HOW NON-COMPETITIVE AGREEMENTS WORK Non-competitive agreements are restrictive contracts between employers and employees that 1) prohibit workers from revealing proprietary information about the company to competitors or other outsiders or 2) forbid workers from themselves competing with their ex-employer for a certain period of time after leaving the company. Non-competitive...
HOW BUSINESSES CAN ACCESS NON-TRADITIONAL FINANCING SOURCES Entrepreneurs can turn to a variety of sources to finance the establishment or expansion of their businesses. Common sources of business capital include personal savings, loans from friends and relatives. loans from financial institutions such as banks or credit unions, loans from commercial...
WHY ELEMENTS OF A LOAN PROPOSAL ARE IMPORTANT Loan proposals are formal, written documents that businesses must prepare when they approach potential lenders or investors for funding. A complete loan proposal package should consist of completed loan application forms (if required), and a comprehensive business plan with complete financial statements....
HOW MYSTERY SHOPPING CAN ALLOW FIRMS CREATE COMPETITIVE EDGE Mystery shopping is a term that describes a field-based research technique of using independent auditors posing as customers to gather information about product quality and service delivery by a retail firm. The “mystery shopper” poses as a customer in order to...
HOW TO APPLY MARKET SHARE INFORMATION Market share refers to the percentage of overall volume of business in a given market that is controlled by one company in relation to its competitors. For example, if the total sale of a certain product in a market is $800, 000, and the...
HOW QUESTIONNAIRES CAN AID FEASIBILITY OF A NEW VENTURE THROUGH MARKETING RESEARCH Market questionnaires are a form of quantitative, primary market research that can provide business owners with specific information about their customers’ needs. Whether conducted over the telephone, through the mail, over the Internet, or in person, market questionnaires...
LOSS LEADER PRICING AS STRATEGY FOR SALES INCREASE Loss leader pricing is an aggressive pricing strategy wherein a store sells certain goods below cost in order to attract customers who will, according to the loss leader philosophy, make up for the losses on highlighted products with additional purchases for profitable...
JOB SHOPS AS AN EARLY FORM OF MANUFACTURING ORGANIZATION A job shop is a type of manufacturing process structure where small batches of a variety of custom products are made. In the job shop process flow, most of the products produced require a unique set-up and sequencing of processing steps. ...
INNOVATION AND BUSINESS SUCCESS Innovation is the basic driving force behind entrepreneurship and the creation of small businesses. When an individual comes up with an idea that has not previously been explored, or a niche that larger businesses have not been able to exploit, he or she may be able...
WHY A BUSINESS NEEDS INFORMATION BROKERS Information brokers provide, for a fee, information retrieval from publicly accessible data sources, most often databases. Information brokering first emerged as a business opportunity for individuals in the mid-1950s. Also known as independent information specialists, brokers often do much more than gather the information....
