Business Discussions

Hey there, friends! It's your weekly Friday edition of the Business Discussion page. I hope you've had a great week so far, and I wanted to finished up this workday before switching over to weekend mode with an article I read earlier. This post was shared on Forbes.com and discusses three things to know before turning your passion project into a full-time commitment. Let's break it down...   Details Matter There are so many details and aspects that go into starting a business. Thinking about them all before diving in can be crucial to your success. However, I believe most entrepreneurs would admit there are a few things they didn't think about when starting their business. Product and/or a service to sell and location, whether it be physical or online are given, but there's more. "For starters, entrepreneurs have to think about their financial goals and how to fund their business. How much will you need to start the business? How will you secure those funds? How much w

Happy Wednesday, and welcome to the Talk About Your Business page. It is the middle of the week, and I could use some motivation. How about you? Today's post is going to be sweet, short, and to the point. I decided that I would share some motivational quotes to keep you going. Here are a few of my favorites:   "If the window of opportunity appears, don't pull down the shade." - Tom Peters.   "I have not failed, I've just found 10,000 ways that don't work."- Thomas Edison.   "If an opportunity doesn't knock, build a door"- Milton Berle.   "The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing."- Walt Disney.   "Success doesn't come from what you do occasionally. It comes from what you do consistently."- Maria Forleo.   "Don't worry about being successful but work towards being significant, and the success will naturally follow"- Oprah Winfrey.   So the question of the day is, What is your favorite inspirational business quote? And what a

 Is it ever too early to start counting down for Christmas? I think not! We are only 37 days away! How exciting is that!   Welcome back to the Talk About Your Business segment, and I hope you are having a wonderful day. Today, I wanted to share a few pieces of life advice that will hopefully brighten your day. Here are a few of my favorites and what they mean to me:   "Always stand up for what you believe in, even if no one stands beside you."   I will admit that this can be hard and discouraging in certain situations, but always be true to yourself and do the right things despite the consequences you may encounter.    "Focus your efforts on lifting people up, not putting them down.”   You never truly know what someone is going through. We have moments where we feel very low and sometimes very high. It is important to be kind and show compassion to everyone, including the despisers.   "Don't spend so much time plotting the path that you forget t

Good morning my QuickBooks Community friends, and how are you? Today I wanted to introduce you to our new series called "The People In Your Neighborhood". This series will be centered on interviewing local and international small businesses and sharing their business journey.       I would like you to join me in this adventure as we travel over to the beautiful island of Antigua and Barbuda. Do you have your passport ready? Let's go!   We will be interviewing the lovely Remy Richards, a friend, and a recent entrepreneur, as she discusses her journey.   Just a little background about her business, it is located in the heart of the island, which is St. John's, Antigua. The name of her company is Just A Deal, which began in March 2020. The type of business she operates in is strictly electronics but has goals to expand. You can view her business page on Facebook called Just A Deal 268. Here is what she had to say:   What would you like for people to know ab

No matter which video conferencing tool you use, the idea of “Zoom fatigue” is one that has been on people’s mind more and more lately. With the move for many to work/school/everything from home, chances are that your virtual calendar has become much busier the past few months, and you may be feeling the effects.   So what is it, exactly? Basically, it comes down to the fact that while video conferencing is a great way to keep in touch, it does require more effort on your part than traditional in-person meetings. There are more distractions to pull your focus; your brain has to work harder to pick up on nuances in tone, you see your own face on video and become hyper-aware of your microexpressions, technology issues can cause distractions when you can’t hear someone or there is an annoying echo whenever you speak, and let's not forget about the random walk-ons from pets, children, significant others, etc. And on top of all that, you have to pay attention so that you don’t miss out

Well, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the first Friday of November! Can you hear the Christmas bells already? Haha, just playing; let's get through Thanksgiving first. Thank you for joining us here in the Business Discussions. Today, I found an interesting article by SmallBizTrends that addresses warning signs a deal will fall through. I want to share with you my top 4 indicators from the list.      Inconsistent CommunicationInconsistent interactions and no strategy are indicators of problems waiting to happen. Everyone should know that communication is the key to any situation, especially when making important decisions. If there is an issue where the client is continually shifting route or otherwise unable to make a decision, don't waste your time and money.   Lack of CollaborationOne thing to observe is the lack of cooperation. If the partner is not involved and does not include you in potential future plans, they are uninterested. A good business partner would

Welcome to the Talk About Your Business discussion!  This week I have been doing some training sessions, and it got me thinking that I should pose this to question to you guys. Do you believe training sessions are practical?   Training sessions are a regular part of businesses for many companies. Some types of training sessions, such as those covering safety practices, are often undertaken to meet legal requirements and now more than ever protocols for this pandemic. Other types of training are undertaken to improve employees' skillsets resulting in higher company performance. The key to creating lasting change in your company is not merely putting on employee training but also doing these sessions effectively. That brings up the question, what are some steps to make training sessions more effective? Well, let's find out!   Be ConciseA training session should only be long enough to cover what needs to be taught. If it can be done in two half-day sessions, do not stretch

   

   

   

Yabba Dabba Do and happy Friday to you, my  Community comrades! I am so sorry I have not been able to get the Flintstones out of my head after seeing a meme about it and can't stop saying the famous phrase. Moving right along... Quick question though, do you have insecurities validating your business ideas before you execute them? I most certainly have! During conversations with friends, there would be times where I would communicate my ideas but rarely act on them. Today, I found a gem from Medium on how to validate them. Let's see what they had to say.     Check if there is an existing market.The author states, "If nobody else is offering the product/service you're thinking about, it's pr

Hello,   What CRM do you use to keep track of your clients? And how do you like it? I'm looking for the way to have all info about clients in convenient way and to get reminders about upcoming deadline. I do not need to increase my sales and keep records about phone calls.  Thank you in advance for your thoughts!

Hi, friends! Thanks for joining me on this lovely Wednesday. It's great to have you back here on the Talk About Your Business board. There are a variety of topics to explore in this space, but today I want to focus on the customer-business owner relationship.     Connecting with your customers and establishing a relationship is a crucial aspect of business ownership. Connected customers tend to become repeat customers, which ultimately leads to success. I think this point can be easily overlooked, since business owners tend to focus on other points like marketing and advertisements. However, established customers don't visit your store or make purchases because of an ad they saw. They come back because they want to, because they consider themselves your friends, and because they fully support your business.   So now that we know how important the customer-business relationship is, you may be wondering how you can improve the association. Here are a few ideas to keep in

We're having fun with a lighter topic this week... superpowers!  Everyone has thought about it at some point, so we asked the Community team to tell us what powers they would love to have.       ++++++   @Ami_D, Community Moderator In a world that keeps a pretty fast pace, I would want the superpower to slow or stop time.   Imagine the scene: Halting time in the middle of a thunderstorm to touch the raindrops and admire the lightning frozen in the sky. Or slowing time to extend a long, fun weekend spent with family or friends. Even just an extra few minutes to enjoy my morning coffee is a superpower worth having to me!   For similar reasons, time travel is also tempting. Getting to relive happy or exciting moments, in my life or through history. But, I just don’t trust myself not to mess up the space-time continuum.           ++++++   @CoreyDenis1, Social and Community Senior Manager Every time this question comes u

    Ever pondered this 18th-century conundrum: “If a tree falls in the woods and no one’s around to hear it, does it make a sound?” Well, here’s a new version of the question, restated for folks who work for themselves: “If you’re open for business but no one’s buying, are you actually in business?”   Ouch!   Rather than think too hard on this brain-straining riddle, we’re here to offer up some strategies to ensure a steady stream of satisfied buyers are keeping your business not just open but booming. Maybe you’ve already read our checklist for getting ready for customers and our post about three key customer insights to help you build a better business. Now you’re ready to explore the next level of ideas and actions around growing and expanding your customer base.   Fact: A repeat customer is your cheapest (and best!) customer   Did you know you’ll spend five times more money attracting a new customer than you would satisfying an existing one? It’s not

Good Friday afternoon, Community! It's great to have you back here in the Business Discussion space. Before you head out for the day and switch over to weekend mode, I wanted to share a write-up I found on businessinsider.com. This particular article covers seven ways to surpass being just a good entrepreneur, to being a great one. Here are a few points mentioned...     Figure out first what you most want to achieve in lifeYou may have to dig a little deeper than you think to find the answer to this one. Do you want to be a work-aholic on the constant pursuit of more money, or are you looking to be successful with a balanced work-life balance spent with family and friends? Maybe you're somewhere in the middle, and that's ok too! Just make sure you're after your version of success and not somebody else's.   Stop dreaming about your passion and start acting on itAt the end of the day, month, year, don't you want to be able to say, "Wow, I remember when I did ____!" r

"Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion." -Jack Welch   Happy Happy Wednesday, and thank you for joining us here in the Talk About Your Business discussion. Today, I wanted to share some tips about creating and communicating your vision while being an active listener and motivated. Without further ado, let's dive in!     As business owners, establishing where you'd like your business to go and how you expect to get there is an excellent first step to make when creating a vision. This is of paramount importance because you can't lead if you have no sense of direction. Once you have created that vision, the next step would be to bring the image to life and relay that information to the rest of the team so that the entire organization is on board with the plans to move forward.   Now that the vision is set. What are the ways to communicate and pitch this plan eff

What day do eggs hate most... Fry-day? Ok, ok, I know that was very cheesy, but welcome to the best day of the week. Happy Friday, my Community friends! I hope you are looking forward to a weekend of relaxation. Before you close up shop, I wanted to share an article by Forbes about three important metrics your business needs to track. Well, let's see what they had to say, shall we?   Marketing reach Marketing reach helps you better understand your customers, for example, who will purchase your product, and who is your target market, to list a few. You can use followers on social media or people who have engaged with your website or email subscriptions for your metrics. This will let you know if you are marketing skills are paying off. An important thing to note is your conversion number. If it is too low, more planning and different strategies would need to be implemented. The author mentioned this example. If you reach 1 million and expect .01% conversion, this is

Hello All! I am Quanteya Crowell owner of QC Financial Services, LLC. I am a realtor and tax professional. I earned my Master degree of Business Administration in 2013, bachelors degree in Liberal Arts in 2009. I have experience working in the banking and hedge fund industry. In 2013, while residing in New Jersey, a friend of mine mother, owned a childcare center, asked for my help with a tax issue her business encountered. I was still working full time as an accountant. However, I wanted more people experience. I enjoy working and helping people. Unfortunately, I had little experience directly with the IRS or tax liability. However, I knew accounting and I love research. After intense research on case studies and contacting the IRS I was able to resolve her tax issue. I became her accountant, she was my first client. She is still a client I work with regularly. Fast forward to 2015 my family and I moved to Georgia. The companies that I was servicing in New Jersey still

Hi Community friends! And welcome back to the Business Discussion board. Do you ever feel there are certain times throughout the year where your business and sales may fall into a bit of a slump? I feel like that time may be now, with the weather cooling off and not as many people being out and about. It also seems par for the course with how the rest of 2020 has been. Today, I want to share a few ways to get out of the rut.   Storefront Face-liftIf you have a brick and mortar store, maybe it's time for a refreshing redo. Since I started working from home, I quickly grew tired of the same old view of my living room area. My husband and I decided that after having the same setup for 4 years, it was time to redecorate! While it isn't a business, the new and improved atmosphere of the space really produced some positive vibes. I'm willing to bet the same would happen for you and your business with some simple updates.Mystery BagsThis idea came from one of my favorite local boutiques

"Despite being the first stage of the sales funnel, prospecting is one of the most challenging tasks for sales representatives. Generating prospects is often time-consuming and it certainly isn’t as rewarding as closing a deal, which means it’s not uncommon to postpone this task until it absolutely has to be done. However, with the right strategy and commitment, salespeople can refine their sales skills and learn how to identify promising prospects quickly."Hi, friends, and happy Friday to each of you! Thanks for joining me for another entry here in the Business Discussion space. As we cruise toward the weekend, I wanted to share a business write-up I read earlier. This article was presented by USChamber.com and covers strategies to start prospecting sales to grow your business, which is always a good thing! Shall we take a look? Utilize social networkingI've said it before, but here I am to say it again. Social media is your friend and can be a great tool when it comes to g

It's Friday once again, we made it! I hope you all are ready for the weekend. I'm hoping to spend some much needed time with my family and just relax. I think we all need a little more of that, don't you? Anyways, today as I was reading through some articles, I found one from Forbes.com that discussed how to determine who your key customers are. After reading the post, I figured this was great info any business owner would love to know. Here's what the article had to say...   Take InventoryNow, I know what you're thinking. But this is actually a different kind of inventory. In this first step, the writer suggests taking inventory of your customers. In this process you'll be making a list of each and every customer group. This is also referred to as market segmentation.   Segment CustomersOnce you made your list, it's then time to breakdown each group further, into segments: Key Customers: "These are the people and groups that you see align perfectly (or a

  Is your business growing faster than your systems can cope?  If your business processes are starting to hold you back, join business and bookkeeping experts Lynda Artesani and Matthew Fulton to find out how a few simple changes could have an immediate impact on the growth of your business.        And if you are looking for more like this, make sure to check out our Ask the Expert playlist on YouTube.      

Hey there, Community! Thanks for joining me again in another Business Discussion. In my area, the transition to the fall season is happening quicker than I expected. The temperature was in the low 40s when I woke up this morning! As the season changes, now may be a good opportunity to make some small changes to your business. Focusing on several smaller changes can help you and your customers both feel refreshed. Here are a few ideas to consider...   Community OutreachIf you aren't already, one small (yet very impactful) change to make is to participate in some form of Community outreach, and then make it a habit. There's plenty of room for creativity here. One way to help in your Community would be to rally your employees after work or on a weekend and do a park clean-up project. You could advertise the event in your store and on social media and invite customers to participate with you. Another idea is to hold a food drive with all of your employees bringing in non-perishable f

  Dealing with late payments from a client or customer is simply no fun. And when your client is a chronic offender, financial tardiness is more than just annoying. Consistently late payments can severely curb your cash flow and put your whole business at risk.   Good news is your invoice can be a powerful tool of persuasion when it comes to addressing the late-payment plight. These five strategies related to invoicing and more can help keep your cash coming in.   Send your invoices on time. We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again. Nothing gets you paid faster and more reliably than sending your invoice as soon as it’s due. Whether your payment cycle is weekly, monthly or something else entirely (50% payment upfront with the rest when the project is done? Great!), stick like Velcro to your agreed-upon schedule.   Negotiate terms up front. Speaking of payment schedules, make sure you and your client agree to one during your initial contract negotiations. Put al