Common Business Cash-Flow Mistakes: Tips to Avoid Them

Every business has cash-flow bottlenecks, but if your small business is so tight on cash that you find it difficult to pay salaries or meet day-to-day expenses, then it is time to look for the causes and find solutions.

Here’s how to avoid some common cash-flow mistakes – and ensure that your small business stays in the red.

Not Evaluating Your Clients’ Credit History

You should check out your client’s credit history; if you don’t, it’s very likely that those with bad credit will delay their payments. If this happens, you should cut back on how much products you are supplying them with and at the same time bill them for the maximum.

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Lower Cost for Online Business: 7 Ways to Reduce Costs

Just as you need to continuously monitor and reduce direct and indirect expenses in your regular business, you will also need to reduce costs in your online business if you want to increase your profits.

If you plan to purchase products, then do some research first.

If you plan to buy and sell, it’s important for you to research which items move fast and which move slowly.

You can do this by going to sites like eBay and observing the items that are in greatest demand. eBay also makes it possible to check out the top ten fastest-moving items.

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Common Startup Business Mistakes: New Business Owner Mistakes

Common Startup Business Mistakes: New Business Owner Mistakes

If you have just started a new business, then read on. Below are 6 mistakes that are commonly made by new entrepreneurs – and how to avoid them.

Only Theory, No Practice.

If you have all the required knowledge to run your business, it is still very important to have an idea about the market that you will be doing business in.

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Risk Management and Your Small Business

It does not matter whether your business is large or small - every business comes with its own share of problems.

While larger corporations might have special teams to assess the different types of risks and take appropriate action to counter them, your small business might not need an entire team to cover the risks.

Therefore, you can handle the situation in an informal manner.

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Choosing the Right Business Partner Can Give Your Small Business a Boost

Below we will discuss how the right business partner can help in improving your small business.

Your Partner Will Bring In Additional Skill Sets

In addition to the obvious benefit of adding capital to your small business, your partner will also bring in their own unique skills.

Those skills could be related to new business or marketing techniques, or they could even be technical skills that will help you understand your products in a better way.

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Common Business Planning Mistakes That You Should Avoid

Here are some common business planning mistakes that you should avoid. It is very important for any business plan to be practical and achievable, and it should also be error-free.

Worrying Too Much

If you constantly change your business plans because you are worried that things might not work out according to plan, then you need to inject yourself with some confidence.

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6 Strategies to Help Your Small Business Succeed

Read these 6 strategies that can help your small business succeed. Follow these steps to small business success and watch you business prosper.

High Quality Products Supported With A High Level Of Service.

You will need to ensure that the quality of your products is way ahead of regular market standards.

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Give the Gift of Tech Productivity On Admin Professionals Day

According to Wikipedia Administrative Professionals Day is on April 22, 2009 and was created to recognize the work of secretaries, administrative assistants, receptionists, and other administrative support professionals.

Sure, flowers (I use ProFlowers.com), chocolates, gift certificates (from Amazon.com) and other things are nice for the administrative assistant in your life.

However, instead of those wilting, fattening, short term gifts, what about a gift that your admin can use day in and day out and really appreciate?

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How to Get Your Customers to Say "Wow"

Show Genuine Happiness

For excellent client service, you should be happy at the arrival of each new client and should also show it. Your smile and interest in your customers should be genuine. Listen to what your customers are trying to convey before you start showcasing your products or start your sales pitch. This is a good business client tip to follow.

Be calm and polite but firm at all times. Radiate energy and enthusiasm through your body language. Your employees should be equally active and interested in their jobs.

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Achieving Entrepreneurial Zen: Balancing Work and Life

In an era where competition is stiff and customers are demanding, how can an entrepreneur find success both personally and professionally? If you find that your business is encroaching upon your personal life, consider incorporating these tips to achieve entrepreneurial zen.

Build or find a support network – For work life balance you have to know when you need help, and do not be afraid to ask for assistance. Entrepreneurs are accustomed to wearing dozens of hats, but this does not always bode well for your personal sanity or business success. In fact, by employing a support network to help you during busy times, you can step back and see your company in a new light – which may allow you to work even more effectively. Consider enlisting your significant other for help when needed, or look into hiring an affordable virtual assistant to help you with the administrative tasks so that you can focus on your specialty: growing your business!

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Considerations for Relocating Your Business

The Need for More Space

One common reason why owners choose to relocate their business is because they need more room.

These businesses have outgrown their current space and need to hire more employees or otherwise expand operations and cannot do so in their current location.

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Developing and Maintaining an Online Business: Tips and Techniques!

Online businesses can and often are very profitable. One reason for the growing popularity of doing business online is freedom from the 'daily grind' of a regular 9 to 5 job. However, if you decide to start an online business you need take all possible steps in order to ensure success and enjoy the freedom it provides.

When you are planning your online business, as with any other business, you need to make sure you've done your homework and know what you're getting into - because in some ways, even though you will be your own boss, running an Internet business can be more time- consuming than when you are working for someone else in the real world.

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Techniques for Reducing Stress from Work

Stress has always been associated with hard work - and when you are involved in the day-to-day running of your small business, you probably end up feeling stressed out by the end of the day.

Stress can make even the most cheerful person grumpy and unpleasant to be around. Over a longer period of time, stress can also lead to health consequences such as heart trouble and diabetes.

Here are some ways to avoid stress when running your small business:

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Business Email Communication: Managing by E-Mail

No matter where your employees are, you need to be able to set expectations, assign and monitor the progress of their work and give feedback. But there is a major difference in the way you communicate with your employees when you telecommute: You usually don't speak face-to-face. With the Internet being used for almost every aspect of business, it's no surprise that the majority of managers who supervise telecommuters communicate with them via e-mail.

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Small Business Hiring Tips: Problems of Hiring a Relative

... hire a relative of a client or customer.

In bigger firms, the practice is common -- It's a hard request to turn down, especially if it comes from a key account: "As a favor, could you have a look at my brother/son/cousin, who really needs a break. . ."

In a big company, even if the prospective new hire is a loser, there are likely enough corners of the company in which to stash him or her until boredom leads to resignation. And company secrets are much harder to find than in small businesses.

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Monitoring Business Cash Flow: Business Self-Audit Process & Financial Business Records

Understanding your company's cash flow is essential to staying in business. To keep on top of things, consider audits. No, auditing isn't just something unpleasant that the IRS does. Many successful businesses conduct self-audits as a means of monitoring their financial status.

Auditing on a weekly basis can provide a company with the foresight to avoid potential problems that could be detrimental to a company's financial fitness. The process gives a financial administrator valuable knowledge to plan the company's payment and collection schedule. Knowing which accounts need to be paid in full and which can be paid off in stages can help stretch a diminished cash reserve.

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Ethics in Business: Values that Start with You

The business owner who starts off his or her business at the dining room table in the evenings and grows it into a multi-staff business is faced with a number of challenges. One of those challenges is the transference of values and ethics from the business owner to the staff.

Outsiders who have never started their own business might naively assume that this transference is very easy and happens naturally. Unfortunately, that is not the case. It is not easy to create a top-down ethical environment. However, a top- down approach is exactly what is needed.

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How to Handle a Stress-Related Meltdown and Get Back Into the Game

Running a small business can be extremely stressful. If you’re not careful, you could suffer a complete meltdown.

The following tips will help you to overcome stress and get back in the game.

• Identify The Problem.

In order to find a solution that lasts, you will need to locate the problem afflicting your mental health.

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Entrepreneur Characteristics: Personal Qualities of an Entrepreneur

What makes an entrepreneur is a complex question. It includes factors from the environment in which an individual was raised, his or her family situation, and his or her personality traits. This question has been the subject of a great deal of both study and research. The following discussion is a summary of my own observations plus some of the conclusions of others.

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Employee Team Building: Making a Successful Team

If you have a small business and have hired employees, then it is important for everyone to work together as a cohesive unit to achieve success.

Specify Employee Roles

All employees should be clear as to the roles they are playing and what is expected of them. Along with that, you need to teach all of your employees to keep the larger picture in mind. This makes it possible for you to explain to them what effects their actions will have on the overall success or failure of the company.

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