. In the auto industry this is a common practice - buying a car or truck and going over the vehicle with a fine-tooth comb results in lots of great information.

7. Pitch an enemy. Seek out someone who is very disagreeable and pitch to him or her. By doing this, you will find out if anything you said made a difference or if any of their negative comments had any merit. Don't defend anything - stay detached. This exercise will show you what you or your business might be lacking.

8. Create an email newsletter. This is a great way to reach out to your customers on a regular basis. Develop a newsletter that "you" would look forward to receiving. Don't always be trying to sell them something, instead, give away lots of information.

9. Share testimonials. Ask your satisfied clients to share their experiences of your business. These testimonials also add credibility. It's best to use the full name of the person. "JO from Chicago" is not nearly as credible as "Jon Owens" from Chicago."

10. Ask questions. This cannot be emphasized enough in growing and developing a business. The act of allowing people to share their needs make them happy and lets them know you are listening.

It may seem strange, but we get so caught up in "doing" our businesses that we overlook simple strategies that are right in front of our noses. The better you take care of the client in front of you the faster your business can attract new clients and grow.

Cashing in on the Green Movement

Everywhere you look you are being bombarded with the green movement. If you aren’t being asked to recycle or reduce your carbon footprint, you are being asked to help the planet out by being earth friendly.

It’s funny, but not too long ago, if you cared about the environment you were labeled a tree hugger, and were often looked on as a “nut”. Now days’ being green is politically correct.

The green movement is gaining momentum and those who aren’t eco-friendly are being looked on with disdain. Gas guzzling behemoth cars like the Hummer, were once a status symbols. Today they are being looked down on as the earth un-friendly vehicles that they are. Between the nose dive of the economy and the trend towards more fuel efficient cars, Hummer has gone out of business.

The upside of the green movement is that there are many more opportunities for people to earn a lot of money. More and more companies have either gone green or have pledged to go green. Even the retail giant Wal-Mart is planning a new labeling system that will give consumers more information about products sold. The labeling will give consumers more options to buy earth friendly products.

As other companies are working to reduce their carbon footprint, their research and development departments are studying the market to find the next hottest craze that will not only help saves the environment, but make them much money.

Another benefit of the green movement is that there is a whole host of new products and new technologies being developed. Many of the common products we use every day are being made in a more earth friendly manner. From biodegradable sponges, to compact fluorescent light bulbs, solar products, and organic foods and more, we see new products on a daily basis.

For many the green movement will be an opportunity to earn a lot of green as in green money. This new green movement will bring with it the opportunity for new jobs, new products and new businesses. If you are looking to earn more money, now is a great opportunity to go green.

Setting aside the debate over whether global warming is a real threat, and putting aside your skepticism over the doctored data presented by some of the scientists, you have to realize that the green movement is good, especially when it comes to your bank account. Think green and you have the opportunity to make a lot of green.