If you have decided that you want to build a scalable business, you’ll need to quickly learn how to lay down the proper foundations to support it. Not all profitable businesses are able to climb up the business ladder quickly. To build up a business, you need a business model that can quickly multiply revenue at a minimal incremental cost. For example, a piece of software takes a lot of labor to develop, but once developed, it can be copied repeatedly with the same minimum cost. However, a family restaurant is vastly different. Labor and fresh ingredients are costly, and while a family business can grow well and be profitable, it would be a poor business model. Here are some ideas on how to lay the proper foundation for a rising enterprise.

Set Your Business Plan

One of the most crucial mistakes when building a scalable business model is not starting with a business plan. Eventually, businesses will need to begin searching for investors and having meetings with bankers. Your business plan should be ready to go. However, a business plan is more than just a description of your product. Your business plan should contain information about the problem you’re solving for your target market, your solution, how your solution will benefit your target market, and the financials and forecasts to back it up.

Automate Wherever Possible

One of the key requirements of a scalable business model is that there is a set system for accomplishing tasks, and everybody follows the same system. Automating as much of your mundane tasks, such as data entry, is one of the first things you should set up so that you can save on hiring additional employees. You can also automate email responses and appointment reminders. At instances where automating is not possible, consider hiring a virtual assistant instead of a full-time employee to manage routine tasks. This will save you time and resources so that you and your key team members can focus your attention on the clients, product development, and potential investors.

Intelligent Sales Software

Many software solutions such as CRM and POS can help generate more sales, improve customer experience, and scale your business. When searching for software solutions, try to search for those that have integration functions so that you can integrate as many applications as you need into an application suite. Not only are application bundles usually less expensive, but software from the same family are also usually more powerful when synced together. In addition, adequate training and education on existing software can help your retail stores save time and money at the point of sale.

The Corporate Shield

Setting up your business as the right business entity can save you a lot of hassle and headache. While there are many business entities types available to register as LLCs and LLPs are the main business types that can help protect your business assets in the event of legal proceedings.

Building a scalable business model is a hefty enterprise that requires a lot of preparation beforehand. If you are thinking of building a business or is interested in making your current business profitable, make sure you follow these tips to build with a solid starting foundation.

If you need help setting up your business, I can help! Contact me to learn more about my coaching services!

It’s exciting to have your ecommerce site beautifully designed and ready for business. But that’s not the end of it, however. It’s very important to stay on the cutting-edge of technology if you want to stay competitive in this sphere. Could your site use any of the following updates?

Make Sure Your Website is Mobile Friendly

In this electronic age, the use of the standard desktop computer is declining. Patrons can now access their tablets and smartphones at an easier pace than sitting down and turning on their desktop computers. Professional tablets are now replacing desktop computers. Tablets are lighter, and the computer chip processors are in some cases faster than the desktop computers.

Every time you design your webpage for e-commerce, you want to make sure that you have a mobile-ready website for your business. People will normally recommend your business more to their associates with a mobile website. The mobile website should be easy to read, easy to navigate, and lovely to view.

Point of Sale System

It is prudent to understand all the tax implications of the dynamic and ever-changing economic nexus laws. States are collecting revenue from online sources because of the declining brick and mortar sales in their respective counties. The South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. case provided incentives for States to continue their aggressive collection efforts. The judge decided in favor of South Dakota in June 2018.

There are currently 16 states that have adopted economic nexus laws. A further eight states are considering revising their legislation to collect online sales tax. Businesses that sell to clientele in states that have adopted economic nexus laws need to update POS systems so they can collect sales tax from anywhere.

Once you understand which states have adopted economic nexus laws, you will want to determine if you will need to charge your customer sales tax from each specific state. This process should be easy and automated as possible. Some online ecommerce POS systems automatically collect sales taxes for you and send them to their desired destination. If this platform is unavailable for your business, you can purchase automation sales tax software to be embedded into your website for convenience.

Sales Tax Forms

Most POS software companies will give you a detailed analysis that demonstrates the amount of sales tax that were collected for each state. You can then use this information to file your monthly sales tax return. As always, you want to check for any sales tax discounts. The sales tax return can be submitted automatically online.

It is important to stay current with advanced technology for ecommerce websites. Utilized technology leads to a better experience for your clientele.

Get consulting from Shannon that will help you increase revenues, develop a high performance team, and avoid costly mistakes! Book a complimentary 30 minute Business Strategy Session here.

You can easily start a business on Amazon with little to no investment. Whether you sell your own products or act as a reseller, the e-commerce site offers a simple way to help you get started. Its Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) system functions as a drop shipper, so they can take care of packing and shipping for you.

Amazon lets you expand your reach easily. It already has more than 310 million active customer accounts, and since 2016, it has accounted for 43% of online retail sales, says market research firm Slice Intelligence. The e-commerce giant provides you with a ready customer base of online shoppers. Here are three tips to help you get started more quickly on Amazon.

Prepping Your Product

Pick your product. Make sure you choose something Amazon allows. You can speed along the process by choosing something that does not require Amazon’s permission to sell. Items that don’t need permission include beauty products, cameras and their accessories, home and garden equipment, home improvement items and sporting goods. Other categories, like clothes, fine art, automotive and grocery require approval to sell on Amazon. Banned items include weapons, illegal drugs, pornography, tobacco products and e-cigarettes. Once you find the right product for Amazon, the next step is to set up a shipping plan.

Go Pro

You can sign up for a pro account for $39.99 per month. This lets you sell an unlimited number of items on the site. Without a professional Amazon account, you’ll only be able to sell 40 items per month. You will also need to pay a $.99 cent fee each time you sell something as well as a referral fee, which is about 15% of the selling price of most products.

Brand Yourself

Establish your brand and keep it cohesive across all of your listings. Use your logo and store name on each product listing. Complete each product listing with a clear, relevant title and detailed, well-written product description. Include high-quality images that accurately show the product. Amazon provides space for nine photos per listing.

Sharing as many quality photos of your product as you can will boost your chances of success on Amazon. Your main product image should show the product against a white background. The other images can show other angles or sides of the image.

Following these simple tips can help you get started more quickly on Amazon. While nothing can vault you to top-seller status immediately, with a little hard work and perseverance, you can turn your Amazon business into a dependable stream of income.

A dynamic team culture has the potential to buoy your business to a stronger bottom line. In order to strengthen the bond of your team, it is important to engage them in activities that will build friendships and encourage trust. Although there is value in the typical company picnic or holiday party, sometimes it pays off bigger dividends when you think outside of the box when planning activities for your employees. Here are three unique activities that will strengthen your team:

Escape Rooms

Escape rooms are the latest rage in entertainment. During these adventure games, employees are split up into teams and have to compete against each other and the clock by solving a series of puzzles and riddles. This form of reality entertainment is engaging and requires people to work together toward a common goal. According to The Escape Artist, every team member is required to contribute to problem-solving, giving everybody a chance to connect. Escape rooms are ideal for new employees or those who have already spent a significant amount of time together.

Equine-Assisted Team Building

Horses are dynamic creatures that survive through teamwork, so it’s only natural to include them in team building exercises. Wonder Valley says that team building sessions with horses can teach trust, communication, nonverbal cues, decision making, creativity, and leadership. This new and different activity will give your employees a common purpose and teach them the value of trusting one another. The uniqueness of the team building event will keep everyone talking about it long after the day has passed. Just make sure you follow proper safety to avoid any accidents.

Obstacle Course

As corporate outings gain in popularity, there are more and more dedicated activities designed to encourage teamwork and to promote bonding. An obstacle course is a great way to get people moving. Many of these obstacle courses are specifically designed for team building. This means that they incorporate a variety of trust exercises and other activities engineered to bring people in your department together. One of the most popular forms of obstacle courses is a ropes course. JustWorks explains that a ropes course is beneficial for teams because during this adventure, people must overcome their fears and learn to trust their team members in order to reach the finish line. This makes this activity the perfect metaphor for corporate life.

Team outings can facilitate friendships inside and outside of the office while also reducing employee stress. Your employees will thank you for the opportunity to connect with others!

Do you need more help with getting your team to work more cohesively? Try a group coaching session!

The hiring process can be very time-consuming, which is a big problem because time is money. Forming the best team you can is worth all of that time and money though, so long as you’re creating it correctly. If you want to complete various phases as quickly as possible in order to save money, these three tips can help.

Use Phone Interviews

In small office buildings, phone interviews can be quite helpful because they help small businesses save money in a strategic way. According to this article, “phone interviews have several pros and cons. The benefits of phone interviews are: it can happen whenever, wherever, lowers pressure and stress, you can use notes without interviewer noticing, flexible, and no time or expenses for travel. The disadvantages are: more difficult to connect or build rapport, can’t read body language, less time for nuanced communication.” In order to understand how this tactic works, you’ll have to understand what happens during a traditional interview situation.

During a normal hiring routine, many potential hires meet at a business’s location, and everyone waits in a room until it’s time for an interview. Candidates will want to feel welcomed when they wait in the holding area, so a gracious manager usually needs to make the space inviting. The process of accomplishing this requires funds because a great holding area needs snacks, décor, and a television. By conducting interviews over the phone, you won’t have to spend money in order to make a holding area appealing for your guests. Instead, you can focus on asking important questions about skills and qualifications.

Use Pre-Employment Assessments

According to this article, “testing to measure a candidate’s hard skills during your hiring process allows you to save time down the road by validating and ensuring your new hire has the skills that you want and need in your position.” You can test a candidate by discussing possible situations that could happen after the individual is hired. For example, if you run a retail business, discuss how the individual would handle consumer conflicts. The feedback that you get will help you determine whether or not the person is a great business asset. If you’re looking for a leader, you’ll need a candidate who understands how to interact with teammates when a consumer conflict affects everyone. Since time is money, you must always take notes during every assessment so that you’ll make smart choices long after the assessments are over and save time and money in the long run.

Increase Your Reach Using Social Media

In some cases, a few people that you hire will earn a promotion, and you’ll need to find replacements after this happens. A position shouldn’t stay vacant for a long time because this could harm your company financially. The fastest way to find replacements and save money is by taking advantage of the tools available on social media. According to this article, “in 2015 alone, 84% of job recruiters were using social media to seek out job candidates, almost a 30% increase from 2011 where 56% of recruiters were using social media. As the internet becomes more and more prevalent in our everyday lives, it now has an effect on if we land that job we want or not.” If you run a campaign, you can narrow down the results based on skill, location, hobbies, and more. These options will help you find the right candidates for an interview fairly quickly.

Hiring is something that every manager will tackle on many occasions, which is why money-saving strategies are helpful. If you conduct phone interviews, assess candidates, and use social media, frequent hiring situations won’t dramatically impact your bottom line.