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Small Business Articles |
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| How to Start Home Based Travel Businesses |
| Home based travel businesses are no longer the wave of the future. Home travel businesses are the hot trend right now. So if you're considering becoming a travel agent, this brief guide will provide you with information you need to know.
First, there are generally two types of home travel businesses:
* Referral agencies
* Booking and selling agencies
Home based travel businesses that fall into the referral agency category do just that: they refer people to a travel agency. They may ha More.. |
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| Write An Effective Job Proposal |
| I am simply amazed at the problems some of my colleagues are experiencing regarding writing job proposals for customers. So often I hear that there has been some sort of disagreement between client and service provider, something that can and should be avoided before a project is started. Here are four tips to help you write an effective job proposal letter.
Assume Nothing My junior high English teacher gave his students the real meaning of assume: if you assume something it makes an ass out of More.. |
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| Why You Need A Virtual Assistant |
| How much is your time really worth? Is it worth £50 an hour or £100 an hour? YOUR time is most valuable because it is your responsibility to generate new revenue for your business. Doing small and often trivial admin chores yourself does not really add value to your business and the sensible solution is to delegate those less profitable tasks by hiring someone more than capable of carrying them out, but who's hourly rate is somewhat less than your real financial worth. So what's stopping y More.. |
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| SBIR - A Nice Add-on Business |
| If you are a small business and qualify to participate in the SBIR program, it is a natural enhancer to your existing business. If you are small enough you may be able to start a company using SBIR funding, but you will soon come to realize that if your sources of income are not diversified (with SBIR being only one source) you might fall victim to funding cycles and no income. Although the Government provides funding to spawn technology its dual mission is to help that technology grow into viab More.. |
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| SBIR vs STTR |
| SBIR vs. STTR: If you are participating in the SBIR program you may also want to consider participating in the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program. The STTR program is considered SBIR's twin sister, although there are some added hoops one must jump through in order to participate. Like SBIR, the STTR is the US Government's way of providing "seed" money to spawn technology growth. The key difference however is in the structure of the effort, whereas a small business must partner (vi More.. |
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| FFP vs. CPFF Contracts |
| SBIR Corner: FFP vs. CPFF contracts:
In the SBIR/STTR world, the single most important decision you need to make is whether you are going to bid a job as Firm Fixed Price (FFP) or as Cost plus Fixed Fee (CPFF). These are two very different contract types and the decision to use one contract type over the other is very important to the overall success of a program. If your sponsor gives you a choice on the matter, the decision to go with one contract type over the other should be well thought ou More.. |
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| Grants vs. Contracts |
| Commonly folks have asked me what the technical difference is between a contract and a grant. The difference is not about the dollar value or who the buying entity is nor the kind of work being done. Instead it is about the legal concept of default. In my eyes, the corner stone of whether something should be called a grant or a contract lies in whether one is legally bound to produce results as one is in a contractual relationship or whether you are simply granted funds to do something. Did you More.. |
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| Lubbock TX Good Market for a Service Business |
| We very much like what we see in Lubbock, TX as a good place for a service business. The city is a very well designed and laid out town with growth in the 4-5% per year range, growth in the Northwest quadrant of the city is steady and good. We are bullish on Lubbock and see how a service company could advance forces into the area to seize market share. There is excellent labor there due to the colleges and a strong growing middle class with younger families. Retail sector is good as well along t More.. |
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| Do You Microbifer in Your Cleaning Business? |
| Microfiber cleaning towels have been around for about tenyears now. When I first heard about them they were beingsold through distributors in an MLM business. Since mybusiness was professional house cleaning, I couldn't seehow they could benefit me due to the high cost.
But I've been wondering more and more, could these reallybenefit the professional cleaners? So I've been doing someresearch and what I found should certainly be shared.
What is Microfiber? It is an ultrafine synthetic fiber tha More.. |
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| Tips and Tricks for Legal Debt Collections |
| If a customer owes your local business money, it's hard not to feel angry, like you want to do anything possible to get your money back. But the days of going all out to collect on a debt over. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, designed to protect consumers from harassment or intimidation, sets firm limits on what you can do to collect a debt from a consumer. The federal debt collections law even prohibits practices that were once standard, and that you might not consider harassment at all More.. |
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| Genius Time? It Matters |
| I frequently give presentations at small business gatherings, providing me the opportunity to have engaging conversations with owners about the challenges they face. Based on their input, the economy continues to plug along, heading in the right direction, and distancing itself from the difficult journey of the past few years. However, the resulting business climate is considerably different than before, with greater competition and higher customer expectations. Success as a small business owner More.. |
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| Business Owners - Do You Actually Own a Job? |
| How many hours do you work a week? When was the last time you took an uninterrupted holiday? Do your staff have a better job than you? Now ask yourself, Do I Own a Business or a Job- with Overheads? Are you happy about the answers to these questions? If not, read on.
In Empower Business Solutions experience, too many owners, after investing their time and money, have not got a fair return from their business. Sure they are making ends meet (well some are). But are they getting what they deserve More.. |
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| Franchise Company Operations Manual Sample Outline |
| Many companies wish to expand and a few wish to use franchising as a method of expansion. Not a bad idea, but one must consider the importance of the fine details. One book I recommend you read is the "E-Myth" by Gerber it is available at all the usual places. You see when going from a small business to a franchise company it is important to make sure you take out all the mistakes you have made in the past in building your small business and insure that your future franchisees never make those m More.. |
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| Does Your Company Have a Business Image Manual |
| Every business regardless of size needs a "Business Image Manual" to protect their band. Even the smallest companies with only a few employees is well served when there is a business image manual in place. For 15 years I ran a small business, which I eventually franchised and later expanded to 23-states and 4 countries. What I had learned after franchising is that; I should have written my image manual 10-years prior. At first my business was just me alone; like most small businesses, but then d More.. |
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| Community Relations Strategy for Small Business |
| Does your company have a community relation strategy? Have you even considered it? It is essential to have policies in place. Having run a small business for years which eventually turned into a multi-state franchise system, I realized early on that a business who is part of the community it serves can survive the ups and downs of the business cycles, making it somewhat recession proof. Nothing turns off the community more than a business which refuses to give back a little and gives some ridicu More.. |
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| Employee Relations Manual Sample Outline |
| Most smart entrepreneurs and all large corporations have Employee Relations Manuals. Nearly all businesses with over five or more employees have some sort of employee manuals but not all have Employee Relations Manuals for their managers. It is important in today's litigious lawyer trap to have a good policy in place to protect you from a bad decision or improper handling of an employee situation by a manager. All too often a minor incident can lead to a problematic situation and end up in court More.. |
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| Franchising Companies Relationship Strategies |
| Franchising Corporations need to maintain an iron fist when it comes to certain things in order to maintain absolute integrity of the system; Consistency, Quality, Cleanliness and Customer Courtesy or Service. Ray Kroc in his book; "Grinding it Out" made that point perfectly clear, some called him a hard ass on the details and indeed it served him well and turned 11,000 franchisees into millionaires along with some 1500 executives early on. That of course is one side of the game and it is diffic More.. |
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| Combating Over Regulation of Small Business |
| Many small businesses do quite well due to the blood, sweat and tears of their proprietors. Unfortunately in doing to well often you find that the competition uses the government to attack you. They do this by complaining to various local agencies about how you are not following certain rules, such as the dumpster out back has broken hinges on the doors or that your handicap spot in front of your store is fading? Often they will even make stuff up simply to get the enforcement folks out there wh More.. |
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| Competition Relations in Auto Detailing |
| There is significant competition in auto detailing and car washing. Even more between types of cleaning businesses, as each company attempts to expand into other services which are the mainstay of similar business models. Many times the line blurs between a car wash, oil change business, truck repair, auto accessories business, electronics installers and auto detailing. What can you do? Well first let's talk about what you should not do. You should not start a war against all your competition. I More.. |
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| Franchising and Royalty Payments |
| If you are thinking of turning your current into a franchising company you will need to determine a fair and equitable franchise royalty fee. There are a number of questions you will need to ask yourself in determining this fee such as what services you will provide to your franchisee team and what that will cost. You will also need to take a look at the competition to determine the amount that you can honestly charge without forgoing cost conscious franchise buyers.
It is also important once y More.. |
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| Mobile Pressure Washing and Cleaning Scheduling |
| If you own a mobile car washing, pressure washing or auto detailing business you know that when your crews and machines are parked and working that you are making money. You also know that when those units and crews are driving or stuck in traffic you are losing your shirt in costs and inefficiencies. If you are to expand your mobile washing business to multiple units running in multiple cities you will need to have a strict scheduling policy and operations manual to insure that efficiencies are More.. |
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| Carwash Manual Sample Outline |
| Car wash businesses are unique to other businesses. In fact they are about as unique as the many different type of vehicles one is asked to wash. Many vehicles are best cleaned using slightly different techniques. If you own a carwash or a mobile car wash you will need an operations manual to assist your managers in staying efficient.
Below is a sample outline we used in creating our washing procedure manuals in our company; www.carwashguys.com. You are welcome to have this outline to help you More.. |
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| Fleet Washing Operations Manual Sample Outline |
| In the Truck Washing Business every single type of vehicle is washed differently. If you are going to run a mobile onsite fleet washing business with multiple trucks in multiple cities you will in fact need a comprehensive manual to keep your crews and equipment running at an optimum. Below you will see a sample outline to assist you in constructing a washing procedure manual, which will include many different types of fleet vehicles.
Feel free to print this outline and modify it to include all More.. |
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| Aircraft Washing Service Operations Manual |
| Anyone who is serious about washing aircraft as a full time profession should be prepared to write a manual, which will insure proper procedures are followed during the washing process. Each crew team leader and manager should be well versed and trained in washing each type of aircraft. Many surfaces of individual aircraft vary and within those specific aircraft there will be many types of surfaces. For instance de-ice boots, fabric, aluminum, Plexiglas, fiberglass, composite and even steel and More.. |
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| Top Ten Blunders Business Owners Make |
| In today's marketplace the words 'job security' have become an oxymoron. So more and more people are venturing on their own. But is it the right thing to do? Are they ready for it?
Here are the top reasons people are starting their own businesses:
1. Companies are cutting jobs with lay offs, downsizing and buy-outs
2. People want flexibility to control their time so they can spend more time with their family
3. Frustrated with lack of opportunities at their work
4. A dream to be their own b More.. |
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| 50 Ways to Save Money |
| There are countless ways to save your business money. Unfortunately, many Australian businesses are overlooking them, or simply don't have the time to go searching them out.
Buyer's remorse is not a new idea. You may have experienced it right after a friend revealed he'd paid $100 less for his state-of-the-art golf clubs than you did. But what's $100 between friends? Better luck next time, you think.
Now consider how you'd feel if the same friend told you he was saving $100,000 a year on runni More.. |
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| Reaping the Rewards of Cost Cutting |
| In these days of insecurity and uncertain futures, the tendency is to manage for survival but the smart business leaders are actively hunting for profits.
And they are doing this without launching costly new initiatives or major capital investments. Seems difficult? Only if we are bound by the traditional approaches to profit growth.
Take the case of a business with 50% margin and a 10% bottom line profit. To double the profit to 20%, business mathematics would suggest you could try a range of More.. |
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| Lack of Vigilance Can Harm the Bottom Line |
| The easiest way to lift profits is to cut the fat out of costs.
Cost cutting and profit increases can amount to much the same thing if handled correctly. Cost cutting does not necessarily mean the slashing-and-burning of budgets on a 'let's-see-if-this-works' whim, nor does it mean the intense scrutiny of entertainment expenses in August, before reverting to three-hour lunches in December.
But what if a company could save 20 per cent a year on its stationery spend? Or 26 per cent a year on its More.. |
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| Five Quick Ways to Speed Up Cash Flow |
| At one point or another, almost every business runs short of cash. Whether due to normal fluctuations in demand or an unexpected decline in sales, cash shortfalls are the bane of every company, and are responsible for sleepless nights for many business owners.
Yet, there are a number of simple ways that you can reduce your dependence on your company's line of credit and increase the cash that you need. Here are five no-cost methods to try:
Increase Receivables Collection Efforts: This is the e More.. |
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| Small Business 101: Deadly Ignorance |
| American small business is again in transition. Many employees, now working from home, are no longer tied to a geographic office and the woes of commuting. This is a relatively new phenomenon with hints of explosive sector growth in the days ahead. As this turbulent economy has forced downsizing, offshore restructuring and closures in large companies, many new entrepreneurs have been born. These are people, who instead of tirelessly attempting to find new employment and possibly enduring the sam More.. |
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| Buy a Flower Shop: Serious Considerations |
| You've always liked flowers and you think the idea of turning emotions into floral expressions sounds like tremendous fun. You are between careers and have been investigating business opportunities in your community. Yesterday, while perusing the real estate magazine in your county, you notice that the family owned, downtown flower shop is for sale. The ad says it's a turnkey operation. This is your lucky day. Or is it?
Let's look before we leap, OK? Here are some factors to consider:
# What is More.. |
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| Start a Resume Writing Service for Profit |
| The resume writing service serves an important role in the economy. Many qualified candidates have a difficult time marketing themselves to employers and turn to a professional writing service for assistance. A successful resume is more than just a job history. As an experienced resume writer, you can provide the exposure needed for a job seeker to land an interview.
Specializing as an executive resume writing service can bring greater income for both you and your clients. One perfect resume is More.. |
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| Do Your Best; Hire the Rest |
| One of the hidden perks of raising six children is the learning laboratory it provides for the parents. My wife and I have learned how important it is to teach our children to do things for themselves and become problem solvers. There isn't enough time to do it any other way with a house full of children. Learning how to tie your shoes, make a telephone call and solve for two unknowns in an algebraic equation are examples of goals society sets for children. Undeniably, do it yourself skills are More.. |
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| Consistency with Janitorial and Cleaning Businesses |
| Consistency is a huge word when operating your business. I believe it is one of the key ingredients to success. You should strive to keep things exactly the same on a daily basis. A quick example, something that upsets me, if I go to McDonald's at 10:30 P.M. a 1/2 hour before they close and ask for a cheeseburger and chocolate shake. What answer do I usually get "sorry the shake machine is closed for cleaning" This to me is not fair I believe the first customer coming through the door, should re More.. |
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| There Is Security in Change... But Use Caution |
| It has been said that the only constant is change. That statement, while true for everyone, it is especially true for those engaged in business activities.
Business is an environment based on change - competition forces change on us. Our customers and clients always want new products and services. They want those new products and services faster, cheaper, and better. If we can't provide them or won't provide them, our customers will abandon us in favor of those who will. If a business does not More.. |
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| Janitorial Cleaning Service: Getting Started |
| A janitorial cleaning service is one of the best businesses for a hardworking, blue collar person to start from scratch. Every business and every building needs to be cleaned once in a while - in some cases, many times each day. With the overhead involved with hiring employees to provide janitorial services, it is convenient for a company to outsource to a commercial janitorial service provider.
This is where you step in!
If you are reading this article, you are probably looking for advice on More.. |
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