Lazy? Not engaged? Don't care attitude? Jump from job to job? Millennials have been described in those terms and far worse. It's true that millennials view work differently. They've grown up with technology. Here are 5 surprising ways to motivate millennials at work.
The bottom line is always a big concern for small businesses. The continual quest to cut costs and save money becomes a daunting task, especially when a company is already operating on bare bones. As pocketbooks tighten, more and more businesses are turning to outsourcing to help reduce costs. Let’s look at how outsourcing some of your business functions can help boost your bottom line. Here's why outsourcing can save you money:
How do you feel when potential customers disagree with you, say you’re wrong, or they’re not going to buy from you? Maybe you’re dejected, rejected, frustrated or resigned. You might assume the prospect just isn’t going to buy, or is too stupid to see the fantastic offer you’ve made him. Here's the next in our series on how to make a sales - handling sales objections.
Have you heard the phrase Lean Startup? It's a methodology that obviously can be used for startups but also for growing companies and even corporations too. This article gives a quick overview to Lean Startup.
Video promotions, product demonstrations and testimonials are one of the best ways to build confidence in your brand and earn consumers’ trust. Here are some video marketing tips to boost sales for your business.
Negative employees or general negativity in the workplace can have a substantially adverse effect on the business, especially when the negativity spreads throughout the workforce. Here's how to deal with a negative employee in the workplace:
Does your business need to get its hands on more working capital? Have you looked at invoice discounting or factoring? In this post we look at invoice discounting vs factoring for small businesses:
Online marketing is a constantly moving field. Just maintaining your site nowadays simply isn't enough. SEO or PPC have been proven to be a successful way to increase traffic and website usability as well as savvy funnelling helps to convert the people who visit your website into potential clients. Here are four things which will help you boost your business as you use online marketing to reach potential customers. Read on to find out four golden rules of online marketing.
In this post we look at going back to business basics, there are some key things that you should be focussed on from customers to goal setting to competitive analysis. Read on to find out 6 key business basics for SMEs:
(Pictured L to R Olivia Lynch, KPMG, Mary O'Brien, VideoDoc, Julie Sinnamon, Enterprise Ireland)
The call has just opened for a new cycle of Going for Growth. This will be the 12th cycle of the programme funded by Enterprise Ireland and KPMG. We asked Paula Fitzsimons, National Director of Going for Growth to tell us more:
Money makes the world go around, but it’s also one of the biggest causes of stress — especially for entrepreneurs and small business owners. If you have a very small team or you’re running your business solo, it can be really easy to spend a lot more than you should, which is the quickest way to get into debt and lose your company. The number one rule to running a successful business is to be smart with your cash, time, and resources, so that you can invest yourself in better opportunities. Here are five tips to help you on the path to success.
Your employees are your greatest asset. Staff can positively reflect the company and contribute to your company‘s competitive advantage. However, this only applies if your employees perform at their best. Here are ways to minimise employee stress and maximise performance:
When you’re a small business owner, it can be hard. You know that it’s a competitive landscape out there, many small businesses end up failing. 9 out of 10 startups fail, and that almost half of all small businesses don’t make it to their 6th year. Keeping an eye on the money is one way to avoid this, here are 5 ways small business owners can save money:
At some point as a customer service representative, you will encounter a customer who is, for one reason or another, on a warpath. Maybe their order was late or someone was rude to them last week. No matter the reason, they are angry, and they are now your problem. Here are 5 steps to handle an angry customer:
Running a small business is no walk in the park. It is quite similar to lows and highs of cross-country. Success is never a straight line, but an array of slowdowns, wrong turns, and extremely dangerous curves. When running a business, the whole journey will be filled with signs of landmarks; ignore the signs and you will fail miserably. If your business has been declining rather than growing then here are 5 ways to put your business on track.
You have to work, there’s no getting around it. Sometimes work can be an exciting challenge and other times it will feel more like a challenge just to get through the day. There will always be certain stressors that you have to face, but learning to manage those stressors and the things that cause them is an important lesson. A great place to start is to arrange your work environment to best suit your needs and set you up for success in the future. These are a few changes you can make to your office to encourage a relaxed and productive environment.
Many start-ups have begun their stories in the garages/basements/kitchens of their founders. It makes sense to work from home in the early stages, when you are still learning to stand on your own two feet. But if you have moved to a stage where your business is looking good for now and you’ve got a good team onboard, you may well be considering moving to a proper commercial property to give your business the professional look it needs. Here are some things to keep in mind when hunting for your first office:
In the context of business planning, it would be fair to say that producing financial projections is the most teeth-clenching, hair–tearing, sweat-inducing, sanity-defying task of them all. This is particularly true with regard to sales or revenue calculations. The business is judged by its sales, and your sales projections set the standard for profits and growth. Here's how to work out sales projections for your business:
I hate losing a sale to a competitor. I hate it even more when it’s my own fault! If I’m honest, it’s usually clear that I’ve messed up on one of the basic steps of the sale. (I’ve simply given away my competitive advantage.) In my last blog, How to Make a Sale – Steps of the Sale, I explained the importance of matching How customers make decisions, to How to make a sale. Now let's look at the impact of planning. So here's how to make a sale - planning first, ask questions later:
It is vital that you continually reassess your situation. No matter where you are on the scale of success, it is a worthwhile exercise to take time out and re-evaluate. Here's why you should reassess for success:
