Have you ever said to yourself: How do I start a catering business out of my house?Well, the short answer is yes, you can open a catering business with little more than your delicious homemade recipes and a little business know how. Perhaps you've been cooking for years as a hobby and are used to getting many compliments on your culinary creations.Opening a catering business may be something you've dreamed about for a while, but aren't quite...more
A couple of days ago, my son took a practice SAT. He's always been an Honor Student (at least for the last few years) with an A/B average in all of his subjects. Sometimes he slides in English, but we always thought that was because of his lack of interest rather than a lack of ability.His scores on the verbal section were low, and his scores in the math section were not high enough to compensate. Based on that practice test, my Honor Roll...more
Recent corporate financial scandals have highlighted the importance of business ethics and legal compliance. Yet a recent National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) survey of 280 corporate CEOs and directors found that "only one of three directors felt that they were highly effective in ensuring legal compliance". Building an Ethics and Compliance ProgramMost companies realize that they need to develop and implement a business ethics and compliance program. An effective program can: Establish a code of conduct that reduces risk of criminal behavior Detect wrongdoing, foster quick investigations, minimize consequences Demonstrate company's ethical/legal philosophy during an investigation Reduce fines if company is found guilty of wrongdoing Enhance company reputation and statureLooking at the OptionsBut how do you build an effective program? Companies find themselves with three options to build the program: Develop in-house from scratch Hire an external consultant Use a pre-written manual And most of these companies learn a few lessons - sometimes the hard way. Making a Strong DecisionDeveloping a program from scratch can be very time consuming and costly. Also, the...more
Many financial services power-houses—e.g., Fidelity, CitiBank, Merrill Lynch and MetLife, have adopted a marketing positioning strategy that portrays them as leaders in virtually all segments of the market. As a result, their financial sales and marketing campaigns focus on casting a very wide net in order to attract the largest possible...more
Effective communication skills are essential to successful business development. Yet they're often under-emphasized and sometimes completely ignored. Why? Because we communicate so much and so often (approximately 20,000 words per day) we often take it for granted. But regardless of how good your product or service is and how much expertise you...more
You must decide for yourself whether you will charge for your services or not. Should you decide to charge, the next question is "what should my fee be?"1. Determine What You Need To MakeWhen setting fees, part of the calculation is how much you need (and want!) to make. If you first decide how much profit you need to make, you can then determine what to charge in order to make that profit. It's necessary to do a personal and family budget first, to determine the minimum you need to bring into your home each month. In addition to that minimum, add the amount you'd want that would give you the lifestyle you want. If you're just starting a business, you may have to make ends meet with other income or savings, but you need to have a goal of the full amount you want to bring home each month when you have a successful business. While income isn't the only measure of success, NOT making enough money in your business will bring frustration and dissatisfaction.2. Research Your Fee OptionsFirst, examine carefully your skill level. It is common practice in business to charge based on skill. The more skill and experience you have, the more you charge. You have several choices on how your...more
Here's a bunch of important things you should know about day trading before you start. First off, can you daytrade if you don't have the requisite $25,000 plus? Yes. You can start Day Trading with as little as $750 if you decide to trade using a...more
Video conferencing is a friend of the environment. It helps reduce the volume of CO2 emissions from cars and reduces traffic congestion on our roads (as well as improving company productivity and reducing costs!). As governments throughout the world...more
Recent mergers in many industries remind me of a point that Gen. Dwight Eisenhower often made, "Generals move the pins on a map," he would say, "but the front-line troops have to get the job done."And the key to the job is leadership, small-unit...more
The greatest occupational high that financial services Marketing Directors experience is bringing a vision to market through a financial product or service innovation. Seeking to experience the same euphoria that great inventors like Benjamin...more
Do you have an idea for a business? Perhaps the only idea you have is that you NEED an idea so you CAN start a business. Before turning any idea into a business, you must first have an idea how to succeed. For most people, the definition of a...more
Practical Biz Solutions The business success newsletter for business owners, top executives, and commission sales people from Stan MannPlease forward Practical Biz Solutions to appropriate friends.Dear Reader: High Achievers have great strengths....more