EmpressofBiZ: Biz Tips...Pricing facts or Feelings?

JoAnn (Found on LinkedIn Today) Remove feelings and base your pricing strategy on the facts - Pittsburgh Business Times bizjournals.com Your sales have tripled, but your profit has not. You have made adjustments, invested in equipment, hired staff and improved efficiency, and yet the bottom line remains flat. (See more articles ») View Article | Reply to JoAnn Forrester | Reply To All

FIVE STUPID Business Mistakes

Great conversation with Alice Williams of WEEE and Joanne Quinn Smith aka 'Techno Granny" as they shared on my show the Empress of Biz  on "The Good, The Bad and the Stupid Mistakes" small biz owners make.  Listed below are some of our "favorites" .  ...I really should not have done that!


1. CHECK YOUR INSURANCE  POLICY!   If you are a home based business PLEASE check your insurance policy..you may not be covered for your home office or if your  vheicles, equipment, tools and etc are stored on the property. One client of mine had a fire in her office and had over $35k worth of damage and the insurance would not cover it.  Yes it may cost you a few extra bucks...compared to a loss of thousands of dollars...minor costs.

2.  NO PLAN TO PAY YOURSELF!   Save money, I won't take a paycheck I will help the business...I can manage without it.  Right? WRONG!!  You MUST have a reasonable salary for you in your overhead (fixed costs) to have an accurate idea of what it costs to be in business and set the right price for your product or service.    Think..what you would have to pay someone to do your job.  Most often a great deal more than you now make.

3.  BORROWING MONEY from FAMILY.  This is "touchy".  Your Dad believes in you, your brother has some cash to throw in to your business...Mom has money to invest...what do you do? You have written agreements on the money invested or loaned to your business, how you will pay it back, interest, time period and etc.  And most of all you clarify the role they will have in your business.   Sometimes when family lends you money they automatically think they can tell you what  to do.  If you do not want your sister in your business...you have to clear that up front.

4.  Using Credit Cards to Finance your Business.  Your impatient, you want that computer now, that jigsaw, that power point, that truck and you do not want to have to wait.  So what the hay...I will just put it on my credit card and pay it off within a few months.  That kind of thinking can quickly get you into trouble.  Banks do not  like and will not re-fiance credit card debt.  The interest is often exorbitant and miss one payment and you are  quickly into a situation that can spiral out of control.

5.  Hiring Family members.   This can be good for the business IF your brother  is the person you would hire anyway...if NOT..then don't.  Taking in friends and family without them being an asset to the business is a STUPID  and a DANGEROUS MISTAKE.  

Want to avoid the above and other "stupid" mistakes...put  your ego aside..give us a call at 412-440-6969.  Don't worry we have done "alot of  stupid things"...and we are here to help you grow.
412-440-6969 ask for JoAnn  aka "Empressof Biz"

Financing Your Business..Yes it is possible

Part 1 Financing Your Business.

Need to finance your business and not sure what to do BEFORE you go to the bank?

There are a number of things to do to get yourself ready. These steps apply to start ups as well as growing or well established businesses.

First check your personal and business credit score. If there are negative remarks on your score check to see if they are correct. Up to 30% of credit reports are incorrect.

Second: Make sure your bookkeeping and accounting is in order. You will need up-to date balance sheet, profit and loss statements. Understand what they mean!

Third: Check the status of your payroll taxes...all is paid and on time.

Fourth: if you have personal student loans...make sure they are current.

Fifth: Any Agreement that you have regarding taxes make sure it is being kept and up to date:

Sixth: Have copies of the last three years of personal and personal tax returns, they are part of the loan package.

Seventh: Check insurance coverage and have copies/proof of coverage

This is just the first part of several articles. Remember to WIN at the financing game you need to be prepared and when you go into the banker you are not fumbling around for vital information.

If you have questions please give us a call 412-440-6969, or sent me an e-mail at selfimagebz@aol.com. SIBA has helped raised 40 million dollars in small business loans. We can guide you through the process.

Stay tuned for Part 2

Customer Service is back!

One of the side benefits of the "great recession" is customer service is back! Should of never gone away!

Expecting employees to know how you want customers treated is foolish. Managers must demonstrate by their actions good customer behavior. They must consistently instruct, correct, confront negative behavior and notice when they get positive results.

Also employees need to be empowered to correct mistakes immediately. Give employees the authority to correct a negative situation quickly and satisfactorily.

Example: Recently in two days I was at two chains for lunch.

Chain A: There was a hair--uck-- in my soup. I called the waitress over and eventually she got to my table. I pointed out the problem. She did apologize and said I get you another bowl. By that time..I did not want any..so I said no thanks. And that was it.

Chain B: The next day there was a problem with the salad. I called the waitress over, she apologized and offered to correct the problem and said there was no charge for the lunch and brought over a dessert. Now what restaurant do you think I am going to go back to?

Simply put.. Treat your customers as gold and gold will come back to you.