Small Businesses

To make your business a roaring success you will first need to have a deep understanding about it. You should be aware of who you are serving with your products and/ or services. Only then can you make the right plans and execute them successfully.

Though there are a number of business models used around the world two primary ones have been identified. They are business to consumer (B2C) and business to business (B2B). When you identify the business type, you can judge if you are using the right model. You should also be able to grow your business better by aligning your actions in the right direction.

Most businesses fall under the business to consumer or the retail model as they serve the customers directly. Because it is in direct touch with the consumer it is generally considered more challenging than business to business. Product and pricing are the two main elements to consider in B2C. In case of a problem, fixing it fast becomes much more crucial than the quality of fix. Usually large businesses thrive in B2C because they can typically offer more products at lesser prices and have their profits from the volume of sales they make.

Let us say you are a small business fighting hard to keep things going with the B2C model. It is probably a good time to introspect and consider a B2B model where you will be servicing other businesses. Here the focus is not on making quick sales at any cost but on quality, on-time service and trust. Long term relationships and repeat customers are the norm in this model provided you work on building a solid reputation. To win your clients' trust you should have two primary goals - offer assistance to solve their problems and offer support to keep their business going.


I'd like to take a moment to go over several simple tools and methods to help small business owners keep track of and prioritize the various tasks involved in operations.

1. Use a Whiteboard

Whether it's a whiteboard, blackboard, bulletin board, or a simple notepad, try to keep a weekly log of primary tasks up front and center. While there are a plethora of online programs and tools for organizing daily/weekly tasks, it helps to back it all up with a basic pen and paper list. It is integral to have this weekly 'grail' to refer to when you hit a wall - try placing it in the center of your office for everyone to see. Utilize different colors or check boxes to re-enforce accomplishments or the completion of a task.

2. Use Google Documents

While Microsoft Word is still the standard in word processing, Google Documents has several advantages that make it the perfect online tool for inter & extra-office collaboration. Need to brainstorm a list of potential clients for your wedding cake business? Simply hop on Google Docs, create a new sheet, and share it with as many collaborators as you like. The whole team can then log onto the document and make edits 'live,' to avoid the hassle of huge email chains or lengthy phone conversations. Also be sure to try out Google Spreadsheets, a MS Excel alternative that allows you for seamless organization and collaboration.

3. Use Recruiting Software

If you are a small business is the process of finding the best talent available, the task can become process intensive and fairly complex. Keeping track of multiple candidates, reviewing resumes and tracking progress can drastically slow your company's forward movement.

One way to combat this small business brain freeze it to utilize a recruiting software package to track applicants, manage resumes, and provide a collaboration tool for your hiring managers. Many modern day recruiting software solutions live completely online, making it incredibly simple to access and utilize with the click of a mouse.

4. Prioritize with Flexibility

Sometimes, when it's just you and 500 different tasks, there will be a tendency to jump from one task to another before completion. This can be good and bad. It's good to be flexible and not bang your head against any one task if you aren't making any progress. Sometimes it helps to step back, breathe, and come back to something with a new outlook. However, if your mind wanders too far and too often, nothing will end up done. Try to find the balance between priority and flexibility that allows you to find a natural rhythm in completing weekly tasks.

5. Early Calls

If part of your business involves contacting potential clients, cold calling, emailing or collaborating with various individuals, I would suggest using the first half of the week for this. People have the natural tendency to be more receptive during the first half of the week. After Wednesday many potential business contacts begin to fade into their weekend shelters. Getting a hold of these people on Monday or Tuesday will make the second half of your week far more productive. [http://www.newtonsoftware.com]recruiting software



The Value of Motivated Employees

Too often, employees are viewed as faceless assets. They are put in the same category as computers and copy machines, treated as interchangeable cogs in the corporate machine. This happens despite countless studies showing that making employees feel valued and important improves business performance.

Motivated employees perform better. They don't just occupy a desk and function at minimal levels. They take pride in their performance work faster and better. Organizations see a drop in absenteeism when workers enjoy coming into the office. Fewer employees are motivated to seek greener pastures thus the company loses less time to training new hires.

Business owners sometimes lose sight of the fact their own motivation is not always passed onto the employees. People start businesses they are passionate about but they need to remember their workers may not share that passion. They need to find ways to provide motivation and tie it to business performance.

Extrinsic Employee Motivation

One type of motivation is extrinsic, incentive that comes from outside a person. In the business world this is typically driven by employer incentives. Employees are rewarded by improved business performance.

Don't simply accept good work. Recognize and reward it. Managers tend to expect perfection and draw attention only to thing workers do wrong, however negative reinforcement has been shown to be an ineffective personnel technique. Workers simply leave for a company that provides a positive working environment. Instead of focusing on problems, draw attention to positive work and exceptional performance.

Recognition should be immediate and directly tied to an employee action that improved business performance. Offer employees a choice of incentives. Although most companies offer cash bonuses, studies have shown that rewards such as extra time off or a premium parking space can be more effective.

Intrinsic Employee Motivation

The other type of motivation important to business performance is intrinsic and comes from within the employee. The organization can work to cultivate the attitude but in the end it incentive comes from the worker.

People like to be part of something positive. Have a strong mission statement and make sure it isn't just words on paper. Practice what you preach. Employees see through empty statements but are impressed when a company backs up its beliefs with action. When your staff feels like they are involved in something great, whether it's a service to the public or simply a terrific product on the store shelves, they create their own motivation.

The place to start seeking intrinsic motivation is in the interview process. Find people who are already passionate and motivate about your business and you will have to do less work to keep them that way.