Mohit Tater's Blog, page 629

The Four Tips to Branding

For a company to exist in the market in the long run, branding is one of the most important factors. But, what does one mean by branding, in the first place? Don’t confuse it with marketing, marketing is simply a function that helps to show the efforts put by the company into branding. If I, as the leader of the company, want the customers to use my product, I need to brand it. I would have to make sure my brand, its values and visions are etched into their minds. Brand is an image that you need to create in your customers’ minds, and branding is the entire process of creating that image into their minds. We bring to you some tips, in the form of four steps that will help you in your company’s branding process. Read along to find out more about branding:

(1) The first step of branding: You need to build the brand in your customers’ minds. They should be able to differentiate your product from the different types of the product available in the market.

(2) Don’t try to put your feet into too many things – don’t try to be everything to everybody. Try product differentiation. If you own a bakery, and you sell cakes, and you start bringing up chocolates, waffles, soft drinks, burgers, cookies, everything under the same name. You need to maintain a specialty, expand your umbrella, but do it gradually, without undermining your viability and brand name. For example, if I want fries, I would go to McDonalds, and for donuts I would go to Dunkin Donuts. I wouldn’t drink any other cola drink other than that of Coca Cola, because that is what it is famous for.

(3) The third step on the list is the publicity campaigns you need to carry out, and you can’t rely on advertising only. You need to reach out to people, and let them know about your company and the products that it offers. Allow people to leave their comments and testimonials on your social media and website. It is always about the experiences that they share, that brings in new customers.

(4) You brand should be able own up to its value. For example, a five star hotel should be able to portray the luxury that people will come looking for, a baby care brand should portray sensitivity and care and a health care store should reveal a sense of nourishment.

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How to Look After Your Employees and Gain Their Loyalty

If you are going to keep your place in the market and grow your business, there are many things you need to think about, and one of these is how well you are looking after your employees. Achieving a good level of trust and loyalty is essential to ensuring your workers don’t get tempted away from you to your competitors. Below are some of the ways you can look after your employees and gain their loyalty.

Be a Good Employer

It might seem obvious that you need to be a good employer, but many companies don’t always give this their top priority. It is important that you set out your expectations for your workers and that you, in turn, tell them what they can expect from you. Not only does this give them a feeling of empowerment, but it also allows them to call you on anything you are not doing. You also need to offer any perks or incentives to all employees and be consistent. For example, if you are allowing employees to come in early and leave early, then have this across the board.

Give Them Good Benefits

To try and entice employees away from your company, your competitors will often offer perks and additional benefits. Therefore, to keep your workers loyal, you should be offering at least the same perks if not more. These need to be things that your workers are interested in having and will make a difference to them. For example, state employees should have a credit union or NCSECU which offer them insurance and loan offers. Although you might not be able to offer the same perks, you could try to negotiate deals with local banks or insurance brokers to give them a good incentive. Another benefit that your employees will like is a hospital or dental plan.Many companies offer these, and they can be of great help.

Make the Environment Better

Sometimes the working environment can a little dull and stark, especially if there is lots of machinery or electrical appliances. However, that doesn’t mean it always has to be that way; you can always add new things to make the environment feel better. One way is to start introducing plants into the office, as they can not only make the area look better, but can also help to raise people’s morale. Another idea is to use natural light as much as possible, by utilizing windows to get as much sun coming into the office as possible. However, if you are doing this, you also need to keep an eye on the temperature in the office so that your employees don’t get too hot.

Your employees are a vital part of your company; they keep everything working and they provide the service to your customers. To try and attract the best in your industry, and to keep them with you, it is important to offer your workers a good level of benefits and a strong company spirit.

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How to Build a Great Corporate Culture

Corporate culture has been the focal point of many companies throughout the last couple of decades and has increasingly become a selling point for many new hires and for investors across different industries. However, getting corporate culture right isn’t always easy – changing the office layout to be more of an “open-concept” style, for instance, doesn’t suddenly turn your company into the coolest place to work overnight. Such surface level changes might come with some advantages, but building great corporate culture is about more than the type of coffee you offer your employees or how much money you spend on the annual company social. To build a great corporate culture, you have to start with the employees themselves, ensuring that everybody has the ability to participate and be heard in building a better company.

To get your employees to be heard, they need to feel that they are in an environment where they can express authentic thoughts and opinions without fear of retribution. They need to see that the things they express can actually get translated into action within reason, and within a reasonable timeframe. When organizations take their employees seriously and show them that the things they say can actually have an impact, a sense of collective responsibility can be developed in a natural way that fosters better communication, collaboration and productivity. Making use of well-rounded feedback methods and tools like a 360 employee evaluation software is a great example of how to encourage employees to share their thoughts, allowing companies to analyze insights and plan how to drive better culture.

The 360 review is a feedback system implemented across many companies to assess the behaviour and effectiveness of employees based on the thoughts and opinions of their colleagues, including but not limited to supervisors, subordinates, peers and customers. The idea is to develop a fair, well-rounded view of how an employee is regarded by the people with whom they interact with on a regular basis. An important thing to note is that 360 degree feedback is not meant to be used in an evaluative manner to judge how an employee may have performed in regards to past key performance indicators (KPIs)  and other such measures. It is meant to be used as a forward-looking tool to help employees create development plans for themselves, based on an understanding of their strengths and weaknesses regarding things like their ability to communicate clearly, make decisions, participate in teamwork and more.

360 degree feedback software makes it easier to implement this review system than ever before. Indeed, modern technology is one of the principal drivers behind this system’s recent rise to fame. This is because prior to the advent of the Internet and ubiquitous computing, collecting and analyzing data from hundreds or thousands of employees was an immense, costly task. The new generation of working-age employees is also one that has grown up in tandem with technology, and not only are they comfortable with using it, they are also particularly keen on receiving feedback and acting on it.

To best leverage 360 degree feedback in order to improve corporate culture, it’s important that companies actually act upon the things employees express. Ignoring feedback is actually significantly worse than not having asked for it at all, as employees might then feel like they were led on – and then brushed aside. This can create resentment and discourage employees from ever voicing their genuine thoughts again, resulting in yet another company’s failed attempt to improve their corporate culture. Another important thing to do is to actually provide the employees with a framework of understanding the results of their 360 review, so that there are no misunderstandings as to the purpose of such reviews.

It’s important not to tie results with bonuses or promotions, or conversely punishment, as this would take away from the purpose of the review. Don’t forget to teach employees to learn to leverage review results themselves, as corporate culture is intrinsically tied with employees themselves. Encourage them to ask open-ended questions of their review results – for instance, why might one’s superiors rate one negatively on a particular behaviour, while subordinates rate said behaviour in a positive manner? These types of questions will help employees to create development plans centered around a few very clear points, so that corporate culture can improve collectively and from the ground-up.

Of course, not every industry is the same, and key differences must be taken into account in order to make the most effective use of the review process. Factors like geographic location can also have an impact on the effectiveness of the 360 review, even within the same company, as different countries also tend to have different local customs and cultures that play into how reviews are perceived as a whole, 360 degree or not. Review implementers would therefore do well do study and understand an industry and/or a country’s particular cultural needs in order to better train employees to make use of the 360 feedback system, ensuring that employee voices are indeed being properly heard and acted upon. Otherwise, the results may not provide the information required in order to effectuate the desired change on the company’s culture, leading to things remaining the same – or perhaps getting steadily worse.

As everybody now knows, better corporate culture is simply one of the cornerstones of success in this modern day and age. It is essential to building a business that works smoothly for customers, employees, and one that is attractive to investors. By making use of tools like 360 feedback software, businesses can build better culture by giving all employees a voice in how the company operates, allowing companies to stay astride with the many other businesses that are racing ahead to be the most attractive, successful places to work in the twenty-first century.

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Do You Need to Update Your Address With the IRS? Why?

The short answer is yes. Updating your address with the IRS ensures that you receive all important communication. Tax mistakes happen. If you owe money and the IRS has no valid address to send correspondence to you, you’ll likely end up owing fines on top of the taxes. Even if you never owe the IRS money, updating your address is the responsible thing to do as a business owner.

How Do You Update Your Address With the IRS?

To update your address with the IRS, you must fill out Form 8822. IRS EIN Tax ID Filing Service can help you fill it out. The form ensures you receive all information about taxes you owe or your EIN number in Louisiana or any other state. Keep in mind that the IRS can take up to 60 days to process the form.

What if You Don’t Have an EIN?

There are few cases that don’t require you to have an employer identification number to legally operate your business. However, if you don’t already have an EIN, obtaining one is beneficial for your business. It allows you to hire employees, open bank accounts or credit accounts in your company’s name, apply for financing and much more. If you are a sole proprietor, you EIN can also protect your personal information since you can use it instead of your own social security number on tax forms.

How Do You Apply for an EIN?

You can apply for an EIN on the IRS-EIN-Tax-ID website. Simply fill out the application with information about you and your business, pay the one-time filing fee and submit your application. Most people receive a response the very same day, but you can also use the IRS EIN lookup to see if you’ve been assigned a number yet.

Allow IRS EIN Tax ID Filing Service to help you obtain an EIN or change your address with the IRS. Contact them for more information.

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The Law of Lateness – Why Paying Your Employees On Time is Vital to Your Success

It’s imperative for companies to think longer and harder about employee satisfaction. Technology allows businesses to be much more efficient and comprehensive when it comes to taking care of employees. Employees shouldn’t be treated as extensions of their boss, or the company, but as valued individuals who make the company what it is.

Depending on the industry, many companies rely on their lower end staff to represent the business and give a face to a name, representing the values and image that the company has worked so hard to define and maintain. Richard Branson is well-known for vocalising his opinions on employee satisfaction and it seems to be working well for him – treat your employees right and they will treat your customers right. Or better yet, treat your employees like your most valued customer.

Value

At some stage or another, many employees have felt undervalued and overburdened from an employer. People are working longer hours under more stressful conditions, for what seems like less pay, as the cost of housing and living continues to rise. Financial remuneration continues to be a, if not the, prime motivator for workers in Australia. If you, as an employer, are not in a position for offer pay increases or bonuses, then the least you can do is ensure that all employees are paid on time, at a regular and set interval to enable them a sense of financial security and control.

Ensure Payroll is Accurate and Efficient

Satisfied employees are more productive and more efficient, which saves the company money and resources. One good way to upset a valued employee is to pay them late or incorrectly. We’ve all heard that the best bosses are firm, yet fair – and it’s unfair to be irregular or flippant about someone’s paycheck. The Fair Work Act specifies that wages should be paid in at least monthly, with industries and many businesses opting to pay more frequently, or weekly. Investing in good payroll software will make your life easier, as it takes care of calculating hours, overtime, PAYG, and meeting your employees’ chosen super payments amongst other things.

Payroll Software

Manually processing payrolls can be expensive and time-consuming – good payroll software eliminates both of these issues. Doing the payroll is more than just writing your employees a check – there are taxes to calculate, deductions for specific benefits such as car leases, health insurance, employee super contributions, annual leave loading, workplace banking and more. Some businesses process their payroll through their accounting software, which does overlap in many areas, however, when accounting software does include payroll, the payroll function in accounting software usually doesn’t include all the features of a dedicated payroll solution.

Some small businesses prefer to outsource their payroll to a third-party company to eliminate the expense of an in-house administrator or payroll software. While this is an alluring option, outsourcing your payroll comes with its own challenges. Outsourcing can cost more overall than payroll software, and there is a risk of mistakes to employee’s pay checks, which are no fault of your own but still upsets your employee. There is also the question of privacy of information when outsourcing sensitive information like your employees financial and personal details.

Before purchasing payroll software, figure out exactly what features you are going to need and work backwards from there. It can be a good idea to have a checklist handy of your business needs before locking in with a payroll solution – be sure to consider cost, scalability, and training and support, to ensure you get the right software for you.

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Bill Michelon’s Top 6 Resources For Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Bill Michelon is a prominent businessman with many years of experience in the digital media buying field. He is committed to formulating innovative strategies that help companies realize their digital marketing objectives. It comes as no surprise that many companies rely on his services to boost sales. Bill understands the dynamics of the highly competitive online advertising space.

He is convinced that small, medium, and large organizations should take advantage of a wide array of online resources to boost operational efficiency and productivity. Here are the top six resources Bill Michelon recommends for aspiring entrepreneurs and startups.

Google Alerts

Google Alerts is an essential intelligence tool that helps aspiring entrepreneurs follow news related to their sector and monitor competitors. This allows businesses to remain competitive. The challenge is to have the right information at the right time with the aim to make informed decisions.

The tool provides a viable way to stay up to date with industry news. Users can activate alerts on some key products or services, thus staying well informed on market developments and trends. Google Alerts makes it easier to monitor competitors’ actions. Entrepreneurs can discover the activities of competitors, including promotions, news, events, press releases and more.

HootSuite

Today, communication is handled through social networks. However, many small business owners do not have community managers and the time to manage their own social media pages. Hootsuite (introduced in 2008) is an effective solution that saves considerable time in the management of social networks.

It eliminates the need to connect to different social media accounts to keep the pages updated. Hootsuite is a social media management dashboard, which allows you to group all your social networks on a single interface. From Facebook and Twitter, to LinkedIn and Google +, it has never been easier to manage your organization’s social media pages.

The main benefits of Hootsuite include a user-friendly interface that is relatively easy to use. The tool helps you plan posts and monitor stats.

G Suite

G Suite allows you to use Gmail and other business apps to boost communication, collaboration, and productivity. The apps are secured using advanced cryptographic technology and additional measures like two-factor authentication.

In 2017, more than 3 million businesses worldwide used G Suite, which boasts a user base of more than 50 million. Whether you are a small business owner or an executive for a large company, G Suite is the perfect suite of office tools.

Slack

Founded by Flickr co-founder Stewart Butterfield, Slack is a new communication tool that allows your team to bring documents together in one application. Slack is both an instant messaging, archiving, and content search tool. It is designed to make your life in the office easier, more enjoyable, and productive.

The platform aims to revolutionize communication and project management through the provision of an easy-to-use tool. Slack offers a chat system composed of different discussion groups, which are structured according to your organization’s teams and projects. A general forum allows all employees to participate in a discussion. Thus, by using Slack, you can reduce email exchanges internally, saving you time and boosting efficiency.

Trello

Trello is a collaborative tool, which makes it possible to organize multiple projects and collaborate more efficiently. The principle is very simple: create tables for your projects and lists arranged in columns according to the desired models in addition to maps that correspond to relevant tasks.

MailChimp

MailChimp is an advanced tool that allows businesses to build their brands by automating marketing activities. It enables users to send professionally designed email messages that enhance the brand’s image. Companies can gain access to key metrics of an email marketing campaign, such as the number of email openings, clicks and more. This makes it easier to gauge the success of a campaign and identify effective strategies.

Connect with Bill

Users can learn more about Bill and his digital marketing and entrepreneurial tips by following his blog at BillMichelon.com, and by following him on Facebook and other social media platforms.

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How to Avoid Your Marketing Mails from the Trash

People who talk erroneously about emails are the one who’s business marketing campaigns have utterly failed, or to be honest, who don’t even like to receive mails in the first place. But, for companies who majorly focus on enhancing customer experience and want to keep them informed, email marketing is still a very important tool of their marketing campaign. If not emails, how else are businesses supposed to reach out to their target customers? Emails can be accessed almost everywhere, and in contrast to text messages which cost some minimal amount, emails are free.

In fact, as compared to the marketing costs involved in TV and radio ad campaigns, email costs are almost negligible. And even if they fail, it isn’t going to cost you much, but if successful you may end up with great results, in some cases as much as 4300 percent returns of investment.

After discussing how great email marketing, let us come to the basic fact – if the user does not find your mail interesting, he/she will toss it in the trash bin. So, how do you avoid the trash bin? Here is an article that will help you craft your mails in such a manner that it appears appealing. Read along:

(1) There is one thing everyone has to understand – your customer should be able to recognize your mail in the first instance, otherwise people don’t spend much time figure out the usefulness of these mails.

(2) Don’t send out mails in groups, rather send them out individually. These mass generated emails are immediately tossed away, while the customized, well tailored ones end up producing revenues for the business. This is because, you can’t simply write one mail, and expect everyone to respond to it. It is important to give importance to your audience, individually, and more importantly directly.

(3) Once your personalized emails have received the necessary attention, you’ve got to grab their attention towards your content. Now, your communication needs to be fresh and useful, so that your customers are engaged.

(4) Instead of sending out mere ads, you could also ask your customer to sign up for weekly or monthly newsletters or a mailing list that offers discounts on certain premium products. About 95 percent of the people who sign up for such things actually enjoy these newsletters and discount mails.

(5) You have make sure you keep the conversation going, and even when you are not sending out newsletters, you are sending out mails offering them special benefits and informing them about the latest products.

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Creating Headlines That Go Viral On Social Media

There’s one element of writing that requires great effort to give your content the visibility it deserves. It is also an element that is constantly overlooked. What does a social media user see first?

“It has been found that the less an advertisement looks like an advertisement, and the more it looks like an editorial, the more readers stop, look and read.”

David Ogilvy

You’ve guessed it. It is the headline. If a headline is not compelling it will not attract anyone’s attention. Your content will not be spread. If your content is tagged under a compelling headline, it will be bookmarked, clicked on and shared by the user on their social media networks.

Let’s look at how to create spectacular headlines.

Attention Grabbing Seeker – your first task is to determine if your content is going to hold the reader’s attention. To do this, get as many people to read your content to identify if it grabs attention in whole or in part.

Targeting a Particular Audience – readers as a whole are driven by self interests with our brains wired to listen to a message that addresses us directly and benefits us. If the headline targets a group with an affinity to their requirements, you can be certain they will give it a second glance.

Specificity Matters – instead of creating generic and vague headlines, stringing together specific approaches draw better attention. Unspecific statements lack in trustworthiness.

Generate Curiosity – what is going to get the reader to not just listen but to also act? You need to make readers curious enough to get past the headline. The content should be good enough to grapple readers by their feeling and encourage them to move onto the next step.

5 Types of Headlines That Matter
Newsy Headlines

Breaking news is a popular headline that is geared at grabbing attention of the reader. Share some gossip, announce an unexpected bit of news and you will find people flocking to your doorstep wanting to know more. Traditional news has been made to look dated in the face of social media blowouts simply because the news is spread ten times faster than on traditional media.

Affirmative Goals

Offer affirmative goals that seize the reader’s attention through the use of words such as, be more powerful, be more attractive, be wealthier and healthier – the trick is to use more this and more that. For instance, if there is a headline talking about the 10 tried and tested dating secrets to get your crush to like you, you can be certain you would have not just your target readers but also people from different demographics, ethnicities and backgrounds wanting to read it!

Selling Fear

Just as much as goals offer perspective on the positives, you must know that fear sells too. Whether it is on health, money, the economy, global politics or terrorism you can be certain you will have an equally large audience gobbling up your content.

How to Content

And there’s a niche group that just loves the how to technique driven content. Whether it is a recipe, building a model boat, tutorial or formula it adds an edge to the content by making it an achievable reality. The entire context aims provides practical steps to achieving something that is within reach of everyone.

Entertainment

Entertaining content will attract large crowds of disproportionate sizes. Whether it is a cute video, funny anecdote, hilarious joke or sentimental picture this is what social media, coffee break hour originated from.

And above all you need to hit the emotional button. Remember, you are not just focusing on their interests, you are also expecting action from an audience. When talking about the emotional hot buttons show empathy and get your audience to connect whether it is to laugh till their sides hurt, cry or throw things at the screen.

Emotional Hot Button Topics

Boost and slam the best, worst, least or most. Compare and contrast the most engaging, the least engaging, the best engaging or the worst engaging piece of content you can offer an audience. Nothing riles up people more than hitting their emotional buttons especially in the instance, you are taking sides on a hot topic.

Emotional hot topics strike a chord amongst people. Pulling at their heartstrings to release a host of emotions whether it is to make them cry, laugh, cheer or even snigger.

Righteous indignation, outrage and anger are also hot button topics that have people taking different sides of the aisle. Radio and television talk show hosts are the best at getting their audience all pumped up and outraged at whichever current topic that is being discussed. Now, here is a headline that will have the entire world at its feet!

Looming disasters, fears and problems will also bring a large audience to the fold. When people are afraid they gobble up any bit of content related to a particular topic.

Shocking your audience is another way to grab attention. This is similar to putting out outrageous news. It takes someone by surprise but it is that element of surprise that has the audience in the palm of your hand.

And the most important tip. You are a human writing for another human.

In short,

Avoid keyword stuffing
Never be boring
Incorporate psychological triggers
If you like to read it, write it!

Writing compelling headlines is a skill; never underestimate the power of it!

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6 Small Business Exit Strategies That Work

After spending a large amount of time, money and energy to grow their enterprise, many entrepreneurs look forward to executing an exit strategy. Regardless of whether you operate a sole proprietorship or a larger corporation, you need to select an exit strategy that accomplishes your goals and extends the longevity of your business – if that is your desired outcome.

There are various questions that you must answer when the time comes, all of which will provide direction on how to move forward.

How will you pull your money out of the company? How much money will you be able to receive? Establishing a strategy ahead of time (prior to registering the business with a formations company, the earlier the better!) helps to make sure that the answers are acceptable while providing you with empowerment over the future of your business.

An Initial Public Offering (IPO)

This option is not one of the most viable exit strategies for small business owners, but for those who take on the task, an IPO can be a very profitable exit strategy. The issue that works against most business owners is that emerging as a public company is an expensive process that takes a very long time. Depending on the structure you desire, you may not have the ability to liquidate any of your capital. This is because shareholders prefer to see that money reinvested into the business in order to expand it.

Also, having a public company requires that you remain compliant and adhere to reporting standards. That in turn increases your personal liability for accounting irregularities or disclosure failures that could make you subject to prosecution.

Put the Business up for Sale in the Open Market

Most business owners sell their business on the open market because a very profitable entity usually sells quickly. Entities that are not as profitable are more difficult to sell, with only 20 percent of listed businesses actually selling. Nonetheless, selling on the open market is the most popular option for business owners who want to maximize their potential profit.

Using this method as one of the exit strategies for small business owners presents a few disadvantages. Because of the limited market of investors looking to purchase properties, the process of locating a buyer can be lengthy. And once a purchaser is interested, the offer is highly contingent on the valuation of the business, meaning a low profit margin will turn off investors as opposed to appealing to them.

That is why business owners who intend to use this strategy must devote an immense amount of effort into grooming, expanding and scaling their business. From the moment that the company registration is filed, every strategy and plan must serve the ultimate goal of expansive growth. In doing so, the business will build a loyal audience, establish a solidified brand and show increasing profitability. These are the attributes that make a business for sale attractive and will encourage an investor to submit a lucrative offer.

Immediate Liquidation

This strategy involves shutting down the operation and selling off the assets. For some business, this is the only option, which is especially true for small businesses that depend on the work of an individual because the business does not have anything else to offer for sale. Entrepreneurs in this position must focus on restructuring the operation so that another individual can operate in their place. That is because business owners looking for these types of opportunities are specifically a search for a business that they can generate profits from immediately after purchasing it.

This is not the most profitable exit strategy, and thus many business owners are reluctant to employ it. Not only does it generate the lowest rate of return on the initial investment, the only money that’s the business owner is collecting is from the liquidation of assets such as equipment, inventory or real estate. That means that the entrepreneur is excluded from profiting from the value of their business relationships or client lists.

On top of that, the money that is received from machinery or inventory sold will only be a percentage of the original price invested by the entrepreneur, so the sum of the offer will be less than the initial startup costs incurred by the owner. Creditors must be paid off from the proceeds of the sale, with the remaining funds resulting in the sum of the business owner’s actual profit.

The only benefit of using an immediate liquidation is the speed in which it is concluded. It immediate liquidation of a business can happen, once a buyer is found, in a matter of days. So, the only circumstance in which it is recommended that you use this strategy as if you need to sell quickly. Otherwise, there are other strategies that will net a higher profit for the owner to that they are compensated for more than just personal property.

Extended Liquidation

As long as time is not of the essence, a business owner can extend the time length of a liquidation in order to extract significantly more profits out of the business. The money that is paid to the owner – whether it be every month, every quarter or every year – is paid out in lieu of expanding the business to reinvestment. Profit payouts are normally distributed as dividends or large salary draws. This process continues over the course of years until the business is eventually shut down.

This exit strategy maximizes the amount of profit paid out to the business owner, while creating a source of income over a period of years. But because that money comes at the expense of keeping the business stagnant, the growth potential of the business is reduced drastically, as is the eventual valuation of the business. Shareholders will very likely disagree with the selection of this option and will most likely demand similar compensation as a result.

Pass the Business onto a Family Member

If you prefer to remain involved in the business or maintain some control over the way the business is operating in the future, then keeping the business in the family is a very effective way to benefit from the profitability of the business. In doing so, you will create a legacy for your family, one that will live on the one generation of heirs to the next.

Nonetheless, this exit strategy can be difficult and easy at the same time. Difficulties arise in the restructuring of the business so that your heirs are easily able to duplicate the process. The easy part is having the ability to mould and train the exact person you want to fill your role. That means you can train them exactly the way you want, having confidence in knowing that they will continue to operate the business the way you want while passing those same instructions down when they train the next heir.

Using this family succession plan as an exit strategy can provide for a smooth transition, but will likely cause strife within the family, as some fellow members may disagree with the successor you choose this morning, there is no guarantee that your clients will feel the same sense of loyalty to your successor as they do you. And this is all with the assumption that the person you select wanted to take over the business – or has the ability to operate it efficiently.

All of these aspects must be heavily contemplated long in advance. In fact, a business owner who intends to use the strategy is better off making this decision from the very beginning, starting with the company registration. The entity must be structured in a way that promotes family business succession planning. Otherwise, you may find that your heirs are not able to take ownership as intended.

Consider an Employee Buyout

If you want to pass the business on to someone who will operate it the way you want, but the perfect person for the job is an employee or manager – and not a family member – your exit strategy could be to sell your business to a manager or employee of your business. Using a long-term buyout, employees can learn how to manage and operate the company while financing the purchase of the business over time. This not only empowers other potential entrepreneurs to cross over from being an employee to a business owner, it allows you to maintain ownership of a percentage of the business, create a source of income and retain influence over the direction, growth and goals of the business.

Choosing the Best Exit Strategy

When making the decision, the best choice is the one that best accomplishes your goals. Start by figuring out exactly what you need to have for yourself when you depart from the business. If money is the only concern you have, then selling your business, whether it is to another entity or private owner, is your most effective option. On the other hand, if preserving your legacy and watching as your business develops and expands, then selling to a family member or current employee serves best. Regardless of your choice, your most urgent priority is to get started. Planning ahead of time allows you time so that everything is done correctly – and maximizes your potential gains.

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How to Make Your Design Dreams a Reality

Dreams of planning, constructing and owning our own home-made item – whether it be a go-kart, a clock or a motorbike – usually remain just that: a dream. Turning these projects into a reality requires a combination of dedication, resources, and skills that can sometimes combine to seem like an impossible idea. This shouldn’t be the case, especially in a digital age in which the information and materials available over the internet give us access to all the expertise and specialist equipment you need to follow through on your design dreams. Here are some ideas to help you go ahead and get stuck into creating your dream item.

Separate Out Components

Planning an ambitious project in which you’re constructing something to specific specifications requires a good deal of time and thoughtfulness. You’ll need to consider a wide variety of things, including all the materials and tools you’ll need, how much it’ll cost, how much time it’ll require, and what you may need some specialist help in. Separating these into a list of requirements will enable to you take everything step by step, making everything seem a little less daunting.

Your plan should revolve around the different phases of construction. You’ll first need to draw up a blueprint or some form of sketched-up plan that you refine into your final design. From here, you’ll know the exact amount of materials and number of components you’ll need to invest in. Of course, you may be following an instruction manual available in stores or online, which will do this for you. You’ll need tools, too, and an overview of each separate step. A plan should be a source of reaffirming comfort; something you refer to throughout your project.

Maintain a Good Mentality

It’s key when embarking on a project to have a positive, can-do mentality from the get-go, from conceptual design all the way through to your finishing touches before the end result. This will involve self-motivation and discipline, an ability to overcome obstacles and setbacks, and a general acceptance that everything probably won’t be plain sailing, especially if this is your first foray into DIY construction.

Some guaranteed ways to hamper your efforts stem from negative mentalities. Becoming impatient and enraged, feeling hopeless, or generally entertaining ideas of giving up will make the whole process less enjoyable and will create more frustrating errors. Keep a calm, cool head, be practical and pragmatic, and ask for help if you’re really stuck. It’s an educational and character-building experience in its essence – always remember this when things get a little annoying.

Buy Tools and Materials

Whatever you’re making, you’ll need the basic resources and the items that’ll help you fit them together in order to get underway with your plans. Happily, purchasing materials and tools has never been easier; head onto the internet for everything from the little bits, found at Custom Fittings Ltd, to the large sheets of metal, panels of wood, or sheets of fabric that you’ll be able to find in speciality stores across the web.

While most people have toolkits, there’s nothing more frustrating than finding yourself wanting in the tool department while you are half-way through a project. It makes for restless delays which can frustrate the whole process. To avoid this, plan a comprehensive overview of all the tools you’ll need, and pick them up online so that you’re ready to go once your materials have arrived.

Use Online Resources

Even if you think you know what you’re doing, it can’t hurt to search a few FAQs or common errors, or watch tutorials about construction techniques, or check out blogs and websites that specialize in giving bespoke advice to the aspiring creator of unique design projects. You’ll find that the information available online is near-infinite and incredibly useful and, at the very least, it’ll give you the peace of mind to crack on with your work.

Techniques aside, doing your research on the project you’re working on might give you some useful extra ideas. For instance, if you’re making an intricate cabinet for your clothes, research other people’s cabinet designs to see what type of fittings and practical design work they included to make their end result more aesthetically pleasing, functional, or durable. Often, these creations will be accompanied by detailed accounts of each stage, giving you additional knowledge about the whole building process.

Do Practice Runs

Practice makes perfect. It’s certainly true in the case of design projects that you’re not necessarily experienced with and making them into a reality. Practice means experimenting with techniques before performing them on your actual physical project. Starting a project with minimal preparation could see you losing everything you’ve created.

Practice is key, especially for projects you are less familiar with. If you’re not confident with wiring, for example, experiment with setups outside of your project to see if everything works fine, before getting it tangled irretrievably inside what you’re working on. You’ll feel like you’re wasting time, but it’s a fundamental part of construction projects, and it’ll almost certainly save you aggravation down the line.

Bring in Experts When Needed

It isn’t worth wasting your time, energy and money due to a misplaced pressure that you must complete your project entirely on your own. If you’re at a particularly delicate stage in proceedings, it may be wise to enlist the help of experienced pros. They might even be friends or relatives, who will be able to guide you through the tricky bits or lend a helping hand in specialist areas like welding, electrical wiring, or mechanical engineering.

We’ve all been in a position where we want to throw in the towel because we feel out of our depth. The trick is to recognize the problem and understand that there are ways around it, by utilizing special expertise that is probably local and more than willing to help – sometimes for no cost. Be humble and receptive to advice, and don’t steam ahead into the technical sections of a project without considering the damage you might do to your overall creation by making an error of judgment.

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