Blog

Managing your business expenses

Everyone wants to manage their expenses, whether it’s in their personal lives or their professional ones. And many business owners are so focused on growing their sales, they forget to manage business expenses. It is possible to control costs without jeopardizing quality in your business.

Do you know how to protect your business from theft?

I don’t mean random customers stealing a shirt; I mean an employee stealing your money?

The embezzler is probably not who you’d think they are. I know I was surprised to read that on average they are primarily women, around the age of 47 and have worked for you between 1-5 years. Also, approximately 41.5% of perpetrators worked in the accounting and finance department – just the people you need and want to trust the most. They will also seem like your most dedicated employees, wanting to understand how everything works, details on procedures and who has access to what information and systems.

Does your small business need a social media policy?

There are so many difference social media platforms and most, if not all, of your employees probably engage in some form of social media. Many employers don’t have a social media policy for their employees’ personal accounts. It’s important to put one into place BEFORE someone posts something that doesn’t represent your brand in a positive light.

The policy should be a straight forward, simply to follow social media policy for both you and your employee. The policy safeguards you by protecting your company’s reputation and values. The policy will also protect your employees by telling them upfront what is expected of them.

Are you running your business? or is your business running you?

When you started your business you dreamed of creating and serving food, hearing the hustle of a salon or the quiet of a spa, or seeing patients in your very own office. Then you had to hire people, file for licenses, fix a leaky faucet, design your website, plan your office, install IT systems and now you find yourself not doing what you really love. And wasn’t that the point?

I’ve read a ton of articles and spoken to a lot of small business owners and there are a couple of pain points everyone agrees on. It’s exhausting and it’s overwhelming.

How to interview for the best employee

Hate hiring new employees? Not sure what questions to ask to ensure the candidate will be a good fit for your company? I’ve been interviewing and hiring employees for over 20 years in entry level, supervisory and director positions. What I’ve learned is that past jobs don’t equate to success to a new job. Behaviors, skills and attitudes do. Of course, if you’re hiring a doctor or a pilot, then they need very specific training, but for the rest of us it may be more important to focus on attitudes towards teamwork, the ability to think critically and adapt to change.

In my experience, you can teach employees how to perform the job you are hiring them for. You cannot however change their work ethic or their ability to learn and change. Questions? Contact me at sharice@CreativeBiznessSolutions.com.