All Entries in the "ManagingSmart" Category
7 Ways to Reinvent your Business for Bigger Profits
For small business owners, there’s a “new normal” out there, and it doesn’t look a whole lot like the old normal. If your business seems to be on a treadmill of too much debt, too many operating expenses and too little growth, it may be time to take “lean and mean” to a new level. [...]
6 Essentials for Negotiating a Good Deal
Success for a small business (and especially those selling business to business) often hinges on striking good agreements and deals – with clients, customers, vendors, employees or others. So just what are the secrets to masterful deal making? Here are six negotiation essentials that apply to any size business or deal, from Arthur Wylie, author [...]
10 Inside Secrets to Grow a Business in Tough Times
How do some small businesses manage to grow and thrive while others perennially struggle and miss opportunities that come their way? According to Alex Castelli, who heads the Growth Markets Practice of consulting firm Reznick Group, the most successful business owners display some clear patterns and habits. Reznick has built its reputation working with companies [...]
How Business Owners can Fight Rising Fraud
“Back office” and other types of financial fraud are rising at U.S. companies, and are hitting small businesses especially hard. Fraud experts point to the lingering effects of recession, cutbacks that have eliminated financial checks and balances at many businesses, and simple complacency as key reasons. According to Joseph Wells, a CPA and founder of [...]
10 Ways to Build a Positive Vibe in Your Business
Does your business have “drainers” – people whose negativity drains everyone else’s energy and drags your business down? Or, worse yet, are you a “drainer” yourself? “Nobody sets out to be a drainer,” notes Jon Gordon, a business “attitude” consultant who works with businesses, professional sports teams, universities and other organizations. “It’s just that some [...]
10 Commandments of Great Customer Service
Forced to do more with less, small businesses that have managed to survive or even thrive have recognized one key factor: You can’t always compete on price, but you can compete on service. And the best thing about great customer service is that providing it doesn’t cost anything. When your competition is scrounging for customers, [...]
A Foolproof Framework for Hiring Perfect People
Here’s a motto every small business should live buy: Hasty hiring brings frequent firing. For most business owners, the hiring “process” includes posting a job opening, sorting resumes and hiring the first person who makes a god impression. But the consequences of poor choices can be severe. If you keep an unproductive person on, you’re [...]
How to Defuse Workplace Conflicts
Workplace conflicts can sap energy from any small business. Whether it involves employees, vendors or contractors, getting such issues resolved is critical to smooth sailing. Business managers overall spend an estimated 40 percent of their time dealing with conflicts both big and small. That’s just normal, since disagreements, disputes and honest differences exist everywhere. For [...]
How to Create a Winning Business Culture
When a once-growing business stumbles, the cause is sometimes an overlooked culprit: the company culture. Many good businesses with solid ideas, a great market and talented people start to lose their grip on growth after failing to win victories that seemed within grasp. Slowly, the “win or die trying” mentality gives way to deciding how [...]
5 Worst Ways Business Owners Waste Time
Most of us believe that cell phones, email and other tech devices help business productivity. But tech devices and some common business practices can actually be big time wasters. For example, are you and your employees constantly checking email or web sites? Do you have an open door policy, a schedule full of meetings, and [...]
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