Negotiation and Networking

Commercial General Liability Insurance is one of the most commonly purchased types of small business insurance. But many small business owners still have lots of questions about what it is, why it’s needed, and how it works. Here are answers to the top five questions we hear from our small business clients about general liability coverage.

1. What does general liability insurance cover?

General liability insurance covers claims of bodily injury or other physical injury or property damage. In the event of a covered lawsuit, such policies will typically pay for a legal defense as well as compensatory, general and punitive damages.

A typical general liability insurance policy covers:

- Bodily injury and property damage liability: If a visitor is injured on your premises, or you or your employee injures some or damages property on your client’s premises.

- Personal and advertising injury: Certain offenses you or your employees commit in the course of your business, such as libel, slander, disparagement or advertising copyright infringement.

- Medical expenses: Applicable medical costs if someone is injured and needs medical treatment due to an accident on your premises.

- Premises and operations liability: Bodily injury and property damage sustained by others at your premises or as a result of your business operations.

- Tenant’s liability: Claims of damage due to fire or other covered losses caused by you to premises that you rent.

Please note that this list includes typical coverages afforded under some policies. Be sure to examine your own policy carefully for any exclusions, limitations, or any other terms or conditions that may affect your coverage. The terms and conditions of your policy will prevail.

2. Why do I need general liability insurance?

Even if you don’t expect to ever face a claim, General Liability Insurance is a smart, inexpensive investment in your company’s future. Accidents do happen, and people who are injured or whose property is damaged will expect compensation. Although such accidents may be no fault of your own, you’ll still be held financially responsible for them, and it only takes one such incident to break the bank for most small businesses.

In the event of certain types of lawsuits, even if you feel you’re not at fault, you’ll likely spend a hefty sum trying to prove it in court. For covered suits, general liability insurance pays for a legal defense and any settlement award, up to the limits specified by the policy.

Additionally, many client companies will have contract requirements that mandate that their business partners or vendors carry general liability coverage. Such contract requirements protect the client from incurring any costs in the unlikely event that someone or something should be injured or damaged in the course of your business relationship.

If you’re still not sure if you’re one who needs general liability insurance, there’s no cost to speak with an agent or broker for advice and a no-obligation quote.

3. How do I determine how much coverage I need for my business?

Your insurance agent or broker can help you assess the potential liability for your business, which varies depending on the type of industry your business engages in, as well as other factors.

Your location is one consideration, as courts in some states have historically made higher damage awards than those in other states. Businesses in those states may wish to consider carrying general liability insurance with higher coverage limits.

Lower-risk businesses, such as accounting firms or IT consultancies, may feel comfortable with lower coverage limits, while businesses in higher-risk fields, such as construction, may need more coverage. For small businesses with less risk, a combined general liability and property insurance package may be a cost-effective option. Such dual policies are known as a Business Owner’s Policy or BOP.

4. I’m worried that the coverage limits on my general liability policy aren’t high enough. What can I do to be sure I have enough coverage if I get sued?

If you’ve got a million general liability policy, but you’re worried that you’ll be sued and your legal costs and court-ordered settlement could be even higher than million, you may wish to purchase an excess liability insurance policy. What is this type of insurance? Also known as umbrella insurance, excess insurance is an inexpensive way to provide additional coverage when the limits of insurance on an underlying policy are exceeded.

For instance, if you have million in general liability coverage, but a court orders you to pay .5 million in compensation, the right excess insurance policy would pay for the difference of 0,000. In addition to general liability policies, an umbrella insurance policy also adds coverage to your hired and non-owned auto liability and employer’s liability insurance policies, at no additional cost. However, umbrella coverage does not apply to professional liability insurance.

For contractors and consultants, some clients require excess liability insurance in their contracts to ensure that their vendors are financially capable of paying a large damage award in the event of a lawsuit. Client contracts may also require other types of insurance, such as professional liability or workers’ compensation.

5. How can I reduce my risk of having to file a general liability claim?

While it’s good to have general liability coverage, it’s even better when you don’t have to use it. There are several ways you can cut your risk exposure and reduce the chances that you’ll face a lawsuit:

- Provide proper training for all employees and subcontractors.

- Institute safety policies, processes and procedures appropriate for your line of work.

- Inspect your place of business for hazards that could result in injury.

- Maintain your office space, furnishings and equipment in top condition to reduce the risk of injury or property damage.

- Ensure that smoke detectors are operational and emergency exits are clearly marked and unobstructed.

- Restrict access to hazardous areas or equipment to authorized personnel only.

Ask your insurance agent or broker for additional tips on how you can reduce your risk.

Tags: Agent, business, General, insurance, Liability, Purchasing, Questions, Small

When you launch a new venture, every effort should be made to keep overhead costs as low as possible.

This is important because extra funds may be needed for emergencies.

There are many unforeseen events that can occur when you have a business, and these need to be taken into consideration. The great news though is that there are a lot of creative tactics you can employ in order to save money.

Here are some examples:

Bartering. Try to look for things to trade before deciding to buy. Goods can be bartered such as office equipment, rental space or even vehicles. Try joining a trade exchange network which can be found online. If you do decide to buy, try to negotiate the best possible price.

Wholesale buying (Bulk Buying). Buying in big quantities can save you a lot of money but you need to be sure that you are able to sell everything. There are many ways to buy wholesale and these include becoming a member of a wholesale club or buying directly from online wholesalers.

Networking. Networking is a great way to get more business. Instead of spending money on advertising, you should consider social networking sites like meetup.com and facebook. Through networking, you can also find companies to trade leads with, this can help reduce your advertising costs.

Freebies. The internet is full of “free” sites that offer useful items such as graphics, legal forms, software etc. Try to look for them first and see if they can be of use to you, before spending any money. You will be amazed at how much you can get for free.

Planning Ahead. You should have a list of equipment and supplies that you will need in the future. Refer to this list when you hear of sales and discounts, so that you are able to purchase what you need at a lower price.

Second-hand. You don’t always have to buy new products. The second-hand market often has bargain goods at very reasonable prices. Bargain hunting requires a lot of patience, so make sure you set aside some time to really search for products that are worth purchasing.

Finding alternative suppliers. You don’t have to always stick with the same supplier. It is a good idea to “shop around” and try to find a supplier who can give you a better deal or service. You can always go back to your existing service provider with quotes from competitors and give them the option to beat them.

Extra help. If you have a growing business and really need extra help, you may want to consider virtual assistants or interns. With virtual assistants you only pay for what you need, so you don’t have to worry about payroll or benefits. Hiring an Intern is also a great way to save money because they are more interested in what they can learn as opposed to how much money they make.

Negotiate, Negotiate, Negotiate. Suppliers are always willing to work with loyal customers, so try to negotiate with yours if you need to. If you are current with your supplier, try to ask for a discount on your next purchase. If you can’t pay on time, try asking for an extension. You will be surprised by how flexible people can be, especially in tough economic times.

Tags: business, City, Girl's, Money, Saving, Tips

Just how do I truly be successful in running a business is a common question asked by the new business owner as well as someone that wishes to start their own company. They are searching for some secret strategy that would position them at the top of their industry in the blink of an eye. They want to discover how Bill Gates achieved it, just how Donald Trump made it happen. They want the plan that could put them on top.

Well, I have it for you. It is easy to implement. You won’t need to go through every book ever written about business to learn it. You could start implementing it as soon as you read this article.

Are you ready?

The key to achieving success in running a business is to work hard and put in the hours.

There isn’t any TRUE solution. Almost everything depends upon what you are willing to do and just how bad you wish to get there. Now don’t get me wrong, obviously exactly what your company does is obviously a factor. I mean if you are selling pagers or laser disks then you might have a bit of a problem, but all things being equal, it is how bad you want it and what you’re willing to do to obtain it.

Are you willing to spent 15 hours per day working in the beginning? Are you willing to go without a paycheck for a week or two in order to pay your company bills? Do you want to invest in advertising, and do what is necessary to do to advertise your business?

These are definitely all questions you need to ask yourself if you would like to achieve success in business. Now you won’t need to do this forever, but in the beginning it is sometimes necessary.

There is a quote I once heard, and i am not sure who originally said it but it goes something like this…”An entrepreneur will work a few year in a way that most people won’t, to live the rest of their lives in a way most people can’t”. If you are prepared to do what must be done, by putting in the time, effort, and sweat equity into your business you will be on the right track for success. It will be tough, it will be tedious, and it will be frustrating at times, however , if it were simple, everybody would do it.

No successful person got to exactly where they are without the need for hard work, a definite vision, and a lot of learning from their mistakes. You have to be resilient, persistent and ready to accept any tough tasks in the process to achieve success in running a business.

“To be successful in business requires training and discipline and hard work. But if you’re not frightened by these things, the opportunities are just as great today as they ever were.”

- Thomas A. Edison

To be successful in business begins with you, what you want, and the desire to get it.

Now go for it, get to work, don’t whine that you missed Modern Family last night and be successful!

Tags: business, Reach, Success

Summary of The Bogleheads’ Guide to Investing

The Bogleheads’ Guide to Investing was set up in two parts, “Essentials of Successful Investing” and “Follow-Through Strategies to Keep You on Target.” There were 23 chapters in the book and I like the way the book was set up and the flow was very well put together. The book is written by three authors, Taylor Larimore, Mel Lindauer and Michael LeBoeuf. They are part of a group of people such as investors, lawyers, doctors, teachers, waiters and average joe’s that call themselves Bogleheads’. They get the name bogleheads’ from a man named John C. “Jack” Bogle. He is the founder and retired chairman of the Vanguard Group and has devoted his life to helping investors with their investing decisions. As well as teaching them how to invest, he created a family of low-cost mutual funds that Jack has been tirelessly advocating for individual investors. The three authors have over a century of investing experience between them. They have since, in a way, devoted part of their lives to helping others reach their investing goals. They each spend several hours a day on Moringstar.com Vanguard Diehard Forum answering questions for free.

The book begins with a brief description about how the Bogleheads’ were started. After a decade-plus of existence, they moved from a loose association of investors to a web site by Morningstar, identified there as “Vanguard Diehards.” More than 25,000 visitors are recorded daily. After a few well known investors and writers who followed Jack Bogle’s investment advice invited Jack to Miami to meet. They called this meeting Diehards I. Some 20 investors who had never met one another before quickly became friends. The following year, the group met in Valley Forge, called “Diehards II” and met with 40 Bogleheads and from there it flourished. The book talks mostly about how to save you earnings and how to invest them correctly. It seems to be revolving around retirement and living a happy and financial free retirement. They also discuss the types of stock and bond options offered through the Vanguard Group with low-fees and proven track record returns.

Chapter one discusses choosing a sound financial lifestyle. Each chapter starts off with an interesting quote usually pertaining to what the chapter is discussing. This one is no different and I find the quote sort of funny, “Drive-in banks were established so most of the cars today could see their real owners.” The very first statistic that they tell in the book is very disturbing to me,

“It’s an old statistic that has held very consistent over time. Take 100 young Americans starting out at age 25. By age 65, one will be rich and four will be financially independent. The remaining 95 will reach the traditional retirement age unable to self-sustain the lifestyle to which they have become accustomed.”

It describes that without government programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid many people would literally starve. They expect that as soon as the baby boomers begin to retire and start collecting the government handouts, they will go broke. The first chapter tries to help the reader figure out what kind of financial lifestyle you live, from Betty Borrower to Chad Consumer to finally Ken Keeper. They describe the differences in all three and how they feel that the borrowers and the consumers have a bad view on how to life financially by taking on too much debt and spending all their paycheck after their bills are paid. The keepers live in their means and don’t finance many possessions they can’t afford to pay off and invest 10% of their paycheck first before paying themselves. They tell you three steps to take before you start investing. First, leave the paycheck mentality and go to the net worth mentality. Second, pay off credit card and high-interest debt. Third, start an emergency fund.

Chapter two is about starting early and investing regularly. The magic is compounding. The rule of 72 is extremely simple: To find out how many years it would take for an investment to double in value, divide 72 by the annual rate of return. An investment that returns 9% doubles every 8 years because of the magic of compounding. For someone to have million at the age 65 and with an 8% annual return they would need to invest the amount shown in the table just one time at that certain age. This table shows the amount after expenses and taxes and what the power of compounding can do to our investments.  Here is another example of how starting early is extremely beneficial:                

“At age 25, Eric Early invests ,000 per year in a Roth IRA for 10 years and stops investing. His total investment is ,000 Larry Lately makes yearly deposits of ,000 in his Roth IRA starting at age 35 for 30 years. His total investment is 0,000. Assuming both portfolios earn 8 percent average annual return, at age 65, Eric’s IRA will be worth 9,741, but Larry’s IRA will be worth only 9,383. By starting out 10 years earlier and making one third of the investment, Eric ends up with 29 percent more.”

An interesting point made in this chapter is that the authors say to “Pay Yourself First”. The earlier you start investing, the sooner you can reach your financial freedom. The authors discuss making smarting purchasing decisions. They explain that buying a 2-3 year old car is a smarter investment that buying a brand new car because a cars main depreciation is the first few years of its life.

Chapter three begins with talking about knowing what your buying, part one. This chapter talks about different types of Stocks and bonds. Chapter three goes into detail about all of these types of investments. Stocks are a representation of an ownership interest in a corporation. Each stock share is actually a small fraction of its business to each person who buys the stock. Bonds are actually lending a specific amount of money to the issuer of the bond. You receive a return on your investment that is the bond’s yield to maturity and the return of the face value of the bond at a specific date, known as maturity date. There are also Treasury issues that are considered the safest bond investments since they are backed by the faith and credit of the U.S. government. T-bills, T-notes, T-bonds, Treasury Inflation Indexed Securities, Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities, U.S. Savings Bonds are all forms of bonds that the U.S. government sells. You might be wondering how much you should invest in bonds and Mr. Bogle suggests that you should own your age in bonds as a good starting point. I should have 25 percent of my investments in bonds.

Chapter four is very much like chapter three; however it talks about mutual funds, Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), and annuities. Mutual Funds pool lots of money from many investors to buy securities. There are different types of mutual funds such as equity mutual funds that invest in stocks, bond funds that invest in bonds, and hybrid/balanced funds that invest in both stocks and bonds. There are 10 strong reasons/advantages of investing in mutual funds. The ten are as listed, diversification, Professional management, low minimums, no-load or commissions, liquidity, automatic reinvestment, convenience, customer service, variety and communication and record keeping. An annuity is an investment with an insurance wrapper. There are a few different types of annuities. There are fixed, variable and immediate. Exchange-Traded Funds are mutual funds that trade like stocks on an exchange.  

Chapter five talks about preserving you buying power with inflation-protected bonds and it starts off telling us that in chapter two we learned about how the power of compounding can work for us. But it can also work against us when it comes to inflation. “An inflation rate of 3 percent means that when a 25-year old investor retires in 40 years, she’ll need ,262 to buy the same basket of goods and services that she can buy for ,000 today.” Just imagine that if you were to keep ,000 in a cookie jar for 40 years and then take it out and try to use it. You wouldn’t be able to buy anything close to what you thought it would. The big problem most people have understanding what real return is. Real return is the amount we have left after we subtract inflation form our rate of return. The U.S. treasury offers two choices that help fight inflation; I bonds and Treasury Inflation Indexed Securities (TIPS). The I bond works by two components, first there is a fixed rate on the bond when you purchase it that keeps the amount over and above inflation. Second is the variable inflation-adjustment rate that is recalculated and announced twice a year annually. TIPS are the same in that respect, but are purchased at Treasury auctions, in the secondary market.

Chapter six was the one I was hoping to tell me the best information. However, there is no formula to tell the investor how much they need to save for retirement. There are a lot of factors that can help us figure out the amount we need to accumulate to achieve our dream retirement: For starters, we need to save, the more the better. Next, our current age because this will help determine how many years we have to save and invest. Next, the hard one, how many years we’ll have to live off our retirement account, based on our life expectancy. Another is whether we plan to leave an estate, or if we will simply want to make sure that we don’t run out of money before we run out of breath. Another thing is a source of income in retirement and finally the rate of return on our investments. One of the toughest things to determine is our life expectancy. We would like to know when we will meet our maker so we will know how much we need to save up to that day. There is a saying in finance; a perfect investor will have the last check he ever writes to bounce. They discuss a few internet websites that have financial calculators to calculate your current portfolio, annual contributions and you’re expected total value at retirement and many more. Those can be located at www.bloomberg.com,  www.bankrate.com,  www.callan.com.

The next chapter talks about keeping it simple. The authors are all members of the Vanguard group and talk very highly about the Vanguard Index 500. It seeks to replicate the return of the S&P 500. They show lots of statistics for and against the index and it always seems to outperform the other index. The Vanguard Index 500 has outperformed the top 3 index by an average of 3 to 5 percent on a consistent basis. They are very firm advocates of investing regularly and over a long period of time. The do not believe in getting rich quick investing.

Chapter eight is all about Asset Allocation. Just like diversification, they want you to have stocks, bonds and cash. While you are getting your assets allocated, you need to figure out your risk tolerance. Knowing your risk tolerance is a very important aspect of investing. They have a chart in the book that shows he maximum decline based on allocation. This chart shows the maximum decline that would have occurred during the 2000 to 2002 bear market. It is made up of two Vanguard funds, Vanguard’s Total Stock Market Index Fund and Vanguard’s Total Bond Market Index Fund. This shows why nearly every portfolio should contain an allocation to bonds. Deciding on your risk tolerance and your asset allocation for your long-term portfolio is the most important portfolio decision you will make.

Cost matters. That is the theme of chapter nine. They are very stern on explaining that cost matters and you should keep them as low as possible. They have it estimated that the total cost in the U.S. equity market is about 0 billion annually. These consist of brokerage commissions, customer fees, legal fees, marketing expenditures, sales load, advisory fees, and transaction costs. Taxes are not included in these figures. Many investor pay front-end sales commission (load) when they purchase funds share. For example if you pay a 5% front-end load from a ,000 investment, you are only getting 0 invested. If after a year you see your funds have had a 10% return and think that you just made ,000 your wrong. You only made 0. Back-end loads are exactly what they sound like; they take their commission when you take your money out. There are no-load mutual funds, but those have purchase, exchange, account, redemption, management 12b-1 and other expenses tied into them. They highly recommend anyone getting ready to invest money to do their homework and find what the lowest cost to them is.

The next two chapters talk about taxes and how they affect you investment, from bonds to stocks to IRA’s. They explain in mostly about IRA’s and Roth IRA’s. A traditional IRA is a personal savings plan that gives you some advantages with your taxes while saving for your retirement. They don’t get taxed until you withdraw your money. There are limits to how much you are allowed to contribute. The maximum limit for a single individual to contribute to an IRA in 2005 is generally the smaller of ,000 or your taxable compensation for that year. When you reach 50, you are allowed to invest ,500. There is a 10% tax penalty for withdrawing money from a traditional IRA if the distribution takes place before you are 59 ½ years old. Roth IRA’s, like traditional IRA’s is also a personal savings plan but it operates in reverse. While IRA’s contributions are tax deductible, Roth IRA’s are not. One of the reasons that people prefer a Roth IRA over a traditional one is because you may expect your future tax rate to be higher. Also Roth IRA’s are worth more from a tax stand point. There is no penalty on early withdrawal of your contributions. Withdrawals are not reported as income. There is a way that the owners of a traditional IRA can convert to a Roth IRA if they meet two requirements: One, their adjusted gross income is not more than 0,000. Two, you are not a married individual filing a separate return.

Chapter twelve starts off with another quote I found funny. It is by Warren Buffet, “Diversification is a protection against ignorance.” When it comes to investing, the old saying goes, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” Millions of investors put all of their money in the latest and hottest dot.com stock that “couldn’t fail.” Most of them did eventually fail. They lost everything when the market nosedived in 2002. Diversification offers two big benefits to investors. First, it helps reduce the risk of having “all your eggs in one basket.” And second, you can increase your market return at the same time.

The next chapter was very brief and talked about not being a performance chaser and trying to time the market. They are firm advocates on staying the course in a well organized index fund. They used a great example of how the news tries to sell anything they can to the public:                

In August 2003, Mr. Fabian confidently announced to Chuck Jaffee on CBS Marketwatch that he could produce a 100 percent return in 365 days using a turbocharged version on the system he sells investors. To prove that his market timing system worked, Fabian publicly invested 0,000 of his own money using the system. Big mistake! Unfortunately for Fabian, his 0,000 investment subsequently lost 2,000, and he was unable to hide that fact from readers…. One of the primary reasons we’re writing this book is to ensure that your lessons about investing will be much less expensive.

They again prove their point about staying the course and not being an active trader. It the following graph, it shows the research results from two professors at the University of California. They did a study of 66,400 investors from the year 1991 through 1997 to see how trading affected those investors’ returns. The buy and hold traders beat the most active traders by a whopping 7.1% a year. Warren Buffet said it well when he said, “Inactivity strikes us as intelligent behavior.”

Savvy ways to invest for college, I wish my mom would of read this. This chapter shows so methods for saving for your college educations. I am glad mine will hopefully be over this Saturday unless graduate school calls later! The statistics show that a high school degree would have a lifetime earnings of ,000,000. Associate degree would have a lifetime earnings of ,600,000 and a Masters degree would have earned ,500,000. Education pays in the long run. The authors give a website called http://www.saveingforcollege.com that has lots of free information on various college savings plans. The authors have discussed personal savings, custodial accounts (UGMA & UTMA) and U.S. Savings Bonds, IRA withdrawals and Coverdell Educational Savings Accounts (Educational IRAs or ESA). UTMA and UGMA’s are very dangerous things to give to your children. There are certain rules and laws with them that the initial giver of the account didn’t take into consideration. First the child gains full control of the account automatically at either the age of 18 or 21. At this point, they can spend it on anything they want like a car, TV or motorcycle and there is nothing you can do about it. The ESA are just like the UGMA and UTMA’s but they are tax free as long as they proceeds go to any qualified educational expense. I plan on using this when I have kids and decide to start saving for them unless something better comes out by then.

How to manage windfalls successfully? A windfall is an inheritance, settlement, sale, bonus, retirement or really any money that wasn’t originally accounted for. NBC reported that more than 70% of lottery winners use all the money they won in less than 3 years. They advise to deposit the money somewhere and leave it for 6 months to think of what to do with it the smart way. They say put a small portion aside to treat yourself to something you always wanted but to invest the rest.

Chapter sixteen starts off with a quote from one of the authors, Michael LeBoeuf, “I helped put two children through Harvard-my broker’s children.” They basically say that anyone that has the willpower to invest their money has the will power to learn and do it themselves. It is not hard, a little research and self learning can save thousands of dollars of your money that should be invested and not in the brokers pockets.

Part II of the book is a follow up on the first part. Chapters seventeen through twenty three reassure what the first part has gone over. Tracking

your progress and making sure you know where your money is at all times. They talk about tuning out the “noise” which the media is selling quick rich schemes and hot stocks. There are things the investment media don’t want us to know. Three things that make effective investing incredibility simple: Create a simple, diversified asset allocation plan, Invest a part of each paycheck in a low-cost, no-load index fund and check your investment periodically and stay the course. They say you should never invest with your emotions. When the market is down, most average people with life savings and retirements invested get nervous and withdraw their money for a huge loss instead of staying the course and letting it bounce back. They also talk about having your money last longer than you do and leaving your heirs with a check, not a bill. The main thing is living in your means and not over doing it.

Finally, they say “You can do it” and the bogleheads will help.  This final quote really means a lot to me when I read it and really for anyone who has made mistakes in the past, whether it is in finance or in life in general. Carl Bard puts it nicely, “Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending.” I really feel this book is giving me a new outlook on my financial future. They talk about what we have learned in the book and how the bogleheads want to help. They are a large group of people from all walks of life that have a common interest in investing and retiring sooner than later and enjoying every day of it. They give the website where the Vanguard Diehards Forum is at. http://Www.morningstar.com.  There is so much information at this website and hundreds of people that love to help beginning and experienced investors reach their goals. In closing, they reiterate STAY THE COURSE. If you get lost, we are here to help!

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To contact the author of this summary/review, please email Jason Chigoy at Chigoyboy33@yahoo.com.

David C. Wyld (dwyld@selu.edu) is the Robert Maurin Professor of Management at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. He is a management consultant, researcher/writer, and executive educator. His blog, Wyld About Business, can be viewed at http://wyld-business.blogspot.com/.  He also has a book summary/review blog that is a collection of his students’ works at http://wyld-about-books.blogspot.com/.   

Tags: Bogleheads, Guide, Investing, Review, Summary

During times of recession it is often the ‘luxury’ industries that suffer first, i.e. those that provide the non-essential goods and luxury items consumers buy when there is disposable cash available. Expenditure on essential products and services are unlikely to decrease during times of recession, although consumers will often seek out suppliers that can provide the goods or services cheaper, rather than using a supplier that is recommended by a friend or relative. 

Fortunately, the services provided by plumbers include those that can be classified as luxury as well as those classified as essential. Because of this a plumber can change the focus of work during times of recession to ensure the business survives. 

Whilst kitting out new bathrooms and kitchens may be more lucrative and profitable than fixing the leak of an existing pipe, during times of recession the amount of consumers having new kitchens and bathrooms is likely to reduce significantly. Having existing pipe work repaired and maintained isn’t really a luxury and can be classed as essential maintenance therefore, consumers are almost certain to pay for these services, even when money is tight. Because of this all plumbers should be prepared to change the focus of work to concentrate on these more essential services than waiting for the lucrative jobs to roll in to ensure they remain in business. 

During these times plumbers shouldn’t be fussy about the type of work they do or the type of person they do the work for. During the good times a plumber may have been able to pick and choose the jobs they wanted to do, however this is often not possible in a recession and all jobs should be taken on regardless of how big or small they are. During the times of recession plumbers should change the focus of their work to be all encompassing. 

With a change in focus to more essential repairs and maintenance a plumber needs to be competitive and charge current market prices. If a plumber charges too much the customers are likely to go elsewhere, charge too little and there is a real chance the business may not see the recession through to the end, although there is also the possibility of picking up a lot of new work. With this in mind, a plumber needs to find out what the competition are charging. Whilst simply asking them may work, a more discrete method is advised. Get a friend or relative to call a local plumber and ask for a ‘rough estimate’ for a leaking pipe. Don’t make the query too specific and ask for the hourly rate, and state they are more than happy to pay for parts. Calling one local plumber is not enough and it is important to call a few, maybe even ten, to get a feel for what others are charging. With this information it is possible to tender for work and charge within the normal rates. 

During the times of a recession plumbers should still market their services and let potential customers they are there. A recession provides a great time to look at marketing material. During the good times the marketing material may have focused on new kitchens and bathrooms, i.e. the more lucrative work. The material may not have even mentioned general repair services are also provided, so potential customers aren’t even aware the plumber does this. The marketing material should be changed to focus on more general repairs and the lower end work, however the more lucrative services should still be included. After all, there are some people that are not affected by recession and these people may still want a new bathroom or kitchen plumbed out, and no plumber would want to miss out on tendering for this work. 

The marketing material should be aimed at the local market. Producing leaflets isn’t that expensive, and a leaflet drop in the local area may produce some work. Don’t pay for someone to drop the leaflets for you since this gives the plumber a great opportunity to get out there and meet potential customers face to face. With the actual plumber dropping the leaflets, potential customers have the chance to ask questions and maybe invite the plumber in to give a quote there and then. These opportunities would have been missed if someone else dropped the leaflets. Leaflet dropping is not the most entertaining of activities, and there are several other things most people would prefer to do, however all business owners should be prepared to do mundane things in order to keep their business running.

As well as trying to boost sales a plumber should try to decrease the level of expenditure during a recession. Controlling costs is an important function, although it is important to get the best value for money rather than the cheapest available. Buying cheap and inferior parts will save money in the short term, but what about when these parts fail? Remedial work will be needed and many customers may decide to use a different plumber in the future. So, it is important to use parts of the same quality but at a lower cost. Look around for alternative suppliers, try and negotiate discounts for prompt payment etc. The savings may be small but every little helps during times of recession. 

In addition to the above it is important to reduce other overheads and costs as far as possible. Is 90g paper really needed when 50g will suffice? Are genuine ink cartridges needed when recycled ones do the same job but cost much less? Is it really necessary to take customers out for lunch? A recession provides the ideal time for the plumber to sit down and have a real close look at where money is spent and what it is spent on. It is important to reduce costs as far as possible (perhaps by using alternative suppliers) and cut out all unnecessary costs, even if that means the meals and corporate days are cancelled. 

Historically, economies have been cyclical and based on this things will pick up in the future. As a plumber in these times the important thing to do is to sit tight, ride out the recession and ensure the business is still in existence when things pick up. Once things do pick up it may be possible to pick and choose work once more, enjoy spending business money on the finer things, such as the meals out, however is there any real need to? Whilst recessions are ‘bad’ they do teach all business owners, not only plumbers, how to manage a business efficiently and effectively.

Tags: business, Plumbers, Recession, Small, Strategies

Article by Abhinandan Garg

Finding specific information about tiny business information might not be simple but they have gathered helpful and relevant information about the general subject matter, with the final objective of helping you out. Even if your search is about other tiny business information information, such as tiny business grants ladies, woman entrepreneur, tiny business promotion or even beginning selling, this editorial will show helpful, to say the least.

Make definite that time spent on the tiny business partnership is dedicated to the business, and time spent together away from the tiny business partnership is not a forum to speak about business matters. If you are going to spend time together away from the tiny business partnership, spend time away from the business.

Tiny business start-up require not cost the earth, and you can approach it from a lot of directions. A recent press editorial covered some nice material for those thinking of beginning a tiny business. Quoting three cases of successful tiny business starts, it gave information on the background of the new business owners.

Tiny businesses in often cases can be present in private homes, for four main reasons. The first is because it is economical and in most cases convenient. The second reason is that there’s several benefits with taxed for having your business in your home.

Don’t forget that you are only a step away from getting more information about tiny business information or such related information by searching the search engines online. Google dot com alone can give you over results when you search for tiny business information.

On the positive side, you can qualify for tiny business medical health insurance designs with you and your husband or spouse as employees. As a result, how much is a medical health insurance plan for your tiny business going to cost you? That depends on plenty of different factors, which is a nice reason to do your research. You ought to start by getting quotes from a variety of medical health insurance firms that cover tiny businesses.

The result of following a well constructed promotion plan is that all of your different promotion efforts form part of a co-ordinate strategy aimed at attaining your predetermined objective. That is in stark contrast to the promotion efforts of most tiny businesses and immediately puts you ahead of the pack.

Clip Art: Ahhh, nothing in modern design and desktop publishing has been so helpful, yet as hurtful as clip art. Clip art’s a lot like dynamite; it is a nice thing in the hands of an specialist, and if you are not, you might think about leaving it alone. When used (usually) in a subordinate role in the general design, clip art can work well. A couple of speedy final thoughts on clip art: if your intended message and picture are professionalism and credibility, I implore you, no; I beg you, steer clear of hokey, cartoon clip art. Between cheesy clip art and no clip art – take no clip art. You can have an effective, fascinating layout with no graphics at all. With clip art – use where appropriate, use sparingly and use with caution.

It might interest you to know that plenty of folks looking for tiny business information also got information related to other tiny business advice service, breaking news reuters, and even tiny business advice london here with ease.

Tags: business, Guideline, Small, Some, Useful

The conservative medical community tends to treat arthritis with painkillers and exercise. This is because these drug therapies have been around for at least fifty years and surgery has a fairly high success rate, while many other remedies like dietary supplements are relative newcomers to the scene.

Painkillers are not the solution to the problem. They mask the symptoms by providing temporary relief and often worsen the disease. Besides, they have side effects; most drugs prescribed for arthritis pain can upset the stomach and cause nausea and diarrhea. Sometimes, these drugs can compromise the wall of the gut and then the antigens leak into the system, enter the bloodstream and end up in a joint.

Once they reach the joint, they will trigger an attack by the white blood cells that are the body’s defense system. The end result is that this causes more pain and inflammation as the white blood cells release prostaglandins and leukotrienes in an attempt to dispose of the enemy. They also release digestive enzymes that begin to attack and digest the actual cartilage, bone, ligament and muscle that are supposed to be saved. This can then become a chronic problem, which is what happens in rheumatoid arthritis especially.

Other drugs like aspirin rob the body of essential vitamins – especially the B group – and minerals. Loss of these bodybuilding nutrients can cause the very same symptoms that arthritis causes. That is, pain and inflammation due to the breakdown of cartilage, bone and other important tissues.

Non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs like indomethicin (Indocid) and ibuprofen and others, give pain relief and reduce joint swelling, but cause stomach problems with long-term use, while the Cox –2 inhibitors like celecoxib (Celebrex) while safer for the stomach, may cause cardiovascular problems.

Steroid medication causes a loss of potassium, but retention of sodium, while penicillamine, often used to treat RA, causes a lack of copper. Gout, the only form of arthritis scientifically shown to have a direct link to diet, is often treated with colchicine, which can cause a loss of vitamin B12. One long-term effect of steroid use is osteoporosis. To prevent this and other problems, steroids such as cortisone can be injected into the painful joint.

Disease-modifying and immunosuppressive drugs are sometimes given, but they have serious side effects too, so must be closely monitored. Some of these include: – gold, by injection or orally, methotrexate (Matrex), and anti-malarial drugs to name just a few.

Unfortunately, no matter what drugs or medicinal treatment you take, often the arthritis will be too far advanced for them to work. In this case, surgery is the only option available to you. The good news with surgery is that the success rate is extremely high, with the likes of hip replacements and knee joint surgery enjoying a success rate of 95%. If successful, these replacements can last anywhere up to fifteen years before needing replaced. However, for those whose bodies reject the new additions, it can lead to even more painful arthritical problems than before, with severely debilitating results.

Since there are various types of surgery available, from the simplest bone shard removal to releasing trapped nerves, arthritis can be a treatable malaise. However, due to the after-effects that can happen, be sure to speak to your physician first.

Tags: Advice, Arthritis, Treatment

During his talk, he reiterates a long held belief in the world of sales and marketing; that people tend to buy on emotion and then justify it with reason.  When we start off telling people why we set up our business, the aspirations we have for it and the legacy we want to leave, it speaks to people on an emotional level – meaning they are more likely to listen, and, more importantly, remember us.  

However, if we only tell people what we do and the features of our product or service, it’s unlikely to stand out, and does not seem to stick in their memory.  A great example is if you’ve ever been to a networking event where everyone has one minute to give an elevator pitch.  At the end you may have heard 40 different pitches, but only a few will stick out for you – they will usually be the ones that evoke an emotional response.  Such a response can be created by speaking from the heart about why you do something.
     
So what’s your WHY?  Having worked with a number of Ethical Businesses, I’m always astounded at how often the premise of why they set up their business is left out when they form their marketing messages.  For many, it’s not news to them and they feel it’s not important to their customers.  

But the fact is, “People don’t buy what you do… they buy why you do it”.   This is particularly important for Ethical Businesses, because if your customers believe in what you do, they’ll support you, recommend you and keep buying your product or service.    

I’m of this mindset when it comes to my energy supplier, Ecotricity .  I came across a stall for them at a Green Exhibition a few years ago.  Their representative told me about their commitment to reinvesting as much of their profits as possible into building new wind turbines – and their dream of playing a major role in building a zero carbon Britain.  It resonated with me, and since then, I haven’t just become a customer, I’ve recommended them to friends and family.

My eagerness to promote Ecotricity (and for free I might add) comes from buying into their vision.  Had their representative simply told me that they were a ‘green electricity’ supplier that had been running for 4 years and supplied 10,000 homes, I would not have been as interested in them and may have sourced my renewable energy from elsewhere.    

When forming your marketing message, always look to start by explaining why you do what you do.  This allows you to share your values and beliefs – these will get people on board.  

However, there is a caveat with this – try to be concise with your WHY.   Unless your story is incredibly inspiring, if you go on too long you may lose people.  

Once you have people listening by telling them your WHY, the next step is to tell them what you do.  However, don’t just talk about what you do, talk about how it will improve their lives.

In marketing this is known as stressing benefits over features.  Benefits are the value that your product or service adds to people’s lives.  If we go back to our example of Ecotricity, one of the features they offer is renewable energy, however the benefit this gives me is a ‘clear conscience’ when using electricity.  

Emphasising benefits goes back to the original argument about speaking to people on an emotional level.  As Ethical Businesses it should be much easier for us to do this.  

So next time someone asks you what your business is about, I’d recommend starting with WHY.

 

Tags: Advice, Ethical, Marketing, Starting

Article by Pipo Online Printing

Your business needs a physical identity in various forms. Advertising and promotional campaigns over the electronic and digital media may be new and happening in this day and age, but print campaigns have always been and will be the most productive way to reach out to the customers. While the digital media targets a wider and global audience, the print marketing aims at enriching the relationship with existing customers or creating newer collaborations by making a strong impression. Business printing can vary in the mode of communication. You may have a business letter having the branded letterheads, an exchange of contact through a business card or notify the customer through physical mailing of a postcard. There are various business printing modes of printing that can help you proliferate the brand name and image proactively and help create a positive and long lasting impression on the prospective consumers.

Following are some tips to choose the right business printing company in your area:

- Most businesses are registered online these days. You have an option to choose from variety of business profiles registered on the internet and not actually go through tons of phone calls to numbers found in yellow pages.

- Looking through the way they have represented their business on the web can also give you a fair idea of what they are capable off in representing your business through innovative business printing products.

- Whether it is brochure printing or postcard printing, these businesses would send you samples on request and you can thus choose amongst a few shortlisted candidates of business printing.

- Choosing a company that opts all business requirements under a single roof is better than looking for individualized companies that either print business cards, or others that only print letterheads. You save a lot of time and are entitled to process multiple orders and may even expect discounts on bulk orders.

- Choosing a business printing company in your locality with a physical address could give you the advantage of actually touching and feeling the samples produced. Quality is prime when it comes to creating products that are eventually going to act as sole representatives of your business. For instance, a company may have claimed that they provide state-of-the-art silk business cards (which are in high demand these days), but how would you know of the quality actually produced when you just see 2D images posted on their website.

- Get multiple quotes from multiple websites and compare them to get the best out of the best. Many companies offer free and custom quotes over the internet. Make good use of the same.

- Finally, this is not a tip but an additional advice to choose a company that practices eco-friendly printing with natural dyes and inks. This may add on to the goodwill of your business and you may even pose an impression on your customers that you care about your surroundings.

Tags: business, Choose, Company, Printing, Right, Tips

Did you know that you don’t need a website to get found online?  If you have read previous articles from me you will know that you can list your business with online directories WITHOUT a website.  And I would have to say that it is even more important to list with the directories BECAUSE you don’t have a website.  Otherwise every person who uses the web to find products or services will NEVER see your business, they’ll see your competitors.

So what are some of the “tricks of the trade”?

 

If you have a website or listed with a business directory you will have been asked to identify keywords in relation to your business.  Essentially keywords are the words/phrases that people type into a Search Engine, such as Google, in order to find a product.  So if I wanted to find someone to help me with my tax, I might type in “tax advice”, “accountant”, “bookkeeper”, “taxation”, “chartered accountant” and so on.

If you have not included these words in your website or keyword list you are missing out on those customers.

It can be difficult sometimes to think of the right keywords because there can be so many variations or you might not think of the same words as someone else.  So how do you pick the right words?

It’s easy!  Google has a tool you can use to find your business’s keywords.  It’s called the “Wonderwheel” and it really is a Wonderful tool!

When you type in your keywords in Google, you will be given a page of indexed results.  You will also see a list of tools on the left-hand side of the screen with an option to see “more” at the very bottom.  Select “more” and under “Standard View” you will see “Wonderwheel”. 

When you select “Wonderwheel”, you will see a Wonderwheel appear with your keywords in the centre and a number of “wheel spokes” for all the variations of keywords that relate to your keywords.  You can then select any of the examples and another Wonderwheel will appear with that word in the centre and all the variations around it…and so on…and so on….

See, easy!  Now you can use them until your heart’s content!  And consider using it to find items for yourself on the internet, sometimes we can’t seem to find just what we’re looking for, so maybe a different word would make the difference.

 

Another feature Google offers you is Google Analytics which is analysis of your website.  It includes; how many visitors you get, how many pages are viewed, how long do they view each page, which search engines, business directories or referral sources (e.g. Facebook) were used to find you, which keywords were used plus loads more.  If you have a website and don’t have access to analysis of your site activity you MUST do this!  It’s free and it’s easy and it’s invaluable for checking how your website is performing and how to improve it to get more people visiting, staying longer and contacting you. 

 

In your website or your business directory listing, you should clearly have your contact details prominent with a “call to action”.  Most people operate from a perspective of “WIIFM”, “What’s In It For Me?” so you if you don’t give them a reason to call you, they won’t or they may call your competitor who did have a call to action.

You can include a competition, FREE or discounted product/service or newsletter so that there is an incentive for them to contact you.

If you don’t have a website you can still do it in business directories.  Some even have a specific space for this.  You could advertise that if someone contacts you and quotes “Start Local” (the directory you listed in) you will give them 10% off.  Not only will you attract more customers but when they quote the business directory you’ll know how you’re getting your customers…great research tactic!

No, Google hasn’t released a coffee range!   Although it’s probably in the pipeline, they are doing new things every day it seems.  The reason it is so important to understand Google is because over 80% of people who use a search engine, will use Google.

In early June Google announced that it had made a significant change to the way it searches and lists items and they named it “Caffeine”.  The change means that Google now rewards websites that refresh their content regularly.  What this means for you is that if you have a website, it is even more important to publish fresh content as often as you can, whether it be via a Blog, News Updates, Competitions, Product Releases, Video, Images or Audio.

 

Yes, Google again, they offer so much free stuff you can use for your business.  Another tool available is the use of Google Alerts.  This is related to your keywords, but you can use it to keep up to date with your competitors as well. 

Basically, you select keywords and Google will send you an alert with a list of web search results including those keywords.  You choose the frequency of the alert, the number of items listed and the type of items (blogs, news, video, discussions).  You will quickly see whose business is being listed most often in results.

 

To check how your competitor’s website is using keywords  you need to view the source data.  This is easier than it sounds and you don’t need an IT degree to do it. 

Simply open their website to its home page and look for the button “page” above the website, click on it and you will see a drop down list.  Select “view source” and it will show you the source data behind the website. 

In between the “title” tags you will see their website’s title.  You will also see their list of keywords listed as a “meta” tag.

This isn’t just handy for your competitor’s website analysis, but you can use it to view your own website.  Remember not to copy and paste from others’ source data as they can search just like you and you will get yourself in trouble when found out!

Remember, all these tips are FREE and easily used once you know how! 

Kylie Dickman

Managing Director

Virtual Bliss Business Solutions®

. If you have a website, include links wherever you can…Google loves them!  Link to an internal page, link to another website, link to a document…link link link!  A great use of links is to make sure on every page of your website you have a link to your Contact page…make it easy for people to contact you as quickly as possible!

Tags: business, Most, Online, Secret, Tips