As a small business owner, you are going to be spending a lot of time being both an employee and a manager. You will have to help customers, stock shelves and clean the toilets if need be. On the other hand, you have to be responsible for keeping track of invoices, payroll and other administrative tasks. Therefore, using payroll software can have many benefits to your business.

1. Spend Less Time On Payroll

Unless you are an accountant, you probably didn’t start your business with the hopes that you could verify time cards and write checks. Using payroll software will allow you to simply put in the numbers and let the program take care of the rest. Allow your software to make the calculations instead of having to pore over charts and tables all day long.

2. No Need To Hire Someone To Handle The Payroll

Your options as a small business owner are to either hire an accountant, or to do your payroll yourself. By using payroll software, it is like having your own accountant without having to pay someone to keep your books. Some estimates claim you can save up to 150,000 dollars a year by automating your payroll operations.

When you are a small business, every penny that you can save is going to be critical toward making your business a thriving and successful endeavor. Small business software can do the job just as well and for a fraction of the cost. A payroll program like QuickBooks can be had for around 20 dollars a month.

3. Make Sure That Your Payroll Is Done Correctly

There is more to doing payroll then simply adding up the hours worked and paying your employees. You have to be sure that you are taking out the payroll taxes and keeping track of benefits paid out. With small business software, you can ensure that your payroll is being done right and being done quickly.

Most small business payroll software programs will even print out completed tax forms as well. This means you don’t have to sweat the W-2 not being done, or the 1099 tax form not being sent out on time. When your payroll is done correctly, it can save you, and your employees, a lot of stress.

If your small business has not looked into using payroll software to make doing business easier, it really should check out what is available. Businesses that can be run quickly and efficiently will always manage to survive longer than those that cannot. The technology is out there to make doing your payroll quick, efficiently and correctly. It would behoove you to save yourself time that can be better spent serving your customers.

When goods are manufactured there are typically two types of costs that comprise the “total cost” of manufacturing the product. Fixed costs are the costs associated doing business, such as lease of the land that the production facility is built on, the building itself, marketing, administrative, and other overhead are all combined into a “Fixed Cost”. A Variable Cost is the incremental cost to produce one more unit of output, for example the amount of electricity needed to produce another unit, the additional materials required, and the additional labor hours required to assemble it. These variable costs are directly tied to the production of the good, while the fixed costs are shared among all units produced.

In an absorption cost system the variable cost of the manufactured good is added to 1 share of the fixed costs for that unit.

For example in a factory that produces 1000 cars their costs could be broken down like this:

Fixed Cost: $100,000
Time& Materials: $100,000
Units Produced:1,000
Variable Cost Per Unit: $100
Fixed Cost Share Per Unit: $100
Total Cost Per Unit: $200
Sale Price $1,000
Profit Per Unit $800
Total Profit: $800,000

If that same factory doubled production but could only sell 1,000 cars the costs would look like:

Fixed Cost: $100,000
Time& Materials: $100,000
Units Produced:2,000
Variable Cost Per Unit: $100
Fixed Cost Share Per Unit: $50
Total Cost Per Unit: $150
Sale Price $1,000
Profit Per Unit $850
Total Profit: $550,000

So despite producing more cars and effectively losing more total profit, they were able to maximize the profit per unit sold which could lead businesses to make poor pricing decisions.

There is an underlying problem here that may contribute to a company incentivizing its managers to make more short term decisions instead of long term decisions. By doing a traditional compensation incentive programs manufacturers could actually be rewarding employees for losing the company money. If a manufacturing manager was provided a bonus for driving the cost of producing a unit under 175$ per unit the executives of the organization would hope that the bonus would incentivize the manager to create greater efficiencies in the supply chain, or find a more cost effective supplier, or drive labor costs down but the manager could leave everything exactly how it currently runs and just produce more cars.

In the books it would look like the manager did a great job in driving the cost per unit to $150 and exceeding his or her goal, but the managers decision actually hurt the company in the long run because now they have excess inventory to manage, lower total profits, and workers that may have to sit idle while the excess inventory is sold off. This is an example of how absorption cost systems and improper incentives can combine to cause a company to be very short sighted in its decisions.

Designing business cards is never entirely the same each time, and with such a high demand from the many people needing custom business cards, this process is perhaps one of the potentially hardest to do with card printing. High quality business cards are informative as they are pleasing to the eyes which means that it is really important to be able to find or create a design which would suit you the best. What works for other people may not work for you all the time, but where else would you be able to find some inspiration than the tried and tested printing designs that are already around.

The first place where you could try to look for some good designs for your cheap business cards is definitely your commercial printer. Having been in the trade for a long time and having great experience with printing out an endless variety of cards, it is highly possible that you would not need to turn to other people in order to get a design that you want and that would work well for you. Of course this hinges on the fact that you should have chosen a reliable and experienced commercial printer because otherwise you would not get the most out of your money. There are many different commercial printing companies offering different design templates for you to check out, so make sure to see most if not all the options they have.

If you do not feel quite comfortable taking the advice of complete strangers for your prints, perhaps you would like to look to your acquaintances for some card design ideas instead. A lot of people within your professional network would most likely already have their own cards and you could take some hints for your own. Do not copy their designs! Just use the cards printed for them in order to find out what works and what doesn’t so that you do not make unnecessary mistakes with your own business cards. If you are going to adapt and edit designs from your friends and colleagues, at the very least give them a heads up so that they would not get surprised when your card looks almost the same as theirs.

If you are particularly gifted with the arts, one last option for you is to create your own design entirely from scratch. This would mean more effort for you and possibly more expenses-since it will be a custom job-but at least you would be sure of having a card that you definitely like. Having this skill in the business card printing business is useful, but not a lot of people will exert the effort for this. To each his own, though.

Business card printing becomes much easier after the design process has already been done and over with. From the above you now have three options from where you can get some ideas on designs for your own cards, but if you have some other sources feel free to use them as well. The important thing is that you know the importance of a good design and know where you can get them.

Trade shows are a powerful way to advertise services or products for businesses. Some industries that can benefit from advertising at trade shows include those in the restaurant industry, beauty industry and everything in between. When you are at the trade show, it’s crucial to create effective displays for advertising your company, products and services.

One thing that typically holds true is that a display should contain large graphics, along with hand out flyers or brochures for people to take with them. There are a few other suggestions for advertising at trade shows that can pay off.

Large Banners

Using large banners to advertise at a trade show is an easy way to grab the attention of people passing by. When people are walking around and looking at booths, a large banner with attractive and attention-getting words and images will entice them to come over to your booth. If the trade show is indoors, stick with a glossy banner. If you happen to be outdoors, choose a large banner with a matte finish as it’s easier to read.

Staff

Don’t just have people sitting around. If possible, have someone stand up to talk with people and hand out materials. This means that you can personally give out brochures, business cards and flyers, while also making personal contact. This allows potential customers to ask questions and you can reveal information that is not in the brochures.

Materials

This is one of the most important parts of advertising at trade shows. Before the event, make sure to get top-quality brochures, business cards and flyers. One option is to create packets with flyers and business cards attached. Another option is to create small brochures or use a fold out business cards. Mini brochures are ideal as people can easily carry them with them.

Fold out business cards are mini brochures in a sense but are even smaller and can even fit in a wallet. They are the same size as a typical business card, but as they fold out, they include so much more marketing information. You can include a list of your services, photographs, or even photographs of your wares. The sky is the limit. Anything that is portable will make it easier for a client to literally carry your information around with them.

Free Drawing

An innovative idea is to hold a free drawing at your trade show booth. This is a way to gather leads. Request that people put their business cards into a box and then do a drawing. After it’s over and the winner has claimed the prize, use those contacts for marketing campaigns.

As you see, there are a few ways that you can take your trade show from boring to making it into a success. Just take the time to plan it out strategically and always have the highest quality products and marketing materials. Have fun with it!

You have qualified as a coach and started to set up your business. You’ve been told that you need to network and you’re ready to go forth and talk to strangers. So what do you need to know first before you take that next leap?

Before I start, let me dispel the myths around networking.

In a nutshell, networking is the process of interacting with others to exchange information or experiences for mutual benefit. There are so many ways in which you can network to build your business, get clients and get known for what you do. On top of that, it is a great opportunity to get referral partners, contacts that can help you in business and make friends with people too.

Read on for my top 5 networking tips for coaches.

1. Choose the right networking groups

There are various types of networking groups from informal coffee shop get-togethers to formal breakfast meetings. The first thing you need to do is find the right networking events for you.

It is about knowing who your ideal client is and where to find them. For example, if you want to speak with business owners, you’ll find that Mum’s groups are less likely to be effective, but if your target audience is female business owners with children, this will be a great place to start.

Many networking groups will allow you to try before you buy, and others will offer a pay per session charge. So ask around the people you know in business already – where do they go? What do they do? Or check out the trade journals or search on the internet to find groups in your area. And before making a huge investment, make sure that it is the right networking group for you and that it will give you the right returns.

When you choose the right group, you’ll meet with like-minded people, build effective business and personal relationships, and promote your business too. When you go consistently and regularly, people will get to know you. As well as talking about you, you’ll be referring others to your connections too.

2. Perfect your elevator pitch

One of the mistakes that many coaches make is introducing themselves as a life coach when they go to networking meetings. This will often get one of two responses, some people will think to themselves ‘not another coach’ and others won’t have a clue what you do.

The trick is to put together your elevator pitch, which is so named as it is the short introduction you can carry out in the time span of a ride in a lift or elevator. And it is good practice to have a short sentence you can share when talking to someone and a one minute pitch when you have an opportunity to introduce yourself formally to a group of people.

Consider who you are, what you do, 3 results you give to your clients and who you are looking for.

3. Follow up

One of the big mistakes made with networking is missing out on potential opportunities. You’ll be going to networking events to meet new people and to build relationships, so it is important not to go away with a bunch of business cards and then file them in a drawer somewhere. Follow up is key.

If you think you’ll forget who you meet, when you take someone’s business card, make a few notes on the back – for example, where you met them and what you talked about. It will help your memory later.

Then follow up with people after the event so you don’t miss out on any potential opportunities. Keep in touch with them too, a simple email or telephone call won’t take you long and who knows where it might lead?

4. Networking is more than networking groups

When I talk about networking, it is more than just going to networking groups. It is about sharing your message with people you know and scheduling individual meetings too.

Let’s start with talking to people you know – who do you know already who can help you to promote your business? Perhaps you’ve got contacts with ex-colleagues, friends or friends of friends. If you want to meet a specific person, just ask as we are just a few steps away from the people we want to meet.

And secondly when you meet people at networking events, take some time to find out more about them. It isn’t about building a group of transient people you may see from time to time, it is about creating a network of supportive people. Invite them out to lunch or coffee; get to know them on a personal basis too. This will give you the great opportunity to find out more about them, how you can work together or help each other out.

5. Know the value of social networking

Networking isn’t just about meeting people face to face, although this is an important strategy in your business. There are great ways of connecting with people online with various networking groups including Ecademy, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and more. But don’t forget to go out too as the relationships you develop face-to-face will be essential for your business, but the joy of social networking is that you can continue to keep in touch even when you don’t have time to leave the office.

Copyright Karen Williams 2011. All Rights Reserved

Karen Williams runs Self Discovery Coaching and is the author of The Secrets of Successful Coaches, which reached #1 in the Business charts on Amazon. Having interviewed 24 top performance coaches, Karen has learnt from the experts how to create a successful coaching business.

Since just 10% of coaches make it in terms of running a successful business, she gets frustrated when she sees coaches who are amazing, but don’t have the business skills or confidence to make a difference. Karen’s big vision is to enable more coaches to reach more people and help them to live a happier and fulfilled life.

Many of my clients were almost this well connected when they came to me- but weren’t getting the desired results. A short “diagnostic” usually showed me the reason. They were failing in one of several areas to truly “make the connection.” Here are some of things I would usually see and correct.

1). They were doing the wrong kind of networking. Business networking and social networking are alike in some ways and different in others. Business networking gets right to the point. Social networking requires some finesse and sensitivity.

This is not to say that you can be a bull in a china shop or insensitive when business networking, but, let’s face it – when you’re trying to get someone to go out with you socially the stakes and strategies are a bit different than when you’re trying to simply exchange information or enter a business relationship.

2). They’d be tense, angry or anxious. It is said that animals pick up fear and attack. Other networkers, whether targets for your job search, business contact or marital bliss, pick up on desperation and run away. Make sure that you’re in a relaxed state to network in any situation.

3). They wouldn’t “close the deal.” Meeting someone is nice. Following up with the people you meet is actually effective. Funny, but some networkers seem to believe that the act of shaking hands and exchanging business cards will magically produce the results they’re looking for. This is a myth that should be immediately busted.

4). They’d be “on the make” in business situations. Business is business and personal is personal. There was one couple at a business networking event my wife and I attended who really needed to get a room. Both got an unwanted reputation that evening, hurting the careers of both. If you meet someone to whom you are attracted at a business event, either leave the event then and there or make an agreement to meet afterwards, but don’t flirt or “make out” at the business event. If it isn’t clear that the attraction is mutual, wait until you have a chance to speak completely in private before broaching the subject of a personal relationship rather than doing this at a business event.

And, men. Keep your eyes above neck level on women. Yes. Always.

5). They weren’t getting in, getting out and moving on. We’ve all been trapped by the dreaded networking nerd. Maybe, heaven forefend, you are the dreaded networking nerd. The networking nerd is that guy (yes, it’s usually a guy) who will trap you in a corner and talk non-stop about him or herself for hours on end until your eyes bulge out of your head and sweat pours from your forehead and your feet burn from standing.

Be rude if you must. Push past this jerk and move on. Interrupt and tell him that you promised yourself you’d meet ten people that evening. If a woman, and you can’t get by this idiot, firmly plant your high heel in his instep. If you see a friend in trouble with this person, take pity and go rescue them. Make sure not to get caught yourself! And next time you see this person at a networking event (and you will, because they go to every event and never give anything to anyone), dive under a table or something to get away from this person.

6). They spend too much time on small talk. You don’t know how much time you have. Don’t waste it in small talk. Get to the point. Give your elevator speech. Find out what the other individual is there for. Exchange cards. Move on.

7). They were talking to friends or colleagues. You know your friends and colleagues. Forget them. You’re at a networking event to meet new people. So get out and meet new people. Say “hi” for 2 minutes to people you know. But don’t even think about sitting at a table with friends. Explain that you’re there to meet new people and suggest getting together after the event for a drink or a midnight snack, but avoid your friends like the plague. They’ll destroy your networking.

8). They didn’t understand the value of networking. Almost all decent jobs at every level are gotten by networking, not resumes, not headhunters, not job boards, and not knocking on doors. Too many people don’t take networking seriously. Take it seriously. Your livelihood depends on it.

9). They didn’t have a large enough network. If you don’t have at least 350 people who will call you back tomorrow with help, you don’t have a network. You have golfing buddies. If you don’t have this, and you are trying to find a job, don’t be stupid. Buy into a network with a transition coach or networking club. Expect it to cost about one month’s salary. It will save you, on the average, several month’s salary of looking time. Don’t be cheap and don’t be a procrastinator. The smartest thing you can do as soon as you get laid off is to go buy a network. It will get you re-employed much more rapidly than if you’re an arrogant SOB and think you can do it on your own. You can’t and you won’t. You’ll just waste tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid salary and get frustrated burning money and time, as well as lose tons of opportunity. A word to the wise.

10). They didn’t keep up their network once employed. Other than peeing away precious time trying to build a network themselves right after getting laid off, the most absurd thing people do is let their network lapse after they get employed. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Do people think that they’re never going to be laid off again? That the economy is not going to tank again? Duh! Keep up your network and expand it, people! Keep your head out of your behinds and do something intelligent for your career for once. Keep up your network every week.

            Long time ago, people have to go to the game center if they want to play betting games such as poker games. But now a day, as the growth of technologies, you do not have to go outside your home anymore. There are now a day many online poker games provider that can be found easily in the virtual world. This ease will make you easier to play your favorite games and gain some money by playing it.

More than you will ever realize or admit, how your customers and potential customers see your brand has a lot to do with how you present your products and services. Some might say that it is superficial and that we should focus more on quality of products and services instead of prettying things up. Well, welcome to the commercialized environment that most brands are fighting in. Prettying things up is not confined to displaying your products in a ‘nice’ way but also seeps into the exhibition world as well, where hundreds, if not thousands, of companies and brands are fighting for the same audience.

Professional image during an exhibition

Most companies participate in exhibitions to gain new ground, get more exposure and find more loyalty. For start-up companies, you are looking or exposure. For established companies, you are probably in the exhibition to gain new grounds. And for large well-known brand names, these companies are probably habitually participating in exhibitions because they want to maintain their positions as leaders or get more loyalty from your customers.

For large brand names, the executives are probably in there to tell the not-yet-loyal customers that they may have been in the business for a long time but there exists a continual perseverance in improving themselves. That is because consumers automatically regard established brand names as ‘old news’ and suffice to say, there remains to be a group of people who are consistently seeking for something better. And old brand names need to keep reminding the consumers that they are still cool. That means joining in with exhibitions where the new and medium brands are at. As a reminder.

The new fighting with the old

Although you might not see it this way but new companies and brands DO have an advantage over older brand names whenever they are in an exhibition together. There is something exciting about a brand you have never heard before. Curiosity usually gets the better of these consumers. In their minds, whenever they are in an exhibition, they are waiting for the old brand names to be ousted by the new ones.

And if the new brands can stand out, hold its ground and excel above the image of the old brand, new brands are at an advantageous position. So, if you are a new brand name that is eager to find new breakthroughs during the exhibition, prettying yourself up, making a louder noise and using out of the box method will embed the brand name into the minds of your target audience.

Take the chance that you have during the exhibition to stand out and be loud. Be better than all of your competitors and don’t be afraid of spending money on being different.

The key difference between SMS marketing campaigns and sending out Bluetooth messages is that while the first can effectively target a precise segment of population, the latter is less discriminative as all users within the range of the emitter will receive the advertisement. On a side note, this is why Bluetooth marketing campaigns are often referred to as proximity marketing. This method of advertisement has recently been gaining in popularity and is generally employed by storefronts in order to boost their clientele, but the indiscriminative character can lead to certain trouble if not approached correctly. In fact, the content of the message is immensely more important for business owners, as they need to avoid their messages being catalogued as spam or junk mail.

Price considerations for Bluetooth proximity marketing

Although a Bluetooth marketing campaign is more difficult to conduct properly, the advantage it holds over SMS campaigns is the reduced cost. While the SMS approach implies paying the network provider for each message sent, the only thing required for marketing with mobile phones via Bluetooth is the emitter. Essentially, it all boils down to the payment plan versus the one time purchase of a Bluetooth device.

Granted, at first sight the proximity limitations make Bluetooth advertisement feasible particularly for brick and mortar retailers rather than online vendors. On the other hand, renting property in the circulated part of town can translate into the ability to install Bluetooth emitters and advertising business websites as well. Basically, with a bit of creativity there is no limit to what marketing with mobile Bluetooth devices can achieve. In essence, the Bluetooth advertisement can be regarded as the digital billboards of the future. However, since with great advertisement power comes great responsibility, business owners need to learn how to avoid the drawbacks and legal complications first.

Proximity marketing campaigns guidelines

The first aspect that should be crossed off the “to do” list is making it clear for every passerby that the Bluetooth emitter is present and currently working so in order to avoid receiving your promotional pitch all they need to do is turn it off or block you. While this takes care of the legal complications of the proximity marketing campaign, the goal is not only to get the message across but also to ensure that it is read and that it has a good conversion rate.

For instance, let us assume you are selling the best pretzels in town or so you are advertising. While conveying the message directly will just be perceived as spam, why not add a humorous anecdote about pretzels or an interesting historical fact about them? The more informative or amusing the message, the better chances you have of convincing the customers to walk in your store and walk out with a big bag of pastries. Moreover, a major price reduction or a two for the price of one promotional period can also be classified as attention-grabbing. Although coming up with fresh material for this type of advertisement may seem complicated at first, the advantages it entails are well worth your time.