Rick's Blog - Common Sense Experience for Small Businesses
Let the Celebration Begin – You and the Success of Your Business
We all like to celebrate in one way or another our life’s accomplishment. Take for example your birthday. We all one every year and in most cases, we enjoy the recognition by friends and family of this important event. The party and the gathering of celebrants is wonderful, but what really appeals to most of us is the recognition we personally receive from the event. If for just a moment we are the center of…
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At A Loss For Words — Never a good place for any business to be
Have you ever been caught for a loss of words? We all have and typically it is an embarrassing position to be in. Personally, it can happen, but it should never happen in your business. One of the keys to sustaining and building your business is to be prepared for events before they occur. Like having the right kind and amount of business insurance to cover a loss when it happens. Such as when a…
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Why Use A Marketing Plan
Ok, why use any plan to run your business? In my experience a lot of small businesses, typically really small businesses don’t use any type of written planning to run their business. These businesses are usually what are affectionately known as “Mom & Pop’s” or just “Mom” or “Pop” businesses. They are really someone just in business for all practical purposes to create a job for themselves. So, what the hell, why do they need…
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Employee Training – When and How Much?
Employee training is, in my opinion, one of the forgotten tools that a business can use to improve both its top and bottom line. A better trained workforce provides the business with obvious advantages. An employee who is trained to do a job is going to do a better job and he or she will be more efficient in carrying out their duties. A workplace that offers regular training to its employees will attract better,…
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How to Promote Your Employees
Our employees or human resources are the most important asset of almost every business. As such each step in developing our employees is consequential. The opportunity to promote whether is dependent on a predetermined structure or is motivated by an immediate need to replace offers you a chance to build your relationship with an individual employee as well as your workforce. A promotion is often used as a reward for an employee’s work performance. In…
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How to Get Useful Business Advice Quick and Easy
First, I will assume that you are open to seeking business advice to help you build a better business. If you are not then you need read no further. I have been helping small business owners build better businesses for 15 years. Prior to that I owned 5 different business that I either bought or started, built and successfully sold. In addition, I grew up in a family owned business. All this experience gives me…
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Loyalty – Where Do I Find Loyal Employees?
Loyal employees, like many of the characteristics of a successful business, starts with the owner(s). It typically starts the day you decide to open your own business and you start putting together your business plan. It’s during the planning process that you must decide just what kind of business attitude or atmosphere do you want to create. Most people call this your business culture. Your business culture finds its beginning with you and what you…
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How Big Can I Grow My Business?
This can be a really tough question to answer, in particular if it is your business. First, there are resources we need to successfully grow a business. “Would we be able to find and afford them?” Secondly, “How do I develop a business plan that if effectively implemented will lead to growth of my business?” Thirdly, are the questions about oneself like “Am I qualified to lead this business and successfully grow it according to…
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How Do I Share My Business Information with My Employees?
The answer to the question, “How do I Share Business Information with my Employees”, has several parts. First, you need to decide if you want to share this kind of information. There are several reasons you might want to share your business information with some or all your employees. First, many business owners want to “empower” their employees so they can perform at higher levels. Secondly, the employee can feel more a part of a…
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