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You are here: Home > Business > Management > Profits and Business Success - 5 Profit Traps to Watch Out For |
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Suggest You - Profits and Business Success - 5 Profit Traps to Watch Out For
Six Things Needed for New Entrepreneurs by the Honest Answer Consultant rvice now and customers pay laterSeveral people that I know have made the statement that they would like to open their own business. This is a growing trend in our economy. People are opening business to become their own boss. Baby boomers are retiring and trying out new careers by opening small enterprises. To open a business, a person must realize that there is a lot of work and sacrifice to be given. Even when do credit losses - from poor credit approval processes pricing - not charging enough for what you do/sell Not enough Planning Lack of an articulated plan can lead to poor (and costly) decisions: long and short term goals not articulated - business lacks direction employees not engaged - not involved, don't contribute, no ideas decisions are ad-hoc, and not taken with the bigegr picture in mind How does your business fare against some of these profit drainers? Are you spending money needlessly, or Payroll Tax Outsourcing Services The old saying 'You have to spend money to make money' can be a dangerous one. Every business has it's costs, but not every business owner takes the time to distinguish between what is an essential expense, and what is a 'nice to have' expense.Numerous outsourcing companies now function to provide payroll tax outsourcing services to corporate clients with regard to payroll tax. Payroll tax is a regressive tax and more expensive than income tax, which pays for two social insurance systems namely Medicare and Social Security.The payroll data is to be given to the payroll service provider. This can be done through a te And on top of needless expenses, businesses can also lose potential profits through poor management processes and techniques. So let's have a look at 5 of the main culprits which contribute to lost profits and reduced success: Overheads Limit your overheads to 10% of your sales. If your overheads are significantly more than 10%, some options may include: reducing office size removing unnecessary travel - try phone or video conferencing stop trying to impress with an expensive fitout overstaffed - look at employee numbers and positions consider what you spend on office supplies - these are often 'nice to haves'. High inventory levels - insufficient purchasing controls Advertising costs - what are you spending and what return are you getting? Employee and Management Issues Happy employees work more effectively and productively. If your employees are unhappy then their performance is impacting on the potential profits of the business. What to look out for: staff performance - keeping unproductive employees nepotism - hiring family and paying them too much unskilled employees - training not provided, no opportunities poor morale - salaries, working conditions, benefits Processes and Systems Failure to update processes with technology can leave you out in the cold with your customers and suppliers. Older technology becomes obsolete and is no longer supported by the supplier. Do you have: old or no technology - processes take longer and are prone to errors up to date communications - email, web enquiries, voice mail, email you can check wile away from your office the right management information - are you collecting and useful data Cash Flow Cash is king. More businesses fail due to cash flow problems than anything else. These systems must be failsafe and monitored on an ongoing basis: acounts receivable - collections must be on time payment terms - don't create a situation where you provide the service now and customers pay later credit losses - from poor credit approval processes pricing - not charging enough for what you do/sell Not enough Planning Lack of an articulated plan can lead to poor (and costly) decisions: long and short term goals not articulated - business lacks direction employees not engaged - not involved, don't contribute, no ideas decisions are ad-hoc, and not taken with the bigegr picture in mind How does your business fare against some of these profit drainers? Are you spending money needlessly, or Payroll Software Companies ore than 10%, some options may include:Payroll software companies are companies that provide payroll software programs. Payroll software programs are written computer programs which are meant to handle payroll and tax filing activities of a company either small or big. Payroll software programs from these payroll software companies make your payroll reporting and tax filling much easier and reduce the time lag. Payroll reducing office size removing unnecessary travel - try phone or video conferencing stop trying to impress with an expensive fitout overstaffed - look at employee numbers and positions consider what you spend on office supplies - these are often 'nice to haves'. High inventory levels - insufficient purchasing controls Advertising costs - what are you spending and what return are you getting? Employee and Management Issues Happy employees work more effectively and productively. If your employees are unhappy then their performance is impacting on the potential profits of the business. What to look out for: staff performance - keeping unproductive employees nepotism - hiring family and paying them too much unskilled employees - training not provided, no opportunities poor morale - salaries, working conditions, benefits Processes and Systems Failure to update processes with technology can leave you out in the cold with your customers and suppliers. Older technology becomes obsolete and is no longer supported by the supplier. Do you have: old or no technology - processes take longer and are prone to errors up to date communications - email, web enquiries, voice mail, email you can check wile away from your office the right management information - are you collecting and useful data Cash Flow Cash is king. More businesses fail due to cash flow problems than anything else. These systems must be failsafe and monitored on an ongoing basis: acounts receivable - collections must be on time payment terms - don't create a situation where you provide the service now and customers pay later credit losses - from poor credit approval processes pricing - not charging enough for what you do/sell Not enough Planning Lack of an articulated plan can lead to poor (and costly) decisions: long and short term goals not articulated - business lacks direction employees not engaged - not involved, don't contribute, no ideas decisions are ad-hoc, and not taken with the bigegr picture in mind How does your business fare against some of these profit drainers? Are you spending money needlessly, or Business Cards-A Cheap Way To Advertise our employees are unhappy then their performance is impacting on the potential profits of the business. What to look out for:Business cards are powerful little advertisements that you can effortlessly distribute among your friends and strangers alike. They will be a constant reminder to the receiver that you specialize in a certain product or service and are always ready to do business with them.These cards can be printed by yourself while you are still getting on your feet and do not have much of a staff performance - keeping unproductive employees nepotism - hiring family and paying them too much unskilled employees - training not provided, no opportunities poor morale - salaries, working conditions, benefits Processes and Systems Failure to update processes with technology can leave you out in the cold with your customers and suppliers. Older technology becomes obsolete and is no longer supported by the supplier. Do you have: old or no technology - processes take longer and are prone to errors up to date communications - email, web enquiries, voice mail, email you can check wile away from your office the right management information - are you collecting and useful data Cash Flow Cash is king. More businesses fail due to cash flow problems than anything else. These systems must be failsafe and monitored on an ongoing basis: acounts receivable - collections must be on time payment terms - don't create a situation where you provide the service now and customers pay later credit losses - from poor credit approval processes pricing - not charging enough for what you do/sell Not enough Planning Lack of an articulated plan can lead to poor (and costly) decisions: long and short term goals not articulated - business lacks direction employees not engaged - not involved, don't contribute, no ideas decisions are ad-hoc, and not taken with the bigegr picture in mind How does your business fare against some of these profit drainers? Are you spending money needlessly, or Fundraising Ideas-5 Dependable Ways to Raise Money lier. Do you have:Have you been agonizing over how to raise money for your charitable organization? Here are five dependable fundraising ideas:1) Have a car wash. This is one of the cheapest fundraisers to setup because all you need is a busy corner and an ample water supply. Generally, gas stations like taking part in these fundraisers as they benefit in the added customer traffic coming in old or no technology - processes take longer and are prone to errors up to date communications - email, web enquiries, voice mail, email you can check wile away from your office the right management information - are you collecting and useful data Cash Flow Cash is king. More businesses fail due to cash flow problems than anything else. These systems must be failsafe and monitored on an ongoing basis: acounts receivable - collections must be on time payment terms - don't create a situation where you provide the service now and customers pay later credit losses - from poor credit approval processes pricing - not charging enough for what you do/sell Not enough Planning Lack of an articulated plan can lead to poor (and costly) decisions: long and short term goals not articulated - business lacks direction employees not engaged - not involved, don't contribute, no ideas decisions are ad-hoc, and not taken with the bigegr picture in mind How does your business fare against some of these profit drainers? Are you spending money needlessly, or Five Tips For Your Exit Interview rvice now and customers pay laterExit interviews are sometimes held at inopportune times, especially from the viewpoint of the employee when he or she is either laid off or fired. Nevertheless, they are a must for progressive companies that want to look inward for reasons for an employee's exit.There are different viewpoints about these interviews as to the need for them in the first place. Should the exiting credit losses - from poor credit approval processes pricing - not charging enough for what you do/sell Not enough Planning Lack of an articulated plan can lead to poor (and costly) decisions: long and short term goals not articulated - business lacks direction employees not engaged - not involved, don't contribute, no ideas decisions are ad-hoc, and not taken with the bigegr picture in mind How does your business fare against some of these profit drainers? Are you spending money needlessly, or on items that aren't adding value to your business? There is always room for improvement when it comes to profit: spend carefully, save easily, invest wisely.
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