When starting your small business, you should be aware of the impact Human Resources can have on everything your company does. HR is responsible for supporting the business by handling hiring, firing, and classifying employees, as well as investigations. Some of the most common HR problems for all businesses but especially new businesses, include: Recruitment…
You’ve probably heard a lot lately about this idea of employee engagement. There are some scary statistics being thrown around; two-thirds of workers are less than fully engaged in their jobs (Aon Hewitt, 2013) with 18% “actively disengaged” (Gallup, 2013). I know when I read those stats I think, “Well, big businesses are like that….
All of us have had these things happen at one time or another: A zipper that is down. Mustard on your cheek. A label sticking out of your shirt. While minor, these little things are distracting and take away from your image and message. And fortunately, even perfect strangers, let alone friends and colleagues, will…
There’s an old joke about entrepreneurship: one benefit of starting your own business is you can set your own hours. Pick any 100 hours of the week you want, and work them. While that may be true when you are starting a business, you should be able to get away once you’ve built your team, right?…
Terence has been a solid team member the last 4 years, and in the last 18 months has really become an essential part of the team. When you hired him right out of school you got a real steal — the economy was down, you could tell he was smart — so you hired him…
When I train new advisors, I clue them into something that they will inevitably witness: Business owners cry. Men. Women. Young. Old. All of them. When you think about it, it makes sense why business owners are driven to tears on occasion. Here are four reasons why I think their crying is justified: The stakes…
2012 is drawing to a close, and most business owners I talk to say it’s been a pretty good year. Most businesses are making money again, hiring new people and moving forward. That doesn’t mean it’s all sunshine and unicorns. I don’t see anyone resting on their laurels. There’s so much change, so much to figure out. The…
The holidays can be a stressful time for business owners. While your employees (being the selfish people that they are) take time off to prepare for the holidays, travel and spend time with loves ones, you are left holding the bag. It’s clear that no one cares about the business the way you do. Another…
You get back from a meeting at 1:30 p.m. and your office is ghost town. Where did everyone go? You know your staff usually breaks for lunch around noon but they can’t be gone this long – or can they? About 15 minutes later, the whole bunch walks in, laughing and having a great ol’ time. They…
Building and growing a business is hard work! You have to build a strong team, nurture client relationships, be strategic, turn a profit … the list goes on. You know what’s easier? Tearing your whole business apart. So, if you’d rather go that route, here are 10 ways you can destroy your business in no…