Author: Pamela Swift

Categories
Teamwork & Leadership

Scrutinizing The Biggest Leadership Weaknesses And How To Fix Them

Take a look at some of the most established business leaders in the world and it will become blatantly clear on how different the situation looks to a few decades ago. Leadership styles have altered drastically over those years and many of the antics that occurred back then would never have a place in the modern-day working world.

Nevertheless, there are plenty of weaknesses that a lot of leaders have. This is the reason MBAs are so popular, and also one of the reasons why a GMAT-waiver MBA degree is as well. In short, business leaders like to go back to basics and learn what works in the modern-day business world.

Bearing this in mind, today’s article will look at some of the biggest weaknesses and mistakes that leaders make, and just how you can rectify them if you fall into the trap.

Being stuck in your ways and unable to change

Being stagnant is one of the worst mistakes that a leader can have. Sure, you might have experienced great success with your organization over the last few years, but that doesn’t mean to say what is working now is going to work forever. You have to grow – and make sure that others who are constantly evolving are not going to overtake you.

If one were to analyze some of the biggest companies around, who are seeing their share price increase on a regular basis, one of the big attributes they share is innovation. Their products are regularly the market’s best – and so is everything that they do in their company. Don’t get left behind.

Not being able to trust employees

This is a mistake that is often accredited to new leaders, who soon learn to grow out of the process. In short, some leaders can’t help but micromanage. There is a distinct lack of trust in employees to carry out normal tasks, and this hinders everyone’s development.

Let’s not forget that leaders are anything but what a manager should be. They are not taskmasters, but instead should only contribute when it is absolutely necessary to do so.

The problem with constant connection

In today’s age, this next mistake really won’t come as a surprise. The basis of this is that some leaders are always available, usually through their mobile, for any little question.

This raises a couple of problems. Firstly, those working for the leader immediately feel as though they should be online as well. Suffice to say, this is something that can drain morale. Secondly, the habit of “always reporting” to the leader starts to occur. This ties in with the previous mistake we talked about, and it can cause the leader to start to micromanage their team and always require reports.

Sure, it might be frustrating when you can’t get hold of a leader and they are seemingly always inaccessible. In the long-term, there is every chance that this is doing your team the world of good though.

Categories
Legal

The Importance of Compliance and Regulation for Small Businesses

As a manager or business owner, it is of the utmost importance to stay on top of industry standards and government regulations. If you don’t, you risk costly lawsuits, might miss out on valuable government grants and tax breaks, and could garner a poor reputation with a jaded customer base.

Review Regulations That Apply Now

It can seem daunting to wade through all the required licenses for your industry and to keep track of when they need to be renewed, but fortunately there are lots of sites that list permits you’ll need for your business by industry or by state. Many government websites also explicitly list rules and regulations for industries such as the liquor and nuclear industries.

Cybersecurity, for example, is a huge problem for businesses around the world. The healthcare industry and any business that works with medical records or information, such as insurance, is subject to regulations that help keep medical records safe.

Additionally, any business that deals with online payments or credit card transactions is subject to Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS). These regulations help to keep customer data safe in the same way that HIPAA and healthcare regulations protect patient data.

Make sure that you’ve reviewed these rules and comply with them. Even if you are not the subject of a lawsuit, failure to comply with these standards could mean that the government forces you to close your doors for a time or stop selling a certain product, which could cause you to lose a significant amount of revenue.

Prepare for Future Regulations

It’s also important to know about rules that you might break in the future. For instance, if you’re a small business, make sure you know what rules will apply once you grow a little larger, such as how many employees you will be allowed to have working in a certain space, or federal and state safety rules regarding fire escapes and smoke detectors. Knowing these regulations in advance will help you grow into a larger company more quickly and without too much hassle.

Tax regulations and law, for example, could take you completely off guard as you grow. As the experts at MileIQ write:

“Hiring employees places you in an entirely new bracket of tax complications. It’s one thing if you make a mistake calculating an employee’s payroll and correct it the next week. When you make a mistake calculating your IRS payroll deductions, consequences can be far worse.”

Remember, the government’s standards and regulations change all the time — it’s up to you, not them, to protect your business by staying up to date. Creating a calendar and marking the dates on which you need to renew licenses, as well as regularly checking government websites for your industry’s standards and rules, will help you keep your business operating legally.

Use Regulations to Your Advantage

Tracking standards and regulations is not only great for helping you keep on the right side of the law — working knowledge of standards and regulations can help you save money too. For instance, knowledge about size regulations for small businesses may prove useful for you as you apply for government grants and calculate tax breaks and tax deductibles. Sites like the U.S. Small Business Administration’s website list guidelines for small businesses as well as certificate programs. You can also save money by setting a standard that is higher than the industry for your company.

The government often provides incentives, in the form of lower interests rates on loans, tax breaks, and even grants, to those companies which shoot for higher than the legally established industry standards. For instance, the Small Business Innovation Research Program is designed to promote technological research and innovation in small businesses, and it’s just one of many such programs that apply to a diverse range of industries.

If you’re part of a larger corporation, it is just as important, or perhaps even more important, for you to track industry standards and regulations. Business.usa.gov is an important website for both large and small companies that outlines regulations and standards on subjects as diverse as growing your business, exporting and working with foreign companies and affiliates, and state and local rules. Finally, IRS.gov is an important website for any business when it comes to learning about regulations in regards to taxes.

These standards are of the utmost importance because they protect you, your employees, your customers, and the industry at large. Failure to comply can result in hefty fines, problems for your customers, and, at worst, could equate to business failure. While small business failure is something that you can recover from, why dance with risk in the first place?

It may seem tedious to research and keep track of all the industry regulations and standards related to your business, but doing so can give your business the competitive edge it needs to remain viable and grow. Don’t be lazy — be informed. Stay on top of compliance and regulation.

Categories
Starting Up

Rough Beginnings: 3 Things You Need to Do When Trying to Get a Business Off the Ground

So you have a lucrative idea, one that you absolutely need to share – where do you begin? Starting a new business is really exciting, but just like a business that’s already thriving, it demands a lot of attention. Here are three key areas to focus on as you think more seriously about making your dream a reality.

  1. Draft a plan. 

You can mitigate a lot of confusion by slowing down and dedicating time and energy to your business plan. However, this doesn’t mean that your business plan needs to be very long. The best plans say a lot with relatively few words.

Wondering where to start with a business plan? It’s a good idea to begin with a brainstorming session concerning your audience. Who are they, and what do they want to hear from you? What can you say about your business that will get their attention?

This isn’t as daunting as it sounds. Do you feel unqualified to write this plan,  like it’s outside of your wheelhouse? The secret is, most new business owners feel that way. Keep your eye on wowing the audience, and you’ll be okay. 

  1. Find the money. 

Most small business owners also don’t have enough money to get going on their own. How they end up financing their new business varies. The good news here is that in these times, many banks, lenders and the like are usually glad to see what they can do to help. It’s very common to get a loan, such as the small business-focused loans found at Unsecured Finance Australia.

Getting a loan is a good option if you’d like to avoid subtracting from what you already have. Some decide to take out a loan against their homes, to sell off assets, or take money out of their savings and retirement.

Others discuss bringing friends and family in to invest. This is another good reason to have the plan finished first; you can present it to potential investors and be taken more seriously. Speaking of serious, just because you know your investors, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t draw up a formal agreement. 

  1. Make sure you’re legit. 

When you get going, there will be no shortage of red tape to cut through on your way to opening day. Start thinking about how you’re going to accomplish this now. First, you’ll need to register your business formally and obtain a business license.

You’ll also need to decide where your business will operate from. Are you leasing a space? Have thorough discussions with your potential new landlord, and read that lease very carefully – there may be surprises in there.

And don’t forget insurance! Your business could barely be off the ground before an unfortunate event finds you mired in claims and legal proceedings. Insurance can help insulate you.

With any successful project, initial planning can greatly improve your chances of a successful outcome. Start your business plan today, brainstorm the best ways to fund it, and get used to paperwork. By this time next year, your life could look totally different. Whether or not that’s a good thing depends on how much care you put into getting started.

Categories
Operations

When to Rent Computers for Businesses

Choosing to rent a computer is an optimal solution for businesses and corporate entities who require the use of a computer but prefer avoiding having to purchase entire systems brand new. Knowing when to rent computers for businesses is a way for you to ensure your staff has all of the resources you need at any time, even if you do not own the computers and equipment yourself.

Temporary Staff Needs

If you are in need of additional computers for a busy time of the year (such as tax time or Black Friday), consider renting computers to ensure your staff does not fall behind when completing their work. Renting computers for temporary staff needs helps avoid unnecessary expenses of investing in brand new computer systems.

Server Migration

When you are switching servers for your business, renting computers is a temporary method to continue working on tasks at hand while transferring and actually moving data. Renting computers for server migration allows your staff to continue moving forward with their work without losing total access to files and documents they have saved on their official work computers.

Classroom Training

Renting computers from a professional service is also ideal if you plan to host classroom training sessions or seminars in your workplace. If you are hosting classrooms and seminars, it is possible to rent the computers and other equipment your staff requires for a set length of time rather than purchasing all new computers.

Relocation

When you are planning to move your place of business to a new location, renting computers is one way to keep your employees productive even when they are temporarily unable to access their personal work computers. Renting computers throughout the process of moving and relocating allows you to stay on task while meeting deadlines and goals you have for your company. Avoid missing out on revenue-generating opportunities and managing your business during a move by choosing to rent the number of computers necessary in order to keep your staff working with little to no interruptions.

Trade Shows, Conferences, and Events

Computer rentals are ideal for professionals who are planning to attend trade shows, conferences, and other business-related events. Renting a computer for a trade show allows you to utilize top-notch equipment to show off your product or to provide a presentation for possible partners, clients, or customers. When you choose to rent a computer for a trade show or another business event, avoid using your personal work computers and putting any data or information you have stored on your hard drives at risk while you are traveling and away from your workplace.

Before you attend an upcoming trade show, conference, or event that is relevant to your business, be sure to inquire about the type of electrical setup that is available and fits your display needs. If you want to showcase a presentation to attendees, consider using iPads and other tablet devices in addition to large monitors that are also available to rent.

Working successfully in any industry or business requires the ability to think fast and put resources to use in any way possible, ultimately helping to reduce expenses while increasing the overall revenue you are capable of generating. Renting computers for business trips and other purposes helps you to stick to any budget in place without going overboard with computer and equipment investments.

Categories
Entrepreneurship

Ways to Improve Your Entrepreneurial Creativity

Article Contributed by Haley Kieser

Innovation and creativity are the heart-and-soul of successful entrepreneurship. In today’s hyper-information marketplace, success and overcoming competitors is often about developing creative, thoughtful or out-of-the-box solutions to a problem. For example, ride share services like Lyft and Uber go against everything we were taught as children, but they’re among the most creative and groundbreaking solutions to an ancient dilemma: how to get from point A to point B.

It’s easy to find what the “best practices” are for any given industry. But what do you do when those methods and ideas fall short of your goal? You can plummet to the ground and watch your business or idea fail. Or, you can foster creativity and try something new. Even if that new idea fails, you still tried to explore what possible solutions arise and that might lead to a new insight.

But what if you’re simply not a creative person and your mind is hard and robotic? How can you foster these industry-leading ideas and make yourself, your company or project flourish? Fostering creativity is all about finding the necessary change to be made in your current processes.

Here are five ways entrepreneurs can boost their creative juices and discover new solutions.

  1. Surround Yourself with Diversity

Creative thoughts are often molded by looking at a problem with a different mindset. The best way to create a new mindset is literally with a new mind. After all, as the idiom goes, two heads are better than one. Lone creative geniuses are largely a myth and truly great ideas often come from teams. To be creative, surround yourself with people who share your values and motivations but have differing skills, talents and backgrounds. This might mean exploring online forums, visiting local Meetup groups, or even working in a shared office space.

  1. Use Time Wisely

Deadlines are both ripe with benefits and fraught with drawbacks. Setting a deadline itself makes you block out extraneous distractions and focus solely on the task at hand. But, you’re more closed off to ideas and solutions that you might find helpful. The rule of thumb is to avoid shirking deadlines in the name of creativity.

After all, completing a task is often a better outcome than trying to achieve perfection and never hitting the goal. So, reduce your stress levels and give yourself more time to think about problems, research the facts and come up with creative solutions. Keep your deadline and give yourself a healthy margin to meet it.

  1. Embrace Failure

Truly great moments of inspiration and creativity don’t happen with an “aha” moment, but a “that’s funny” reaction to an unforeseen problem. Failure, in appropriate doses, is a good thing. It allows you to analyze what you’re trying and discover how and why that attempt failed. Creativity is grown in an environment where failure is encouraged. Reward yourself when you fail at a task or a new idea.

If you’re uncomfortable with failing, don’t worry, you can teach yourself to both embrace it, while having fun. Consider looking for local deals to try new tasks or activities you’ve never done before. For example, take a pottery class or learn how to swing dance. You likely won’t be good at them right off the bat, but by doing something fun and interactive you can teach yourself to fail in a stress-free environment.

  1. Travel to New Places

Seeing new places, experiencing new cultures and trying new activities are among the best opportunities to get your creative juices flowing. Travel broadens your breadth of knowledge and empowers you to solve problems in new and unfamiliar situations.

If you have the money and the desire, consider taking a sabbatical year to backpack around Europe or Southeast Asia to show yourself new ways of approaching life and its problems. Simply by experiencing these different mindsets, it allows you to find new ways to tackle your own issues.

If budget or time is an issue, traveling to a neighboring state or city you’ve never been to before can also open new waves of creativity.

  1. Leave Your Comfort Zone

Creativity, by its very nature, forces us to consider new opportunities and leave our comfort zone. If what was comfortable and natural to us worked, we wouldn’t need a creative solution. But the more comfortable you become with discomfort, the easier it is to enter those moments of clarity where trying something new presents a new solution.

These leaps and bounds away from your comfort levels don’t have to be very big. The new event simply must be different enough to make your mind consider new possibilities and jog a tangential link between what you’re doing and the problem at hand.