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10 Tips For Navigating Business Growth

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10 Tips For Navigating Business Growth

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When running a business, you are constantly striving to promote growth. Once things start to take off, there’s often a whole new set of challenges that must be addressed. Here are a few tips I’ve found useful when navigating a period of business growth and expansion.

1. Don’t Lose Sight of Your “Why.” Seeing your business grow and thrive is exciting, but it’s important to stay focused on your mission. A rapidly growing business can sometimes take off in a direction that doesn’t align with your core mission. Periods of growth are an opportune time to reflect and realign with your “why.”

2. Learn to Delegate. As an entrepreneur, you often begin by handling almost every aspect of your business. As your business expands, you must delegate to manage your workload. If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed by your organization’s growth recently, look over your responsibilities. Are there aspects of your workload that could be handled efficiently by someone else?

3. Hire with Culture in Mind. Retention of quality talent is essential to the long-term success of a business. When searching for new hires, consider how candidates will do in your company’s unique culture. Of course, credentials are important, but the candidate that looks the best on paper is not always the best fit.

4. Listen to Your Customers. Your customers are the life force of your company. Never lose touch with what your customers want out of your brand. Especially in periods of rapid growth, be sure to focus on customer experience. You can show customers you care through meaningful communications and requests for feedback.

5. Encourage Employee Feedback. Speaking of feedback, it’s vital to listen to your employees as well. During periods of growth, lots of things shift and employees are invaluable sources of information. Their insight into what needs revision or improvement can help your business grow with grace and agility.

6. Analyze Your Inefficiencies. In addition to listening to employee feedback regarding ways to improve your business, seek out inefficiencies in the processes you currently have in place. Is there a manual task that could be automated? Are employees spending too much time on tasks that don’t benefit overall productivity?

7. Reduce Regulation Risk. A growing business has to be on the lookout for new government and industry regulations! Growth can take many different forms﹘ expanding your markets, utilizing new sales channels, teaming up with a distributor, rolling out new products, etc. Big changes like these might mean dealing with new or different regulations. Be sure to do your homework to ensure that you’re in compliance.

8. Integrate Your Processes. When a business is just starting out, the decision is often made to go with the most economical software solutions. This can mean patching many different systems together, which can be especially problematic during high-growth periods. Disparate systems will struggle to keep up with the demand, causing internal issues as well as a diminished customer experience. Switching to a comprehensive business management system allows all departments to communicate effectively and efficiently. It also allows you to access all the data you need at any time, rather than having to gather it from multiple programs.

9. Make Scalability a Priority. When thinking about how to navigate growth in your business, always consider the scalability of your decisions. Demand fluctuates over time, and (if things keep going this way) you will need to account for more growth in the future. Make sure the solutions you implement now can support growth in the future as well.

10. Bring in an Expert. All of this may sound daunting to tackle on your own, but the good news is you don’t have to! Partner with someone that can help grow your business and find software solutions that make business processes more fluent and efficient.

__________________________________________________________________

Joel Patterson (www.JoelPatterson.com) is the founder of The Vested Group, a business technology consulting firm in the Dallas, Texas, area, and ForbesBooks author of The Big Commitment: Solving The Mysteries Of Your ERP Implementation. He has worked in the consulting field for over 20 years. Patterson began his consulting career at Arthur Andersen and Capgemini before helping found Lucidity Consulting Group in 2001. For 15 years he specialized in implementing Tier One ERP, software systems designed to service the needs of large, complex corporations. In 2011, Patterson founded The Vested Group, which focuses on bringing comprehensive cloud-based business management solutions to start-ups and well-established businesses alike. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Baylor University.

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Archives, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily

5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Taking the Leap to Entrepreneurship

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As COVID-19 causes layoffs and extends uncertainty about employment in 2021, many people are considering new options, reinventing themselves, or trying to decide whether working for themselves is more desirable than finding another 9-to-5 job that might not last.

Entrepreneurship brings a lot of freedom, responsibility, and risks, and before people commit to taking that big step there are several important questions they should ask themselves, says Tim Mercer (www.timtmercer.com), ForbesBooks author of Bootstrapped Millionaire: Defying the Odds of Business.

“Entrepreneurship is a career that offers a kind of freedom and personal satisfaction you simply cannot get from traditional 9-to-5 employment,” Mercer says. “You will never know if you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur unless you take the leap of faith and experience it yourself.

“It’s a big decision, though, involving many factors and inherent risks. There is a lot to navigate and endure en route to reaching your dream destination of professional and financial freedom, and many don’t make it because they simply weren’t cut out for the challenge to begin with.”

Mercer thinks people who are considering entrepreneurship should first ask themselves these five questions:

Why do you want to do this? “Let’s be honest,” Mercer says. “If the business endeavor is just about us, we will want to give up on ourselves when things get hard. Your why, which is your purpose, has to be much bigger than yourself. You must believe in a vision of why you want to be an entrepreneur and develop a plan for how you will involve others in your vision. Sustainable entrepreneurship requires the efforts of other people.” Mercer thinks it’s imperative to write down your ‘why’ and keep it in front of you as a reminder when tough times come.

Are you being realistic? One can get swept up in the emotion of starting a business, but Mercer says it’s vital for every potential entrepreneur to be realistic in their business projections for the first two years of the startup. “Answering this question before you open can prevent some unpleasant surprises as you try to build your company,” Mercer says.

Do you have daily discipline? “You are the boss, and only you can hold yourself accountable,” Mercer says. “If it’s hard for you to stay on task or stay motivated, and you think being an entrepreneur is a fast ticket to easy street, entrepreneurship definitely is not for you.”

Can your relationships survive the sacrifices? The time commitment, Mercer notes, to starting one’s own business and getting it running efficiently goes well beyond a typical 9-to-5 job. Relationships can suffer. “All entrepreneurs have to understand that they are going to be forced to make sacrifices on a personal level with their family and friends,” Mercer says. “You have to stay focused without letting your dedication to your entrepreneurial pursuit harm your relationships with those you are closest. Communicate with them and mutually come up with adjusted expectations as you build the business.”

Can you withstand the struggles? Rejection and failure, Mercer says, are realities that new entrepreneurs have to get accustomed to and learn to overcome. “You need to understand how many times you’ll fail before you’ll succeed,” he says. “You’ll get turned down by prospective customers constantly and your self-value will be tested on a daily basis. Is your why strong enough to keep you going?”

“Overall, deciding whether you are an entrepreneur or not boils down to how comfortable you are being uncomfortable,” Mercer says. “Only time will tell if you have the people skills and business skills to be a successful entrepreneur, but rest assured that you will have to endure periods of real discomfort.”

________________________________________________________________

Tim Mercer (www.timtmercer.com) is the founder of IBOXG, a company that provides technology services and solutions to government agencies and Fortune 500 corporations. He also is the ForbesBooks author of Bootstrapped Millionaire: Defying the Odds of Business. Mercer was inspired to pursue a career in IT as a consultant after he became a telecom operator while in the U.S. Army. After growing up in difficult economic circumstances in the rural South, Mercer achieved success as an entrepreneur, then recovered from the financial crisis of 2007-2008 after starting IBOXG. The company has accrued over $60 million in revenues since its inception in 2008.

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Intimidated By The Competition? How Your Startup Can Take On The Big Guys.

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When newly formed businesses size up the competition, they may not like what they see.

Often, major players in their industry are already well ahead of them, drawing in the customers or clients they covet, cornering the market on the best employees, and pushing around through their sheer size anyone who dares take them on.

But startups don’t necessarily have to blink in the face of the big guys, says Adam Witty, himself a successful entrepreneur and the ForbesBooks co-author of Authority Marketing: Your Blueprint to Build Thought Leadership That Grows Business, Attracts Opportunity, and Makes Competition Irrelevant.

“Certainly, major corporations have plenty of advantages over startups, from the assets they have available to the years of brand recognition they have worked to achieve,” says Witty, who also is the founder and CEO of Advantage|ForbesBooks (www.advantagefamily.com). “But you can work on creating a few advantages of your own – or at least create a more level playing field – if you approach things in the right way.”

He says some ways for budding entrepreneurs to do that include:

Know that adaptability is a key asset – and possibly an advantage. The COVID-19 pandemic brought a lot of attention to the importance of being able to adapt, but it’s always been critical for businesses to respond to unanticipated changes in the market that threatened their product or business model, Witty says. “Being adaptable doesn’t mean just introducing a new product to your realm of offerings,” he says. “It requires constant attention to what’s going on in the world, analyzing your competitors, and most importantly, not getting too comfortable at the top of the pyramid.” In some cases, a startup can even have an advantage here, Witty says. Established businesses sometimes get stuck in their ways, and when disruptions happen in the economy or with customer habits, they are slow to make the necessary changes. A good example of this was Blockbuster, the video rental company that failed to see the threat that annoying upstarts like Netflix posed.

Turn customers and clients into raving fans. The most profitable companies in the world boast the most fanatical clients and customers, Witty says. “Think about Apple, which does many things very, very well,” he says. “One of them is servicing the customer first. And Apple excels in communicating its mission to its audience. Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh once said, ‘Customer service shouldn’t just be a department. It should be the entire company.’ To create loyalty, you must show customers that you not only are grateful for their business but that you value their relationship.”

Establish yourself as the authority in your field. Positioning yourself as the go-to person in your field allows you to create an unfair advantage in the marketplace by immediately positioning you above others in the same field, Witty says. One way to do that is by writing a book because then you are not only an authority on your topic but you “wrote the book on it.” But you can also begin to establish your authority through media interviews and speaking engagements, Witty says.

Finally, Witty says he’s fond of telling his employees, “When it comes to decision making, if we’re going to go with opinions, we’ll go with mine.”

In reality, he doesn’t want to make decisions based on even his opinion; he prefers facts and data.

“For a startup or any business to be successful,” Witty says, “you should let employees know that you are open to their ideas, but you also expect those ideas to be backed up with facts and data that demonstrate why it’s a good idea. That kind of decision making is the best way for your business to grow, prosper and dominate the competition.”

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Adam Witty, co-author with Rusty Shelton of Authority Marketing: Your Blueprint to Build Thought Leadership That Grows Business, Attracts Opportunity, and Makes Competition Irrelevant, is the CEO of Advantage|ForbesBooks (www.advantagefamily.com). Witty started Advantage in 2005 in a spare bedroom of his home. The company helps busy professionals become the authority in their field through publishing and marketing. In 2016, Advantage launched a partnership with Forbes to create ForbesBooks, a business book publisher for top business leaders. Witty is the author of seven books, and is also a sought-after speaker, teacher and consultant on marketing and business growth techniques for entrepreneurs and authors. He has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Investors Business Daily and USA Today, and has appeared on ABC and Fox.

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7 Tips & Ideas to Start a Small Scale Manufacturing Business

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The 21 century makes it possible for everyone to launch his or her own business, as most of us have access to such efficient tools as blogs, social media, etc. At this moment, the COVID-19 pandemic modifies the ways to run any kind of business.

However, it is still possible to start something new, and by following some approaches, you will do it safely, minimizing any risks, and getting the most out of your concepts. We are here to help you find these profitable ways and share some effective tips on starting any business.

Let us begin with the most interesting business ideas that can provide you not only with material well-being, but also bring joy and even unlock your creative potential.

Candle Making

Regardless of common preconceptions, winter is not the only sales season for candles. Today, it has become both an essential attribute for house coziness and an integral part of some practices.

Meditation and yoga are quite widespread activities, and many practitioners cannot imagine the process without a bewitching and relaxing scent filling the space around. But also the daily environment requires to be in line with the mood, whether dreamy and chill or refreshing and productive.

Tip: Imagine your target audience and try to foresee their expectations from your candles: where they could use it, what they want to feel while inhaling the scent, etc. This will help you improve their design and also write more attractive product descriptions.

Candle manufacturing is one of the best choices for your first small scale business because you need only basic tools and materials that do not cost much, and the process itself is easy and fast to master.

Bakery & Confectionery Products

If you enjoy cooking, you have a nice opportunity to transform the hobby into a source of income. No doubt, in this case, you will have a huge customer base. People need some special, unique, and delicious sweets on any occasion in their lives.

It is a space for your creativity, which you can use to create feels-like-home treats, wedding cakes, bread with unusual tastes, cupcakes and cookies, pies, gluten-free bakery, organic, vegan, healthy, or fitness-sweets, and other splendid products.

Tip: With such a wide spectrum of possible niches, it is important to focus on a few main directions and follow them to become a professional there. People tend to trust rather highly specialized producers than “Jacks of all trades”.

Depending on the budget, you can open your small bakery or make everything at home. With social media, it is absolutely possible to create a proper and flourishing business within the four walls.

Jewelry

Jewelry has become an extremely popular choice for starting a small-scale business. But it does not mean you have no chance to enter this market successfully. With a quite complex structure, this branch is still affordable and promising.

Again, you can choose an appropriate niche relying on your budget. If you can find suppliers and can afford precious and semi-precious gems and stones, you can go for fine jewelry. Otherwise, you can still find your place in this business, creating either trendy everyday pieces or unique niche jewelry shifting the emphasis on a design – both options from inexpensive materials.

Tip: Jewelry is all about aesthetics, so make sure you develop an eye-catching design for the brand, a unique voice that could tell the potential customers about your pieces.

Ceramic Ware

Pottery can become not only your business idea but also a great kind of entertainment. It is fun and often unpredictable, and the feeling of soft flowing clay is immensely satisfying. Pottery is one of the oldest trades in human history. Nevertheless, it is still a tool that you can use to embody your creativity and personal uniqueness.

To realize your projects, you need to have a number of materials and equipment, such as pottery wheels and kiln, different clays, sculpting and trimming tools, glazes, etc. Make sure you have enough space to store these things and work with them.

Tip: Take into account that unlike other types of manufacturing, pottery requires a number of special tools and devices. Make sure you plan your budget first and buy quality equipment.

If you do not want to dive into ceramic ware, you can always go for clay sculptures, souvenirs, and other little stuff that people buy for gifts and home decor!

Makeup Products

Cosmetics is a quite saturated market that always welcomes newcomers, though. On a low budget, you will unlikely create exquisite makeup or care products, but you can always turn to traditions and inexpensive natural ingredients.

As always, it is better to choose one niche and then grow to new products, if you want. Hair products, lip balms, scrabs, creams – the world of cosmetics has a wide range of possible ways for growth!

Tip: Whatever niche of cosmetic products you choose, you need to be a guru of the process, as low quality here can possibly lead even to severe health problems.

Shoemaking

Shoemaking can easily become a business that is oriented at global concepts: sustainable development, veganism, minimalism, etc. However, it could also be a design resolution that you can use to express creativity.

Choose your target audience and create footwear for daily needs or for those who love to wear fancy things.

Tip: Prototype development is an essential part of the shoemaking process before the final production. At this stage, you can improve your model and see the mistakes you have made before.

Furniture Manufacturing

If you have an inclination for this trade, you will enjoy launching a furniture business. Here you face the same challenges and essential decisions: target audience, aim, and design.

Regardless of what furniture you want to make and which needs to meet, it is a low-budget decision for a small scale manufacturing business. Not only you can create brand-new pieces, but also offer repair and restoration services.

Tip: Make sure the pictures of your pieces are quality and the descriptions contain all the important information, such as size, materials, care and maintenance, etc.

Final Thoughts

Small scale business offers numerous opportunities for people to help others and to make the world more beautiful and convenient. You have the chance to become a part of this process, and you do not need much to start.

After you launch the business, it is essential to maintain its profitability by promoting your brand. To do so, you can start blogging, submit guest posts on business blogs, and use social media marketing.

Right now, you have everything you need to embody your amazing ideas and make life a better place. So rally your force and turn over a new leaf!

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Nancy P. Howard has been working as a journalist at an online magazine in London for a year. She is also a professional writer in such topics as blogging, IT and marketing.

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8 Common Mistakes Business Sellers Make

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All business owners think about selling their business at one time or another. However, for the ones who decide to go forward and sell, there are certain points that need to be addressed if they want to have a successful transaction and get the most money for their business.

After selling over 800 businesses, I decided to list eight common mistakes owners make when selling their business:

1. Trying to sell it yourself. Business owners usually are not objective about their business. Even if you have the financial skills, you’ll have a tendency to overestimate the value. And you are not expected to have the financial skills to be objective in the valuing of your own business. Instead, you are a successful business owner, which is an art in itself. The selling of a business is the combination of both an art and a science, and it is performed by individuals who do this full-time as their profession. You do what you do best, and let a professional intermediary do what they do best.

There is a reason pro athletes and actors have agents – because they get more money and better terms when they hire someone to negotiate for them. Likewise, you simply won’t get as much value for your business trying to sell it yourself and learn on the job. Attempting to sell your own business will devour your time. You know how to run your business, but this is no time to learn how to be an investment banker or business broker.

2. You are too sensitive about your business. You will take comments made by a buyer personally and perhaps kill the deal. Nobody likes to hear they have an ugly baby, and the same is true when you are selling your business. Any negative comments about your business to you will be taken personally regardless of how hardened you may think you are. The solution is to get an intermediary to soften the blow and translate the buyer’s comments into requests that will not be taken personally.

3. You don’t know how to arrive at fair market value. Owners who are unrealistic about the value of their business are the biggest reason why deals fall through. Get the facts and the reality of what businesses like yours are selling for in the current market, and never believe anything you read in the trade magazines as the gospel regarding valuations.

4. You don’t know how to recognize a qualified buyer. Different businesses require different kinds of buyers, and different buyers will pay different amounts for a business. You need to know which buyers are paying the most in today’s market because buyers change with the market.

5. You probably don’t know where to look for the right buyer. Finding the right buyer for your business who will pay top dollar isn’t as easy as running an ad in a trade magazine or newspaper and seeing who contacts you. As a seller, you want to know who really has the money and whether they are serious. Are they cherry pickers or making low-ball offers? Or do they try to claw back on an offer and use the old bait-and-switch technique? Remember, time is money, and buyers are generally working on your time and your money.

6. You fail to realize that selling a business is a process, not an event. Selling a business involves a structured process that takes time – generally between six to 12 months from conception to closing. It is a very detailed process that not all sellers are up to accomplishing without guidance from a trained professional who has performed this process many times before.

7. You have to assemble the right team to get the job done. Just as in sports, if a seller doesn’t have the right team of players in the game, he will either get defeated or hurt in some way. What is the right team? An attorney who has experience in business transactions and understands the sale of a business to a buyer and not to one’s lifelong golfing buddy. An accountant who understands the tax system and is not afraid to give good tax advice, knowing there is a possibility they will lose your account and is looking out for your best interest. And an experienced intermediary who has working knowledge of your industry.

8. You aren’t committed to selling. Selling a business is a lot of hard work. People don’t realize how much work it is to assemble all of the data that is needed by a buyer to get a business sold. A lot of transactions will fall apart because the seller is either not committed to the process or does not have the mental stamina to continue. The solution is to get help from a seasoned intermediary who will coach from the beginning to the end and help you to reap the rewards for all of your many hard years of work.

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Terry Monroe (www.terrymonroe.com) is founder and president of American Business Brokers & Advisors (ABBA) and author of Hidden Wealth: The Secret to Getting Top Dollar for Your Business with ForbesBooks. Monroe has owned and operated more than 40 different businesses and sold in excess of 800 businesses. As president of ABBA, which he founded in 1999, he serves as an advisor to business buyers and sellers throughout the nation. As an expert source he has been written about and featured in The Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur magazine, CNN Money, USA Today, CEOWORLD, and Forbes.

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5 Ways to Setup a New Dormant Company in UK

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Setting up a dormant company comes with its perks. However, many entrepreneurs and businesses looking to register one such company in the UK do not know how to get the process started. Indeed, suppose you know how to register a limited liability company in the UK. In that case, it might interest you to know that the process for setting up a dormant company is the same, aside from some slight variations.

Though you can find dormant accounts advisors in the UK, it’s equally helpful to understand minor details such as what makes a company in the UK dormant, the information required, and why you might want to register a dormant company.

So continue reading to learn all these and more.

What is a Dormant Company

The term “dormant company” is used to describe a limited company that has been set up with a Companies House, but due to any reason, it hasn’t begun trading or will never trade. Such companies have no significant transactions on their accounts in their financial year. For Corporation Tax, dormant companies are considered inactive. This is because they don’t partake in any trading activities such as:

-Maintaining a payroll

-Managing investments

-Buying and selling products and services

-Earning income and interest

-Purchasing or renting properties

-Earning dividends

-Paying bank fees and charges

-Paying salaries for high officials like directors

-Paying accountancy fees and formation cost for the company using a business account.

The moment a dormant account performs any of these transactions, it ceases to be dormant. Its dormant trading status will move into the category for ‘active’ for Corporate Tax.

Nevertheless, certain transactions are considered ‘significant accounting transactions’ that a dormant company can perform. These are:

-Payment of subscriber shares (the first company shareholders during incorporation).

-Payment of fees during annual Confirmation Statements to Company House.

-Penalties paid to Companies House for Late filing.

Why Register a Dormant Company

Given all the information available on dormant companies and their requirements, the question might have crossed your mind. Why would anyone have a limited company remain dormant? Though it’s a simple question, the answer isn’t so straightforward because there are several reasons why a company may choose to stay dormant. Some of these reasons include the following:

-Keeping a trademark or brand name protected

-Reserving a corporate name for use later

-For holding intellectual property or assets

-To allow an existing business to restructure

-A temporary step in case of illness or death of a business owner

A dormant company can maintain its status for any duration of time. However, all limited companies incur some expenses for being in the official register, dormant companies included. Also, there are specific obligatory ways of reporting and filing with the Companies House and HMRC.

Now that you know the basic information of a dormant company, here are five steps to set up in the UK.

1.  Information You’ll Need

To register a dormant company, you’ll get all the necessary information starting with a unique name for your company and a registered office address.

Next, the company will require a minimum of one director, and all directors will have to provide personal demographics and other information including name, nationality, and even eye color. Every shareholder will require the following information:

-Name

-Number of shares owned

-Value of each share

Finally, the people in the company with significant control will also provide details including name, nationality, and other details.

Once you have all this information, you’ll perform a company name search before registering your company name, provided it’s not taken. But it doesn’t end there, because you’ll need to follow certain formalities to keep your company dormant.

2.  Don’t Trade

Apart from ensuring that your company’s accounts remain dormant by avoiding any of the transactions earlier mentioned, you also need to check with Companies House to ensure you don’t have any ‘significant transactions’ during the accounting period of your company.

The moment any transaction of accounting significance occurs, you’ll need to record it in the account of your company. And by doing so, your dormant account will be considered trading. Which is something you’ll want to avoid.

3.  Get HMRC Informed

Apart from not trading, you’ll need to inform the HM Revenue and Custom (HMRC) by corresponding with them. In case you are wondering, the HMRC is primarily the UK’s tax payment and customs authority. The aim is to update them on your company’s status, letting them know that your company is a dormant one.

4.  Prepare Your Confirmation Statement

Even though your new registered company is dormant and not actively trading, the authorities in the UK still have specific requirements you’ll need to fulfill. One such requirement is the filing of the annual confirmation statement for your company. But why is this important?

The annual filing of this statement ensures that Companies House is always updated with any changes that occur with your dormant company. And if nothing changes, they’ll also be in the know. You can do this either at the end of each period or as required as changes occur within the company.

5.  Annual Filing For Your Dormant Accounts

Finally, the law also requires you to file the accounts of your dormant company. You have to first do this no more than 21 months after the company registration. After this, you’ll have to file your dormant accounts every year. And that’s all you need to do to set up a dormant company in the UK and keep it dormant.

Conclusion

For those operating a previously active company but currently dormant, it’s necessary to contact the Corporation Tax department, either by email, post, or phone immediately. They’ll send a ‘Notice to deliver a Company Tax Return’ to your registered office address.

Then you’ll have to put together a Company Tax Return and accounts for the HMRC and make Corporation Tax payments for any profits you earned prior to the dormancy of your company. After these, your previously trading company becomes dormant. However, if you’re looking to open a dormant limited company for any reason, the steps outlined above should help you navigate the procedures easily.

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How Technology Can Steer You Through the Fast Lane of the Post-COVID World

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Technology’s impact on the work environment was profound well before the pandemic – streamlining processes, increasing productivity, and making remote work seamless.

Now, given the rapid changes in an uncertain economy affected by the virus, knowing how to utilize and navigate technology in the post-COVID world will be even more crucial for entrepreneurs, college graduates, other job seekers, and upwardly mobile professionals, says Tim Mercer (www.timtmercer.com), ForbesBooks author of Bootstrapped Millionaire: Defying the Odds of Business.

“Corporate America is undergoing a major transformation,” says Mercer, who also is the founder of IBOX Global (IBOXG), which provides technology services to government agencies and Fortune 500 corporations.

“Technology is at the center of this seachange. The virus will have a tremendous long-term impact on the workplace, and the influence of technology will loom larger as a result of the lessons we’ve learned during this unprecedented time.

“Company structures are appearing more tailored to the entrepreneurial mind. The evolving trend is working from home, smaller workplaces, and niche-focused businesses. The work is moving faster, and whether a business owner or freelancer, you must be agile and nimble to compete. All these changes can be good, but only if you are ready.”

Mercer says the key to success in the post-COVID world is understanding these business-related benefits of technology:

The internet is the great equalizer for knowledge and opportunity. “The internet is the driving force behind the access to today’s opportunities,” Mercer says. “With the global economy, and technology connecting so many of us to it simultaneously, success has more to do with your ability to identify the right opportunities and your desire to go after them.” While the internet enables someone to gain knowledge quickly, Mercer says it’s also important to be vigilant in discerning the quality of online sources.

Leveraging technology correctly helps businesses run efficiently. You don’t need to earn a degree in information technology or become a computer whiz to leverage the benefits of technology, Mercer says. “What’s most important is that you know how to use technology to achieve your business goals,” he says. “For example, through the power of tools like QuickBooks, I was able to manage the financial aspect of several of my businesses without having to hire a full-time finance team. Leverage the strength of technology to carry more of your workload while increasing your profitability.”

Tech certifications can be more powerful than four-year degrees. Many college graduates aren’t working in fields related to their majors, and today’s employers are increasingly shifting toward skills-based hiring for technology jobs. “With the demand in tech, that means certification programs are on the uptick, often providing a quicker and more cost-effective way of getting hired than does a four-year college degree,” Mercer says. “A person’s overall earning powers in tech can more than double. Our general educational system often doesn’t meet the demands of today’s business environment. Typical college grads and most students lack the skills required for today’s tech positions.”

Freelancing and independent consulting are on the rise. Gigging – taking on multiple freelance jobs – is growing in popularity, largely due to the growth in digital platforms and social media. “This has given rise to a freelancer and consulting boom that has opened the door to a more flexible and creative workforce of contractors to accommodate the heavy workflow of today’s companies,” Mercer says. “The power of social media and online platforms is making it easier for entrepreneurs to engage a more diverse and global market. You can use your individual skills to bring more value to your business simply by selling those skills and services to others.”

“Technology has a hugely important role in enabling us to meet the many economic and business challenges presented by the pandemic,” Mercer says, “and to be better prepared for whatever comes next.”

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Tim Mercer (www.timtmercer.com) is the founder of IBOXG, a company that provides technology services and solutions to government agencies and Fortune 500 corporations. He also is the ForbesBooks author of Bootstrapped Millionaire: Defying the Odds of Business. Mercer was inspired to pursue a career in IT as a consultant after he became a telecom operator while in the U.S. Army. After growing up in difficult economic circumstances in the rural South, Mercer achieved success as an entrepreneur, then recovered from the financial crisis of 2007-2008 after starting IBOXG. The company has accrued over $60 million in revenues since its inception in 2008.

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Archives, Global Trade Daily, Special Reports

Myths to Avoid While Creating Startup Businesses in 2021

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There are certain common-lingering myths about startups that might discourage you from starting your own business. Many of these myths are related to the challenges, notions, and facts involved in establishing or running a startup. Owing to these myths, brooding businessman hesitate in giving their thoughts and ideas a physical form. However, all these myths are not true.

Let’s take a look at some of the most common myths about startups that you should avoid in 2021 for entrepreneurs.

Myth 1: Businessman takes a lot of risks

Fact: Businessman takes risks. But that doesn’t mean that they take lots of risks or put themselves in high-risk circumstances all the time. They know how to take calculated risks. If you are not willing to take some risks, you will not get higher returns. Business tycoons might have some good or back luck over time, but they can’t rely on luck to run their business. You might have to take a risk that will not pay off, but do not worry about that. The key to persevering through mistakes is restricting your initial risk.

Myth 2: Entrepreneurs needs a lot of money before starting their business

Fact: According to several studies, investors and venture capital fund only one percent of all the startups. Yes, indeed you cannot start a business without any money, but getting venture capital is not the only solution. Some of the new or small business ideas in India involve applying for a personal loan, business loan, and asking family/friends who are willing to contribute money to their business. You can also opt for bootstrapping strategies which allow in maintaining full control of the startup strategies, avoids time delays, and energy spent in attracting investors as well as retaining maximum equity.

Myth 3: Startups cannot compete against big companies

Fact: Be aware that in the era of startups, actions speak louder than fancy ad campaigns. Your small or new business ideas involve understanding the requirements and niche of your firm. As a startup company, you will not experience the bureaucratic drama that is involved in big companies. This enhances your business agility and you can experiment with the personality of your brand. The two ways with which you can market your company are- establishing your startup for those individuals that fall under the required niche and building long-term relationships with your customers by creating brand awareness. You just need to be more quick and efficient to leave your competitors behind.

Myth 4: You need to be formally trained and educated to start a business

Fact: You don’t need to pursue a business or entrepreneurship course in order to set up a successful startup company. Businesspersons do not need a degree to fulfill their dreams of starting a business. According to a business survey report, many entrepreneurs do not have a college degree. This doesn’t mean that you should not study or go to college. It only proves that one does not need higher education to begin their startup company.

Myth 5: You require a detailed business plan for your startup company

Many entrepreneurs intend to create a perfect business plan. But nowadays markets are changing so rapidly that you don’t know how customers will react to your product or service. There are new technological advancements that might emerge which can significantly alter the business environment. Launch your product, obtain feedback, and move forward to continue your product and business plan.

Myth 6: Startups are only motivated by money

Generating profits is not the only aim for startup companies. Accomplishing a dream is one of the chief motivations of startup companies. Financial stability is their next aim. Financial stability does not mean you have to be wealthy. It means that you can meet your requirements. Leaving a legacy for one’s family and future generations is another motivational factor. Lack of motivation in their current workplace can also inspire people to leave and begin their startup business. Thus, money is not the only motivational factor.

Tips for the new entrepreneurs before starting a new business

-An entrepreneur should have a clear vision. He should be able to create the vision he desires to do in his business.

-Before starting any business, an entrepreneur should prepare a solid business plan, i.e. marketing strategies, microfinance for business, etc.

-An entrepreneur must be physically and mentally prepared for any predicament and should be able to handle it gracefully.

-The entrepreneur should hire people who fit in their culture and share their values.

-An entrepreneur should not stop learning. They can take a look at free or low-cost e-learning resources that are offered by the Hubspot Academy, Udemy, and other such online platforms.

Conclusion

Before starting your startup company, it is essential to understand the difference between startup myths and startup reality. Follow the new business ideas stated above and create a successful business.

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Archives, Global Logistics, Global Trade Daily

A SMALL BUSINESS SURGE IN DIGITAL TRADE

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Global entrepreneurs are going online. Here’s how governments can help.

With many storefronts and offices around the world shuttered by the COVID-19 pandemic, small business owners are adopting new digital strategies and tools to keep their businesses alive.

“It’s a real challenge as companies and clients cannot buy physically from us,” observes Sasibai Kimis, Founder and CEO of Earth Heir, a Malaysian ethical lifestyle brand, which sells handcrafted heritage pieces made by women, refugees and indigenous people. She added that, “a lot of events have been canceled, including speaking engagements.”

Although the Earth Heir team can no longer build revenue and relationships from their studio, a shift to creative, online strategies is helping fill the gap. “We are focusing a lot more on increasing our digital marketing and social media reach.”

As businesses such as Earth Heir increasingly adopt a life online, governments have a critical role in enabling a robust e-commerce ecosystem that allows small businesses to keep their businesses running, their employees connected and their customers engaged. The right set of digital trade policies will be the key.

Digital lifelines for small business

Economic shutdowns have exponentially increased the need for online marketing, communication and team-building. Small businesses are using digital tools to update the public about changes in business, maintain relationships and communicate to customers how they can continue providing support.

The Elly Store, a boutique children’s bricks-and-clicks business in Singapore, experienced a significant spike in online sales immediately after the country ordered a shutdown of all non-essential businesses. Although online businesses are permitted to continue operations, founder Audrey Ng decided to stop all deliveries until the workplace measures are lifted.

While shipments are on pause, the team’s concentration is on website improvements, digital marketing and connecting with customers. “We are continuing with regular social media posts and using the month for people to get to know our wide range of products again,” said Audrey. “We have also designed marketing campaigns for when we re-open based on what we think people will be looking to buy” when they begin venturing out.

Small businesses are also using digital channels and strategies to stay connected to their own employees.

SHE Investments, a social enterprise delivering business development programs for women in Cambodia, has introduced an array of new technology tools to keep their team connected and productive. This includes Microsoft Teams for working remotely; Zoom for team meetings, webinars and online classes; and Clockify for team time sheets.

“We are using tools to create video tutorials on our laptops to help our team and our participants to learn [how to work from home],” said Celia Boyd, the Managing Director of SHE Investments.

Earth Heir shopping site

Image: Earthheir.com e-commerce site

How digital trade policies can help

Public policy can help businesses like SHE Investments, Earth Heir and the Elly Store by facilitating the flow of digital trade.

For example, Earth Heir’s digital strategy relies fundamentally on access to global services and data flows. Sasi and her team utilize social media platforms like Instagram to spread the word about the face masks they are making, YouTube videos to spotlight their refugee artisans, WhatsApp to communicate internally (and with us), payment and express delivery services to ship out their products, and Google Forms and PayPal to enable donations of PPE.

As the World Trade Organization (WTO) engages in an exercise to write new rules aimed at facilitating the use of e-commerce, stakeholders have the opportunity to emphasize the importance of clarity and improvements to the existing framework of trade rules and commitments.

Successful efforts by governments would empower businesses to sell their own products and services internationally using global online platforms, payments, communication tools and other e-commerce channels, and to improve the ability of businesses of all sizes to benefit from digital technologies.

Recognizing the particular opportunities and challenges faced by developing countries, WTO members should explore mechanisms to maximize the ability of developing countries to implement high-quality digital trade and e-commerce commitments.

Small businesses adjust to a post-pandemic world

Emerging technology startups are also stepping up to help other businesses combat the hardships presented by the COVID-19 crisis and adapt to the digital world.

Based in Nigeria, Transboxx Technologies utilizes a large network of software engineers to create digital platforms, from web portals to online payment platforms, for businesses throughout Africa.

“Many [businesses] recognize the need for digitized systems, but they don’t know how to build out their technologies,” says co-founder Obinna Ekezie. “We can create platforms that allow them to quickly automate, streamline and electronically improve their operations.”

Some companies are pivoting their focus during the pandemic. ArtGirlRising, a t-shirt business based in Malaysia with a mission to raise awareness of the under-representation of female artists through cause marketing, has transitioned from a sales focus to prioritizing community building.

The founder of ArtGirlRising, Liezel Strauss, said that the team launched paid, online classes using Zoom. The classes are “presented by industry leaders, for artists to help them move their art practice online through tips on social media, the business side of art, community building and homeschooling tips.”

Caribu, a Florida-based interactive video-calling app, is seeing demand for their services grow from individuals and families trying to cope with this new reality. To help bridge the gap created by social distancing, the business is offering free access and unlimited usage of the service.

“Kids are feeling the effects of the outbreak, but don’t always understand why grandma can’t come to visit, why the special family spring break trip may have been canceled, or why they’re out of school for weeks,” said Caribu CEO and Co-Founder Max Tuchman.

Dorsu

Image: Dorsu.org / Dorsu has suspected retail sales, selling only online, and is now making masks for wholesale orders to keep their workers employed.

Other businesses are witnessing unprecedented demands and are stepping up to fill the gap. Ordinarily, Dorsu, a Cambodia-based ethical clothing brand, crafts men’s and women’s apparel. After witnessing the gap in the market, they shifted to include the production of masks that help protect the community and keep their team employed.

“We’re servicing existing wholesale clients where possible and have temporarily re-tooled to produce face masks,” explained Hanna Guy, Co-Founder and Director of Dorsu. The team is utilizing social platforms to promote the new items, sharing on Facebook, “As the story unfolds and we begin to see advice to wear masks while leaving the house (briefly) we’ve designed, tested and released fabric face masks that are reusable, washable, fit like a glove and above all – ensure comfort.”

Sasi, of Earth Heir, similarly pivoted her business to enable her network of refugee artisans to produce and distribute “Fair Trade Personal Protective Equipment” for use by Malaysian frontline medical personnel, social workers and others, in collaboration with the World Fair Trade Organization Asia.

What governments can do

For years, small businesses have relied on an ecosystem of digital tools to operate globally. More than ever, these businesses need the right policy framework to enable their ability to access digital productivity, payments, shipping and logistics, communications, marketing and e-commerce platforms and navigate the new normal of social distancing and physical closures.

With the right set of digital trade and e-commerce policies, governments have the opportunity to not only help more small businesses move online, but also support a new era of global digital entrepreneurs.

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Jake Colvin

Jake Colvin is the Executive Director and Jamaica Gayle is Deputy Director of the National Foreign Trade Council’s Global Innovation Forum.

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Archives, Global Trade Daily, Special Reports

10 Success Tips for Young and Aspiring Entrepreneurs

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In the digital age, entrepreneurship is more accessible than ever. That doesn’t mean it’s a cakewalk, though. Here are 10 tips for success.

In the digital age, becoming a successful entrepreneur is more accessible than ever before. Anyone with a few bucks and an internet connection can become an Internet mogul if they play their cards right and have the patience and savvy to work the system. Our founder, Eric Porat, took a website from scratch to 70,000 visitors per month in three years and has since sold dozens of websites for over half a million dollars.

That doesn’t mean it’s easy. In fact, it’s far from it. So here are 10 tips for success to get you started.

1. Plan, plan, plan… and plan some more.

There is no substitute for a solid business plan. If you think you’ve planned your business and market strategy out enough, you’re probably wrong. Analysis of your target demographic and competitors is especially important. Also, prepare yourself for any eventuality. Analyze any possible thing that can go wrong with your game plan, and then prepare an apt response. That way, when anything does happen, you’re ready. Keep track of your skills and weaknesses, what you offer, how said product or service is unique, and how you plan on growing your offering once you’ve entered the market.

2. Find a Mentor

Look, you don’t have to have an Obi-Wan or a Gandalf, but going at the entrepreneurial game alone is a Deathwish. Whether it’s a community of like-minded investors and entrepreneurs or a close friend or business associate who is more experienced in the market, having someone to learn from and bounce ideas off of is paramount to success. Learn from their mistakes and successes, so you can minimize the former and maximize the latter in your own endeavors.

That said, always trust your gut. If you’re following a shadow for your entire career, you’re never going to really break out and make it big.

3. Keep Your Marketing Tight

By that, we mean a tight budget. Marketing your business is extremely important, but it shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg. Remember, social media is your friend. Creating your business page on Facebook and founding social accounts on Twitter and Instagram for your business is free, and will also help your SEO. Submitting your website URL to search engines like Google and Bing is another free way to boost your visibility.

We don’t mean you need to be a stinge, but good marketing should work smarter, not harder. Hit the right demographic (there we go with the planning again) and you won’t have to invest in complex or costly paid media campaigns. Strong, targeted email and social media campaigns are much cheaper and more effective.

4. Build a Strong Team

Don’t get the wrong idea, we don’t mean hiring a bunch of overpaid “experts.” Just surround yourself with people who share your vision, folks who you vibe with. Everyone knows that starting a business with your friends typically goes wrong, but you do want to have stuff in common with the folks you work with, at least from an outlook perspective. Also, be open to new opinions and suggestions. You don’t want a bunch of mindless drones, you want a team of individual, critical thinkers.

5. Be Ready for Financial Challenges

Almost every startup hits the ground because of one factor: COST. Duh. Running a business is expensive. So be ready to operate on the cheap, and be ready for every eventuality. Deal with cash flow hits by saving a month’s worth of expenses ahead of time, or by getting creative with how you lower your overheads. As part of your business plan, be sure to give yourself an adequate runway for success. Things like SEO take time. You can’t expect to be turning a profit with an online business three months out, at least not if you’re starting a site from scratch. If you don’t have the cash to survive, there’s no point starting out. And at all costs, avoid DEBT.

6. Take Care of Yourself

Entrepreneurship is a lifestyle, but don’t work yourself senseless. When you’re running your own business, it’s really easy to forget to clock out. The days of 9-5 are long gone for you (if you’re successful), but remember to separate work and play. Don’t let your business take over your life. You may have to put in extra hours in the beginning to get your endeavor off the ground, but in the long run, be sure to watch your time management so you can have time to keep LIVING.

7. Read Case Studies

As an entrepreneur, you’ll be focusing on your business 24/7. So, when you get home and have some leisure time, you might be tempted to play video games, read fiction, or watch TV to relax. Read case studies instead. Read biographies of successful entrepreneurs. Just do as much reading as you can about those who came before you, what they did right, and what they did wrong. It’ll pay off in the end, trust us.

8. Take Risks

Humans are generally risk-averse, but part of being an entrepreneur is being willing to take risks (and knowing which risks are viable and which aren’t). Learn which risks will benefit your business and which won’t, and learn to go for it. Entrepreneurial endeavors aren’t like calculus equations. There is no guaranteed right answer. Sometimes you have to analyze the market and take a leap of faith. Everyone, and we mean EVERYONE, who has ever achieved real success has taken a risk.

9. NETWORK

There is no such thing as too much networking. Never stop networking, even during your free time. Don’t be one of those irritating people who never stops talking about their business, of course, but make connections at all times. You never know where your next lead will come from. You might find a new connection while grabbing a beer at your local bar, on a flight to visit your folks for Thanksgiving, or on a street corner. You might meet your next business partner in an elevator or a laundromat.

This doesn’t mean being annoying and constantly pitching your ideas to everyone. Just be human. Be organic. Connect, relate, talk with, and get to know people.

10. Never Stop Learning

This is critical to success. The market is constantly changing. You should be, too. Starting your own business is a constant process of growth and learning. Teach yourself new skills, from SEO to writing to design to management and presentation. The more you know, the less you’ll have to pay others to do stuff for you, and the more you can understand the inner workings of the market. If you want to get into the entrepreneurial game, you need to be ready to go 110%, and that means signing up for a never-ending learning process.

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Eric Porat is a successful online entrepreneur, investor, and digital marketer with over 15 years of experience in buying and selling websites.