Visit my new blog – ‘V.G. Prakaash’

Hello. This blog will no longer receive any new post. Please visit my new blog, V.G. Prakaash. I’ve incorporated the theme of this blog to the new one. Please continue to support me by subscribing to my new blog. Thank you. Bye!

New Beginnings

Hi. Sorry I’ve not been posting for some time now. Last month I’ve been revamping some of my business systems. So, there is indeed a change awaiting all my blogs. I’m incorporating 3 of my blogs into one unique blog. This blog will exclusively discuss small business issues. Feedback from readers have promted me to combine all the 3 themes into one blog. It will be easy for you to navigate through the various categories in small business. This blog will also include more videos & podcasts, as requested by some readers. I thank all of you who have commented as you have helped the blog to evolve. I’ll give more details about the blog in the later part of the month. I’ll continue to write articles that will help you with your business. See you soon. Bye!

Happy New Year

My team and I wish you a very Happy New Year. Hope that 2010 will bring you more prosperity and happiness. Wish your business will soar in 2010!

Challenges for the New Year

2009 might have been a difficult year. What do expect 2010 to be? Is your business adapted for the challenges in 2010? Events happening in the external business or political environment may be confusing for the small business owner. How relevant are these events to your business? You have to look at both the internal and external business environment to determine your expected challenges for the New Year. Brainstorm and come up with a list of challenges. We can think of solutions later. Let me know your challenges, pass me a comment. Thanks

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Merry Christmas

My team and I wish you a very merry Christmas! Hope today is filled with fun and happiness. Make merry with family and friends!

Greedy For Business? Think Twice!

Greed! This may lead to a lot of problems for small businesses:-

1. No Target Market – Hoping to capture any big market, thus not focusing on a target market. Just greedy and hoping the odds will be beneficial to you in a big market. However, most end-up losing badly in this number game. I was also consumed by greed initially. I was just blindly calling up all companies from various industries that had the potential of using the chemicals I sold. I did not break them down them into their demographics and buying behavior. I ended up wasting time and money. If I had targeted a smaller group, I would have got bigger orders in a much faster time.

2. Greedy for more orders – Accepting too many orders beyond your operating capability. A catering business I knew accepted too many orders for Christmas last year. Thus they were not able to deliver the food to all customers on time which resulted in losing their reputation.

3. Focusing only on sales – Ignoring all other departments especially customers service. A tailor I knew was too focused on collecting cash from her service but did not bother with alterations or other additional demands by customers after the clothes were delivered. Eventually she lost customers.

Greed may lead to losing time, money, reputation and customers. Small businesses must recognize their strengths and weaknesses. Greed is definitely a weakness, a deceptive excuse for aspiration! Do you have any greedy business experiences to share? Drop me a comment. Bye!

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2010 Business Goals

It is time to set your business goals for the year 2010. So how do you go about it? As a small business owner, don’t get too confused and misguided about writing complicated business goals. That’s for the corporates. For us, make it simple. In my opinion, there are 3 ways to devise a set of business goals:-

1. Look back at 2009 goals. Which goals have not been achieved? Which goals can be modified for the year 2010?

2. Look at your budget. Set your goals based on the operational capability of your business within your allocated budget for 2010. These goals will be very realistic and should be achievable.

3. Look at your aspirations. What is your passion or dream for your business? What do you want your business to be in 2010? Disregard budget. Just set goals based on your aspirations, worry about gaining capital later. If you do not dream big, you’ll lose your drive as an entrepreneur. If all goals are easily achievable, there is neither any challenge nor growth for your business.

Make a set of goals based on each of the 3 ways I suggested above. Then study and analyze them. Take into account the current and expected business environment. Your final set of business goals should have a mixture from some of the goals from each set. Furthermore, find a balance or relationship within these different sets of goals. Your business goals for 2010 are then ready!

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Marketing For Christmas

I’ve included some articles on Christmas marketing on my other blog, marketing for cold cash. Check it out and use these tips for your business.
www.marketingforcoldcash.com

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Hiring For Christmas: Part Two

This post is a continuation from my previous one. So, how to deal with errant part-time or temporary employees? I have a few suggestions:-
1) Give them back-end jobs, not frontline
2) Don’t let them handle cash.
3) Ask family or friends for help instead. Or ask them to recommend someone trustworthy and hardworking.
4) Provide adequate training. Don’t rush through. Give them time to absorb all information.
5) Reward them with bonuses, gifts or staff discounts for good performance after their work period.
6) Make sure you get all contact details of good employees so that you can call them back next year.

Anything else to add? Send me your comments. Thanks!

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Hiring For Christmas: Part One

Many of you might be hiring additional part-time or temporary help this holiday season. But sometimes these part-time helps become more of a burden than provide any help at all. Common complaints against these part-time employees are:-
1. Stealing goods or cash
2. Not appearing from the next day of work
3. Always arriving late
4. rude
5. not having good sales or people skills
6. not learning about the products well enough to sell
7. not interested in work
8. too interested to learn the secrets of the business!

Then what is the solution to deal with errand part-timers? In my next post I’ll provide some tips to cope with them. If you have any more suggesstions, please let me know. Bye!

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