Successful Blog

Should You Allow Your Employees to Nap While on the Job?

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There was a time when people could get into trouble for falling asleep at work, but things have changed in recent years.

More and more companies are encouraging their employees to take naps during work hours.

If you are considering whether or not you should allow your employees to nap on the job, the following information can help you make the right decision.

Napping at Work in the United States

Many companies in the U.S. require their employees to work very long hours. To ensure that their employees will not be overly exhausted, these companies provide napping rooms or pods as a perk.

A report released by the Society of Human Resource Management revealed that napping rooms or pods were found in about six percent of all workplaces in 2011. Some of the well-known companies that allow their employees to nap at work are Google, Nike, Ben & Jerry’s, Pizza Hut, Huffington Post, Workman Publishing, Deloitte Consulting and Yarde Metals.

Cost of Sleep Deprivation to U.S. Businesses

According to the National Sleep Foundation, adults sleep an average of about seven hours per night during the work week, which is one hour less than the sleep duration recommended by experts. This means that a large percentage of American workers are sleep-deprived.

Sleep deprivation can have many adverse consequences, including increased errors, accidents, absenteeism, drug use and turnover; higher insurance rates, and lower productivity.

Depending on the severity of its consequences, it may result in substantial financial loss for a company. In 2011, Harvard scientists found that sleep deprivation costs U.S. businesses about $63 billion in lost productivity every year.

Benefits of Allowing Employees to Nap on the Job

Dozens of medical studies have found that sleeping for 30 minutes to one hour in the afternoon can increase alertness, productivity and mood.

Employees who are sleep-deprived have a greater tendency to feel tired than those who have enough sleep, and they may lose their ability to focus on their work. This can result in a decline in work quality and productivity, and even costly errors and accidents.

Napping at work can make your employees feel more refreshed and revitalized, enabling them to perform their duties more competently. It is especially helpful for those who are working in a creative field, because it can boost their ability to think creatively.

Create a Conducive Environment for Napping at Your Workplace

The best way to create a nap-friendly workplace is to dedicate a room for napping.

You can place beds, recliners or sleeping pods in the room and use dim atmospheric lighting to provide a comfortable sleep environment for your employees. If you do not have enough space to create a napping room, you can supply nap mats and eye masks instead.

Many companies that encourage napping on the job have seen a significant increase in employee productivity.

Therefore, it is highly recommended that you make napping a part of your company culture.

Photo credit: newscolater.com

About the Author: John McMalcolm is a freelance writer who writes on a wide range of subjects, from running a small business to online reputation management.

5 Keys to Properly Selling Your Small Business

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If you’ve started a small business from the ground up, then you know just how much hard work goes into making a business successful.

So, when it comes time to sell your baby, it’s important that your exit strategy is the right one in order for all that hard work to pay off.

With sale success in mind, here are 5 key strategies to properly selling your small business:

1. Patience is a Business Virtue

No matter how much planning goes into the sale of your small business, if you don’t wait until the most opportune time to sell, then you’ll likely end up disappointed. This is true for you, the seller, as well as the potential buyer.

In other words, it’s wise to wait until the timing is right and your small business is financially stable before selling. A business that’s successful on paper will result in a higher selling price. That said it’s also important to wait for a buyer who’s not only financially capable of taking over your business, but also business savvy.

2. Picking the Right Buyer

Most small business owners don’t just sell their livelihoods only to walk away and never think about the sale again. In fact, owners have a vested interest in their businesses long after the sale either in the form of shares, partial ownership, or on an emotional level.

Because of this, it’s imperative that you choose the right buyer to take over your small business. This means a financially stable buyer with experience in running a small business. On top of that, look for a buyer with the same passion you have for your small business.

3. Broker vs. Sell by Owner

Selling your small business yourself may sound like a good idea, especially considering the fees and commission involved with hiring a broker. But, if you don’t know what you’re doing in the sale department, then the money saved selling on your own may be more trouble than it’s worth.

So, take into consideration the paperwork involved with purchase agreements, nondisclosure and confidentiality agreements, bills of sale, leases, and security agreements. If that’s something you can handle realistically, then a broker may not be necessary.

4. Finding the Right Selling Price

When it comes down to the bottom dollar, a lack in research could result in your small business’s selling price coming in too high or too low. A high price is bad because it scares away potential buyers whereas a low price makes you, the seller, look like you’re trying to get out of a business gone wrong.

So, it’s wise to consider everything from the competition to the economy to the industry your business is based in before setting the sale price. This, combined with independent research on brand specifics, will result in the right asking price.

5. The Why Behind the Sale

Beyond all the pre-sale preparation and planning, everything about selling your small business will boil down to one word and one word only: why? The buyer’s definitely going to want to know, so be prepared.

Ask yourself why you’re selling your bread and butter – if it’s because you’re moving on to new horizons or retiring, then that’s perfectly fine. But, if you’re selling because the business is failing, then that’s something the buyer needs to know. In other words, be honest with yourself and the potential buyer.

By keeping these key strategies in mind, you’ll have a hassle-free time selling your beloved small business.

Photo credit: sellabusinessflorida.com

About the Author: Adam Groff is a freelance writer and creator of content. He writes on a variety of topics including personal health, the best accounting software, and small business.

3 Small Business Concerns Going Into 2014

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What will 2014 have in store for small businesses?

A few small business concerns certainly present themselves, as owners prepare for some hurdles that come in the way of a successful year.

Looking ahead to 2014, here are a few small business concerns that you will do well to counter if you hope for your small business to succeed.

 1.    Health Care

Without question, health care will remain a concern for small businesses heading into 2014.

Largely due to health care concerns, a recent report found that optimism among small business owners fell to 59 percent in October, where it was as high as 72 percent in the prior month.

While these numbers were affected by the government shutdown, health care remains a big concern of small business owners.

As worded in the report by SurePayroll CEO and President Michael Alter, “the only thing that’s certain about health care reform right now is that it’s causing more uncertainty.”

As the dust settles heading into a new year, small business owners will need to grapple with the implications of health care reform.  Business owners will need to understand and react to how it will affect their business.

Many owners would do well to take this matter seriously.

If these changes are not understood, it would be a smart move to consult with a professional on the business’ options moving forward.

2. The Economy

Indeed: the economy could easily land on any year’s list of small business concerns.  It is clear that 2014 is not bucking the trend.

Based on the previous report, year-over-year nationwide hiring is down 1.7 percent, while paychecks are down 0.1 percent.  While the West (down 2.5 percent), Midwest (down 3.0 percent), and Northeast (down 4.1 percent) were not positive, the South is the only region where hiring is up – at 1.3 percent.

As you might expect, there is not simple solution for dealing with economic difficulties at the small business level.

Savvy budgeting and planning will need to take place, with a careful eye towards difficult areas like health care and insurance.

3.    Taxes

In a recent article from the Washington Post, tax reform is said to target small business concerns.  Yet, as the headline asks, “will it matter?”

With criticisms of the current rate structure and the overall code, there are plenty of hurdles that must be overcome.  Small business owners are awaiting the changes that will occur with tax reform, in order to react and – hopefully – enjoy any benefits that come from its developments.

Similar to the subject of health care, small business owners are advised to stay abreast of relevant changes.

Finding a professional that can be trusted can be an invaluable step towards staying on top of any and all relevant changes.

As a small business owner, what has you most concerned as we head into 2014?

Photo credit: didays.com

About the Author: Brian Neese is an author that specializes in content marketing, social media, and SEO.  He writes about technology, how to be first on Google, marketing, much more.

Is Bankruptcy Your Only Option?

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Just more than 40,000 U.S. businesses declared bankruptcy in 2012.

That number is a staggering figure to be sure, but a sharp drop from the 2009 peak of 60,837 during the worst of the so-called Great Recession.

Although the economic climate has improved considerably since 2009, 40,000 business bankruptcies constitute a fairly ominous statistic, representing the dashed dreams of American entrepreneurs, both big and small.

Business Failures Inevitable

Whether the economy is robust or on its knees, businesses will continue to rise or fall depending on a wide variety of variables.

If you’re a small business owner whose debt load is swiftly becoming unsustainable, then you may find yourself facing the very real possibility of insolvency. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, a business can be reorganized or its assets can be liquidated to satisfy creditors.

Although bankruptcy in theory holds out the promise of a “fresh start” for the owners of failed businesses, a business bankruptcy filing can severely damage the credit score of the business and its principals, making it difficult, if not impossible, to access financing at reasonable rates in the short-term future.

Bankruptcy = Hefty Legal Bills

Another adverse consequence of bankruptcy is the substantial legal bill incurred during the process of filing for protection under the bankruptcy code. And bankruptcy will not wipe out tax liabilities, which can continue to haunt the owners of failed businesses for years to come.

In the case of companies that seek to reorganize under the protection of the bankruptcy statutes, in so doing they cede control to a bankruptcy court judge or trustees who will have the final say in all company-related decisions during the reorganization process.

If as a business owner, you see signs that your company is in imminent danger of failure, what other options do you have besides bankruptcy?

Attorneys Lei Lei Wang Ekvall and Evan D. Smiley, authors of “Bankruptcy for Businesses,” a legal guide published by Entrepreneur Magazine, discuss two common alternatives to bankruptcy for businesses that find themselves in financial distress.

Negotiating a Workout

Under the first alternative — an out-of-court workout — the business owners seek to resolve their financial problems with creditors without relying on a court to preside over these negotiations.

Needless to say, the success of such negotiations hinges primarily on the willingness of your business’s creditors to engage in such talks. For this reason, it would probably be prudent to initiate such discussions before creditors have become intransigent because of prolonged failure to pay bills.

To effectively avoid bankruptcy, this financial workout should seek to win the cooperation of all creditors.

Should one or two major creditors refuse to join the talks, the business owner is likely to be forced to take the bankruptcy option. The business owner must also come up with a viable plan that ensures creditors they will eventually be repaid if they agree to cooperate.

This first alternative to bankruptcy presupposes that the business’s owners believe they can regain their footing and resuscitate their business if creditors allow them to set up a less arduous debt repayment schedule.

In other cases, business owners may fully realize that their company is beyond the point of salvage but still wish to avoid recourse to federal bankruptcy court.

Second Alternative

Assignment for benefit of creditors, the second alternative to bankruptcy advanced by Wang Ekvall and Smiley, is designed for cases in which liquidation appears to be the only course of action left for a failing business. Although such assignments require court intervention, they are overseen by state courts and not the federal bankruptcy court.

Under an assignment, the faltering business selects an assignee — an appointment sometimes subject to creditor approval — who then oversees the liquidation of the failing business’s assets, subject to state laws covering such procedures.

If the liquidation produces sufficient cash to reimburse all creditors and cover the assignee’s fees, any leftover funds can be returned to the business’s owners or shareholders.

In the event you have filed for bankruptcy tied to your small business, what was the outcome? Have you been able to get back on your feet with a new business venture?

Photo credit: thelaw.tv

About the Author: Jay Fremont is a freelance author who has written extensively about personal finance, corporate strategy, business education, and career degrees in business.

Starting an Online Business When You’re in Debt

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By Julian Hills

So you want to start an online business?

Startups have a positive effect on the economy. A recent article from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that each new startup added about 5.3 new jobs over the past decade.

That’s a good thing, but financial fears may be putting a drag on that statistic.

In the period between 2007 and 2010 — the height of the recession — the number of startups fell by 23 percent. The economic climate caused many would-be entrepreneurs in the technology sector to defer their dreams, specifically because of rising student loan debt. Student loan borrowers have lower credit scores than peers with no student debt.

That’s not such a good thing.

Knowing how to manage your resources and using a little creativity could be the key of starting a business while mired in debt.

  • Choose Your Startup Wisely: Select a business that does not require a lot of startup capital. Use equipment, software and supplies you already have. Avoid spending money on new business investments as much as possible.
  • Manage Student Loan Debt: If most of your debt is from student loans you should see if you can lower your payments. Young business owners can often lower their federal loan payments by Income-Based Repayment (IBR.) More information about IBR is available at the U.S. Department of Education’s National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) website at www.nslds.ed.gov.

Private loan borrowers can see if refinancing at a lower interest rate is an option.

  • Use Free Resources: Go to the library and use their media and business resources. There is also free online software, blog sites and other services that you can take advantage of, and cost you nothing.
  • Find Investors, not Banks: If your business plan is good enough, you may not have to go to banks for investors. There are grants, community programs that help people with limited resources. Crowdfunding is becoming more popular. That involves getting regular people to invest in your company through social networking sites.

The Small Business Association has an entrepreneurial help program called Startup America. It’s a partnership between the public and private sectors aimed at expanding access to startup capital, increasing education, encouraging collaboration between big companies and startups and reducing red-tape. Find out more about the program at their website: http://www.sba.gov/startupamerica.

  • Find Cheap Ways to Market Yourself: Getting out the word about your business is important. You can get business cards printed at relatively inexpensive cost. Using social media, blogging and email to market your startup is free.
  • Don’t Pile on More Debt: The temptation to use credit cards (if you have them) or trying to get more loans or lines of credit is going to be there. It might be wise to raise money by considering selling things you can live without online or at a good old-fashioned yard sale.

Sometimes it takes loads of money to start a business, other times it may just take a laptop. Figuring out what you need or don’t need can trump what you see as limitations caused by debt.

Author’s Bio: Julian Hills is a content writer and blogger for Debt.org. His journalism career has taken him from newspapers to local television news stations and even a 24-hour cable network in the Southeast. Julian is a graduate of Florida State University who enjoys finding new ways of saving money for football season tickets.
Sources:
http://www.consumerfinance.gov/blog/starting-a-small-business-when-you-have-student-debt/
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/start-business-one-debt-2061.html

5 Tips for Marketing My Small Business

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Running a small business can be quite the task for even the most accomplished entrepreneur.

Marketing a new business, or a business that is looking to grow, can be one of the most important factors in whether or not the business venture is successful.

So, how can you go about marketing your small business so that it is clicking in all cylinders? Among the items to focus in on include:

Utilize Testimonials

Testimonials are one of the most powerful marketing tools out there.

They show a potential customer that you have successfully met the needs of someone who was looking for the same type of service.

You can utilize these by posting them on your website, or including them in periodic information that you send out to new and returning customers. Testimonials allow potential customers to trust your company to deliver on the promises that you have made about the quality of your service.

The other benefit of testimonials comes through word of mouth marketing.

When people are excited about the service they have received from your company they will be eager to share their experience with others.

This is one of the most powerful forms of advertisement because there is often nothing in it for the person sharing the information. This allows a level of trust which is difficult for direct advertisements to rival and often converts new business into loyal customers.

Ask Customers for Recommendations

Even customers who are thoroughly pleased by the service that your business provided often won’t share their experience with others. This can be remedied by a simple call to action on the part of the business.

By simply asking return customers to submit a review on the internet, or tell their friends about the business, you can often find new customers who will become stable business.

By making the request you let your customers know that you would appreciate their support in a tangible way. This is often all they need to start spreading the word about the benefit you have provided to them through your business.

Stay in Contact

The best way to convert one time shoppers into returning customers is to reach out and invite them to return.

Often people simply forget about the service that was provided by your company because it didn’t take up a significant amount of their time. By reminding them of their pleasant experience with your company you can ensure that they will return if they ever need your service again.

You can achieve this through an e-mail list, or simply a follow-up phone call to see whether their visit was satisfactory. The more they think about your business, the more likely they will be to return.

Make Your Company Stand Out

A lot of companies are trying to market themselves as the best in their field. The only way to be successful in beating out the competition is to make sure that your marketing strategy stands out from the competition.

You can do this by creating attention catching flyers or e-mails, handing out free promotional items, or creating an inspiring video campaign centered around the service that your company provides. This can be one of the more crucial aspects for marketing your small business correctly.

Target Your Advertising

Your small business probably has an ideal consumer who has very specific attributes.

If you are a sports equipment company you are trying to sell to athletes. If you are a surgeon you are targeting people who need surgery. Understanding the demographics of your target audience is very important when it comes to attracting new customers.

Figure out who your ideal customer is and then decide which marketing medium will be the most likely to reach them. This can be the difference between a successful marketing campaign and an unsuccessful one.

By following these tips for marketing your small business correctly you will be a step ahead of your competitors. This will allow you to get your message to the right people in order to convert them into loyal, returning customers.

Marketing your small business correctly could be the best decision you make for your growing enterprise, so get started today.

As a small business owner, what are the most successful ways you market your company?

Photo credit: rhinomarketresearch.com

About the Author: Thomas Verdone is an author who covers a wide range of topics, including finance, fitness, personal development, and Bluegreen Resorts.