Sunday, November 25, 2007

Hire the Right People

right people

Hiring people is the most challenging and biggest decision a business person has to make. This is even more topical problem for business owners starting new companies.
When hiring people, you may follow two ways:

  1. Build a core, passionate team
  2. Or don't
Very few people would admit to choosing #2 as an approach, but lots of companies do exactly that — they hire for reasons other than passion and fit. How many companies start with salary as the key decision point for hiring someone?

Companies don’t put enough stock in the importance of building a real team; they focus on getting people on board with the right qualifications at the right price and that’s it. It’s an easy trap to fall into because it’s an easier way to hire. And when your company is growing fast and doing well, and you’ve got more work than you know what to do with, to heck with building a core team…you need warm bodies at desks!

The end result of building a team without really thinking about the team is usually not a good one. Higher turnover. Dissatisfaction at work. Lower productivity.

A core team of passionate, true believers will always go the extra mile for each other and by extension the company they work for. People will stay at jobs they dislike if they love the team.

The problem with hiring the right people is that it takes a lot longer. You have to be prepared to invest a good chunk of time in the process — finding candidates, interviewing them, testing them, trying them out — it’s more akin to dating than anything else; there’s a dating dance or ritual that has to take place.

But the payoff is enormous. This is especially true for startups - those first few hires are going to be key ones. Those people are practically partners. You need them to stick it out through thick and thin, and be as devoted as possible. You need them to create the culture and spirit for future hires. You need them evangelizing the business. You need them taking ownership. You need them to be the driving force of success.

It’s a tall order, which is why you need to invest the time, thought and energy into hiring people properly. And you always need to focus on building a great team, not a bunch of people connected together by the fact that they work in the same office.

Thursday, November 22, 2007

To Avoid the Credit Card Debt Trap

credit card debt
What is the largest reason why so many people go into debt every day? I guess, credit card debt. We use credit cards for everything. Unfortunately, plastics come with fees and interests still. But there are ways to avoid debt trap.
Firstly, you should keep your plastics to a limited number. Most people have problems because they have too many cards. If you want to have a credit card that you can use everywhere, try a MasterCard, American Express, or Visacard which are all used everywhere.
Also avoid making any purchases during peak buying seasons, for example, Christmas. Credit issuers charge you more interest in such periods.
Another step is to limit what you use you plastics for. There are no reasons why you should be using your card to make daily purchases like groceries. If you prefer not carry cash around you can get yourself a debit card which works the same as a credit card, however, it is direct cash purchases. You are not charge often times to use these and you are using cash to make your purchases. Keeping your credit card debts under control is not easy for some people but you can all learn to avoid the many pitfalls that you all get used to falling into.
Finally if you find that you simply cannot control your credit card spending then you may have to opt for the most difficult step of all, putting your credit cards on ice for a while. That will mean a change in lifestyle and spending habits but if the hole from credit card debts is getting too deep then you just might have to stop digging.
Check out some useful links:
Best guaranteed unsecured credit card for those with bad credit
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Www.cross country bank credit application

Friday, November 9, 2007

15 Reasons to Create a Business Plan

business plan
  1. Grow your existing business
  2. Back up a business loan application
  3. Seek investment for a business, whether it's a startup or not
  4. Create a new business
  5. Valuation of the business for formal transactions related to divorce, inheritance, estate planning and tax issues
  6. Sell your business
  7. Deal with professionals
  8. Develop new business alliances
  9. Share and explain business objectives with your management team, employees and new hires
  10. Decide whether you need new assets, how many, and whether to buy or lease them
  11. Hire new people
  12. Decide whether or not to rent new space
  13. Deal with displacement
  14. Share your strategy, priorities and specific action points with your spouse, partner or significant other
  15. Set specific objectives for managers