Productivity

Developing a successful online business is not an easy goal.

In this article, we present 13 key points to increase sales in an online store and improve performance. These 13 useful tips cover the different aspects that must be taken into account when designing a successful online store

• Title

The title should reflect the content of the web page. This way the user realises immediately if they are interested in the product or service offered.

• Teaser

It is important to put the products and the most popular and relevant categories in the foreground. The more visible they are, the more likely that the user considers them the most important information and therefore comes to it more directly

• Simplify the Structure

The basic structure of the website must be configured for the user to navigate through it quickly and easy. It should be very intuitive and communicate clearly through images, indexes, and bullet points. Only if the user shows real interest you should have access to a more in-depth explanation.Navigation should be set horizontally and highlight the main categories. The golden rule is: the fewer clicks needed = less discouragement to continue visiting the web = lower bounce rate = higher conversion rate

• Less is More Design

In this regard, both the quality of the images and the texts are very important. It is essential to maintain a clear and simple design. Do not overwhelm the user with unnecessary information; less is more! It is essential that the colour, contrast, shading, font, size, and shape are in tune.

• Post Customer Reviews and Elements of Trust

We recommend using the website elements of trust as seals, certifications, and customer reviews. You need to convince new customers they can buy safely. For this reason, it is important to place the elements of trust in a visible place

• Benefits and USP

Avoid the Unique Selling Proposition (USP), competitive advantages, and differentiating values. What makes you better than the competition? What makes your store unique? Note the deals; these products help increase your level of visibility and recognition among customers

• Limit Product Availability

Consumers have been always found products or services with limited or poor availability more intriguing when compared to those with easy accessibility. If availability is limited to a specific offer, the potential customer feels the need to buy the product as soon as possible

• Use the Thank You Page to Increase Sales and Cross Selling

It is important to try to cross sell complementary products. Cross selling, or upselling, increases the value of the sale. Promote similar products on the Thank You page displayed after customers have made a purchase.Customers especially like discount codes, and this is a formula for reinforcing shopping on subsequent visits.

• Chat Support

You can increase conversion rates by offering immediate assistance through web chat. Use personal conversations to sell in an active way. Customers are more likely to make a purchase when they have the chance to interact with a person. Also, the purchase dropout rate is minimised.

• Telephone and Contact Information

Company information and contact details that are clearly visible on the website are vital. Users should see that they can easily contact the online store.

• Purchase Facility

The purchase of the product must be quick and easy to avoid abandonment. The user must make the fewest possible clicks to carry out the purchase.

• Payment Options and Shipping Cost

Having a wide range of products increases the likelihood of purchase, but it is also important to have various payment options. Many customers buy only when they have made several alternatives to pay. In addition, these payment options must appear highlighted in the web and inform the user clearly about the order, shipping time, and costs. It can be negative if a customer discovers additional charges not clearly disclosed on the website.

• Site Optimization for Phones and Tablets

The usability of the online shop must be global, and not only in the process. The online store has to be adapted to any type of device, either through the Responsive Web Design (RWD) or adaptation of the device itself, as you never know how potential buyers will access the store.

You can leave the competition in the dust with a good strategy!This then allows you to expand your business. The keys to growing your business are to always keep your customers happy, and to add value to your product offerings and services. To begin, implement the following points:

1.Perspective

Spend time outside the company, look at what you're doing right, and where you can improve. Perform a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) to find new ideas and methods to move your company forward.

2. Reviews

Accept the opinions of other people involved in your business. While it is important that entrepreneurs and managers make their own decisions and actions, it is just as important to have the opinions and ideas of others, both internally and externally. You can get valuable information after talking to the production people that are constantly involved in your business. Your employees and suppliers can be a great source of ideas and contacts, so make sure you take into account their contributions.

3. Mentors

As an entrepreneur, you need a support system to share and discuss new business opportunities or potential problems. It is important that you find and develop a relationship with a business mentor to accompany you during the ups and downs that come with owning a business. Of course, it's not easy to find time to meet with a mentor in the endless cycle of urgency in your business. But for help, you have to commit your own time and energy to meet with your mentor. Think of it like exercise, in the end you’ll be glad about the decision and will feel energised when you finish.

4. Equipment

One of the biggest challenges of the leaders in a business is to build a high performance team. Successful businesses have strong processes of selection interviews to hire staff to ensure only the right people. People have a load of initial cost, and it takes time to develop before they are really productive. To compose a winning team, you must integrate your team members, creating synergy and getting the best of each, in order to overcome the desired results. As the owner of your business you need to think carefully about the type of person you want to attract to your business and establish a recruitment strategy.

5. Customers

Consumers are getting smarter today. Mostly driven by the web, buying habits have changed in recent years. E-commerce ensures customers are well informed and this makes them more demanding. It is essential to understand how the virtual world impacts your business and it serves advantage. It is essential that you monitor how your customers arrive to ensure that you meet your needs.

6. Offer

All products have a life cycle and know when you need to renew your product. Not all companies diversify their product offerings significantly, but those who keep their products a specialised focus, keep your business updated, constantly developing and evolving. To diversify supply and add new product lines and services must invest in market research. Discusses what opportunities are available in the market and how you can excel against the competition.

7. Honesty

The business is about people and relationships with customers. As old values ​​such as trust, loyalty and transparency are appreciated more than ever before. People like to deal with people. One of the most important characteristics of a successful business is honesty. If you say you will do something, you must comply. Sometimes you must also say "no" but if you have valid reasons people will understand.

8. Social Media

To attract and engage the fans and followers of social media (and always consider converting them into customers) you have to have an effective plan. These are some basic steps to follow for your company on social networks.

Adapt the content to each platform

Certain types of content generally perform better than others in certain social platforms. For example, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+ and Instagram are substantially visual, so striking images of your products, company events and perhaps "snapshots behind the scenes" of employees in the workplace can be effective options for those specific platforms. Text-only updates in the “status” section on Facebook without bonds or links also works, especially when questions are asked.On Twitter you have to find the balance to send tweets about your business and do retweet others, including messages from your partners and industry influencers. LinkedIn is popular to share company news, tips and articles productivity leadership.It is advisable to shuffle a diverse mix of content types (photos, featured clips, tips, links and questions of interest, etc.) through your social platforms to keep things fresh. You will see that when you do, your fans will come back for more.

If you started a small business successfully and are looking for a significant increase in the number of customers or the amount of sales, it means you want to grow your business. There are many ways to do this, but choosing the right way to grow depends on the type of business, available resources, and how much money and time you are willing to invest. Check out the 8 strategies that follow.

1. Open another place

If you feel confident that the current point of sale is under control, consider expansion by opening a new location. Increase outlets and you will expand the number of places where you can sell your products. To increase sales points, you can open new stores or branches, make use of new brokers or dealers, or create new sales channels.

2. Offer your business as a franchise

The model franchise is one of the most successful ways to grow a business. Franchising is a way of doing business, through which a third party is given the right to use a trademark and operate a business. This system will allow you to grow without having to manage a new location. This will help you maximize the time you spend looking for new opportunities and improve your business.

3. Granting the license of your product

This can be an effective and low-cost growth, especially if you have a product or service trademark. Licensing is an agreement between a company that allows another use their trademarks, patents, technology and any other valuable properties. In return, you receive fees for sales of the products or services provided or sold under the license. To find a partner interested in your license, start by researching companies that offer products or services similar to yours.

4. Form an alliance or acquire another business

Two is always better than one. Investigate companies that are similar to yours, or that have deals that are complementary to yours, and consider the benefits of combining forces. Aligning with a type similar to yours can be a powerful way to rapidly expand your company. These partnerships could include agreements to combine resources (financial, human, or technological), functions (production processes or product distribution), share information like market knowledge , share distribution channels or outlets, or customers such as in the case of both companies have different types of products, but similar types of customers, and each company can complement each other’s products.

5. Diversify

Diversification is an excellent strategy for growth, since it allows you to have multiple streams of income that can fill in the gaps of the season and increase sales and profit margins. These are some of the most common forms of diversification:

• Sell ​​complementary products or services
• Teaching on the subject in which you are an expert
• Import or export your products or those of others
• Being a speaker or columnist about your business

6. Address other markets or consumers

In your current market, you are doing well. Are there others? Probably. Use your imagination to determine what other markets or consumers could use your product. Addressing new types of consumers means redirecting your products or services so that they are aimed at different types of markets that they are already attending. It may be necessary to create new products or services, or simply adapt products you already have, so they can also meet the needs or desires of other types of consumers.

7. Seek external markets

To export, a distributor is needed in the foreign country so you can take your product and sell it in their domestic market. You can locate foreign distributors to find out if there is any foreign company in your own city or state with a representative in the United States. Another option is to look for customers who purchase from you directly, for it is the easiest way to create a website and promote your products online. Another way to start exporting is participating in international fairs.

8. Increase advertising

Investment in advertising is another way to grow a business that does not require spending much money. Besides making use of brochures, posters, and cards, participate in trade fairs or give gifts printed with your company name. Remember that the best advertising is word of mouth. A product or service of high quality and excellent customer service will ensure you are always recommended by your customers.Consider advertising on the Internet. Often, customers discover business through a search engine on the web. Make sure your company has a presence on the Internet to maximize their exposure.Our virtual office service can also help boost your business presence, our mail forwarding address in London is a great way of boosting your businesses image. Be sure to contact us if you would like to find out more.

With advances in technology, it is becoming increasingly easy to launch an online business from home.You can configure your own website, sell and even receive payments directly from your site. These are the foundations that will help you create your internet business.

Types of companies on the Internet

Almost anything can be sold through the Internet. Many different online businesses from home provide services to other businesses with variables like web design tools or even accounting.A service-based business allows you to get started quickly, without having to invest in inventory. If your goal is to sell items, there are easy ways to do it without having your own shipping department. Companies – like Amazon and Commission Junction allow you to advertise your products on your site. They will only ask for a commission for what they sell. Other websites – like eBay and Etsy – allow you to create a virtual store and handle payments in your name.

Types of Income

Your online business can get different types of income, depending on its purpose. If you sell your services, you can charge clients by the hour or by the service. For example, you can announce a basic web design package for £ 99 or you can charge £ 25 per hour for work on a design. If you sell products, your income will come from the purchase price or, in the case of affiliated companies, commissions. The fees are usually calculated based on a percentage of the selling price of the article.There are several ways to get paid with your online business. Large companies create a payment gateway on their own sites and recorded with major credit card companies to receive payments online. Small businesses often use a service like PayPal or Intuit , to process payments. These facilitators payment charge a percentage of the operation of their services.

Advantages and disadvantages

The biggest advantage of operating an online business is flexibility. You can operate from your home at your convenience, without having to rent an office. It also lets you run the business from your laptop anywhere in the world where there is internet access.If you're not naturally self-disciplined or organized, be weary – running an online business takes dangers. It's easy to put off work late and lose focus on the creation of the company. The success of online businesses is to formalize work schedules and objectives to ensure that the business grow profitably.

Initial Costs

The amount of money you need to start your online business depends on the type of business. All online businesses need some kind of presence on the Internet. This requires that you configure a domain name and a website. Several providers, like Blogger and Weebly, allow you to create a site for free. This is a good option when you're starting. As your business grows, you may need the services of a web designer or programmer to expand your site. You may have to upgrade your computer or office equipment if you have not support or functional. At a minimum, you'll need a fixed computer or laptop with internet connection and a printer to print invoices and other documents.

Base

An online business can be easy to install and can also be profitable. Like any other business, an online business should focus on the basics of dealing with customers and sales in order to succeed.

Start A Business From Home

The big question is: Is it possible to create a profitable business from home with little investment of time and money? The idea of ​​developing a business from home is based on the need to find a source of extra income, possibly in the future can become your main source of income.A profitable business is one where profits exceed 60%, 80% or even 100% or more the value of the investment.So for a business to have the ability to provide a significant source of income, also you require considerable investment. The following steps are to be able to develop profitable business ideas from home that do not require much investment at first.

Identify your reasons

Answer why you want to start your own business is the first thing you should do. Want to be your own boss? Do you want to earn extra money? you not want to depend on schedules? Be careful, for example with your own business you will not have only one boss but every one of your customers will be one of your bosses. And on time, you could end up working more than necessary.

Analyse your personality

Do you have the qualities to own a business? Unfortunately not all have it, luck is however, that these characteristics can be learned. Ask yourself the following questions: Do you have what it takes to be a leader of a business? Do you like making decisions? Do you like racing? Do you have the power of self-discipline?

Acknowledge your skills

It is ideal to start an activity that you like or you highlight and which have some experience in. You will be the one who does the work, and what better to bet on an activity in which you function well and safely, or in which you want to invest time and money to learn.

Define a clear concept

Declare a unique business concept. That is, a business must have spirit, have something unique that makes it what it is. When making a business from home, despite being smaller, the same idea applies. You must define a concept of your business. It is also essential to explain what the business is dedicated. For example, say that there is a company called Artec. What sounds like the name? It could be a business education, technical services or items of art, right? That is, to do business at home, explains below the name of your business what he does. This applies, for example through a slogan.

Assess the business idea

Write on paper brainstorm of those activities that you can perform and which you can consider in your local market or online, depending on the activity. Tantea if your business idea is feasible. Describe the product or service you're selling, if you have competition or not. Analyse your market, assess the needs and desires of your potential consumers. Set the price of your product or service.

Calculate investment

With every activity you wrote do the following: Investment value of materials or costs and the percentage of profitability. For example, investment for the creation or implementation of a product where X is £ 10 and is sold at £ 18, so the yield is 80%. Select only those that have a return equal to or greater than 50% to start working on those profitable businesses from home.

Before making plans

The best advice for starting a business from home, the idea is to plan, strategies, costs, layout, location and prices, before acting hastily and having to slapping of drowning as they are presenting problems. What name you will use, what legal form you will use or bring it to carry your business personally. What licenses and permits you need. How you can protect your business from theft, or fraud you'll protect your business idea, since you may need to register a trademark.This is costly in terms of money, resources and time. Therefore, it is always better to have a business plan, which will indicate whether the business is attractive, if your business is profitable, and what strategies need to take to develop a successful business.

When you are thinking of freelancing, everything seems advantageous due to the following:

• Flexible schedules.
• Having a business.
• Be your own boss.
• Work remotely from home or from anywhere else.
• Choose the projects you want to work.

However, when you really start, you realise that being freelancer has some drawbacks. One of the clearest examples is the hours of work, because you work much longer hours than any worker employed. While you can work on projects that you like and you get a job, it is not nearly brainer.In this guide you will find the main challenges that await you working as a freelancer. Note that we do not intend to discourage you; we just want you to bear in mind what reality you will face from now on.

1- Doing business is not easy

Especially if it is not your job. When you are alone, getting new projects is complicated. You'll have to spend some of your time and your energies to find new projects.It is also very difficult to get projects regularly. You'll have 5 times more projects at some point and others in which you are not going to work on either. The challenge is to get some stability.

2- The price, the big question

One of the great existential questions of any freelancing is its price, i.e. what your hours are worth. It is a fine balance between being competitive and being able to pay yourself a salary, which is not easy to find however, setting the right price is a matter of time, you'll soon find your personal strategy.

3- Self-motivated is essential

When you work alone with no one to pat you on the back, it is so important to motivate yourself. In our blog we always try to talk about things that can help you achieve that, but one thing is clear: taking care of your health and your mind is essential.

4- Productivity

Another key to success of any freelance is the productivity. Schedules of work at home may be chaotic if you do not control it. Getting the most out of every hour of work is essential for a living and do not spend 24 hours a day working.

5- Nobody pays budgets

Learning to answer your budgets quickly, effectively and professionally is key to getting projects. Unfortunately, the reality is that 75-80% of your budget will not prosper and the time you have dedicated to them (sometimes hours or days) cannot be recovered.

6- Nobody pays for holidays

As a freelancer, your business is mainly based on selling your time. If you're not on the ball because you're sick, you want to take a few days or you leave on vacation; nobody is going to pay for your time.

7- In search of business model

Finding new ways to generate revenue is important for survival. Many freelancers choose to add training to its portfolio of services and it is something interesting to enjoy some stability.But there are other alternatives that are less directly related to the time freelancer, such as: selling digital products (eBooks, online courses), the sales services as products or affiliate marketing.

8- Staff-work balance

The fact of working remotely allows you to work anytime and anywhere, making it difficult to draw the line between your professional life and work. Define when you finish your work hours, as your personal time begins then and this is a major challenge.

9- The maturities

There are many projects that are not going to charge (even a part) until it's done. In fact, in most cases, you're not going to charge for your work until 60 or 90 days after issuing the invoice. These are unfortunately maturities that most companies handle.

10- Multitasking

When you work as a freelancer, you have to do everything. You need to sell, manage a business, to support existing customers and find hours to deliver projects that you have in hand. It is essential to have the agility and flexibility to make these changes quickly and effectively.

11- Learning to manage your business

Being a freelancer means having your own business, so you have to manage your billing, file your tax returns, control your spending etc.

12- Taxes

More than half of all your invoices used will be taxed. The conditions we face as freelancers are the toughest in Europe. When you do your numbers, you must take into account that there is a big difference between what you can bill and what you can charge as a freelancer.

Conclusion

Freelancing is a big challenge, but it's a really exciting lifestyle. It is a way of understanding the world and tailoring your work to your life rather than the other way round. So we hope this guide will help you to anticipate and foresee.

Meetings can be a powerful weapon for SMEs, but also a huge waste of time. A well-organised meeting agenda can be vital for any company; the key here is to be clear about the agenda of business meetings, the reason for each one, the people who will attend and the maximum time that can be devoted to each. Once this information is analysed, it is easier to create a meeting that has far more worth than one simply thrown together in a rush.Seen this way, the task may seem daunting, but fortunately today there are many tools to help you manage your schedule of business meetings and to fix an appointment with employees or customers. These are the ones we have selected:

Tools to set up meetings

Doodle

Its main function is to organise the calendar of meetings, but can also be used for other events. With Doodle, you can know the availability of the people they want to meet up with and so find the date that suits everyone. Once you have it clear when you want to be at the meeting, you can send the link by email or through the interface to other participants.Doodle works as a shared online platform and is known for being a very intuitive calendar. If you do not have time to learn to drive a more powerful calendar and do not have big needs, this is your tool.

GoToMeeting

One of the tools that is most renowned and most used. It is a paid software which not only allows you to manage a calendar of events, but also makes presentations to large groups and even creates online polls and surveys. It has several versions which also include the possibility of interactive training sessions.GoToMeeting is a good choice for those conducting online meetings and conferences through the network on a regular basis. Besides organising the meeting agenda, you can setup meetings through the platform.

Google Calendar

With improved Google Apps, Google Calendar also comes to mobiles and tablets. The advantage of Google Calendar is that it integrates with your Gmail and, of course, is free. The tool provides a personal dashboard that allows you to create appointments, set reminders and even share with other team members. Plus, you can synchronise with Google Hangouts to video conference with up to 10 people.

TimePal

TimePal is useful for setting events with partners from different time zones. It also allows you to set the duration of the meeting, so that it will tell you if you are exceeding the schedule.TimePal functions as a board that matches the schedule of each region, to see the hours that match the rest of the group. Like most applications, there is a limited free version, or if you pay, then you get no ads and more features.

TimeBridge

As with Google Calendar, TimeBridge can be used to organise meetings or personal events. TimeBridge's meeting management service can either be operated with large groups or one-on-one meetings and cover different time zones too. It can be integrated with Microsoft Outlook, Google Calendar and Apple iCal. and also includes phone and Web conferencing opportunities.

WhenisGood

WhenisGood is a basic, online tool that will generate a link to a survey and send this to other participants with different proposed dates. Once respond by all, you can access the results and choose the date that received the most votes.

Meetomatic

Meetomatic is another free service online, where you just have to choose possible dates and send them via email or social networks. With the responses of all participants in, you can easily establish which date generated the greater consensus.

UberConference

A very useful tool to find out who's who in a meeting. UberConference can query data collected from other people and initiates a simple, visual, and free to use conference call. It allows you to quickly set up and join free conference calls without the use of PINS.

Attendium

Attendium is a tool that automates the lists of invitees to a meeting, which is useful for mass events, but perhaps not for use with meetings where there are a limited number of participants.If you liked our business blog post, you can find more helpful tips in our productivity section.

The instant your company begins trading, you are supposed to have learnt ways to be a professional juggler. Between landing huge sales and promoting your products, there are possibilities that you are going to forget to post the odd invoice or maintain updated invoices with details. Nevertheless, should you let several items slip under the carpet; you are likely to get your company in trouble. And this is the reason why you would need to think hard about record-keeping techniques.Fortunately, there are lots of techniques that you can put into practice to make record-keeping a rather fast and easy exercise. Listed below are three among the several requirements to assist you in getting started:

Understand the law

If you cannot create specific constitutional records, you may end up paying a £3,000 fine.Few records may be worth keeping as they give insights into the techniques wherein your business is functioning; conversely, there are several other records that your company will be officially required to record and also report to the HMRC routinely.Consequently, wherever relevant, you are officially required to update and keep up adequate records of the following:

• Your company`s register of members, stakeholders or guarantors;
• Your company`s record of directors with their regular home addresses;
• Your company`s record of secretaries;
• All service contracts of directors;
• A register of penalty charges and instruments that brought about the charges;
• Minutes of every shareholders and shareholders` company board meetings;
• Copies of every resolutions and conclusions that are made at these meetings;
• A record of all directors` insurances;
• A record of the company shares` sales

Additional records you need to keep have to do mainly with your company`s effectiveness, which you need to report to HMRC in your yearly tax return. To realise this correctly, you need to really know what amount of cash is coming in and out of your company, and the ideal place to discover the movement of these funds will be by way of company invoices.Invoices are utilised to track your income and consequently, they are necessary in estimating your financial well-being. When operating a business, it is an authorised necessity to be certain that you are keeping every invoice for at least six years. Similarly, company directors and sole traders should hold on to their invoice records for a minimum of five years and ten (10) months. Maybe you are in a partnership or self-employed? These records must be kept for at least five years.Although that may seem to be a long time to keep track of paperwork, in as much as you stick to a set of organisational settings, it is very easy to guarantee your invoices are satisfactorily handled. The secret relies on making use of a no-nonsense, sequential filing system. It is essential that you accurately number and date each invoice and likewise keep them in two different files, one for invoices not yet paid and the other for paid invoices. When you pay an incoming invoice, record the date and method of payment and move it into the proper file. Receipts must be handled in a similar fashion.When in doubt, get in touch with HMRC and seek advice. Besides, if you are unable to produce certain constitutional records, you could end up paying a fine of £3,000. You could even be penalised more should the records of your company show inaccuracies. Concealed and deliberate inaccuracies may end up costing you a penalty loss of up to 100% of the possible tax revenues through your non-disclosure.

Get the apps

HMRC creates a directory of safe and reasonable record-keeping apps, as well as simpler income tax apps.Nowadays, apps are available for almost everything – including company record-keeping. The majority of these apps can be downloaded free and some are easier to navigate than others. As you are technically not expected to keep a hard copy of receipts or invoices, you are perfectly advised to go paperless.In fact, doing this might even assist in reducing some of your printing and storage costs. To assist you get started; below are five among the most easy-to-use business record-keeping apps that are currently on the market:MyBizTracker: The creators of QuickBooks specifically developed MyBizTracker so as to provide small business owners with a fast, on-the-go snapshot view of their corporate financials.This app permits you to record income and expenses in real time and likewise also lets you snap photos of your receipts so that you have got multiple records of every trade. MyBizTracker costs nothing to download for every Apple gadgets.FreeAgent: another record keeping apps that boosts the same photo features just like MyBizTracker is the FreeAgent. However, FreeAgent is unique in that it is able to calculate a fairly accurate snapshot of your company`s tax liability at any given moment. FreeAgent is free to download for all Apple devices.Sage Record Keeper: Sage Record Keeper, created by Sage is one of the global most popular suppliers of enterprise resource planning. It provides business owners with an absolute accounting solution for daily use. The app has a number of advanced features and one among the most desirable aspects of Record Keeper is its ability to process Construction Industry Scheme reductions.Forbes Receipt Keeper: If you are an Android user, Forbes Pcs offer a sterling accounting product in its Forbes Invoice Keeper app. The Forbes Receipt Keeper have several of the same functions as the other applications listed; having said that, it enjoys a collaboration with the cloud service Dropbox that enables you to instantly back up every of your accounts.ZipZipBooks: ZipZipBooks is an Android app developed specifically for businesses operating in the construction or property sectors. That is because ZipZipBooks specialises in filing Construction Industry Scheme receipts that are not appropriate for several accounting apps.It is worth saying that not every record-keeping application is HMRC-approved. There are actually strict rules in place regarding cash basis and less complicated expenditures, thus it`s usually worth evaluating various recording specifications before investing time and energy into a record-keeping app.

Keep personal finances separate

It is not unlawful to make use of your personal bank account for business – however it`s absolutely more challenging.Several small entrepreneurs often treat their company's bank account like a personal income pool – but that`s the first step down a long and winding road to financial self-destruction.From the moment you form a brand new company, your company operations turn out to be their own separate entity in the sight of the law. This implies that your company need to have its personal bank account so as not to confuse its earnings with your personal finances.Furthermore, even if you are building a limited company, opening a separate account for it makes sense so as to separate business bank account due to the fact cheques issued out to a limited company usually cannot be paid into a personal bank account..Having said that, it is not against the regulations to make use of your personal bank account to operate a UK business. Though it results in a more challenging accounting circumstance, HMRC provides a bit of guidance on the kind of records you may be required to maintain in case you decide to go this route.

These records include things like:

• Bank and building society statements
• Retain duplicates of every bank statement and
• Passbook for every account containing cash from your business.

Personal drawings: In case you fail to have a different business bank account, you will have to maintain a comprehensive analysis of every bank statement outlining which cash withdrawals were business-related as well as personal.Source of funds: You are expected to record any private money introduced into the business and from where it came from – regardless of whether it was gifted from a friend or relative.

The current market scenario is moving at a rapid pace and requires businesses, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs), to have an impressive capacity for innovation and adaptation. If they merge these elements, their stay in the market will be virtually guaranteed; if they fail the mission, then failure is imminent.In a process like this, the human factor plays a key role because their skills, talent and willingness depend on corporate development.SME`s require passionate, committed and staff that are willing to work together to hold a world full of opportunities, where technology has become a detonator of new success stories.Therefore, the strategic thinking of SMEs must not only concentrate on operating the business and the consolidation of a sound financial structure, but also in attracting talent that will match your needs and goals.

Analysts assert that SMEs should consider the following topics:

1. Structuring systems with full awareness. These economic units have to define the structures and systems that enable them to fulfil their goals. From them, they must guide their search for talent.2. Create job profiles. The SMEs have to identify the characteristics, knowledge and attitudes that every area of the business demands. For example, look for staff to monitor and manage corporate finance; talent to ensure technological efficiency of the company or to develop marketing activities.3. Make a market survey on wages. The SME must identify what type of salary offered by their rivals. Based on that information, they should create competitive wage plans.4. Think about professional development programs. It is essential that SMEs develop programs such as these so that their partners can grow and move up.5. Find ideal candidates. Getting the best talent is the next step. To achieve this, SMEs have to prepare thoroughly their interviews and get the information they need about the tastes, experience and attitude of the candidates.6. Provide a great welcome. After weighing up the interviews and references of the applicants, and chosen your new employees, the task of SMEs is to give an excellent welcome. This includes giving a good induction process, where new workers are familiar with the productive activities and corporate business image.

Strategies for retaining talent in SMEs

Due to the corporate inexperience of SMEs, the learning curve to grow and the economic challenges they face in their first years of life will test their ability to deliver high-quality jobs and retain their talent.HR specialists explain that, despite the difficulties, SMEs have other alternatives to keep their employees build lasting relationships with them and keep the evolution process of corporate assets; all this without large cash charges.Among the options available to SMEs to retain their talent and provide a sense of belonging include the following:1. Personal Recognition. Experts in coaching and human development indicate that to communicate the value of their team`s work will directly affect their mood and conviction to achieve objectives. For employees, it is constructive and encouraging that they really matter to their leaders.2. Rewards. SMEs can also endorse its commitment to its employees through small actions such as the allocation of free afternoons, the realisation of recreation, outdoor work and so on.3. Training programs. Investment in the personal and professional growth of the human factor is an excellent mechanism for them to be loyal and increase productivity.Training solutions, both onsite and virtual, have adapted to the needs of SMEs, making them both affordable and practical.4. Relaxation of time schedules. Today, employees look comprehensively to balance their personal life with work, a trend that SMEs cannot underestimate. These economic units should analyse the qualities of its employees and the significance of their activities; they can perform management schedules that are mutually beneficial.

If we talk about impact and freshness in the universe of social networks, then you've got to think of Instagram, an interactive platform with stunning visual potential; however, as a tool for brand positioning, it has generated more doubts than certainties.The situation is logical if we consider that is the subject of recurrent comparisons with Facebook and Twitter - historically the preferred access routes to the digital environment. But sometimes logic creates myths, and myths are to be broken. What do we mean? Instagram offers entrepreneurs and especially SME`s, outreach opportunities and valuable promotion that could help them break out strongly in the Social Media.Instagram is a useful and easy-to-use tool for community managers, the general public and, of course, companies.If you want to know other benefits of this site that emerged in 2010, look at what we present below:

• Less competition: the number of brands on Instagram is lower compared to Facebook and Twitter. This means that many companies wasted a reach of 150 million potential users and that new firms have a large area to fertilise.
• More inspiration: Instagram is highly experiential i.e. users enter and share their daily experiences. This feature is critical for budding businesses, because new business players are more likely to exhibit freshness and innovation - always worthy of shared elements.
• Visibility: publications related to your brand reach everyone; that is, each and every one of the users assigned to the platform will have access to your content without restrictions or algorithmic rankings.
• Mobility and location: Instagram can travel to your phone or wait on the web. Also, it offers a map of photos and the ability to synchronise with services like Foursquare - traits that will help you win your own space in the world.

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Employee performance directly impacts the results obtained by a company, so if members of your team perform an incredible job, the business progresses; by contrast, if employees perform poorly, the company stagnates.Against this background, it is always difficult to know whether the members of your team who are not performing well will be reflected in the scope of the goals set. Therefore, we suggest setting goals and metrics to evaluate to each employee.With this practice, each worker will know what works and where to go, while the results arising from performance measurement helps you both know if they are on track.As we know, setting goals and metrics is not a simple process, so we share some recommendations for you to overcome this process within your company.

Ask them to set their goals

This simple exercise will motivate your employees, since they are the ones who must define the objectives to be achieved while working in your company.To overcome this step, we recommend you speak to your whole team, and ask them to set each of their goals. Then you must evaluate these objectives and approve or modify them if necessary.

Realistic goals

Once you start to review the objectives proposed by each worker, it is necessary that you are sure that each member of your team maintains control over the possibility of achieving their goals or not.This is done in order not to promise things that cannot be met, either by lack of resources, or because they are out of reach or relies on a third party.

Think in the short term

Your employees must set monthly goals; so you should consider scheduling regular meetings to discuss the results that have been achieved.For that reason, it is important that measurable objectives are established with clear methods. Otherwise, you and your team will not know whether they have been met, which may affect their motivation and lower morale.

Drive the group recognition

Gather your team together in a group at the beginning of each month. At this meeting, each team member must set out the goals reached last month, what their performance was and what their goals are for the next month.Such meetings provide positive feedback and collaboration. This will make the team improve their performance, and in so doing, will obtain the satisfaction to share it with the rest of the team.

Define goals when necessary

For some departments of your company, such as the sales area, the objectives are easy to develop. In other places, it can be a challenge because they are not entirely obvious or quantifiable.To overcome this situation, you must think of the ideal scenario in which the person would do excellent work that contributes to the good of the company.By aligning business goals with employees, and providing real-time visibility, it will enable them to know their progress, from which both your company and your workforce will benefit.