HOPSON POTTER BUSINESS

Just recently, I was reminded of a great quote:

“Help the world by remembering to help yourself first,” is what it read.

In my opinion, I think a lot of business owners could learn something by adopting that mindset…

As entrepreneurs, it can be easy to get caught up trying to save the world. After all, most of us are in business to help

others with our knowledge, products and services. So it would make sense to devote most of our time that specific goal,

right?

Wrong!

That may sound strange to you at first, but here’s the thing…

When it comes to running your own business, the only person that can truly guarantee whether or not you will succeed is YOU.

And if your own personal development takes a back seat, you may be putting yourself at risk.

A body builder could run their own gym, sure.

But what would happen to that same body builder if they were forced to only

help clients and not maintain their own exercise regimen?

When they finally manage to get some time for themselves, chances are they will be too burnt out to care. Eventually, not

only will they have made very little progress on themselves…they may also start to lack the stamina and health to help

those they so passionately cared about.

If that happens, they’d be selling themselves AND their clients short…

That’s why you owe it to yourself and those around you to put yourself first. It’s important to develop the skills (and thick

skin) to soften the roller coaster-like blows of the entrepreneurial lifestyle.

So what do you need in order to develop a healthy mindset and continue to do what you do best?

Here are a few things to consider:

First, tell your ego to wait outside…

If you’re not the egotistical type, great. But by nature, we all let our egos surface at some point.

By staying humble and open to others’ opinions and (dare I say it?) corrections… …it will allow you to see problems with

more clarity, while growing your business, your relationships and yourself at the same time.

Another great tip, is to constantly be a student.

The more knowledge and skills you acquire, the easier it will be to solve problems.

Don’t know it? Learn it!

Don’t have it? Build it!

Even if you have to outsource something, always looks for what you can learn in the process…

The third ingredient—and one of the most important—is discipline.

When you don’t have a clock to punch or have a boss breathing down your collar, it can be tempting to kick back from time to

time.

Big mistake!

In order to get anything done, it will take discipline. Specifically, learning how to manage your time and overcome that

nasty little thing called pro-cras-tination.

Next up? A strong belief system…

I have a friend that once told me about knowing a guy who walked away—on his own free will—from a nearly half-million dollar

deal!

Why?

Because his client’s actions went again what he believe in. The client was rude to their employees and had very little

respect or appreciate for those who helped him run his business…

What are your core values?

What will you absolutely not tolerate when it comes to your business?

Speaking of walking away from bad deals, the next thing I thought I’d add is courage and conviction…

In the example above, walking away from a half-million dollars certainly takes some serious courage.

In your case, courage may simply be needed in the form of taking a risk.

Countless businesses have been started by entrepreneurs willing to sacrifice comfort, convenience and sleep while getting

started.

In one of the popular business magazines, there was once an article about one particular business owner that invested an

entire life savings while he and his wife downgraded to a one-bedroom and used milk crates as a majority of their furniture.

Now that’s dedication! But they were willing to do it, because the rewards were well worth the risk and discomfort…

Sometimes, you have to just look at things from a business perspective.

Obviously, you could apply that advice in many ways…

The important takeaway, I suppose, would be not to let your emotions dictate your actions.

And, finally, TAKE ACTION!

Market your business…

Make connections…

Start (and finish!) that project you’ve been letting sit for a rainy day…

Whatever it is you need to do to grow your business, just take make it happen.

Too many people “plan to plan” and never reach their full potential.

And remember:

The idea here, is to invest in yourself just as much as you invest in others. In the long run, your clients (and your bottom

line) will thank you for it

A small ecommerce business has the potential to be successful, but starting any new business runs the risk of failure. There are steps that you can take that will help protect you and beat the odds. Having all the information that you need to start your business is a good place to start. This includes knowing what kind of software would best fit your ecommerce store. Full featured software is recommended for businesses that are just starting out. This particular kind of software will keep you from being limited in your web store capabilities.

If you want your online store to be a success, then you will want to follow a few guidelines that will help you get started. You do not want to fail like many of the businesses that are no longer online. The following is just a few of the steps that you can take to make your ecommerce business a success.

Web Design
When you are creating your website for your online store, you are going to want something that is professional looking.

An online poll proved that sites that are not professional are less likely to make a sale. One reason is that people are afraid of being scammed and if you don’t look professional then people may assume that you are just out to rip them off.

If you do not know how to create a professional looking site then you are going to want to hire a company that will design one for you. You will want something that is unique and will catch the customer’s eye. You want them to remember your site even if they have not been there for a while. Research design companies before you settle on one. You will not want to hire someone that has a bad record. A good place to start your research is customer reviews.

Solution Software
The right kind of software can really help your small business reach your customers.

Begin looking for the right kind of software by making a list of the top needs for your business. Once you know what you need, start looking at the different software companies that offer what you need. Using your list will help you eliminate the ones that you do not offer the right kind of software for your business. Remember, customer reviews is a great place to begin to get know how a company works with its customers. Do not buy more than what you will need or use. This is one of the main problems that most small ecommerce businesses start off with.

Keep Updated
Once your business is up and running, you will want to keep the information available as current as possible. The worst thing that you can do for your business is to have old information on site. People do not want to read about things that are not current or relevant anymore. Unless your site is all about history, you want to check in often to make sure that you are up to date with all information. Also, you do not want to have information about an old sale if you are no longer going to offer the discount. This can be very frustrating to your customers.

Email Marketing
Email marketing is a highly cost effective way to advertise your site through previous customers. Once you have launched your ecommerce business, you will begin to have customer register and subscribe to your site. This is your opportunity to use this information to help bring those customers back for possible sales. Sending advertisements through the email about sales or new product information is a great way to get returning customers. Just remember to give them good reasons to stay on your list by providing value with every email campaign you send out.

Small ecommerce business success is possible. You just have to know that you may have to work a little harder than the bigger companies that are out there, but you have the potential to make a profit for yourself. Following these few simple things will really increase your odds of making a successful business.

A common term in finance but one rarely used in business is “plowback.” 

Plowback is taking all or a portion of retained earnings (profits) and essentially plowing them back in the company for working capital (such as inventory and material purchases), overhead (such as marketing or R&D) or capital purchase (such as new plant and equipment) – items that are usually financed through outside capital acquisition such as debt or equity. 

With capital raising options dwindling by the day, finding additional cash flow within the business has become the only surviving factor that many small, growing firms have left and should, regardless of the economy, be something that all businesses make a solid practice of. 

Think about it this way: 

Let’s say that your business earns $ 150,000 in revenue each year and that it expenses that same $ 150,000 in direct and fixed costs – leaving the company with little or no retained earnings.  Now, this year the company needs to purchase a new piece of equipment costing $ 15,000. 

This new piece of equipment will improve the company’s efficiencies and reduce its overall direct costs by a combined net of 5% annually over the next three years (the useful life of the equipment). 

This means that after the equipment is purchased, changing nothing else, the company should be able to realize a net income (profit) of that 5% or $ 7,500 per year.  While not a lot, much more that what the company has been realizing to this point. 

But, the company does not have the cash on hand to make this purchase and thus, has to borrow the $ 15,000. 

Now remember, the company is making no profits at this time – neither net profits nor operating profits – profits that would be used to make the payments on the loan.  So, if (and that is a big “IF”) – if the company can get a lender to loan those funds it would eat into that 5% saving as long as the loan was outstanding. 

Let’s say that a lender did agree and made a loan for 36 months at 10%.

The loan would cost the company $ 484 per month or $ 5,809 per year.  Take this from the $ 7,500 in savings and the company is left with a mere net profit of $ 1,700 per year. 

However, let’s say the company took a different approach.  In this case, the business scrutinizes all of its costs – line item by line item – and finds an average 10% savings on its expenses: 

It found that it could alter its workforce using part-time or temporary workers instead of paying full-time employees to be idle between jobs.
It re-negotiated its lease into a longer term contract at a lower monthly rate.
It leveraged bulk inventory and material buying as well as the timing of its purchases to reduce its material costs.
It sought better, more targeted marketing avenues that provided improved results at a lower cost.

The list goes on. 

In fact, the company sought and found ways to reduce the expense of all its cost items finding a net savings to the business of 10% annually. 

Now, not only will the company have a net profit or retained earnings of 10% (or $ 15,000 per year) but could use those funds to buy the equipment outright. 

Thus, the business purchases the equipment (without additional loan costs), realizes the 5% in savings from that purchase for the next three years and STILL continues to realize the 10% cost improvements for the life of the company.  This is a win/win for the company. 

If we compare these two scenarios over the next three years, we see: 

In the first scenario, the company realizes a net $ 5,076 in benefits over the three years then reverts back to the way it is today (no net profits). 

In the second scenario, the company realizes the 5% savings from the equipment ($ 7,500 per year) as well as the overall 10% cost savings in the business ($ 15,000 per year) for a total three year realized benefit of $ 67,500.

Big difference! 

Plus, the 10% in overall business savings will continue long past the three year useful life of the equipment. 

Even if the business could not find all those expense savings (maybe just half or a third) – those savings will go a long way in reducing the amount of money the company had to borrow as well as continue to bring more net revenues into the firm for years to come. 

Finding cost savings in your business is not rocket science and does not require an advanced business degree from an Ivy League school.  You set a cost saving goal – then simply manage your business to meet that goal. 

You set your mind to open and run a business – now set your mind to better manage that business (to your benefit).  What is the worse that can happen?

You just might find enough savings within your own company to finance it to that next level of success.

Team always comprises of a group of persons that linked to each other. In a team there is a single goal and objective for all the persons that are there in the team. Team efforts are considered best. Team can be related to any thing, it can be related to work, sports, entertainment etc. Every where team is required in order to accomplish the task effectively and efficiently.

In Team Building there are many pros and cons. Such as there are many disputes and conflicts that arise in a team because of different way of thinking. As each individual in this world thinks in their own way. So, it is very important to use the different thoughts of each person in a team to accomplish the success result. There are many Team Building Activities that are vital to achieve the over all aim.

Team building is not an easy task, as team formation comprises of all the efficient people those are capable to cooperate and coordinate among the team members.

Cooking Team Building is also another factor that is to be considered.

In cooking team building the chefs have to cooperate and coordinate to each other to serve the dishes to the guests quickly. Without proper team this can not be achieved.

Team management is also required at several corporate events that take place in big organizations. In these corporate events several events are conducted so, in order to manage each event group or team is very much necessary.

Those people who work in a team are able to produce more output as compared to those who work alone. Every person should be focused about there work and should also be dedicated towards it.

There are many instances when a person is very much curious to work together in a team and this is really good about them.

Every one should focus on the team rather than individual.

Super Teams has been helping companies build cohesive and productive teams for several years.super teams create Team Building Activities, Cooking Team Building, Team Building that suit your staff, your company needs and most importantly the experience that you want to gain.