Additional menu

Evan Vitale

Business Tips, Tactics and Updates by Evan Vitale

Evan Vitale – Blog

Evan Vitale – NO December Slacking!

by

By Evan Vitale

There’s one more month left in 2016 and it’s hard to believe the past 11 months have flown by so fast!

Even though there are 31 days (or less depending on when you read this blog), don’t let your business “coast” during the final month of the year. It’s easy to get caught up in the upcoming holidays; office parties; gift exchanges, etc.

Now, more than ever, you need to stay focused. Your customers and clients need your products and services 365 days a year and, depending on your business, you might be in the midst of a super busy buying season this month!

Here are some pointers to follow for December:

  • If you ship products, ship fast. Get it out the same day, if possible. Or, at the very least, the next business morning. All shipping services (USPS, UPS, FedEx, etc.) are experiencing heavy loads due to the season, so your items might get caught up in the holiday rush. Get it out of your facility quicker during December.
  • As you approach December 25, make sure you and your team are aware of cut-off shipping dates in order for packages to reach customers on-time (if it matters). Keep your customers aware of shipping policies and targeted dates during the holiday season.
  • Always look for ways to improve and be on top of your game during December. No slacking. As we approach the end of the year, this is a time where many businesses start thinking about budgets for 2017. If they notice your business and services slipping this month, it might not leave a good impression when it comes to choosing vendors and signing contracts for next year.
  • Continue to do what you’ve done right for the past 11 months. For example, continue to write and publish blogs; participate in social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.); write your company newsletter – no slacking during December. Yes, you might be busier this month, but don’t act like you can’t handle the onslaught. If you need extra help, call a temp service and get some extra help in the door for the end of the year rush.

Work hard this month. Keep your nose to the grindstone. Your customers and clients will appreciate it.

Evan Vitale – Setting Business Goals

by

By Evan Vitale

I’ve been writing about setting and reach goals in my personal blog, so I thought I’d shift gears and write here about setting goals for your business.

Is there such a thing? Can you – or do you – set goals for your business?

For many business owners, goal setting is different depending on the stage or their business. Start-ups have many goals they might set (and need to reach) during their first few years in business. Other businesses might set and seek growth or revenue goals for the upcoming quarter or year, while larger companies want to see better returns for their investors and, perhaps more expansion into new markets.

No matter the goals you set for your business, the most important step you can take is to make sure your goals are specific.

For example, instead of creating a simple goal such as “we want to increase sales,” be more specific and set a goal like this: “we want to increase our revenues by increasing more web traffic to our company’s website.”

See?

A goal of “let’s get more clients next year” is not specific. How many new clients do you want to earn?

Typically, business goals fall into one of three categories – Financial, Customer or Brand goals.

Financial goals including profit and cash flow; expenses; bank balances, etc.

Customer goals may include improving the customer/client satisfaction level; retention goals in building a loyal customer base and, of course, growing your customer base.

Brand goals, which are difficult to define, may include an increase in advertising; community service; more involvement in social media and public relations, etc.

Goals can be long-term or short-term, but goals are not as simple as a “to do” list. As you create goals for your business, break them down into bite-size chunks. What steps will you have to take in order to reach your goal(s) and how will you get there? What obstacles are in your way and how will you overcome them?

If you are going to set new goals for the upcoming year, start planning and preparing now. Good business goals aren’t set over a bottle of bubbly on New Year’s Eve. Take a look at your business and start generating goal ideas before the holiday rush approaches.

Evan Vitale – Holiday Bonuses (Part II)

by

By Evan Vitale

Let’s explore a little more into the world of whether you should or shouldn’t give bonuses to your employees during the festival holiday season.

Obviously, if you have given bonuses in the past, a bonus this year will be expected. However, if sales are down and your financials are poor, then you should be sharing this information with your staff (NOW) so they can make their own financial changes accordingly.

Some companies give bonuses based on tenure and some based on performance. If you are passing out bonus checks, how will you determine the amount given? Will employees share that information and “compete” with each other based on amounts? Of course, if everyone receives the same amount, some employees will obviously feel slighted because “I work harder for this company than anyone else!”

A colleague of mine didn’t give out bonuses for a few years to his staff because he was trying to grow his company. However, he wanted to give them something for their hard work.

In his fifth year with his new company, he was maintaining 10 or so employees. The company had a pitch-in lunch; a gift exchange, and everyone received a paid week vacation between Dec. 25 and January 1.

“Not one person said ‘thank you’” he said. “I felt like they either thought it wasn’t enough of a bonus or that they were entitled to it or, perhaps, entitled to more.”

The following year, with the same number of employees on hand, the owner told them at Thanksgiving that the company would host a holiday party/lunch at a local restaurant (an expensive one). However, in order to earn the extra week off between Dec. 25-January 1, they had to reach certain production goals so they wouldn’t fall behind work schedules by taking a week off at the end of the year.

“They didn’t flinch. No one was interested in reaching a goal or coming in 30 minutes early to work or staying 30 minutes late,” he said. “The production goal was never met. In fact, between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve, production was short and clients were asking questions.”

Making them work a little harder during the holidays was a mistake, he said. Employees were disgruntled through December and a few turned in notices at the end of the year.

What will you do for your employees this year? Whatever you decide, let them know in advance. Employees don’t like surprises – especially bad ones.

Evan Vitale – Holiday Bonuses (Part I)

by

By Evan Vitale

Listen up business owners: Are you giving employees year-end bonuses this year?

This is a tough topic and, in most cases, one of two things happens when it comes to bonuses:

  1. There are no bonus checks.
  2. Bonus checks are handed out and everyone receives the same amount.

Let’s talk about No. 1 in this blog and we’ll address Point No. 2 in our next blog post.

When you share the bad news about the lack of a bonus check this year, you need to make sure to explain the reasons why to employees. After all, they may have been expecting bonus checks! Tell them the truth. For example:

  • The company’s financial results.
  • How each employee impacted those results.
  • What they need to do more of in the upcoming new year to get an even bigger future bonus.

Bonuses can be a trap that most business owners fall into at one point or another during their business careers.

Sure, you want to be a “hero” and make all your employees feel happy. You’d rather be Santa Claus than the Grinch. If you’ve handed out bonus checks in previous years, then a bonus check this year is expected. For some, it’s entitled.

Are you giving bonus checks this year? If not, how do you feel about it?

  • We had a rough year. Cash is tight. If I give a bonus, then the employees won’t worry. If I don’t give a bonus, then employees might start to worry about job security and start looking for a new job.
  • We had a good year, but I don’t want my employees to know how good. I give bonuses because I feel guilty if I don’t and employees expect them. If I tell them we had a great year, they will start asking for a raise.
  • We had a good year and it’s due to my employees’ efforts. I’ll hand out bonuses and thank them for their hard work. We’re not going to talk financials because I doubt if the employees will care or understand.
  • We had a good year and it’s due to my employees’ efforts. I’ll hand out bonuses and share our financials with them and let them know we’re expecting bigger and better things next year.

Where do you stand?

Employees know if your business is going well or not. They see the signs. They know how busy they are; they ring up the cash register; send invoices; do the work and see new clients and contracts coming in the door.

Employees do care about their job and they care about your business. If you’re not giving year-end bonuses to employees – and it’s expected – you’ll need to share information to help them understand why.

Evan Vitale – Avoiding Business Distractions

by

By Evan Vitale

There are probably a million thoughts running through every business owners’ mind as we enter the final months of 2016. Budget; sales goals; upcoming holidays and, oh, let’s not forget the election! Oh, my!

You, as the business owner or operator, need to set the standard and the example for your team of keeping focused and working on the important tasks at hand. If you become distracted, then your staff will become distracted as well.

While the holidays can certainly be a big distraction for anyone (we’ll save this topic for another blog post), here are some easy-to-follow tips for staying focused while at work:

  • Avoid checking Facebook and other social media networks. A business colleague of mine does a personal Facebook update in the morning (or at night); scans posts and shares from his family and friends and stays off all social media platforms during regular business hours. “It’s a total time and productivity suck,” he says. “If you start scanning Facebook, you’ll find yourself quickly commenting here and there; sharing pictures; watching videos and someone will send you an instant message which turns into a 15-minute back-and-forth online discussion, all of which doesn’t help improve your business or your bottom line.”
  • Avoid checking e-mail. This is also a big distraction and moves you away from the task at hand to answering an e-mail you just received. A good rule is to check e-mail at lunch and at the end of the day.
  • Avoid text messages and other cell phone distractions. Yes, people are going to call you, but do you grab your cell phone every time it “buzzes” to check updates; text messages; e-mails, etc.?

It will be hard to re-train your brain on these distractions as you’ll probably so used to reaching for your cell phone every time it beeps or buzzes. Try to turn off notifications as much as possible or even (gasp!) turning off your e-mail and mobile devices when you really need to focus and complete tasks on time.

You can do it!

 

Evan Vitale – Making Your Business Better

by

By Evan Vitale

As a business owner, you’re probably working “in” or “on” your business every day of the week.

However, in the long run, are we moving at a snail’s pace; paying bills and earning an income for ourselves or do we really want to make our business better? If so, how?

Every year, some businesses grow; some stay the same while, unfortunately, some businesses fail and shutter their doors. Is it because of management negligence? Not keeping up with changes in the market? Not taking care of your customers? Taking daily, weekly and monthly revenues for granted?

As you want to be better – and grow – here’s a list of common items every business owner should never forget:

  • Cash Flow. Always stay on top of and keep track of your expenses – daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annually. Don’t wait until it’s too late to realize your expenses are out of hand and your business is in financial trouble.
  • Always file and pay your taxes on time. This includes employee taxes; quarterly taxes and all local, state and federal taxes. Never fail in this area.
  • Look for and attract good employees. Offer a good salary and the best benefit package that you can afford (you can get creative with benefits). Employees like growth opportunities and they also want to be challenged. Let them help your company and customers solve problems. Keep them motivated and happy.
  • Network with other businesses and business owners. The visibility you and your company gain by becoming involve in local activities and community go a long way in establishing your company.
  • Learn how to solve problems quickly and improve decision-making abilities of you and your team. The right decisions at the right time will help your company become competitive and strategically viable.
  • Be ready for growth so you can handle growth.

Keep going. Look for ways to make you; your team; your products and services, and your company better.

Evan Vitale – Upcoming Important Dates!

by

By Evan Vitale

We’re in the Fourth Quarter of 2016 and October has flown by. Before you know it, we’ll be in the midst of the holiday crunch. No matter what type of business you own or operate, the busy holiday season in November and December will have your head spinning. With all the holidays; important dates; office parties and more, you have to stay on your toes.

Here’s a little reminder calendar of some of the dates you’ll want to highlight on your calendar:

Monday, October 31 – Halloween

Sunday, November 5 – Daylight Savings Time Ends (clocks fall back 1 hour)

Tuesday, November 8 – Election Day

Thursday, November 11 – Veteran’s Day

Thursday, November 24 – Thanksgiving Day

Friday, November 25 – Black Friday

Saturday, November 26 – Small Business Saturday

Monday, November 28 – Cyber Monday

Saturday, December 24 – Christmas Eve

Sunday, December 25 – Christmas Day

Sunday, December 25 – First Day of Hanukkah

Monday, December 26 – Kwanzaa

Saturday, December 31 – New Year’s Eve

Sunday, January 1 – New Year’s Day

Note: If you ship orders to customers during December, check with the United States Post Office and other carriers for important delivery dates and schedules.

Also during the upcoming months, plan for employee vacation time; an increase in employees asking for time off; holiday and office parties, etc. Obviously during November and December, staff production might slip off due to other interests and family obligations.

Evan Vitale – Hiring Seasonal Help!

by

By Evan Vitale

Based on the type of business you own and operate, you may find yourself in need of seasonal help for the upcoming holidays.

Hiring temp help can be a burden and a chore, especially if you have a small company and if you are the lone wolf in interviewing; hiring; training, etc.

However, the alternative could be worse. You definitely don’t want to be short on help during the holiday rush and have customers frustrated at a time when they are willing to buy from your business.

Here are some considerations when it comes to hiring temp help for the seasons:

  • If you are short on time needed to interview potential candidates, give serious consideration to using a temp agency. Yes, there is a fee involved, but temp agencies do all the dirty work and send you pre-qualified candidates that you can quickly interview. All the hiring (and firing) is done through your representative at the temp agency. You pay a flat fee to the agency, who then pays the employee. The agency is also responsible for taxes etc. This can save you a ton of time.
  • If you want to hire the temp employee(s) yourself, start now by placing a sign in your window and placing some small ads for seasonal help. Have candidates fill out an application and, if you have time, interview them on the spot rather than having them come back at a different time. In addition, you might be able to hire them immediately which not only saves time, but gives you the opportunity to hire a good candidate before they find a different job.
  • The earlier you hire someone, the better. This gives you time to properly train your new employee before the holiday rush begins. It will be nearly impossible to train new employees during Black Friday, for instance.
  • Plan for the unexpected and never find yourself short on help. Employees might quit; call in sick; have travel problems due to bad weather, etc. Be prepared for unexpected employee “issues.”

Don’t delay. There are plenty of good candidates who are looking for seasonal jobs. Find the best one for your business now.

 

Evan Vitale – Your Business Will (Part II)

by

By Evan Vitale

In case of an accident; health issue or (Heaven forbid!) your untimely death, what will happen to your business? Your employees? Your estate?

This is why you should consider succession planning as part of your overall estate plan with your financial advisor and attorney/lawyer. In a nutshell, succession planning is the process by which the responsibilities of running your business is handed over to someone else when you are no longer able (or willing) to operate it.

Here are some considerations:

  • This is the first step in thinking about when you would like to hand over the business. Here is when you create a rough estimate of when you’d like to start delegating authority to another person (or persons). That way, the process is complete by the time you wish to retire. If you have a timeline in place, you’ll be able to work toward a date and have enough time to train your successor(s).
  • Equally as important as the timeline, you will need to give good consideration in choosing an appropriate individual or group to run your business. Here, it is important to have more than one candidate in mind just in case your top choice decides to leave the business or if he/she doesn’t want to take over your position and responsibilities. Ideally, the one you choose should have similar views to your own about how to run the company, etc.
  • Don’t wait until retirement date (or your death) in handing over the reins of your business. Consult with your attorney and financial advisor in regards to estate and gift tax issues within your state. A smooth transition will make it easier on everyone – especially you.

If you haven’t created a will or haven’t considered succession planning, now is the best time to discuss this with your estate planning attorney (or law firm) and with your financial planner. Get going on this until it’s too late!

Evan Vitale – Your Business Will (Part I)

by

By Evan Vitale

Recently, a friend of mine told me he had a “meeting” with his parents involving their last will and testament. It wasn’t so much of a concern as to an inheritance issue as it was knowing their prepared plans for a living will; funeral arrangements; executor of the will, etc.

The entire idea of preparing and having a will on hand should be a priority for every person.

Yes, everyone.

Unfortunately, studies show that 7 out of 10 Americans do not have a legal will prepared. Some don’t believe they should even begin thinking about a will until they are at least 60 years old.

However, a will is an extremely important document that you should take seriously no matter your age or current health or financial situation. One of the most important reasons to have a will is for your spouse; children and other family members. What happens to your business?

If you should die without a will, then the state in which you live will implement their own will for you. And, of course, your family may not like how the state will distribute your assets in case of your untimely death.

Think about all of the loose ends that will occur if a will is not in place:

  • Funeral, cremation and burial wishes.
  • Living will considerations.
  • Spousal support.
  • Children support and possible custody with another family member.
  • Division of personal assets such as real estate; a business; a car and other items.
  • Will your business continue to operate?

The list could go on and on depending on your current situation.

Some choose to wait to have a will created by an attorney or law firm because of the price that’s involved creating a will (i.e., $500 or more). However, without a will in place, other legal matters and fees could arise in order to settle and protect your estate. All of these problems – in addition to possible family arguments and divisions – can be avoided if you have a will in place.

In our next blog, we’ll discuss more about the importance of creating a will today.