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Starting and running a small business is a massive commitment. Unlike big businesses that can hire legions of staff to perform all sorts of roles, small business owners end up doing most jobs. This section provides insight into some key issues for every small owner to think about.
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Avoid budget mistakes
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| No matter how big or small an operation is, from a large listed firm down to a small family business, they all need a budget. While many budgets are created, they can end up being compromised if they are unrealistic, too simple, too complex, or if they are forgotten. Therefore it's best to know how to avoid common mistakes so you don't get the budget blues. |
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Franchising - where to start?
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| Determined to be your own boss but not interested in is setting up a business completely off your own bat? You might think franchising is the obvious option - a ready made brand and business model, as well as support from a franchisor - what could be easier? Slow down; the franchise you're thinking of might be a well-known brand and its other stores might be a roaring successes but don't rush in - the normal rules still apply. Planning a business model, seeking advice from experienced experts and asking what it is you want to achieve are all tasks that successful franchisers have dutifully undertaken before making a commitment. |
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Becoming your own PR practitioner
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| We often think of public relations as the domain of spin doctors who are sent out by the big-end of town to control the media when there is a looming storm on the horizon. However, rather than merely creating 'spin' PR can be successfully used to notify the public (or in this case, your customers and potential customers) of something positive, e.g. your new business, product, service or an event. Therefore, think of positive PR as another marketing tool which you can use to raise the profile of your small business, and the even better news is, you can do it yourself. |
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Ready to export?
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| Many small business' are taking the exporting challenge and expanding their business internationally but before you decide to get in on the action, make sure you are 'export ready'. |
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Take on the big boys
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| Despite common perception, it is not impossible for small businesses to compete with the big boys. Australians love the underdog and you can use this to your advantage. |
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Unchartered territory
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| As the old saying goes - without risk there is no reward. But how do you know when the risk is too high and should you say no to a client if they ask you to tackle something outside of your comfort zone? |
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Pay attention!
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| Customers crave attention and personalised service and many small businesses have a lot to offer in this area. SMEs should ensure they capitalise on this strength by showing their customers how much they care. Happy customers can significantly boost your referrals - one happy customer tells a colleague and before you know it your business' name gets around. |
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Stress Less!
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| Individuals suffering from high-levels of stress also find it harder to concentrate - don't let your workplace fall victim to stress and un-productive behaviour. |
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Are you ready for expansion?
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| Business expansion is a daring step that many small enterprises undertake each year. Done properly, business expansion can spur greater growth and increase market share; however done incorrectly, it can destroy your business and corrupt your existing resources. Read on to find out how to identify if your business is ready for expansion; avenues available for expansion; and pitfalls to avoid. |
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Great Expectations - are your customers satisfied
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| Good customer service is an integral part of creating, maintaining and expanding the clientele of your small business. Even if your business is engaged in the sale of goods, it is effectively offering a service package to each customer that walks in the door. |
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Determining the right business for you
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| Identifying whether or not you are in the right business can be tricky. There are many types of businesses that you can choose to operate in and deciding which one is best for you can be daunting. |
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10 things to look for when hiring new staff
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| A good hire is a precious asset to any business and a bad hire can be very costly. Despite what many first time business owners believe, hiring new employees is not as simple as it seems and it can be easy to miss the signals of a bad candidate. |
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Five tips to cut your tax bill
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| Tax time is fast approaching so it is time to start thinking of ways to cut your tax bill. Saving a few dollars here and there goes a long way in a small business so with a bit of smarts and organisation, you can potentially save your business a lot of money. |
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Simplifying your PowerPoint presentations
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| Microsoft Office PowerPoint allows you to reinforce your message with visual prompts. But too often, the power of PowerPoint is lost because the speaker doesn't use it to help viewers focus on the message. Instead, PowerPoint itself becomes the focus. |
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Taking control of email
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| If your email inbox is driving your working day then a new processing method may be required to better manage the demands of a growing inbox. Here are some straight forward tips to better manage your day to day email flow and improve productivity. |
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Keeping talent
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| Retaining good staff is imperative for any successful business. But this can be a challenge in good economic conditions and times of low unemployment. Here are some tips to make retaining talented staff a little easier. |
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Insurance for your business
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| Business insurance is a vital for any business, but perhaps particularly so for small businesses. Unless you can afford to rebuild your business from the ground up, you need insurance to protect the business from almost any eventuality. But which type should you choose to suit your needs. |
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Disaster recovery planning for your business
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| In a world of floods, earthquakes and terrorist attacks, it is commonplace to hear about catastrophic events and the devastating effects they have on communities and the economy. It makes sense therefore for businesses to consider how they will survive a disaster. |
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Branding - it's for small businesses too
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| On a daily basis we make a host of split-second purchasing decisions based on our feelings towards particular brands. As we know the most easily recognised brands convey in an instant the essence of who they are and what they represent. |
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Dealing with challenging employees
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| A valuable workplace culture is reliant on a happy, stable workforce therefore, fostering a good work environment is imperative for any successful business. But it only takes one challenging employee to decrease staff morale and ultimately productivity. |
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A perfect pitch: the perfect business tool
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| One of the most useful skills a business owner can possess is the ability to talk about his or her business in a captivating and succinct manner. That is, to be able to make what is known as an ��elevator pitch � and pitch your business in the time it takes to ride an elevator. This could be all the time you get with a potential investor or client to sell your business and the last thing you want to do is launch into a muddled rant about the merits of your company and lose credibility! |
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Leader of the Pack
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| Most small business owners probably consider themselves to be good role models. However, being a good role model isn't something that just happens; it occurs through learned skills and being self-aware of your responsibilities and how you are perceived by your employees. A business that lacks a positive role model can find itself with a disillusioned, jaded workforce that justifies their negative attitude and lack of enthusiasm by pointing the finger at the man or woman in charge. |
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Strategies for business growth
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| Every business looks to sustained and manageable growth. Growth can be generated in a number of ways, but strategies unfortunately do not just fall out of the sky. It all involves hard work, like every aspect of running a small business. It also involves trying to step outside the day to day task of running the business to plan growth and analysing potential pitfalls along the way. |
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Dynamic staff training: a how-to guide
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| Well executed employee training sessions can prove to be a dynamic and engaging way to communicate ideas and knowledge to your staff. They can help transform recent hires into productive and efficient team members and equip existing employees with skills to implement new processes and take on new markets. |
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Paving the road to change
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| It is not easy to initiate change in a small business. Change can be as small as altering the behaviour of an individual employee or as big as changing a business-wide procedure but the common questions still apply. Namely, where do you start and how do you pave the road to change without coming up against a roadblock of resistance |
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The right name for your business
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| When you are starting your own business first impressions are critically important. In many cases, the first interaction a customer will have with your company is its name so, it's imprerative that you come up with something which encapsulates who you are as a business and also has a positive lasting impression. Let's get creative! |
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What did you accomplish in 2009?
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| 2009 has come to a close and 2010 has already well and truly kicked into gear, but before you go and get bogged down in the day to day tasks of running your business, it's important that you take the time to evaluate the year that has just concluded. Completing this process as soon as possible in the New Year is critical if your evaluation is to be accurate and frank - if you leave your evaluation till later in the year you may not have a clear view of what occured and it may be too late to right your wrongs. |
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Five ways to win and keep customers
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| Winning new business in these challenging economic conditions requires a great deal of skill and determination. As we begin to emerge from the economic downturn, winning and retaining customers is key to the success of businesses. Here are five essential business strategies to help give you a competitive advantage. |
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Tips on security for the festive season
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| As we reach the end of another busy year and the fun and festivities of the holidays beckon, it's time to remind your employees and customers that not everyone is busy shopping and spreading goodwill. While we prepare for the celebrations of the season, cyber criminals and internet hackers are out thieving! |
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Eyes on the prize: the art of business strategy
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| In military-speak, the word strategy relates to the tactics used by a general to defeat an army. Although this might seem worlds away from your business, you should not underestimate the impact of good strategy on your company's success. |
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Small business strategies for minimising expenses and maximising revenue
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| A small business lives and dies on its ability to maintain cash flow whether in a boom economy or more challenging times. It's a constant challenge for any business owner to juggle client expectations and maintain output levels while doing so within budget and at the very heart of this challenge is the revenue less expenses dictum. |
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Buying a business
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| One way of avoiding some of the pitfalls generally associated with start-ups is to purchase a business that is already well established. However, despite the fact that the business already exists, this task can be exciting, daunting and stressful and it requires careful consideration. |
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Accounting 101
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| Financial statements are important because they can help you to uncover problems and identify corrective action. At any given point in time the profit and loss statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement measure different financial aspects of your business, allowing you to make economic and operational decisions based on accurate historical data. |
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Secure your small business with a foolproof password protection policy
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| Data security is just as vital to the success of a small business as it is to a large company. Yet while large companies may spend considerable amounts of money and time establishing password security protocols and educating their staff on these issues, small businesses need not go to the same level of expense. |
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Effective resourcing
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| Some businesses of late could be forgiven for thinking that potential employees are falling from the sky with great abundance. With unemployment levels higher than in previous years and the media reporting of job losses on a seemingly regular basis business owners could be of the belief that people are lining up for jobs at their firms. |
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Managing an overdraft
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| An overdraft is a short-term funding option designed to help a business through minor lean spells by allowing you to spend more money than you have in the bank. Essentially, it provides instant cash to bridge the gap between incoming and outgoing funds and it is more cost effective than buying on a credit card, where the associated interest rates are far higher. |
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Common SME mistakes
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| Life as a business owner means dealing with a daily dose of challenging decisions, any one of which can have a significant impact on operations. Here are ten costly and common mistakes made by SMEs - make sure you don't fall into the same trap! |
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Electronic invoicing: save time and money
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| Businesses are continually looking for ways to eliminate paper processes. So, if you're looking to start your own business why not avoid as many of them as possible from the outset by utilising electronic invoice delivery. If on the other hand you are already running your own business and you are using a paper-based invoicing system, perhaps this information will convince you to make the switch. |
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Performance management tips
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| Performance management is one of those things that many of us don't enjoy doing. Some of us find it virtually impossible to have difficult conversations, while others actually find it tough to give praise for a job well done. Truth be known, both aspects of feedback are equally important. Your team needs to know when they are doing well just as they need to know when things aren't up to scratch. |
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Preparing for the recovery
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| The promise of economic recovery is in sight but that doesn't mean firms can carry on with business as usual. The environment has changed and therefore, your business also needs to change to ensure you're ready to hit the ground running when the upturn really takes hold. |
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Starting a new business
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| Starting a new business can be a daunting task for the first time entrepreneur. There are numerous tasks requiring attention and so many of them fall outside your area of expertise and passion. You have a fair understanding of what needs to be done, but what if you miss something important - what if you don't quite get it right? |
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Developing a business plan
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| If you want to be an entrepreneur and start your own company, you need to create a business plan. Your business plan is absolutely essential for your business as it's your blueprint for the future. It sets your direction and keeps you on track once you're up and running. It's also a requirement when you're seeking finance. |
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Hiring new staff
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| Staff are an important part of every business, however for SMEs they can really make or break a team. With a small group of people working closely together, having the right mix of skills and personalities is absolutely critical to your success. |
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Selling your business
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| Every small business owner eventually confronts the issue of selling their business after years of hard work. It might be that its time to retire, no one else in the family wants to take on the responsibility or it must just be time to enjoy the rewards of all your hard work. |
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Are your contracts legally binding?
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| Contracts are a critical part of your business success. They not only confirm agreements but they provide protection if parties seek to breach those agreements. If you have ever signed a lease, gotten married, opened a bank account or even used certain internet sites you've made agreements with various people or firms. These agreements are commonly known as legally binding agreements. |
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Fighting fraud
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| Corporate ID theft and fraud are becoming increasingly common, with fraudulent business transactions having significant detrimental impacts on businesses around the globe. The Australian Institute of Criminology estimates that corporate fraud costs the Australian economy approximately $3.5 billion each year, making it one of the most expensive categories of crime in the country. |
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Small business exporting
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| Australia's exporting community is dominated by SMEs. Research from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2007) reveals that almost 90 percent of Australian exporters are either small or medium sized enterprises. In addition, research conducted by Austrade and Sensis shows that around 15 percent of Australian SMEs now export their products and services around the globe. |
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D&B's Guide to Cash Flow and Credit Risk
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| The global financial crisis has had a dramatic impact on the Australian business environment. Gone are the days of highly leveraged companies being the darlings of the share market. Risk is back and the new world has an aversion to risk. The rules of the game have changed. |
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