While we all know that motivation is key to performance in the workplace, do any of us realize how powerful the right motivation can really be?

Here’s an interesting article about a company that experimented with motivation and achieved what most would have considered impossible, a tripling of production as well as boosting of other indicators. Want to know how they did it?

Here it is.

Worth noting are the extra benefits they discussed in employee recruitment and retention. A well motivated workplace is one people want to stay at.

Transferring to a new job, a new role include some points for consideration, among them the need to adopt to the new changes and adjust to the new working environment that includes company policies, procedures, working hours, expected output and of course the people you will be working with in general. While some find these uncomfortable at times, especially for people who are not used job hopping practices until they are able to find the most suitable job that they desire.

In a way, such is a psychology factor in a way, similar to that of most people who tend to go with the times and clamor for something that they feel that is a need to be with the times, most of which are not really inside the basic personal needs of man. Thus in order to be able to attain such needs and would be wants, the search for a job that offers a good compensation package for their daily cost of living is always the most important thing above all for any individual seeking total satisfaction for their needs and wants.

Useful Articles:
Creating a Model Work Environment
Collaborative Environments: An Effective Tool for transforming Business Practices
Workplace incivility: an unavoidable product of human nature and organizational nurturing

With the limited budget of a new start up, its no surprise that most entrepreneurs try to do everything themselves. However, sometimes this is not the best idea, especially if the time being spent on tasks that someone else could do isn’t making money for the business.

While you may not be able to afford to hire staff, you should look into delegating a few time consuming tasks. For example, if you can afford to hire a cleaning service to come in to clean your office or shop twice a month so you can concentrate on making business calls instead, it may be worth the price the service charges. If you have no graphic design skills and aren’t great at writing sales copy, you may spend several hours trying to get that newspaper ad written properly, so it makes sense to ask the paper’s staff to design one for you instead, even if the paper charges a design fee.

Another great resource is as close as your local college or university. Business majors and marketing majors are always looking for hands on experience. In exchange for your mentorship, you should be able to find several students willing to work as interns.

Finally, you may want to consider using a virtual assistant to handle the chores an administrative assistant would do. Since VAs only charge for the time they actually spend completing a task, you can get a lot done even if you can only afford to pay for a few hours work each week. Ask your VA what he or she can do to help you lighten your load.

When you start a small business, it seems like the marketing budget is the first to go. Effective marketing campaigns can really be expensive. Here are a few inexpensive marketing techniques that have been successful for small business owners I know:

1. Have magnetic car signs made. Everywhere you drive, you are advertising your business. (This really works for pet sitters, daycares, etc. I know several of these types of businesses that gained new clients specifically because they used car signs.)

2. Attach a magnetic business card holder with a few cards in it to the car when you plan to stop somewhere for a while. Not everyone has a pen and paper handy to scribble down the number from your car signs.

3. If you have a service business, buy collared T-shirts with your business logo on them. The logo on your shirt tells prospective customers that you plan to be around for a while. Wear the T-shirts to meet with new clients, but also wear them around town. (To save money, you can print your own logos on T-shirts using an inkjet printer and special iron on transfer paper. Be sure to follow instructions or you’ll end up with a backward logo.)

4. Get a table at local events and have a nice display with your brochures, business cards, and some sort of giveaway available. (Coloring sheets are very cheap, but nice, giveaways. Don’t forget to have your business information printed at the bottom.) Hold a raffle or contest for a small prize at the table and don’t forget to follow up with all of the contest losers by sending them a coupon as a consolation prize.

5. Participate in local charity events with a donation of your time or a small gift certificate for the charity’s raffle or auction.

Do you have any inexpensive marketing ideas that worked for your small business? I’d love to hear about your ideas.