As I work with clients to strengthen their teams and to make their businesses more profitable, I often encounter some serious misunderstandings of human nature. These misunderstandings usually lead business leaders in the wrong direction when they attempt to inspire their employees to perform at a higher level. Fortunately, you can avoid these pitfalls if you understand a few key points about the people you lead.1) They are not...more
We all like to save money. Why pay more for something, when you can pay less? We could all use an extra few dollars in our pockets, couldn't we? Most people don't realize that there are a number of ways to save money on their mortgage. If you were to take out a mortgage on a 25 year term, chances are that by the time you repay the entire loan you will have paid the bank double the amount you borrowed. And you wonder how the banks are making...more
Have you ever refused a job or an order because your business didn't have enough capital to purchase the supplies or hire the extra staff? You build a good reputation, have good workers and then when you finally get a nice big contract, you have to turn it down because all your money is tied up in accounts receivables. You know the bills will be paid, but they aren't due quite yet so you are the one who suffers because of cash flow problems.If you have customers who are established, are good credit risks and almost always pay on time, you can sell those invoices to an investor (a factor). The factor will give you an advance of 70% to 90% when the invoice is issued and will wait for the bill to be paid. Then you will get the rest of the money minus a small fee of 1% to 5%. The advance and fee depend on monthly volume, size of invoice, credit, time it takes to be paid and other things. Some business people who call me are under the impression that the advance of 70% to 90% is all they get. They are thrilled when they discover they get the rest when the bill is paid except for the small fee. So they actually get 95% to 99% of their invoice. Factoring isn't a loan, it isn't a credit...more
Although both Six Sigma and Lean Flow have their roots in manufacturing, it works just as effectively in service industries. Much of the U.S. economy is now based on services rather than manufacturing and many service organization managers are wondering how they can achieve the tremendous process improvement benefits of Lean Six Sigma to their...more
It's now almost two years since I started dabbling on the internet, trying to make money online. At that time it was a bit of an experiment, kind of like a hobby - something that I did partly for the enjoyment and partly in the hope that I would make enough money to leave my day job.Now, 20 months later my hobby has turned in to a business and it...more
Downsizing is never an easy decision. There is an inherent conflict between protecting the company's interests and that of employees. This balancing act can be a real dilemma for an organization as it tries to insure its long-term survival, and its desire to protect the welfare of its employees. Handled improperly, a company downsizing can damage the public standing of both the organization and its management. People have long memories, and after a difficult time an organization needs the support of the remaining employees in order to rebuild. Consider the costs once remaining employees begin to question their company's published ethical standards and values. At best, they will do their job responsibly, not putting much effort to the re-growth of the organization as they just go through the motions of their job. At worst, absenteeism increases, morale decreases, and resentment steadily begins to grow, all of which inevitably disrupts the functions of the organization. The cost is immeasurable. Minimizing human costs To lessen the negative impact of a downsizing, the remaining employees must be assured that the decision to reduce the workforce was made only as a last resort, after...more
Time and Attendance Systems don't get the attention they deserve. They are simply seen as a modern substitute for clock cards: a good way of making sure your workforce is where it should be. But there's more to it than that. Used intelligently, the...more
The spate of credit card offers and leaflets that most of us receive through the post or in our daily newspapers, which promise us unlimited spending power and in some cases blank cheques, has threw up a major surprise and that is the way that small...more
If you are looking to purchase a home or refinance the one you are currently living in, but believe this may not be a possibility for you because you have bad credit, think again.Just because you have bad credit does not mean you will not be able to...more
Harnessing the power of strategic planningStrategic planning is one of the most powerful tools available to today's managers. Simply put, it is the process of deciding where your business intends to go, and how it is going to get there. In other...more
"Easy money" is the allure that captivates many beginning FOREX traders. FOREX websites offer "risk-free" trading, "high returns", "low investment." These claims have a grain of truth in them, but the reality of FOREX is a bit more complex. Mistakes...more
Credit cards are a great way to spend money that you do not have and we all know that so it is nothing new to us. A credit card is a spending tool that many of us would feel as if we had had a limb cut off if we could no longer have one, would also...more