It is very hard to run a business single-handedly and at some point you will need assistance in order to complete that two-man job or that rush job that is due by Friday. It is essential that you employ people that you TRUST to be ambassadors for your company especially if they are customer-facing. Remember it’s your reputation on the line so be clear and honest with your sub-contractors or employees what standards you expect. If you are sub-contracting make sure you have clear agreements in place, especially covering client confidentiality or disclosure.
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Once you have an established customer base you need to COMMUNICATE regularly with them. It is much easier to upsell to existing customers who know you and your service or product than to try to develop new clients. To establish trust and rapport with your customers and to ensure that they come back for more (and even better – tell others about how great you are!) you need to be in constant contact with them.
No matter what your business is, your contacts list is the most valuable asset to your business when you first start off. Even if you have an amazing product or an essential service to sell you need customers! Make sure you keep all your contacts in one place (smartphones are ideal!) this includes existing customers, potential leads and useful people to network with. Keep notes of all conversations and possible ideas or selling opportunities, and never leave direct enquiries hanging. Communication is the key, cold calling is hard, but sometimes necessary to get your business known.
This week I will share my top tips for settings up in business, a tip a day, a bit like a countdown to the New Year or my very own business advent calendar, check this space to reveal the next tip....
Following on from the previous topic, there are a number of cheap and cheerful (and extremely easy to use) cloud accounting software packages just tailor made for small business owners. Here are just a few: Freeagent, Xero, Quickbooks online, clearbooks and Kashflow. These have the advantages over desktop packages in that all data is kept securely on-line, your accountant or business advisor can login and keep up to date with financial information and most of them have mobile applications to help you ‘on-the-go’.
There are a number of apps for smartphones too that are extremely easy to use: eg receipt bank to record receipts immediately and timesheet timetracker to record all billable time (useful for consultants out in the field), as with everything do your research or ask for advice. What is the best way to keep accurate records for your business? There are many ways, simple paperwork (receipts, invoices, printed paypal and bank statements) are perfectly acceptable to HMRC, however you should make sure they are filed and kept in a safe and secure manner.
Electronic receipts are also acceptable to HMRC and with the huge choice of apps available for smartphones it is a very simple process to keep electronic copies of receipts and statements. To record cash income and outgoings, simple spreadsheets are an effective and extremely cheap way of producing simple income statements and balance sheets, however for your business you may need something more sophisticated. As with everything it pays to talk to someone who can help you decide what is best for your business. |
Author: Catherine WainwrightUseful stuff to help small business owners be more effective. Archives
August 2018
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