Blog

So much work goes into the planning and start up of your small business. From the beginning ideas to the implementing of them. You can go from point A to point B without asking yourself one of the most important questions that can make or break your business. That question revolves around your customers. Without customers your business will fall through the cracks and will not only have a negative effect on the business itself but also you personally as an owner. The risks you take in your business need to be thought out and worked through to decrease the chance of failure and increase the chance of success. This ideally starts with your customers.

It’s important to do your research on your customer base. The last thing you want to do is open your business in a densely populated area of businesses alike. The competition might be to high, so it is very important to investigate what is being offered in your area and if there is a need for your business. If there are low customer numbers your business is not going to succeed. For example, if you live in a small community that has two hardware stores, you may need to rethink opening another one.

Then you want to look at your customers. Do you know who your customers are? Why should they choose you over someone else? You need to set the bar high and challenge what others are offering. This does not mean attack other businesses that are like yours but offer something that is greater that will attract your customers. This could be as simple as giving off the family like atmosphere or taking it up a notch and being a pet friendly business. Again, it is important to learn about your customers. What are their likes and dislikes? This goes hand in hand with open communication and giving your customers the opportunity to speak and give insight into your business. Because who is going to know better then the customers themselves.

We are now towards the end of summer and slowly but surely October 1st is drawing near. With this date, comes a change that is going to affect those that are running their businesses. The changes in minimum wage are going to be taking effect coming this October 1,2018. Currently we are sitting at a wage of 13.60/hour at minimum with an increase to 15.00/hour, for salespersons the increase is to 598/week and for domestic employees the increase is to 2848/month.

As small business owners we need to look at how we are going to offset some of these costs. It is not always easy to increase everyone’s wage by 1.40 when you look at the employees at minimum wage and the ones who are above minimum wage. Not only are we increasing the starting wage to 15/hour we also need to look at our employees who make more but may expect an increase as well. According to https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-minimum-wage-changes.aspx there is some assistance being implemented by the government to aid in this transition.

• reduced small business tax rates from 3% to 2%
• introduced the Enhanced Innovation Voucher and Small/Medium Enterprises Support program
• created the ministry of Economic Development and Trade to provide Alberta’s private sector job creators with a one-stop shop for economic development and diversification
• dedicated $34 billion over the next 5 years to support modern, efficient infrastructure for Alberta families and businesses
• provided more capital for ATB Financial and Alberta Enterprise to encourage investment in Alberta businesses
• expanded the mandate for the Alberta Investment Management Corporation
• reinstated the Summer Temporary Employment Program
• implemented the Canada-Alberta Job Grant, a six-year initiative with the Government of Canada to support employers in building a strong workforce through better trained workers
• introduced the Capital Investment Tax Credit to encourage investment and support job creation

With this increase we also need to be prepared to change how we are offering services, making sales etc. If we are unable to meet the demands of the wage increase as a business owner, the last thing you want to do is go under. There are some unfortunate steps that we may see some businesses doing at no fault of their own. We may see prices rise and benefit cutbacks. The rising prices not only can affect customers but also business to business purchases. These are things we need to be aware of that may occur.

What options are you looking at taking once the wage increase takes place? We would love to hear from you.

In the workplace it is general practice to have set breaks. It is common to have your two fifteen-minute coffee breaks and your lunch break, which is generally between thirty minutes to an hour. It has been this way for years to run your business with these allotted break times in hopes to increase the work that is being accomplished. This is generally a regulation that is not often questioned. But when you really think about it are we accomplishing exactly what we want with these set times.

In your regular work day, it is interesting to pay attention to how often we glance at the clock almost as if it’s a countdown. We are counting down the minutes till our next break and till our shift is over. The hours and minutes can roll on so slowly and we tend to fall into an anxious state waiting to have those few minutes. This can have a negative effect on our moral and our output of work. What if we were to question how we set up our breaks in the workplace and try something new?

A study was completed by the Harvard Business School about the effects of unexpected breaks and how they affect your work in the workplace. Having set times for breaks can have a negative effect on productivity as you are completely disengaging, but if you look at unplanned short breaks such as a quick chat with another peer in the coffee room, your focus is not completely taken away from the work at hand. For example in Alberta there are standards that need to be followed regarding hours worked and breaks. For an 8.5 hour shift legally an employer needs a thirty minute break. If you take that break and add in the ability for unplanned short breaks it could completely change the focus in the workplace. Allowing for unplanned short breaks can give your employees an opportunity to feel more energized and focused on their work as it can be refreshing. Taking this approach may offer great benefit in your business and is change of pace in how things normally run. If you are finding your business has a lower productivity rate, then you are pushing for maybe this could be the answer you need.

Below is a link to the study from the Harvard Business School.

http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Publication%20Files/17-058_86770246-8b53-4839-8ed9-abd485a56be9.pdf

(photo courtesy of https://www.flickr.com/photos/olibac/6963725417)

As a business owner we need to look at our business through the eyes of many. Not only do we need to see it through our own but also through our employees. Doing so is going to give you a better understanding of everything that is going on and how others are feeling. This is especially true with tasks we are allocating  to others and what we place on ourselves. Do we want to sink or swim?

When we are creating different tasks we need to ask ourselves a few questions. These questions are going to relate back to the whole picture of our business.

• What are the benefits
• Are we capable of accomplishing this task
• If we are incapable who are we going to hire
• Time frame of completion
• Open mind that once time frame has arrived do we need to throw out the idea and try something new
• Is everyone well informed on what I am asking

Without asking these questions we are putting ourselves into a situation where we may be working with no cause and no outcome.  This is where the importance of seeing and understanding your employees comes into play. Open and direct communication in what you are asking is going to carry the job. Giving proper direction to your employees is going to help everyone understand what part they are playing and increase the chance of success. It is important to stress that if there are any questions or concerns that they should be immediately discussed. Try including your employees in the planning process of the tasks being allocated. Not only is that going to provide inclusion but also it will place a bigger feeling of responsibility on the employer as they were part of the process.

It is very important to remember that when we are creating and allocating different tasks to ourselves and to our employers, not everything is going to work out as planned and we need to be okay with this. These times of “sinking,” are going to give us the ability to learn, adapt, change and create by questioning the process.

So you are running your business whether it be with a couple of employees or many employees. Regardless of staffing numbers there is one important piece we need to ensure we do not miss. This is team meetings. It can be a daunting task preparing staff meetings and even more so with the requests of having everyone there but to have the success you are yearning for we need to encourage all to be involved and to have them on a regular.

In order to keep your business moving in the right direction we need to always be talking and discussing. Your employees can give you a lot of insight as they are working first hand with your customers and certain aspects of your business. These meetings allow for people to express what things are going well, what concerns there may be along with plans you have in the future. It is important to be inclusive and encourage everyone to be apart of the meeting. If you are able to alot time for a monthly meeting you will have a much larger success rate. Without having the important discussions, you are more likely to see your goals not accomplished due to lack of communication and push from others in the business. Here are some pointers in having a business meeting run smoothly.

• Have a lead who presents and runs the meeting
• Try and have your meetings during work hours to encourage participation
• Refreshments during meetings can go a long way
• Ensure you have an agenda typed out for everyone. It can be handy to have these sent off prior to the meeting for everyone to look over
• Keep the meetings short and suit to encourage meaningful discussion
• Your agenda should include Past, Present and Future. This allows for a refresher of what was discussed at the last meeting, what is happening now and the plans for ahead. This helps in creating the success for your short and long term goals
• Allocate someone to take meeting notes/minutes so nothing is forgotten and there is proper documentation
• If you have a larger group it can be beneficial to start the meetings with an icebreaker activity
• You may have employers who are more spread out geographically. It is just as important to include these employers in the communication. Whether you have clear concise communication with them about what is taking place via phone, email etc. Or with technology now it is easy to set up skype so it is like they are there. If that is not readily available to you conference calls work just as well.