www.TheBusinessIdea.com

Resources & Directories:

Knowing where to source your products and information on your desired industry regarding suppliers, competitors etc is crucial to wards your success.  The following directories are available to help provide a further insight into your desired niche.

Boating Resources Directory
Designer Handbag Wholesale Directory
DropShipping Manufacturers Directory
Dropship Guide
Dropshipping Manufacturers List
DVDs Wholesale
Film Distributor Directory
Global Business Directory
Pet Sitting Directory
Wholesale Designer Handbag Directory
Wholesale Sources Directory
Wholesaler Directory Ebay Merchandise List
Wholesale DVDs
Wholesale Video Games

Staffing your business:

The types of staff and resources needed are unique and apply in relation to the industry/marketplace you are entering. For example, seasonal trends, skills needed by employees to offer the level of customer service you require for your business, as well as the availability of funds to cover these salaries from your business are all determining factors which will dictate how you are able to successfully manage your business.

The location you choose will equally have implications—should you choose an area of high unemployment with lots of qualified/skilled resources, finding staff should prove relatively simple.

In comparison, an industry which requires in-depth knowledge and many different skills within various markets may improve more tricky to staff and command higher salaries.
Self employed

This area of employment covers contractors and labourers as well as entrepreneurs. The person is not employed by a company but actually work for themselves and pay their own tax and National Insurance. They have to keep accounts and present the figures to the tax office each year on the profits they make. This type of work can be unreliable since organisations may only use their services at intermittent times, the self-employex may have other commitments when you require their services.

Staffing Options:

Full-time

Generally this covers employment where employees are on contracts for between 35 – 40 hours per week and they are employed by an employer who takes care of all the relevant tax and N.I. contributions. The employer will also have to contribute towards the N.I contributions. Permanent and Temporary staff can be full time employees.

Part-time

This position is taken by employees who work generally between 6 – 30 hours a week (although they may well do extra hours in overtime), their contract is for less hours than a full-time contract. This is a situation which has previously been popular due to the employer not having to pay N.I. contributions for the employee.

Self employed

This area of employment covers contractors and labourers as well as entrepreneurs.  The person is not employed by a company but actually work for themselves and pay their own tax and National Insurance.  They have to keep accounts and present the figures to the tax office each year on the profits they make.  This type of work can be unreliable since organisations may only use their services at intermittent times, the self-employex may have other commitments when you require their services.

More Staffing Options:

Permanent

A much sought after and rare breed!! a permanent post is one where the employee is not on temporary or fixed term hours and may include full-time or part-time hours. They may be entitled to more legal protection/status and benefits than some other employees listed.

Temporary

This covers the areas of employment where the contract can vary form 1 day, 1 week, to between 1 – 3 years, but the employer does not qualify in giving the employee statutory rights such as redundancy pay and sick pay etc.

Contract

The person may work for the employer for longer than in the temporary post above but is still exempt from any employee statutory rights due to the wording and exemption clauses in the contract.

Non-contract/Casual

This covers casual staff, i.e. on a daily basis (farm work etc).

Skilled

Skilled workers such as carpenters have traditionally achieved their status through apprenticeships and in house training,  many skilled jobs also go to university graduates.

Unskilled

This type of employment such as cleaning and refuse collection until recently didn’t require any formal training, however with such a shortage in vacancies and high unemployment the unskilled are being overtaken for some of these posts by graduates and highly trained individuals who are finding it difficult to seek employment.

Home-working

Historically, comprised of out workers usually work on behalf of craft and knitting companies, and they work from home mainly on piece work for extremely low wages and often time consuming tedious jobs.  Some types of administration duties are also sourced from home, since it lowers the overheads of a company and decreases their expenses dramatically.

The internet and online companies have increased the use of home workers significantly and if managed and used correctly, can provide a useful and resourceful way to recruit qualified staff from locations far and wide.

Marketing does not have to cost the earth. Free promotion for your business can be found if you think laterally and creatively. Ideas to generate publicity and promotion can be found below, or use the other resources on this page.

Bonus & Freebies:

If you own a restaurant, give away a free glass of wine with any dinner to introduce a new menu. If you sell to retailers, give them a free display fixture with an increased order. If  you’re in the cosmetics business, offer customers a free sample blusher when they buy nail polish.

Money Off Vouchers & Coupons:

For best results, This is one of the least expensive ways to develop new trade, and an excellent tool for evaluating advertising. Offer reductions of at least 15% to gain impact.

Donations:

Donating your product or service to a charity can result in free publicity.  If you have a large venue, consider hosting a charity benefit – choosing a charity that links to your industry will equally launch your name upon peers.

Samples:

Giving potential customers a sample is an excellent way to attract attention and make a positive impression. The key is to give samples to your target audience, i.e., software packages to computer user groups, or nutritious snacks to health-conscious consumers.

Free Trials:

If your product is too big or expensive to give away, why not offer a free trial to qualified customers? Most people will appreciate the opportunity to try the product, and hopefully some will like and buy it.

Free Services:

If you can’t afford to give away products, offering your service as a way of generating new business. For example, if you own a retail clothing business, send out a flyer offering customers a free fashion consultation to draw them instore.

Loyalty Programmes:

Offer customer loyalty programmes when you launch your business to gain repeat bookings.

Newsletters:

Another good way to promote  is through newsletters. They offer knowledge in a low-key, informative way and add confidence to your company whilst keeping your company profile high..

Free Demonstrations:

Fashion shows, gift wrapping, computer demonstrations and introducing new kitchenware ranges all work well for retailers selling products associated to them.

Free Promotion Items:

These are good for reminding customers of your brand name. There are thousands from which to choose: key chains, coffee mugs, refrigerator magnets, baseball caps, paperweights branded with your company name and phone number.  Relating the giveaway item to your business industry or relevance is even cleverer, eg offering portable memory sticks to a computer company or users with your logo on.

Networking &  Speeches:

Depending on your topic and your market, you may be able to network and speak before Chambers of Commerce, Trade Associations, parent groups, senior citizens or other local groups.

Articles:

Another possibility is to write an article for a trade journal, reprint it, and mail it off to online forums, your friends, customers and prospects. This positions you as an expert, and is a particularly good way to promote a consulting business.

Overall, you need to decide, what is your trading goal from above, research thoroughly the market, then create a strategy (breakeven for 3 years, losses, make money after a year etc) and plan every detail of the business before you spend any money.