Biz-Online.com » Business Planning

Business Card Design Ideas

Biz-Online — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 07:11:21 +0000

It is believed by many people that business card is sometimes more important than a resume. Hence effective designs and the right message forms an integral part of business card designs. The right business card will help you get in touch with meaningful people in the right possible way.

When choosing business card designs or designing a business card you must keep the following points in mind:

When putting information in your card, you must not put all of it at once. Sometimes less information makes a greater impact on the people you want to establish professional relation with.
You must enter information related to your business and activities in the right appropriate manner. For instance, if you are an engineer by profession, you must clearly mention the relevant details. You must never leave everything to chance. You can also choose a funky title for yourself but make sure the other person becomes aware of your profession.
Do not try to design the business card yourself. Nowadays, you can get a business card designed for under $30. Some of the online business card design companies also let your customize the design of the business card according to your needs and requirements.

Talk to the people who have already made good contacts with the aid of business cards. They will be the perfect guide for you to choose the best business card designs.

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Steps for applying for a business Loan

Biz-Online — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 12:02:45 +0000

There are many reasons why businesses can need a financial boost. It may be that you have just started up and need to purchase expensive equipment or work vehicles, or you may be an established business that wants to move to newer, better premises and taker on more staff to expand your profit growth. Whatever the reasons a business loan can inject vital capital into your company, and it is important you choose the right loan at the right interest rates to suit your business budget.

The first step to applying for a business loan is to work out exactly how much you are going to need. Banks and lenders will want you to justify every penny that you are asking for, so make sure you draw up a complete finance plan, and also project your future earnings during and after the changes you are planning have taken place.

Lenders will be more willing to accept your application if you can show you will have adequate money coming into your business in the future, and also if you are willing to put some cash into the project yourself (which demonstrates your commitment). Owners who do not have any money to put in, can find it difficult to get finance and banks may ask you for some kind of security such as your house.

Banks decide on finance on a case by case basis, so it is vital that you present your business finance plan clearly and professionally, as you can sometimes literally ‘blow it’ by being unorganized or unrealistic. Many banks do provide useful business plan guides, which can help you to write and prepare your finance applications.

The next step is to review the loan products on offer from the various lenders, and see if they can accommodate your needs. Many applications fail because people have asked to borrow outside of the lenders minimum and maximum loan parameters, so don’t waste your time and theirs and check first before you apply.

Don’t be put off if your first application is turned down, Review your small business financing options and see if you can make any changes, then try again with another suitable lender.

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Starting up a small business – Finance

Biz-Online — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 06:21:02 +0000

Starting up a new business can be expensive, and you will likely need some capital to buy equipment, finance marketing and also establish your place of work.
You will also need to allow for a reasonable sum of money to pay for wages, bills and stock until you have been trading for long enough to start bringing back in some money.

There are a range of different financing options for those people starting up a small business and these include:

Your own money – if you have sufficient savings you may want to consider using these to help start up your business. Remember that you should leave something aside to live off in case the business is slow to start making a profit.
Family or friends – you should always think very carefully before borrowing money from close friends or family, as you could have no way to repay them if your business fails, or takes a long time to become successful. You should also get a proper legal contract drawn up, to ensure that all parties have some security, and to clearly define the amount of money the loan is for, and how it is to be repaid.
Banks – before you approach a bank for a loan make sure you have a well thought out, credible business plan in place. This will help your advisor select the best product for you, such as an account with an overdraft facility or business loans to help with the financing for any vehicles or equipment you need.
Investors – some larger businesses can attract investors, especially if you have taken the time to work out a thorough business plan and projected profits and earnings.Make sure you get some advice on how to set up investment agreements properly, to protect all the parties involved.
Grants – some businesses can qualify for a government or local business association grant to help with the costs of the initial set up.This is a great boost for some small businesses as grants are often offered on subsidized or 0% interest loans which are excellent ways of getting cheap finance, and some grants may even by straight cash gifts, which do not have to be repaid.The main disadvantages of grants are that they can have very restricted criteria’s for applicants, and they may not be enough to finance the whole of the business set up.Also there can be heavy competition for grants, and the application process can sometimes be long and involving.

So there are lots of options available for you. It’s just you have to decide which option to choose from. Sit back with your friends and relatives OR your financial advisor to come to a conclusion.

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Top 5 Tips for Productivity

Biz-Online — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 15:26:44 +0000

Happy New Year guys. Hope you had a great past year. Wish you best wishes for the year 2009 and your business prosper a lot. Here is the first post of year 2009 regarding some business productivity tips.

Productivity is used widely in the business world, and basically means working efficiently and utilising all aspect of your business so that you get the maximum profit for the minimum costs. Here are top 5 tips on how to utilise productivity in your small business.

1. Staffing - take a close look at your business needs, and evaluate whether you have enough staff to carry out all the necessary jobs. Key tasks such filing and answering telephones can often be neglected in small businesses, but they are an important part of running your company efficiently. Also look at the staff you currently have and think about how to spread tasks evenly so that everyone is utilised to their full capacity.

2. Website – websites can be an excellent way to improve productivity as they can be maintained easily by just one person, and are accessible 24hrs a day so that you can reach out to customers anywhere, anytime. Use a web hosting company to set up your website, as this can be very cost effective and produces a professional finish. This also means you will be able to get a business email address, which looks much more legitimate than using personal email such as Hotmail or Yahoo.

3. Onsite Security – make sure you have adequate security in place at your work premises and storage facilities. Protect important information such as business banking and loan details in a locked safe or strongbox, and if your business has valuable stock, equipment or cash onsite make sure these are kept locked and alarmed in a safe storage area.

4. Computer security – always back up your important computer records in a professional offsite storage location, so that if your computers are stolen or become infected with a virus you will still be able to access vital business information. If you take a laptop out with you make sure it has encryption technology in place to protect your information if it is stolen, and never leave it unattended. Never access the Internet without up to date firewalls and antivirus software in place.

5. Calendars and schedules – it is important you approach the day to day running of your business in an organized manner, so that you can utilize every day efficiently. Keep a detailed schedule of where all staff are going to be each day and what they are doing, and leave it in a shared space so that everyone can access it if they need to. Keep a yearly calendar or planner to mark key dates such as deadlines for tax submissions, loan repayments and staff holidays.

6. MarketingCustomers don’t come to you unless they know about your business. So for better productivitiy, you need to market your brand – which can be done by trade show display booths and pop up displays or any other means you know about.

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Top 10 Tips to Setting up Your Filing System

Top 10 Tips to Setting up Your Filing System

Biz-Online — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 06:08:40 +0000

Once you start trading it is important to keep all of your correspondence (not just invoices) so that you have an accurate and through record of all your business transactions. You never know when you might need refer back to a previous client’s contact details, or to follow up on a query you originally dealt with months ago. Here is a top ten of the best tips to help you sort out your filing:

1) Location – make sure you have a separate, secure space for your filing, so that you don’t have to move things around before you can get to it. Try and locate your filing in a handy spot for where you do most of your office work, so that you can file and retrieve things away quickly and easily.

2) Storage – Keep things simple for storage containers. If you use your files on a daily basis then box files kept in open cabinets or on shelves are easy to use, and can be moved around and stored away again quickly. If you have a lot of paper work, or need to file things away for long periods then filing drawers are ideal and also have the benefit of being lockable so that you can keep stored data secure.

3) Alphabetical or Numerical order – If your business involves a lot of client contacts then the most logical filing system is alphabetical order, under the client’s last name or company name. This also makes it easier for new people coming in, as then they don’t have to learn a complicated system and can get to work straight away. If you generate a lot of invoices or give each job a reference number then it makes sense to file paperwork in numerical order.

4) Labelling – make sure you label each file clearly, both on the front and the spine, so that you can find what you need quickly and easily. If your handwriting is a bit messy then it is a good idea to buy printing labels and use the computer to print out clear, durable labels.

5) File Folders – box files are ideal for keeping invoices and individual sheets of paper tidy, and are useful if you have large client files that need to be added to over time. Coloured folders are also a good idea, as they can be used to separate areas of your business such as marketing, client information and financial documents. This can make it easier to find things when you are in a hurry.

6) In trays and out trays – many business owners find in/out trays very handy for sorting and storing current work and enquiries, which can then be filed in the main system once they have been processed.

7) Email – don’t forget that your emails can be stored in a filing system too, by creating folders in your inbox, or on your main computer hard drive. Keep it simple, and if you have a full inbox and want to delete things then you could always print them off and file then in your hardcopy system if you think you may need them again.

Record Maintenance – most businesses review hard copy records on a yearly basis, so that they don’t end collecting hundreds of out of date or obsolete files. Financial and tax records are usually kept for 10 years, whereas enquires and items like sales brochures are only kept for 1 to 2 years.

9) Employee Records – It is a good idea to keep employee records in a separate, secure place from your other filing, as much of this information is normally private, and your employees would not want other unauthorised colleagues to have access to this.

10) Indexes – if you have a large number of files, then you might want to consider creating an index. It may take a little time to set up, but it can save you hours of wasted time in the future, and will help others who may need to use your files.

Hope this will help to manage your files efficiently. Comments and suggestions appreciated.

Protecting Your Business Data