There is a lot of great talent out there waiting to be snapped-up by a company—maybe yours—that recognizes their skills and expertise. You interview people, find a couple you like and decide to offer them jobs. What do you pay them? It is one of the toughest decisions you have to make, especially if you are hiring a professional. Sure, you can cherry-pick today, entice people who are desperate for a job to come in for low wages. If you see your employees as commodities to be bought and sold and used up, then this makes sense. If, on the other hand, you see them as people who part of your team, whose efforts contribute to your success, than low-balling them vis-à-vis some straight salary scheme may not be the way to go.
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-...
By Charles M Cooper · July 20 2009
small business, employment, wages, pay
Government, Politics and the Economy
Recession Watch: Leading Indicators Rise
The index of US leading economic indicators rose in June for a third consecutive month, reinforcing other signs that the economy may be emerging from the worst recession in five decades. Bloomberg.com
Management and Operations
Stay With Your Vision or Maybe Lose Your Business
The fall of Dial-a-Matress shows how overexpansion, bringing in executives who don't understand the corporate culture and straying from your vision can all work to kill a company. WSJ.com
By Charles M Cooper · July 20 2009
small business brief, marketing, small business, economy
Tips from July 16, 2009 The Small Business tips today will be about Google Apps Standard Edition: a free service for groups of up to 50 people. This is a paid service once you exceed the 50 person limit.
Connect: make your business stand out easily with your domain's email, such as yourname@your-business.com.
Share: utilize Google Docs and Google Calendar to coordinate paperwork, events, & work schedules with everyone at once.
Organize: create an intranet for your business. Include updates, new promotions, goals, schedules, & contact information.
Personalize: customize your homepage with news, email, website feeds, quotes, & more to connect your business & stay updated.
Daily Overview: Google Apps Standard Edition connects your business’ email, calendars, documents & more for easy online communication.
By Cheryl Sowa · July 17 2009
small business tips, google, google apps, standard edition
You have a great business idea, a killer business plan and now, as you wait your turn to see the loan officer you realize that you need a great name to go with it. Creativity under pressure can, and has, yielded great results, but you can’t count on it. Like everything else associated with your new business, the name you give it takes thought and planning. In fact, it is something you should have been working on since Day One.
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";}
There are a number of issues that arise when you are considering your company name. You need to decide wheth...
By Charles M Cooper · July 17 2009
small business, business name, domain name
Government, Politics and the Economy
Small Business: The White House is Deaf to Our Needs
President Obama's decision to cut off aid to small business lender CIT Group is just the latest in a string of decisions that demonstrate Obama's indifference to small business. WSJ.com
Shlaes: Look to Reagan for a Way Out of the Recession
Bloomberg columnist Amity Shlaes suggests that with the similarity between the current recession and the economic woes of the early 1980s, the solution to those woes, lower taxes and higher interest rates, is worth looking at today. Bloomberg.com
Management and Operations
By Charles M Cooper · July 17 2009
small business brief, marketing, small business, economy
Tips from July 16, 2009 The Small Business tips today will be about small businesses using Google Calendar to organize your life.
Synchronize: share your calendar with coworkers to coordinate work schedules & see who is available to work or take your shift.
Organize: create a different color coded schedule for each activity you have: personal, work, extracurricular, etc.
Plan Ahead: add the “Tasks” option on your calendar to remember things to do & mark as you complete each task.
Coordinate: use the “auto accept invitations that don’t conflict” to easily plan things that don’t conflict with others.
Daily Overview: Combine, share, and plan easily within your business with Google Calendars.
By Cheryl Sowa · July 16 2009
small business tips, google, plan, organize
The LA Weekly News sums up the crime this way:
An organized-crime ring that police believe is Russian or Armenian targeted a high-volume Redondo Beach Arco gas station, assigned a low-level soldier to infiltrate it and waited eight months while he worked himself into a position where he could implant a tiny, high-tech “skimmer” to steal customers’ credit-card information.
Armed with a fresh batch of personal-information numbers, the gang began draining thousands of Southern California bank accounts soon after “Erick,” the model employee who was by then entrusted with opening the station every day at 5 a.m., vanished in late April along with 1,500 packs of cigarettes, $1,000, a laptop, his employee application form — and the two digital video recorders used for surveillance...
By Charles M Cooper · July 16 2009
small business, organized crime, model employee scam, erick
Are you a leader or are you just a boss? Now that the economy has people’s career’s hanging in the balance, that question is more important than ever. During difficult times, when you can’t simply throw money and perks at the problem of employee loyalty and engagement, what can you do?
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";}
In a recent article on BusinessKnowHow.com, British leadership expert Gina Gardiner has assembled ten strategies that leaders can use to promote...
By Charles M Cooper · July 16 2009
small business, leadership, leader, boss
