Personal Business Cards » Small Businesses

Top Five Business Predictions For 2010

admin — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 18:01:38 +0000

One thing I hate about this time of year are all the articles giving a roundup of the events of the year and making predictions for the year ahead. I don’t need a roundup. I was there. As for predictions, the next person who tells me the economy is likely to improve and there will be a growth in social networking is likely to get the a rude response. It’s not a prediction to state the obvious. The way the economy has been, up actually seems more likely than down. That’s the way most things go when they’ve hit the bottom. Having said that, here is my (small) set of predictions for 2010.

1. The number of small businesses will grow quickly. As people are laid off from their jobs and can’t find another they will begin to work for themselves. The ability to learn new skills quickly will become more important than knowledge in any one area.

2. Companies who sell goods and services to this market will do well. Companies small enough to change and target this market will also do well.

3. New tools will be built around the popular social networks, such as twitter, which will allow users to track and measure the effectiveness of their ‘tweets’. The social networking platforms will become even more integrated and ease of use will be prized. Twitter will be more successful than Facebook.

4. Networking groups, on and offline, will prosper as the new small business owners look to other small business owners for moral as well as business support.

5. E-commerce websites will continue to grow, but standard three and five page corporate websites will be replaced with blogs, (which will also be added to the corporate web sites) making the conversation two way. Customers will get to know the personalities of the companies they buy from through their blogs, those with unattractive personalities beware! Companies will measure their success by the degree to which their customers are willing to interact with them.

People say that in business, as in life, the internet has changed everything, but change is normal and healthy. What has changed so drastically is the rate at which things change. I make a point of always looking forward to the future, but I can remember a time when my grandmother, then the age I am now, was considered too old to learn how to use a new kitchen appliance. We can no longer afford to say ‘Enough! I’m done’. There is so much that is new to learn. The future is a challenge to us all, thankfully it’s challenge that keeps us young.

By: Lesley Charalambides

Small Business Challenges – 3 Strategies to Kicking Your Business Up a Notch

admin — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 04:12:50 +0000

Recent studies and surveys have indicated some of the top challenges that small businesses or solo entrepreneurs are facing today.

More than half of the respondents in research conducted by Industry Canada believe that growth is the most important issue they face. Growth categories include attracting new customers, recruiting qualified staff and having the time to manage growth. Competition came in as the next highest concern.

1.Growth New businesses start out focusing on making a profit in order to establish and sustain themselves through the first few years. One way of increasing the bottom line is many business owners will try to do everything themselves within the company to save money. While this may work for a while, it will ultimately impede growth. Time and energy of key staff is better spent on finding ways to attract new customers and increase sales. Everything that isn’t growth related should be delegated. If you are not sure what this entails, you may want to hire a business coach to develop a growth and marketing strategy.

2. Employees Another important challenge is labour shortage; finding, recruiting qualified staff and retaining them. Employees will remain with an employer who shares decision making as a group, communicates openly, praises publicly and criticizes privately, gives them the necessary tools they need to perform and then empowers them with responsibility to get the job done. Listen and address staff concerns. Foster an environment of team spirit and accountability and you will see happy, engaged staff who go the extra mile in performance and customer relations.

3.Competition Every business has competition. It’s what drives the economy. In order to develop your marketing edge, it becomes critical that a business knows their competition. There are a number of factors to think about when examining your marketing approach.

Consumers are more knowledgeable and selective than they have ever been. They demand more. With the internet at their disposable, a quick search is all it takes to educate themselves and do a price comparison.

Most businesses have a web site. Is your web site attractive, friendly, and informative? Does it entertain your customer and give them a reason to return and visit again?

Do you have an internet marketing specialist taking care of the complexities of web site positioning for maximum exposure and traffic? To change the momentum of your business, you need to pause and take time to prepare a plan. Identify goals and objectives with measurable time lines. What are your Key Performance Indicators that will help you evaluate results? Get external advice and a fresh perspective. Seek professional help where needed. Spend all your time on growth activities, employee relations and marketing opportunities,delegate day-to-day administration, and you will see outstanding results.

By: Erika Martlew

Deluxe Business Forms

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:11:28 +0000

Deluxe business forms have been popular for a long time now. In fact, Deluxe has been the supplier businesses have trusted for over eight decades now. Deluxe business forms along with deluxe checks, tax forms, and personalized products are widely in use. Deluxe Business Checks and Solutions is a business unit of Deluxe Small Business Sales Inc. If you are thinking of starting a new venture, Deluxe business forms are the apt choice. Deluxe’s product line includes a wide variety of professional quality checks and forms for small and growing businesses. Deluxe business forms are compatible with today’s accounting software packages.

Deluxe offers its customers a promise to maintain service with a personal touch. Deluxe’s growth is based on a commitment to customer service. Deluxe has a dedicated online resource catering to the needs of the small businesses with faster and more efficient access to deluxe forms. Deluxe forms could be adjudged the dynamic resource of ideas for growing businesses.

Deluxe’s commitment to quality can be gauged from their seal of guarantee on their web site. You can visit your nearest Deluxe outlet in your neighborhood for your business forms. Alternately, you can get Deluxe business forms directly from their online resource. The entire procedure for getting a deluxe business form is quite simple. All you need to do is to go the relevant page, click, and the list of forms will be displayed. You just have to order the one which you want and it will be shipped to you. Thanks to the convenience of the Internet, you can now get your form without moving a muscle. One can get extensive information on deluxe business forms by taking a tour of their online resource. Their online resource is exhaustive, but at the same time, one can easily navigate through the various links provided in the web site.

By: Josh Riverside

Small Business Credit Cards in Today’s Recession

admin — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 11:45:21 +0000

Today’s recession has had an impact on personal and business credit cards. Over the past 1-2 years many any people are receiving letters from their credit card lenders informing them of an increase in interest rates or a decrease in the credit limit.

Small business credit cards can be an additional source of financial income. They also help in keeping other lines of credit open. Using this type of credit card can ensure that suppliers are paid on time while giving the business an interest-free period (float) in order to obtain enough money to pay off the credit card debt. As the recession has begun to deepen, businesses have found that obtaining credit cards for their business has become much more difficult.

The worst thing a new business owner can do is to use their own personal credit card to finance their business purchases. This makes it very difficult to separate business and personal finances, but also makes the individual responsible for the debt of the business. Not a good thing!

Some businesses are using business even credit cards to pay their tax bill, which is tempting as it avoids any fines for late payment. There is however a fee for doing so. Usually, this fee is significantly lower than the penalty would be for not paying taxes on time.

There are still plenty of opportunities out there for small businesses who have good credit record to take advantage of their business’ credit cards. Even though lenders are stricter in their acceptance criteria than in previous years, you should not give up. Before applying for credit make sure that you meet all the requirements for acceptance. Every time your credit is check, the credit score goes down. As a result, only apply for cards when you feel confident that you will be accepted.

By: Ron Lerman

Credit Cards for Small Business

admin — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 20:43:41 +0000

When you decide to start a small business, you find out pretty quickly that it takes more than skills and dedication in your respective area of work. Besides being good at what you want to do, you also need to known your accounting and financing issues, no matter how annoying and boring these may be. And the credit card problem for small businesses needs careful handling, just like that of a regular, personal credit card.

Choosing the right type of credit card is vital for the success of a small business. Even if you don’t have access to a corporate credit card, a small business card can be a major tool on the path to success. When you apply for a small business credit card, lenders will analyze your request from a variety of points of views. While their evaluation of the risk may vary according to various local factors, they will all take into account the “five Cs”: capital, capacity to make the payments, collateral, conditions and character.

Capital, meaning your personal investment in the business, outlines not only the size of the business, but also how much risk you are willing to take. Balance risks carefully – too much means you will be rated reckless, too little, and the lenders may think you are not serious about this. The capacity to repay the loan is, of course, critical for the lender and will be carefully analyzed. The collateral or the guarantees will show that you have a backup plan for returning the loan, in case things go wrong. The conditions represent the general situation in your geographical area and your respective line of business – mostly things that you cannot control (but you can make them look better in carefully planned business plan). Last but not least, character is the impression you make on the lenders – how trustworthy and business-oriented you appear to them.

If you take all these into account, your application is more likely to be successful right from the start. Of course, you also need to consider, carefully, which type of business card suits your needs.

Many small businesses rely on cash flow to pay for suppliers or contractors, because they need to purchase materials and services before their own clients pay up. You need to calculate the difference between the date when you purchase the materials and the date when the clients pay you back. If this is shorter than 30 days, go for a card that doesn’t charge you interest for the respective period. If it is two, three months or longer, go for a low interest card.

Also, you should think of how often you will have to travel for business-related purposes, and how a special type of credit card can help you with this, or how you will handle unprepared emergency situations that hustle small businesses constantly.

Some of the offers for credit cards for small business include Blue for Business Card – no annual fee, 0% intro APR for the first 9 months, credit line of up to $50,000 or Blue Cash for Business Credit Card – up to 5% cash rebate, no annual fee, 0% APR for up to 15 months. Advanta Platinum with Rewards, featuring cash back bonus, offers 0% intro APR for balance transfers, up to 50,000 credit line and various types of rewards for the things you buy most often (gas, office supplies and so on), bonus miles or cash back.

The CitiBusiness card has 0% APR for purchases for the first 6 months, no annual fee, a generous credit line and additional cards for the employees, with a credit limit set by you. The Platinum Business Credit Card from American Express has no annual fee and 0% APR for the first nine months on purchases and balance transfers.

Other options include Business Green Rewards Cash – no fees for the first year and no pre-set spending limit, and the Business Cash Rebate from OPEN: the Small Business Network, with up to 5% cash rebate, no annual fee, 0% APR for the first six months, no limit for cash back and no minimum spending requirements.

By: Jeremy Zongker

Small Businesses Don’t Need a Business Credit Card Do They?

admin — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 22:43:56 +0000

Many a small business owner won’t bother to get a credit card for his or her business. Why bother, after all? Checks work, and do you really want to risk getting a credit card for your business? Just one more thing to keep track of.

A business credit card is useful for just about any business. It’s good for your business to have a credit history in its own name. And there are other advantages as well.

Expense Tracking

Having a separate business credit card means you can more easily keep your personal and business expenses separate. This is great come tax time, when you need to be splitting out the deductible versus nondeductible items. It’s also just good bookkeeping.

Lots of Options

Just as with personal cards, a business credit card comes with plenty of options. You can find low rate cards, rewards cards and so forth. You can authorize various people to use the account, so that if you have a trusted employee, they can easily make business purchases without you having to reimburse them. It can make life much easier.

Easier Purchases

You know how much of a pain it can be going out to buy supplies for your business. If you don’t have a credit card, that means using your personal card, a check, or cash. None of these is as convenient as the business credit card, and they add to the challenge of keeping your books in order.

And just like any other credit card, if you really need to carry a balance you can. No need to ask the bank for a loan or carry the debt on your personal card. This allows you to keep the amount you are paying in interest due to your card separate from any interest you may pay on your personal credit.

There’s nothing like a credit card for smoothing out your cash flow as a small business. It can help to keep you from falling behind on bills, although you do not want to rely on debt to keep up with all your bills for too long. That’s just not healthy for individuals or for businesses. But for getting past short term cash flow issues, there are few easier ways.

Take the time to explore your options. A wisely used credit card can help your business grow more quickly and is a wonderful tool. Don’t skip it just because you don’t think you need credit for your business. Better to have the credit there for when you do, especially if it doesn’t cost you anything to have it there.

By: Stephanie Foster