The Key to Small Business Success Requires an Uncomplicated Commitment
Virtually every owner or manager will agree that operating a small business requires lots of hard work on the part of both managers and employees. It’s what is commonly known as “sweat equity”. Or in other words, hard work is required to bring the results desired.Hard work alone is not enough. Additionally, the business owner must be prepared to make a commitment to building and growing the business. That translates to being on the job every day.Unfortunately, some owners, such as those who purchase a franchise, assume that their on-the-job commitment is not necessary if they hire a manager to run the business. Sometimes that works. More often it doesn’t work so well. Nevertheless, operating a small business requires hard work by the owners and managers.There are three fundamental steps in the process of the hard work that are not complicated, but necessary for success.Getting work comes first. Whatever the business does, it must first promote and sell its products and services to the markets served. The business cannot depend on chance. To illustrate, if the business has the cure for the common cold, it must tell the market and provide a way for potential customers to contact the business to purchase the remedy. To get work or sell products and services, the business must make the market it serves aware of its presence and skills as well as how to contact the business. Fortunately, there are many affordable advertising and promotion options for small businesses that will contact potential customers who are likely to buy the products and services available for purchase.Fulfilling and delivering customer orders is the second step. Whether designing, building, assembling or delivering products or services, small businesses do of good job of getting the work done. What they do not do so well sometimes is fulfilling the order or getting the project done on time.There may be nothing more irritating or displeasing to a customer than a supplier or vendor who does not fulfill an order or complete a project on time. This happens far too often with small businesses. While it is desirable to get something done the right way even though it may take more time than originally planned, small business owners and managers must strive to meet deadlines or finish projects before the deadline if they want to be successful.Paying bills and getting paid for the Work performed and delivered is the third step of the process.Small businesses tend to pay bills to vendors and suppliers before the due date because they think the thought doing so will assure a good credit status with the vendor or supplier if the bill is paid before due. Paying the bill when due is good enough.On the other hand, they will allow their customers to pay bills beyond the due date.At the end of the fiscal year, most small businesses will complain that while sales were good, there was little cash in the company checking account. When asked why this is the case, Accountants and Consultants will reply that the cash shortage is in Inventory or Accounts Receivable. Usually the latter is the major contributor to cash shortfalls.Small businesses do not do a good job of getting paid in a timely manner. It does not have to be that way and it should not be that way. In fact, it is very easy to assure timely payments when a consistent and uniform Accounts Receivable Collection Procedures Program is in place.Accounts Receivable systems are a valuable asset to small businesses. The consistent application of Accounts Receivable collection activities will reduce costs which in turn improves margins and operation profits.In closing, a professional Accounts Receivable Collection is not the dreaded last minute phone call to the customer that nobody wants to do. On the contrary, the process begins at the Point of Sale when buyer and seller agree to payment terms required and continues on professional and uniform communication between the buyer and the seller.
Online Education – Education In Vogue
Time management is the key to success in today’s fast paced world. How one manages his or her time determines the success quotient and this is the reason why online education id gaining immense popularity. Since online education offers unmatched flexibility and the students and learners can manage time in line with their other priorities, it is becoming a very popular mode of education in almost all parts of the world. The growing popularity of online education has resulted in the establishment of several online educational institutions offering online degree courses and other learning opportunities.Some people harbored the misconception that the advantages of online education are restricted only for those students and learners who had an established record of past accomplishments. This also led to the belief that online education helps only those who have access to modern means of communication as computer and Internet. However, as the awareness about various modes of online education is increasing the misconceptions related to online education are giving way to more acceptability to online education and training.Changing perceptionIt is a talk of the past when people considered online mode of education as a quick way of obtaining a degree or getting good grades. In the past, the reputed educational institutions were not offering online education. However, with the increasing popularity of online education, the majority of institutions offering online courses are well-established institutes and they have a rich experience to provide such education. It is worth mentioning, that a large number of world’s leading educational institutions are offering online education courses on a wide range of subjects.Growth driversToday, most of the accredited online education courses have talented teachers and professors of repute in their respective specialization. This ensures qualitative learning. The students signing up with online education courses, can be assured of guaranteed results. Moreover, online education is more interesting and more competitive when compared to the traditional teaching methodologies.Employers’ viewpointUndoubtedly, many employers were and some of them are still having doubts about the value of online education. However, with change in perception and emerging popularity, a large number of employers have realized their worth. Now the employers consider the online degrees from accredited and well-established online educational institutes of repute. Moreover, the increasing number of people who enroll for online education has changed the employers’ perception and now they readily consider the benefits of online education.Some research reports point out that technology oriented industries such as, communication, computers, media and marketing have started to accept the candidates having online degree courses from accredited and reputed institutions.
SEO Services You Can’t Live Without
Some agencies specialise in only SEO or link building whereas other large consultancies can offer end-to-end packages from developing or redesigning your website to ongoing SEO maintenance. Here are five of the key SEO services that you should look for when evaluating online marketing agencies.Keyword researchCreating your keyword portfolio is one of the most important SEO services offered by agencies and the foundation of your online marketing campaign. This is best conducted by a professional trained in keyword research. A specialised SEO company or consultant will use different techniques to find the best keywords for your site. This may include client and customer feedback, keyword research tools, competitor analysis, social media and so on.SEO strategiesAn experienced SEO consultant will help you map out an SEO strategy (online and offline) that drives traffic to your site, increases the conversion rate and gives you the highest return on your investment. The keyword research (see above) and technical analysis of your site forms the basis for your campaigns so that a comprehensive marketing plan can be mapped out in order to start implementing the SEO activity.Link buildingWhen you are researching the SEO services that you require, ask the consultant or agency about link building campaigns. Search Engines see a back link to your site from other credible, trustworthy, authoritative and relative websites as a validation for your website. A professional SEO company should have developed a network of contacts, established relationships with webmasters and know how to find the best link building opportunities.SEO copywritingCopywriting is another of the SEO services that a larger agency may offer. Off page and on page optimisation is crucial to your SEO campaign but it’s not always the first click that you need to worry about, it’s the second one. The difference between a high or low bounce rates may come down to the quality of your SEO copywriting. An SEO company will help you find a balance between keyword-rich copy and engaging copy that encourages conversions.SEO web designThis can be one of the most vital elements of your campaign and yet one of the most neglected SEO services. With new websites, SEO consultants should ideally be consulted at the start of the process when you are deciding on a technical platform, a Content Management System (CMS), shopping cart software or other key design elements. Sadly choosing the wrong platform can have serious implications on your potential SEO success.When looking for an SEO company, it may be more cost-effective and more efficient to take a streamlined approach to your SEO activities and hire a full-service agency that can deliver a whole spectrum of SEO services. Some agencies may have web designers that can help create a beautiful website with all the SEO functionality you require, experienced link analysts developing link building campaigns and offer professional copywriting SEO services.