Are You Taking Care of Business?

Written by Patty Gale


Too often, when we say we are "taking care of business", we think aboutrepparttar paperwork,repparttar 100258 accounting,repparttar 100259 inventory, etc...repparttar 100260 trivial things that are important to get done in order for our business to run smoothly and efficiently. While necessary, they are notrepparttar 100261 most important.

We need to change our thinking about what "taking care of business" means. We need to make sales in order to have a profitable business, and we know without our customers or consultants, we don't have a business. They are our lifeblood, they are what keeps us moving forward, and meeting their needs should be our primary mission.

Without consultants or customers, there are no sales. Without sales, there is no revenue... without revenue, there is no business and we might as well go back and get a j.o.b. It is crucial that we take care of our customers and consultants. CRM (customer-relationship management) is a buzz-word in "big business". Many large corporations have implemented systems and technology to supposedly create customer care. Some have been successful, many have not.

Most of these systems simply giverepparttar 100262 illusion of customer care, but have failed miserably in actually providing it. How many times have you been throughrepparttar 100263 "round robin" of "press 1 for this" and "press 2 for that", only to spend an hour or more and never actually speak to a live person or get your problem solved? You hang up inrepparttar 100264 phone in frustration and vow never to spend money with XYZ Company again. This approach to customer care continues to baffle me as to why large companies believe this is effective. How can they possibly think that customer relationships can be created and nurtured by a recording?

Consolidate Student Loans and Shop Online

Written by Nick Smith


If you run a home business, you know that budgets can be pretty tight. Saving money wherever possible can berepparttar difference betweenrepparttar 100257 business that succeeds andrepparttar 100258 one that fails. This article represents a broad survey of things you can do, from consolidating your student loans to getting small business deals on supplies, that will help you spend less each month.

Next Time You’re Online, Buy Something

Billions of dollars are spent each year online. Rather than suggest that you hurry and move your business online, I’d like to suggest that you add some of your dollars and cents to those billions already spent. Companies who move operations online reduce their overhead costs and often pass on those savings to you. Computers, airplane tickets, even student loan consolidation, can be purchased or arranged online. It has been my experience that I can find almost everything I want online for less than I can find it anywhere else. Next time you’re thinking about bitingrepparttar 100259 bullet and making that big purchase, spend a little time shopping around online and see if you can’t save a few dollars.

Consolidate Student Loans and Get Your House in Order

Chances are good that you’ve been out of school for a while, but don’t skip this paragraph. If you consolidate student loans or other financial obligations, you will typically save a great deal of money each month on your monthly payments. Running a home business often blursrepparttar 100260 line between personal expenses and business operating costs – do yourself a favor and make sure you have your personal financial affairs taken care of before you find yourself overwhelmed with past obligations. The government might not have cared about your credit score when they gave you those student loans, but banks looking to give business loans are a whole different story. Making sure everything is taken care will keep financial doors open that, once they’re closed, are very difficult to reopen.

Score One forrepparttar 100261 Little Guy

Believe it not, most people want small businesses to succeed. There are a lot of people willing to give you a break on prices because you own a home business, but you might need to ask about it. Office supply retailers and computer distributors sometimes offer discount prices to registered small business owners. The savings are not always monumental, but evenrepparttar 100262 smallest savings multiplied over a year or two start to add up to pretty substantial amounts. Shop around to see ifrepparttar 100263 suppliers you use are willing to offer you a discount on supplies or equipment.

Do Without…For a While



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