Tips for hiring your first employee
When asked to name one of the most complicated part of owning and running a small business, most business owners consistently rank selecting and hiring employees at or near the top. For this reason, if you are starting your business and decide you need to hire an employee, make sure you’re prepared. The first thing you need to do before hiring your first employee is determine certain requirements of the position, in terms of duties, education, training, and experience. The clearer you are about these requirements, the easier it will be for you to find the right person for the position.
After you know what you are looking for, start writing the ad. Use the job specification and description to write an ad that will attract candidates to your company. To eliminates wasting time on interviews with people who do not meet your needs, you should write an ad that will lure qualified candidates and discourage others.
It is also important for you to learn all you can about employment discrimination laws that may affect your business. Both federal and state laws protect applicants for employment from being discriminated against or harassed in any manner during the pre-hire and interviewing process. When hiring employees, you cannot discriminate on the basis of race, religion, sex, age, marital status, pregnancy, or national origin.
3 Key Characteristics of Starting Small Business
Starting a small business requires much more than optimism and a good idea. The truth is, optimism and an idea is just starting point. There are several important characteristics you need to have if you want to start and run a small business, such as good organizational skills, discipline, and focus.
Having a good organizational skill is essential to start a small business. In general, being organized helps save time and reduce stress, two major factors in how much you’re likely to enjoy your life as a business owner. Without good organizational skill you will rapidly become overwhelmed.
As the owner of a small business, it’s likely that you’ll often encounter
For this reason, you will need to develop a high degree of self-discipline to make sure everything runs smoothly. If you have difficulty with self-discipline, you will need to address this before making a full-time commitment to run your own business.
The last important characteristics you need to have if you want to start and run a small business is focus. Let your friends and family know that you are serious about your business – tell them that they just can’t pop into your office whenever they like.
Tips to reduce business costs
Increasing sales is not the only way to get higher profit, but you can also get high profit by lowering your business costs. Try this 8 powerful techniques to reduce your business costs.
1. Barter
Bartering goods and services with other business can be a great ways to reduce business costs. So if your business need something you should other business owner to barter before you buy it. Barter deals usually need little or no money at all.
2. Network
Try networking your business with other businesses. You could trade leads or mailing lists. This will cut
down on your marketing and advertising costs. You may also try bartering goods and services with them.
3. Wholesale/Bulk
You’ll save money buying your business supplies in bulk quantities. You could get a membership at a
wholesale warehouse or buy them through a mail order wholesaler. You can also get better deal by buying business supplies online.
4. Free Stuff
You should try visiting the thousands of freebie sites on the internet before buying your business supplies.
You can find free software, graphics, backgrounds, online business services etc. Getting free stuff can really lowering your business costs.
5. Borrow/Rent
If you need business equipment only for a small period of time, you should consider borrow or rent it. You could
have just borrowed the equipment from someone else or other business owner or rented the equipment from a rental service.
6. Plan Ahead
Getting business supplies from stores that have a big sales can help you reduce business costs. So you should make a list of business supplies or equipment you’ll need in the future. Keep an eye out for stores that
have big sales. Purchase the supplies when they go on sale before you need them.
7. Used Stuff
If your business equipment and supplies don’t need to be new, buy them used. You can find used items
at yard and garage sales, used stores, used stuff for sale message boards and newsgroups etc.
8. Shop around and negotiate
Look for suppliers with lower prices and better quality. You also can try negotiate a lower price for any business equipment or supplies. It doesn’t hurt to try.