Strategies to keep your new business organized

 

Setting time aside to organize and put strategies in place to increase productivity will help your new business run smoothly as it grows. When it comes to organization every business has different needs. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different strategies, eventually you’ll find the perfect combination for your business. The strategies outlined below include some of the best ways that you can keep your new business organized. Pick a a few that you can easily implement into your new business.

1.    Go Paper Less
Paper is one of the biggest sources of disorganization for many offices. Digitizing your papers is not only time efficient but it is also cost effective. You’ll never have to rummage through papers again looking for that receipt you last saw three months ago. Everything will be easily accessible by all members of your organization making for easy collaboration and communication. There are several different ways you can transition into a paperless office which includes scanning and transferring receipts into a digital filing system, incorporate a digital signature program like DocuSign, or storing your files in a cloud service like Dropbox for data back-up.

2.    Find the Productivity Tools that Work for You
One of the most important components of a running a business is having systems in place that help you be more productive and efficient.

The top areas where many business owners find productivity tools are:

Meetings and Communication
Whether you are in an office or working remotely, it is crucial that you have systems in place that allow your employees to communicate and collaborate with one another. Services like Chanty offers unlimited messaging, voice and video calls, file sharing, and screen sharing ensuring that everyone within your business will be connected no matter where they are.

Social Media Management
Social media can be a challenge to manage if you don’t approach it strategically. Tools like Hootsuite and Later, help your plan, schedule, and post your content so you can allocate more time to other areas of your business.

Project Management
A good project management tool like Trello or Asana will help you keep track of tasks, share files, and collaborate with teammates all in one place.

Remember to keep track of the apps and tools that you are using, so that you can clearly determine whether they are meeting the needs of your new business.

3.    Organize your desktops
As a business owner, you get swamped with some many files that you can find yourself looking at a desktop that is cluttered with icons and downloads. Before you get lost in your on-line documents try setting up a digital filing system, to ensure that you’re documents are always in the right place.

The tips listed above will help you get your small business organized quickly. However it is important that you have a evaluation system in place to ensure that your business does not reach unmanageable levels of disorganization.

How to Make Your Startup Attractive to Angel Investors

Angel investment is one of the most common capital sources for both startups and relatively new companies looking to expand. But drawing high-net worth individuals toward an early-stage enterprise or business proposal requires well placed effort. First of all, angel investors can’t fund something unless they know it exists, which means you’ll need to focus on getting the word out in the right circles. Second, they’re unlikely to bet on a venture unless it offers a substantial return. So a sound business plan and credible growth and revenue strategies are key.

However, according to research by Shai Bernstein (Stanford Graduate School of Business), Arthur Korteweg (University of Southern California Marshall School of Business), and Kevin Laws (Chief Operating Officer of AngelList), arguably the most important factor is the quality of the personnel that the candidate organization has assembled.

Exceptional founders, and a reputable team.

Bernstein, Korteweg, and Laws’s analysis indicates that the presence of visionary founders and reputable staff on a startup’s team is a big draw for angel investors. The data further suggest that experienced angels are likelier than inexperienced ones to emphasize the importance of the people factor. Angels with a lot of investing background are also likelier to take a chance on a promising startup or fledgling enterprise than are newcomers to the profession, who may prefer to “play it safe” by betting on companies that already have some traction.

Seek out promising angels, and do research on them.

Many angels specialize in a particular industry or niche, and it’s a good idea to seek out individuals whose areas of interest or specialization accord with your own, particularly if your proposal is esoteric or technical. Find out what sort of endeavours those investors have funded in the past. You can even attempt to contact previous beneficiaries of the angels you’ve identified as prospective funders of your project, to ascertain what worked in the past and what those angels tend to look for.

A strong pitch.

If you’ve ever watched a full episode of the American network television program Shark Tank—or its Canadian counterpart, Dragons’ Den—you may already have a good idea of how to distinguish a high-quality funding pitch from a lousy one. If angel investors invite you to pitch to them, you need to be ready.

Aim for a duration of around ten minutes—enough time to cover all the essential information without rambling or rushing. If your presentation is in digital format and consists of slides, anticipate spending around one minute on each slide. However, make sure you also have an analog Plan B in case of technical difficulties, which have a nasty habit of cropping up unexpectedly right at the moment of truth.

Unconventional ideas can be powerful in the business world, but in the context of a funding pitch, a pair of conventions are worth observing. One is appropriate attire—you should strive to portray yourself as a consummate business professional and/or choose an outfit that’s suited to your line of work. Another is the hook—you should begin the pitch in a way that piques the investors’ interest. Present them with a problem or dilemma they can relate to, and offer them an innovative solution.

 Answer the following questions in your pitch:

•  What have you and your team accomplished so far?

•  What does your target market/demographic look like?

•  Who are your competitors?

•  What is your strategy for both marketing to customers and delivering your product or service to them?

•  How do you generate revenue?

•  What do you anticipate your revenue stream would look like over the next five years if you met your funding goals? Is your assessment realistic?

•  How much money do you need from the investors to whom you’re pitching?

•  What is your endgame? Do you plan to eventually take your business public, sell to an established firm, or something else? (Angel investors like to know how they will recover their investment.)

Finally, rehearse your pitch until you know it like the back of your hand. Run it by a trusted friend—if s/he would invest in your business or proposal, there’s a good chance that an angel would too.

Got Tax and Financial Stress? Here's How to Avoid It

There is one time of year we all dread. No, it's not going over to the in-laws for Thanksgiving. It's tax day. Whether you pay your business taxes on the due date or in advance this can be a stressful time of the year.

Depending on the circumstances, you could find yourself writing out a huge check to the government that wipes out your cash reserves. It's no wonder your blood pressure spikes and the headaches come on.

The good news is that it doesn't have to be that way.

Yes, you'll still have to pay taxes but there is no reason why you should stress out about this part of your business. First thing to understand - everyone is in the same boat. Beyond that there are some tactics you can adopt to help manage your small business finances and avoid getting on the government's bad side.

Make a Plan

A business's success is built on the back of meeting deadlines. That comes with shipping products to customers and paying the bills. It's important to have a well thought out plan for your entire business. This is not something that should be "kept in your head."

You should be using a written calendar that covers all your responsibilities both to customers and to the government. If you know a payment is approaching you won't feel burdened or surprised when it comes time to write the check.

It comes down to a matter of making priorities. And yes, there is an app for that!

Don't Do it Alone

Feelings of stress go hand in hand with feelings of being overwhelmed. When was the last time you asked for help? As a small business owner there are a lot of new aspects of your business you thought you wouldn't have to contend with. Sure, you knew you'd be paying the bills but keeping up with your company's Facebook page and generating original content for your website? Did you budget time for that? More importantly, do you know what you're doing when it comes to optimizing search engines and social media?

You don't have to become an expert because there are plenty of experts out there in cyber land willing to lend a hand. Even your kids could probably be a big help posting notices or even cleaning up around the office. Start asking for help and watch the stress melt away.

Take Time for Yourself

All work and no play? We've heard it before and it has meaning for the small business owner. The first few weeks or months of your start up will be grueling. No doubt about that. However, that doesn't mean running yourself into the ground. You certainly can't pay your tax bills that way. Leave some relaxation time for yourself and/or with your family every week. Schedule it like a business meeting and hold it with the same level of importance. You'll find that approaching your business after taking a "time out" won't be a struggle. 

Slow Hire, Quick Fire

Anyone in charge of his or her own business who is not familiar with the term ‘slow hire, quick fire’ needs to let it sink in right away. On the surface it seems rather self-explanatory and just good common sense, but internalizing the mechanisms behind why this practice is so fundamentally important can often be overlooked. Below are a few key points to focus on when you may be forced to pull the trigger on any major personnel decision as well as a brief examination behind the rationale for each practice.

The Slow Hire

Every hiring decision is an investment. The idea needs to be that the return from their productivity exceeds the outlay to keep them on board – there is no point hiring someone who doesn’t make your company more valuable than it already is. Like a poker player sitting at the table, there is the old adage that you cannot lose what you don’t put in the middle. Hiring someone should feel like putting chips in the middle knowing that you can take down the hand. If you’re bluffing and praying for your card to land on the river you’ll find yourself short-stacked in no time.

Here are some points to consider before hiring:

1) Don’t let yourself feel pressured by time – A savvy manager will see the need coming down the road long before there is any urgency to actually hire someone. If you’re hiring someone just because you need someone right away there’s a strong possibility you’re not hiring the right fit for the position, but someone who is comfortable being the company silver medal.

2) If it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t – It can sometimes feel like the only option available is hiring the least bad candidate. There is nothing wrong with holding out for something better. The right person is out there, and sometimes it’s just a matter of possessing enough resolve to wait it out until they come along.

3) Can someone become the right candidate? – Sometimes you might find yourself with candidates that don’t immediately possess the needed expertise or experience required to fill a position, but may possess certain intangibles, such as the right drive and motivation that can make them an asset to your company. Always keep in mind that it’s easier to train someone how to complete a particular task than it is to train him or her to care about what they’re doing.

The Quick Fire

If someone is dead weight, they’ve got to go. It’s fine to be patient with someone who is still developing the requisite competencies to do their job, but if someone doesn’t have the right attitude, or fails to demonstrate the proper level of motivation that you demand from your employees, don’t wait around hoping they will change. There are plenty of eager people who don’t need to constantly have carrots dangled in front of them who would probably do a great job if given the chance.

Here are some points to consider before firing:

1) Is it even a job that still needs doing? – It’s not uncommon for employees, brought on to complete a particular task, to hang around long after they’ve become redundant. It’s never easy, but explaining that their services are no longer required can sometimes make long-term sense and might be in the best interest of your company.

2) Are they spinning their wheels? – The guy who comes to work every day, does nothing, and collects his pay just the same as the guy who works his butt off, is an all too common occurrence in many work environments. It’s one thing to streamline one’s workflow to optimize productivity allowing for more free time, it’s another to create free time at the expense of productivity. And as great as it is to come to work feeling relaxed, it’s a wholly other thing to show up at work in order to relax.

3) Are they a vampire? – Sometimes what can hurt a company has little to do with the specific competencies of its respective employees and can come down to a single employee’s bad attitude. Nothing can be more damaging to team morale than one person putting his or herself ahead of everyone else. There is no place for someone who sucks the life out of your company.

How to Conduct a Meeting

Meetings, when properly directed, are a great way to get everyone on the same page, strategize, and brainstorm with the aim of moving the company in the right direction. If a meeting lacks the necessary focus, however, it can represent a colossal time-suck and a waste of everybody’s resources. It’s essential to have a clear picture of why a meeting is necessary and what needs to be accomplished. Below are a few “don’ts” and “dos” when it comes to taking the lead and conducting a great meeting.

DON’T conduct meetings every week for the sake of conducting a meeting – it can lead to so many annoying little problems like the anticipation of the dreaded weekly meeting, the didn’t-we-just-discuss-this-last-week feeling, or the incessant mulling over minutia. Not every decision in a company should be left to a democracy and it’s really only beneficial to call a meeting when one is deemed truly necessary.

DO include everyone - if you’ve decided that now is the time to have a meeting it should be because some kind of shift in direction is necessary. Sea changes can implicate the whole company and you might be surprised by who has big ideas. If wholesale changes are necessary, and you limit your company’s rebranding to the marketing team because you see it exclusively as a marketing issue, you’re effectively limiting your options moving forward.

DON’T make your meetings about one-on-ones – a meeting where everyone is gathered waiting for their turn to speak and explain what they do is likely to cause attendees to zone out. The key to a great meeting, and getting great ideas out, is to keep everyone engaged. Set aside time to have one-on-ones so that everyone can communicate what’s relevant about their particular position and then connect them with whoever they might need in other departments. Remember, meetings are about the big picture, not the details.

DO have a clear idea of what needs to be accomplished – a meeting’s focus can be lost so easily by getting bogged down in details. It’s imperative that, when leading a team meeting, you know exactly where your team is at and where they should be by the end. It’s possible to know the answers without having the means to articulate it, so clueing in to what’s being shared in a meeting should be what allows you to formulate an expression of what you know is already there.

DON’T get sidetracked by things that are irrelevant – although it’s important to keep things lighthearted and fun, maintaining control over the direction of the meeting is essential to make progress. Meetings can suffer from too many questions or too much fine-tuning. Ideas discussed at meetings should be global, not particular. It’s important not to just gloss over the details, but keep in mind that the grandeur of an issue should reflect the size and duration of a meeting.

DO allow everyone a chance to shine  - although you’re in control and you make the decisions, a meeting can never be about you. You can communicate company values in an email, but you get feedback in a meeting. Having an open mind, ceding the floor and jumping in only to direct traffic, should be the leader’s role in any meeting.

Summary

Meetings aren’t the kind of thing you want built into the framework of your company but it’s important to have systems in place that keep you in contact with the various branches of your business. A constant stream of meetings can devalue their importance and, as a team leader, it’s important to distinguish between when everyone needs to be brought together and when it’s time to meet one-on-one. Meetings represent an opportunity to shake things up, keep everyone on their toes, and pull them out of the doldrums of the regular routine. Suddenly throwing everyone into a collaborative environment of equals often has an effect of stimulating out-of-the-box thinking and it can be surprising where the next great idea can come from.

Pricing Mistakes that can Slow Down Sales

Pricing your product is just as important as your marketing plan. In fact, without the right price you could see all of your hard efforts of your marketing collapse around you. Not only can solid pricing turn your account books from red to black, but it can also help engender strong customer loyalty.

You should know what it costs to make what you're selling and get it to your customer. How you determine the price on top of those hard costs could be the make or break of your business.

Here are some common pricing mistakes that can slow down your sales or even bring them to a screeching halt!

Pricing without a strategy.

Your pricing strategy should always support your company’s marketing and operational goals. If you’re holding a discount promotion on a product at below cost, make sure that you can upsell your customer so you make a profit down the road. Likewise, price raises can only work if the customer feels that they are getting a lot of value from your company. A good pricing strategy should allow your products to be sold, with long-term profitability goals in mind and also being competitive. 

De-valuing your service or product.

Underselling is just as bad as overselling when it comes to pricing. You might know down to the penny what an object costs to manufacture and deliver but what about all the other costs associated with selling that product? What does it cost for you to hire a staff, rent a space and market that product? Those line items should all be factored into your price point. Remember you're hoping for volume sales to amortize all of those overhead costs.

Chasing your competitors.

If you're constantly matching your prices to your closest competitors you could be doing a disservice to your business. Unless you're aware of the same overhead and manufacture costs your competitor is applying to their products, their pricing is meaningless. Yes, you should keep an eye on the competition and make appropriate adjustments but don't let that be the total basis for your pricing structure. This issue also comes into play if your slash a price to beat a competitor. In the short run you might get a decent sales bump but those figures could be misleading if those customers won't be coming back for repeat business because they're out looking for the next cheap bargain. Always think of the long game.

Drastic price drops.

Yes, everyone wants to pay a fair price for a product or service. However, if you find yourself dramatically dropping your price for a particular customer they might think they were paying too much for that product to begin with. You don't want to alienate your customers with your drastic pricing policy.

Is Buying a Shelf Company a Good Strategy?

As a startup business owner you might find yourself overwhelmed by all the new information you need to assimilate. This is especially true if you have designs incorporating your business and eventually taking it public. Just because you’re starting a business doesn’t automatically mean you need a business degree, but it will help to familiarize yourself with the basics. One business model concept you should be looking into is whether or not to buy a Shelf Company as part of your business strategy.

So, what exactly is a Shelf Corporation?

A Shelf Corporation or Aged Corporation is an official corporation that has been created but is not being used by that creator. There are many reasons why a corporation could still be idle but that doesn’t mean they don’t have any inherent value. Think of these as “instant” corporations as it pertains to helping your business start up. How can your business benefit from taking over a Shelf Corporation? Consider the following:

·         Time Saver

Buying a Shelf Corporation allows your business to get up and running a lot faster. The incorporation process can often drag on for months. With a Shelf Corporation that work has already been done. It would be like stepping into a franchise business. All the equipment and supplies have been purchased; you’re just taking over control.

·         Faster Access to Credit

Many vendors would prefer to do business with an established corporation. Therefore, a new startup might find obtaining lines of credit a challenge. An additional hurdle for a new business is being asked to provide a personal guarantee for loan. That could greatly hinder your chances to secure immediate financing. A Shelf Corporation can establish the kind of corporate longevity that can open up a lot more credit possibilities.

·         Instant Credibility

A Shelf Corporation allows your business to obtain instant credibility. This is important to potential investors. You’re not fooling anyone because the history of the corporation will be a matter of record. Instead, you’re stepping up your professional game and establishing your credentials.

·         Access To Government Contracts

Depending on your business, you might have the opportunity to do work for the government whether that is a local municipality or on a national level. These can be a very lucrative asset for your business. However, some government agencies require a business to be already be operational for a specific amount of time. You can meet that requirement with a Shelf Corporation.

Easy Ways to Monitor Your Competition

Researching your competitors is important as it becomes an integral part of your company’s business strategy. By being able to track the top players in your industry, you can use that information to help improve your own services, gain new customers and increase your market share.  When doing competitive research, companies need to:

·         Understand what their competition is doing and how successful they are.

·         Identify the strategies your main competitors are using to increase sales.

In these times, it’s not that hard to keep abreast on what’s going on in the industry and especially your competitors.  If you don’t know what they are up to, then you can’t position your brand differently and won’t be able to convince potential customers as to why they should do business with you. Here are a few simple ways to keep tabs on your closest competitors:

·         Analyze your competitors’ websites. Your competitors’ websites will tell you a lot in regards to their sales and marketing strategy. Using online tools, you can review what keywords or phrases they are getting found for and targeting, analyze their backlink strategy and take a look at their editorial content. Sign up for their newsletters, and create a news alert to get their press releases. Your competitors’ website is the best place to learn about any new products or services that are launched. 

·         Follow their social media accounts. By signing for their Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter accounts, you will be able to be follow any updates about your competitors in real-time. Don’t only sign up for the main company accounts, but also identify key employees and sign up to follow their personal accounts. For example: you can keep track of who is leaving or getting hired using LinkedIn.  Social media platforms have created some transparency, allowing you to be updated on all your competitors quickly.

·         Use Google Alerts. Google Alerts is a great tool for the entrepreneur. It allows you to scan the internet for you and emails you any updates related to keywords or phrases that you choose.  You can even enter common keywords for both your companies and see which website has the most reach. This is a great way to see what prospects and customers are saying about you or your competitors.   

The benefits of tracking and analyzing your competition can range from maintaining high search engine rankings, stealing market share or identifying weaknesses in your competitors’ services. This information helps your prepare strategically as to what your competitors are up to and how your industry is evolving. Remember, information is power, and doing competitive research can only help your company move ahead.