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In the News: Finance Issues Take Center Stage for Small Businesses

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This week the issue of finance, which is a constant challenge for small businesses was front and center. First small business owners said they are not getting the service they deserve from their bank.  As a matter of fact, 69% of owners in a survey say they are willing to switch banks for better services.

Keeping with the issue of finance, Splitit has introduced a new service that is going to let you make payments on your B2B purchases. Being able to make payments on purchases for your business when you can’t pay for the whole thing is a game-changer.

If the B2B company you are going to purchase your supplies from chooses to make Splitit available, the process is simple and straight forward. You buy your items and the business then lets you pay in installments.

For small businesses short on funds but with limited credit, it is a lifesaver because you are dealing directly with the business. Additionally, it will strengthen the relationship between both businesses.

Read about these and other stories in our weekly small business news roundup.

Finance

69% of Small Businesses Would Switch Banks

When 69% of small business owners say they would switch to a bank which provides all the features and services they need, there is a problem. Even more distressing is the fact that only 9% of owners say their bank addresses all their small business needs. This means 91% of owners feel banks are not delivering.

Recurring B2B Payments Solution Offered by Splitit

Splitit is launching the first of its kind business-to-business (B2B) payment platform. Splitit Business Payments is going to allow manufacturers and suppliers to offer their buyers an interest-free, installment credit solution. According to the company, this new solution is going to remove the barriers between SMB buyers and sellers.

Economy

Number of Women-Owned Businesses Up 21% Since 2014

If you are already successfully running a women-owned business, pat yourself on the back. You have made it! And if you have a great idea to initiate the one, there is no better time than now. This is because women-owned businesses are soaring. According to the 2019 State Of Women-Owned Businesses Report, the number of women-owned businesses climbed 21% between 2014 and 2019.

Employment

Businesses Will Fight California Bill That Would Turn Contractors into Employees

Silicon Valley giants Uber, Lyft and DoorDash are willing to spend $90 million to lobby against a California bill that would recognize drivers as employees rather than independent contractors. Some companies recognize employees as gig workers to avoid paying payroll taxes, above-minimum wages, overtime and complying with other wage and benefit requirements.

Local Marketing

Surefire Local Debuts New Hyperlocal Marketing Platform for Small Businesses

The debut of Surefire’s All-In-One Local Marketing Platform looks to make local businesses grow by letting them take control of their multi-channel marketing efforts. A multi-channel approach is key in today’s digital ecosystem because small businesses now also operate online. Therefore, bringing the physical and digital worlds together is key to fully optimize ad spend.

Marketing Tips

What is a Creative Brief? 15 Places to Find Examples

A creative brief is an essential document for businesses and agencies that work on any creative projects. It is used to describe every aspect of a creative campaign or project so that the people working on it know exactly what is expected.

45% of Email Marketers Struggle for Inbox Attention

The 2019 State of Email Marketing report reveals email is the most effective and widely used marketing channel available today. However, getting inbox attention still remains the biggest challenge for an email marketing campaign. The report says 45% of its respondents find the competition for attention in the inbox a challenge.

Startup

Can You Use a Business Bank Account for Personal Use?

A reader asks: Recently I was hired as a bookkeeper for a small manufacturing business. My boss, the owner, uses the business bank account for personal use — and it’s driving me crazy!  He withdraws money with a debit card for personal expenses. Last week his wife bought a big screen TV for their home using a blank check he signed from the business account.

Fiverr Launches New Architecture and Interior Design Categories

Fiverr recently released some new products designed  to meet the needs of commercial and residential building and design.  As a result, freelancers in the architecture, interior design and landscape design space can pair up with clients looking for their services.

Businesses Take Up Slack as Governments Abandon Social Responsibility

It now seems that many governments around the world are backing off from social responsibility. They no longer try to alleviate all the social problems in their counties. However, with a decade of economic growth, for-profit companies are taking up the slack.

Taxes

How Much Is Personal Use of a Company Vehicle Worth?

Common practice in many businesses allows owners and employees to drive company cars, trucks, or vans for personal reasons. You’ll notice this particularly with small businesses. This may include commuting. As a result, businesses need to treat this as personal use. Or owners and employees may have access to a company vehicle after work for any reason.

Technology Trends

New Shutterstock Tool Helps Your Business Make a Creative Brief

The launch of Shutterstock’s Smart Brief addresses the growing visual demands of today’s digital ecosystem. But with more marketing channels available to businesses, creating the right content to represent your brand is critically important. Smart Brief looks to simplify and expedite the process of developing your creative brief so creators can get started with your project right away.

Unify Square Expands PowerSuite to Better Manage Business Collaboration

Unify Square, announced on October 1 the extension of its PowerSuite Cloud Managed Services (CMS) offering. The new service will make it easier and more cost-effective to manage and secure Unified Communications room systems. At the same time, it will improve and streamline the way people are communicating and collaborating today.

Image: Depositphotos.com

This article, “In the News: Finance Issues Take Center Stage for Small Businesses” was first published on Small Business Trends



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Essential Steps for Starting a Business

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Image by StartupStockPhotos from Pixabay

Running your own business can be one of the greatest joys in life, but starting a business is no easy endeavor. Moreover, in order to turn your ideas for a new business into reality you must follow some essential steps, such as the ones we bring you here. This will ensure a smooth start and a stable foundation for the growth of your business.

Devise a Business Plan

Creating a comprehensive business plan needs to
be among the first of the essential steps you will make, if not the very first
step. A good business plan helps you better define your business, products, and
services. It also helps you outline your goals and operating procedures, as
well as outsmart your competition.

In addition, should your company need funding from a traditional loan or venture capitalists, a business plan will certainly be required. There is no way around it, so bear that in mind.

Also, ensure that your business plan includes a marketing strategy. Your marketing will make people aware of what you are selling and how they can find and contact you. It doesn’t matter if you have awesome products or services if no one has heard of you.

If you believe that you may not be fully capable of devising this crucial plan, do not shy away from seeking help. Look for a company that offers consulting services to help you with this important process, as this truly is an essential step.

Therefore, if you need to, hire a business plan advisor. This investment will surely pay off. Sometimes entrepreneurs have big plans that are not so easy to realize. However, with the help of a good advisor, you will be set on a good path toward growth.

Plan Your Finances Well

Image by Bruno Glätsch from Pixabay

Another of the essential steps for starting a
new business is to plan your finances.

To be precise, you will need to think about how
to cover ongoing expenses before you start making a profit. Therefore, it would
be smart to devise a spreadsheet that estimates the operating costs of your
business.

Think of costs such as:

  • licenses and permits
  • legal fees
  • equipment
  • branding
  • market research
  • inventory

Also, it‘s an essential step to include the costs that will keep your business running during the first 12 months:

  • rent
  • utilities
  • production
  • salaries

When you add up these numbers, you will get a better understanding of what your initial investment needs to look like. That is, how much money you need to start your business. This is an absolutely essential step.

Once you determine this number, think about how
you can fund your business. You could look for loans, grants, investors, or
crowdfunding. Another good option to get the business off the ground is
bootstrapping.

Bootstrapping means that you use as little
capital as necessary to start your business. It is also possible to combine the
ways mentioned above with this one if that will better suit your needs.

All in all, work through the options and create
a plan for setting up the capital you need for the starting days.

Never Underestimate Marketing—an Essential Step

Some entrepreneurs believe it’s not an essential step to invest effort or money in marketing strategies when starting their business.

And even though it’s easy to see why they think so, they are mistaken. On the contrary, it would be wise for you to start with your marketing efforts as soon as possible, especially if those efforts don’t require you to hire experts or splash out.

You may wonder why marketing is one of the
essential steps, especially during the initial stages of your business.

Well, first of all, marketing is an essential step because it allows you to effectively engage potential customers. Pushing your offers, interacting with audiences on social media, creating a newsletter—all of that matters.

Marketing at this stage will also help you greatly when it comes to building a relationship with customers and building your online presence, another essential step.

Once you become a fairly familiar brand, you
will probably have to bring in experts who will do all the marketing for you.

They will help you realize how important it is to personalize email outreach, utilize SMS marketing, and other advanced methods and tools that will help you generate leads and boost sales.

RELATED ARTICLE: SMS MARKETING: STAYING COMPLIANT

Look for Employees Who Bring Value

Image by StartupStockPhotos from Pixabay

When you’re starting a business, you can’t really consider spending a lot of money on hot shot employees who have lots of experience to be one of the essential steps of starting a new business. While they may be proven experts in the industry, hiring them would likely blow your budget out of the water.

Instead, one of your essential steps will most be looking for rising talent. For example, you could turn to online job markets.

Before you dismiss this idea out of hand, hear us out, because many creative people who come from the corporate world leave that same world to release their creative energy. That is, they get tired of the corporate lifestyle and look for other ways to earn money while they go on to live life as they choose, even if they might earn a little less.

These individuals who eschew the corporate dress code to have a better life are called freelancers. They are self-employed contractors you can hire to work for you, especially in the beginning.

RELATED ARTICLE: USING FREELANCERS IN A SMALL BUSINESS: THE PROS AND CONS

They are usually not too expensive, they are more flexible, and they possess skill-specific qualities. So, that may be the perfect solution in the beginning. In fact, turning to such workers could be one of the essential steps for starting your business.

Sometimes it’s even cheaper to invest in
training the freelancers instead of bringing in already trained individuals to
work full-time for you. There are many companies out there that offer training
and consulting services that can make these workers even better.

For example, if you have to rely on Microsoft SharePoint for team collaboration, and your team of remote workers can’t find their way with this software, you could look for SharePoint consulting services to help you help them.

Instead of investing more money and paying all
the fees for full-time workers, you could hire great remote workers and train
them. And if this doesn’t suit your business, you can mix even in the
beginning.

For example, you can employ a few full-time workers and a couple of freelancers. It all depends on what kind of tasks they need to do. While hiring a staff is certainly one of your essential steps, this doesn’t have to be something that breaks your budget.

Setting Up Your Office Is an Essential Step

Finally, think well about your office. Setting up your place of business is certainly an essential step for your business operations. It doesn’t matter if it’s a home office, a shared space, a private office space, or a retail location.

RELATED ARTICLE: WORK AT HOME? SHOULD YOU BUY OR RENT?

In the beginning, the office can either result
in a lot of costs that hurt your business or it can make the whole operation
more versatile. So, think about your location, equipment, and overall setup.

Then ensure that your business location works
for the type of business you will be doing. When you determine the things
mentioned above, you will easily decide on the setup of your office and its
location.

Also, in the beginning, it is much wiser to
lease commercial space if necessary. And once you start turning a profit, you
could move into a bigger office when the organization starts growing.
Eventually, if all works well, you could look into buying office space.

However, for a start, consider it one of your
essential steps to carefully determine the location and type of your business
to align with your budget and support your ideas for your business.

Follow These Essential Steps When Starting Your Business

You’ve been thinking and planning your new business for quite some time. So when you do get started, be sure to follow these essential steps. You’ll have a smoother start and greater success in the long run.

The post Essential Steps for Starting a Business appeared first on Business Opportunities.

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The evolution of problem solving

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The discipline of problem solving has continually evolved, writes Tom Puthiyamadam. Advisors and service providers who aim to tackle modern organization challenges have to move away from selling labor or products and instead learn to deliver holistic solutions that drive the creation and realization of value.

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