In a fiercely competitive business landscape where 50% of new businesses fail in the first five years of being open, small businesses are challenged with coming up with creative ways to stay afloat. Employing an innovative disruptive business model might just be the solution for new businesses.
To keep current customers happy, most established businesses focus on making continuous incremental improvements on existing products or services, which is called sustaining innovation. On the other hand, companies that focus on disruptive innovations seek to create an entirely new or different product or way of doing things, which serves to meet customers’ future needs better. Companies that create disruptive business models break existing paradigms and end up creating new markets or reshaping existing ones, ultimately displacing once-established market leaders (think, the success of Netflix vs. the failure of Blockbuster, for example).
So how does an up and coming (or even established) business go about enacting a new, disruptive business model? The key is not being afraid to self-disrupt, even if it means doing away with a current business model in favor of a new approach. Businesses looking to remain competitive should also act quickly, as companies that are first-movers in disruption often fare better than ‘copycat’ disruptors. For more tips on setting your business up to be disruptive, see the infographic from Fundera
It can be hard to compartmentalise your business when it comes to thinking about the future. After all, there will always be changes, and no day will ever likely be the same. So how can you prepare for unexpected eventualities? The truth is, there are things that are becoming more common in the workplace, and as a business owner, you need to understand how to handle them effectively. With that in mind, here are some of the unexpected things you may have to deal with as a business owner.
Changes in business trends
When it comes to business trends you need to be able to ensure that you can predict what changes are afoot. You will need to spot the signs in buying crazes, how well your products and services are doing and when, and also how well your business is performing. Being able to spot the changes can help you to better prepare for the future, and make the relevant choices so that you can continue to move the business forward successfully.
The health of your workforce
The health of the workforce is massively important when it comes to your business, and this is when you will need to take some solid action to ensure that you do the right thing. From regular checks with things such as USAMDT to ensuring that they are happy in work. Mental health is a massive subject to be aware of at the moment, and so you may want to think about how well you react in the workplace. This means that taking into account stress levels and pressure and understanding the needs of your employees will need to be a high priority for you moving forward.
Managing the cash flow
Cash flow is one of those things that you assume might manage itself, but actually if you can keep one eye on it you can make sure that your business spends more time in the Black than in the red. This means managing when invoices are vying paid, such as taking into account thirty day payment window opportunities, but also being aware that businesses will do the same to you when it comes to paying out. Keeping things in line will help your accounts to also be able to forecast results and to keep them much more realistic.
Customer experience
Finally, the customer experience is definitely one this that you may not expect to be something you have to be aware of. After all, you should be able to be happy with how you deliver your products and your services. But, the customer experience is one thing that you can control more frequently, and it can be something that can be tweaked to ensure you have happy customers. From communication of all aspects to delivering as promised, these things can go a long way. Last of all, a simple thank you for the business can make a big difference.
Let’s hope that these tips help you to be more aware of some of the unexpected things that you may have to deal with or change as a business owner.
A project containing multiple moving
components can be difficult to organize. However, managers can lighten the
burden through the use of resource allocation. Resource allocation helps team
leaders ensure that a project has all of the proper resources to meet
deadlines. Additionally, resource allocation gives managers an overview of what
their teams are doing each day.
Resource Allocation 101
The base of resource allocation contains three
parts: people, time, and tools. People encompasses individuals who have the
skills to get the project done. Time is determined by the deadline of the
project and ranges from only a few days to several years. Teams need to
delegate the proper amount of time to each task in order to meet an overall
project deadline. Meanwhile, tools include the technology or resources that
people will use to get a project accomplished. Groups might have to share these tools with other people within a
company.
Team managers and department heads need to
rely on one another to effectively map out resource allocation. Managers need
to work concurrently to determine which employees are suitable for specific
tasks, as well as to plan a project’s timeline. How teammates are alerted or a
project is tracked depends on the size of the company and the complexity of its
projects.
What Affects Resource Allocation
As with other business practices, resource allocation
can be affected by a variety of factors. These variables can be broken into two
categories: project and team variables.
Project
Variables
Changes to deadline: Some
deadlines for a project can be pushed a few days. A team’s flexibility can help
with ever-changing due dates. Project managers need to walk a fine line when
choosing which projects to move around for a new deadline.
Changes in scope: Clients can
change their minds or add on more components to a project. If the project is
too large for the current team, managers will have to redelegate people to help
with the workload.
Team
Variables
Resource availability: The best
person for a job is not always available at the drop of a hat. Vacations or
another project can often pull the selected individual away from the work at
hand. Project managers will need to determine if the job needs to be outsourced
or if other individuals can step in to fill the gap.
Other projects in the works: The
urgency of another project can pull people off of the selected project. A
project’s ranking can be determined by the looming deadline or how quickly it
can be completed among other factors that managers have to take into account.
Software to Help with Resource
Allocation
Despite the hurdles that managers can face
with resource allocation, there are software tools to help the process become
simpler. Cloud-based technology tools can store talent profiles of employees to
help managers with staffing projects. For example, the resource management
aspects of a human capital management system can aid
leaders in choosing the right team member for a job.
Smaller businesses can use smaller-scale solutions to help them.
Something as easy as a group chat area allows managers to check in on available
team members. Successful resource allocation or different methods to meet project deadlines
lead to improvements in business practices.
Resource allocation is a process that helps managers
with meeting deadlines. People, time, and tools have an impact on how a manager
is able to distribute work and maintain a project deadline. Additionally, all
three factors have their own set of variables that can impact their
availability. However, software tools can help managers properly allocate
resources. Overall, resource allocation helps managers know what their team
members are working on daily and what projects will need their attention next.
A job search likely means you’ve spent a lot
of time preparing. You’ve rehearsed interview answers. You’ve revised and
polished your resume. You’ve notified all of your references and confirmed that
glowing reviews are forthcoming.
But no matter how prepared you think you may be, you’re not truly ready unless you’ve thought about the potential effects of a background check. Most employers today rely on background checks for information about candidates they can’t get from interviews or resumes. Some job seekers fail to consider what impact these investigations could have on their employment searches.
To avoid surprises, job candidates need to
know what these checks entail — or could reveal. For example, a critical step is
to scour your social media posts for anything that could be considered
unflattering or inflammatory. Companies almost certainly will take note if they
find something that potentially reflects poorly on them if they hire you.
If a hiring company solicits third-party
assistance, there is potential to gain information about your credentials,
medical records, driving records, criminal records and more.
For more tips on how to prepare for a
background check, see the accompanying guide. It details many crucial facts related
to what prospective employers can find when digging through your past. Author bio: Christian Moore is COO at Global Verification
Network. He has more than 20 years of investigative and
business experience with competencies including surveillance, competitive
intelligence, pre-employment and course-of-employment background
screening.
Just because you’re about to enter a saturated industry with
plenty of experienced competitors and established brands doesn’t mean that you
need to struggle to succeed. There’s plenty of room for everyone to grow at a
steady pace and even thrive, but only if you make all the right investments and decisions
on your way to success and affluence. To make these smart moves, you will need
to discover and implement the best practices in your field.
And the best way to do just that, and make your business look more professional and
appealing from the get-go, is to pick up the most important lessons from the
leaders in the industry. Let’s dive deep into the things that truly matter for
startups, and how to invest in these areas from the start.
Find, hire, and retain the top talent in the industry
You might be able to run a one-person show at the beginning,
but as soon as you start making progress and attracting more business to your
doorstep, you will need to allocate some of the workflow to an employee, or
several. What every accomplished business leader will tell you is that your
future depends on your ability to find and hire team members that bring true
value and quality to your business.
These will be the people who will drive your company forward
with their skills and expertise, the people who will guide the brand towards
its long-term goals. Needless to say, these people are your biggest assets, and
you cannot afford to lose them. You will need to create a winning company
culture if you are to boost employee retention and prosper.
Build a thriving company culture
The top brands in the industry are able to pay top dollar in
order to hire and retain their most valuable employees, but salary alone is not
enough to maintain a strong retention strategy. After all, there are a myriad
of job opportunities out there, and the millennial employee will have no problem
leaving a company if they feel underappreciated or if their true values and
talents are not being exploited to their full potential.
As a novice business leader, you might not even be able to
offer anything more than what’s considered standard compensation in your niche,
so your best bet is to build a company culture people won’t want to leave. Make
sure you build this culture on the pillars of equality, trust, transparency,
co-dependence, honest communication, and leadership in order to create a work
environment that nurtures and respects its employees. Make people feel
appreciated and never stop challenging them in healthy ways and provide
exciting projects to bring their true potential to light.
Use the web to expand globally
With the dawn of the digital age, global business has become
a reality for every company and entrepreneur with the dreams of expanding
beyond the local marketplace. It has never been this easy to trade on a global
scale and access faraway markets, especially with the rise of Ecommerce.
Nowadays, every business model can build an Ecommerce structure, B2C and B2B
brands alike.
For example, this new trend has allowed traditional big
businesses such as oil and gas companies to trade
in oilfield equipment and other products you wouldn’t normally see
in the Ecommerce realm, nor would you expect to be traded beyond the local
marketplace. What this means for you is that you have a unique opportunity to
capitalize on this trend by integrating an Ecommerce structure into your
operation from the start in order sell your products to a global customer base,
all the while making it infinitely easier to profit in the local market as
well. After all, customers in every industry are increasingly buying products
on the web, so make sure your brand is there too.
Listen carefully to customer feedback
The customer might not be right all the time, but that
doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t do what they ask. Your customers will define the
future of your company, and any experienced entrepreneur will tell you that you
need to listen carefully to customer feedback on all digital channels, including social media, in order to assess the
true standing of your brand in the competitive field.
By tending to some careful media monitoring and analysis,
you can easily find out what the online and offline worlds are saying about
your brand. These kinds of insights will prove instrumental in shaping your
entire growth strategy, as they will allow you to adapt your approach and
deliver exactly what your customers need. You will also learn about the common
pain-points and discover your competitors’ weaknesses.
It’s all about the value of the brand
And finally, invest time and financial
resources to build a unique brand identity that will
resonate with the hearts and minds of your demographic. In a sea of competitors
and lookalike companies, you want to stand out as the brand people can connect
with on an emotional level, a brand they can trust and embrace as an
inextricable part of their everyday life. Your brand’s values and culture will
not only boost your acquisition strategy, but most importantly, it will help
you retain business and keep loyal customers at your side through thick and
thin.
In closing
Novice entrepreneurs have a long and winding road ahead of
them, but that doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t follow the trails left by those
who have already reached the finish line. In other words, use these lessons to
even the odds against the leaders in the industry and future-proof your startup
for years to come.
Keith Coppersmith is a business and marketing
expert who has experienced both the rise and fall of many businesses. He enjoys
writing and providing insight based on both practice and theory.
