5 Questions You Must Answer before Selling Overseas

September 20, 2013

5 questions you must answer before selling overseas
Globalization has made the world smaller than ever. Even small businesses are looking into exports and international trade to increase their customer base and sales. Technological advances have made it easier to find and serve global customers even for small business owners. This traditionally used to be the purview of large, multinational companies.

While it is easy to set up online shop, deliver orders via UPS and collect money via Paypal there are more nuances to exporting and selling to international customers. You need to answer number of questions before you can embark on that journey. Will your product be subject to special regulation? How will you handle warranty and product returns? Who will collect and pay taxes to foreign countries? Failing to answer these and many other questions can put you in the hot water and impact your business.

Here are 5 questions you can begin with to understand export and international trade:

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Filed Under: Sales, Strategy Tagged With:

Preparation is Key to Managing Crisis for Small Business Owners

September 16, 2013

Preparation is key to managing crisis
Wikipedia defines crisis as any event that is, or is expected to lead to, an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, community, or whole society. For small businesses a crisis can wreak havoc if they are have not made adequate preparation in advance. Most small business owners do not really think about or planned for crisis until it is too late. This is unfortunate because with just little advanced planning and preparation they can not only withstand crisis, but come out much stronger from it.

Here are some basic rules of crisis management to consider and to familiarise yourself with in the event that your company is faced with such a situation. The key to managing any crisis situation is advanced planning.

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Filed Under: Management Tagged With:

Will your Startup Succeed? Find out with the Investor Test

September 13, 2013

Will your startup succeed
Every new business owner launches his company with the hopes of making it into next Amazon.com.  But how many can tell whether it will even be a fraction of that successful. Knowing ahead of time whether your company will be a grand success or a big bust can save business owner lot of anxious moments in life.

While there is no crystal ball that can provide foolproof prediction concerning your company’s fate, there exists a fairly reliable predictor. It is called the Investor Test, and when properly applied, it can provide an excellent gauge that tells you whether your business model will ultimately succeed. The Investor Test can also provide valuable insight into how to address potential problems or challenges that are likely to arise in the course of launching and establishing your new business.

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Filed Under: Strategy Tagged With: ,

Reputation is Everything in the Online World

September 9, 2013

Reputation is everything in the online world
It is said that it takes a long time to build trust and reputation for an individual or a business, but it takes only minutes to destroy it. The advent of Internet and social media has only reinforced this. Trust and reputation are the only things customers go by when doing business online with the ones they have never met in person. That is why your online reputation matters more than ever to your business’ success. Learning how to manage and fix your reputation can go a long way in getting and retaining customers.

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Filed Under: Marketing, Technology Tagged With:

Launch Your Own Janitorial Supply Business with These Tips

September 7, 2013

Launch your own janitorial supplies business
If you are looking for a good business idea that you could set up with reasonably little time and effort, a janitorial supply business could be a great option. Janitorial supplies will always be in demand, no matter what happens to the economy. People will need to clean their homes and offices whether they like it or not.

So how could you go about setting up your own janitorial supply business? Here are a few things to consider.

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Filed Under: Buyers Tagged With: ,

3 Tips to Make Your Meetings More Productive

September 5, 2013

3 Tips to Make Your Meetings More Productive
“It is time for a business-related meeting.”  How do those words make you feel?  Do you feel like something productive will come out of the congregation, or think that it is going to be waste of time and productivity at hand?

So, how can you ensure you always host the former feeling?  Consider ways to host productive meetings at your place of business.

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Filed Under: Management Tagged With: ,

Yes, You CAN Compete with Amazon Selling Online

September 1, 2013

how to sell online
Ecommerce sales have been growing by leaps and bounds in the last 10 years, driven by maturing of Internet technology and changing consumer behavior. Amazon has solidified its position as the behemoth of online sales, just like Wal-Mart did with brick and mortar retail few decades ago. Even traditional brick and mortar retailers, such as Staples, Best Buy, and Wal-Mart itself, have established online operations and are working hard to increase their online sales.

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Filed Under: Sales, Technology Tagged With: ,

Small Business Owners: Ignore Financial Planning at Your Own Risk

August 30, 2013

Ignore credit history at your own risk
If the Great Recession of 2008 has taught one thing to individuals and small business owners it is to keep their financial house in order, including credit history, debt and savings. Many business owners with low credit score found it impossible to get a loan at the height of recession. Even those with good credit history had trouble convincing lenders that they had the wherewithal to pay back the loan. Many people realized the importance of financial planning in that time.

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Filed Under: Finance Tagged With: ,

Warning: You may Run into Trouble without Proper Record Keeping

August 30, 2013

Importance of record keeping
In a small business it is easy to forget the importance of maintaining accurate records. These records need to be kept far longer than the time they are active. Even after an order is completed and fulfilled or, in the case of a purchase from a vendor, after you have received and fully paid for the merchandise and service, all records will need to be maintained. The typical rule of thumb is 7 years, however there are certain regulations that may increase or decrease that period. In some professions you are required maintain the records indefinitely.

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Filed Under: Operations Tagged With: ,

Small Business Branding for Beginners

August 28, 2013

Small business branding for beginners
Small business owners may not have the resources to compete with big brand names such as Nike or Coca Cola, but that doesn’t mean that branding is not important to your business. Building a brand is a vital part of marketing your services. Building commercial awareness of your company is essential to growth.

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Filed Under: Marketing Tagged With: ,