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Business Chatter is Australia's destination for business advice. Helping SMB Businesses Do Business.

Self Managed Super Funds

Retirement plans provide benefits for companies or government institutions concerned with the longevity of investments for their future. Having one for the long run must ensure security on your funds. The Self-Managed Superannuation Fund is a type of pension plan that features a full control as to how your funds and assets will be invested or will operate. In setting up a SMSF, you must know your skills relevant to your needs and you must have reliable providers.

To start running a SMSF, you will have to decide first if: you’ll take charge yourself to the submission of pertinent documents, plan management, record-keeping and taxation registration; or outsource all or some of these to legal individuals or service providers. The next step here is to look for the appropriate SMSF provider. Indexes of providers can be found over the internet. Choose the one that suits you the most. But to find out if you have chosen the right provider, check out first how long they have been in the business. As an advice, you must be cautious on selecting the providers who’ve just been in existence for barely two years. You may want to check some background information of the operators if they are capable enough to handle you as a client and your superannuation fund.

Many of the online service providers give fund establishment services, ongoing administration and one-off transactions. Aside from these, some are even linked to various financial and adviser groups. In fact, you can even benefit from their financial products.

A complete package of services is also offered by some providers. This includes investment accounts, direct services for the requirements and lawful individuals like an auditor, a tax agent, a financial adviser and a relationship manager. However, this can be costly so you must be watchful on the signing of documents and other related business transactions. Usually, a flat fee or an hourly fee for administration services could be charged on your bank accounts or even on your assets.

The business expenditure for a SMSF with the aid of online providers is relatively cheap, though. If you are concerned whether to have online or face-to-face service providers, consider first your needs and the difficulty of your fund. But at many times, face-to-face consultations with extra credits are also made available by the online providers. You may also opt to hire an accountant provided that he/she is a SMSF expert.

The last thing that you have to consider on selecting the provider is the scope of their SMSF service. If you opt to have a complete package agreement, it may depend on the benefits that the operators will give you. Evaluate then which online provider offers better services in terms of business and running payments, additional fees and other expenses that may come up which is not included in the package deal. Now if you want to be guaranteed, you can ask your financial adviser to separate the SMSF running costs and recommendations regarding non-super assets, if there are any.

Effective Tips For Small Business

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There are two important lessons that you can learn from the story of Forrest Gump. The first thing is that you should not let anyone tell you that you cannot do something. And second, you must learn to run!

Just like large firms, having a small business is no walk in the park . You will have to face difficulties especially during the earlier stages. The important thing is that you do not let these obstacles stop you and more importantly, you learn from them. In fact, even if you have been in the industry for years, you will still face hardships. This implies that will never stop learning. Here are a effective tips that will help you get through the bumps of having a small business.

Having a few staff means people must play dual roles that may include sales, bookkeeping, publicity and administration among others. They key is to compensate them properly so that you will not get caught in the trouble of having too much to do. However, ensure also that the payments that you are making will not hurt the firm.

You must also make the most of your time. Since you will be hiring people, you will be able to have more time to do other things. Manage your time well. Make sure that each day is productive.

Problems, again, are inevitable. And they may come in as small glitches or huge disasters. They key is to know when you need help. Call experts and analysts that can help you sort thing out.

Be observant. There are people who will try to take advantage of you and your business. Know who to transact with. And more importantly, know when you are being taken advantage of.

Be open to suggestions. As a business owner, you would want to do everything they way you find most effective. This should not always be the case. You can learn a lot from experts and even your inferior employees.

Check up on your business regularly. Consult an accountant to check on your finances. You can also seek the advice of a lawyer on the legalities of your business transactions. Prevention is always better that cure. Solving a problem at the start can do miracles in saving your business.

And lastly, make sure that you earn enough from your business. You may not earn as much during the first years but you must make sure that you actually earn. Even if you love your business very much and you are passionate about what you are doing, not earning enough is a sure way of shutting down. Even if you are not doing it for profit, you will still need enough earnings to provide the wages of your employees and to purchase your inputs. If the records show that you are not earning, then it is time to look for the problems of the firm. Address them immediately and if symptoms persist, you may want to overhaul or even rethink your business.

Funding Your Cash Flow With Loans

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Credit and Financing

Capital is the monetary requirements of a business firm to operate. So whether you are just setting up or already running your business, the source of capital is an important consideration.

Credit and owner’s equity are the conventional sources of financing among businesses. Since every firm starts out small, seldom do investors inject money to the enterprise. Additional and amenable options, however, become available as the business grows. It is important for a business to have a steady cash flow. Aside from the recurring operating expenses, other payments such as tax and other duties arise. Most of the time, the owner’s equity becomes inadequate to support the growing needs of the business. It is therefore important for the owner to be familiar with the terms, benefits and risks of credit.

Your Personal Credit Line

Using your personal line of credit is a convenient way of financing the business. You can use your credit card or borrow cash from your family and friends to suffice the expenses. However, with a growing business, these methods have immediate limitations. These methods are optimized for personal use and emergencies so in time, it becomes inadequate to support the growing needs of the enterprise.

It is important to consider certain points when using personally borrowed money or your credit card. Below are some questions you may ask to gauge the extent of your personal credit:

Until when can the cash support the enterprise? How much and how fast are you spending the money?
Will more cash be available?
What are the terms of repayment?
When are your friends and family expecting their money back? Do they have plans for this money?
What will happen if the debt is not repaid? What will you lose?

Business Loans

A business loan is an amenable option when starting your enterprise. You can also avail of business loans to expand the business. There are many institutions that offer loans depending on your business scale. It is important to familiarize with their terms so you can make the most of their offers. It is best to visit the banks and offices so you can discuss the options for your business.

It is also important to discuss these options with your financial advisers. Seek the opinions of your accountant and auditor when getting a loan. They know best if your business can repay the loan in time. Moreover, talk to your lawyer to verify the legal implications of getting a loan.

Imposing an Overdraft

Overdrafts are a form of financing that allows business to make purchases using their accounts even if the available balance is not enough. Overdrafts are a form of short-term funding that businesses can take advantage of. However, it is important to always review the terms and status to avoid incurring unnecessary expenses.

When deciding on external financing, it is important to have a long-term plan. This will give you an idea of how you can repay the loans you will avail. It will also ensure you that the loan will go to the business and not your personal needs. .

Transitions in One’s Own Business: How to Go About It

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Unlike employees, a change in business venture for entrepreneurs is not as easy once you lose passion for the one you are handling now. For employees, especially the job jumpers and those relatively new to an industry, it’s as easy as printing out a resume again and broadcasting it to every nook and cranny possible. But if you own a business and find that you have lost heart in it, what do you do?

I came across a blog entry where an entrepreneur shared how she tackled this very situation. See, every once in a while, even if you have a business that has already been established, there comes the very rare time when you undergo what one calls in the personal change industry as transition. This blogger shares she was already seven years into her current field when, after having completed a qualification for another mutually exclusive industry, she discovered she would rather be playing in the new one rather than the old.

In a way, for people like this blogger, the change is exciting. It is like letting a toddler loose in a toy store or a sweet-toothed kid escape in a candy shop. Much joy lies ahead but on the other hand, as the handful of entrepreneurs who underwent transition would admit, there is this longing of not letting go of the current business. Thus, there lies the dilemma.

In business, if one is capable enough to thrive in more than one industry, it is beneficial to venture into a totally new market in order to spread the risk should external negative factors befall one venture. Unfortunately, not all business owners have the capacity to handle personally two mutually exclusive endeavors and in the end, one or both businesses suffer. In the case of our blogger, what she did was to leave her first business but without merging its best practices, resources and connections first with the excitement and passion her second business interest gave. She left her first business because she admitted to herself that she has lost her passion for it.

Indeed, to succeed with one’s own business, one has to be honest enough with one’s self assessments to be able to bring forth 100% focus and passion towards its growth and flourish. Admittedly, some entrepreneurs discover their real passions a little later than hoped but once one gets to the cross-roads of decisions, one has to honestly analyze one’s self so that the next step, whether leading left or right, will prove to be correct and wise. After all, changing a business one owns is not as easy as printing a resume and finding a new venture.

Emulating Richard Branson With His Publicity Stunts

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Have you done something that defies convention? Have you tried emulating the publicity stunts that Richard Branson is famous for? Maybe it is now the right time to try to take a plunge and see if indeed it works.

Richard Branson is a very daring businessman. His audacity defies the established marketing and publicity methods and conventions but his results are stunningly positive. He has done a lot of publicity stunts that he is on his way of making a great name for himself aside from being an astute billionaire. He is even a lot more famous with all his stunts than the companies he tries to endorse.

It would be relatively easy to pull a publicity stunt when you are considerably famous already. To site an example is the known skirmish between Gordon Ramsay and Tracey Grimshaw. Their public battle is a huge publicity opportunity waiting to be utilised and exploited. It has been a subject of interest within the political community, domestic and abroad. Publicity however is not strictly limited to those who are originally famous. Ordinary citizens could definitely do the same with almost the same effect. An example of this was when Alain Robert , an ordinary Frenchman, climbed the RBS. Had you been able to convince him to advertise your business while on top of RBS, sure your business would have generated an unprecedented publicity. That is the true power of publicity; it could literally change and revolutionize a business. It does not necessarily have to be as daring as what Richard Brandon usually does; it only has to possess the essentials of an effective publicity stunt. It has to be creative enough to capture the interest and grab the attention of your audience. When my mother-in- law owned a number of dressing salons many years ago, someone threw a brick against her windows. She made the situation productive by getting creative with the incident. She painted the cracks to project an artistic effect and then had it photographed to be included in the daily newspapers circular saying that people can’t wait until morning to gain entrance into her salons. That was such an impressive publicity stunt!

If you wish to do your own publicity stunt, make sure to have solicited enough ideas from your mentors and closest friends to give you a good grasp of the risks and preparations involved. Ask for advice, learn from those people who benefited from it, and ask them how it could have worked.

Boosting your Business Revenue in less than a Year

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Krista Neher, launched Boot Camp Digital sometime in 2008. During that time, Boot Camp Digital is a social media marketing company that already had quite an impressive list of clientele. But like any business owner, Krista wanted more.

When asked what was her game plan to grow the business, Krista mentioned that during her first year, she reevaluated her business model. She wanted more revenue streams. During her re-evaluation, it seemed that the most logical way to expand her business was to hire more people. This was one strategy though that she didn’t want to employ.

It was then that Krista came up with an ingenious solution. She began to develop products that highlighted her expertise. Instead of her doing one-on-one training sessions on social media, she decided to use technology to reach out to a bigger audience.

Boot Camp Digital launched their Social Media DVD in March of 2009. Now, training videos can be bought from the Boot Camp Digital website. Krista also began offering social-media boot camps at her office. So, instead of doing on-on-one sessions, she can now facilitate these sessions with a bigger audience- about thirty people at a time.

In less than a year, Krista Neher has expanded her business from a few clients to thousands. When asked on what she advice she can share for entrepreneurs like us, she has these pieces of advice in expanding a business.

Her first advice is to look at your current business model. Krista suggests that business objectives should be well-defined by what success looks like to you, as a business owner. Moreover, she also suggests to come up with very creative ways on how to change one-on-one interactions to one-on-one-hundred situations.

Furthermore, in evaluating your business model, she also suggests to also consider changing the way you sell and changing your location. Krista gave a coffee shop she came across as an example. This certain coffee shop started selling at a farmer’s market during weekends. According to her, she talked to the owners and found out that the coffee shop was making about eighty percent of their revenue while operating at only twenty percent of cost by selling two days at the market.

Aside from coming up with clear-cut business objectives for expansion and changing the way to sell and looking at the best locations, Krista also suggests to come up with scalable marketing ideas. She has done this in Boot Camp Digital to boost her bottom line. What she did was instead of attending a lot of networking events, she signed up for her local Chamber of Commerce. She then posted her training classes on their calendar. What’s more is that she joined as many local calendar listings she could find. She also built an email list, employed search engine optimization techniques, and improved her website.

The result of all of Krista’s effort is that she is looking at the potential of doubling her revenue for the next year. It might also be a good idea to try out her suggestions to achieve the same success she had.

Negotiation Skills are the Keys to any Business Deal

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Negotiation will always be a required skill for business owners. Negotiation not only involves closing the deal, but also coming up with a desirable situation for both parties. The ideal result in any negotiation is to have an agreement where both parties can get the best results. Here are nine suggestions that you can employ in order to make your negotiation skills work for you.

1. Know your product very well

It’s your product and you should be the expert. Customers are coming to you under the perception that you have what they need. As a business owner, your job now is to ensure that your clients fully understand what it is that you’re offering, and how they would benefit from your product or service. Likewise, if a client is giving you a low-ball offer, knowing the ins-and-outs of your product can come into play. Knowing your product’s features, advantages, and benefits like the back of your hand can pretty much allow you to re-negotiate the terms and make the customer realize that the product or service deserves more than what they’re initially offering.

2. Make sure to Communicate effectively

Negotiation, very much like any form of communication, is a two-way street. In negotiating, you always need to make sure that you communicate with the other party effectively. You can do this by actively listening to what the other party is saying, then saying your piece, then repeating the process until an agreement is reached. One major no-no in communicating is when you talk-over the other party. Make sure to only talk when it’s your turn, ask questions when you need clarification, and paraphrase your customer’s statements when necessary. Doing so will avoid any miscommunication.

3. Don’t Trade in Your Values just to Make a Quick Buck

People respect those who stand by their principles. And believe me, there will be times when your personal integrity will be put to the test when doing business deals. Stay true to your ideals and you will be respected by your clients.

4. Avoid Low Margin Offers

Low margin offers may look good initially. It’s easy to overlook contracts with minimal profit because it is safe to say that at least you’re still earning; but think of the long term effects. Contracts with low margins eventually cost more in the long run. You might not realize it but, your investment , especially time, sometimes cost more than the contract’s worth in the long run.

5. Don’t take the First Offer

It is always given that during negotiations, the customer will always start at the lowest possible rate or price for your service. Always keep in mind that your client’s agenda is to get the best possible service or product at the lowest possible rate. As a business owner, it is your job to make sure that you also get what your service or product is worth. Being amenable to the first offer might strip you of any potential of higher revenue.

6. Actions Speak Louder than Words

As a business owner, you also need to have the knack of reading your customer’s actions. Even though your customers may not explicitly say it, but you can always gauge where you are when it comes to the customer’s list. Some good body language from the customers are quick return calls, strict adherence to appointments, and getting back to you at the time they had promised.

7. Be Consistent

Like in any other negotiation, consistency is always the key. If you used certain formats for a letter, email or presentation, always remember to stick to that format during the entire process. Being consistent, even in the smallest of details, tell your customers that your product or service is also consistent when it comes to quality.

8. Don’t Count Your Chickens Before They’ve Hatched

We’re all too familiar with this expression. There are a lot of things, foreseen and unforeseen, that can happen during any negotiation. Only celebrate your success in closing the deal once you’ve already put your mark on that contract.

9. Always follow the Process

Don’t try to circumvent the negotiation process by doing some things that are ‘under the table.’ Your customer, or his/her representative, are bound by procedures; and so are you. Engaging in agreements not found in any company policy or work contract might not only lose you the deal, but it might also earn you years in the slammer as well.

Bad Employees & Franchises

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Here is the scenario. Investing with a franchise is what you have been thinking for quite a time now; however, there is just one thing that you do not want to compromise with. You affirmatively do not want to be tormented with employees. Existing franchisees confirmed this. Earning good and trusted employees is like one in a million. They are hard to find and yet it is more challenging and resource-exhausting to retain them. This issue has been an argument for the past 15 years for most franchisees.

Consider the aforementioned scenario to be more of a challenge with a readily available solution. If you do not want to deal with employees, then you can purchase a franchise that does not necessitate any of them. On the other side, this scheme may not be capable of embodying your dream business, the business that can reflect your joy and passion. It only embodies basic and typical sales roles. Another downside of it is that it can obligate you to possess specialized skills where only you can fulfill and perform satisfactorily.

I might say that it is not feasible and rational, for practicality’s sake. There are unveiled truths in order to keep you from being tormented by your employees.

Initially, decide what franchise companies you will be concentrating on to confine the number. This will lead you to companies that will most likely decrease employee hassles. Distinguish the kind of products and services they render, the number of employees it will need to progress effectively and efficiently and the degree of difficulty to recruit and hire them. Consider the accessibility of the local companies for you to inquire about the current number of employees. Furthermore, take into account the overall appearance of the business environment that can maintain your employees to continuously work there than other comparable business environment.
Next is to contemplate on the type of business where the average employees can celebrate on better compensations and benefits. The business should also foster a working environment where the employee skills learned are exclusively for the chosen, and not for the masses. A combination of both factors will give you higher luck on better employee recruitment and retention. Moreover, the cost of recruitment and retention will be lesser as you keep happy and experienced employees in the long run. Most of all, you will gain their loyalty.

Lastly, you have the freedom to ask queries from current franchisees about the issue on employee hassles. Take the advantage while you are still performing your investigation. You may question about the number of employees and the ways they maintain them and the compensations associated. You may also ask how they resolve employee dilemmas and if the going gets tough, the estimated finances it require them to recruit new employees. The way they supply you the answers can help you discern whether this type of business can control the problems.

In the event that you emerge as a new franchisee, keep in mind that the related experiences will be on a mainstream first. If existing franchisees are experiencing employee dilemma and if you selected the same franchise, then it will be more probable that you will share the same commonalities as them. If otherwise, then you can hope that neither you will encounter such.

A spark of hope will hit you when you know that a few years back, franchisees do not treat such issues as extensive and burdensome. Yet being ignorant about it the can lead you more harm than desirable, so do some thorough research and discussion about this issue before you venture on a type of business franchise.

Attraction: The Best Public Relations Strategy

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You might need to change your public relations strategy in time for an ever changing market trends. Your previous strategies may not work anymore to gain business deals. You should start using attraction in developing your business.

Attraction is presenting your business in front of your potential clients, with all its strengths, capacities and capabilities, in such a way that they feel attracted to doing business with you. Simply put, your business should hold out a performance that will surely entice your clients. That is how attraction works.

Attraction could best be exemplified in an event where your audience will have a firsthand experience of you and your business’ unquestionable expertise. They must literally be able to test the authenticity of your claims for you to gain their trust and confidence. You must obviously get the attention of your audience by making a connection with them. Give them some practical examples that they could readily identify and relate with. Identify their needs and talk how you could respond to those needs. When you do this, you are certainly doing the principle of attraction.

The following are some benefits of attraction:

Practicality

People will find this strategy practical because they will experience it first hand and will have a good grasp of the message you are conveying.

Less effort, great rewards

You do not spend much effort attracting people than when approaching them. People who basically have the same perspective as you will just easily get attracted to you. People mostly prefer doing business with someone of the same vibe.

Statistically favourable

In attraction, all you need to do is present your business with great craft, and theoretically will leave the people to decide. There is no failure here, because you did not approach, you just attract, therefore giving you a greater probability of success.

No rejections

Since you do not approach people to avail of your business, there is no opportunity for rejection. You don’t get to experience the demoralizing effects of rejection.

Greater coverage

In attraction, you have no biases whom to approach because you initially do not do the approaching. Your efforts are centred on attracting businesses to you. You are not bound by limitations; on the other hand, you get to have greater coverage because people and other businesses that you do not even know existed, approach you.

Peculiarly relevant

People sometimes need something new, something entirely different than what they are used to. Through attraction, you offer a relevant difference among your competition therefore increasing your chance of bagging a business deal.

Image of leadership

Attraction will afford you the opportunity to present yourself as a leader in your industry, which will all the more attract more people towards you.

No selling

You do not need to worry about selling because there is no actual selling anymore. All you need to do is talk and write about your business, and then start for the attraction to set in.

You are actively participating

One good thing about attraction is you are actively participating to the new ideas available. You are always ahead of the game and are always on the lookout to attract more, to attract more than your competitors do.

You may have to invest time and resources before you see the results of your attraction efforts, but over time you will reap the rewards while you are enjoying the tasks. Start polishing your public relations strategy now through attraction, and be on your way to success.

Full Use Of Marketing Budget

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One dollar is already worth an investment, especially for the marketing budget of most small businesses. How will a small business cover its expenses given with a moderate amount of budget? From a minimum allocation to an ample return of income, presented are action plans which can result to something more.

Find other ways to advertise. Advertisements are too economical to produce and to operate. Luckily, there are ways in which you can publicize with the least expenditure. Ensuring that your advertising messages get straight to your target audience can recompense its meaningfulness.

Gather your reprints and disseminate them to your target consumers in every possible way you can imagine. You can incorporate a reprint of your ad in a whole deal or package when prospects will inquire about something. Placing your ad in direct mails such as reply letters and cards is also an advisable method. The more they come across with the message, the more your ad will be recognized and emphasized.

Start within your departments. To double the effect of the strategy, disseminate your ads to your sales agents so they too can be notified with your current marketing and promotional schemes. They should possess copies of the ads in order for them to impart the promotion when they come face-to-face with the customers.

Maximize the spaces utilized in the reprints, from the front portion to its back. Additional information and specifications will maximize the consumers’ exposure to your advertisement. Plus, you will have the benefit of reducing the costs in creating a new blueprint.

The main point here is to take advantage of your ads in variations and sharpen your creative thinking. Increase the iteration of your ads. Overtime, it will also increase the consumer attention.

Be Loyal. Why will you alter a marketing campaign when it is still reactive and effective to the people? This practice has become a mediocrity among marketers. Break the monotony. One should not waste on what is still useful in marketing promotions. Persistence is more than just that. It can be very rewarding as well. You do not have to go back and start all over. If the campaign just needs an update of information, then do it simply so long as it is still serving and convincing for the people.

Creativity and originality does not sacrifice the functionality. That is the truth for advertisement print outs and literatures. When a business has an additional budget, it should not exhaust much on manufacturing fancy, brightly colored, glossy-feel and thick prints. The physical property of the prints show should always complement and reflect what your products and services are all about and not by any outside influential factors. What you want is to be understood by your target audience, not to create confusion and complication among them.

Not an ordinary product literature. Contesting about how to promote a service or product to different sectors in the market is one of the disputed points especially when the budget is only limited for small businesses. One resolution of the given predicament is to use a modular product literature. A modular product literature is simply a brochure that contains carefully tailored sections for varying market divisions and specific readers. It is like an all-in-one layout of a product literature suitable for a wide range of audience to satisfy unique market needs and demands. The modular layout can be edited and customized depending on the type of audience with the use of the same basic template.

Support with article reprints. Having a limited budget for product literatures can be almost impossible for small businesses to meet the demands of the audience for a more customized sales literature. They require for such in order to be presented with a definite explanation of the product or service’s features. The answer for the problem is to support your sales literature with reprints of articles.

Have your staff members write an article for the designated topics and publish them on journals. The articles can be then reprinted and used as more creditable sources of information to support product literatures compared to separate promotional pieces.

Discover other economical means for a wide-spread generation. Organic searches, public relations and banner advertisements are cheaper substitutes to competently generate leads in the market. Publish your press releases on available and feasible media outlets and on your promotional online sites. Boost the optimization of your press releases with keywords to induce more traffic for organic searches.

Wisely hire other competitive talents and not overspend in exchange for the services of outside experts who can charge you with more than what you can afford. There are those capable and highly competent freelancers whom you can hire and pay within the means of your budget. It is impractical to give much of the compensation for some experts for hire where in fact, the task can be actually fulfilled excellently with freelancers who only require a more minimal compensation in exchange for their services.

Better to use the inside resources. For practicality, it is more cost-saving to let a reliable staff of yours to complete a task that is within his or her skills and capability. Having a full-time, part-time or dedicated worker to manage some operations inside is a definite advantage too. Only then will your hire for outside consultants or agencies when the tasks to be done are in dire need of specialized knowledge and skills.

Be resourceful. To reduce and save time and effort, you can adapt previous or existing illustrations, texts, images, diagrams or any blueprints for another promotional literature. The concept of reusing and recycling is basically applicable here in this strategy. Ascertain only that the items you will be reusing are qualified for the new project.

Be prompt in payments. Being punctual in making payments to your valuable vendors will award you with possible discounts. Settle the payments on time and always be true to your words. Your reputation should not be blemished with any falsifications. For the forthcoming projects, you can have more decent services and prices from them.