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...
MAXIMIZING PERFORMANCE OF A TEAM It is vital that all members of a team work together to maximize team performance. Give people full responsibility for their jobs and empower them to execute and improve their own work in ways that optimize their contribution to the entire team. Awarding Responsibility The...
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...
HOW TO BID FOR “REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL” Request for Proposal (RFP) is the process by which a corporate department or government agency prepares bid documents to acquire equipment or services. RFPs are frequently published in the legal documents section or pertinent newspapers or in trade journals covering the industry in...
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...
BENEFITS OF SMALL BUSINESS CONSORTIA Business consortia are alliances of individual business enterprises. These firms are often in the same broad field or industry, though they are rarely in direct competition with one another. Instead, members usually offer products or services that are complementary to those available through other consortium...
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 3) 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...
