How to Keep Your Business Sustainable

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | Sustainable Business | How to Keep Your Business Sustainable No matter which industry you are running your business in, you will need to ensure that you are offering more value or lower costs than your competitors to protect your market share. At the same time, you have to protect your reputation and ensure that you are making long term plans, instead of simply focusing on surviving from one month to the next. There are certain areas you will have to pay attention to to guarantee sustainable growth in your business.

Keep Up with the Regulations

One of the main risks for your business is related to regulatory and legal changes. If you don’t stay on top of the latest law and have a legal expert to monitor the changes, you might face fines, or even have to close your business down. In case you run a business with a high environmental impact, you might consider installing a ground water monitoring system to ensure you are not putting communities at risk or breaking the law.

Increase Your Research and Development Budget

It might also be a good idea to do your research and invest in the latest technology, or you will be left behind by your competitors. Investing in improving your efficiency and productivity will help you create more value to your customers and maintain your reputation. From software to the latest tools, there are various areas you can spend your research and development budget on.

StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | Sustainable Business | How to Keep Your Business Sustainable Delegate

If you are trying to control or even micromanage every process in your organization, you are going to get overwhelmed very soon. That is why you might want to create a plan to delegate some of the tasks, so you can focus on strategy development and other aspects of your business that will make a long term difference.

Nurture Your Talent

One of your most valuable talents apart from your reputation is the talent pool and your employees. If you look after them, you will be able to offer better quality services and products to your market, and reduce your recruitment and human resource costs. If you would like to run your business in the most effective way, you will have to nurture your talent and focus on organizational learning and knowledge sharing.

Keep an Eye on the Trends

It is absolutely crucial that you look into the future and spot the customer and market trends as soon as possible. Industries, technologies, and market trends change faster than ever before, and this means that you have to be a leader instead of a follower to win the game. Invest in business intelligence and market research, ask your current clients for feedback, and run trials before launching a new product.

There is a lot of talk about business sustainability these days. You might automatically think about green investments, but it actually means much more. Focus on your long term goals and the market trends, invest in new technologies and talent development, and you can remain competitive for decades to come.

Do You Have A Network Infrastructure In Place?

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | Network Infrastructure | Do You Have A Network Infrastructure In Place?Networks have become integral to businesses. Nearly every single company uses some form of a network. It doesn’t matter whether these businesses are large companies or small startups. As long as the use of technology is evident, then the need for a network is there.

Just think about how many computers are used around the world today. Technology has a place at the core of all business activities nowadays. As soon as a company has more than one computer in their premises the need for a network arises. After all, they need to have a channel of communication. This is so common files can be shared, whether they be different software applications, client files, or databases. It is unfeasible to manually implement everything on to one computer one by one. This would take forever and the process would need to be repeated constantly. And then you must think about networking on a different scale, such as through outsourcing. This requires some form of network capacity so that you can work together and join forces with an outside source.

Quite frankly, if you don’t have a network infrastructure in place then you are dramatically halting the progress of your business and putting huge stumbling blocks in the way for your growth. However, if you do have an effective and well thought out network infrastructure you can reap mass rewards. This will bring a lot of benefits to your business.

One of the main benefits your business will experience through using a network infrastructure and investing in network support is an increased level of communication. This will see your productivity levels soar as your staff will be able to communicate more efficiently with one and other and get tasks completed at a faster rate. This communication also relates to the dialogue between your business and your suppliers and customers. All in all, because information is being shared more efficiently your business runs a lot more smoothly. Problems will be resolved quickly and any queries will be answered at a rapid pace.

You can also benefit from cost efficiency as well. After all, it is much cheaper for all of your data to be stored in one centralised place. Just think about how much you will save on IT support alone. Employees can also share the use of key equipment, such as scanners, printers, external disks, and so on and so forth. Not only do these points mentioned represent cost efficiency, but also general efficiency levels regarding the work rate of your company. There will be a smaller scope for error too. As everyone will be using the same network people will be able to pick up on any issues and quickly fix them, rather than one person having to be responsible for all.

It is quite evident to see that there is a lot to be gained by using a network infrastructure. You will note your business productivity and efficiency levels will increase, there will be a higher quality of work, and you will be able to save some money at the same time too.

4 Proven Strategies to Boost Income from Amazon FBA

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Articles | Entrepreneur | 4 Proven Strategies to Boost Income from Amazon FBAAmazon FBA is an easy option for entrepreneurs who want to try their hand at e-commerce. You get to enjoy the benefits of running your own business while taking advantage of the conglomerate’s massive network and diverse customer base. Plus, Amazon also houses your stocks for you, so you don’t need to worry about renting a warehouse.

If you’re looking for ways to boost the income of your Amazon FBA business, here are some strategies you must consider:

1. Partner with a Reliable Forwarder

While Amazon may be responsible for storing your products on your behalf, you still need to send them to the retailer’s warehouses. This is where a trustworthy Amazon FBA forwarder and prep center comes in. If you bought goods overseas, a partner like FBABEE could streamline the sourcing and shipping process for you, including picking up the inventory, preparing and labeling the items, and shipping them directly to Amazon.

2. Focus on Fast-Moving Products

After you’ve created a smooth channel for your products to be sent to Amazon fulfillment centers, you should study your current sales and identify which products are popular with consumers. Concentrate on those particular items and eliminate the others from your catalogs. This way, you prevent the e-commerce giant from penalizing you with fees because of long-term storage.

These are the factors that determine highly sellable products:

  • Cost – Your initial capital per item should only be 25% to 35% of your target selling price. For a product that’s $50, find a supplier who can give it to you for $17.50 or less.
  • Price – Consumers are more likely to buy from you if your products are in the $10 to $50 price range.
  • Weight – The goods should weigh a total of around 2 to 3 lbs with the box and packaging so that you can save on shipping costs.
  • Strength – Your products should be sturdy enough to endure the delivery process without damage.
  • Consumable – Focus on selling products that your customers will use up or need to replace. These items should also be used throughout the year for better profitability.
  • Quality – Be sure to sell the items with the best quality so you have the upper hand in the marketplace.

Amazon provides its sellers with valuable tools and information such as the Best Sellers Rank (BSR) and Customer Reviews to identify which products consumers are buying. Do your research and compare prices with stores who sell the same products as you to check if you can improve on the cost of your merchandise to boost sales.

3. Regularly Review Amazon Fees

Examine your bill from Amazon regularly to check if there are any inaccurate charges by the site. There are different shipping fees for various package sizes, but there are times when an incorrect measurement can prompt Amazon to double your fees or provide you with variable shipping costs.

One way to solve this is to contact Amazon and have them remeasure the products. You can also ask for reimbursement for the error because you paid them extra for that particular mistake. Moreover, regularly check the size, weight, and description of your stock keeping units (SKUs) to prevent erroneous charges and increase the profit margin of your Internet-based business.

StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Articles | Entrepreneur | 4 Proven Strategies to Boost Income from Amazon FBA4. Check Your Product Titles and Descriptions

Optimizing your product titles and descriptions for Amazon’s search engine will vastly improve your FBA business’ income. Aside from having a competitive price and improving your seller rating, you need to place relevant keywords on your product titles and descriptions so that your items come up first when a customer searches for it.

For example, if you’re selling sunglasses, it’s not enough to put your brand and the word “sunglasses” as a title. You need to think like your shoppers and determine the keywords that they will use when searching for sunglasses such as the color, shape, and lens type.

Some guidelines on how to get your title to rank well on Amazon:

  • Be as specific as possible within 100 to 200 characters for your product title.
  • Make the most of pipes (|) and dashes (-) to improve readability.
  • Place primary keywords at the beginning of the title.
  • Add compelling secondary keywords.
  • Highlight primary and secondary functions through keywords.

Conclusion

Amazon’s FBA business model provides sellers with cost-effective shipping rates as well as excellent support from their team of customer service representatives. This is the perfect setup for individuals who want to start and manage their business in the comfort of their homes. With the right strategies, you can ship your products to Amazon and send them to customers without leaving your personal space.

Five Networking Tips for Entrepreneurs

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Networking is one of the lesser appreciated talents that the world’s most successful entrepreneurs have mastered. It is not an easy skill, either. Knowing how to network is a fine line between making friends and actively seeking out business partnerships. You cannot become best friends with everyone you meet, after all, but you do need to make a good enough connection to trade favors with each other. Reaching that stage can be incredibly difficult because if you aren’t careful people will only see your efforts as wanting of something. To properly master the art that is networking, try adopting these top five tips.

Skip the Sales Speech

If you go into any new relationship with a goal to sell products or gain a favor, you will most likely fail. Only a very few people have mastered their charm to the point where people will be willing to help out or buy something new from the get-go, especially if they weren’t expecting you. So, skip the sales speech and instead start a conversation. It is far easier to connect with someone in an organic conversation than it is if you give them an elevator pitch.

Help First, Ask Later

One of the easiest tips to follow and arguably one of the best is to find out what you can do for someone else. Be proactive about networking. This way will help you make connections, diversify your portfolio and skills, and of course give you an acquaintance you can later ask for help. You don’t need to be best friends with people, but you do need to foster mutually beneficial relationships.

Take Notes and Keep Track

Try as best you can to keep track of information about the person in question. Keeping notes in your contacts app can help you stay in touch and give the personal touch all at the same time. Try to keep track of both corporate information (their job position, who they work for, etc.) as well as personal information (if they have allergies, for example). People respond when they feel like you care.

Collaborate

Another way to network is to collaborate. This way you can put effort into fostering one relationship, and then meet others in that niche or industry in a far more organic way – being introduced. As a bonus, you will also be working in a new field or project on the side that can further your career and show your ambition.

Host Your Own Event

Finally, consider hosting your own event. If you are a consultant or own business, for example, you can organize an event, create a great atmosphere, offer free drinks served by professional bartenders from services such as eventbartenders.com, and get key people from your industry to attend. Then, as the host, you can get to know each and every one of them with a position of authority. They will be interested in knowing you because you took the initiative to create a great event everyone in your industry will be talking about. In turn, you can make new business relationships and connections.

Networking is a never-ending task, but it should never be seen as a chore. Instead, connect with people. Try to gain insight from them, help them, collaborate, and even host them. By doing this you not only network with people, but you set yourself up as a huge name in your industry.

Time to Expand? How to Get it Right

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | Expand Your Business | Time to Expand? How to Get it RightIf the time has come for your business to expand and take things to the next level, you need to tread carefully. Of course, growth and expansion are vital parts of running a successful company but expansions should always be undertaken with great care and consideration. Get things wrong and your business could be left in a worse position than it started in and that’s not what you want. Here’s how to go about it the right way.

Plan to Mitigate the Challenges That Come with Growth

Expansion is all well and good, but you must also remember that growing businesses bring their own challenges that shouldn’t be ignored. If you’re going to succeed with your business, you should do what you can to mitigate the challenges that come with growth. That means ensuring you have processes in place to deal with more customers and things of that nature. Even in something positive, challenges and problems can emerge if you’re not careful.

Scale Up the Workforce

You must also scale up the workforce if you’re serious about expanding. There’s no sense in asking your small team to deal with an expanded business and a raft of new clients and customers. That will only place pressure on them that they might not be able to deal with, and that’ll backfire badly in the end. So hire more people and bolster your business’s workforce.

Take Over Another Business

Mergers and takeovers give you the chance to make your business bigger and expand its scope at the same time. Many big businesses have grown by swallowing up others and growing along the way. This applies to just about any business too. Whether you want to view dental practice listings to buy up other local practices or take over retail operations, it’s worth exploring and considering going forward.

Introduce New Products or Services

As part of the expansion of your business, you should also aim to introduce new products and services to your business. People will be more interested in your business and what it’s offering if they can see a clear improvement and more options. If they already know what you’re offering and there’s nothing new, there’ll be no incentive for those customers to take a second look.

Look to New Territories

Expanding into new territories is definitely a good idea if you have the resources available to you to make that happen. It’s a natural and productive way of expanding your offer because you’ll be giving potentially millions of new customers a chance to engage with your business that wasn’t there before. Be sure to carry out market research and see if this is something you feel your business could benefit from.

Expanding a business is always a big challenge and there are plenty of things that can go wrong along the way for you. But expansion is key if you want your business to have a sustainable long-term future. There’s only so long you can keep your business at the same level before feeling the need to expand it.