Is No Win No Fee worth it as a business owner?

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |No Win No Fee|Is No Win No Fee worth it as a business owner?Unfortunately, as business owner things don’t always run as smoothly as desired and from time to time you may find yourself in a situation where expert help is needed to help remedy your problem. If you ever need to hire a solicitor to take on your legal work as a business owner, you may look to do this on a no win no fee basis. It seems like the most sensible option, right? “I don’t have to pay anything if I lose” you may be thinking, but when you delve into the process, what really do these four words mean for you?

What is a No Win No Fee agreement?

No Win No Fee is the term used for a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). Simply put, this is a contract between the solicitor and their client which allows them to charge their fees at the end of a case. However, this does depend on the outcome and will be highlighted to you as to how this works from the off.

If a case is lost, the client does not pay their solicitor’s fees. If the case is won, the client pays the solicitor’s fee plus an uplift on the fees at the end of the case. This additional cost is known as a “success fee”, which can be anywhere up to 100% of the base cost and is determined by the solicitors on a risk assessment of the case.

From April 2013 when the law changed, you are now no longer able to recover the success fee from your opponent, and are liable to pay the solicitor yourself from any damages you recover. Alternatively, should you win the case, this means you’re not liable for your opponent’s success fee either.

Why No Win No Fee is actually a good option as a business

It’s important to remember that a lot of solicitors will actually agree their success fee upfront with you, so if you’re looking to get a full picture of what the final cost might be should you win, always choose a reputable company who will be open with you. Doing extensive research in advance of choosing someone to represent you is key to how good the outcome will be for you and your business.

As a business, it may be beneficial for you to head down the No Win No Fee route, as it avoids you having to fork out and pay any hefty costs should you lose your case. These are often costs that many small businesses simply cannot afford to pay out for and do not make for a financially savvy decision.

Another offering to look out for from your solicitor is After the Event insurance. This type of protection covers you in the event that you’re liable for the defendant’s costs if you lose your claim. It’s just another assurance and will give you and your business even more peace of mind that your finances are protected! Making sure you take a full look at the services offered by the solicitor you’re thinking of taking your case to will put you in the best possible position for a favourable outcome.

Doing the research and getting the right protection is key

As with anything, make sure you research thoroughly before choosing your solicitor and ensure that you get the right protection put in place for you and your business from the start. This will enable you to be in with the best chance of you winning your case and also of also paying a fair amount in terms of additional fees when the case is closed.

A 3 Step Plan To Deal With Your Weaknesses As A Business Owner

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | A 3 Step Plan To Deal With Your Weaknesses As A Business Owner

You won’t like to hear this, but you’re not perfect. Nobody is, and nobody ever will be. Some people seem like they’re perfect, but they have weaknesses just like anybody else. As a business owner, you can’t afford to let your weaknesses get in the way of your success. You have to understand how to deal with things that hold you back.

As it happens, this is a lot easier than it seems. Dealing with your weaknesses can be boiled down into a straightforward three-step plan – which can actually only last two steps, but you’ll learn about that later. How do you do it? Well, read on to find out…

Step 1: Identify your weaknesses

It begins by recognizing where your weaknesses lie. Many of you probably haven’t thought about your strengths and weaknesses before. More specifically, you only think about your strengths! Assess your life and consider what you’re good and bad at. Is marketing your weakness? Do you struggle with productivity and time management? Are you really bad at organizing your admin tasks?

Look at your daily workload and think about what comes easy to you and what is more of a struggle. If possible, ask someone close to you if they can think of your weaknesses. Often, you need someone else to point something out before you realize it yourself!

Step 2: Learn from the experts

Once you know your weaknesses, you can start improving them. The easiest approach is to learn from the experts in your weaker fields. Let’s say that leadership is a particular weakness of yours. You’ve acknowledged this, and now you can attend online business classes focused on leadership. Here, you’ll be taught key points and skills from someone who is a strong leader and knows what it takes to become one.

The same goes for any other weakness you have; get help from people who deem your weakness as their strength! Business classes aren’t the only way to do this, you can also read books, listen to podcasts, etc.

Step 3: Hire people who know best

After the second step, you may be in a position where you’re more confident and have conquered your weakness. In which case, you can carry on with running your business. However, what if you still struggle and can’t wrap your head around a certain topic? In this instance, move onto the third step where you hire people who know best.

If you’re really bad at something and it’s taking too long to master it, get someone else to do it for you. Hire an admin assistant to organize your day if you still struggle to handle all the admin tasks. Outsource a marketing agency to draw up your marketing strategy if you can’t get to grips with it. Source help from experts to cover your weaknesses and ensure your business has no cracks!

After following these steps, you will be in a position where your weaknesses are no longer a problem. Either you have mastered them, or someone else is taking care of them. Either way, your business is in a much better position.

The Rise of Alternative Online Businesses

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Online Businesses|The Rise of Alternative Online Businesses The internet has become part of our society in just about every possible way, and it has certainly revolutionized the way we do business. No matter the sector, buying, trading, and selling goes on every day with new companies and products emerging all the time.

The result is an incredibly competitive marketplace which often feels saturated with small, medium, and large organizations vying for visibility.

Surely, then, there is no more room for another online business? Not so. The truth is that there will always be room for more online businesses if there are entrepreneurs coming up with alternative business concepts and innovative services/products.

To inspire you on your journey to starting your own online business, this article explores the alternative ones which have risen to success in recent years.

Cyber Security

The internet is a wonderful entity, but it can also be dangerous if we are not careful. There are cybercriminals and hackers working all the time to try and exploit individuals and organizations by accessing sensitive information. This has brought about a need for cybersecurity professionals who are essentially ethical hackers. A business will ask them to try and hack into their system so that they can identify their weaknesses before a hacker with criminal intent finds them.

Subscription services

In a world where we do a lot of our shopping online, we have replaced the experience of physically visiting a store to buy something and walking out with our new purchases. Instead, we experience a different excitement of clicking a few buttons and waiting for the delivery.

With subscription services, people sign up to receive a box of products through the mail on a monthly or quarterly basis. The products might be items they use all the time like vaping juices from ZampleBox — in which case, the service offers convenience and value for money — or luxury items, product samples, or mystery products.

Dropshipping and affiliate marketing

If you do not have the space to store stock but are interested in retail, a dropshipping business could be perfect. In this scenario, you create a website to sell products, but you do not stock the product. When an order is placed with you, you send this information to another company, either a stockist or manufacturer, who is responsible for storing, packing, and distributing the stock.

With affiliate marketing you create websites, posts on social media, and other digital marketing campaigns which promote another brand’s products or service. When you bring in a sale for the brand, you earn commission.

Influencer marketing

An increasingly popular career path is influencer marketing. People with a substantial social media following are paid to try, wear, review, and recommend products to their audience. Brands will approach influencers whose audience includes their target customers and pay them for their endorsement.

Creating Apps

If you are technologically minded, creating apps and games can be a very lucrative business. When your app is designed you can promote it via blogs, social media, and other digital marketing techniques to encourage people to download the app. Some app creators charge for the initial download, others offer the app for free but then make money via in-game purchases and/or selling advertising space to other brands.

Top Reasons Why Selling a Small Business is a Good Idea

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Selling a small business|Top Reasons Why Selling a Small Business is a Good IdeaIf you’ve ever considered selling a small business, look no further.

People sell businesses for a variety of reasons, but most of them revolve around getting away from something. While you may think that you’d only sell a business if you’re getting a lot of money, many people sell theirs because of personal issues.

Running a business is difficult, so you may find that it isn’t worth getting stressed out. You could also have a falling out with someone in the company, making it difficult to focus on what needs to be done. So how do you sell your business and justify it?
Read on to learn some of the top reasons why selling a small business is a good idea!

Avoid Potential Losses

One of the main reasons why people sell their small businesses is because they want to avoid losing revenue. A loss in revenue is bound to happen at some point in a company’s lifestyle, but it’s best to get out if the revenue is in a constant decline.

Several things can cause your business to start losing revenue. If there’s a shift in consumer interest for a certain product, your business may come out short. This is why it’s crucial to monitor consumer trends at all times to prevent this from happening.

Your business can also suffer if the economy declines. When an economy declines, people are more concerned with holding on to their money rather than spending it. In cases like this, revenue losses are inevitable.

While you can change your business up to try and keep the interest of customers, you could also sell it to avoid further losses. Understanding how to sell your business will make this process easier because you can get a lump sum of money instead of hoping your business turns around.

Seek New Business Partners

When starting a small business for the first time, it’s common to see an owner partner up with investors. Unfortunately, not all business partners are compatible, and disputes can make it hard for an owner to continue operating the business.

If you have business partners that are constantly disagreeing with your decisions, the best thing you can do may be to sell your business. While this is a drastic decision, you’ll have to do it unless you have the money to buy out your partners.

However, those partners don’t need to give up their share of the company if they don’t want to. Before selling the business, ask them if there’s something you can do to take over their shares. If they own large portions, it’ll be much harder to buy them out because they have a larger impact on the business.

Change Your Lifestyle

Running a business of any kind is tiring as it requires more time than a full-time job. When you own a business, you have to dedicate your lifestyle around it so that you can be prepared if your business needs something.

For example, if you own a retail store that runs out of stock for a popular item, you’ll need to decide what the appropriate action should be. If a plethora of customers are trying to purchase it, you’ll miss out on a lot of income if you’re not around to take action.
Should you decide that running a business takes up too much of your free time, you can sell it to help you change your lifestyle.

Instead of having to keep track of everything and work with business partners, you can start focusing on other things that mean more to you.

Health is something that many people have in mind when they answer the question, “Why should I sell my business?” While running a business comes with many benefits, it can also be deteriorating if you’re someone that wants to focus on your wellbeing.

Invest In Other Things

It’s best to expand your portfolio so that you don’t need to rely on one source of income. The best time to sell a business is when you decide that you’re ready to use that money towards other things. Many people don’t know what happens to cash when selling a business, but it goes directly into your bank account.

Selling your business will give you a plethora of cash that you can then use for things like stocks, real estate, and starting another business. Small businesses typically don’t cost too much to start, so you can most likely jump back into another one if you have an idea for something else.

If you do have an idea, it’s best to sit on it for a while until you figure out how you’re going to approach it. Should you decide to sell your business to help you fund another business, you’ll need to know how much the other business will require to start. From there, you can decide how much you want to sell the business for.

Consider Selling a Small Business Today

If any of the reasons in this article sound appealing, you should consider selling your business. You’ll get a lot more freedom to do other things and you can relieve yourself from stress relating to the business. All you’ll need to do is think about how you want to approach the sale.

Creating something like a “selling a business checklist” will help you put together a list of things to do when you’re ready to start selling a small business. You’ll need to think about how much you want for the business and what you plan to do with the money.
Check out our articles to learn more about running your own business!

How to Reach Your Full Potential as a Business Owner

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Business Owner|How to Reach Your Full Potential as a Business OwnerDo you want to look back on your career in 20-30 years time and feel like you did everything you could to be an amazing boss? If you’re serious about reaching your full potential as a business owner, be sure to put the advice laid out below into practice.

Pick up a number of crucial habits

World-class business owners don’t show up to the office every day and merely hope for the best. They work hard to pick up a number of habits, and they work even harder to exhibit them on a daily basis.

Here are a few habits you should pick up if you’re determined to reach your full potential in the world of business:

  • Ignore distractions
  • Focus on the tasks that have the highest payoff
  • Obsess about delivering value
  • Look after your health and wellbeing — you’ll find it easier to cope with those long days in the office if you do
  • Always be on the lookout for ways to fill the gaps in your market
  • Don’t sit behind your desk all day — leave the office, even if it is to meet with a business partner or to schmooze a client
  • Plan for the long-term
  • Never stop networking
  • Become a thrifty spender
  • Embrace new challenges, don’t cower away from them

Tend to your responsibilities

Going above and beyond to provide a high quality level of service is what will make you stand out from the crowd in your industry. Being a great business owner isn’t just about showcasing your abilities all the time, however. It’s also about tending to your responsibilities. They might not be glamorous, they might not make you any money, and they might not enhance your reputation in the eyes of your consumer base… but they’re a necessity!

No matter what industry you operate in, you will no doubt be inundated with a plethora of responsibilities each and every day. One of the biggest tasks that you face in this instance is keeping your employees safe from harm while they are at work. Nobody is going to want to work for you or even do business with you if you’re perceived to be a boss that doesn’t look after their workforce, which is why you must do right by your staff members in this sense.

Your employees face a whole host of dangers every time they step foot in your work environment, fire being one of the most hazardous. To ensure that you never shirk the responsibility of protecting your employees from the dangers of fire and smoke, it’s crucial that you perform a Fire Risk Assessment at least once a year.

Are you determined to scale the lofty heights of your industry? If you want to one day rub shoulders with the biggest names in your field, you’re going to have to go above and beyond each and every day to provide an optimized level of service. Put the above advice into practice, and you’ll be sure to reach your full potential as a business owner in no time.