The Season to be Merry for Small Businesses: Strategies for the Holidays

The Christmas season is finally here and consumer behavior is now adhering to the holiday spirit. Is your small business ready to attract more holiday shoppers and tackle this not-to-be-missed, lucrative period? Make sure you’ve got to all the things in the list and get ready to get the sales rolling in. Read on and see if you’ve got everything to help your small business along in all the hustle and bustle of the holidays. 1. Develop a contemplative strategy for the holidays Planning your seasonal strategy should start early on, so chances are you’ve got this checked already.…

Flipping Houses: A Good, Low Risk Investment?

So, what is ‘house flipping’? Simply, house flipping is when a home is bought by an investor with the intention of being sold at a later date for a substantial profit. Usually, these homes are bought at auction as they can be purchased cheaper, but this isn’t always the case. So, if you can buy cheap with the ability to sell high not too far down the line; then is it a good, low risk investment? This blog post aims to find out.…

How to Generate That Little Bit Extra from Every Customer

If you’ve been following the news recently, you might have seen how Sainsbury’s accidentally made its plans to try to drive 50p from every customer public. Although there was a significant customer backlash to the public incentive to Sainsbury’s staff to ensure every customer walks out of the store 50p worse off, the reality of retail is that the shop is there to generate income, and maximising that amount of income is an essential part of the job. Ultimately, what this means to you is that if you work in a retail environment, you have a range of strategies that help you maximise the profit of your business.…

The Changing Role of the HR Department

Today’s HR directors are operating in an environment of change and interesting opportunities. The role of these teams are changing, particularly within in-house organisations. Originally, personnel teams were focused heavily on the administrative requirements of managing staff according to processes and legal requirements, dealing with pay and benefits, sickness and absence reporting, development and training opportunities, issues resolution, hiring and firing and other ‘business as usual’ activities, often at large volumes and with high manual administration requirements. A changing remit Today however, the human resources management world focuses on people as a resource – or an asset – for the company to use and get the most from.…

Gamification: A Rising Trend in Business Solutions

Gamification is a popular word that has been used in the last couple of years; however, the word and its meaning has been used for years by credit card companies and such famous websites as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. The word gamification basically means when companies integrate game mechanics into their non-gaming product or service to engage and pursue users. Two Types of Gamification According to Karl Kapp, author of the book The Gamification of Learning and Instruction: Game-based Methods and Strategies for Training and Education, there are two types of gamification: Structural Gamification and Content Gamification.…

5 Ways to Improve Your Business Brand in 2014

The start of a new year is a perfect time for renewing your business brand as well as your own mind. It is really important that your customers and all the potential customers get a certain vibe from your business. Having a positive brand image can really help you get more customers and publicity. To help you out here are five simple ways to improve your business brand in 2014. 1. Recheck Your Focus Naturally, the first thing you should do is to look at how your business brand is matching the overall values of your business.…

How to Know When to Outsource Key Tasks

Outsourcing has become an enormous part of the modern business environment. And though this especially applies here in the wealthier countries, it’s also started to become a trend in many other places worldwide as countries which were the former sources of a lot of outsourced workers also start to outsource their own labor needs overseas.  In basic terms, outsourcing has become a global, highly competitive industry and business phenomenon –as this article makes clear. However, things have only accelerated in the field.…

3 Ways to Protect Your Small Business

Owning your own business: It’s part of the American dream, but it can quickly turn into a nightmare with lawsuits, theft or other issues that can cause major financial devastation. Inventory shrinkage is a major issue for small businesses, with Tyco’s security survey revealing that the retail industry was hit with $35.28 billion in theft in 2011. You might not want to think about the many disasters that could befall your business, but one way to keep your business going strong is to look at all of the ways you can protect it.…

10 Ways to Improve Your Restaurant Sales Before This Year Ends

As we are approaching the year’s end, businesses scramble to offer the best for customers; this also holds true for restaurants. However, it’s often challenging to increase sales. But fear not! In this article, you will get 10 ideas on how to improve your restaurant sales before we enter 2014. Here they are: 1. Happy Hour rocks! Similar to retail stores, restaurants could use a boost during off-peak hours. Typically offered in the late afternoon, Happy Hour can be a great way to introduce new items in your menu, as well as a way to keep your restaurant busy; empty restaurants are turn-offs, in my opinion.…

Designing a Successful IT Team

The IT team is a company’s strong line of defense. It protects a good portion of the company’s assets in terms of information and data, and ensures that all pertinent information that the company keeps is secure from prying eyes and sticky fingers. Aside from protecting the business environment from predatory practices, the IT team also helps ensure the integrity and relevance of current hardware and related services. Learn how to build the perfect IT team for your business and know which qualifications and characteristics to look for in each member.…