Small biz owners: Keep these in mind

One of the most popular New Year's resolutions for individuals is to make themselves more financially fit, whether it's by monthly budgeting, limiting use of credit cards or paying off some debt.

But small businesses often look to tighten their financial belts, too. Here's some tips from local financial institution professionals Pete Soraparu, Andrew Katrichis, Rick Dusil and Wayne Breckon for small businesses looking to make the most of 2012.

Position your company/yourself as an essential and reliable partner for your customers
* Understand customers' needs and expectations, then strive to meet or exceed them.
* Source and deliver information and products that are important for your customers.
* Always follow up.

Deploy appropriate technology as much as possible
* Understand how your customers are using technology; that should drive your business' technology strategy.
* Simplify access and payments for your customers, making it easy for them to do business with you (point of purchase, online, mobile).
* Don't get too far ahead (or behind) the technology curve for your business.

Search for local financial solutions and readily available information and support
* Your time is your most scarce resource -- keep solutions easy to understand and close to home.
* Cash management is vital for near-term surviving and long-term thriving.
* Anticipate, and plan for, success, and find a financial partner that will work hard to help you achieve it.

Don't mix business with personal
Do your best not to mix business income with personal expenses. Business owners should pay themselves a salary or make formal distributions rather than cutting a check out of the business account to pay for a mortgage, entertainment, etc. This will ensure that an owner knows exactly what the business is doing -- and will make it much easier on the accountant come tax preparation.

Remember that a budget is a tool, not law
A small business owner should be reviewing the budget on a regular basis and if tweaks and changes need to be made to ensure a budget is realistic and attainable, make the changes. Many small business owners take the time to make a budget, but then do not look at it until the end of the year and then they wonder why things went wrong. Don't be afraid to admit extreme optimism and make the necessary changes to ensure success.

Get outside help
Don't be afraid to ask an accountant or consultant if a budget makes sense. A small business owner's accountant is an ideal person to review the budget, as they probably have some valuable industry information in that business' marketplace. They have seen successful companies and unsuccessful companies and they can give an owner some advice to ensure that the business is a successful company.

Business tips: How to Settle Disputes Between Business Partners

When disputes between partners in a business arise, they can threaten the business more than any competitor can. Even partners with the best intentions are likely to end up at each other’s throats even though they had hoped to avoid such conflict. Here you will learn how to settle disputes between business partners: 8 tips that will make the difference between peace and war.

Stop fighting: As with married couples, disputes between business partners can escalate, causing more damage than either one ever intended. All partners do not need to agree on the underlying reasons for the dispute, but certainly they can agree to stop fighting and start searching for constructive and mutually beneficial solutions before their relationship and their business are beyond repair. 

Discover the root of the problem: The resolution of a dispute between business partners requires an understanding of its root causes. Most of the time the problem goes deeper than who left the lights on over night or who was too lazy to take the money to the bank. An honest exploration of the reasons one or more partners are at odds is necessary. Find out if the problem is personal incompatibility, hurt feelings, or a desire for more input into daily operations. Get neutral parties involved: Those without a stake in the dispute can more accurately determine its underlying problem and path to resolution. Depending on the nature of the partnership and the severity of the dispute you can hire mediators or ask for mutually respected third parties to come in and broker peace. Many businesses form a board of directors that can serve as objective intermediaries when necessary. Re-evaluate the business: Disputes between business partners may be a good time for them to revise their business plan to accommodate their concerns and make the business more suitable to all parties involved. This way, disputes between business partners can potentially have remarkably positive implications for the business. Follow your exit strategy agreements: Every partnership should have pre-defined mechanisms in place that provide an escape route when one of the partners cannot continue. For the sake of your business kick in those provisions and make the separation short and sweet. Don’t let friendships get in the way: The desire to preserve friendships often prolongs disputes between business partners because one or both partners don’t want to see their relationship end. The truth is that disputes usually end friendships as well as business relationships, so there’s no sense risking further damage to the business by trying to avoid that fate. Have a respectful dialogue: Do what you can to understand your partner’s concerns and try to clearly communicate based on facts, not innuendo or insults. If you can both remember the respect you once had for each other, you will probably be more willing to reach a compromise that will diffuse the situation at hand. Retain legal counsel: If your partner has really gone over to the Dark Side, you could stand to lose a lot. Even if your dispute hasn’t reached the state of full hostilities, you need to prepare for the worst. Your attorney can review the details of your partnership and be ready to protect your interests should the need arise.

Disputes between business partners can present situations every bit as frustrating and perplexing as those that spouses face. Use these 8 tips to settle differences between business partners. You will find that you can reduce the damage done to your business, and sometimes uncover new opportunities.

How Creating an Online Business Works

What does it take to put together a nice and effective e-commerce Web site? Is it a lot of money? Sometimes. Is it a lot of skill? Many times. Is it a lot common sense and lot of patience? Always! Creating your online business can be a long and arduous process, or it can be done relatively easily. Just read all of the Web-hosting ads and it sounds like your site will be up and taking order before you can say "huh?"

There are many ways you can get your site developed and selling. In this article, we're going to focus on making it happen. We'll cover some of your options as far as the simplified tools you can use, the more complicated programs that can be used, as well as farming it out to the pros, and some of the other issues that you have to settle like your Web host and making your customers feel secure giving you their credit card numbers.

Looking for ways to help your online business succeed?

Starting Your Own Business Now!

So you want to start your own business. What sort?

Sole Trading
The simplest and most common way to set up in business on your own is to set up as a sole trader. You need to notify HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Tax is rarely simple, but if you are going to set up in business, being a sole trader is probably the most straightforward route for income tax, and it is relatively easy to set up and shut down. Financing it on your own can be difficult, and you are liable for everything if you get into debt, so your personal assets can be at risk.

Partnership
Partnerships can have full partners (who work in the business) or sleeping partners (no hanky panky, they just put in money and take a share of any profits). Working this way means that you can have more start-up money, more skills, and there is usually shared responsibility - if you are sick someone should be able to take over your work temporarily. The downside is that if the business fails and one partner runs off, the other partner has to pay all the creditors back on their own, although these days there is the option of a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) which could help reduce some of the risk.

Limited Company
These are the businesses with 'plc' and 'ltd' after their names. Setting one of these up means there is limited liability, so your personal assets can be separate from your business assets in most cases. You need at least one director in order to register the company. Then you have to provide the following details to the Registrar of Companies: your company name, registered office, shareholders, directors, and company secretary. It is more legally complicated than sole trading or partnership, taxation is different, and there is public access to accounts.

Cooperative
All workers in this set-up are entitled to a vote in decision-making, and profits are shared out equally. The amount of discussion in meetings often makes it difficult to have clear-cut plans or quick changes of direction, and group ideology may mean that the most financially rewarding options are not chosen.

Going Concern
Instead of starting a business by yourself, you can buy one that is already up and running. The assets, employees and customers are already in place, and a track record often makes it easier to raise finance. Don't believe everything the business seller and broker tell you, get all the facts checked independently, and make sure the business will pay you a living wage.

Franchise
This is where you buy the right to market a company's goods or services. A good franchise gives an instant market position, a well-known name, long-term support and a proven way of doing business. To check out a franchise opportunity, speak to franchisees in other areas about the business and the income - it may not match up with the figures you were originally quoted.