[ad_1]

It’s the end of the week and we found out recently, it’s in your best interest to take the time ahead to get some rest.

A new study from the National Sleep Foundation reveals that a good night’s sleep positively affects the workplace.

In fact, that study shows that staying up for 18 consecutive hours is the equivalent of having a .05% blood-alcohol content. Would you go in front of your employees in that state? Unlikely.

So, imagine the impact you’re having if you’re not getting proper rest. The NSF survey found that 90% of supervisors say they’re a positive impact on their workplace when they get a good night of sleep.

Even if you can’t take it easy this weekend because it’s your business’s busy time, be sure to get a good night’s rest.

Freshworks Refresh 19

About 700 people attended the Freshworks Refresh 19 event in Las Vegas. In case you missed, it Brent Leary snagged an interview with the company’s CEO Girish Mathrubootham amid the flurry of activity. You can check out his interview here. And be sure to check the rest of our coverage of the event.

Shaq Shares Secrets of Success at Refresh19

Basketball legend and entrepreneur Shaquille O’Neal sat down with Girish Mathrubootham, CEO at Freshworks. They spoke at the recent Refresh19 conference to talk business and a few other things. They started out discussing how Shaq had a lesser known talent. He was actually a DJ.

Freshworks Announces Freshsuccess for Business at Refresh2019

Freshworks Inc announced Freshsuccess customer success management software recently at Refresh2019. The new tool brings together a variety of features. As a result, different teams in your small business can act together quickly to close more sales. An estimated 700 attended the event Sept 4 and 5 in Las Vegas. So the event functions as a global user conference.

Here’s a look at the rest of the week in news that’s important to small business owners:

Economy

Small Business Cost Cutting Secrets Revealed

With recession fears increasing day by day, it won’t be long before companies start looking for new ways to save money. Economic downturns can be make-or-break situations for plenty of businesses. And, costs are a big factor in who makes it out intact. Don’t wait until the market forces you to slash your budget. By then, it might very well be too late.

Employment

Should I Allow Employees to Dress Up for Halloween?

A reader from St. Paul asks: “I run a small insurance agency. Last fall some of my staff asked to dress up at Halloween in costumes, but I said no. However, I noticed some tellers at our community bank dressed up. And now my employees have asked again whether they can wear costumes this year on October 31st. Should I allow employees to dress up for Halloween?” –  Sue from St.

Quickbooks Payroll Adds New Feature to Simplify Health Insurance

Healthcare is one of the biggest challenges small business owners face. And according to a report by eHealth, 80% of owners worry about the cost.  But even with this worry, owners want to do right by their employees and provide healthcare. Simplifying the process is one way of getting more owners to purchase insurance for their workers.

Finance

Corporate Transparency Act Creates Regulatory Burden for Small Business

Beyond their intended goal, the cost of government regulations have far-reaching consequences. As a result, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) strongly opposes The Corporate Transparency Act of 2019. This bill would limit the ability of anyone to create a business anonymously in the U.S.

Management

Ignoring Workplace Harassment Could Destroy Your Business

Workplace harassment was thrust into global consciousness following the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements, and rightfully so. There’s no place for it in any business, whether it’s coming from leadership or occurring amongst employees. Unfortunately, many companies still don’t address the issue head on.

Marketing Tips

Most Trusted B2B Brands in 2019

Your brand is just as important as your product to overall business success. The 2019 B2B Trusted Brands Report from Sagefrog lists the ones who are the most trusted. Small Business Trends contacted Mark Schmukler, CEO & Co-founder to find out the names and what small businesses need to look for in the B2B companies they work with.

Retail Trends

20 Popular Snacks Small Bar Owners Should Consider

Popular bar snacks remain a critical topic for small business owners seeking to open such an establishment. The options might not always be the healthiest in the world but will definitely rank up there among the tastiest. The number of unique American bar snacks alone can seem intimidating.

Small Business Operations

How to Create a Retail Disaster Recovery Plan for Your Store

As a glance at any day’s headlines will show you, disaster can strike anytime, anywhere. Every small business should plan for disaster. For retailers, however, disaster planning has additional urgency, because you have to worry not only about your employees, but also about your customers.

Taxes

How to Deduct Your Office Costs

You should have a nice office — for many reasons. It can impact employee performance, contribute to customer or client satisfaction, and affect your profitability and ultimate business success. Setting up and maintaining your physical layout entails one-time and ongoing costs. Office Expense Deductions The tax rules on how to write-off office expense deductions can be confusing.

Technology Trends

How to Create a Mobile Device Policy for Your Small Business

Smartphones and other mobile technologies are as important to the modern office as paper and pens were years ago. They help your small business increase productivity by 85% if used properly. But there are security and employee use concerns. Small Business Trends spoke with TRUCE Software CEO, Joe Boyle.

Alexa Blueprints You Can Use for Your Small Business

Smart speakers and voice assistants are taking over. In fact, Amazon alone has sold more than 100 million devices that give customers access to its voice assistant, Alexa. Alexa and other voice assistants like Google Assistant are changing the way people search.

29% of Small Businesses Spend Less Than $1,000 on IT Security Annually

The digital and network footprint of small businesses is continually growing. Online commerce, social media, remote workers, and cloud-based IT infrastructure are just a few of the examples. With such a large digital presence, cybersecurity has to be a top priority for everyone. But businesses are not spending enough on security to combat the clear and present danger they face.

Image: Depositphotos.com

This article, “In the News: Take a Nap – or Lose Your Ability to Manage” was first published on Small Business Trends

[ad_2]

Source link

[ad_1]

Freshworks Inc announced Freshsuccess customer success management software recently at Refresh2019. The new tool brings together a variety of features. As a result, different teams in your small business can act together quickly to close more sales.

An estimated 700 attended the event Sept 4 and 5 in Las Vegas. So the event functions as a global user conference.

Jon Reed serves as co-founder at diginomica. He is known as an industry insider and he shared some thoughts on the conference.

“Freshworks is obviously one of a number of companies that jostling to bring customer experience to another level,” Reed said. “Both for SMBs and beyond as they push into the midmarket.”

Introducing Freshworks Freshsuccess

Freshness brings your small business team together.

For example, it integrates information from sales and marketing. And the tool also brings in information from other support teams. As a result, the product brings everything together under the same umbrella focusing your small business by streamlining your efforts.

Clients are already praising the new product.

For example, Mark Fuller, head of customer success at Ideagen explains:

“As Ideagen continues its rapid growth, it is vital that we continually nurture and support our existing client base and their ever-changing needs.”

“Freshworks Freshsuccess gives us a more complete picture of the customer so we are able to proactively assist them in their own success. Ultimately, it allows us to improve customer outcomes, onboarding, adoption, time to value and health.”

Customer Health Scores

All the information centers around what’s called customer health scores. These scores help teams to identify who’s ready to buy more of your small business goods and services and which customers you may be at risk of losing.

Customer retention is the name of the game for small businesses. As a result, this new product is designed to help small businesses grow their customer bases too.

Customer Master Record

Central to the new product is a Master Customer Record. It combines information that gets aligned for different teams in a small business.

Marketers can build case studies as reference points. And the master customer record helps identify strong industry performances.

Sales teams can look for the best upsell opportunities. And support experts can get the information they need to respond to customer tickets.

Girish Mathrubootham, founder and CEO of Freshworks explains:

“Meaningful customer insight doesn’t end at market, sell and support. You need to engage continuously to get a customer for life. With Freshsuccess integration, businesses will be able to leverage actionable data across the entire suite of products — including Freshmarketer, Freshsales and Freshdesk — for predictive analytics, customer intelligence and workflow.”

Small business finance teams can get future projections. Because having up to date numbers is always a must have.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re expanding the business or just trying to maintain the status quo. Your finances are the lifeblood of your small business. And taking your businesses’ financial temperature is easier with this new tool, the company says.

Freshsuccess has a launch date of January 2020.

More About Freshworks

Freshworks is a CRM software company that caters to businesses of many different sizes.  And the company maintains a headquarters in San Mateo, California with over 2,400 employees globally. For more information visit www.freshworks.com.

Image: Freshworks

This article, “Freshworks Announces Freshsuccess for Business at Refresh2019” was first published on Small Business Trends

[ad_2]

Source link

[ad_1]

A reader from Anchorage, Alaska asks:

“I am thinking of becoming an entrepreneur and starting a small business.  But my current job is so uninspiring – I don’t want to get stuck in another boring career. Can you tell me, what does an entrepreneur business owner do all day?”   

–   Susie M. from Anchorage

Fantastic question, Susie. We get asked this a lot.

The short answer is:  small business owners and entrepreneurs do whatever is required to make their businesses a success. This could mean doing everything from emptying the trash cans, to picking up the mail at the post office, to making sales calls, to changing the go-to-market strategy.

It depends on the business and how you as the owner choose to spend your time.

What an entrepreneur does each day also depends on the industry and type of business. There are 30 million small businesses in the United States alone.  Naturally, there will be a wide variance in their day to day activities.

Duties and Responsibilities of a Small Business Owner

That said, every small business owner has six key areas of responsibility:

1. staffing and management,
2. financial,
3. planning and strategy,
4. daily operations,
5. sales and marketing,
6. customer service.

If this sounds really broad, it is.

“As the owner of the business, you’re the captain of the ship. You’re responsible for keeping the entire thing afloat. That’s why you hear about small business owners wearing many hats. You do whatever it takes — no task is too small or too big when it’s your business. And you do it happily,” says our company founder and CEO, Anita Campbell.

To better understand, let’s break this down into specific activities of a small business owner under each of the six areas.

Then later on we’ll share examples of what entrepreneurs do each day in three different businesses.

1. Staffing and Management

Small business owners are responsible for putting a top notch team in place to operate the business. This includes recruiting and hiring new staff.  It also means training and developing existing staff.

Small business owners write job descriptions, provide feedback and performance reviews, and reward employees with pay, benefits and recognition.

According to our CEO, as a business grows the pressure is on. The owner’s role has to change.  “Most business owners start out doing everything. But you won’t be able to keep that up. If you want your business to grow, you’ll soon become a bottleneck if you insist on doing it all. That’s why smart entrepreneurs hire and develop managers as soon as they can afford it. Delegation is smart,” Anita Campbell says.

2. Financial

Small business owners are responsible for the fiscal health of their companies. It’s up to the owner to establish a viable business model for how the company will earn money. The owner is responsible for establishing budgets and sales forecasts — and making sure the company meets them. The owner may actually invoice customers, collect overdue accounts, keep the accounting system up to date and reconcile bank statements.

Above all, the owner makes sure all expenses kept in line and can be met.

As our CEO Anita says, “One of a small business owner’s key roles is to ‘make payroll’ each month. In fact, I should put “Chief Payment Officer” on my business cards. It’s how I think of my main role. You have to make sure the money is there to pay everyone timely — workers, vendors, service providers, tax authorities, creditors and yourself.”

If the coffers get low, the owner may have to arrange for a line of credit or loan to bridge temporary cash flow issues.

3. Planning and Strategy

Small business owners are responsible for setting strategy and having a business plan. They establish the vision and mission for their businesses. “Every entrepreneur should ask and answer the question ‘what do we want to be known for?’ If you can’t do that, your business will be rudderless and could lack distinction,” says our CEO Anita.

The owner also communicates the vision and mission so that employees, customers and the world understand.

As part of planning and strategy, entrepreneurs keep tabs on marketplace trends, competitors and changing customer tastes and needs. After all, any good entrepreneur knows that you must deliver what the market wants and is willing to pay for. This is always changing — it doesn’t stay static. From time to time, you have to update your products and services, adjust pricing or adapt your marketing strategy to meet expectations.

4. Daily Operations

Small business owners are responsible for carrying out daily operations. For example, the owner of an organic food business may have a big role in growing and harvesting  the food.

But it’s important to look up from doing to see the bigger picture. That’s why smart entrepreneurs work on the efficiency and effectiveness of daily operations.

Every company has inefficiencies and waste. Every company has processes that could be tighter. Part of the owner’s role is to identify where that occurs and find solutions. This includes automating tedious manual procedures, or adopting new technology to drive cost out of your bottom line.  It may mean outsourcing non-core functions.

“Small business owners should network with peers. And don’t forget to attend industry events a few times a year. This is how you discover best-in-class technologies and new operational methods. Continuous learning is key to running a business,” adds Campbell.

5. Sales and Marketing

Small business owners are responsible for sales revenue and the marketing to drive sales.

Many owners, especially in the early years, also go on sales calls and help close sales. Owners may get involved in marketing, including establishing campaigns, placing ads, doing email marketing and social media marketing.

6. Customer Service

Small business owners are responsible for the overall customer service experience.  It starts with making sure your company delivers a quality product. But the whole experience should delight customers.

“In the early years, it’s common for the owner to be the person answering the phone or manning live chat to solve customer issues. Later as the business grows, smart entrepreneurs put in place a customer service organization and empower them to solve problems,” says Campbell.

A big part of customer support these days is great technology that’s integrated to avoid data silos and customers feeling like you don’t know them. A CRM system, help desk software, live chat, sophisticated phone system and autoresponder emails are just some of the solutions that can help make customers feel valued.

Ultimately, the owner must build a positive company reputation as reflected in renewal rates, repeat purchases, net promoter scores, and online reviews and testimonials.

What Does An Entrepreneur Do? Some Examples

Let’s look at a day in the life of three different entrepreneurs, to see how their roles are similar, yet vary.

The Owner of a Restaurant

A restaurant owner may go to the market to purchase the food needed for dishes. He or she may do some of the food prep — because sometimes the owner is also the head chef. The owner may greet customers at the door and seat them.

He or she may interview candidates for open positions, or write up job postings. The owner may train staff or ring up customers at the cash register.

Later in the day, the owner may be talking with someone from a sign company about a new building sign, or a landscaping service about planting flowers in front. And the owner keeps the accounting records and reconciles the bank account.

The Owner of a Web Publishing Business

Someone who owns a Web publishing business (such as an ad-supported site), may write articles or otherwise create content for the site. He or she stays up on trends by visiting other sites and social media, to see what’s popular and what other publishers are doing.

The owner may post on social media accounts. He or she manages any ad networks or ad sources, to make sure everything is working properly, troubleshoot issues and try new things to improve. The owner interacts with writers and other staff, providing feedback on content topics or input on new site features or improvements.

A Web publishing entrepreneur also analyzes pages for traffic referrals and for ideas to optimize the site. Along the way, he or she handles the finances and makes sure everyone gets paid.

The Owner of a Plumbing Business

A plumber with his or her own business may go on plumbing calls to customers’  homes or businesses. At a customer’s site, the plumber may take a photo of a broken part needing replaced and send it to an employee back at the office to look it up and order it.

The plumber may have to drive to the parts supplier to pick up a part if it is needed immediately. And he or she stops for gas and for a quick sandwich for lunch.

When a job is done, the plumber writes it up on an invoice, either a paper form or an electronic version on his or her phone or tablet.  Then proceeds to call his next stop to tell them “I’m on my way” and looks up directions to get there.

A plumbing entrepreneur with plans to grow bigger may hire other plumbers to work in the business.  Some amount of time may be spent training them or communicating with them. The plumber may also communicate throughout the day with someon3e back in the office who manages online reviews, does marketing, schedules service calls, or handles other back office functions.

Working on the Business As Well As In It

As you can see, what a small business owner does each day entails working on the business, as well as in the business.

One last piece of advice comes from Anita our CEO, “All entrepreneurs have the power to pick and choose what they want to do each day, whether they realize it or not. If you hate paperwork but love visiting customers, there’s no reason you can’t arrange your business to give you maximum face time with customers while someone else handles the back office.  It may take some planning and a bit of time to arrange your business that way. Just keep on working toward your vision of the ideal workday for you. Life is too short to do anything except what you love.”

All answers to reader questions come from the Small Business Trends Editorial Board, with more than 50 years of combined business experience. If you would like to submit a question, please submit it here.

Image: Depositphotos.com

This article, “What Does an Entrepreneur or Small Business Owner Do?” was first published on Small Business Trends

[ad_2]

Source link

[ad_1]

Are you not clear about your job as a small business owner? Are you frequently having work-family conflict? If your answer is yes, then you need to take a paradigm shift for your own good.

According to research conducted by The Institute for Entrepreneurship and Free Enterprise, Ball State University, “Emotional exhaustion caused by role ambiguity and work-family conflicts can lead many entrepreneurs to leave or close their companies, even when the ventures are profitable.”

Small business owners, due to limited resources or unwillingness to delegate, often entangle themselves with multiple tasks. Doing so not only can create role ambiguity but also can cause work-family conflicts many a time. And emotional exhaustion caused by these stressors, as found in the research, is positively related to exit intentions.

As a small business owner, you should efficiently tackle role ambiguity and work-family conflict to avoid emotional exhaustion.

Role Ambiguity

Role ambiguity simply means a lack of clarity about one’s job. Being a small owner, especially when you’re a first-time business owner, you can easily fall prey to role ambiguity. How?

This is because you want to do everything yourself. Your business is your baby, and you are reluctant to trust others for sharing responsibility.

Finding opportunities, doing meticulous planning, and adopting the right growth strategies are some of the many critical tasks you need to successfully complete to grow your business. And many times, you are not sure about which strategy or action will be fruitful or futile. Also, you may not be sure about the right away to execute any action or strategy. This uncertainty, in the entrepreneurial context, can add up to role ambiguity.

When employees feel role ambiguity, business leaders are there to support. But entrepreneurs are on their own battling with role ambiguity alone, which can lead to emotional exhaustion.

A good way to fight role ambiguity is to focus only on the critical tasks that you are good at. And you should delegate the rest of the tasks to others. This way, you will be handling work that matches with your expertise, and you will be less likely to be uncertain about it.

Michael Goldsby, executive director of the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Free Enterprise at Ball State, advised, “The entrepreneur shapes the business, but the business also shapes the entrepreneur,”

“And if the entrepreneur doesn’t change as the business grows, or they aren’t prepared to act differently, there’s going to be a breaking point. Either the business, the entrepreneur or both are going to struggle. For people, that’s called emotional exhaustion.” He continued.

Work-family Conflict

Work-family conflict is inevitable if you don’t try to avoid it.

Small business owners often experience long business hours, and they sometimes become too engrossed in their work to actively take part in their family role.

Also, many a time, behavior associated with your work role can be incompatible with your family role, creating a ground for work-family conflicts. These frequent work-family conflicts can put small business owners, like you, in unbelievable stress, leading to emotional exhaustion.

To be successful at both fronts – family and business, you should try to remove barriers to work-life balance and minimize work-family conflicts.

Keeping the Entrepreneurial Spirit Alive

A path to becoming a successful business owner is never even and often it is paved with stressors like role ambiguity and work-life conflicts.

Having a mentor or coach by your side to help you develop personally and professionally can have a major impact on your growth. You will have somebody to turn to when going gets tough.

Mr. Goldsby says, “The entrepreneur has to develop, and if they don’t, it’s going to be a tough road,”

“Good support networks, good coaches, and good mentors help. That’s why you see a lot of family businesses. Previous generations went through something and can coach up the next generation. They can turn to them when they’re facing the same types of challenges. The good family businesses probably had that going on.”

The study included 400 entrepreneurs in the United States and Australia.

Image: Depositphotos.com

This article, “Can Emotional Exhaustion Cause You to Quit a Profitable Business?” was first published on Small Business Trends

[ad_2]

Source link

[ad_1]

Instagram can help you connect with new customers and promote your products and services. In fact, more than 60 percent of people said they use Instagram to find things that they want to purchase or obtain in real life.

In some cases, you can do this without even creating a single post. If you’re able to create an experience that your customers want to share on their own Instagram accounts, they can do much of the work for you. By setting up Instagrammable places and creating products that people would love to post on their feeds, your customers can help your brand gain more buzz on Instagram.

How to Make Your Small Business Instagrammable

Here are some of the specific strategies you can use to create a truly Instagrammable business.

Set Up Instagrammable Walls

Every great Instagram photo needs a good backdrop. If you have a unique mural or interesting color on any of your interior or exterior walls, customers will be tempted to take photos in front of it. They might simply take a photo of their group and post it with their location, or showcase your product in front of a visually pleasing backdrop.

Integrate Unique Decor

Aside from your walls, people also want to include photos of decor items that are unique or interesting in some way. You can put up a neon sign, include a statement light fixture, or have an interesting patterned floor installed. All of the decor elements you choose should fit with your overall brand image and should catch people’s eye right when they walk through the door.

Keep Everything Neat and Tidy

However, one thing customers don’t want to capture for their Instagram feeds is clutter. You might be tempted to try and fit as many decor elements into your store or restaurant as possible. But a ton of different items in one space can look messy when included in one photo frame. Try to keep things fairly minimal and neat so your unique decor can really stand out and look great in photos.

Improve Your Lighting

Even the coolest decor won’t show up well in photos if your lighting is poor. You need to have high quality light fixtures that create an even look throughout your interior. It also helps to have plenty of natural light during the day. So try to keep shades open and consider even adding some skylights or extra windows if your space is especially dark.

Include Mirrors

Mirrors allow customers to easily take photos of themselves and their groups with your space featured prominently. If you’re a clothing retailer, customers might even use mirrors to show off items they’re trying on. But even in restaurants or cafes, including mirrors in the entryway or bathroom could offer customers some prime selfie opportunities.

Pay Attention to Presentation

Your actual products can also be the subject of your customers’ Instagram posts. But they need to be visually appealing in some way. People would rather post a photo of some interesting latte art than they would of a plain old cup of coffee. For food and drink items, simply put a little extra care into the plating and visual accents. For other products, some well designed packaging can go a long way.

Host Special Events

People love sharing their fun experiences on Instagram. So if you host some special events, it could bring more people to your business and also encourage them to share in their Instagram posts and stories. Some interesting event signage and decor can also go a long way. If you want to take it a step further, you might even encourage people to wear costumes or dress up so they’ll want to take photos of themselves.

Set Up a Photo Booth

If you really want people to take photos at your business, make it really easy for them by setting up a designated area for them to do just that. Set up a cool backdrop and include some props or signs that people can use to spice up their photos. You might even include some subtle branding elements in your props.

Repost Customer Photos

Customers appreciate interaction on Instagram. So if you do have your own Instagram account, show them how much you appreciate when they post photos taken at your business by reposting them. Always offer credit and say thank you or share a fun sentiment. Then your other followers may be more likely to think about posting their own images the next time they visit.

Create Contests or Incentives

You might even consider rewarding customers who post photos from your business in some way. Offer a discount code to customers who share product photos or host a giveaway asking people to share photos from your location, tagging your business, within a specific time period.

Image: Depositphotos.com

This article, “10 Ways to Make Your Small Business Instagrammable” was first published on Small Business Trends

[ad_2]

Source link