How to grow your buisness

Growing Your Company with Existing Clientele Being in business for a while, you eventually begin to shed many of your initial fears as you begin to find confidence in what you are doing. Living though situations you once feared and coming out safely on the other side is a learning experience many people have to go through before they can fully understand the concept. As word begins to spread around and you are finding new clients a little faster than you had in the past, you can sometimes miss out on opportunities to make more money with the resources you have at your disposal, including your existing clients and customers. Starting out can be a mass chaos of events. Procuring new customers takes a lot of time, effort, and money. Oftentimes, small business owners can increase profits and efficiency simply through their existing connections.

These are people who have purchased products from you or hired your services in the past. It may have been a one-time event or perhaps you have built a good relationship early in your venture. As a business owner, you can not forget about these initial relationships.

They can make a huge difference in your existing profit margin. Here are four ways to raise your profits with existing relationships: Raise Your Prices – Clients who have come to rely on the quality of your services or product already know what to expect. If they keep coming back, they are likely to adjust to a small increase in prices. Often in the beginning, business owners set prices lower in order to attract new customers. Once you have proven yourself and gained credibility, you should adjust your prices accordingly. Do not be drastic in the changes but consider how much your time is really worth now that you may have a better idea. Keep Marketing – Just because you got their business one time, doesn’t always mean they will come back without further invitation. Businesses should constantly be marketing to both new and existing customers. People need to be reminded of things. If you are only focusing your efforts on the “new”, the “old” could easily forget about you fast. Pay Attention to Needs – Customers and clients can provide a new business a wealth of information about what they need and what they want. Listening to the problems or needs of customers and clients can help you make important decisions about what direction your business should be taking in order to capitalize on the important things. Finding a niche market can increase your profit astronomically. Sell More – Customers who have had a good experience dealing with your company are likely to repeat their business. Take the opportunity to discuss all of the services you offer or the products you sell. Do not just sell what they are looking to buy. Many times additional sales are missed because the buyer is just not aware of the availability of certain products and services. Keeping your customers in the know could net you a lot more profit with little expense. Tisha Kulak is a writer for Creditorweb.com, where she writes about credit card offers, business credit cards and small business finances. 5 Steps to Organize your Work Day Efficiently It’s 10:38am and you are on a roll. You are so deeply involved in your work, that you barely notice the world around you. You are in the zone. You just need to verify the date on that invoice…but where is that invoice? It was right there a second ago. Nothing throws off your concentration faster that disorganization. You may have to spend the next 10 minutes looking through drawers, the piles on your desk and maybe even the recycling bin to see if it accidentally ended up there. Are you one of those people who say they have their ‘own’ filing system? This usually is just a cover for ‘I basically know what each of these various piles are here for and can probably tell you what’s in some of them.’ There is no telling how much time can be lost in a day due to disorganization. Imagine if every time you needed something, it was right where it was supposed to be. What a time saver that would be! If you are trying to find a way to avoid losing precious minutes out of your day trying to find that file, email, invoice or pen, the following tips may be valuable to you. 1. File everyday Don’t let papers build up on your desk. Piles of paper sitting on your desk not only hamper your efficiency, they create stress as well. Imagine sitting down to work with nothing but your current project on your desk. Now imagine it (if it doesn’t already resemble this) with piles of work everywhere. You can feel the stress those piles create. Set aside 15 minutes each day to create files, label them clearly and set up a filing system or just keep them in alphabetical order. This will be a great time saver the next time that you are looking for that invoice.

The 15 minutes a day you put into this will be regained and then some in the time that you don’t have to spend searching for things. 2. Organize your computer files Just as you set up a filing system for your papers, you need to arrange a filing system on your computer. Not being able to find a document on your computer is every bit as frustrating as losing one on paper. But this is very easily avoided, since every time you save a document on your computer, you are asked where you would like to save it. If you have just been randomly saving your work wherever your computer prompts you to, it’s time to clean up. Create folders for larger topics and subfolders within each topic. For example, if you work with contracts, have one folder called ‘contracts’, and within this folder have a subfolder where you keep your contract templates called ‘templates’ and other subfolders for each of your clients where you can store copies of the contracts you have with each customer. You should also regularly organize your desktop in order to avoid sitting and staring at it unproductively for long periods. You need to eliminate the clutter on your desktop by erasing any shortcuts for programs that you don’t use often. This will enable you to quickly access your frequently used programs. 3. Make to-do lists Do you ever feel so overwhelmed with work that you don’t even know where to begin? Making a to-do list at the start of each work day is such a simple step, but will help enormously to keep you on track. You will avoid starting one task only to realize that you have something more important that needs to be done first. I personally have found to-do lists to be the most effective time saver and I am constantly amazed at how doing such a small thing as creating a list makes me a great deal more efficient. 4. Be neat It’s incredibly simple and amazingly effective at saving you time. Put things back in their place when you are finished with them.

There is nothing more irritating than having to stop working in order to find your pen. If you don’t have them already, find some organizational objects for your desk such as, a cup for your pens, a box for your paperclips and an in-box for your newest tasks. Keep the supplies you use frequently such as staples, staplers, highlighters and hanging file folder tabs in one easily accessible place. 5. Keep a calendar With all of the responsibilities you have in a day, you can’t possibly expect to remember everything. A calendar will keep you on track and help you to avoid missing important meetings, appointments and even family events. If you use Microsoft Outlook, and have your computer on throughout the day, use its calendar or you can find many free calendar programs online. Just do a Google search for ‘free online calendars’. If you don’t work at your computer all day, consider buying an agenda to keep you on track, or a handheld such as a Palm Pilot or Pocket PC, or check if your cell phone has a calendar you can use. Organization is the key to efficiency. Using these few simple steps will help your work day run considerably smoother. Taking the time to get organized is just the first step. Maintaining organization is the solution for helping you to remain effective in your work. Take charge of your time by following these tips, it will cost you little time, but will ultimately save you considerable hours. How to track business expenses during Start-Up phase Small businesses in the start up phase have a lot of important decisions to make as they develop their business plans and concentrate on the initial steps that will put their business on track, building from the ground up. One of the most important aspects of the start up phase is putting together a sound financial plan to incorporate the start up costs that will continue to be relevant not only during the startup phase but also will grow with the company down the line. Entrepreneurs often use their own start up capital to get their business ideas off the ground. Essentially, it is important to differentiate business expenses from personal expenses to maximize accounting efforts and to easily track the cost of business start up. Employing a company credit card, designed for small businesses, is an easy way to tally all business expenses in one location. For a young business, accurate accounting will be vital to establishing a solid foundation. Knowing what your expenses are will aid you in creating a sound financial plan and will carry over into the future. Credit card statements make it easy to divide individual expenses into categories, such as office supplies, business licenses, marketing, and travel expenses. Reviewing credit card statements monthly should be a priority and at the same time, you can use a highlighter to categorize your expenses. This is especially important for sole proprietors, whose every expense needs to be calculated for tax purposes.

The last thing a business entrepreneur wants to do at the end of the year is chase miscellaneous receipts and expenses in preparation for filing taxes. Credit card statements can also be stored for future reference when coordinating each new phase of the company’s growth. With the progression of today’s credit card program, there are various credit cards offering benefits specifically to assist small businesses and entrepreneurs by offering discounts on office related supplies or cash back incentives for all credit card purchases. For any new business, savings of any kind are important, especially for business owners that are self-financing. It is important for business owners to take the time and research the credit cards which offer incentive programs very carefully and not just jump on board with each and every credit card offering a credit limit. Look for the rewards cards that are most relevant and most effective for your business needs. For example, if your business requires frequent travel to meet clients or perspective customers, look for cards offering airline miles or travel discounts.

There are plenty of programs that offer different rewards variables to choose from but it is also important you read the fine print and consider the monthly payment responsibilities. Start up can be a precarious time for a business and there may not always be work in the pipeline. While the start up phase of a new business venture can be an extremely exciting time, it is also incredibly confusing and fast-paced. Financial decisions should be well thought out and a company credit card should not be taken lightly. Doing the research and always practicing good financial habits will help ensure that the financial foundation of your company will start strong and continue to stay strong as growth occurs. 6 Steps to a Successful Small Business A few days ago, I finally followed through on what I have been meaning to do for a very long time....form an LLC to expand my business of websites/blogs. I have called it ATA Consulting LLC.

The reason I have given this name is because 'Consulting' is a very broad category and thats why I'm not limited to just websites and blogs. Below is a 6 step process to building a successful business. 1. Start Smart 2. Plan Ahead 3. Set up Systems 4. Seek out Sales 5. Aim for Growth 6. Leverage Opportunities 1. Start Smart. Identify a niche. Don't compete to be the lowest cost provider. Look for what makes your product or service unique and adds a special value for the client and charge for that value. Every business has many facets. Start with what you know and like; start a business that has meaning to you. Keep in mind that we don't know what the future holds, many of the jobs and businesses of tomorrow don't exist today. You can create your own success. Now is the time to dream. To start smart, you should like the idea of the business.

The way to earn a good income and build wealth is by serving clients well, making their life better in some way-it's more than filling a need in the marketplace. To succeed you want to test the idea to make sure your potential clients like the idea too. Test your ideas. 2. Plan Ahead. People often ask me why bother with a business plan? Look at the lottery as an example. You may get lucky and get the winning ticket, but the odds are against you when you rely on random chance. I'm a risk taker...but not that much, minimize the risk of going into business and maximize your potential for success. Take the time to write a plan of how you get from point A to point B. A plan gives you a clear future focus and increases your chances of success. The first rule of a start-up is put some of your own money in the business. As the owner you must be willing to capitalize the business.

The second rule is put as little of your own money as possible in the business. Prepare your plan and look for funding for your business from multiple sources, which can include a business loan or business line of credit. Don't go it alone. Plan ahead now to build your team. Your team may include a CPA and an attorney that you work with as needed. Add a mentor from your industry and get a SCORE mentor to help you plan for success. No one has all the answers. You get more ideas and information by building a success, support team that can help you plan ahead. 3. Set up Systems. The most basic system every business should have is a good financial system. Ask yourself how am I going to generate enough income to support myself and my family. Begin here. Put together a personal budget, so you know what it costs you to live. Now, you can move on to the business budget and sales planning, so you can see how many sales you need to break even and make a profit.

The start-up expense plan, operating budget and your accounting software are vital to your success. 4. Seek out Sales. The daunting question is how do you go about seeking out your first sale. Recognize that since you don't have a big ad budget to be seen by everyone, you need to target a niche and get connected in your market community, be it local, regional or national. You need other people selling for you-not employees-goodwill referrals. Get out and talk to as many people as you can. Join organizations that would have clients for your product or service. Become a visible part of your market, and then ask for the sale. You begin the sales process with people that you know. Yes, it's okay to start with friends and family as your first customers, and then broaden from there. 5. Aim for Growth. The basic tenant of creating a company is that you own the company. You are not just creating a job for yourself. It's less risk and less investment to get a job. Building a business is creating a company that is more than the job itself. Think about the future. How large do you want the company to be in terms of sales, net profit and employees? Your answer to each of these questions will influence how you grow.

There are varying costs and profits associated with growth. It's important to make a deliberate choice early about how you want to grow your company. 6. Leverage Opportunities. Good luck. Good fortune. Good timing. All play a part in business. As a business owner, be very clear about your core focus for the business and how it serves clients. Your core business is what pays the bills.

Then, as an entrepreneur you are about opportunity. When you see a potential opportunity or stroke of luck measure it against your core business focus. Good fortune is great, when it matches your vision for the business. Always consider if a good opportunity is the right fit for your business. If something looks great, but it's not in sync with your long-term plan and budget, think carefully before committing your company's resources. For more details log on to:http://buisnessbuisness.blogspot.com/