When businesses are faced with closure due to unpaid debts, it is easy to assume that they are doomed. Staff will lose their jobs, suppliers will lose business and clients will lose out on lucrative contracts. However, there are strategies and procedures that can be put in place to tackle extreme debt, even when it looks as though there is no realistic solution.

Certain debt management plans can be implemented in order to get a company back into the black without selling or closing a business. Professional financial advisors are experts in this field and will advise a company on which is the best option for them.

However, there will be certain circumstances where debt management plans cannot be enforced. Whether it’s because the debt is too extreme, a winding up petition has been issued or creditors simply will not agree to the terms of a plan, closure may be the only option; although this doesn’t have to mean the end of trading. Certain processes can be undertaken by many businesses that are faced with insolvency which will see them continue trading and making a profit.

One process that can be taken is that of pre pack administration, also referred to as phoenixing. The directors of an insolvent business start a brand new company which subsequently buys the assets of the failing one. The money that would have been used to fuel the struggling business can then be used to set up the new one. All of the remaining debt that is tied up in the old one is then liquidated. This particular way of dealing with debt does not sit well with creditors, who do not have a say in the process and stand to lose out on the sale of the business if it was either delayed or reduced.

Step by Step Process

Step 1 – The new company will need to be registered for the process to begin. More often than not the directors are the same as those from the old, failed business.

Step 2 – A licensed insolvency practitioner (or similar figure) will need to be appointed to act as administrator by the directors who will then have the company’s assets valued.

Step 3 – The assets will then be sold to the new business through a sale and purchase agreement.

Step 4 – During a creditors meeting, the administrator will (usually) advise the sale of the old company and use the proceeds to be distributed amongst lenders.

As with any solution to debt, there are certain restrictions that may apply. If directors have a history of unpaid taxes or VAT then this could lead to further problems, especially if company directors of the failing business wish to start a new one. HMRC has strict guidelines on how a director should approach a new business set up and will only allow for VAT registration if a lump sum is paid up front. This amount is often the total of unpaid VAT for the last 4-6 months from the old company.

Funding can be pressing issue for many small businesses, especially start-ups, and deciding on the best place to find it can be tricky. An unfortunate circumstance of the current global economy problems is that banks are less keen on loaning to small business than they have been in the past meaning many small business owners have had to get creative when it comes to raising capital. One option that has appealed to an increasing number of entrepreneurs is taking out a secured loan against their property; this is also known as a homeowner loan. While these loans can be given by a number of reputable companies, they are not without risk.

The Housing Market

House prices have taken a tumble in the recession and, as such, you may not be able to borrow as much as you may think against your property. If it is the case that a loan against your home does not cover the amount you need, it may be wise to consider other options; you will need to pay this loan back eventually and if it is not enough to make your business successful then repayments will be a major struggle. That said, just like estate agents, different loan providers will have different ideas regarding your property’s worth so shop around to make sure you get the best loan offer.

Affordable Repayments

The most important thing to consider when taking out a loan is your ability to pay it back. Consider how much income your business is likely to make over the period you plan to repay your loan and budget accordingly. Even if the opportunity arises do not borrow more than you need to; you will only end up spending, and therefore repaying (with interest), more than is necessary.
On the topic of interest, one of the main reasons small business owners have been taking homeowner loans is due to the relatively low rates of interest, often around 9%APR; so, just a little more than the bank. This makes them a more sensible option for business loans when compared to short-term or pay-day loan companies who can have interest rates in excess of 2,000%.

Consequences of Defaulting

While defaulting on a loan is not what anyone sets out to do, it is worth considering the worst case scenario before going in. The majority of secured loans use a home as collateral, so you have to be sure that your business will be successful enough to risk the roof over your families head. Defaulting on these types of loan can, in extreme cases, result in bankruptcy or a deficiency judgement being issued; this is where the loan provider deems the value of your house insufficient to cover the money due back and orders you to pay more as well as losing your home.
Despite the obvious risks, homeowner loans are a good way to provide an immediate injection of funds into your business and, if you are sensible enough with your ambitions, secured loans should have no major, long term, financial disadvantages. If you are unsure about taking a loan always discuss it with an expert such as an accountant first.

Marketing for small business

Although search engine optimization has been qualified as one of the leading techniques to get your business up and running with limited or no payments on the same services, there are some few factors that you ought to consider before you even get to search engine optimization when planning on how to go about marketing for small business on the internet. The first thing that you need to do is to start a blog, blogging has not only been used by small businesses but also multi-billion companies to promote brands, to provide brand solutions in case of bad reviews by crafting better reviews about the brands as well as doing general marketing. The benefits of a blog is that it allows company and customers to interact through forums as readers go through well crafted content about your products or services where as at the same time answering to questions from readers who in this case are also concerned customers. Note that in blogs, the content you post should be high in traffic meaning that it should have many readers or people interested to write more about it. It should be on topical issue in the world markets. Bloggers tend to find content writers to write on different niches which will be able to attract readers. When you have content that will make your site act as the landing page, you are already building traffic to your site and building traffic to your site means that you are already building customer relationship.

If you build a better customer relationship, you will be able to have those customers spread the word through social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. Note you will also need to build a fans page on those social networking sites to continue spreading the word on your products and services. What makes the small business online marketing interesting marketing platform for small business is that most of it is free, unless you have a website which is also recommended, you will find yourself paying an amount close to zero. When you start your blog, do not blog once and forget about blogging, in order to increase more traffic to your site, you will need to maintain consistency in blogging. This is because Google, which is the leading search engine tends to provide higher proficiency to blogs that are visited on routine basis and for your blog to be visited on routine basis, it must have content that is update almost on a daily basis. Once you start blogging, you are not only building traffic to your small business, but you will also start making extra cash depending on the number of people that visit your blog and click on new content.

1. The Availability of Contact Information: A search for available means of contacting a business organisation should be conducted and tested to know how fast and well the business firm responds to enquiries or complaints.

2. Quality of Customer Services: Testing the quality of customer services can be done by paying a visit to shops and seeking help in finding goods or receiving services. The manner in which you are received and attended to is a yardstick for rating the business customer service.

3. Availability of Goods and Services: Checking on the type of goods, services and what periods of the day they are available is also a yardstick for recognising the quality of service rendered.

4. Incentives: The availability of added incentives such as gift cards, free shipping services and discounts on goods and services should also be taken into account.

Business organisations are not left out for they sometimes use business process outsourcing to accomplish some of their tasks. Business process outsourcing (BPO) involves the contracting of third party firms to help an organisation accomplish a set of operations therefore business firms also face the challenge of finding a great third party provider to help them with the projects they plan to outsource.

The different problems which small business  face in recognising quality business process outsourcing services are:

1. Determining Quality of Service: Most third party outsourcing companies make promises or set goals they cannot meet and this can derail business organisations that engage their services.

2. Speed and Versatility of the BPO Service: the speed at which a BPO firm completes a given project can affect the general time the overall system which the project is a part off can be completed. The requirements of an outsourced project can change due to external factors which brings the versatility of the BPO company into question and If the BPO company isn’t equipped to make these changes contractual problems would arise.

Benefits of a Great Service Provider

Finding the perfect customer service provider for both individuals and businesses comes with a lot of benefits which would be outlined below.

1. For individuals, a great service provider makes shopping for goods, making payments and booking for services fun and easy to accomplish. Advantages such as discounts and the use of gift cards can also be taken.

2. The use of BPO’s by business organisations increases the flexibility and capacity of an organisation to simultaneously handle projects. This means that if all goes well projects done by business organisations would be accomplished speedily.

3. Use of third party customer service providers help companies meet their goals efficiently while avoiding standard bottlenecks such as passing tasks for approval through different bureaucratic levels.

4. An efficient service provider maximises capital expenditure for both individuals and business organisation. This it does for individuals by providing them with alternate payment methods and for business by eliminating the need to hire more staff and create new departments.

When a great customer service management is recognised, individuals and small business firms are encouraged to appreciate the excellent services they provide and this can be done by:

a) Taking pictures of the customer service agent or the completed service provided and posting it on social websites to show your appreciation and help open the agent to a wide range of people.

b) Taking time out to fill out questionnaires about the service rendered and giving favourable feedbacks to the customer service provider is a great way of showing appreciation.

c) Uplift the customer service provider by spreading his or her services to your family and friends by word of mouth.

All this help the customer service provider know the agency is appreciated and motivates the agency to do more.

Getting into internet marketing for small business is something that intimidates many business owners. Local small businesses have to watch every dollar they spend, particularly on advertising expenses. One ill-advised campaign with a poor return on investment can put a business behind for months. Luckily for small businesses everywhere there some thrifty yet effective internet marketing strategies that can have a big impact on the bottom line. The trick is in getting the most out of free advertising methods, and using your dollar wisely with paid methods.

Internet Marketing For Small Business: Social Media Marketing

Using the uber-popular social networks to your advantage is one of the best ways to get new prospects to your business without spending a dime (or very few of them). You’ll want to create a Facebook page and a Twitter account dedicated to your business. To get the most out of these accounts, you’ll first want to link them so that Twitter posts are forwarded to you Facebook page and vice versa. Next, you will need to make daily posts with information pertaining to your niche.
Don’t just post about your business; this is an amateur mistake and will get you nowhere. Post industry related tips, advice, and links to current events. The idea is to become a valuable resource to your fans and followers, and build your reputation as an expert. On Twitter, follow other experts in your industry, as this will attract their followers to your profile.
This method does take time and effort, but building a strong social presence is an absolute must for small businesses today. It will be well worth the time you put into it. The more value you can offer your fans and followers, the more likely they are to bring you their business. If you have room in the budget and are short on time, you can assign someone to manage your social presence for you for a reasonable monthly fee.

Internet Marketing for Small Business: Video Marketing

There’s no denying that video marketing is growing in popularity by leaps and bounds. Creating and distributing marketing videos for your business is another cost effective method that gets results. YouTube videos are showing up more in Google’s search results, and many people are now searching directly on YouTube. Getting a decent video made is also easier than ever; you can get a professionally made video for $5 on fiverr.com and other gig sites, and for another $5 you can get it distributed through Traffic Geyser to all of the popular video sharing sites. Making instructional videos related to your niche that target low competition keywords is a great way to build expert status and drive traffic to your site.

Internet Marketing for Small Business: Niche Blogging

Maintaining a niche targeted blog ties the above methods together into a comprehensive low cost marketing solution. Update your blog regularly with industry related news and current events. Add your marketing videos into relevant posts, and update your Twitter and Facebook accounts with links to your blog posts. You’ll be surprised at the marketing reach this will give you, especially considering the low costs involved. Whether you outsource these tasks or do them all yourself, you should see a very healthy return on investment in terms of both brand recognition and increased revenue. Internet marketing for small business does not have to be difficult or costly, start with this simple system and build your efforts as profits increase.

Every small business owner knows how difficult it can be to compete with large scale rivals, regardless of what industry they’re in. Many will struggle to match the budget of the towering competition, whilst some might be restricted by their remote location. Whilst a lot of marketing efforts take place online recently, newer businesses can still easily increase their marketing potential by embracing the basics: display stands.

Display stands, when brandishing the right message for your business, can be a great tool for putting out your business’ message and convincing the public to bring custom to you as opposed to your competitors. Most boards are portable and easy to set up, which can be particularly useful if you’re constantly on the road. Some are designed to be even more practical, such as pop up/pull up banners. These can be deployed and folded away at will, saving a great deal of hassle when arriving at or leaving an event.

As mentioned earlier, budget restrictions can be a big hindrance for a business looking to get off the ground. Fortunately, display stands are very durable and can last a long time. Most are constructed from sturdy materials and will last a long time before they need replacing. Choosing bamboo frames is also a plus given that they are sturdy AND environmentally friendly. Taking a bit of consideration and choosing a robust, long lasting stand from the right supplier will avoid the need for forking out money every couple of months.

It goes without saying that the content of your display graphics should be interesting, eye catching and appealing. Your target audience may not always be directly in front of/facing the stands, therefore something that will turn their head is crucial to a successful design. Try including details of a new product or service, or a sale that might be running for a period of time. Regardless of what industry you’re in, the word ‘SALE’ is hard to resist glancing over.

Whilst your competition might be investing all of their time and money into attracting an online following and customer base, it can be often forgotten that the ‘old school’ methods of advertising your business are still as effective now as they were before the Internet came and changed the business world. Ensure you have a simple but appealing design; place it in a location where people will see it and you’re good to go!

The modern workplace requires managers and teams to work closely together, adapt to various roles and share in the glory of success and in the shame of failure. Although the role of managers and employees has been evolving for a long time, many leaders still have not mastered important ways to get the best results from a team. The following ten tips can help.

1. Make Good Hiring Decisions. One of the most needed areas of management development involves learning how to locate qualified hiring candidates and choose the ones that will fit best with their team. The front line defence against interpersonal conflicts in the workplace is the job interview.

2.  Build a Team. Managers should build a team, not an empire or an army. Everyone on the team has positive and negative traits and differing skills. A good manager knows that the modern workforce is most productive when people work with each other in a collaborative, synergistic relationship.

3. Lead by Example. Managers should not flaunt their authority nor should they exempt themselves from their own unpopular decisions. Managers can lead their team to incredible accomplishments if they apply their own expectations to themselves.

4.  Be a Coach. Managers should focus on helping every person on their team be the best he or she can be. Employees who are coached rather than managed know that they are valued as people, not just as profit centres.

5.  Develop Communication Skills. Surveys put communication issues at the top of the list of causes of workplace dysfunction. Management development programs that encourage open and honest communications among team members usually result in fast productivity improvements. People are more willing to share their information if they know they won’t be punished for mistakes or criticised for voicing unconventional opinions.

6.  Focus on Time Management. Wasted time during the work day is a plague managers and team members must confront head on. Goal setting, planning and scheduling are great ways to make sure the right things get done at the right times. Management should learn to apply the Pareto principal so the team always is tackling the most valuable tasks at all times.

7.  Relax. Uptight, nervous, high-strung managers are sometimes unpopular because of the way they act. Management should not be micromanaging the team, hovering over it like they would a chess board. When managers learn to relax, the team can relax.

8.  Exhibit Trust. Managers should trust their team members and their team to complete assignments properly and on time. The more a manager trusts workers to perform as needed, the more they will rise to any challenge.

9.  Praise Often. Criticism fosters a negative work environment that can stifle innovation and communication and lead to morale problems and inertia. When management rarely criticises but frequently praise, it lays the framework for a highly motivated and productive team.

10. Be Ethical. When a manager acts in deceptive ways with vendors, customers or other teams within the company; that manager loses the respect of his or her team. Unethical conduct is contagious, but so is ethical conduct. Managers should do the right thing and their team will follow.

SaaS (Software as a Service) are cloud-based solutions that businesses have been using for years, especially for HCM (Human Capital Management) and CRM (Customer Relationship Management), but many have shied away from implementing ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) as a cloud-based solution. Many organisations in the past were concerned about security issues that could occur from deploying a mission-critical solution like ERP to the cloud. However, as SaaS ERP has become increasingly established it is apparent that cloud-based ERP can even be more secure than traditional on-premise solutions.

The money spent worldwide on cloud-based ERP Momentum is growing and according to Forrester Research it is expected to rise by 21 percent a year through to 2015. So what are the benefits behind cloud-based ERP and is it possible for your organisation to gain a competitive advantage from using this SaaS deployment model?

1. Low Initial and Predictable Ongoing Costs
SaaS solutions are provided on a subscription basis, therefore companies with limited budgets can greatly reduce their initial capital costs by investing in an ERP system. The software becomes a monthly operational expense, allowing customers to spread the cost over time in a pay-as-you-go manner. In addition, most SaaS vendors provide assurances that customers will not face large fee increases to continue using the solution once the initial term expires by capping fee increases.

2. Reduced Cost of Ownership
Customers only pay for users that actually use the software with a SaaS solution. Businesses don’t need to invest in all the peripheral resources and technology to support an on-premise deployment. If the needs of the business expand over time, the customer can simply add users at a pre-specified cost without needing to worry about investing in additional resources (e.g., hardware). In addition, with a shared, multitenant SaaS model, vendors can pass along lower costs dueto the economies of scale achieved through the use of a shared data center, network, and management services.

3. Reduced IT Complexity
The SaaS model transfers the burden of managing and keeping the system up-to-date and running from the customer to the software vendor. The software vendor takes responsibility for maintaining the entire infrastructure including: networks, storage, operating systems, databases, application servers, Web servers, disaster recovery, and backup services. Further, SaaS eliminates the need for customers to upgrade their software to the latest release and to update outdated infrastructure (including hardware) to support major software upgrades.
The software vendor takes responsibility for all upgrades, ensuring that the system is always running on up-to-date hardware and the latest software version.

4. Greater Reliability
SaaS vendors typically offer reliability that exceeds that provided by the IT departments within most job shops and small manufacturers. Due to the economies of scale associated with SaaS solutions, vendors can make significantly greater investments in skilled staff and technology than an individual company. These investments go towards ensuring performance, reliability, and security. In addition, most SaaS vendors offer service level agreements that guarantee
uptime, typically 99.5%, assuring customers of system availability.

Small businesses are taking a look at local SEO and starting to see the long-term benefit. Most internet users will look up a product online before they make an offline purchase. Ensuring that they find your business means greater opportunities to expand your reach and grow your sales in a meaningful way. A state or city name approach can provide meaningful exposure to an audience of people most likely to utilize your business.

What is important in Local SEO?

The effort is a focused unification of your chosen search keywords with your local area to facilitate residents finding your business. So a lawn care company in Pasadena will want to focus on “Pasadena lawn care” rather than just “lawn care”.

Try to put yourself into the customer’s shoes. What terms would you use to try and find a business that provided your services? Local SEO differs from internet-wide SEO in that you are not as focused on getting a larger audience of interested people. Instead, you are after a smaller, local segment of people that will want to do business with you in your town.

Yahoo! Local, Bing Local, and Google Places are incredibly important assets for a local SEO campaign. Be certain to visit these sites to claim your business profile! Generating positive reviews from your customers will provide a much needed nod to the quality of your product or service. These type of sites also enable customers to find you much more efficiently through category searches.

Ask your customers to review your business or service on one of these websites. Don’t sweat the reviews that are less than positive. No one gets things right 100% of the time on the first go. It provides an ideal opportunity to respond and demonstrate your customer service skills by rectifying legitimate issues. A customer is far more likely to return to a business that made a mistake and tried to fix it than they are one who ignored it. That’s the kind of thing you want prospective customers to see.

An ideal way to tie the pages on your website to the area is by including your business address and phone number on every page. Not only does it provide a tie between the location and the content, but it also makes it that much easier for a prospective customer to find your contact information if they are ready to buy. Make it as simple as possible for the customer to utilize your business.

Title tags are of vital importance when it comes to search engine indexing. Try to use your relevant keywords in your title text in a natural way. Not only will it provide easy reference to the visitor to know they are in the right place, but search engine crawlers read the text first when trying to interpret what the page is about. All very good things for your business’s website.

Perhaps your business has more than one location in the area. Definitely create landing pages that are appropriate to each location with the appropriate information. They can be further enhanced with a greeting from the facility manager to that community that they can identify with. Not only is this great for search engine purposes, but it also helps reinforce that your business is a good neighbor to the community.

Local SEO is not an area that can be overlooked for a business interested in generating new leads. This style of Search engine optimization tends to move much quicker as information gets passed through social networks and word of mouth. Treat the customer very well and do not lash out if something negative comes up. Otherwise it could end up plastered across social networks and review sites all over the internet.

Jeff has been blogging for 4 years and contributing on blogs since 2007. He is a professional IM and SEO consultant. In his free time he guest lectures for business and marketing students at various colleges in NY. At the moment, he is writing for a real estate agency in NY that offers Queens condos for sale.