One of the integral facets of achieving business growth and increasing profit is hiring a team of high-performing employees who can do the job efficiently. Hiring effectively is one of the most important business growth strategies, but there’s still no guarantee that your current staff will stay with your company permanently.
Read MoreTopics: business strategies, Workplace productivity, unrealised potential, rewarding staff, trade dollars
It’s an age-old dilemma. Diversifying your product range can help you meet a broader range of customer demands, but will it spread you too thin? Devoting your resources and energy to a narrower product range may ensure greater quality, value, and market share, but do you risk putting all your eggs in one basket?
Read MoreTopics: attract new customers, save cash, build business networks, branding, unrealised potential, increase sales, business needs, customer loyalty, marketing
It’s not surprising to see a significant shift of practices when it comes to business networking. The world has adopted new ways to network that are no longer limited to face-to-face interactions. For a long time, business owners have attended meetings, events, and tradeshows to expand their contact base. Today, thanks to fast-paced technology, online networking sites have become common in the realm of making business connections.
Read MoreTopics: small business owner, strategy, small business, attract new customers, build business networks, unrealised potential, business needs, networking, trade dollars
Bartercard is a platform where businesses can barter trade their goods and services using trade dollars. Joining this immense online marketplace offers numerous benefits for a business owner just like you. It aids your business by turning your excess inventory, spare downtime, and vacant seats into additional sales—expanding your business and profits.
Read MoreTopics: market research, build business networks, unrealised potential, increase sales, business needs, networking
A business cycle is the natural rise and fall of economic growth over a period of time. The cycle is a useful tool for analysing the wider economy, as the upward and downward fluctuations show variations in production, employment, wages, and investment. Understanding the cycle allows you as a business owner to make better financial decisions with the goal of helping your business increase profit despite the downturns. Today we discuss the five main phases of a business cycle: expansion, peak, recession, trough, and recovery.
Topics: buyer demand, small business, business start-up, business blog, unrealised potential, increase sales, barter, business needs
Research shows conclusively that your existing customers are your best chance at increasing your overall sales. Closing a deal with a potential new customer is tricky and doesn’t actually happen all that often—even if your sales team are virtuosos of the craft. Statistically speaking, you’re much more likely to find success selling additional products and services. That’s where upselling and cross-selling come in. Unfortunately, people hear a lot about these kinds of tactics, and it’s easy for them to switch off if you take a poor approach. What exactly are these tactics, and how can you employ them effectively?
Read MoreTopics: unrealised potential, increase sales, business needs, trade dollars
Being in business usually means opening your doors to everyone, welcoming them in, building relationships and ultimately agreeing to do business together. Sounds simple, right? It can and should be. However, there are situations that can test you and one of the big tests is being able to say ‘No’ when you need to.
Read MoreTopics: small business, business blog, unrealised potential, business needs, customer loyalty
When you first started your business, you had a plan. It may have been something roughly scratched out on an A4 sheet of paper, or a complex business plan you presented to your bank manager, or maybe something in between. Your business plan provided you with a mission, a path for your business to help keep things moving in a positive, forward direction.\
Read MoreTopics: growing your business, strategy, small business, attract new customers, business blog, unrealised potential, barter, business needs, networking
Understanding the financial health of your business can be an extremely overwhelming task to get your head around. Unless you have a passion for figures then it’s an area that can cause a lot of frustration and stress. You may have a handle on your profit and loss statement, but are you able to look deeper and really see how your business is going?
Read MoreTopics: Accounting, increase cash flow, small business, attract new customers, save cash, spare capacity, unrealised potential, increase sales, business needs, trade dollars
Did you know that the ancient concept of bartering goods/services is still relevant in this age of digital money? Yes, as amazing as it may seem, trading your products in exchange for what you need or would otherwise have purchased in cash can be the ultimate business tactic. Not only do you attract new customers in the process, but you also increase the profitability of your business, managing stock more effectively and participating in a supportive network of other businesses. What’s more, a healthy barter relationship can serve as a perfect opportunity to turn your bartering members of today into the paying clients of tomorrow. After all, opportunities for extra income shouldn’t be passed up!
Read MoreTopics: attract new customers, save cash, build business networks, unrealised potential, increase sales, networking
