5 Ways to Enjoy Your Small Business Work Week More

I think all of us would like to get a little more enjoyment out of the sometimes more mundane things that we face on a daily base.  All too often work moves to the top of the list of things that people dislike.  Here are 5 ways that you can enjoy your business week more.

1) Incorporate One Passion Into the Work you Do-

Everyone has things that they love to do or information/ideas that they love to follow.  Our workload becomes far more interesting when we can find a way to bring that passion in to the things that we are doing in our jobs.  Take some time to make a list of the things that are most interesting to you.  Then make a list of some of your responsibilities or tasks at work.  Compare the two lists to see if there are some things from the first list that you can merge with the things that you are doing on the second list.  You would be surprise to see how you attitude about those tasks changes when you incorporate things you are passionate about.

2) Find a Way to Serve-

Service has an amazing way of invigorating the mind and motivating us to become more engaged in the work that we are doing.  Don’t discount the impact that it can have in making the work that we do become more meaningful.  Service can happen in a couple different ways: 1) plan projects with co-workers to build up  your community or 2) find ways to do something extra for clients, neighbors, co-workers or friends.  Set aside some time each week to do something entirely focused on someone else.  It will enrich your work week.

3) Cut Out the Unnecessary-

Take careful stock of all the tasks that you have on your to-do list.  What items are necessary?  What can be cut out or delegate?  When we do a better job of managing our time and our responsibilities, it can go a long way to giving us peace of mind and more enjoyment because we are doing more of what we enjoy and less of the mundane.  Now, unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to cut out all the mundane tasks that we have on our plates, but better time management will allow us to minimize the time wasters that we so often engage in.

4) Make a Friend-

People are really social creatures and it is critical for peace of mind to develop meaningful relationships.  This is especially true in business.  Your week will become more enjoyable as you find clients, customers and co-workers with whom you can have interesting conversations.  Be engaging with those around you and take some time to learn more about others.  Invite someone new to lunch this week.  Ask a client about their family.  Have a conversation that you wouldn’t normally have.

5) Stay Focused-

Finally, do your best to stay on task.  Work is most meaningful when it is done properly and with full energy.  Remove the things that normally distract you and focus on achieve all that you desire from your workday.  Be persistent and actively engaged in your tasks and they will become more enjoyable as time moves along.

5 Ways to Minimize Litigation in Your Small Business

No business wants to have to deal with litigation, especially not a small business.  The cost of initiating or defending a lawsuit can be crippling to a business owner.  While not all litigation is avoidable, here are 5 ways you can seek to minimize litigation risks for your small business.

1) Do you homework

Doing your necessary due diligence before entering in to a deal is a great way to minimize litigation risks to your small business.  What is the nature of the other party?  Have they been involved in litigation in the past?  What is their capacity to do this deal?  What is your capacity to do this deal?  How are they structured?  When you take the necessary time to properly evaluate the deal before you, you are more likely to make an educated decision which in turn often minimizes risk.  This helps weed out the bad parties or individuals that are most likely not going to perform adequately.

2) Clearly define relationships

A well-drafted contract or agreement can go a long way in protecting all parties to a business deal.  Critical to this is using clarity in defining what the duties and responsibilities are of all involved.  When each party knows and understands their duties and those of the other party, it is less likely that there will be confusion down the road about what should or should not be happening in a business deal.  It also helps to clearly outline what the penalty is for failure to perform under a given deal.  When you have done your homework as outlined above, it allows you to better be able to define duties and responsibilities of each business party.

3) Be flexible

Especially in an economy such as this, once you are engaged in a business relationship, it is critical to have a necessary level of flexibility.  Sometimes unforeseen things happen and people are going to need to make adjustments to the original agreement or payment schedules.  Be willing to engage in reasonable changes to the agreement and be clear about what those changes do and do not entail.  People are going to be more likely to work with you now and in the future if you are flexible and understanding in how you deal with them.  If your due diligence has sufficiently removed bad actors from the pool of clients or customers, it is less likely that you flexibility will be inappropriately taken advantage of.

4) Stay level headed

Also, it is critical that you as a business owner keep a level head and resist the temptation to make things personal and become excessively confrontational.  It can be frustrating when a deal falls through or other individuals fail to perform as they had agreed.  If you are level-headed and solution-oriented in your approach to the situation, you can more often than not come up with an amicable settlement and a new plan going forward.  Ultimately, this route is also just better for your peace of mind.

5) Seek alternative resolution methods

Businesses also have access to alternative dispute resolution methods such as mediation and arbitration.  You can set these up through formal mechanisms and via contract or you can also create a more informal structure with each individual party.  Setting up a day when both parties can re-evaluate their position and communicate about concerns can go a long way to diffusing a difficult situation.

Although, not all litigation is avoidable, doing the above with help to minimize litigation risk for your small business.

5 Ways to Research a New International Market for Small Business

Because technology and resources are making the globe smaller and smaller, small businesses need to consider options of expanding their operations internationally.  As with any new market, though, expanding internationally has its potential problems as well.  Here are 5 ways to research a new international market for your small business:

Follow the News-

You would be surprise to know how much you can learn about potential markets when you watch the news.  What countries are discussed and why?  Which countries are going through political changes or opening their doors?  Which businesses are moving into new regions and why?  To be successful in any market, it is critical to have as much information as possible.  As you follow the news, you can identify areas of interest and that will lead you to other areas of research.

Investigate Potential Local Competitors-

Once you hone in on a specific country or region that you think would be a future launch point, it is next important to research any potential competitors in that region.  Focus in on the local competitors.  What is their market share?  What are their relationships with government entities?  Do they maintain any cultural identifications with their local communities?  It is critical to learn what type of “home court advantage” businesses are given to know how best to compete in that market.

Seek Out Possible Partnering Opportunities-

Sometimes, operating internationally is much easier when you can find a local company to partner with.  Someone who knows the lay of the land and how to get access.  Also someone that may be more familiar to your clients/customers.  It is critical to research who you could work with when seeking to break in to a new market.  Pay attention to what their strengths and weaknesses are.  How can they assist your business?  Do the have the capacity to do what you need them to do?  Is there a good “personality fit”? Are they willing to take direction and protect interests?

Determine if Your Product/Services is Ready for That Market-

Just because something works where you are does not mean that that product will easily translate into a marketable item in a new country.  Research how interested those future customers/clients are in your type of good or service.  What type of client education is going to be necessary in order to alert them to the benefit of you product?  What potential culture pitfall might you run in to because of branding/product naming that should be prevented by adjustments.  May international companies run in to marketing issues because they don’t pay attention to meanings of translations and market needs in a new country.

Review Potential Government Compliance Issues-

Most importantly, you need to evaluate how you can legally do business in that respective country.  What is the filing requirement for an international company?  What restrictions do they have on foreign investment?  What potential real estate ownership issues might impact you?  How can you protect or license any intellectual property that may be important in that new venture?  What do you need to do in order to enforce contracts or protect your interests?  Which entities do you need to register with in order to do whatever you are planning on doing?  International regulatory concerns can be very problematic for a business owner and should be carefully evaluated and consulted in order to manage interests and expectations in the new market country.

5 Ways to Improve Your Small Business Operations

Every small business wants to find more efficiencies, save on costs and thereby generate a greater profit.  Add your comments on things you think also help.  Here are 5 ways that a small business owner can improve their small business operations:

Establish a Plan

The first key to any sort of improvement is the lay out a plan.  Put it writing and spell it out clearly.  Planning can occur on many different levels and at many different times.  If your company has several areas of operation, you can address one issue at a time and therefore spread out your planning time.  Regardless of how you structure it, though, it is critical to create a plan for your operations.

Research Your Industry

It is critical to constantly educate yourself on what you are doing.  Take a look at your competitors.  What are they doing to be successful?  Why are they doing what are they doing?  What can you do better?  Also, take a look at businesses that started in your industry and then failed.  Why did that happen?  What did they do that lead to failure?  How does that compare with what you are doing?  Also, research the processes that you use in your business and compare those to similar industries and see what they do.

Measure Your Changes

For any plan to really be successful, you need to have a way of measuring success.  When you sit down and plan out the things that you will do to improve your operations, it is critical that you spell out how you are going to measure it.  What are you doing to track the changes?  Who is in charge of documenting the information?  What numbers are most important for you to see that the changes are working?  Make sure your plan comes with a way of evaluating it.

Re-evaluate Your Small Business

Always take time to go back to your original plan and re-evaluate the things that you are doing in your small business.  How have the circumstances changed?  What can we continue to improve?  What is working?  What should we discontinue?  This process of re-evaluation is enabled by effectively created metrics under your plan, as addressed above.  Always be willing to make adjustments to improve your business, but have a real reason for when you make those changes.

Delegate in Your Small Business

As much as is practicable in your business, assign tasks to other people either internally or via out-sourcing.  This becomes even more effective when you have a good handle on the talents of the individuals that you are using for delegated work.  If you know your employees well, you may be able to delegate some tasks, such as social media management, that might not normal fall under the purview of their responsibilities but that they have a great aptitude for.  The more you can maximize everyone’s efforts in the business the better your operations will be.

 

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