Did you know that, in Australia, 60% of small businesses fail in the first twelve months? For those of us who would like to start a small business — maybe even work from home — thats a very discouraging statistic.

Does that mean that your business idea is doomed to failure? Far from it! There are steps you can take that greatly increase your chances of success. With a little time and some serious research you can hit the ground running. Lets start from the beginning

The bright idea

First, of course, you need to come up with an idea. Typically, business opportunities can be divided into four groups:

1. Offering an existing productservice in an existing market.
2. Introducing an existing productservice to a new market.
3. Offering a new productservice in an existing market
4. Introducing a new productservice to a new market.

At this stage of the game the only limit is your imagination. Inspiration can come from anywhere — maybe you have a hobby that youd like to turn into a full-time job; you may be on the receiving end of bad service one day and decide to try doing it better yourself; or you may have a talent that youd like to capitalise on.

Once youve come across something that youd like to do, its time to take a look at the market and see whats on offer.

Passing the test

So youve had a great idea and youre keen to roll with it; now its time to put it through its paces. For the purpose of the exercise, lets say that you have a passion for healthy living, and that you want to distribute a range of lifestyle accessories that promote healthy living with a do-it-yourself approach.

Ask around: Is there a market for products that promote healthy living? What sorts of products are available? Who would you be competing with and what do your competitors offer? Do you have the necessary skills to run such a business and — more to the point — what would those skills be? Where would your business be located?

Once youve answered those questions you should have a fairly clear picture of what your business will look like.

You source some products and decide to do some further research into the range of lifestyle products offered by a company called Vitality 4 Life. Your own life experience plus some work youve done as a dietician has given you the necessary skill sets, and you think that youll be able to work from home, giving you more time for family. There is an existing market, but theres room for expansion. Now its time to take a closer look.

To be or not to be?

Its time to get down to the nuts and bolts. You dont want to jump into something feet first and find out the hard way that the budget just doesnt work.

To get started, sit down and work out if you need to hire staff, which means paying wages.

If you lease a premises youll need to be able to pay the rent, and your location will have to be suitable for your business and target market (which also means that youll have to think carefully about just what that target market is). Youll also need to work out the likely demand for your productservice.

Ok youve worked out that there is enough demand for good quality juicers, sprouters, water filters and other high end accessories to take a shot at a distributorship as a home-based business opportunity. Now you need to make some marketing decisions.

Look at me! Look at me!

Advertising can be costly so youll want to be sure that your advertising budget is spent wisely. That means more market research, this time one-on-one. Profile your customer groups so you can aim your marketing at the right groups of people.

Draw up a questionnaire (a short questionnaire — people run out patience if you ramble for too long) and hang around outside a few of the local gyms (for our particular example). Come up with a mixture of open questions (What do you think of..?) and closed questions (Do you have a gym membership? YesNo.); sliding scales can be useful too.

For our health accessories business, a good question might be How did you hear about this gym? Radio, tv, newspaper, word of mouth etc Such a question would then give you an indication of the types of media that your target group responds best to.

Choose a business name, print up some business cards, buy some stock and get ready to trade!

Measure it, manage it!

A teacher of mine made the point that, in business, if you cant measure it you cant manage it.

You need to be able to plan ahead, and to do that you need to know — or to be able to accurately predict — your total sales. The equation is simple: number of customers x average sale x frequency of visits per customer per year = total sales. Remember it, revise it often, measure your business and youll be able to manage it!

Keep an eye on your bottom line and, most importantly, always be aware of your cash flow — the cold, hard cash that you have in the bank. Allow for invoice periods (14 days, 30 days etc) when youre planning your budget.

The market place has a life of its own, and no one can prepare for every contingency. Put some thought into your idea; make sure that theres a market for what youre offering; research, research, research; promote your business effectively; always know whats going on in your bank account and dont forget about cash flow!

Its not perfect but, if you follow these few simple steps, youll be miles ahead of many new small business ventures. If youve heard of a great home-based business opportunity, or have a product or service of your own to market, youre off to a great start!

Why Women In Small Business Must Have A Web Site

In recent years we’ve seen a HUGE increase in the number of small businesses owned by women. This growth has been so dramatic that millions of people now think of a woman when they visualize who owns the businesses they buy from.

Women everywhere deserve a big pat on the back for this amazing accomplishment. But as is always the case for small business owners, there is still a lot of work to be done.

The one thing your small business MUST have is a web site. Sure, ten years ago having a site was an option many small businesses could do without. But that is no longer the case. Here’s why:

* These days consumers and business leaders are more likely to use search engines than the Yellow Pages. They’ll type the name of your town and your type of business into Google and start their research from there.

* A web site lets you put as MUCH information as you want in a public forum. You no longer have to pay thousands for a big newspaper ad just to let customers know about your prices, new services, or show photos of what you do. Now you can keep all that information available on your web site 247 at little or no cost.

* You know as well as I do that most customers are a little shy about asking questions. Often they don’t even want you to know they’re interested until AFTER they have learned more about your product, service, or idea. A web site allows that vast number of potential customers to privately and anonymously read all about your business. Then, when they’re ready to buy, they’ll come forward with their questions and orders. This is a MUCH more efficient way to do business, which leads to my next point.

* Web based business operations can be EXTREMELY EFFICIENT. Customers often prefer convenient email over phone or in-person visits. Email encourages customers to organize their ideas, contacting you when they know what they want and are ready to act. You’ll find your web site generates many more customers and the customers you get are better organized.

* Finally, women love to buy from women-owned businesses. Women, as a group, tend to be less compulsive shopper than men. While a large segment of men will buy an item on impulse, the vast majority of women prefer to learn about your product or service, getting all the details they can before placing an order. Web sites are perfect for presenting a lot of information at very little cost.

Over the years countless institutes and individuals have asked the million pound question. What makes an entrepreneur an entrepreneur? What traits or characteristics are inherent to a successful entrepreneur and is one born with those traits? Theres great news! Successful entrepreneurs are born every day!

Some people believe an entrepreneur is born while others believe an entrepreneur can be taught. Some believe an entrepreneur is like an artist – either you have it or do you dont. Some see entrepreneurs as leaders that are focused, disciplined, competitive, and charismatic, while others see them as huge risk takers. And all of these analogies are right to some degree.

Its true all successful entrepreneurs share a few qualities and skills that allow them to be successful. These inherent qualities can be taught; but they often seem to be an inherent driving force that sends individuals down the path of being in business or formally training to for a career in business.

Entrepreneurs see the world differently. They have the ability to see the world as a system. They have the ability to see something in its entirety and as an integrated unit, and they seem to possess the ability to see opportunity within the global picture. They are what is called a system thinker.

There are other characteristics they possess. Entrepreneurs possess an overpowering need to achieve and tend to be very competitive against themselves. They are continuously trying to outthink themselves and others and they are constantly looking for the edge. This is a process that occurs as naturally as breathing and is a driving force behind most entrepreneurs.

They have the determination and dedication to follow through with commitments and they always appear confident and in control. Youll notice they also possess a positive atmosphere. They are of the mindset I can, and I will. They are not afraid of failure because failure is not in their vocabulary nor is it an option.

They are objective but have the ability to weigh risks realistically within the big picture. They have an uncanny ability to anticipate developments which gives them the edge on many competitive situations. Entrepreneurs seem to feel right from their gut, call it instinct. They are a resourceful group that possess excellent problem solving skills and are able to diligently work through obstacles as they occur.

Entrepreneurs are excellent communicators and recognize how important clear and concise communication is to their success. They also possess a sound working knowledge of the business they are involved in.

When it comes to successful entrepreneurs its a question of what came first, the chicken or the egg. Is it inherent qualities that we are born with that lead us to be entrepreneurs or is it when we choose to become an entrepreneur that we develop the skills and qualities of success? Thats a question we shall leave to the great debaters to resolve.

What is for certain is that successful entrepreneurs are born every day and that you too can be a successful entrepreneur by developing the skills of success.

Small Business Building – 7 Tips To Reconcile Dreams With Reality

One of the themes that run through my teleclass, Believe! How to Work With Your Beliefs to Grow a Prosperous and Meaningful Business, is the tension between the creative power of thought and resource-depleting habits of wishful thinking. I offer the following 7 Reality Checks to help you reconcile your dreams with reality so that you can build your dream into a thriving business.

1. In spite of your best intentions you will make mistakes. To the best of your ability, which may sometimes be slim, welcome these occasions as an opportunity to let go of perfectionism. Pause to review your offer to your clients. Are you positioning yourself as a know-it-all or as a responsive partner and learner? Are you putting yourself on a pedestal? Reflect on the distinctions among honesty, reliability, and perfection. Meditate on the difference between apology and accountability. Muse on the difference between significance and integrity.

2. Things go “wrong.” I put “wrong” in quotes because stumbling blocks teach me things I need to know in order to serve and thrive. Hey, I’d rather learn without failing too, but however the lesson happens, there you are. Every time you look with humility and trust for your personal lesson, you are helping to create the possible dream. (Note: Sometimes the lesson is simply to let go of your idea of what should have happened. Lessons are not code for “There’s something wrong with you.”)

3. Not everyone wants or needs what you have. That’s good news because odds are that you can’t respond to every one anyway. Cultivate the courage, integrity, and clarity to listen deeply to prospective clients and decline to work with those whom you are not ideally suited to serve. Ask questions, especially scary ones (Can you afford this? Do you have any reservations? What will it take for this to be a good investment for you?). Ask first; sell later. Actually, when you do this, the selling takes care of itself. That’s the premise behind coach Kendall SummerHawk’s tape series, What to Say When You Hate to Sell.

4. Humbly welcome opportunities to profit. I did not have Kendall’s tapes in mind when I wrote the item above, but they are a perfect fit, so I was happy to include the link to her work (in the article version placed on my site.). Will I profit if you buy them? Yes, I’ll earn a 20% commission on every sale from that link.

5. Customers have bad days, too. Some times they’re going to take it out on you. That doesn’t mean you have to slink home licking your wounds, nor does it you get to strike back. It certainly doesn’t mean you have to accept abuse. When you feel unfairly used, take a few deep breaths, notice what you wish were different, and remember that we’re all human. Maybe it’s time to do some boundary maintenance. Are you pretending that you need to please everyone or that everyone needs to like you in order for you to thrive? Look to yourself, not because you are to blame, but because you are the only one whose behavior you can manage. (Customers are always right where they are.)

6. Sometimes whole systems go wrong or you find out too late that a new project was not quite ready for prime time. (Just ask me.) At times like this you get to practice being available and responsive to customer needs while also taking care of yourself. Sometimes you won’t (yet) know how to solve or resolve the problem and you may resent the time you’re using to reassure clients instead of getting things on track. BREATHE. Learn to say, “I don’t know and I do care and I will get back to you as soon as I can.” Practice saying it with dignity, conviction, and patience. Take some time to wonder what you would need to believe in order for all of this to feel right and true.

7. Owning a business can be isolating. Many entrepreneurs are natural soloists. That doesn’t mean we don’t need or want support, though we may be the last to realize it. Spend some time wondering why other people might want you to thrive. Let your imagination run free as you speculate on what kinds of collaboration could work for you. Turn your complaints about networking into dreams of your ideal support system. What would your business look and feel like if you knew you did not have to have it all together because there was lots of help at hand?

The secrets to creating the possible dream are all related to accepting what is, which includes accepting the support that is everywhere around you and accepting your own desire to build a business that adds real value in the world and allows you to thrive. Some days it will be easier than others to believe that reality and your dream can co-exist. But if you persist with humility, passion, and trust, your dream will teach you how it wants to be made real. I know because my own dream teaches me every day.

Top 5 Mistakes That Stamp LOSER On Your Small Business Web Site

Are you making this mistake with your small business web site? Too many small business owners look at their web site as an online brochure. They use it as little more than a place to store their office hours and service list.

A different way has emerged. Now your small business web site can be used as an effective marketing tool. Used in the right way, it can spear-head many successful marketing campaigns for you in the near future.

To begin, effectively use your web site to attract leads and customers; use it to let prospective clients know who you are. Offer valuable content related to your expertise. Attract them back over and over like bees to honey. Soon you will become Top-Pick over your competition.

Did you know that many of your prospects (even locally) will type your business name or web site name in Google to see what you offer? Often they are looking to see what you offer compared to your competitor. Recently, Calif. based USC Annenberg School said from 2005 research, 78.6 Americans go online. An almost equally large percentage 72.3 say that the search engines provide whatever information they are looking for.

To make your small business Web site more effective, go through this short checklist and tweak it for better results. Or if you are just starting, now is the perfect time to put your Internet marketing plan into place to see new quarter profits.

Stay open to learn what it takes to put the right sales language and content on your site bringing more targeted visitors (visitors looking for what you have to offer.) Know the robots of the various search engines examine web sites daily looking for good key word food, free information, and content.

Correct these small business web site mistakes and make more profit:

Mistake 1No sales letter(s).

Solution: Novice Internet marketers don’t even know they need a sales letter for their services and products. They missed the foundational marketing message that said, “Only words sell. Flashy even great looking websites don’t convince anyone to call, email you and foremost of all buy. Only words can do that. Write a sales letter for each service or product you offer. Give your web site visitors a reason why they should buy from you.

Mistake 2 No or poorly written headlines to point the way

Solution: Put headlines filled with benefits on your home page to direct people to your sales letter. Develop the skill of writing headlines. Provocative titles will stir interest. Provocative statements capture our attention like a fish on a hook. They throw out the baited hook and reel a captive audience in every time. For example, here’s a shocking statement one sex therapist used ‘Wives Who Don’t Want Sex.’ Even if his web visitors didn’t have this problem, it got the attention of the curious. Rewrite your headlines. Make sure they lead your prospects to your sales page.

Mistake 3 No testimonials or case studies

Add Testimonials. Most everyone wants to know who else has used your service and had a good experience. Testimonials speak up for your product or service. They act as a referral and even an endorsement. The compliments from another customer help melt away your prospect’s fears and doubts about trusting you.

Mistake 4No compelling reason to keep reading

You may have been awarded for the most beautiful site. Congratulations! But if your web site copy is weak it may not translate to sales. Check your copy for dud phrases. Are you using trite phrases like Welcome to the official site of _____, to find out about ME, MY Company, My Achievements click here, or Sign-up for my FREE ezine. Use wording that will convince your prospects to keep reading, trust you and take action. Insert benefit loaded headlines, bullets and even links.

Mistake 5 Not enough benefits (what in it for me) on home page

Put your resume, bio and credentials on your About Us page or even the Contact page. You customer wants to know the answer to this question first. “what’s in it for me?” Don’t get me wrong; put them in their proper place on your site. But your audience will most want to know the value of your product to them. You must answer questions like, “Will it solve my particular problem?” “What will I gain?” “What will I lose if I don’t use your service?”

If you are serious about making your website a more effective marketing tool, begin by correcting the top five mistakes above. Even one or all of the principles in place will help make your website one that your visitors will contact you from, proudly refer, and come back to over and over again. Write compelling copy and grow your business today.

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(c) Earma Brown, 11 yr. Web Developer, Author
eBk: 7 Easy Acts of Online Promotion for Your Business. Everyone loves to prosper. You and your staff deserve to prosper too! Earma, principal developer at Arrow Productions helps writers and entrepreneurs realize their web dreams. Sign up for her free ezine “Web Wit” at or visit her on the web at http:www.arrowproduction.com or http:www.clickeasymarketing.com

So youre starting a small business. You figured out what you wanted to sell or do and went out and got it all set up, had your DBA framed and on the wall and now all you need is for someone to buy your product or use your service. Right?

How are you going to go about getting your public to know you even exist?

Promote! Promote! Promote!

Well that all sounds simple, but say youre a financial specialist, a boat builder or llama farmer. They probably didnt teach the basic principles of starting small business promotional campaigns in boat-builders school. So what do you need to know, and how do you go about it?

Lets start with the Basic Principles of promotion:

What is Promotion?

Promotion (promō′shun) n. Anything, as advertising, public appearances, etc., done to publicize (get the attention or interest of the public) a person, product, event, etc. The New Websters Concise Dictionary2003 Encyclopedic Edition

Why do you promote?

The purpose of promotion is to make sure people know you are in business. You promote because if you dont, you wont make it in business. You promote because it is communication that you need to engage in in order to survive. You promote in order to expand and get the attention or interest of the public for your products or services. You promote because if you dont, no one will know you exist and no one will buy from you andwell, you get the point.

How do you promote?

There are more ways than you would ever think. Have you ever heard someone say, I never promote and I am always busy OR I dont have to promote, all my business comes from word-of-mouth? They may not be aware of how theyre doing it, but I promise you they are promoting somewhere. Maybe they just go around telling everyone they talk to, that they dont promote. (Sound funny? Its still promoting.) Maybe their larger-than-life running water faucet in front of their store attracts so much attention that they dont need to do anything else. Well here are some ideas you can do knowingly to drive in the business.

Greeting your customers with a smile is a great place to start.

Calling your customers after they have had a chance to use your product is a good way to promote that you care about their experience with your organization. It can also create an opportunity to make more sales.

A neatly packaged product, the shipping label on straight, promotes that you take pride in what you do.

Always keep up-to-date brochures or catalogs about your business in your reception area for people to see and take with them.

If you have customers coming into your business, make sure they are greeted pleasantly, professionally, and immediately.

Anything that gets the attention or interest of the public for the company, its employees, its products or services (in a positive way) is promotion.
But how do you go about promoting to the masses?

Here is a story that could save you thousands of marketing and promotional pounds, as well as months or years of experience.

I was working as the Communications & Promotional Director in a medium size business. We were fortunate enough to have our own commercial printing press, that put out lots of very fancy letters, catalogs, brochures and other promotional items, and oh yes, envelopes to put them in. My full time pressman and his helpers, spent several days each week getting everything printed, cut, folded and sent over to the mailing house.

There, they had machines that automated all the stuffing, sorting, addressing and stamping. All in all everything was going very well. We were sending out about 40,000 pieces per week at a cost of about 10,800.00, and getting around 120 to 140 good leads per week. This generated an average of 2 new sales per week for a product that cost around 12,000, and re-sign income of around 45,000 more. We werent growing very fast, but we were making money.

THEN911 hit. ”

Suddenly, nobody wanted to open envelopes. Our leads were dropping to nothing. We were heading toward our own disaster like so many other companies did. I knew I needed to promote, but what good did it do if nobody read it!

I was talking to the owner of the mailing house and he suggested the use of POSTCARDS instead of letters. So we decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, I had much less money to allocate towards promotion, so I started by sending about 20,000 postcards weekly. The total cost-per-piece, needing only one day on the presses, half the labor at the mail house and a substantial decrease in postage, was reduced by about 60%.

What was the result? Try 120 to 140 leads per week!

Why?

You don’t have to open a post card!

You see it right away, the bright picture is not hidden from view by an envelope.

The message leaps right out and you can’t ignore it or throw it in the trash unopened (the fate of many bulk mail pieces).

Postcards are the best medium to reach new customers when starting a small business promotional campaign.

I was asked the other day what personality traits I thought were important to entrepreneurial success. I immediately gave my preprogrammed reply about passion and dedication and hard work. After taking some time later to ponder the question a little deeper (I normally operate in shallow waters), I came up with a more detailed checklist for entrepreneurial success. This is by no means a definitive list, but I’d be willing to bet that if you don’t have at least a majority of these traits, your chances of business success will be greatly diminished.

You must be self motivated.

If you don’t have the wherewithal to bounce out of bed each day without your spouse drenching you with cold water, chances are you don’t have the self motivation or discipline required to be an entrepreneur. Business demands that you take action based solely on your own volition. You have to do a hundred things every day that will not get done unless you make yourself do them.

You can’t be afraid of hard work.

If you think working for someone else is hard work, try starting your own business. You will be required to give every ounce of blood, sweat, and tears you can muster and then some. You will have to work long hours and be on call 247, at least in the beginning. If the mere thought of hard work makes you tired, maybe you should just keep your cushy day job.

You should have experience in the type of business you plan to start.

If you can’t locate your car’s engine you have no business buying an oil change franchise. The most successful business owners have prior experience in the industry in which they have set up shop. Consider working in an industry at least part time for a year before jumping in with both feet.

You must be able to climb back on the horse.

I always say: “If business was easy, everybody would do it.” Starting a business is hard work and the odds for failure are against you in the first few years. If you want to ride herd on your own business, you must be willing to fall off your horse and get back on a few times without giving up.

You need the support of your family.

When you start a business you may have to spend more time away from the family than you like. The business may also put a strain on you financially. You will have enough obstacles in your way without having to worry if you have the support of your family and those closest to you

You must have a thick skin.

If your feelings are easily hurt, keep your non-threatening day job because business is not for you. Many days in business, rejection waits around every corner and you must be able to handle rejection without taking it personally.

You must interact well with others.

Being an entrepreneur requires interacting with a variety of people, from your own employees to vendors to customers to investors. You must have the ability to effectively manage people without offending them; the ability to accept good advice from mentors and politely discount the bad; the ability to overlook mistakes or quietly rectify them; and the one I have trouble with: the ability to tolerate incompetence without losing your cool (at least not on the outside).

The deeper your pockets the better.

The number one cause of business failure is a lack of money. Before you start your business you should have access to enough capital to see you through until the business can sustain itself.

You must be able to delegate.

Running a business requires the performance of dozens of simultaneous tasks and it’s foolish to try to handle them all yourself. You must learn to put your trust in others. If you can’t dish out responsibility without worrying over the result, your business growth will be limited.

Previous business ownership is a plus.

Prior business ownership is not a prerequisite, but it can’t hurt. Many successful entrepreneurs have the skeletons of past businesses rattling around in their closet.

Another of my sayings:

Business is a lot like marriage: you learn a lot from the first one that may come in handy the second or third time around.

With that kind of advice you can see why I didn’t go into marriage counseling.

Here’s to your success!

Small Business – The Benefit Of Adding Benefits To Payroll

With unemployment rates going down and companies struggling to attract and retain quality employees, employers should pay close consideration to the emphasis being put on the importance of health care by employees. We have seen several times more and more that employees are first asking about the benefits plan and then about salary. It is obvious that affordable health care is prevalent on the minds of candidates.

For existing employees, weve found that offering higher benefits contributions in lieu of salary increases is a well received concept. Small businesses have their eyes on the bottom line and labor costs are one of the hardest hitting factors. By offering higher contributions to benefits plans employers are able to reduce the overall payroll costs. This is an area that most employers dont spend a lot of time looking at because they think they are under the impression it will be too costly. Another misconception is that for a good benefits contribution plan, an employer must purchase a group policy. This is not the case, a resourceful HR person will assist company leaders in researching alternative benefits options such as mini-meds (miniature medical plans with lower maximum coverage and limited visits), individual medical plans specific to each employee (often times much lower cost than group rates) and Health Savings Accounts just to name a few.

Small businesses should definitely consider benefits options now as there are proponents of legislation to make benefits mandatory for small to medium size businesses. At the end of 2005 California voters were presented with potential legislation that would require that certain employers provide health coverage for their employees and in some cases dependents through either (1) paying a fee to a new state program primarily to purchase private health insurance coverage or (2) arranging directly with health insurance providers for health care coverage. The state would also establish a new program to assist lower-income employees to pay their share of health care premiums.

This referendum lost by only about 2% so we are keeping our eye on this to resurface again in the very near future.

Managing and owning a small business can be very stimulating for the ADD adult. Many ADD entrepreneurs thrive on the fact that they can work on growing their business without all of the structure of being employed by someone else. While the structure of a 9 to 5 job might not be ideal for an ADD adult, an ADD entrepreneur should establish some structure and boundaries in order to be successful with their business opportunities and their personal lives. Here are just a couple of examples of structure and boundaries that an ADD entrepreneur should establish:

1. Keeping your personal finances and your business finances separate.

The larger your business is, the more important it is to separate your finances. Not only is it important for tax purposes, but recording all of your business transactions will give you or someone else all of the information necessary to analyze how well you are doing, and what you need to do to expand your business.

2. Set aside a regular time to pay your bills and to bill your customers.

I find that a lot of ADD entrepreneurs are more reluctant to bill their customers on a regular basis. The main reason is that they are so focused on pleasing the customer, that they don’t focus on actually getting paid for a job. In order to develop a habit, you should decide on a regular set time that you are going to focus on sending out your invoice and paying the bills.

3. Schedule time andor days each week where you not allowed to do anything related to your business.

In order to be a successful entrepreneur you need to spend a lot of time on your business. It is easy for an ADD entrepreneur to completely focus on their business and not focus on their other needs like eating properly, sleeping, physical activity, and spending time with friends and family. Without spending a little time on the other areas of your life your will burnout or breakdown.

Should you be in the early stages of a business start-up then there are elements to your personal business banking service which you should be looking for and if you havent yet set up an account now is the time to take a deep breath and go shopping!

Its a competitive market, and its often hard to be sure which services you should be looking for to provide the best service for your small business. Certainly the basics such as a business current account, savings account, and loan facilities should be there, but nowadays the upcoming business manager should be looking for more from their financial provider.

Often you are looking for support from your financial services outside of traditional office hours and its for this reason that todays small business owners should look for online access as a vital service for the building of their company. Not only does this provide true 24 hour banking support, but it enables complete transparency and allows you to pull up your small businesss financial details whenever you need them.

Having the information to hand is one thing, of course, but its also useful to have a dedicated team at the end of a phone line to run through the figure with you. Shopping around shows there are a few businesses who offer this service, Barclays (http:www.business.barclays.co.ukBRC1jspbrccontrol?site=bbb&task=channelFWvi2&value=5793&target=_self ) being one of them. Typically you are looking for most of the services also available online, such as account checking and money transfer services, allied with the opportunity to chat with a living, breathing, business manager who is local to your branch.

Interestingly, some companies also offer specialised software designed to integrate with their services and make your time management more efficient. This is surely a good sign, and indicative of the pro-active approach many banks now take to integrate online services with more traditional hands-on approaches.

Of course yours might not be a start-up waiting to happen, but instead a small business with a good track record and the ambition to grow your business within your market. Maybe you are unhappy with your current financial provider perhaps the service is good but limited, or you feel you could get a better financial package more suited to your small business. In either case you should be seriously thinking of switching your business account to a provider who can cover all your needs as a unique, small business. Additionally, and this might seem a minor point but it is surprisingly important, you should be looking for a banking service that will handle the transfer of your business account details with the minimum of fuss.

So there is plenty to consider when shopping for your financial provider but, assuming you are looking for a long term financial partner, perhaps the most important element is scalability: after all, you are looking for a financial provider that can grow with your business. Arent you?

Disclaimer

All information contained in this article is for general information purpose only and should not be construed as advice under the financial Services act 1986. You are strongly advised to take appropriate professional and legal advice before entering into any binding contracts.

Additional Information
http:www.business.barclays.co.ukBRC1jspbrccontrol?site=bbb&task=channelFWvi2&value=5793&target=_self

Disclaimer

All information contained in this article is for general information purpose only and should not be construed as advice under the financial Services act 1986. You are strongly advised to take appropriate professional and legal advice before entering into any binding contracts.