Trade show success rule 1

Yesterday I wrote of exhibiting at an October trade show – which will be my first such experience in over twenty years. Over the next few weeks I will, from time to time, discuss the strategy and planning going into the show along with results from exhibiting our new line of music lamps.
It is not enough to pay the fees, show up, set up a booth, and hope for the Read more

Trade Show Strategies

It has been over twenty years since I last exhibited at convention trade show. For many years my software company would display our wares at annual conventions in the United States and Europe. During those prosperous years (for the business) we did little advance planning for the events, and our follow-up was hap-hazard and weak. Our only significant goal was to leave the show with sufficient orders in our pockets Read more

Succeed by using and heeding good advice

The past four posts discussed some common business pitfalls and how to avoid them, including employee theft, unplanned growth, catastrophic IT failures, and poor record keeping. Finally I’d like to comment on seeking and taking good advice.
A business owner who goes entirely on his/her own without seeking and using external advice is much more likely to fail that owners who embrace the advice from outside advisors.
Here are some things to Read more

Good record keeping is good for business

One survey of businesses filing for bankruptcy reported that 58% of respondents did little or no record keeping. At a minimum keeping good records of sales, expenses, and debts is critical for business survival.
Of the surprising reasons for business failure, this is probably the easiest and least expensive to prevent. Here are some things to do:

Set up an accounting system that will record all financial transactions. Using a system such Read more

Preventing Catastrophic IT Failures

Many businesses are totally reliant on their computer systems. A brief power outage or server down time is often more than just inconvenient as extended loss of servers or other parts of the IT infrastructure can be downright catastrophic. Many businesses are so dependent upon their IT system that without it they can not process orders, support customers, and perform daily operations. An outage of just a few days has Read more

Employee Theft

According to the U S Chamber of commerce, employees steal between $30 to $100 billion each year, and is the reason for 30% of business failures. Theft can include taking money from the till, embezzlement, stealing intellectual property, walking away with inventory. Without excellent controls in place, you may be vulnerable to employee theft. Here are some things you can do to prevent it.
Embezzlement
A trusted employee, writes extra payroll checks Read more

Planning for sustainable growth

I’ts been a long time since my last post. Technical issues and a portation of the geniocity.com web site took me off the air for awhile.
I see that issues have been resolved and we are once again on-line so I look forward to continuing our daily conversation about running productive small businesses.
Rapid growth of a business may seem to be a wonderful thing, and often is. However, unplanned growth can Read more

Social media and business

When people stumble upon a well-crafted, attractive, and informative web site they are hard pressed to determine if the site belongs to a billion dollar company or a startup. The Internet has become a great leveler not only through web-sites but through the use of social media.
It was not long ago that a small business with a limited budget was fortunate to reach a few thousand, or perhaps just a Read more

Alternative financing sources

On July 20 my post dealt with the credit squeeze being felt by small businesses. Check out this Wall Street Journal article, by Diana Ransom,  listing five alternative sources for small business funding.

Will Limkemann
www.siqualtd.com

Buy Local

I’ve previously written about the local economic benefits of buying from locally owned business establishments. I’ve also encouraged people to check out the Council Of Smaller Enterprises (COSE) I Buy Neo program which provides incentives to buy locally.
Kim Crow, in today’s Cleveland Plain Dealer, introduced me to another national program called the 350 project which suggests that you stop into your favourite three locally owned stores, and that you spend Read more