Shannon Gronich – Page 23

How to Reward Higher-Up Employees at Your Business

August 3, 2022 by Shannon Gronich Leave a Comment

Everyone, no matter who they are or what position they hold in a company, likes to be appreciated. In the case of a company, appreciation is often shown through incentives, benefits, and rewards. While it certainly isn’t the case in every business, sometimes it can be easy to get a little too caught up in rewarding those employees who are lower on the ladder at the expense of some of your employees who are higher up. They deserve to be rewarded for all their hard work too, so what can you do to reward them?

Create an Additional Retirement Plan

Saving for retirement is (or should be) a priority for everyone. It’s not always easy to do that by yourself, however, which is part of why businesses that offer retirement benefits can be seen as more attractive to work for. If you want to do a little extra for your higher-up employees, you might consider creating an additional retirement plan for them. When it comes to saving for retirement, short of saving so much that you put yourself in a bind in the present, you’d be hard pressed to say you’ve saved too much. You can still offer them the 401(k) plan if you include that as a part of your benefit. You might also consider offering a cash balance plan on top of that.

Give Them Equity

Depending on how your business is organized, you might consider offering your higher-up employees equity in your business as a way to reward them. This essentially makes them the owner of a percentage of your company. It isn’t an option that makes sense for every business, in part because not every structure supports trading in stocks. A C-corp lets you provide stock options to employees. LLCs, however, cannot issue shares of stock.

Give Them Gifts

Whether it’s for a job especially well done, for holidays, or for other special occasions, gifts can be a great way to reward your higher-up employees for their hard work. You have a couple of ways you can go about this. There’s always the generic gifts that can be nice but don’t require much thought behind them. Then there are the gifts that your employees will really appreciate because you took the time to think about what might make a good gift for them personally. There’s a time and a place for both options, so consider your choices carefully.

It’s always a good idea to reward your employees for their hard work, no matter what their position within your business. Don’t make the mistake of forgetting to reward those who are higher up for all their hard work and efforts. What rewards make the most sense will depend on the situation your business is in. Take that into account along with your employees’ preferences so you can reward them in meaningful ways.

Check out this article on which business expenses are tax deductible!

Filed Under: Business

How to Maintain Your Company’s App

July 20, 2022 by Shannon Gronich Leave a Comment

In 2022, it seems like almost every business has an app for their customers to use. And while creating an app is an important next step to your business’s success, it won’t be effective if it isn’t well maintained. You need to make sure that your app is always in great condition by making app maintenance a regular part of your business practices.

Hand Management Over to a Dedicated Team

Some business owners, especially those who aren’t in the tech industry, think about apps as something static. However, this isn’t actually the case, and having regular maintenance is essential to an app that works well and serves its purpose. Having a dedicated team to take care of app maintenance can help you to ensure that the maintenance is actually completed. The team doesn’t have to only do app maintenance, but it should be a major part of their regular work. That way they can keep the app working great and looking amazing.

Keep the Software Updated

The software of your app is essential to its function. Updating your software gives you access to better features and better security. Making sure that the app software you use is always up to date can help you to ensure that your business is successful and that you have a high level of security. Make sure that your team knows when they need to update your apps and what updates are necessary.

Keep Up with Consumers

One way that many businesses forget to maintain their app is in order to keep up with the needs of their customers. Sometimes an app that was very effective initially can become useless or frustrating as customers’ needs change. It’s important to keep up with your customer’s needs by staying in touch and listening to their feedback. Industries change over time and that can make a great app obsolete in some cases. It is important to make sure that you are doing what you can to take care of your app and keep it aligned with the needs and values of the customers you serve.

Your app is almost a living thing that needs to be maintained in order to continue providing value to your customers. When you are on top of maintenance, it will continue to be an important asset to your business. Make maintenance a priority so you can make sure that your business is in good hands.

Check out this article on how to avoid regrets when hiring for your company!

Filed Under: Business

What No One Tells You About Running a Small Business

July 19, 2022 by Shannon Gronich Leave a Comment

Nothing is quite as scary, exciting, or fulfilling as running a small business. You might have heard all of the typical advice – about profits, insurance, and so on – but you may want to consider the aspects that no one tells you about. Here are some things to look out for on your first trip around the business block.

Progress Isn’t Steady

Business comes in cycles, and the reality is that most of those cycles are out of your control completely. That doesn’t mean that you can’t prepare for them and use them to your advantage. You absolutely should, as a matter of fact. Getting caught by surprise could have serious consequences, after all, since one big financial emergency in the early stages of a small business can kill the project entirely. Be aware that even if you’re getting regular customers, you may not be getting the kind of profit you might want or need for a year or even more. A lot of your money will go towards paying off loans, insurance, and whatnot.

The Busy Work

There are many aspects of running and owning a small business that have nothing to do with the product itself. Unfortunately, this means that your attention will always be demanded by something small or big. This can include accounting, hiring or firing, marketing, and a million other things – even just repainting the outside of your commercial property. And it’s not all unskilled labor, either. Accounting can be a time-consuming task that requires accuracy. Hiring new employees requires at least basic HR training on nondiscrimination. One thing you could consider is hiring professional contractors to help you complete whatever busy work you need done.

The Stress

Starting any new project is stressful. But a small, local business even more so, because its financial destiny can be so uncertain for so long. Thus, many first-time business owners have no way of regulating how much of their work can or cannot work its way into their personal lives. While it is important to make time for your business when an early-onset emergency demands it, you also need to create some healthy boundaries. That might mean setting at least a small amount of time aside for you and your family each week. It might mean delegating to business partners when you need it.

The reality is that every market and every location is different enough that you can only follow a list of guidelines so far, because your small business experience will be unique. That’s scary, but it’s also freeing. Don’t be afraid to plan extensively and then adjust as needed.

Check out this article on how to avoid regrets when hiring for your company!

Filed Under: Business, entrepreneurs

How to Get Your Best Employees to Stick Around

July 19, 2022 by Shannon Gronich Leave a Comment

When you are running a business, it is always a challenge to make sure that you can retain the great people around you. And, your business will function best when it is actually supported by a strong team of amazing employees. That means that you need to figure out a way to make your business the kind of place where your employees want to stay in the long term. This won’t prevent all turnover, but it will help you to keep your business full of great employees.

Make Sure Their Roles Are Fulfilling

The best employees want to feel productive and fulfilled in the work they do. That means that you want to make sure that you are giving your employees the challenges and support they need. It’s important for you to keep an eye on your employees and make sure that they are feeling excited about the work they are doing. When they aren’t feeling fulfilled, it’s important to make it a point to talk to them about how they can be better fulfilled in the workplace. Make sure that conversation is positive and that your employee knows that you want to help them to be happier at work.

Expand Your Benefits

The benefits you provide your employees are an important part of retention. You want to provide benefits that will support your employees now and in retirement. These benefits can also serve as a fairness check for own business, as safe harbor retirement plans help you satisfy non-discrimination requirements. When you offer great benefits, you provide your employees with support and a good reason to hang around.

Encourage Time Off

Over the past several years, many companies have started offering unlimited PTO plans as a way to encourage new employees to accept positions. However, this can backfire in terms of retention if you don’t actually have a strong company culture that encourages using that PTO. Taking time off for illness and vacation actually has a positive impact on productivity and helps your employees to feel supported in the office. It’s important that you offer not only a good PTO policy but that you create an environment where your employees feel trusted to take time off when they need it.

As an employer, you want to make sure that your employees feel happy in their work and with your company. Listen to their concerns so you can make the workplace a better experience for everyone. When you are able to create a positive work environment for your employees, you can keep them around longer.

Check out this article on what every business these days needs to stay organized!

Filed Under: Business

Major Costs That You Need to Control in Your Business

July 13, 2022 by Shannon Gronich Leave a Comment

Running a business is one of the hardest jobs that you can take on, regardless of what industry you are in or how many employees you have. At the end of the day, no matter what your business is, the key to success is controlling your costs and keeping them lower than your revenue. But if you have ever run a business before, then you know that the costs can quickly get out of control if you aren’t prepared. Here are three major costs that you need to control in your business to maintain success and stay profitable.

Office Space

Perhaps the most expensive cost that your business will incur each month is the rent on your office spaces for employees. The more employees you have, the more space you need, which means higher costs. The great thing about office spaces in today’s world is that you don’t need them. Most work can be done remotely, and especially when you are first starting your business, office space can be more of a hindrance than a help. Consider moving as many of your employees as possible to remote work so that you can keep office space costs under control.

Customer Service

Many business owners also underestimate how difficult it can be to control customer service costs for their businesses. Customer service is a critical part of your business services, but at the same time, you can’t spend every dollar you earn on customer service. Using chatbots for customer service can significantly reduce costs for your business. Most people just need answers to simple questions that bots are more than capable of handling. This lets your real customer service experts focus on the few requests that require personalized attention to resolve, saving you time and money.

Supplier Contracts

The final major cost that you need to control in order to keep your business success is supplier contracts. The businesses that supply you with products, supplies, and anything else are going to have monthly fulfillment contracts with you. But overtime, these contracts can get very expensive and can get in the way. Make sure that you are negotiating with your suppliers to get the best deals. The more you order, the more they will be willing to cut you a discount.

Running a business can be summed down to ensuring that your business makes a profit. In order to make a profit, you have to keep your costs under control. Make sure that you are aware of these three major costs at your business and how you can keep them under control.

Check out this article on what business expenses are tax deductible!

Filed Under: Business