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Dealing with Customer Complaints – The ‘Act Now’ Policy
A business coach, when explaining to a group of entrepreneurs how to deal with a dissatisfied customer, asked how serious is the following customer complaint? (Add complaint here_________________.) Answers ranged from an easy fix to unrecoverable. The coach replied the actual seriousness can be immaterial; it depends on how long you wait to deal with [...]
What to Ask Yourself Before Starting a Business
The first thing to be sure of is how committed you are to actually doing it. Is this a business you’ve dreamed about starting? Did you arrive at it by accident? Was it somehow handed to you? Starting a business demands dedication. You have to really want it, and you have to know that nobody can do it for you. So commitment is a prerequisite of any foray into the world of business. Are you committed?
Is The Customer Always Right?
If a customer finds fault with your products, services or anything in your business, for that matter, you better have a plan. The customer may be dead wrong, but you can’t say that, and you can’t take that attitude into dealing with the complaint.
How to Start a Business the Right Way
Much is written about the how to start a business. Every article on the subject tells you to start with a business plan. That’s true. Every article has that right. However, it takes a lot of common sense to start a business from scratch, and it takes a lot of luck to make it work.
How to Get Started in Business
You’ve been bitten by the entrepreneurial bug, you have a great business idea, and now you’re eager to start your own company. Fantastic! Now descend from the clouds and start writing your business plan. We’ll show you how to shape it, and what steps you need to take after that to get your startup running – from coming up with a name to finding financing.
How to Start a Business in 9 Steps
From writing a business plan to finding insurance to cover your assets, we outline the nine steps you can take to start your own business. We’ve already given you steps one and nine, now check out the other seven important steps in between.
How to Fight Negativity
Managing is hard enough but dealing with one or more negative staff members can be difficult. Negativity can undermine the best efforts of any team. Don’t confuse negativity with healthy disagreement. Good leaders encourage questions and even debate about projects and initiatives. Negative players have to be redirected into a positive state of mind.
How to Handle a Tough Customer
Some customers are tough to deal with. This is a fact of life for all businesses. You can’t turn your back on a difficult customer. You have to somehow manage customers who for one reason or another are angry or upset with your business.
It’s Not What You Know…
It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. An old expression, one that we all were groomed to discount, but there is truth in it. You can never know too much, but being connected can be a leg up in business.
Should Your Business Stay Small?
Growth is on the agenda of most small business owners. “Grow your business” is trumpeted everywhere. It’s unavoidable, but in reality, some small businesses are better off staying small, and not aiming to grow bigger, maybe richer and more visible.
How to Manage Corporate Dissolution
When a corporation isn’t living up to expectations, it may be best to shut it down. Closing a corporation means filing articles of dissolution. This article looks at the process of filing the articles, how it varies between a voluntary and an involuntary dissolution, and how a dissolved corporation can be revived.
How to Use Flexible Pension Plans with RCA’s
With all the work that goes into running a business, it can be easy to put thoughts of retirement on the back burner. But planning how you’re going to pass on your business can make your transition to retired life that much easier. Here’s how retirement compensation arrangements can help.
What to Do When the Bank Says No
As a small business owner, you’re always on the lookout for capital, and you may not always be able to find that capital from bank loans. Mark Borkowski of Mercantile Mergers & Acquisitions Corporation and Barry O’Neill of Zed Financial Partners provide some creative ways for you to find the financing your business needs.
You Don’t Have to be a Workaholic to Win in Business
There are many who think that succeeding in business requires dedicating 60 or 80 hours per week and a never ending stream of email pouring into smartphones, tablets and computers. Being a workaholic has some appeal to people who think their business will collapse unless the 80 hours is put in week after week, but this is simply not the case anymore.
How to Avoid Common Problems in Business
As you run your business avoid getting bogged down in the day to day tasks that can be done efficiently in a measured way. Often staff members can and should be recruited to handle a lot of this. So keeping things clear and open so that the real job of running things can be done right, often means stepping back from a lot of the things that tend to bog you down.
Employer’s Guide to Workplace Safety and Insurance (WSIB)
One of the major responsibilities of a business owner is to ensure the safety of his or her workers. For Ontario businesses, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board provides coverage for work-related injuries and illnesses. We’ve created a guide to help better acquaint you with the WSIB. It’s an essential read for employers in the province.
Questions to Ask Before Signing a Lease
Search out information on rental rates and renewal procedures, along with a few other important details, and you’ll feel confident when it comes time to put pen to paper on a lease agreement. Have a look at some of the key questions that you should be ready to ask when looking for a commercial lease.
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