If you’re looking to enhance your business efficiency, you need to try an exercise in Lean Manufacturing. By identifying and focussing on activities that actually create value for your customer and minimizing or eliminating the processes that don’t, you can enhance efficiency, focus on value creation and increase your profits. There are whole books on […]

All too often, we think about marketing as being advertising and nothing else, but your marketing mix is going to determine your sales and it consists of a lot more than just advertising and promotions. If you’ve been investigating this for yourself, you may have found some confusing results. Some people say it’s about the […]

Overall business optimism index Small business optimism has risen to 96.9% according to the NFIB. Economist Bill Dunkelberg is quoted as saying that current economic growth in the US is based largely on the efforts of small businesses as larger corporates still seem to be stagnating. In their report, the NFIB found that despite considerable […]

Strategic planning provides your business with a roadmap that takes it from your starting point to achieving your vision. Your business vision should be about you, your business and what you want to achieve within a set time-frame. Once you’ve crafted a vision that represents your goals, it’s time to start strategizing. A SWOT analysis […]

When looking for ways of increasing profitability, there are only two real options: reducing your business costs or improving your turnover. Of course, that’s a lot easier said than done, but by being alert to opportunities to maximize your bottom line, you could be able to make a considerable difference. Here are our top tips […]

What works for you? Business growth sounds wonderful, but all too often successful small or medium enterprises find that their growth strategies grow their turnover, but decrease their profit margins. Their business growth can even lead to business failure. Having a growth strategy that fits your business and that grows both turnover and profits is […]

40% of small businesses in the US don’t have enough insurance to protect them if things go wrong. Insurance can make the difference between a setback and a disaster for the small business owner, but it’s also a regular expense. Having sufficient insurance coverage to protect your business when the unexpected happens is important, but […]

If you don’t plan, you plan to fail. Nowhere is this truer than in small business budgeting. You need to know exactly where you stand in terms of the expense budgets you need to adhere to and the income budgets you need to reach in order for your business to be profitable. You also need […]