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When Is The Right Time To Hire Your First Employee?

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StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |Hiring Employees|When Is The Right Time To Hire Your First Employee?Although it’s entirely possible to run your business by yourself for as long as you want to – maybe even forever – that’s not what every business and every business owner needs. In fact, for some businesses, not taking on staff can be detrimental and reduce growth, or even cause the business to stagnate.

Knowing when it’s the right time to hire your first employee, however, can be difficult to determine, especially if you are nervous about doing so. Move too soon, and you won’t be able to afford it, wait too long, and you’ll have missed too many opportunities. Read on to get a better idea of when to start the hiring process.

You’ll Make More Money

It is an expensive time when you hire someone. Not only will you be taking time away from the business to read through resumes and interview candidates, but you’ll suddenly need to be paying someone a regular amount of money each week or month. If you are unable to do that, your employees won’t stay around, and they might even take the matter further and sue you for their money. Plus you’ll need to pay taxes, insurance, and maybe contribute to pensions schemes.

You will need to add this all up and determine whether or not you can afford to take someone on. You will also need to work out how much additional revenue you can bring in by hiring someone. It might be that they can pay for themselves and then some. You should wait until you are financially stable, however, as it is a gamble that might not pay off.

You Can Do It Right

When we say do it right, we don’t mean all the admin and other exercises that need to be done when you hire someone. You can outsource much of this and TriNet’s payroll services can take on what you cannot such as managing your payroll for you or simplifying your taxes.

What we mean is that you need to be able to find the right person for your business, and, when they are hired, you need to be able to ensure that they are looked after. Getting these aspects right will help you immensely. You’ll have someone you can trust who, because they feel happy and satisfied in their work, will be loyal. Loyal employees are wonderful as they will mean you don’t have to start all over again and spend more money looking for other workers.

You Need Something Specific

As noted above, outsourcing can be a wonderful way to ensure that work is done accurately and professionally. You can do this with many aspects of your business, and it will mean that anything specific that needs to be done and requires a certain skill set can be completed.

In time, however, you may find that it would be easier to hire someone to do the work in-house. Some business owners prefer to have someone working just for them, and if this is the case and you no longer want to outsource yet can’t do the work yourself, it could be time to hire your first employee.

The Best Ways to Modernize Your Business

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Modernize your Business|The Best Ways to Modernize Your BusinessStaying modern is something that every business needs to do, but many struggle with. Those that are able to stay current will be able to satisfy the fast-changing needs and expectations of today’s consumer, streamline their business and stay ahead of the curve. Meanwhile, those that struggle to keep up will get left behind and could find it hard to compete. It is clear that staying modern is im-portant, but how can you go about doing this? It is hard to know in today’s day and age as there are so many different ways to do this – read on to find out a few of the most effective areas that are worth focusing on.

Remote Working

Remote working has been on the rise years, but in 2020 it has become widespread due to the pan-demic. In most cases, this has shown to be a success for companies with many reporting an increase in productivity as well as a boost in morale. Having the right tools and learning how to manage re-mote teams is important if you want to find success and you may want to have some flexibility as some people will prefer working in the office at least part time.

Outsourcing

Outsourcing is becoming increasingly more common in today’s day and age and made much easier through the rise of remote working. It makes sense from a business perspective because outsourc-ing allows you to use experts to handle certain aspects of the business operation without the need to pay a full salary and other employee costs. This makes it a cost-effective option and could allow you to scale up with ease, and there are many areas that you can outsource, such as:

  • Digital marketing
  • IT
  • HR
  • Accounting
  • Social media management

Use Video Marketing

Video marketing is a highly popular and effective ways to promote your business and can be much more engaging than other formats. Video marketing will capture the attention of your target cus-tomer; it allows you to use both audio and video as it can make it easier to communicate your mes-sage and it is a chance to impress and show your expertise. The key is to have any videos made by an experienced professional as amateurish videos can have the reverse effect in a time where peo-ple are used to seeing so many videos every day.

Influencer Marketing

Another popular form of digital marketing to use right now which could have a huge impact on the success of your business is influencer marketing. This involves getting someone with credibility in your field to promote your products/services on social media which will help to boost your reputa-tion, advertise your company and allowing you to reach a much larger audience.

Automation

Automation is a word that can create some strong reactions in the business world, as some argue that it leads to job losses. While this is the case in some circumstances, you can actually use automa-tion alongside employees which can be a great way to boost efficacy, reduce workload for staff and speed processes up. Using automation to handle simple, repetitive tasks will allow your team to fo-cus on other areas. They could help you to work at a much higher capacity than before so it should certainly be looked into.

Artificial Intelligence

Another type of technology that was once seen as futuristic but is now becoming common in a range of industries is artificial intelligence. AI can be used in all kinds of creative and innovative ways, such as:

  • Process automation
  • Collecting data
  • Chatbots
  • Optimizing logistics
  • Predicting performance

Update The Company Website

If you have not updated the company website for a few years, then this is a smart way to modern-ize. It is amazing just how quickly web design trends can change, and a dated website will quickly deter any visitor. Therefore, it is a great idea to use an experiment web design agency that will know the latest trends to deliver a modern, attractive and easy-to-use website which will impress any visitor.

Cloud-Based Training

Cloud computing can bring many benefits to a business and is a great way to modernize. Despite this, many people are struggling to get to grips with cloud computing which is understandable as a relatively new type of technology. This is why you should look into cloud-based training for enter-prise teams which will help get your team up to speed about using the cloud. This will help you to get the most out of cloud computing and modernize your workforce so that everyone can excel in their role and work with confidence each day.

Upgrade Cybersecurity

Understandably, business owners are focused on the threat of the pandemic in 2020, but one area which you must not overlook is cybercrime. Cybercrime is a massive problem that affects business-es of all sizes and in all industries, and there are constantly new threats being developed. This means that this needs to be a priority, and you need to invest in high-quality cybersecurity products in addition to learning about the latest threats and how you can stay safe.

Be Environmentally Friendly

Every business should be looking at how they operate and find ways to be more environmentally friendly. This is important in terms of doing your part to reduce impact, but also because consumers are becoming increasingly eco-aware and selective of the brands that they use, so it is important for your reputation. Not only this but often you will find that being more environmentally friendly can help to lower your operating costs too.

If you are wanting to modernize your business, then these are a few of the best ways that you can do this. Businesses need to stay current and ahead of the curve so that they can find success, appeal to their target customer and stay ahead of the competition but it is also an area that many struggle with so hopefully this post will help.

How to Make the Most Of Your Entrepreneurial Talents

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Entrepreneurial Talent| How to Make the Most Of Your Entrepreneurial TalentsThere are some people that just seem to be drawn to entrepreneurial life. There’s just something inside of them that makes starting and running a business a highly attractive proposition. But of course, just because you may be drawn that way, that doesn’t necessarily mean that things will be easy. In fact, they’re certain to be anything but easy! Business, after all, is far from a walk in the park. There are things you can do that’ll allow you to make the most of your talents, however. In this blog, we’ll take a look at some useful tips that’ll lead to just that.

Follow the Passion

You’ll find that everything connected to running your business is much more straightforward if you’re doing something that you inherently enjoy. Though it can be tempting to start a business that you might think will make money flow your way, it’ll be better to select something that’s related to an interest of yours. For starters, this will probably cut down on the amount of time you have to research your industry, since you’ll already know a lot. It’ll also give you that extra motivation, and help when the going gets tough, as it surely will at some stage.

An Inch of Courage

We tend to look at successful entrepreneurs and just assume that they had the skills and talents to get to where they got to. They were always destined to reach the top, is what we think. But actually, this isn’t the case. Though it’s often overlooked, one of the key factors that unite all successful entrepreneurs — actually all successful people — is that they had the courage to make it happen. Unless you’re born to wealthy parents, nothing is given to you on a plate: you have to earn it. And in order to step up and make things happen, you’ll need to have some courage. You don’t need to have it in spades, but at least a little bit!

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Find Your Rhythm

Even if you think you’re ready to start your own company after a period of being a regular employee, it’ll still take some time to adjust to the new way of doing things. You’ll have had your established rhythms at your workspace when you worked for a company. Now that you’re on your own, those rhythms will have disappeared — and it’ll be up to you to make your own, new ones. It’s important that you conduct a bit of self-analysis and figure out when and how you work best. It could be that you prefer to be in a busy working environment, or that you prefer to work in silence. Once you’ve figured out which is your preferred method, you’ll find that you’re able to make more progress than if you were trying to work in ways that feel uncomfortable.

Start the Day Well

It won’t be long before you realize that working as an entrepreneur is not the same as working as a regular employee. You’ll have to work harder and for longer when you’re running your own company. As such, it’s important that you take time to ensure that your energy levels and capabilities are at the highest level that they can be. While there are many different ways to do this, one of the best and most simple to enact is to start the day right. You’ll find that you’re able to make much more progress if you have a morning routine that pushes you towards delivering your best work. This all begins with, of course, getting a good night’s sleep. You should try to wake up well in advance of when you need to leave your house, and try to get some exercise in. A short run, cold shower, and nutritious and energetic breakfast will set you up for a great day at the office.

Trust Other People

One of the myths of entrepreneurial life is that people do things on their own. This is virtually never true. Every successful business owner has had to make the most of other people’s help. As such, one of the best things you can do for your business is to learn how to trust other people (that is if you’ve previously had issues with this). This is especially relevant when it comes to hiring your first employees. If all you want to do is micromanage them, then you’ll be doing your business a disservice. It’s much better to hire well and then trust that your members of staff will deliver top of the line work for your company.

StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Entrepreneurial Talent| How to Make the Most Of Your Entrepreneurial TalentsOpen to Criticism

You’re going to know a lot. You’re going to have successes. But you’ll also make mistakes and take missteps. This in itself isn’t a major issue; every company in the world gets things wrong from time to time. What counts is whether you’re willing to accept that you’ve made a mistake, and take criticism from other people. There are many business owners out there that have pretty thin-skin. They take everything personally! But this will only cause trouble at some point or another (wouldn’t Tesla be better if Elon Musk could just let things go?). Instead, accept that you don’t know everything, and be humble enough to know that sometimes, other people will know better. It’s an approach that’ll take you far in life.

Lighten Your Load

Even if you hire employees to help you, you’ll still have a lot of responsibilities on your plate. But do they all need to be on your plate? Probably not. Not only would it be better to outsource the tasks to other people because it’ll free up your time to work on other tasks, by handing the job over to experts, but you’ll also ultimately strengthen your company. They’ll be able to do a better job than you could, after all. There are some jobs where it just makes sense to hand over to someone else. A company like CalTech Web can take care of your web design, so you don’t have to. Other tasks to outsource include your payroll, marketing, and legal matters. Once these time consuming and complicated tasks are off your plate, you’ll find that you have much more time to work on the jobs that help push your business forward.

Strengths and Weaknesses

As we mentioned earlier: you’re going to have a degree of confidence that you can run a business if you decide to become an entrepreneur. It would be weird if you didn’t! But it’s not as if you’re going to know everything, or even close to it. There are some jobs where it’ll be better to bow to superior knowledge. The difficult part is knowing which is which. In the early days of your entrepreneurial career, it’s recommended that you conduct an analysis of your strengths and weaknesses. This will highlight the areas that you should be in charge of, what others should do, and where you need to improve. And talking of which….

Continue to Improve

You’re not the finished article when you become an entrepreneur. Actually, you’re really just getting started along your journey. Though you’re the boss, don’t forget that there will still be areas in which you improve. And so make sure that you are. Whatever weaknesses you have, you’ll find that there are courses and other materials available that can help you to improve that aspect of your professional life. Think of it this way: it was your open-mind and willingness to learn that got you into a position where you could start a business in the first place. Don’t turn your back on that tactic just because you’ve technically started a business.

Find a Mentor

You’re at the beginning of your new career as an entrepreneur. While you’ll learn a lot on the job, there’s no denying that it would be pretty useful to have some of the lessons under your belt at the beginning. For that, it’s recommended that you find a mentor. This will be an older person who has been there, done that — and who will thus have plenty of wisdom to share with you. They won’t necessarily help you with the running of your company (though they might), but rather offer general advice about how you can achieve success, the habits you need to have, things like that. If you can’t think of anyone who would be your mentor, then you could consider reading the books and podcasts of successful people. There’s always a lot to learn in those!

Conclusion

As we said at the beginning of the article, running a company will never be easy. Even when things are going well, there’ll be challenges on the horizon that you’ll need to overcome. But it’s not as if you need to just go along for the ride. There are things you can do that’ll help you to make the most of your inherent talents. Take the tips that we’ve outlined above, and you’ll find that you’re in a pretty strong position to achieve great things with your company.

A Business That Never Sleeps: Running A 24 Hour Business

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |24 hour business|A Business That Never Sleeps: Running A 24 Hour BusinessBeing open 24 hours is necessary for some businesses such as hotels and security companies. For others it can be convenient (such as businesses that deal with international clients in different time zones). Running an around-the-clock business can be very different from running a nine to five business. Here are just some of the measures you may want to consider when going 24 hours.

Find the right staff

If you’re open all hours, you need to be able to have staff on duty 24/7. You may want to hire set staff to work night shifts rather than encouraging everyone to work flexible patterns. Alternatively, if you’re struggling to find candidates willing to work night shifts in your area, you may find it easier to create a system in which employees work one night shift per week. In certain lines of work there may be creative ways of sourcing night staff. For instance, if you’re looking for a task that can be carried out remotely, you could consider hiring staff from another country that operates in a different time zone.

Train them to deal with emergencies

When operating 24/7, it’s impossible for you to always be on shift. As a result, you need to enable your business to run without you. On top of carrying out essential tasks, your night time needs to be ready to deal with emergencies and they need to be able to carry out response plans without having to wake you up for support. You can train your employees to deal with various emergencies by conducting drills and by setting up handbooks that they can easily refer to if necessary.

Take advantage of outsourcing

Outsourcing could be a low-cost way of handling certain roles. For instance, if you need to keep your network monitored 24/7 and maintain a constant defence against cyberattacks you could consider outsourcing a managed service provider. This could be a lot cheaper than having to hire several IT specialists to work shifts around the clock (outsourcing may cost as much – or even less – than hiring one employee, while giving you the manpower of several employees). Other tasks you may want to outsource in such a fashion could include phone answering or email support. Not all tasks can be outsourced so bear this in mind.

Schedule maintenance tasks during your least busy times

Some businesses like to carry out tasks like cleaning, repairs and servicing outside of opening hours, so that day-to-day work is not interrupted. If your business is always open, you cannot do this, so you have to consider the next best alternative – which is to carry out these tasks at your least busy periods. The quietest time may not always be the best time. For instance, 3AM may not be the best time to carry out noisy cleaning tasks in a hotel – you might be better off doing these tasks during the day when customers aren’t likely to be disturbed. Make sure that maintenance tasks are carried out, otherwise you’ll run into numerous problems in the long run.

Managing Your Business Better In A Post-COVID World

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StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article |Post-Covid|Managing Your Business Better In A Post-COVID WorldThe battle with COVID-19 is far from over. There is a long way to go before the world can confidently say that it has a handle on the virus and that life can return to normal. However, many businesses are cautiously looking towards the future, and how they can adapt the way that they work in light of the pandemic, and the changes that we may have to make in the future.

The way we work has changed completely. While most companies were already moving towards being digital, this has accelerated the process somewhat. What other changes can you implement in a post-COVID world to help you to manage your business better?

Take feedback on board

It can be difficult to ask for feedback. After all, no one wants to hear what they are doing wrong, even if it is for the good of their business, but it really can make a significant difference.

The most obvious place to start with this is on your reviews and social media pages. If the same comments and criticisms about a particular product or business product keep cropping up, take heed and do something about it.

However, you can also create a focus group, made up of your target audience, and ask them what they think you are doing well and where they think you could improve. Above all else, take the feedback on board. Customers like to know that their opinions matter, so show them and tell them of the improvements that you have made based on their feedback.

Outsource tasks

Small business owners wear so many hats, and sometimes, one can slip and make the whole thing fall apart. Stop trying to do everything yourself and outsource. What is the point of you sitting there staring at a spreadsheet full of numbers that you do not understand when you can search for things like ‘a bookkeeper near me’ to do the hard work for you – and do it better!

Aim for a better work-life balance

If there is one thing that the coronavirus pandemic has taught us, it is that nothing is more important than our health. When you are not healthy, you can’t work as productively or efficiently as you could, so it is not only in the best interests of yourself and your family to stay healthy, but your business too.

One of the biggest health issues affecting business owners is burnout. As mentioned above, they wear so many hats and try to do so many things that you can end up burning out, which can be terrible for our health. Make sure you take time to be you, and not just a business owner.

Stay positive

We are in a situation like no other, and no one has any idea what the future is going to hold. There are undoubtedly going to many challenges in the road ahead, and sometimes, you may well feel like quitting. However, try to stay positive. You are far from the only person or business experiencing feelings like this, and while some will end up closing, many will survive, and come back stronger than ever.