Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “small business”
With Christmas over, this would be a pertinent issue for retailers who have stocked up on Christmas goods. While it may seem like it is only relevant to retailers, other business owners could also learn something by considering this scenario. Financial management is an essential skill for every business owner. This particular question relates to cash flow and opportunity cost. I’ll be using …
Underpinning any marketing strategy is your target market i.e. who your customers or clients are. But tackling this question is surprisingly difficult for most business owners. Answers are usually vague and when asked for specifics, many reply with demographics such as gender, age group, income – answers that are not quite enough for strategy formulation. When I try to tease the answer …
Setting up a business in partnership? Before you carried away with the euphoria and excitement, there are some things you need to consider. Many partnerships start wonderfully and later turn sour due to misunderstandings, differing expectations or change of personal circumstances. Dealing with these possibilities up front will save you a lot of potential grief. “Many hands make light work” …
The choice of an appropriate business name is one of most important decisions a new business owner will have to make. Choosing what we think is the perfect name only to find out that someone got there first can be heartbreaking. I know, having been through this process with a number of clients. Then the iterations happen. How can we …
It’s a conversation no business owner wants to have but for some, there comes a time when the question won’t go away – “Is it time to call it quits?” Like all difficult questions, there is no simple answer and often it is as much about motivation and energy of the business owner as it is about whether a business is …
Pop up shops are a new phenomenon, but take the concept of a market stall a stage further and are quite literally shops that ‘pop up’, operate for a few weeks or even just a day – and then close again. The term may be new but the idea has been around for years, and many pop up shops pander …
Have you thought about getting a trademark for your logo and wondered whether you can do it yourself? When I was deciding whether to apply for my own trademark, I wondered about the need for using a trademark attorney. I had a look at the process, didn’t think it was particularly difficult and therefore decided that I couldn’t justify the …
If you are a small business owner, you may relate to this lament. It is the number one complaint that I hear, followed by – “the statements show us making a profit but we don’t where it’s gone”. Even if you are familiar with accounting, the financial statements produced by your accountant aren’t always particularly useful. They have a standard …
I thought most people had come across this term and understood that it was a natural part of a business planning process. Apparently not. I remember a jaw-dropping incident when a fellow CEO dismissed the necessity for a SWOT in his business plan. I was completely taken aback that a business plan could actually be done without one! It’s much like …
Have you noticed that you are walking on eggshells around a certain individual in your workplace? If you are AND you are the business owner or a manager, this means that everyone else is probably taking your lead which doesn’t bode well. There could be many reasons why we start tiptoeing around certain people. It is often easier in the short-term …
