Spring Cleaning For Your Small Business

With winter safely behind us (knock on wood) many Americans are participating in Spring Cleaning. Though typically thought of as something reserved for the home, it's a great philosophy to apply to your small business as well. 

So what areas of your business should you consider when starting fresh this spring? 

Your Finances. For many businesses summer tends to be slow so you may be reserving bigger purchases until the fall. Despite slow business and postponing major spending, bills still have to be paid. Review your cash balances now to determine how you will be covering your expenses during this period. Additionally review any auto renewal payments. You may find you're paying for something you only needed temporarily or something you no longer use. 

Filing and Documents. How do you keep track of important paperwork, files, and documents? Are you still storing these things in an old school filing cabinet? Consider going digital. By utilizing a CRM service not only are you diminishing the physical clutter around your office, but you are also increasing productivity by having this information at the ready in a digital dashboard. You will be able to find specific files in a matter of minutes just by typing in a simple search, and you can access this information anywhere at anytime. 

Staff Responsibilities. Take inventory of your staff and their responsibilities. We're not recommending you fire anyone (unless of course you have an employee who simply does not do their job) but take time to consider who your staff is and what they do. Has an employee outgrown their position? Is there more you could be delegating to them? Have certain positions become irrelevant? Could you redistribute the employee filling this position to another area of your business? Consider the ways in which your staff can be the most productive and successful. 

Business Plan. Review your business plan. What do you hope to achieve over the next 6 months? Year? Five years? Think about this in terms of your expectations for your own professional growth as well as your business's growth because as a business owner, these two things overlap. Have your expectations and goals shifted? If they have (which is not a bad thing) then how can you adjust your business plan to reflect these changes? What should you be doing differently in order to achieve success?

Be sure you are checking in weekly for more tips and tricks to benefit your small business! 

Business Owners Guide to Seasonal Hiring

Summer is here and with it brings a multitude of teens, college students and many others looking for employment. Better Business Bureau reminds employers that hiring seasonal workers – regardless of age, involves following many of the laws and regulations that apply to full-time employees.

If you’re hiring seasonal employees, keep in mind:

• State child labor laws differ so it’s important to become familiar with what is allowed – and not allowed in regard to ages, restrictions and allowable types of work for youths and teens 9 and older. Check your state’s website fir specifics.
• Interns – paid or unpaid – should not be treated as replacement employees (even if just for a few months). Have specific tasks or activities designated just for them that would not ordinarily be done by a paid employee. Internships need to be for a specific length of time with no guarantee of a paid position later on.
• Be specific about the job, what it entails and how it should be performed. Don’t differentiate between seasonal and year-round employees, everyone should adhere to company policies and rules and everyone should have their own copy of the company handbook.

Provide safety training at the beginning of employment to ensure seasonal employees understand workplace risks and hazards and what to do if they’re injured on the job.

Seasonal and part-time employees are subject to the same tax withholding rules that apply to other employees.

What other tips can you offer about managing seasonal hires?

Hiring Staff: When to Hire Employees

Welcome to a four part mini series of blog posts on hiring staff! Please check back each week for a new entry. 

Small-business owners may be slow to admit that it is time to add staff. It's not always easy to decide to spend capital on a new hire, particularly if you've leading a one-person (you!) operation. Considering the following issues may help you reach a conclusion on whether to increase the size of your staff.

Overworked. If you find that you are constantly juggling too many tasks, are consumed with handling crises as they erupt instead of focusing on daily operations, cannot find time to attract potential clients or market to new customers, or lack the opportunity to keep your business on track to achieve its full potential, it is time to call for reinforcements. There are only 24 hours in a day, no matter how hard you work.

The same is true for your employees. Employees who are overworked, over stressed and overloaded are going to be under-productive. Burgeoning overtime may be another indication that you need to hire more staff. Excess overtime can be inefficient from a financial standpoint and it may lead to worker burnout. Hiring additional staff could eliminate those concerns.

Need for Specific Skills or Expertise. Many small business owners mistakenly assume they can do it all. Eventually, they reach the point where they must acknowledge they lack the time or expertise to perform a function critical to the success of the business. Be honest. Is there an area of your business operation that is suffering because you lack an employee with the right experience and knowledge base?

Sales Backlogs. Order backlogs may indicate the need for extra help. It may be worth your while to add an employee now to take advantage of a surge in demand for your product or service, even if you cannot yet determine whether the surge is temporary.

Spotty Customer Service. Take an honest look at how well and how quickly you are serving your customers? Are you exceeding or even meeting your customers' expectations? Satisfied customers are repeat customers and will often refer others to businesses that do a good job. Hiring extra staff could boost your ability to be responsive to your customers and market to new customers.

Check back for Hiring Staff: Before You Start the Search, where we will cover what to do BEFORE you start the search.