How to Keep Business Relationships Professional but Friendly
Successful businesses are built upon solid relationships. Good businesses also realize that they need to put boundaries on those relationships. It takes some practice to create friendly relations that also manage to remain professional. What are some ways to create the boundaries between being friendly and being friends with your business associates?
Be Results Oriented
Make it clear that you are only interested in a relationship that can create value for the company. This should apply to anyone who works for or with your company. Employees need to know that they are being employed because they add value to the company. Vendors need to understand that their products could be dropped if they do not sell enough units. Other companies should be aware that contracts will not be renewed if the partnership no longer makes business sense. Fortunately, most people are aware of this fact.
Do Not Tolerate Unprofessional Behaviour
Do not engage in activities that could be construed as unprofessional. Keep conversations to mundane topics that cannot get anyone in trouble. The weather, how the kids are doing and talking about the game last night are topics that are appropriate for work. They create a friendly atmosphere without getting too personal. Managers should stay away from going out on the weekend with their employees. Never hesitate to discipline an employee for inappropriate activity at work. Playing favourites can result in a hostile working environment. Make sure your employees are educated on issues such as sexual harassment and bullying at work.
Create Objectives Measures of Performance
Creating objective ways to gauge value will allow you to keep relationships as professional as possible. Employee performance should be reviewed at least once a year. Sales staff should have concrete goals for how many units they need to sell. Outside vendors should have clear expectations for how much profit needs to be made in order to keep selling their goods in your store. Having concrete measures of performance allows you to develop friendly relationships with people while still creating clear expectations.
Mediators Should Settle Disputes
Taking sides will create relationships that are neither friendly nor professional. Allow for an independent body to hear any disputes between employees. This will allow employees to feel like they are being treated fairly at work. A manager who personally rules on a dispute risks creating at least one enemy. Independent arbitrators at will be neutral and only recommend discipline based on the facts of the case.
Back Your Words with Actions
It is important that you back up your words with actions. Firing employees who do not provide enough value to the company can set an example to others. This will avoid the problem of employees who try to get too friendly at work. Employees who realize that there are consequences for their actions will quickly modify their behaviour. Never tolerate an employee who tries to dictate policy to management. Insubordination should be quickly dealt with.
It is a good business practice to have cordial relations with anyone you work with. However, be sure that you understand the boundary between business and friendship. Doing so can actually make the relationship better for both sides. Having boundaries leads to fewer disputes and hurt feelings in the event that the business relationship is not mutually beneficial.
About the Author: Rosie writes for Aon Hewitt – the global leader in human capital consulting and outsourcing solutions. Their auto enrolment guide is available to download for free. They are specialist consultants in total reward and HR solutions.
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5 Strange and Profitable Businesses
Have you ever had an unusual thought and wondered if it could turn into a profitable business? Here are five of my favorite unusual businesses:
1. Game Truck
Game Truck – Scott Novis developed Game Truck, a portable gaming party, after he found he was disappointed in his four-year-old son’s birthday party at a pizza arcade in 2006. Scott noticed that children were playing boring, static games, and that most of the kids had better games and better graphics on their home game boxes than were being offered at the party.
Scott went home, and, in his garage, retrofitted a truck with gaming consoles, flat screen monitors, and cool decorations, creating the first Game Truck.
After successfully trying it out at a friend’s birthday party, Scott turned his idea into a thriving weekend business. His company has since grown to nearly $2 million in revenue. Game Truck has nearly 40 trucks in 20 locations across the country, and 12 individuals are employed in its home office. The company also offers franchise opportunities.
2. Zipz Shoes
Zipz Shoes – John Stefani was at a family reunion in 2004 when he and his father began talking about how many pairs of dirt-caked children’s shoes were in their presence. John’s father, Jerry, said it would be great if an interchangeable shoe existed – one where you could mix and match the tops and bottoms, and throw the dirty part in the wash.
The idea stuck. After the reunion was over, John and his siblings went home dreaming about mix-and-match footwear. They sketched several prototypes of shoes held together with everything from Velcro to pins until, finally, Jerry designed a shoe held together by a zipper.
Zipz Shoes’ first year of sales was in 2010, and the company grossed $1 million in that year.
Zipz Shoes retail for $45 a pair and are available online and through boutique retailers. They are distributed in 40 countries, drawing particular interest from customers in Europe, Japan, and the Middle East.
3. The Something Store
The Something Store – In the summer of 2007, Sami Bayrakci was surfing the Internet in search of a birthday present for his friend. After an hour of fruitless browsing, Sami decided it would be so much easier if someone else would just make the decision for him. And so the idea of The Something Store was born.
When Sami first shared his idea with friends, they thought it would never work. At SomethingStore.com, customers pay a flat price for an unknown item. Who would pay for something when they don’t know what they’re getting?
But Sami gave it a try. With a small start-up investment of just $3,000 for supplies, he designed his own website and began selling small, lightweight items in order to keep shipping costs down.
Within his first few months of business, Sami had sold several thousand “somethings.”
4. Beaten Path Trails
Beaten Path Trails – If you don’t have access to nature, it’s not easy to appreciate it. Hikers and backpackers use trails to gain access to nature, but construction of these trails is not easy. Laws prohibit the construction of trails with the use of vehicles and machinery, and that presents a difficult situation for many contractors.
But Tyler Johnson has created a different kind of contracting business which has achieved plenty of success building and maintaining trails.
On the Beaten Path Trail Contractors started less than a year ago, and has already acquired around $ 3.3 million worth of contracts. On the Beaten Path Trail Contractors offers $17 per hour to off-season ski resort employees and to college students on summer break for work done creating and maintaining trails.
On the Beaten Path Trail Contractors currently has 63 workers in four states, and there doesn’t appear to be any worry of government cutbacks. Tyler says support from government officials for both access to nature and job creation will ensure that the contracts keep coming.
5. City Slips
City Slips – Susie Levitt and Katie Shea, both finance students at New York University, noticed that many women walked home barefoot at the end of the day because of their uncomfortable heels. So the young women decided to start a company which offered easily portable flat shoes.
They worked with contract designers and manufacturers in the United States and China, creating a pair of flats which folds up to fit into a pocket-sized zip pouch. When women put the flats on, the pouch becomes a tote bag in which they can carry the high heels they had been wearing.
CitySlips began selling in 2009, and they’re now sold by 500 retailers, including Neiman Marcus, Dillard’s, and Bed Bath & Beyond.
Katie says CitySlips have broad appeal. “A 16-year-old leaving her senior prom will grab a pair of CitySlips and put them in her clutch bag, and then there’s my grandmother who will wear them leaving church,” she says.
Launched using $15,000 from personal savings and a $100,000 private loan, CitySlips sells shoes which retail for $10 to $58, depending on the style and material.
About the Author: This is a Guest Post by Vit Kashis from BizStriptease.com. He is also involved with ICLocator.com, Global Marketplace for Hard to Find Electronic Parts.
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What is a SWOT Analysis?
No it’s not about someone who was really clever and nerdy at school. This SWOT is an acronym which stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.
What is SWOT?
Basically, it is a model which is used as a tool for analysing all the above elements before you set off on a new venture.
It’s used in education as a method for identifying development areas, in project management and lots of environments and can be easily adapted to any decision-making situation.
It is a way of taking a business objective and identifying the internal and external factors which are likely pose an opportunity or a threat to your business and it was first used in the 1960s. You can take the SWOT analysis even further and use the match or convert process where you look in more detail at how strengths and opportunities can be linked and also at how weaknesses and threats can be converted.
Create Your Own SWOT Analysis
OK so as a beginners’ guide, take a piece of paper and draw a cross or plus sign through the middle (+). You now have four segments on your piece of paper. Write S in one of the segments, W in another and so on. Once the artistic bit is done, now you can actually start to fill the segments with something meaningful.
The S and the W speak for themselves so write down all the things that you think are your business’s strengths and weaknesses. Now look at the threats and opportunities. S and O are likely to derive from internal situations and W and T are more likely to come from external forces.
If your SWOT analysis then tells you that your business venture or objective is not going to work, you need to find another idea and repeat the whole process. If you can’t minimise the threats and overturn the weaknesses, meaning that they outweigh the strengths and opportunities, then it is advisable not to go ahead.
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Essentially, what you are doing is assessing a business situation and planning ahead. Marketers use it all the time, or other methods which are similar. You can use the analysis as a foundation on which to build further and it can be used to assess competitive advantages and so on. It should form the first part of the planning process for any start-up or small business.
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So what are you waiting for? You want to set up your own business and you can do it just like anyone else. Don’t forget that it is worth concentrating on weaknesses and threats because they can be overturned and converted into great selling points. Don’t overlook them or you may miss out on an opportunity in reverse.
About the Author: Pete Moore is a UK based author and co-founder of http://www.EzWeb123.com, an award winning website builder that is ideal for any small or start up business, organization, group, club, society, association, guild or charity looking to create a professional looking website.
Photo Credit: Stéfan
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Weird Myths in Business
Myths, legends, and lore – all part of great fiction, but could they also be shaping our ideas about business?
Told over and over again business myths will be regarded as fact, without ever knowing their true origin.
Take for example the old adage that “leadership can only come from the top”. Or “there is no room for failure”.
How about “my title reflects my credibility”, or that “the truth is dangerous”.
Myths every one of them, and quite honestly this line of thinking doesn’t hold much validity in today’s succesful busines environments.
But it doesn’t stop them from being told over and again, and worse yet believed!
Weird Myths in Business
For over 40 weird (yet most still believed) business myths, check out this great presentation from Steve Green of Salesforce.com.
How many of these are you guilty of believing?
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20 Surefire Ways to Use Twitter for Business
How to use Twitter for business is the #1 question I receive. At last count I had 642,379 questions this week on the subject, and it’s only Monday!
Luckily I found a super presentation that walks you through how to use Twitter for your business, and gives you 20 simple examples of how you can incorporate Twitter into your marketing and promotion today!
This saved me a lot of time answering emails, and surely spared me carpel tunnel syndrome from emailing you all back!
20 Ways to Tweet for Your Business
The following presentation is packed with 20 easy ways you can tweet for your business. Here’s a couple examples, then be sure to click on through the presentation for the entire 20 tips.
1. Highlight What’s Special
Twitter gives you a great platform to share what’s special about your company in 140 characters. But like using a highlighter in a book, only highlight the important things. Otherwise, your followers won’t be able to read anything because there are too many colors.
2. Ask Questions
One of the biggest benefits Twitter can deliver to a business revolves around branding. If your tweets create anticipation, that will brand your company with a consumer in a very effective way. Just make sure you’re actually creating anticipation, and not just tweeting to tweet.
3.Please, oh please share Twitpics
Twitpics are an incredible opportunity to showcase why you’re company is cool. Plus, the twitpic links are the most opened links on Twitter.
For the other 17 tips, check out the rest of the presentation below:
Want More Twitter for Biz Information
I put together a free report for you on how I use Twitter for Business, and I encourage you to get a copy by following the link below.
Maximize Twitter for Your Business Report
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10 Reasons Why Your Business Should be Using Twitter
With Dell’s recent announcement of making $3,000,000 using Twitter your business should be considering it as a viable sales option.
However, if that kind of money isn’t enough to convince you to start using the micro blogging service for your business, here’s 10 more reasons to get on board.
#1 Gain Exposure
Twitter is a great way to gain exposure for your business, product, or service.
You’ll be interacting with thousands of people who have yet to discover you, and what you do.
Imagine being able to tell 1000, 5000, 20000 people or more what you do, and all at one time…with Twitter you can.
#2 Build Trust
The more people interact with you, see what your character is made of, the more they will trust you.
Getting to know the human side of your business is a great way to build trust in yourself, your brand, and your business.
#3 Generate Leads
There are literally millions of people using Twitter day in and day out…some of them are bound to be interested in what you do.
Twitter offers an opportunity to expose them to your business, and generate interest in what it is you sell.
#4 Drive Traffic
As you build trust and community, you can occasionally send your followers links back to your site, promotion, or offer.
If done correctly, Twitter can drive hundreds of hits a day to your website. Now that’s a good thing!
#5 Provide Stellar Customer Service
Some of the biggest brands in the world have figured out a very powerful aspect of Twitter, and that is in providing stellar customer service through the medium.
Since you have access to real time communications you can do immediate service recovery, and turn someone’s frown upside down.
#6 Expand Your Network
You’ll be interacting with a diverse group of people on Twitter, more diverse than you could possibly hope to interact with in the offline world. This is an advantage to growing your network, and getting many different perspectives.
#7 Get Feedback
Twitter is a real time conversation and as such it provides a real time mechanism for getting feedback. Bouncing questions off your followers asking for their ideas and suggestions is a gold mine worth tapping into.
#8 Market Research
Using the search functions within Twitter there is an unprecedented opportunity to do market research as it’s unfolding.
You’ll be able to key in on what people are looking for, what they think of certain products and services, and what they would consider buying.
#9 Testimonial Tool
Twitter is a great way to get testimonials about what it is you do.
The viral nature of Twitter makes the best of these testimonials spread like wild fire, and reinforce the idea that you don’t suck – instant social proof!
#10 Build Authority
As you become a trusted friend to your community you will undoubtedly build authority.
The benefits to being the authority on a subject are vast, not the least of which higher conversions, more pricing power, and higher customer satisfaction
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Top Ten Ways To Grow A Business In A Recession
The following guest post is from Neil Belenkie, who lends his expertise on steps businesses can take to not only survive the recession, but thrive in it. Here’s his top 10 ways to grow your business during tough economic times.
1. Budget Responsibly
This is not the time for frivolous spending. 60 inch plasma tvs are not a priority, no matter how cool they would look in your foyer. Make absolutely certain that every dollar you spend is directly related to generating revenue for your business.
2. Make Knowledge-Based Decisions
Don’t use intuition when it is possible to use facts. It will take extra work, but when you have data to base your decisions on, not only can you measure the success of your decisions but you can remove the risk of uncertainty.
3. Be Strategic
Success is not luck. Think hard about why your customer would want your products or services. The marketplace has evolved, make sure that your message is relevant and that your communications resonate with your target audience.
4. Be Unique
Do not try to be all things to all people, be all things to a few people and they will all buy.
5. Innovate
You need to find new ways to make money. Create new applications for your existing products, find new customers who would benefit from your services, find new products that your existing customers will also need… Do not accept that what you’re currently doing is all that can be done.
6. Partnerships
Figure out exactly who your customers are and then think about where else they are purchasing their products or services. Approach the providers of these other products and services and create partnerships where you can refer customers back and forth between your businesses. Their company is not competitive to yours so it is in both of your best interests’ to make this work.
7. Plan Well
The marketplace has changed, is your business plan still relevant? Spend time analyzing how your customer’s need have changed and ask yourself if you have changed with them. If not, you need to make sure that you have a plan to bring your business up to date. If you are doing well, then make sure you have a plan for the next phase of this evolving marketplace. Stay ahead of the wave and the water will always be ripple free.
8. Invest in Low Risk ROI Opportunities.
Money is tight but that doesn’t mean that you can afford not to spend. Keep seeking out new business opportunities. With each opportunity, assess the investment versus the forecasted revenue and don’t be afraid to go after an opportunity when the numbers work.
9. Create Multiple Revenue Channels.
If you are only doing business through your store, you need to find new ways to access your customers. Start an online business where customers can purchase your products remotely. Hire sales representatives who can take your products to the customers instead of waiting for your customers to come to you. Find other companies to sell your products for you. More access to customers equals more sales.
10. Do it Now
Your business will not turn around on its own and every day passed is another day of lost revenue. Commit to making changes now.
Author Bio:
Neil has spent more than 15 years as a sales, marketing, and business development executive in multiple industries. He has served as a consultant with Ray & Berndtson Executive Search in Vancouver, and also co-hosted a radio show in Vancouver called “Grow Your Business”. Neil is active in the non-profit sector serving as a Board Member of the Vancouver Biennale.
Keep up with all that Neil is doing on his blog, This Spade is a Spade.
What do you think? Anything you would add/subtract from Neil’s list?
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