Avoiding Accounting Nightmares

As a small business owner you no doubt wear many different hats during your day-to-day tasks. Accountant, marketing manager, PR guru, head of HR, etc. are probably just some of the roles you have to take on. Because of this typical small business environment it is common for some aspects of a business to suffer and for some reason, despite its huge importance, it is often the financial accounts that suffer the most.

Accounting

This can happen for a few reasons. A lack of understanding when it comes to accounting is one and a shortage of time due to other business commitments is another.…

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5 Small Business Cybersecurity Fixes

In today’s world of accelerating technological advancements, it’s almost hard to imagine a small business not using technology. However, as a small business owner, you may find it increasingly difficult to keep pace with current trends. Yet technology is too important a piece for you to leave out of your business jigsaw puzzle. If you do your best to stay on top of technological changes, your business will grow faster, much faster than your competitors in the marketplace. This difference will be on many orders of magnitude.

Cyber security

There is a good reason why tech companies have valuations in millions or billions.…

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Ways to Improve Your Brand Image with (Relatively) Minimal Effort

Do you really understand the power of a great brand?

  • It allows you to dominate the market
  • It increases the rate of referrals
  • It becomes a major point in the decision making process
  • It creates a strong, opinionated, passionate community
  • It keeps people coming back for more

Brand sign

With all these great benefits you would have to be mad not to pour your resources into branding.

The issue with building a strong brand isn’t about covering the fundamentals but kicking it up a notch and doing that little bit extra to help you differentiate from competitors who may have equally powerful branding in the marketplace.…

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Understanding How CEOs Become CEOs

Chief executive officers (CEOs) of companies seem larger than life. They’re giants that have learned how to manage their finances, how to create wealth, and, arguably most importantly, how to deal with people.

The path to becoming a CEO has just as many rewards as it does challenges, but it’s the weight of those rewards that makes the journey worth traveling.

CEO

To understand why becoming a CEO of a major company is so rewarding, you first need to understand what it takes to become a CEO.

What Does a CEO Need?

The formula for becoming a CEO can be simplified into just three things that each require a respectable amount of hard work, dedication and skills that can only be acquired from perseverance.…

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How to Take Your Finances from Receipts to Balance Sheets

Many people assume that finances can be a confusing and stressful thing to manage, especially if you’re not prepared or educated in how to manage finances successfully.

Doing business finances

Many people just throw their receipts in a box and then decide to organize these receipts when it’s necessary, such as when tax season is approaching. But this is not an effective financial method, whether for a business or for your personal finances. Having organized financial records is essential, especially when it comes to managing cash flow for business or for personal use.

Luckily, you don’t have to be a tax expert in order to manage finances.…

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How to Maximize the Benefits of Your CRM Software

Investing in a customer relationship management (CRM) software package can be one of the best ways to enhance your business relationships and boost profitability. CRM software is a powerful application that, when used to its full potential, can not only mean better customer relationships, but also more streamlined processes, increased sales, and happier employees.

CRM software

However, many companies miss out on these benefits by not using the software to its full potential. Here is a start-to-finish guide for how to maximize the benefits of your CRM software.

Choose the right software package

Getting the most out of CRM software starts by picking the right application to meet the needs of your business and of your employees.…

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Currency Trading: Simplifying the Challenges of Entering the Forex Market

If you are just starting out in the forex markets or want to broaden your horizons and look at other potential trading opportunities, it is important that you have a basic understanding of how these markets work.

Forex trading may potentially seem daunting and challenging but with the help of a forex broker who provides you with the right tools and trading platform to invest with as much ease as possible, you can soon be up and running.

Forex trading

Forex trading simplified

Foreign exchange markets, which are more commonly referred to as Forex or FX, is in a nutshell, the exchange of one currency for another at an agreed exchange price via the over-the-counter (OTC) market.…

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Why a Simple POS System Means More Customer Confidence

Customer confidence is all over the map these days. With worries about identify theft and security breaches constantly the news, it takes something to convince customers that your store is the place where they should drop those dollars and scan that card.

If you want to get ahead in this market you have to beat out the competition not just in prices or incentives, but in confidence. One security breach can set a company back a dangerous amount, forcing them to rebuild or try to woo back their customer base when they’re under the pressure of a lot of stress.

Point of sale

With that in mind, the answer is not a complicated point of sale machine or bristling firewalls and security.…

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Taking your Brand on The Road: Making The Most of Trade Shows

Trade shows are one of the best places to advertise your business. When you attend a show, you can show off your brand and products. But, it’s not a risk-free proposition. If you’re not careful, you can also lose more than the cost of the booth.

Trade show

Decide What Your Goals Are Before You Go

Before you rush out and set up your booth, decide on what you want out of the trade show. For example, some businesses go to collect leads. Others go to showcase their wares for other businesses, but not to collect sales leads directly. Still others go to network or even sell directly at the show.…

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Moving a Business Overseas: What You Need to Know

It’s the dream of all small business owners to extend their reach well beyond their local marketplace because it opens the opportunities to grow a larger brand (and higher profits).

Doing business overseas

The web has facilitated much of small business growth because it demolished the physical borders and barriers, but there is still something to say about having a real presence in a foreign marketplace that cannot be replicated through online commerce alone.

Moving a business (or parts of it) overseas brings with it a wide range of benefits:

  • There are, at times, very little competition within the marketplace for experienced businesses
  • Foreign workers are plentiful
  • Many financial benefits are to be had when moving to certain regions
  • A physical presence allows the business to become one with the community
  • It progresses the brand and opportunities to franchise the business within the new marketplace

The benefits of moving a business (or part) overseas is stacked in the good category but it is important to know some of the issues and “snags” one may face when making the transition.…

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