Posts Tagged ‘Leeia Ladpoh’
Building A Business in a Bad Neighborhood-Pros and Cons
Wednesday, April 30th, 2008
When you think of opening a new business location, where do you start looking for your storefront? For many, the answer is to start at the hottest real estate spot in town and keep moving outward until they find something in their budget.
Have you ever thought about starting at the other end of the spectrum?
Whether it’s for trying to make a difference or trying to get an ‘in’ spot before it’s hot, many people are looking to rundown and overlooked areas to open up shop.
This could be a crime-ridden area of town that has been abandoned by local vendors or a place that has been quiet for a while, but is forecast to have resurgence in the months and years to come.
Whether you think it’s risky or innovative, crazy or brilliant, here’s a look at some of the pros and cons to this type of business venture:
Pros
* Lower Cost Real Estate - The most expensive part of most business ventures is the real estate. In this case, the real estate can be very affordable, as it is in an area where no one is buying.
Many a great deal has been had by purchasing lower-priced areas before they pick up steam. Buyers can then enjoy watching their property values skyrocket later.
* Support - In many cases, trying to open shop in a blighted area will bring support from local officials who would like to see nothing more than that area spring to life again.
Some cities even offer financial support and perks to businesses who are trying to rejuvenate less-desirable areas.
Cons
* Clean Up - Often the structures in these areas are more worse for wear. They are often neglected buildings that have not been maintained.
This means you could end up spending a lot of money just trying to get the building up to a workable level, much less into the attractive storefront you had hoped for.
* Fear - Often, it is hard to get past the stigma of an area when you’re trying to convince customers to come to a business that is in a bad part of town.
Whether it’s crime or just the area’s reputation of being less than impressive, it can take a bit of work to convince people this is a place they want to be.
The decision to open up shop in this type of location is not one you should come to overnight. Before putting up a large amount of money on a business location, do your research to be sure that you are making a responsible and wise decision.
Look at trends in the area (such as renovation of blighted buildings into new apartment and condos), or other changes that may help you get the traffic you need once your business is ready to open to the public.
Tags: advice, business location, Leeia Ladpoh, Starting a Business, startups, tips
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A Primer on Finding Good Employees for Your Small Business
Thursday, April 24th, 2008
All my life, I have heard people say that good help is hard to find. Why is that?
Actually, there are several reasons that increasing numbers of small businesses are turning to spouses and other family members to help them fill their staffing holes.
Let’s take a look at a few of them.
Benefits
The first reason lots of small business owners cannot find good employees is that they want something we do not have. Most qualified people are looking for a benefits package. As small business owners, we can’t always afford to offer benefits like medical and dental insurance, paid holidays and vacation time.
In this case, the solution is to find a qualified worker that is willing to help you grow your business. They may be comfortable looking forward to the time when you have built the business up enough that you can afford to give them a great benefits package.
You can further help yourself find that person if you are willing to draw up a contract that outlines the benefits package once that employee helps you grow your business.
Qualifications
Another reason that we cannot find the right employees for our small businesses is that people are not qualified for the job. In this case, you must be willing to train someone for the job.
After that, if they need more training, you can pay for them to take a course at a at a college campus that offers a course in your area of business. If they do not have the course at a bricks and mortar college in your area, offer to pay for the employee to take an online course.
Personality
In some cases, small business owners need to make some changes. Sometimes, people just do not like working small business owners because they are so demanding and like things done a certain way. Many business owners get into an "I can do it better myself" mentality. Sometimes we need to learn to lighten up and accept compromise.
If someone is willing to do a job that you will not have to do later, you should be grateful. If the job is done well, you should be happy and enjoy the fact that you have someone to help you move towards your goal of growing your business.
If you are able to offer benefits, and are easy to get along with, then finding good qualified employees should not be a big problem. If you realize the problem is within you, you need to take some time to focus on changing your attitude. If you are willing to make these changes, then the good employees you need are out there - all you have to do is find them.
Tags: advice, finding good employees, hiring, Hiring and Human Resources, Leeia Ladpoh, tips
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Accentuate the Positive - Motivating your Employees through Positive Reinforcement
Wednesday, March 26th, 2008
There are two types of reactions to everything in life - positive and negative. This goes all the way down to the operation of the smallest atoms and molecules that make up the environment around us. It also comes into play at the workplace.
As a small business owner, you regularly have to choose between positive and negative reactions to things that happen. When dealing with your employees, you may let things continue as is - until something goes wrong.
You may then resort to using a negative reaction to effect course correction. While negative consequences do work, at least in the short term, this is not always the best way to deal people that work for you.
Employee Psychology
By only dealing with your employees when there is something wrong, you ensure that they will try to remain under the radar as much as possible. That is, no one will take responsibility for anything for fear of negative repercussions.
Instead, wouldn’t it be better if your employees were all vying for your attention for the right reasons? With positive reinforcement, they can be.
The best employees are those who feel appreciated. They feel their boss and company care about them, how they perform, and the job they do. They also know that you notice their hard work and their attempts to ‘go above and beyond’ for the good of the business.
Set Goals
One important way to set effect positive reinforcement is to set goals for your employees to reach. These could be goals for sales, customer service, or in any other area.
Make sure each employee knows individual and group goals, so they can aim to reach them.
Recognition
When your employees reach their individual goals, take notice. Make sure to praise that employee at a meeting or other staff gathering.
If there is a group goal that has been met, give the team praise for working together and reaching the goal at hand.
Rewards
In addition to praise, you may want to institute a reward system for employees who are meeting their goals. This could be a cash bonus, free vacation day, or anything else you can think of as a reward.
If it is a team goal, come up with a way that everyone can take part in the reward, such as having a bagel breakfast brought in for the team to enjoy in the morning, or a group lunch in the afternoon.
Above and Beyond
Some employees will do more than just meet goals. Many are self-motivated to go ‘above and beyond’ every time there is an opportunity.
Whether it is going out of their way to make a customer happy or coming up with a plan to reduce shoplifting, recognize your employees for their initiative. This will encourage other employees to step up and be more productive.
Note Improvement
For some employees, improvement comes hard. While they may not be the shining stars of your organization, when they work to improve themselves and the job they do, it should be recognized. This will encourage them - and other employees - to continue to strive to be better.
While there are positive and negative reactions to any situation, the only way to really motivate employees is through positive reinforcement. The more you show your employees that you appreciate their work, the more they will work to gain that appreciation.
Tags: advice, company morale, employee morale, Hiring and Human Resources, Leeia Ladpoh, managment, motivating employees, tips
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Business Owner, Heal Thyself - Overcoming the Fear of Closing the Sale
Wednesday, March 26th, 2008
Once you start a small business, there will be many hats to wear on a daily basis. In the beginning, you will not only be the CEO, but also in charge of payroll, inventory, marketing and sales.
While many entrepreneurs know how to run their businesses and what they need to do to make it operational, many balk when it comes time to delve into sales.
In their mind, they know they can run a great business, but once they are face to face with someone and need to seal the deal for money, they clam up.
Fear Factor
The brick wall they are hitting is fear. Plenty of forces drive fear. It could be a fear that the person that they are going to pitch to will not understand their vision for the company, or possibly just a general underlying fear of rejection that has been with them since childhood.
It does not matter what is driving the fear. What does matter is getting past it, because left unchecked, fear can take over and ruin even the most prepared presentation.
Instead of focusing on fear in a sales meeting, the focus must be on success. A feeling of ‘I am afraid they won’t understand my vision and my company’ needs to become, ‘Closing this sale means I can take my company to the next level.’
The best way to overcome your fears is to battle them head on.
Transforming Your Mindset
Make a list of your sales fears. What causes those knots in your stomach? Is it a fear of not being able to close the sale? That you aren’t convincing enough to get the sale? Is it fear of looking like a fool in front of someone during a presentation? Maybe you are afraid of what will happen if you don’t get the money.
No matter what fears you have, you need to write them down on a piece of paper, leaving a few lines beneath each one. Then, cross out that fear and change it into a positive reason to make the sale.
For example:
"I am afraid I will not be convincing enough to make the sale"
Should become:
"I will make sure that I am prepared to give a convincing presentation".
Cover Your Bases
Next, you may have to take steps to make the new statements true. In the case of "I will make sure I am prepared to give a convincing presentation", you need to make a presentation that covers all the bases.
Do your research, put your presentation together and then have others view it to see if they can poke any holes in it or if you leave any questions unanswered. Tweak your presentation until it is ready for the client to see - and then go into the meeting room with confidence.
While you still may feel some trepidation in your first sales presentation, shake it off. Things will get easier as you go on. Keep pushing forward, with a positive, success-oriented mindset.
Tags: advice, business owner, closing the sale, Generating More Sales, Leeia Ladpoh, Sales, tips
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Businesses You Can Start - Even If You’re No Rockerfeller
Wednesday, February 27th, 2008
Starting a business doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Many people have a head full of know-how and great ideas, but avoid taking on a new venture thinking there is no way they can get the capital needed to get things going.
The truth is that you don’t have to be a Rockerfeller to start a business. In this article, we’ll take a look at a few businesses that you can start with little to no money - and how to find the customers to keep the cash coming in.
Start With What You Know
Intellect is a great asset - and a valuable one, if you know how to sell it. What do you know? Are you an expert in any particular area? Is there something you know how to do better than anyone else?
A great indicator of this is if there is something everyone is always asking you to do for them, or show them how it’s done. This is a saleable skill.
Selling Information
If you don’t necessarily want to be the one doing all the work all the time, you may instead want to look into ways to sell information that everyone wants. If it’s a craft that you are good at, you may want to talk to your local craft store about teaching classes. They will do all the work of getting people together, and you can go in, teach, and get paid handsomely for it.
Another way to sell information is to create a how-to book that you sell at craft stores or online that will teach people your skill, step by step.
For more, read our recent article on selling information products .
Selling a Service
If you enjoy a hobby you have, why shouldn’t you sell the items you make? If you are the one everyone comes to when they want a special present wrapped, why not charge for the service. You could become a professional gift wrapper, or just sell beautiful hand-made bows that people can attach to their own presents.
You may be surprised at just how busy you will get at Christmas time when people are purchasing all those last-minute gifts and don’t have time or inclination to wrap them.
Consulting
If you have a background in a particular field and know it better than most other people, you can start a consulting business.
Whether you used to be a VP of a large business and are offering business consulting, are a CPA and know taxes and accounting inside-out, or have worked in emergency management and are doing crisis consulting, there is someone who wants - and will pay for - your services.
Getting Customers
No matter which route you go with these businesses, there is one thing you need to be successful in each of them - customers.
This may be the only area you will have to spend a modest amount of money to start your business. You will need business cards that you can hand out. You may also want to put a small ad in the newspaper, letting people know about the service you are offering. However, to keep your costs down, you shouldn’t spend too much on either of these options.
Next, you need to network. Go to where the people who need your services will be and let them know you exist.
Remember, with these businesses, what you are really selling is you. By getting out and letting people know who you are and what you offer, you are being your own best marketing tool.
Tags: Accounting, advice, Finance, Finance and Accounting, Leeia Ladpoh, raising captial, Starting a Business, startup capital, startups, tips
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5 Simple Steps to Keep Your eBay Customers Happy
Thursday, February 7th, 2008
If you are selling on eBay, your reputation is out there for everyone to see. The eBay feedback system is on every item you sell - and potential customers can click at any time to see whether other customers have had positive experiences with you.
It is important to keep a high positive rating on eBay to keep customers’ trust.
Let’s take a look at how to do this.
Keeping Customers Happy
The best way to do this is to do exactly what you promise. When it comes to selling on eBay, there are many levels of customer relations.
1. Honesty In Listings - There is nothing more frustrating to a customer than to find what they think is the perfect collectible in mint condition, and then get the product to find out there is a chip in it, or a crack where it has been glued back together.
When writing your description for an item, make sure it is completely accurate. While many people like to make things sound better than they are, in the hopes of getting a higher sale price, you may end up losing when the person insists on a refund for false advertising.
Not only will they give you negative feedback on the deal, but also you will be out the shipping price and listing and selling fees from eBay. Always read over your descriptions twice and make sure they are descriptions that would fairly match the item, if you were the one buying it.
2. Accurate Pictures - If you are posting pictures of an item, they should be of the specific item you are selling. Many people use stock photos of a brand new version of the item they are selling. If yours doesn’t look like the one that is brand new, customers may feel like they were lied to in your photographs.
If you must use stock photos, make sure it is very clear in your description that these are stock photos of a new item, and that yours is not new or that it does not look the same.
3. Proper Shipping - While it’s acceptable to do, don’t overcharge for shipping unless you make it very clear in your description that your shipping costs are intentionally high. Many sellers try to get around the eBay listing and selling fees by charging much less for the item and very high shipping rates.
While this is legal to do, many buyers don’t pay as close of attention to the shipping price and may be frustrated when their total is much higher than they thought it should be. While it is a "buyer beware" world, sellers should also beware that an unhappy buyer can have a negative impact on their feedback.
Additionally, make sure that your shipping times and costs are very clear. Some shippers only send items out a few times a week. While this is an acceptable practice, you need to assure that your buyers know this.
4. Communication - Even the best thought-out eBay sale may not go as well as you would like. But if you are able to work out the problem with the customer, you will likely get their appreciation and some positive feedback out of the deal.
Whether an item is broken in shipping, running late, or there is some other problem with the transaction, always be available to communicate with the customer.
While every situation doesn’t have a happy solution, a little bit of attention to an unhappy customer will calm them down quite a bit.
5. Feedback - Once you have completed the transaction with the customer and they have gotten their item, ask them to give you positive feedback. You should also do the same for them if the transaction went well.
The more positive feedback, the higher your ranking and the more respectable and professional you appear to be.
Tags: customer loyalty, customer relation management, E-Commerce and E-Business, ebay, feedback, Leeia Ladpoh
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What to Do When You’ve Been Scammed by a Supplier
Monday, January 28th, 2008
While there are many legitimate businesses out there looking to build an honest relationship with your company, there are, unfortunately, many others out there with less than honest intensions.
If you have been the victim of one of these scammers, you may feel there is nothing you can do. You may also think that the person who took advantage of you - and took your money - is long gone. But the truth is that you can take a stand against what happened, and possibly help the authorities keep it from happening to someone else.
How to Find Out About the Company That Scammed You
Many scam companies are hard to trace. They operate in one location for a while, run a number of scams, and then take off. But in order to get money out of businesses, they often leave a paper trail of some sort.
Look for anything that the scammers sent you. Were you sent a false invoice? If they called your office, get a copy of your phone records to see where the call originated. If they have taken your money, did you pay by check or credit card? If you paid by check, look up the person, or company name that the check was made out to.
If you paid by credit card, look on your statement to see where the money went. You may also be able to call your credit card company for help in finding more information about the destination of your payment.
Where to Report the Company
Unless you tell the authorities what happened, they can’t help you. Once you realize you have been scammed, call your local law enforcement agencies, your State Attorney General, National Consumers League (www.fraud.org ) and the Better Business Bureau (www.bbb.org ). It is likely that these organizations will start an investigation into the situation.
The more information you can give them about your encounter(s) with the scammers, the better a lead they will get on the case. Additionally, if you are not the first to report this scam, they may be able to give you more information about those behind it.
What Recourse Do You Have To Recover Your Money?
This will differ by case. If you paid the scammers by credit card, you should immediately call your credit card company and tell them about the scam. Many credit card companies will reverse the charge or help you reclaim your money.
If you wrote a check, you should tell your bank about the scam and ask if there is any recourse they can help you in taking against the perpetrator. Finally, keep up with the scam investigation. Once the authorities catch the scammers, you may be able to get your money back in an ensuing lawsuit.
The number of reported business scams has increased in recent years, and trends suggest that the numbers will continue to rise. The best defense is to be on the offense, and not trust any business deals that seem too good to be true. Thoroughly research your suppliers before working with them - you’ll save money and your sanity.
Tags: advice, Leeia Ladpoh, Product Sourcing, scams, source, suppliers, tips
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Product Sourcing at Garage Sales
Friday, January 25th, 2008
The concept of profit is finding a good product at a great price and being able to sell it to someone else for a large markup. They key to being able to do this is to know where to find items that you can purchase for a low price and sell at high ones.
Thanks to the advent of eBay, one of the most popular places to find things for reselling is at garage sales.
If you frequent garage sales, you know there are great deals to be found - and that’s just when you’re searching for items you may be able to use. But what if you broadened your horizons and your view?
Think of what things may be popular with other people across the country or even the world. At garage sales, you can buy these items very cheap, say 50 cents to a few dollars, and sell them at a much higher price.
Some people can make educated decisions on what to purchase and resell, and hope for the best. Others prefer to educate themselves so they are in tune with what is happening in the eBay market - and it is these people that stand ready to make a profit.
Keep Up With Styles
When you’re sourcing products at garage sales, it pays to keep up with what is in style and in demand. For example, if you have a small clothing business, you could watch a few tabloid television shows to see what the stars are wearing or open a fashion magazine or two.
Something old is always becoming all the rage again. If you know what the new fashion trends are, then you can find older clothes at garage sales for pennies, then turn around and sell them as ‘vintage items’ for a large profit.
Know the Trends
Look at what is selling on eBay, and how well it’s selling. [cpc=http://pulse.ebay.com]eBay pulse[/cpc] is a site that keeps up with what the biggest selling items are. While many of the top 10 items are often electronics , you can delve deeper into the reports to look at categories such as clothing , furniture and jewelry to see what items are getting the most searches. This lets you know what the shoppers are looking for.
In addition to knowing what’s hot, you will also be able to pull some extra information out of the Pulse site - including what keywords people are using to search for those items. You can then use these keywords in your eBay title to help more people find what you have for sale.
The Early Bird Gets the Worm
While the idea of waking up before the sun on a Saturday may not be your idea of a good time, it is a profitable time. There are a lot of people doing the same thing you are, looking for the best deals at garage sales. The earlier you start searching, the better chance you have of finding the best items for resale.
With more and more people using eBay as their shopping venue of choice, there is a lot of money to be made buying at garage sales and selling through this platform. The key is in knowing where to find the items they want, at a price where you can give them a good deal, while making a great profit.
Tags: advice, garage sales, Leeia Ladpoh, Product Sourcing, source, sourcing products, tips
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4 Easy Steps To Getting Your Business Ready For Tax Season
Monday, January 14th, 2008
The close of 2007 means different things to different people, but among business there is one common thread: It is tax time! None of us like to think about it - but you can’t avoid it, and here are some tips to help you get ready to file the information you need to for your business in 2008.
* Prepare ahead of time! The best way to get ready for tax season is to keep in mind that it is coming all year long. File your receipts and your invoices as soon as you get them and you will save yourself a lot of work in the winter time.
If you didn’t do so in 2007, 2008 is a great year to start!
* Schedule an afternoon just to deal with your taxes. You will need to spend a couple of hours at the very least (depending on the size of your business, of course) in preparing your taxes, and by the end you certainly won’t feel like doing anything else.
Make sure you block some time off, and give yourself a bit of a wind down afterwards!
* Keep everything organized. As you go through your records for the year, make sure that everything is filed in the right place. You probably already have your debits and credits separate, but you will want to sort out your debits further, into categories such as utilities, one-time purchases, research costs, office supplies, employee wages, and so on.
All of the different areas you can spend money on with a business are governed by specific rules, so you want to make sure and keep everything sorted out. Plus, make sure you know what small business tax write-offs are available to you!
* Hire an accountant! Big businesses have no questions about this, but often a small business or a business operated by an individual will be tempted to try to fill out all the taxes on their own. Don’t give in to the temptation! The fees you will have to pay an accountant are worth it; even the best business tax computer programs can be hard to follow and easy to mess up. Sometimes, they take hours just to figure out.
Even if you manage to get it done, you won’t really know if you filled everything out correctly; getting a professional to do the job could save you money in deductions you will miss, or even (God forbid) help you avoid penalties (read: audit) incurred by accident.
If you’re looking for an accountant for the first time, here are some tips for hiring an accountant to help you.
So now it’s time to go out and bite the bullet. Remember, this only happens once a year, so you might as well go and get it over with - and start working on your plans to make next years’ taxes a little easier to deal with.
Tags: accountant, Accounting, advice, Finance and Accounting, Leeia Ladpoh, small business taxes, taxes, tips
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Common eBay Selling Mistakes (And How To Avoid Them!)
Thursday, December 27th, 2007
eBay is not exactly a new service; in fact, for several years now the site has been a household name. It is hard to believe that in that time, most people have still not really learned how to take full advantage of the services that eBay provides in order to make a business selling goods.
In fact, the most common selling mistakes on eBay today are the same things they were when the site first got fired up! Let’s take a look at them and make some suggestions on how you can avoid them.
* Not Taking Advantage of the Picture Option. It is really, really hard to believe the number of products for sale on eBay that do not have a picture. The Internet is already held in suspicion by a large number of people, and until they see an image of the product in question they will likely never buy.
When it comes to eBay, not only should you be providing a picture of the item you are selling, that picture should also be close up and detailed; the customer will want to have an idea of the condition that your product is in! If you don’t have a good picture, odds are that you won’t make the sale.
* Setting Initial Prices Too High. Way too many people think their items should start out at too high a cost. They forget to think of eBay as an auction; starting low will attract more bids, and people will bid until they think the price is no longer worth it.
This means that the buyers themselves expect to be able to set the price of the products. Starting out too high will turn a lot of bidders off.
* Not Taking Advantage Of eBay Tools. eBay wants you to succeed with your sale as much as you do; after all, it means more business for them. To that end, they have provided a lot of different tools that sellers can use in order to increase their chances at a sale.
Far too many people fail to use these resources for research and just jump right in by posting their items. Doing the necessary research with the tools eBay provides means that you will avoid a lot of the common eBay selling mistakes! You can find eBay’s Seller Tools here .
* Not Understanding Internet Marketing. If there is one thing that you need to understand as far as Internet marketing on any site, it is the use of keywords. eBay and your own website function around using the right keywords to attract attention to your products.
You won’t have a lot of characters on your eBay product title, so you better make sure to use as many descriptive keywords as possible so your auction comes up in searches!
eBay is a great way to start and supplement your business, but you have to go about it the right way. Avoiding some of the common mistakes is a great way to start!
Tags: E-Commerce and E-Business, ebay, Generating More Sales, Leeia Ladpoh, online auctions, selling mistakes
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