For some companies, training is an inherent part of their business plan. For some, unfortunately, training is nothing but an expense. Let me ask you, how do you view training? Do you think that you have to spend time, effort, and money on training your employees?

Truth be told, I lean towards the first point of view. While training may indeed cost you, I view it as an investment. The money spent on training your employees and helping them in their professional development will only reap benefits for you and your business.

Before you start training your employees, however, you have to have a plan and to be sure what it is that you want to help them with. Here are some tips that can help you in this regard.

Have the right mindset
As I mentioned earlier, you have to be convinced a hundred percent that training is an investment. Once you are sure of this, you will not be swayed and you can lay out the specifics as to what your employees need training on.

Do not be limited to formal training
While formal training is necessary, you also have to realize that a lot of training can occur outside the classroom. You can make use of on-the-job training and save yourself some money as well.

Set an example
Continue to develop yourself professionally. Just because you own the business does not mean that you cannot continue to learn. Attend seminars and workshops when possible. Your employees will then see just how important learning is to you and perhaps take on the same attitude.

There are so many things that a small business owner has to remember. While it may be relatively easy to start up a small business and to run it, making the business successful and efficient is another story altogether. Here are some of the most essential tips that a small business owner must bear in mind with regard to how he runs his business.

Walk the talk
Small business owners are much closer to their employees that those who run mega corporations. It does not take a rocket scientist to see this. What some small business owners forget, however, is that their employees follow their lead, down to the smallest detail. Say you like coming in late. Why can’t your employees? You shout and scream at your people at the slightest mistake. Why shouldn’t they as well? The idea is to set a good example by behaving as you would want others to. Never mind that you have a great employee handbook. That might not mean anything unless you show them you follow it as well.

Admit your mistakes
No one is perfect, not even the boss. Your best bet would be to admit it when you slip up and not try to whitewash things. If you opt to go the whitewashing way, guess what your employees would think of you? Guess how much they will respect you?

Deal with honest people
I am talking about your business deals. You may be tempted to sign a business deal that is so lucrative but have you checked on the other party? Are you sure they are above board? Your business deal is only as good as the participating parties. The last thing you want is to be associated with some shady entities.

Technology is something that has become an inherent part of any business. In the past, a business could survive, even flourish, without really putting much thought on technology and how it affects the day to day running of a business. Today, however, not paying mind to technology can very well be the start of the unraveling of the tapestry. So do you have a technology plan? If not, here are some ideas to get you started.

Start with the big picture
Much like having a business plan, you need to look at your technology plan by looking at the big picture. What do you want to achieve? Set your goals and then slowly work at the details.

Align your technology plan with your business strategy and goals
You can’t treat the technological aspect as a separate thing. You need to know your business strategy and goals, and let those guide you as you create your technology plan. Bear your overall business goals in mind as you make decisions for the technological aspect.

Treat technology expenses as investments
One thing that keeps some people hold back on their technological improvement efforts is the fact that they see the associated expenses as merely costs. They do not see that somehow, it is an investment. Change your perspective and you’ll see that investing in technology will end up saving you money in the long run.

Get expert help if needed
If technology is not your forte, don’t force it. While there are things that you can learn, there are also some things that are better left to the pros. If you need help, do not hesitate to get it.

Disaster can strike anytime. Even for those who are prepared, problems can occur without a moment’s notice. However, for those who are not prepared, problems can easily go from bad to worse, and worse to a disaster. Here are some tips which can help you prevent disaster before it strikes.

Make copies of documents and store them in a safe place.
There are documents and there are DOCUMENTS. While there are papers which will not kill your business if you lose them, there are certain papers which you simply have to have. For these kinds of documents, make sure you have double copies – triplicates if necessary. Take things one step further and do what every sensible person does: keep the original in a safe place. Now remember that you are not merely keeping them safe from theft. You need to keep your essential documents safe from natural elements. Get a fireproof, waterproof safety deposit box. Better yet, get something which you can move if necessary.

Make sure you have a line of credit.
Now some people are averse to borrowing money. Establishing a line of credit is different from borrowing, though. Just because you do have a line of credit does not mean that you have to use it. Knowing that you have one in case you do need it will not only give you peace of mind, but also real assurance that you have access to cash in case disaster strikes.

Document processes and contacts.
While you and other key personnel at the office may know everything there is to know about the business, there is no telling when/if you may not be around one day. Documenting processes and contact will ensure smooth operations, no matter what.

I am sure you know that old saying by heart: the only thing constant in this world is change. With what we have been experiencing in the past year or so, I am also sure that many of you have experienced this saying first hand. Change has been happening all over the world in various sectors, and the business sector has not been exempt from that. Your own business might even have had to undergo some major changes as well.

Talking about change, how is your business when it comes to dealing with change? Are you and everyone involved resilient enough to weather any changes that might happen or are you resistant to the possibility? Let me tell you know, even without an impending change in the horizon, it is always important that you ready yourself, your employees, and your business itself to change. At one point or another, it is bound to happen. And when it does, you will only really benefit if you are ready for it.

How do you prepare yourself, your employees, and your business itself for change?

Take a close look at your company culture. Perhaps you are of the traditional kind. Perhaps the culture that has been ingrained in your business is resistant to change. If so, it is time to do something about that. Talk about change on a regular basis. Talk about it in meetings. Talk about it over coffee. The idea is to help your employees open their mind to change and for them to be able to see it as a positive thing.

Here’s to change!

For the first several years of my working life, I found myself drawn to start ups. Perhaps it was not by choice. Perhaps it was simply because I got really good opportunities with start ups at that time. And I have to say, I really learned a lot during those years. If there is one thing that really stuck with me, however, it is that any business – no matter how big or small it may be – should have clear policies at the outset. Without clear policies, you might be able to get by for the first couple of years. Once you start expanding, however, you will see that having no policies spells disaster. Here are some tips that you can consider when coming up with policies for your business.

Have foresight.
While you may be content to run your business at the pace and scale that you started out at, expansion is inevitable at some point. As such, you have to bear in mind what can happen and what you will do in case these things happen. Planning ahead is always a good thing and having a solution to an event that has not occurred yet can save you a lot of time, money, and headaches.

Know what policies you will need, even from the start.
There are some things that you cannot do without. If you have employees, then you need an employee handbook. You have to establish policies regarding compensation, leaves, performance evaluation, and so on.

Make sure there is a concrete venue by which you can communicate your policies to everyone involved.
One of the worst things is having policies without anyone in the company being aware of them. When you spring a “rule” on your employees without the proper process, it might very well backfire on you.

Many companies I know have banned YouTube. It not only eats up the bandwidth at work but also takes up the time of employees who should otherwise be working. While this is very reasonable, we should not really discount the good points of this site. In fact, more than the funny videos, we can also find good insights from YouTube.

Take for example this series of videos that are geared toward the business sector. In this series, Sir Martin Sorrell, along with many other business experts, shares tips to beat the recession. Dubbed Survival of the Fastest, the series features different authorities on various business topics. It is backed by reputable names such as Google (being the parent company of YouTube), The Daily Telegraph, and The London Business School.

There are currently 73 episodes in the series, all of them uploaded onto the site already. My suggestion is that instead of going through comic videos and other things most of the time, why not try viewing this series? You just might get something out of the videos.

Here’s a sneak peek from Lord Davies, the minister for Trade and Investment:

“What you have to make sure is that the culture of your company, whether it be a small company or a very large company, that you as the leaders, you as the owners and that you as members of staff, that you are encouraging creativity.”

There is more to be found in this series. What are you waiting for?

You might think that I am going crazy. The economic world is rather unstable right now. Who in his right mind would turn his attention to expanding and looking for other opportunities instead of focusing on the problems at hand? Well, let me tell you, in these hard times, there will always be opportunities for those who are alert to them. And you never know, these opportunities may very well be the answer to some of the problems that you face in your small business.

As a matter of fact, other business experts are thinking along the same lines. I recently read an article by Jared Lauber and Joe Orlando of Frank, Rimerman Consulting. It was thought provoking and encouraging at the same time. The conclusion really struck home:

The key to any decision-making process, especially in the assessment of risk, is a continuous and thoughtful assessment of available information. Every business owner must develop a fundamental understanding of the facts surrounding their business. Business owners need to know as much as they can about themselves and the world in which they compete. Similarly, every individual needs to understand their personal income statement and balance sheet. The better prepared a business owner or individual is to embrace change, understand risk, maintain visibility and seek out opportunity, the more likely they can begin the process of putting comfort back into what has become an uncomfortable world.

This simply means that we may have to look outside of our comfort zones and perhaps find a hidden gem that can make our comfort zones ever wider. Brilliant, don’t you think?

I shared several tips that can help you make the most out of this period – tax time. Here are some more that you can use, if not this year then the next.

Don’t forget that your equipment depreciates.
You can get lower tax because of depreciation. While you might hate the fact that anything you buy (equipment-wise) depreciates in value, you can use this for your benefit. Come tax time, make sure that you take inventory of what you have in the business and calculate each piece’s depreciated value. In addition to this, do not overlook the fact that each piece of equipment or fixture depreciates in varying degrees and rates. As such, tag the depreciation value of each thing separately instead of lumping them together as one.

Employ family if you can.
While this might raise some eyebrows, here me out first. If you have family members who are fully qualified to take part of the business, then it should not be an issue, right? This also has tax benefits as you would be paying him money (which is essentially his as he is part of the family) and at the same time, shift your money to a lower tax bracket (from company to individual). More so, you can claim him as a dependent earning a wage, which can give you higher tax deductions.

Just one more day and everything should be over and done with. If you had more issues than necessary this year, do bear in mind some of the tips that we covered in this post and the last. Perhaps next year, it will be better.

Yes, I know. This time of the year can be a difficult one, both for personal and business reasons. After all, I do not know anyone who honestly looks forward to tax time, but since there is no way we can get around it, why not make the most out of the situation and get it over with as painlessly as possible? Here are some quick tax tips that can help you do just that.

Keep your records straight.
The people over at the IRS are no fools, and neither will they suffer fools gladly. They know that small business owners will look at every opportunity to get tax breaks, and believe me, they know every trick in the book. As such, do not go overboard with those deductions. If I were you, I would keep my records as straight as possible, keeping every single receipt for business-related expenses. As long as you are not doing anything shady and you have a solid paper trail, then you should be good.

Avoid home state tax if possible.
This works in most states, where the law says that if you earn your income outside of the state, then you do not have to pay taxes on that income. Of course, this is entirely dependent on the laws in your home state so make sure you know exactly what is stipulated.

Going green pays.
This works two-fold. One, you contribute to the conservation of the environment. Two, you might get incentives from the federal and state government. Again, you have to check what kinds of green initiatives are included in the incentive program.

(to be continued)