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22Feb 2018 by Fred Crooks No Comments

How to judge your business success

Business Advisory, Fundamentals, Small Business

Once you’ve checked your business vitals (see our previous post, Why You Need to Regularly Check Your Business Vitals ) the next step in assessing the health and performance of your organization is to begin comparing your key business metrics with your competitors.Now, every industry has its own challenges, and its own means of measuring success, but there are a few universal standards that can be relied upon when making such comparisons.In particular, you should look at gross profit and break-even analysis.Gross profit is rather simple - it’s your sales minus the cost of goods sold (the direct cost of the production of goods sold or service provided).The break-even analysis, however, is a little more complex. It is designed to help you analyze the various aspects of your business to…

14Dec 2017 by Fred Crooks No Comments

Is your business ill?

Business Advisory, Small Business

When a doctor first examines a patient, they’ll typically check their vital signs. This includes the pulse or heart rate, body temperature, respiration rate, and blood pressure. Taken together, these help indicate the state of the patient’s essential body functions. If any - or all - offer some cause for concern, the doctor can start diagnosing the patient more thoroughly, before suggesting a course of action... And now we’ve arrived at the part where you’re wondering why we’re discussing basic medical practice. Well, this idea of ‘vital signs’ is something that can be comfortably extended to your business. Your company’s financial health should be examined regularly to make sure there are no underlying maladies that will only grow worse if left untreated. Knowing What to Look For These financial ‘vital…

15Aug 2017 by Fred Crooks No Comments

Don’t Be Afraid to Work Together

Uncategorized

Owning and operating a small business can be a lonely endeavor. Long days, longer nights, and no-one to talk to when the going gets tough - it can feel isolating and demoralizing. But there is a solution: speak and share with other business owners. Many small business owners actively fear working with other businesses, worried that they may take advantage of them rather than offering guidance and advice. However, the rewards can be terrific. By tapping into your local network of fellow entrepreneurs, you have the opportunity to become more knowledgeable, understanding, and efficient. Why Should I Reach Out? There’s no two ways about it; being a small business owner is stressful. All the responsibility, all the decisions, the planning, strategy, and execution; it all falls squarely at your feet.…

20Jun 2017 by Fred Crooks No Comments

The Four Biggest Questions You’ll Ask Yourself as a Business Owner

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There are many reasons for starting a business. Perhaps you’ve spotted a gap in the market. Maybe you’ve grown weary of working for someone else. Or it might just be the fulfilment of a lifelong dream to be your own boss. No matter your reason for taking the leap as an entrepreneur, you will encounter a number of concerns as you progress. It’s important that you know how to recognize and handle these concerns so as to avoid derailing your business. In dealing with many small and medium-sized businesses over the years, we have been able to distill some of these concerns down to four of the most common questions. At some point in your business journey, you will find yourself asking a variation of the following: How will I…

26Feb 2013 by William Simi

A Period of Reengineering: Your Current Business Situation

Business Advisory, FREE Business Tools: Learn the Secrets

Welcome to our guest blogger this month, Amelya Stevenson. Amelya is president of e-VentExe, a full service Human Resource consulting company. Born from the commitment to three core concepts, “employees, Ventures, and Executives,” e-VentExe operates under the belief that without the right placement, structure, and development of people, each business venture will have a difficult time succeeding in today’s competitive environment. We all know what the economy downturn has done to our businesses. The unexpected collapse of our financial health of our country just about wiped away many dreams and plans for our business future. Those companies that stayed open, our workforce changed and took a very different shape. Employees were laid off; those that kept their jobs had to wear many hats to get the job done. Depending on…

16Aug 2012 by Fred Crooks

Getting Your Employees to Grow YOUR Company: Tool #4

Employees, FREE Business Tools: Learn the Secrets

Use an Employee Suggestion Form! A suggestion is an idea that will benefit the business by solving a problem, reducing costs, improving operations or procedures, enhancing customer service, eliminating waste or spoilage, or making it a better or safer place to work. One of the most efficient and economical ways to gather new ideas is through the use of the people who know your operations intimately - your employees. Listening to and acting upon sensible employee suggestions presents the opportunity to improve profitability (many employee suggestions relate to wasteful practices and irrational policies) and at the same time increase the level of trust and teamwork within your business. At a time when businesses are paying consultants and advisors to find newer, better, and faster ways of doing things, sometimes the obvious…

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