What Small Business Could Learn From Large Business

Often small businesses do not consider operating in the same mode as large corporations with divisions like accounting, operations, or human resources. Indeed, exactly replicating division may not even be possible due to size constraints. Many small businesses consider such ideas as being top heavy and unnecessary. Yet, they deal in these very categories daily. An entrepreneur may be human resources, accounting, management, operations, and maintenance all in the same day. By beginning to think big, a business can grow larger.

One of the most over-looked categories small businesses miss is operations. Business operations is the what a business does. And the main reason it is over-looked is that it is so obvious. It is taken for granted. An entrepreneur is so often focused on bookkeeping or marketing, some new aspect to their business that they forget about the core business. They do not even think about what they do as a business. Yet, if a small business would continually look at how they do business, there could be cost savings and efficiencies that boost their bottom line. Looking at new suppliers or how they do what they do could mean more net profit to the owners. Something as simple as looking at how someone in the trades makes service calls could help a small business save money by being more efficient. Or it could mean more billable calls in a day and therefore more gross profit.

Another thing a small business could learn from large business is to mimic its divisions. Indeed, when starting out an entrepreneur has to wear many hats, but as he or she matures as a business owner they can begin to delegate. Entrepreneurs should start to outsource as much as possible what could be done by others. Large companies have enough business and revenue to hire entire departments dedicated to those roles. Fortunately, small business have other small businesses that can do much of the same thing. Things like payroll, marketing, bookkeeping, administration, etc. can all be outsourced to other small businesses. This can help a small business owner stay focused on their core business.

When it is time for a small business to grow, one should consider growing its core business. Again as an example, if a business was in the trades, it should hire more tradesmen and buy more trucks to make service calls. This is opposed to hiring more support staff to do the peripheral duties. Those duties can be done by outsourcing. Only when the outsourcing costs far outstrip hiring a full-time person to do them, should one consider bringing them in-house.

There is a big difference how small and large businesses do business. Still, there is much they could learn from each other. And for the small business learning from large business it could translate into growth in size and profits.

Doing a Business Plan For a Business Loan

When a small business is looking for capital, a business loan is one of the first thoughts. Unless a business has an established relationship with a lender, one of the items that will be required is a business plan. A business plan should be done for every business regardless of capital needs. It does a good job of assessing the market, predicting cash flow, and ultimately shows weakness of the business. Doing a business plan on an existing business can be eye opening.

A business plan has two components- the narrative and the financials. The narrative talks about the business and the market it serves. It also describes and gives details to the financials. A component most business plans miss but are always good to include are marketing plans. The financials are a balance sheet, profit and loss (P/L) or income statement, and cash-flow statement. If a business is an existing business then it will write the narrative and do the financials based upon past performance. A start-up will have to project income and be ready to make a defense of any projections.

There are a number of business plan outlines, samples, and software that can provide help in developing the narrative. Regardless of what help one chooses, it will start with a description of the business. This will be quickly followed by a description of the market the business hopes to fill. Then the narrative will discuss how the business will conduct itself and how it arrived at the numbers that are shown in the financials. The thing to remember most of all is to brief and concise. This is not a college paper, but a financial document. Often the narrative is no more than three pages at most if the money being requested is modest. Be sure and work in the expertise of management somewhere in the narrative.

The financials are numerical formats showing the business's finances. One can use spreadsheets or other software like Quickbooks to crunch the numbers. Financials are made up of three different sets of figures. An existing business uses actual numbers and a start-up will use projections. Actually, an existing business will use two sets of numbers. First, it will use past performance numbers from actual historical data. Second, future projections based on past data and the desired capital being requested. The future financial projections should show how the infusion of cash will help increase revenue and profits, strengthening the business's ability to repay the capital loan. The financials should also show ownership's capital investment in the business. Many lenders require twenty percent or more of start-up capital to be in the form of owner equity.

Building a Successful Business, Never Hire a Slow Walker

Whether you are a manager of a business or simply a person that wanted to start a business, you should be aware of the importance to company or business productivity of effective business management. The success of your business will definitely depend on your business management strategies.

In order to have a great business management, make sure that the people you lead are capable of handling the tasks well, they have a happy disposition and they have clearly defined goals. Effective management could be a hard task if you don't have the right people with the right skills. Choose your people wisely; never hire a slow walker as they will just delay your business growth.

Business management should always start with you. If you have been a worker or employee and you decided to switch into the business world, you should consider necessary factors first. It can actually be challenging when transitioning from an ordinary worker to a business manager and owner. Running your own business is a whole lot different from simple work in the office and the responsibilities are bigger since you will be the boss and will be handling people. For an effective business management you will have to think and prioritize more than just your own needs and expectations and start being responsible for your own team as well.

Setting clear goals and expectations is also a good strategy. Although you and your team have the same goal to achieve and know exactly what you should be doing, you should be setting a clear expectation so that they will be more productive. Seeing and understanding the goals they to attain will give you and your people a sense of achievement. Clear goal setting plays a major role in your management strategy. These goals should not only be incorporated with the expectations of every employee but also for the use of business process management software and future financial goals and needs.

Yes you own the business but you can never run your business all by yourself. In fact the biggest problem in business management is the failure to delegate the tasks to other employees or people. You will need to trust others that they can do the job well. Forget about the "If you don't do it yourself, it won't be done correctly" attitude. This will just make your tasks impossible to finish and making your employees feel useless and unmotivated. Trust your people to carry out the tasks you assigned to them. In the first place, it was you who hired them so it means they met your standards when it comes to work. And I'm sure you will never hire a low walker for the job. Apply your knowledge and talents in business management and leadership and put your business at the top of the world. When you delegate tasks, you will need to have enough time to focus in your management actions and allow your team to work effectively.

Never stop learning. As you can see our technology today is advancing more and more. Some business management techniques that are used before could be effective but may not be effective anymore when use today. That's why it is essential to stay up to date with the current management techniques, constantly think on how you may improve your business even more. This is truly useful in the areas of financial management and the business process management software. You will then stay competitive with your competitors and maintain high efficiency levels. Learning new technologies and strategies will allow you to improve your business management skills and you will be able to achieve your goals in no time.

You may also try to do business partnership especially if you don't have enough funds to start your business. Most business owners would partner with their family or relatives for security reasons. Some would also do business with friends but just a piece of advice, when planning to do partnerships, make sure that you fully trust the person you will be doing business well and never hire a slow walker.

Steps to Starting a Small Business - Important Things to Do In Putting Up Your Business

Starting you own business may not be easy but once you have right ideas in place and you have prepared well, starting up may not be that difficult as what you think. If you are thinking of putting up a small business, brainstorming on the small business ideas might be one of the first things that you need to do.

If you are eager to put up your own business, it is also important to be able to familiarize the different steps to starting a small business. Here are a few things that you should not forget if you are trying to put up a business and you want to start right.

- Brainstorm and think of a business that is right for you. You have to consider your skills, your knowledge about the business, the profitability of your business in the location your want to put it. One of the most important consideration also in choosing a business is the demand of the product or the services in the particular area that you want to cater to.

- Make sure you have a comprehensive business plan for your business. A business should start with a plan to guide you through the important details of starting it up. Your business plan should contain your objectives, how you can achieve your objectives and business goals, as well as the financial and technical aspect of running the business.

- Have a market research. If you think you can just skip market research because you are only putting up a small business, you may be wrong. Whether you are putting up a large or small business, it is important for business starters to know their audiences. This will help you decide on what are the current demands of your target market and the services or products your can offer.

- Have the necessary training that can help you put up your business. Of course, you have to be knowledgeable enough about the business if you want to succeed with it. Get assistance if you need as well. You don't have to do everything by yourself. Even if you are putting up a small business, it does not mean you have to go through all the business by yourself.

- Decide for the type of business that you want to put up. You can go into business alone as the sole proprietor or go into a partnership. Of course, there are different advantages and disadvantages of both and weighing up the pros and cons can help you decide on which way to go. Among the considerations you have to make is the money capital available as well as the profit sharing.

- Process the necessary papers, licensing as well as registration of your business.

These are just a few of the steps to starting a small business. Do your homework and research on everything you need to know in putting up your own business so you will also be able to assured that your are making the right thing right from the start.

This Week in Small Business

Since 1994, I've been running my own small business (it's a consulting firm that helps clients with customer relationship management). In the early years, the best way to get information was by reading a few self-help business books and visiting a couple of Web sites once in a while. Now it seems as if there are a million Web sites and books and experts all trying to tell me how to succeed. And another million bloggers and pundits interpreting the daily political, economic and cultural news and events that affect my company.

What small-business owner has the time to sort through all of this stuff? Well, now that The New York Times has enlisted me as a blogger, I guess I do. I'm going spend the time each week and summarize everything that's happening that affects my business. I'm going to highlight the best commentary from smart people who will help me understand these events. I'll add a few of my own comments. This exercise, I hope, will help me run my business better. Perhaps it will help yours, too.

Welcome to Dashboard.

STILL A BUYER'S MARKET A big job-creating program that was part of the last year's stimulus bill is expiring soon, which could mean even more people will be unemployed. "The federal program has helped employ nearly 130,000 adults and has paid for nearly an equal number of summer jobs for young people, according to an analysis by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal policy institute in Washington." But wait... a new report by the Conference Board says that online job demand has increased by 30 percent (that's a million jobs) since the official "end" of the recession in June 2009. Even so, it looks as if unemployment is going to stay high for a while.

IT'S OVER, I TELL YOU While many were busy watching the premiere of "Dancing With the Stars" (dude, that Palin girl can move!), the government announced that the recession ended in June 2009. Don't believe it? Neither does Steve King, a researcher who argues that for many small businesses, the recession is... not over. Back in August, Mr. King wrote about the "2 Speed Economy," explaining that bigger companies were recovering faster than smaller ones (funny, he reached this conclusion even without visiting my company). He is now forecasting that "the small-business economy will emerge from recession by the end of this year and start to grow early next year."

HERE'S ANOTHER BAILOUT Maybe we should stop whining about China all the time. One recent report listed 25 American products that rely on huge protective trade tariffs just to survive. (Hey! That's the jacket I wore to every high school dance on slide No. 8.) I bet these business owners aren't complaining about the government.

HEALTH CARE OVERHAUL MOVES FORWARD Some key provisions of the health care plan have kicked in. NPR has an interesting interview transcript that reviews the changes for both individuals and businesses. You might want to point your employees to this summary of the bill, too. Many business owners are still grumbling about higher premiums. Meanwhile, a new poll says the new bill doesn't go far enough.

NEED A TICKET? The Phillies clinched the National League East this week, which means I'm going to be paying big for playoff tickets. This report in the Harvard Business Review gives some tips on getting great ticket prices. Oh, and it helps business owners like me figure out their own pricing challenges, too. It's useful, but do you really think a prof from Harvard is going to out-negotiate a scalper from South Philly?

SMALL-BUSINESS POLITICS Just before the Congressional recess, the small-business jobs bill was signed into law, offering incentives for banks to loan and tax breaks for businesses buying equipment. Some tax guys are gushing over it. And remember the old saying about rain being good for the farmers? This guy says the bill is too. Me? I think it's a gimmick.

LEAVE 'EM LAUGHING Where do you want to spend your advertising dollars? With the recession behind us, a new report says that "most retailers are planning to increase spending on Internet and mobile channels over the next 12 months. In addition, most retailers are planning to advertise more aggressively during the 2010 holiday shopping season." Don't want to waste more money on ads? Then according to a new product by this sales training coach all you need to do is make your customers laugh more.

FEELING SICK? I'm keeping my eye on a proposed law in New York City that could, if successful, affect businesses around the country. "The bill would require businesses to provide employees up to 72 hours, or nine days, a year of sick leave. For a business with fewer than 20 workers, the maximum number of paid sick leave hours would be 40, or five days." The costs for small businesses could be huge.

TECHNOLOGY SPENDING Happily for my business, a new survey from the tech distributor CDW predicts that information technology spending by small businesses is on the rise. Thirty-six percent of the small businesses that took part in the survey said they planned to purchase new computer hardware within the next six months and 51 percent of small businesses planned to purchase new software in the next six months. Thank you, Microsoft, for making Windows 7 and forcing the entire world to upgrade.

A NEW MARKET FOR MY PRODUCTS? Sometimes we all need to be reminded of the big picture. Scientists say they have found a new earthlike planet pretty nearby. Much like Los Angeles this past week, temperatures can be as hot as 160 degrees (or as frigid as 25 degrees below zero) but in between - in the land of constant sunrise - it would be "shirt-sleeve weather," said a co-discoverer, Steven Vogt, of the University of California, Santa Cruz.

NEW THOUGHTS ON STARTING UP What's the outlook for people looking to start a business? A new Wharton article outlines the challenges and the hot sectors. Leonard Lodish, a Wharton marketing professor, says there has been a shift: "In 2006 and 2007 it was much easier to get funding if you had a good idea and a good track record. Now you need to demonstrate that you have a business model that really works." The best positioned industries, apparently, are those that have continued to attract investment dollars, notably green technology and renewable energy as well as Internet-related businesses. Before launching that new venture, you may want to check out this new report on some of the worst celebrity business owners. I've been out for a while - any messages from Heidi Fleiss?

MOODY'S JUMPS IN This week, the credit-rating giant Moody's announced its own Web site to provide more information specifically to small-business owners. The site "features small-business news and economic analysis and timely articles. A variety of recent credit and economic data is also available, ranging from auto and retail sales data to daily foreign exchange and mortgage rates."

HE'S OUR GUY Representative Todd Platts, a Pennsylvania Republican, won a "Guardian of Small Business" award from the National Federation of Independent Businesses for his support of small-business legislation in the 111th Congress. Congressman Platts was awarded the award during the 110th Congress, as well. But before you get too excited, the N.F.I.B. is presenting "Guardian awards to 202 U.S. representatives who voted favorably on key small-business issues at least 70 percent of the time during the 111th Congress." It's like my children's T-Ball league - almost everyone's a winner!

If You're Starting A Business, You Need A Plan

I have heard horror stories from people who, in the start up phase of their new business, have used software they purchased to create a business plan or worse - they paid someone who had no clue what they were doing to prepare one for them. When you don't know what elements actually belong in a business plan then usually what you'll end up with is a bunch of worthless information spread out over tons of paper.

Before opening your doors, you need to be prepared for the many details involved in running a business. Thinking through these details and putting them on paper helps you to be prepared. Every new business venture should begin with a plan. The information below will take you through the steps of writing a successful business plan.

While your plan will be uniquely designed for your type of business, there are certain objectives contained within any good business plan. It must:

Set forth goals and how they will be achieved.

Define obstacles and outline strategies to overcome them.

State the legal and organizational structure of the business.

Quantifies financial needs and make financial projections.

The length of your plan depends on the purpose you will use it for. If you need to acquire venture capital for your business, you may need to provide extensive details for prospective investors. If your plan is simply a roadmap for you to follow, it can be quite short. Whether it is one paragraph or 100 pages depends entirely on your objectives.

A good business plan will tackle three major areas. Look at the questions within each of the three areas below and answer them as they apply to your particular business.

The Business

What is the legal structure of your business?

Will it be a sole proprietorship, a partnership or a corporation?

What is the name of your business?

Who are the people in your business?

How your business is uniquely positioned to succeed?

What are existing conditions within your industry?

How do you intend to grow?

What is your product?

What does it do?

How will you handle and deliver orders?

The Market

Who are your customers?

Why are they customers?

What motivates your customers?

What need are you filling for these customers?

How will you motivate them to buy from you?

How will you find and attract these customers?

Who is your competition?

What advantage do you have over your competition?

How will you position yourself to win market share?

Do you have technical data, surveys, or information sources to back up your claims?

Finances

How much money are you bringing to your business?

What are your start-up costs?

How will the money be used?

When will your business become profitable?

What are your financial projections for the next six months?

What are your financial projections for the twelve months?

What are your financial projections for the next five years?

I have listed a few key elements to include in your business plan. Keep in mind that your business plan is unique to your business, so don't be afraid to beef things up as needed.

Executive Summary - This is a summation of the important points within your business plan. It should not be over three pages long. This summary is of particular interest to potential investors that may be willing to invest in your business. It allows them decide if you are a worthy investment vehicle.

Company Summary - Describes your business, customer focus and your goals. This would include things such as your business structure, start-up projections and business location.

Products and Services - Describes what you have to offer, its advantage to the customer, your reasoning for the need of your product or service and a look into your place among the competition.

Market Analysis - This gives details on who, what, where, why and how within your market. This also includes an analysis of your industry and your strengths therein.

Marketing and Sales Strategies - The key to this section is your plan to operate in a competitive environment. Sales forecasts and marketing details give an in-depth look at actual customer acquisition.

Operations and Management - Fully details the structure and operation of your organization.

Financial Plan - Provides a comprehensive look at business cash flow, profit and loss, break-even analysis, and other financial indicators.

In conclusion, your business is less likely to fail if you are able to predict outcomes. Your business plan sets realistic goals for success. The above information serves as general map. You fill in the details. How may details? As many as are needed. Most assuredly, your efforts will be rewarded for years to come. Remember, you are in it to win it so make sure you stay focused and keep your eye on the prize!

Small Enterprise Tax Recommendations to Help You Prevent Business Tax Debt

You will need to fully understand some crucial small business tax guidelines if you would like to avoid business tax debt. IRS business help is common because it truly is actually difficult to eliminate business tax debt when working by yourself. IRS business assistance comes from many suppliers, from an accounting firm and bookkeepers to tax law firms and tax assistance agencies or qualified personnel. If you want to avoid business debt, take a cue from the subsequent small business tax hints.

Ready to start your own company? You must read up on your tax responsibilities and consider small enterprise tax guidelines to prevent business tax debt before a person does anything different. Problems with the internal revenue service will easily ruin your small business. Below, we discuss just a handful of pieces of IRS business help a aspiring businessman should follow to avoid tax issues.

Internal Revenue Service Business Help Step 1: Decide on Your Business Type

The type of tax forms you are going to work with might be decided by the business type you opt for. The most common business types

Partnership

LLC

S Corporation

Corporation

Sole Proprietorship

Internal Revenue Service Business Guidance Step 2: Your Business Tax Type

The business type you decide on additionally can determine the taxes you will come across and the ways in which you are likely to pay them. 4 common business tax types are:

Income Tax

Self-Employment Tax

Employment Tax

Excise Tax

IRS Business Support Step 3: Acquire Your Identification Number

An Employer Identification Number or EIN is utilized to locate your business. You can fill out an application for an EIN on the internet on the IRS website.

Internal Revenue Service Business Help Step 4: Keep Records

With few exceptions, you are not required legally to maintain information for the business. This can be described as a worked out move on the IRS' behalf, as keeping complete reports can be an just about likely method for stopping IRS challenges later in your operation! Records you would be smart to keep differ from business type to business type, however, many common things to keep tabs on include all receipts, expenses, invoices and income.

You may retain records manually or with accounting software programs. If this seems intimidating, you may want to investigate hiring a certified public accountant.

Internal Revenue Service Business Guide Step 5: Which Accounting Way Should You Use

You are required to, being a business, record income and costs in the course of the entire year to the Internal Revenue Service. A consistent accounting method should be decided on. The two most generally used systems are the Cash Method and Accrual Method. With a Cash Method, you commonly report cash flow in the tax year it's received and subtract expenditures in the tax year they are paid. Utilizing the Accrual Approach, you often report revenue in the tax year it is earned and deduct expenses in the tax year you incur them.

IRS Business Assistance Step six: Deciding Among a Calendar or Financial Year

Every single business owner has got to figure their own taxable income every single "Tax Year," which is the annual accounting period of your business. The fiscal year and the calendar year are the most common tax years utilized.

You're not required by the Internal Revenue Service to take any training so that they can run small businesses. You really don't need to comprehend anything pertaining to your tax expenses to get your Employer Identification Number. This is why most new businesses are in massive trouble with the Internal Revenue Service. Listed are strategies you can use to educate yourself and avoid issues before they happen.