The Many Hats of a Small Business Owner

As a small business owner, you have a lot on your plate. You often wear a lot of hats such as: CEO, Head of Sales, HR Representative, Marketing Manager, and more. 

It can be difficult to try and juggle all of these responsibilities, but it is possible. Read on to learn tips and tricks to help you effectively wear all of your hats.

Safety

One of the hats you will wear as the owner of a small business is the Chief Safety Officer. Your number one concern needs to be your safety, and the safety of your employees, customers, clients, guests, etc. 

 If you take care of yourself and those you work with, you will have the strength and the energy to continue running and growing your business. 

 Here are a few safety tips that every small business owner needs to hear:

1. Follow safety regulations. This is not only an issue of legality, but an issue of practicality. You need to make sure that you are wearing the proper PPE, have SDS in the proper locations, and follow any safety instructions for the equipment that you are using.

2. Post safety signs and create safety protocols. While this may seem superfluous, it is always a wise idea to remind yourself and employees to make safety a top priority. Besides, if anything goes wrong and someone does end up getting hurt, it will look better for you if you had safety information posted around your workspace.

3. Keep equipment in tip top shape. As this blog states, it is important to keep your equipment in tip top shape, even if it is something as simple as a garage door. If your machinery starts to wear down, it can break or malfunction, injuring yourself or one of your employees.

4. Get enough rest. Running a small business is hard, but you need to make sure that you are getting enough sleep to function properly. Many injuries are caused because people are drowsy on the job. If you are starting to get burned out, take a vacation, even if you feel like you can’t possibly take the time off. You need it.

5. Safety is everyone’s job. Around the office, there are many safety hazards: tripping hazards, daisy chained cords, precariously stacked boxes, etc. You need to make safety everyone’s job, including your own. No one is above cleaning up a dangerous spill or moving a tripping hazard out of the way.

Security

Another pressing issue in our world today is security. This is another thing that needs to be at the top of your list, as you not only need to keep your information secure, but your client’s as well. 

From an informational standpoint, you need to make sure that your computers, accounts, etc. have the proper firewalls and security methods in place to keep documents and other information secure. 

You also need to make sure that your office area is burglar resistant. Check out this blog for some great tips to help you keep your small business secure.

Sales and Marketing

Until you have the resources to hire a sales director or marketing manager, you have to be resourceful and do these jobs yourself. 

How else will you get customers and clients if you are not actively making connections and selling your product and service? It may be useful to attend conferences, find a few free (or paid) webinars, or take a couple of classes from a local community college to help you become more proficient in these roles. 

If you do not yet understand online marketing, this should be the first class, seminar, or webinar you take.

HR Representative

Whenever problems arise within your company, it is your job to defuse them before they become something serious. 

You also have to make sure that you have your employee’s information on file in a secure location, have all your ducks in a row when it comes to hiring, and more. It’s a daunting task, but it is manageable. 

If you don’t know where to start you have three options: hiring someone with HR experience to help you run that side of things, taking a class or webinar to help you learn how to run the HR side of things, or hiring a third party company to come in and help you set up your HR program.

Client Communication

Of course as a small business owner you also have to be the head of client communication, making sure that the clients are happy, they are getting what they expected, etc. 

This can be a daunting task, especially if you have needy clients. Since your clients clients are paying you, it is important to make sure that they feel satisfied with your product or service. However, you need to make sure that you don’t sell your company short and that you charge enough for your services.

5 Simple Changes In The Home That Can Save You Big Bucks

Just a simple change to a home can produce substantial savings for a household. A nominal investment in minor improvements to a home carries the potential of producing substantial savings for a home. 

Here are five simple changes in the home that can save you big bucks.

Switch Out Old Water

Install a tankless water heater. A tankless water heater operates differently from other styles of water heaters in that it only heats water as it is needed, which reduces the amount of standby energy typically used with a conventional water heating system. 

The water heater is heated with a gas burner. The home gets the amount of hot water it needs on demand.

Check For Air Leakage In Ducts

Seal all of the ducts in a home. Consider a home built in the 1990s or 1980s. The average four-bedroom home results in 23 percent duct leakage. 

The duct leakage is a major source of energy loss for a home. Carefully checking ducts throughout the home will reduce the air leakage. Starting with the walls and attics is strongly recommended. 

According to the EPA, this alone can reduce air infiltration by as much as 25 percent. 

Replace All Windows

Replace all windows. The windows in a home can be upgraded to yield additional savings in energy costs for household. 

The first step is to select Energy Star windows. The returns materialize immediately after installing the windows. Coating and special glazing enhances the energy performance for the windows. 

The Energy Star windows could save a household 15 percent in energy costs within a year.

Invest In New Appliances

Upgrade all of the appliances in your home. Energy Star rated appliances can save the home thousands if installed in a home. 

Since 20 percent of household energy bills in a home can be linked directly to appliance usage, the average homeowner can save just by switching out older appliances for new appliances. 

For an appliance like an air conditioning unit, the Seasonal Efficiency Energy Ration should be around 15.

Fix The Leaky Faucet

A leaky faucet can produce 10,000 gallons of water each year. Fixing just one leaky faucet in the home reduces the energy bill by 10 percent. 

The household repair by places such as HELP Plumbing, Heating, Cooling and Electric, can be as simple as replacing an o-ring, worn-out washer, or valve seat. 

The basic repair could cost as little as $200 but can produces substantially more in savings over the years with a simple investment.

These simple household upgrades can produce substantial savings. By lowering energy consumption and reducing air leakage through a series of improvements, your household can save thousands in a year. 

Most of the simple repairs costs several hundred dollars. Upgrading to certain appliances may offer rebates. Some home improvements can produce energy savings immediately for a home if performed.

Pocketbook Magic: 4 Tips to Balance Your Income

One sad fact about modern life is that many people are buried under crushing debt. According to CNBC, 80 percent of Americans are living in debt. 

However, if you take precautions, living debt free is very possible. Below are four tips you can use to balance your income.

Start Saving

If you have inconsistent income, there will be times during the year when you come up short when trying to pay your monthly expenses. 

If that is the case, you need to have savings to act as a cushion for expenses that cannot be covered due to emergencies or income shortfalls. Start multiple savings accounts for things like medical bills, repair bills as well as miscellaneous expenses. 

Try to eventually have a few thousand dollars in each account to insure you’re always protected. When the funds are spent, replenish them.

Buy Used Auto Parts

You should also be trying to implement strategies for saving each month to insure your income will cover expenses. Get used to buying things used. 

They often work just as well as new items. This is often the case for auto parts. Some companies, like U Pull & Pay, know that many different car parts are quite exorbitant when purchased new. 

However, if you obtain them slightly used, you will save a significant sum. If your car has already deteriorated in value, buying used parts should have no impact on the value of your vehicle.

Base Your Budget on Income

Even if your income tends to be somewhat inconsistent from month to month, you still need to budget your expenses. 

To do this, try to create a budget based on an average monthly income. Do this by adding multiple months of income and dividing the total by the number of months used. Don’t use less than three months. 

Alternatively, you could also choose the lowest income month to budget off. If you make more than that low income month, save the difference.

Remove Unneeded Expenses

If you want to insure your income remains balanced, one thing you need to do is remove monthly expenses that don’t actually represent necessities. 

There are often alternatives you can obtain for free. For example, you can rent DVDs and Blu-Rays from your local library as opposed to paying expensive prices for movie theater tickets.

Even with inconsistent monthly income, there are still ways to prevent your family from going into debt to make up the difference. Use the four tips above to balance your monthly income to insure you have enough to live on as well as some left over to save.

Balancing the Books: How to Create an Effective Budget

The word "budget" seems to conjure up feelings of sacrifice or deprivation in many who hear it. When it comes to your business and your personal finances, however, a budget is the cornerstone of successful money management. 

Contrary to popular belief, creating an effective budget is not overly difficult, time-consuming or complicated. 

The following three simple steps can help you are on your way to making a budget that works, while taking control of your business or even personal finances. 

Analysis

The first key step is analyzing your financial situation. You need to know where you are bringing money in and where you are spending it. 

You may find that you are spending in areas of your company that isn’t as necessary. You also may find areas of your business where you could be bringing in more money. Constant analysis of your finances will also help you to innovate and stay competitive within your market. 

A budget is really nothing more than a list of monthly income and monthly expenses. The details, however are quite important. 

When taking stock of your business's financial footing, make sure to include every detail from monthly inventory or labor costs to the styrofoam coffee cups in the office. 

Set up monthly reports

You should be able to view the financial health of your business at any time. Ideally, you should have weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly financial reports. 

This way you can see the financial activity of your company at all times. These reports will also help you to analyze your company finances showing you where you can cut spending and where you can be bringing in more money. 

Setting up a monthly balance sheet report and profit & loss statement will allow you to get a quick snapshot if the finances quickly and effectively. This can help in building an effective budget by showing you how your cash flow runs throughout the month. 

For example, if you see that your company regularly needs more inventory during certain months, you can then budget those costs accordingly. 

Stick with it

Budgeting is never fun. In a perfect world, it would be nice to just take your money and spend it on all thing things you need and want to keep ahead of your competition. 

But unfortunately this is not a perfect world and everything has a cost. When you have an effective budget, it will help you understand the risk versus the reward when it comes to spending your company money. 

Creating an effective budget takes time and effort, and may need adjusting along the way. The time spent creating a budget is extremely valuable, and you will want to make sure that once you have a budget in place that you stick to it or make changes as necessary. 

A great budget or plan is rendered worthless if it is not consistently put into action.

Don't know how to make a budget? You needn't worry. There are professionals like Navicor Consulting available to assist you. 

These consultants have but one job: To help you improve the bottom line. Money spent in this regard will find its way back to your business many times over. 

Budgets can be a very powerful tool in the world of business and personal finance. If you do not have an effective budget in place, you should make building one the focus of your business. 

A budget is like the foundation of a new and beautiful home; it must be very solid to support everything else and any weakness in it will stand in the way of achieving full potential.

How to Choose the Right Bank for Taking a Personal Loan

What is a Personal Loan?

Personal Loan is an amount taken from a financial institution against which no security is required. 

This loan amount can be used for various purposes like—marriage, medical emergencies, household expenditures, and even vacations.

The amount you take as a Personal Loan is not monitored by the bank and can be repaid through a fixed installment scheme over a fixed period of time.

How should you Apply for a Personal Loan?

You can apply for a Personal Loan in 4 easy steps:

• Step 1: Go to the bank website and fill the online application form.
• Step 2: Once the bank approves your application, select the loan amount and tenure.
• Step 3: In this step, a bank representative will get in touch with you for collecting the relevant documents. 
• Step 4: Post document verification, the loan amount will get credited to your account within 3-4 days. 

Documents Required for a Personal Loan

The requirements vary from one institution to another. However, the following documents are common to almost all banks and NBFCs:

• Identity proof
• Residence proof
• Bank statements (3 months)
• Salary slip (3 months)
• 2 passport size photographs

How Should you Choose your Bank?

Every bank or NBFC offers various Personal Loan schemes with the aim of attracting more customers. Each has different policies and norms and choosing the right one is anything but easy and usually leads to a lot of confusion.

Here’re a few ways you can bid adieu to that confusion and choose the right lending institution. 

Pre-approved Personal Loan

If you’re already associated with a bank and have a good relationship with them you’ll come across text messages and telemarketers pestering you to take a Personal Loan. 

This is called a pre-approved Personal Loan. In this case, the bank or NBFC has already considered you to be eligible to take a loan; in some cases, you won’t have to even submit any documentation. Pre-approved loans can save you a lot of time. 

Rate of Interest

It’s important you do a lot of research on the interest rates offered by each bank. 

Every bank tries to offer low-interest rates to get your attention but they have almost invisible terms and conditions that will lead to an increase of the interest rate once you have availed the loan. 

So, make sure look for loopholes and read the terms and conditions well before go forward with your application. 

Flexi Personal Loan

Flexi Personal Loan is a very borrower-friendly loan. In the case of flexi Personal Loan you can pre-pay the loan amount with idle funds at no extra cost. 

You save a lot of interest as you only pay for the utilised amount; which means you won’t be charged any interest on the prepaid amount.

Loan Amount

While taking a Personal Loan you might have a set amount which you’ll require to fulfil the task. 

Every bank has a fixed amount they can loan to you based on your eligibility. Do sufficient research to see which bank or NBFC offer the amount of fund, you’re in need of.

Prepayment Charges

While repaying the loan there may be situations when you come into an unexpected windfall or get a bonus at work and want to pay off a part of your loan. 

Make sure to choose a bank or NBFC that doesn’t charge any prepayment penalties. This holds true for foreclosure charges too. 

EMI

Using the online calculator for calculation of Personal Loan EMI that you’ll be paying. This will give you a figure that you need pay off on a monthly basis and you’ll get a clarity on how affordable this loan is.

Multiply the EMI with the tenure and subtract the loan amount. This is the interest that you’ll be paying. Consider all these while making the final choice. 

Processing Fee and Time

The processing fee is the amount charged by banks for processing your loan. This amount is cut from the loan before crediting the sum to your account. 

Banks charge up to 3% as processing free so it’s always better you go for the institution that charges you the least.
Processing time is the time taken to approve and credit your loan. 

Pre-closure Charges

Not many people may know this but you can pay your entire loan before the tenure. You can pay off the entire loan amount anytime before the loan tenure. 

Banks charge an interest on pre-closure that ranges from 2-5% on the outstanding amount. Another thing to keep in mind is to find out if the bank even allows pre-closure; in some cases, the bank may allow this but only after a certain time.

Researching online is the best way to begin your search for the right bank or NBFC. 

Every bank has all the information available on its website, and with proper research, you’ll be able to find the right bank based on your repayment abilities and one offering you affordable interest rates. 

 So, you need know everything about loan before applying that will help you to choose the right one.

Chapter 13 vs. 7: What You Need to Know About Bankruptcy

Are you facing overwhelming medical bills? Have you acquired more debt than your monthly income can cover? 

When you've done all you can to pay your debts and it's not enough, you may decide to consider filing for bankruptcy. To decide whether filing Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 is better for your particular circumstances, compare these pros and cons.

Chapter 7

If you're willing to give up some of your assets in order to satisfy your creditors, Chapter 7 may be your best option. 

Considered the "liquidation bankruptcy," this filing means you'll relinquish certain possessions such as real estate, vehicles, stock, and other personal property. Chapter 7 is also an option even if you have few or no assets to offer.

The court will sell these assets and use the proceeds to satisfy your creditors. 

The creditors must accept the final settlement they receive and discharge your obligation, even if you have few belongings to sell.

Chapter 7 is not intended to wipe you out by taking everything you own. Instead, it provides a clean slate for starting your life over. 

To this purpose, property which is considered necessary for living is exempt from being sold. This usually includes at least one vehicle, some furniture, equipment you need for work, and perhaps even some equity in your home.

As state laws differ on what may be considered exempt, you may want to contact a lawyer from a firm like Demers Gagnier Inc. to assist you in determining whether your income qualifies for this filing and which properties you may be allowed to retain.

Chapter 13

Chapter 13 is for those seeking to protect their home from foreclosure, or who have a business they don't want to be liquidated. 

It's also ideal for those who desire to pay off their debts rather than have them discharged.

This type of filing consolidates your debts into one affordable monthly payment, typically over a five-year period. 

Once the plan is established, you make payments to an independent agent who disburses the funds to your creditors. These payments can also include a system to help you catch up on your mortgage payments over time.

After You File

Neither Chapter 7 nor Chapter 13 discharges student loans, divorce and child support settlements, or your home mortgage. In addition, expect your bankruptcy to remain on your credit report for seven years. 

Despite these drawbacks, the best benefit of a bankruptcy filing is the relief you get from having a chance to start over.