HOW TO PUT EFFECTIVE PROGRAMS IN PLACE TO QUALIFY PROSPECTIVE CUSTOMERS (PART 1) Most marketing managers are convinced that they can understand their market without doing research, and that they know what prospective customers are thinking about their products without asking them. Some of them have maintained this delusion through...
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POLICIES AND STRATEGIES TO CURB SUBSTANCE ABUSE IN THE WORKPLACE Substance abuse in the workplace is a subject of concern for many business owners, to one degree or another. Often times the issue is a sensitive one to confront, but business owners and researchers alike agree that if left unchecked,...
HOW RETURN POLICIES WORK Return policies are the rules retail merchants establish to manage the process by which customers return or exchange unwanted or defective merchandise that they have purchased previously. Return policies are an extension of the customer service retailers provide, and thus are often fairly liberal. Retail stores...
TAKING ON AN EXISTING TEAM Taking on an established team is a testing experience. While you share the learning process with a team in a start-up situation, a take-over demands immediate evidence of your ability to take charge and recognize team strengths. Becoming Team Leader When a leader joins an...
CREATING A SELF-MANAGED TEAM Self-managed teams (SMTs) are more independent than other teams. They are found increasingly in organizations that have flattened their structures and cut out layers of middle-management and supervisory levels as they reform their working practices. Defining SMTs Self-managed teams take on total responsibility for a specific...
ESTABLISHING TEAM TRUST The most essential feature of successful teamwork is trust. Teams thrive on mutual trust, so it must be established early in the life of a team. Promote mutual trust through delegation, openness of conduct and communication, and a free exchange of ideas. Learning to Delegate Delegation takes...
HOW ROYALTY FINANCING WORKS Royalty financing is a relatively new concept that offers an alternative to regular debt financing (loans and trade credit) and equity financing (venture capital and stock sales). In a royalty financing arrangement, a small business would receive a special amount of funds from an investor or...
RISK AND RETURNS ON INVESTMENT The term ‘risk and return” refers to the potential financial loss or gain experienced through investments in securities. An investor who has registered a profit is said to have seen a “return” on his or her investment. The “risk” of the investment, meanwhile, denotes the...
WHY BUSINESS OWNERS MUST KEEP TO ZONING ORDINANCES Zoning ordinances are laws that govern activities in townships and other municipalities. Most cities and towns are composed of regions that are zoned for residential, commercial, or industrial development, and often these zones are subdivided by additional use restrictions (type or business...
HOW TO CREATE EFFECTIVE PROGRAMS TO IDENTIFY PROSPECTIVE CUSTOMERS (PART 2) The greater the demand is for your company’s products, the less effort your company will need to make to find new customers. But if your company has just started to do business, or if its products are new or...
