Month: February 2012

Categories
Human Resource

How to Build a Dependable Workforce: Using Background Checks

The most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report shows the slight increase in jobs in the month of January 2012, yet again making our ascent out of this recession a slow and painful one.  There are still many displaced workers but the increase in economic stability is creating jobs. If you are one of the lucky employers who has the ability to hire employees in this market, the advice herein will be a refresher on how to weed out those with less than desirable histories, and how to spot those who may be omitting or including things that just may not be truthful – and cost you a lot of money in the end.

If you think that digging into prospective employees’ resumes, or even running a background check, is not necessary then you may want to think again. Recent stories of late with Executives who stated certain criteria that never existed makes you think, what else are people hiding? With more than half of all job applicants listing untruths on their resumes you may want to find out more about who you are considering for a hire and run a full background check, before you find out the hard way. Hopefully this infographic will help you improve your hiring process so that you can build the best workforce possible for your business.

About the Author:

The Business.com blog covers products, services and solutions to help grow a small business.

Categories
Branding

Make Your Brand Noticeable

If you run a company or work for one then you will know just how important it is to have a recognisable brand and to make sure that it is noticeable and have others be aware of it. There are numerous different strategies that companies employ to make sure that their brand and logo is noticed by other companies and individuals alike. You don’t necessarily need to have a huge and complex scheme to ensure that your brand is noticed; small scale changes can be just as effective. One simple change that you can make is to your stationery and office equipment. Having a noticeable brand and logo will create a professional image for your company.

Putting your company name and brand on your company stationery may not seem to be an obvious way of increasing interest and making you noticed but it can work and produce good results for your business. If you regularly have meetings with clients and potential clients then you need to make the best possible impression and present a strong image. You can help to do this through the use of appropriately placed company logos and branding on items of stationery and documents that you use in your meetings with clients and customers. Having a logo placed on any relevant materials will help to increase the attention given to your brand by clients. If people frequently see your company name and logo then they are more likely to remember it and pay attention to it than if it has just been mentioned once on one occasion.

There are many ways that you can make sure your brand is noticed ranging from large banners outside your offices to bespoke document wallets bearing the company name or logo. Customised stationery with your company brand printed on it can also help to create a more professional image of your company and convey the right impression to your clients. As you know, creating the right impression to clients can make the difference between getting the business or not. Having all of your notes for a meeting organised together in a bespoke document wallet with your company logo on it makes you look much more professional and organised than if you simply had a disorganised pile of papers and documents. It can only take one small detail for people to change their mind about whether to use your company or not and having that extra touch to your documents and organisation can tip the balance in your favour.

One of the key areas that can make a difference to the success of your company is having a professional image. Having a professional image adds an air of confidence of success to proceedings and can be very beneficial in meetings with clients and other companies. One simple but effective way to create a more professional look is by having personalised stationery products such as ring binders and document folders; having these made with your company logo printed on them will help you stand out from the competition.

Categories
Sales & Marketing

5 Reasons Why You Should Do a Product Launch That Have Nothing To Do With Selling That Product

When most entrepreneurs decide to launch a product, they’re mostly thinking about how many products they’re going to sell or how much money they’ll make during the launch.

Now while that’s a great reason to have a product launch, it’s actually not the only reason. In fact, I may go as far to say it’s not even the most important reason. Let’s take a moment and go through the top 5 reasons to have a launch that have nothing to do with selling that particular product.

1. You create visibility for yourself. Even a small product launch will create visibility and get people talking about you. After all, the point of a product launch is to create a buzz and get some of your free content to go viral. The sheer act of doing that builds name and brand recognition, which is key to growing a business.

2. You build your credibility. If your product launches include releasing free content (i.e. videos, special reports) or hosting a free call or webinar, how you present that information can go a long ways towards building your credibility. If you giveaway great content and people can experience for themselves how knowledgeable you are, your credibility will shoot through the roof.

3. You build your list. Offering free content or a free call or webinar is a great way to build your list. Even if you have a small list there are ways to structure your product launch to maximize your list building. (Note — the end result may not be tons of sales but rather a big boost in your credibility and visibility not to mention more names on your list.)

4. You build momentum in your marketing and your business. Product launches take an enormous amount of energy to get off the ground. That energy has to go somewhere (remember the laws of physics — energy is neither created or destroyed, just transformed) and if done right it’s transformed into a huge momentum boost for your business. You’ll likely find marketing your business much easier after a launch — not just because your personal momentum is going but because your prospects are still “talking” about you and are more open to receiving your message.

5. You sell your other products and services. Remember all that visibility and credibility you created with your launch? Well, you likely got the attention of people who may not be interested in the specific product you’re launching but they ARE interested in YOU. Don’t be surprised if sales of your other products and services jump (this typically happens both during and after the launch).

Now, here’s the best part. If you do a product launch for reasons OTHER than a big payday at the end of the day, think about how good it will feel when you DO sell a bunch of products? One of the biggest reasons why product launches are so stressful and so discouraging is entrepreneurs put this big number out there on how many they want to sell and when they don’t hit that number, they’re depressed — EVEN though it may really have been a big success in other ways. So, if you flip it, you can relax during the launch, enjoy it more and be excited and grateful for whatever sales you make.

Food for thought.

Categories
Recommendations

America Means Business, First Citywide Event About Entrepreneurship, To Launch In Jun

The Stevie Awards, organizer of the world’s premier business awards, today announced that it will stage a landmark three-day event about entrepreneurship throughout New York City on June 13, 14, and 15.

America Means Business will feature dozens of inspirational keynotes, informative panel discussions, “How I Did It” case studies, basic startup education by SCORE, networking opportunities, an exposition, and many other events about how to start and grow a business and everything in between.

Registration for America Means Business is free through May 25, and just $10 thereafter. Registration details are available at www.AmericaMeansBusiness-NYC.com.

Those interested in staging an event related to entrepreneurship and business management during America Means Business are invited to become Event Partners. There is no cost to participate.

“By creating America Means Business, we hope to help spark an entrepreneurial revolution in the U.S.A.,” said Michael Gallagher, president and founder of the Stevie Awards, which are celebrating their 10th anniversary in 2012. “Small businesses are the building blocks and the hiring engines for widespread economic well-being, and we want to enable many more people to realize their dreams of growing their own businesses.”

According to a report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the total number of self-employed Americans with incorporated and non-incorporated businesses declined 2% in 2011. The 27 million small businesses in America represent 99.7% of all employers and employ 49.2% of the private sector workforce, according to the Small Business Administration’s latest small business profile. Recognizing the importance of small business to the sustainability of the economy, America Means Business will aim to address the needs of entrepreneurs and assist and inspire those who have the dream of opening their own business.

America Means Business will be headquartered at the Metropolitan Pavilion at 125 West 18th Street, with events taking place there and at other locations throughout New York City.

Categories
Success Attitude

3 Ways to Win the Super Bowl of Your Business

Regardless of whether your team won the Super Bowl or which commercial was your favorite, maybe you think most of the players on the field Sunday were highly-recruited, sought-after talent like Giants quarterback, Eli Manning. The team with the largest linemen or tallest receivers wins, right?

Nope.

The New England Patriots line-up included 7 players who weren’t even drafted as rookies while the New York Giants had 8. The Patriots’ 53-man roster only included 25 players they drafted and the Giants had 26. Almost half of each team was picked up off of waivers, after being cut by another team, or part of a trade. Other teams rejected them, but the two teams in this year’s Super Bowl gave them a chance and they succeeded.

How did they do it? And what can you learn from them that will help you Work Positive and be a winner in your game of business?

Work Hard

Center Dan Connolly was signed by the Patriots in September 2007 after he was cut by the Jacksonville Jaguars. He spent that season on the Patriots practice squad. In 2008, he played in one game.  He started on Super Bowl Sunday.

“I take a lot of pride in knowing that I and a lot of other guys have come from kind of nothing. We’ve had to work hard to get where we’re at,” Connolly says.

How do you work hard in your business? To be a winner like Connolly, going from cut to Super Bowl starter, you choose to disregard that you come from nothing and focus on your championship goals. You do more with less. You innovate. You disrupt. You focus on what’s most important. You work hard.

Have Urgency

Matt Slater, a fifth-round draft pick by New England in 2008, sees similarities between all the players who overcome being drafted in the late rounds, not being drafted or being cut by other teams.

“You kind of have that sense of urgency from the day you come into the league knowing that things are not going to be easy for you,” Slater says. For Slater, every down counts.

Do you believe in your business with a sense of urgency, with a fire in your belly? Are you emotionally engaged and passionate about your work? Do you personally see to it that the next call is made, or widget crafted well?

Lower your expectations that the path to business success is easy. Take personal responsibility for controlling the activities you can.

Be Strategic

Victor Cruz, a wide receiver, wasn’t released by an NFL team, but he wasn’t drafted by one either. He led the Giants with 82 receptions for 1,536 yards and nine touchdowns in the regular season.

“I wasn’t really shocked” about not being drafted, says Cruz, who’s 6-0, 204 pounds. “I understood the process and understood that I wasn’t a guy that had blazing statistics or was 6-6, 230 pounds or anything like that. I understood that I probably wasn’t going to get drafted and would just have to make the best of my opportunity … and just do the best I could to break through on the team.”

When you are strategic like Cruz, you strive for excellence as you Work Positive which means you do the best you can to break through and win in the game of business. To get that contract. To conceive a positive relationship with your employees or employer. To do what it takes to the best of your ability to succeed. You are strategic.

So the next time you experience rejection or failure, just remember that half of the players on the field for the Super Bowl went through what you’re going through. Yet they still succeeded in the game. You can, too.

About the Author:

Best-selling author, speaker, and coach Dr. Joey Faucette shares how all of us working together create a more positive world this week. Adapted from his #1 Amazon best-seller, Work Positive in a Negative World.