AUTHOR ARCHIVES :

Best Management Practices and a Tip from Russell Ruffino

Business consultants are always eager to offer up advice about what business owners should do, and what they should avoid doing. The short and sweet of it is this: Business owners should always stay actively engaged in the day-to-day operations of their enterprise.

Engaged and happy employees

It’s less about management style and more about engagement. Business leadership spans the full spectrum including a laissez-faire approach through autocratic management styles. Depending on the nature of business operations, one may be more conducive to productivity than another, although this is not ironclad.

In management school, they teach that planning, organizing, leading, and controlling (POLC) are the core tenets of effective business management.…

Continue reading →

How Retailers Use Business Intelligence to Turn Data into Dollars

What is Business Intelligence and Why is it Important for Retailers?

Developing business strategy for decision making using BI reports

Business intelligence, also called BI, or analytics, is an umbrella term referring to the numerous tools in place for collecting, analyzing, and presenting business data. Numerous modes of technology, including applications, can be implemented in the capture of this valuable information. With accurate BI, retailers get to see the current state of business operations.

Business intelligence is important for retailers because it offers a new perspective on the big picture. For instance, BI can be used to prevent fraud and stop revenue loss early thanks to verifiable data trends. BI can also help teams make better decisions when it comes to retail purchases and allocations.…

Continue reading →

New CBI Index Reveals a Bright Future in The Cyber Age, with Increased Security and Cryptocurrency Considerations

The 2018 CBI Index – a special report published by the Financial Times’ Professional Wealth Management magazine – have revealed that some countries offering second citizenship programmes are preparing for the cyber age by considering investment via cryptocurrency, and that a majority of these countries are utilising technology to improve their due diligence measures.

Second citizenship programme by cryptocurrency investment

Cryptocurrency & CBI

2017 and 2018 saw the rise of cryptocurrency – virtual currencies that enable financial transactions between persons without the need for banks, or other centralised financial intermediaries. Crucially, cryptocurrencies allow secure transactions through advanced cryptography recorded on a blockchain ledger.

As with many new technologies, there has been hesitation in the industry as to whether to allow investment via cryptocurrency.…

Continue reading →

Choosing Office Chairs: Your Essential Guide (Infographic)

The stakes are high when you’re choosing new chairs for your office. Get this right and you’ll provide your employees with a comfortable, attractive base to work from; get it wrong and you could cause your personnel to experience discomfort and at the same time make a serious style faux pas.

Businesswoman working

To keep you on track during the deliberation process, here’s your essential guide to selecting the right workplace chairs

Know your spending limit – and shop around

If you’re not careful, you could end up overspending on your seating solutions. To prevent this from happening, it pays to set a strict spending limit before you start perusing your options.…

Continue reading →

When is the Right Time for Online Business Owners to Setup a Virtual HQ?

Online business owners often enjoy the flexibility of working from home or on-the-go, but as any company grows, there are certain needs that will arise. In the case of online businesses, needs typically transform with growth.

Running an online business

In this article, we’ll discuss when an online business owner should consider setting up a virtual headquarters. There’s a time and place for everything, and it’s important that online business owners setup a virtual headquarters at the perfect time. After reading this article, you’ll know what a virtual headquarters is, how it can benefit an online business, and when it’s the right time to setup a virtual headquarters.…

Continue reading →

6 Bottom Line Tips to Avoid Business Bankruptcy

When first starting your business, you probably never dreamed of dealing with the challenges of paying off large amounts of business debt. Researching the market and creating a powerful business plan was supposed to be sufficient to raise capital.

Capital for launching your business is usually the catalyst for overlooking debts. Unfortunately, business is like life, unpredictable and full of twists and turns. According to a U.S. Bank analyst report, 82 percent of businesses fail due to money issues.

Facing bankruptcy

Remember, cash flow doesn’t always equate to money coming in and out. Timing should also be taken account. If your business is based on having an invoice system, your invoices won’t be paid until after the loan payments are due.…

Continue reading →

Four Important Rules of Working with Heavy Machinery

Machinery in the workplace can be of massive benefit when used both correctly and safely. Heavy machinery can easily complete several different tasks in a timely and efficient manner, but it can also be capable of causing significant harm and injury if used incorrectly or by somebody who isn’t qualified or trained to do so.

Working with heavy machinery

Every year, the misuse of heavy machinery in the workplace leads to a number of accidents that could have been prevented with the right safety and hazard management strategies. We’ve listed some important workplace safety tips to keep in mind when ensuring machine safety.

1. Use Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Often, the use of personal protective equipment can be the difference between a minor and a major injury when working with machinery in the workplace.…

Continue reading →

Leading and Succeeding – What Makes a Great Sales Manager

You might think that being a great sales manager is all about analyzing KPIs and methodically crafting sales plans. While that is certainly part of it, there are myriad of other considerations a sales manager must make in order to succeed.

As the head of your team, in charge of hitting sales targets and achieving growth, you have to be both coach and critic, cheerleader and leader, analyst and orator… the list goes on.

Sales manager and her team

Understanding Differences

It is understandable for a new sales manager to believe that whatever qualities got them the job, those are the same qualities they should bestow upon their sales team.…

Continue reading →

6 Tools Everyone in the Virtual Office Industry Should Be Using

Virtual offices have streamlined the way business is conducted for many companies, eliminating the need and overhead associated with hiring in-house receptionists and administrative staff. In fact, virtual offices have nearly replaced physical offices, and the rise of virtual offices have saved many, many companies the costs of opening up shop in a new space.

Virtual offices should use these business tools

Virtual offices are used by companies ranging from startups to corporations looking to open a headquarters in a new area. A survey revealed that 70% of large corporations are using virtual offices, while 62% of small businesses are now using virtual offices.

Through this article, our friends at VirtualOffice.Sydney…

Continue reading →

Top 5 Items You Can Refurbish and Save Money On

Nothing in this world is built to last forever. One thing we have to remember is that the things we buy have life cycles—meaning, that they will only be fashionable or functional for a set period of time. And in the time that elapses, businesses push new products, new technologies, and faster purchasing to their consumers.

Refurbish furniture

It’s easy to fall into a trap of quickly discarding an item when it’s broken or out of shape, and getting a shiny new replacement.

This toss-and-replace kind of mentality proves costly to both our budget and the environment. Impulse-buying and panic-buying drive several industries to consume and manufacture continuously, and this adds to the waste being accumulated in factories and landfills.…

Continue reading →