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Posts Tagged ‘Businesses’

The recent sub-prime mortgage crisis and the interlinked subsequent turmoil in the financial markets has generated many concerns in businesses and the general outlook on the economy. The question we want to answer is: will it affect small businesses?

There is no easy answer to this question. But let?s examine the different drivers at play.

On one hand, we have a mortgage market that?s become a lot tighter. This will make it increasingly harder for people to get mortgages. Traditionally, borrowing against your home has been one of the most common ways of funding a new businesses (according to a survey conducted by the Federation of Small Business 25% of start ups use bank loans as their main source of funding, while 49% use bank overdrafts). So these facts would indicate that the credit crunch will have a knock-on effect on small businesses by affecting entrepreneurs? ability to raise funding.

Equally, a lot of people who are already on the property ladder will find that their equity is being squeezed by the drop in house prices, so again making it harder to gear up.

On top of this, banks have gone into saving mode, switching from looking aggressively for borrowers to looking for lenders. So even with property to secure against, chances are that people will generally face it more difficulty to get a bank loan.

On the other end of the food chain, larger businesses, who are already geared up may find it harder to service their debt especially if consumer spending is affected (of which there are no clear signs as yet). Consumer spending accounts for about 70% of the GDP so if that goes down? it pretty much all goes down.

With the above in mind, the number of business startup is the next year is estimated, by some, to drop. Barclays bank estimates that new business formations will drop from 420,000 a year for the past three years to about 360,000 next year.

I don?t share that view. Seemingly paradoxically I believe that the above will actually lead to a growth of the small business sector. The small business sector has always been the most resilient in the economy, benefiting from the lack of a cumbersome fixed cost base that burdens large businesses and with little or no debt to service.

There is the question of course of ?how do we finance a small business without a buoyant property market to piggy-back on?? Well considering that over the past three years, despite abundance of cheap credit, 40% of start-ups (according to the FSB survey 2006) used own savings and retained profits to part-finance their growth, one can argue that that figure will increase in times when credit is tighter and when people are also nervous about their employment prospects.

Added to this is that fact that entrepreneurs today have more tools at their disposal to help them ?boot-strap? their venture than any other time in modern business history. Technology of course is the underpinning force behind this, enabling people to work remotely even deploying virtual teams without having to incur the traditional set-up and costs. Sites like ours ? www.peopleperhour.com, we?d like to think, are making a distinct positive contribution to that.

Personally, I think the problems of the current financial crisis can be attributed to one key fundamental factor that, unfortunately, is an innate human trait: greed. The past number of years has seen an excess liquidity fuelled by cheap credit, which has led to a frenzy of over-spending and over-exposure. What has this led to? Large organizations eating up more than the can chew. Like Northern Rock.

This downturn will be a smack on the face to those who have got too greedy. And those will be naturally the ones at the top end of the food chain. As people become more nervous of the situation and their job security in those organizations, I think more people will resort to embarking on their postponed hidden desires to branch out on their own.

After all there something uniquely beautiful and paradoxically uplifting about a bleak economic climate: there?s less to lose!

Thinking of marketing your business on the internet? When you first put your business on the internet the biggest hurdle you will need to overcome is trying to promote it among all the other competitors on the web. Internet marketing for beginners is not that hard if you know what to do.

The most important step is to educate yourself about your business. Make yourself an expert in your field and you will be able to provide value to your web visitors regardless of the format.

3 Simple Internet Marketing Methods for Beginners:

1. Blogging: This is the simplest form of marketing and is good for people new to marketing on the internet. Remember to target your blog content to the customers you are trying to reach. You can use this form of marketing to initially bring visitors to your website. At first it may seem like there is very little traffic, but this form of marketing will build up a good steady stream of targeted visitors over time. The key is to provide value to your readers in your blog content which will make them be interested in seeing what is on your business site.

2. Article distribution: This is a great way to funnel qualified visitors to your site. By “qualified” I mean these are people who have read your article and are already interested, or pre-qualified in what you’re saying or the product you’re selling. The key to success is to write, or have written, some quality articles on different aspects of your business using good keywords that potential customers would use to find your product or service.

Another thing to bear in mind is to use the article directories, as they will provide you high converting visitors to your site. Again, these are potential customers searching for what you are offering. Article directories will also give you back links, which will help you to improve your search engine rankings.

3. Free newsletter: This is one of the best ways to build your business. Visitors can sign up at your website and join your opt-in list to receive your free newsletter. You can then use the opt-in list to send emails marketing special deals or new products. You can also put special deals in your newsletter. With a newsletter you will be able to build up a strong business relationship with your subscribers and over time they will become your customers.

Yes, these things take a little time … but they are doable. If you have a business and don’t have a business website, you’re missing a ton of potential customers. So get started!

There is no doubting the difficult financial situation Ireland, and indeed many other countries are suffering at the moment. But it is vital that we do not allow the global recession to discourage us from attempting to restore Ireland’s economy. Economic growth will occur only if we increase the amount of goods and services we produce, and of course Company formation takes courage and a keen mind for business and financial matters, but it is the gutsy individuals who are willing to take the risk that will re-establish our economy.

80% of small businesses utilize QuickBooks to handle their accounting needs. This includes accounts payable, accounts receivables, time tracking, vendor databases and client databases. QuickBooks is a revolutionary program that has one big flaw; it does not allow for native importing of other systems data.
Most business and their accounting firms have no idea that they can import anything into QuickBooks with a little help from a custom-programming firm. By integrating disparate systems with QuickBooks, businesses can increase their productivity and run more efficiently by eliminating redundant data entry.
Benefits to Small and Medium Sized Businesses Utilizing QuickBooks
#1 Data is Entered Only Once
QuickBooks integration means that the data only has to be entered once. Once the data is entered into a company’s timekeeping or order entry system, there is no need to do anything more. The data is also entered into QuickBooks in real time, meaning fewer man-hours and more efficiency.
#2 Fewer Errors
There are less data entry errors when QuickBooks integration is utilized, as there is less human data entry needed. Human beings make mistakes and the ability to eliminate redundant data entry will decrease these errors.
#3 Enhanced Cash Flow
QuickBooks integration allows for faster workflow from the point of entry to the billing stage, which allows the business to bill faster and increase cash flow.
Benefits to Accounting Firms
#1 Emotional Capital
By facilitating QuickBooks integration for their clients, accounting firms will be viewed as problem solvers by their clients. Being seen as an adviser that can help with broad areas of the business, will lead to more referrals and more overall work for each firm.
#2 Less Errors
Because the information is automatically updated, accounting firms will find that there are fewer errors in their clients QuickBooks files. This decrease in errors and time spent correcting information will allow the accounting firm to work faster and more profitably.
#3 Files Will Be Received Earlier
Accounting firms will discover that their clients will hand over their QuickBooks files earlier, which will allow the firms to handle the busy tax seasons with ease.
#4 Higher Rate Accounting Work
Because clients will be spending less money on bookkeeping services, accounting firms who recommend QuickBooks integration will see that these same clients now have larger budgets for higher rate accounting work.
Methods
There are two main methods used to facilitate QuickBooks integration. These are batch imports and backend integration. With batch imports, the business owner can create an export file, view the contents and then choose to import that file into QuickBooks. With backend integration, the two systems talk to each other directly meaning that all is completed in real time.
Good examples of businesses that can benefit from QuickBooks integration are accounting firms, staffing agencies that utilize time tracking systems to pay their employees, online stores who sell products online and then must record the sales data for accounting, and large construction companies that utilize complex work order systems.
A credible custom-programming firm can be utilized to integrate QuickBooks into most web applications or desktop application. This integration enables small and medium sized businesses to grow by reducing man-hours, increasing efficiency and improving company productivity.

Over 60% of small businesses fail due to a lack of planning and execution of a business plan. When businesses are so small it is rare to have an HR manager, because of that training and follow-up is non-existent. Who would be accountable and how could management implement a training routine to make it beneficial and cost effective?