Author: Editor's Desk

Categories
Finance

Finance For Non-Finance – The Basics That Every Entrepreneur Must Know

लोन
लोन

Not every entrepreneur has to be a Chartered Accountant. But every entrepreneur must understand finance such that they can drive business growth, understand taxes and manage the financial health of their business.

A stronghold on finance for non-finance leads to the following advantages for the business:

  • A strong understanding of assets and liabilities
  • Strategic decision making based on data from P&L, Balance sheet and Cash flow statement
  • It makes your business ready for fund raising
  • Business becomes prepared to manage costs
  • The business is prepared to manage working capital

These Finance for Non-Finance tips can impact your financial decisions and can also affect the performance of your organization in terms of profitability. You will gain a basic understanding of Finance for Non-Finance concepts to drive your organizational growth.

Here are some important tips related to Finance for Non-Finance to understand your financial health:-

1. Know your Balance sheet/Report Card to understand your business

  • A balance sheet is a report card or a scoreboard that shows you the financial health of your business.
  • A balance sheet shows you the bigger picture of your company. It goes beyond the short-term view to gauge your business progress over the time.
  • A balance sheet helps you calculate the value of your company. You may not be thinking about selling your business anytime soon but having an idea of the value can give you an insight about your future plans.
  • A Balance sheet also works as an early warning system. Is your equity shrinking or growing? If your business is not producing growth equity, looking at the assets and liabilities on your balance sheet can help you find out why. For example, if your inventory is a part of your assets, it can turn out to be dangerous because if the inventory doesn’t sell quickly it can become your liability.
  • A balance sheet is a very important financial tool because it gives you an insight on the availability of funds to run your business in the short-term and also allows you to make predictions based on your current financial status.

2. Build a strong Cash Flow management

  • 7 out of 10 start-ups fail because of poor cash flow management. Running out of money is the most critical situation where most of the start-ups fail. You always need to know where the money is coming from and where the money is going.
  • Perform a cash flow analysis at least once a month. This will help you identify the risky situation and will help you move forward. It also records all the relevant activities for the current period.
  • Cash Flow management is the amount of cash collected and used by a company in a set period and checking on how much cash is available to perform other functions. This is one of the most difficult and critical aspects of financially understanding your business.
  • You are going to put your business in a very dangerous position if you don’t stay on top of your cash flow. It doesn’t matter how good your idea is when you run out of the money you always hit a brick wall.

3. Limit your fixed expenses in the beginning

  • In the starting stages of a business, keeping all your expenses low is an important key to longevity.
  • Utilize your major capital to grow your business, this will enable you to fight when the going gets tough in your business.
  • Many business owners focus only on the wrong things; like offering too many perks, fancy offices and forget that generating revenue should be their top priority initially.

4. Calculate your business costs and margins 

  • The cost to produce a good or deliver a service is constantly shifting. Changing economic conditions can also affect the willingness of your customers to pay the price.
  • Keeping a close eye on costs and adjusting prices to ensure strong profit margins as this is one common mistake entrepreneurs make.
  • A lot of times business owners fail because they acted too late to make necessary adjustments to the pricing structures.

5. Capitalization of the business

  • Having funds in hand to pay employees or cover operating expenditures can help you keep the business afloat. That’s why business owners need to ensure that they either retain enough earnings to secure sufficient loans and to manage through challenging times.
  • When it comes to understanding taxation, remember that both businesses and their owners are subject to varying levels of taxes, so a clear understanding of the distinction between personal and professional taxes need to be understood.

The health of your business completely depends on how much understanding you have of the Finance for Non-Finance aspect.  Above are some points on finance for non-finance you must know if you want to enter the world of entrepreneurship and run a business.

Categories
Process & Business Expansion

Which Franchise Model is Good For Your Business

सफल उद्दमी
सफल उद्दमी

Franchising is a superb avenue to explore while starting a business. Before investing money in the franchise, entrepreneurs should look for best Franchise Business Models which can work. While doing so, there are many questions that come up in everybody’s mind- 

Which Franchise Model will bear the most benefits? 

How are these models different from each other? 

What are the pros and cons of these models? 

If you’re one among them, then throw away your worries, we’ve got it covered for you.

COCO (Company Owned Company Operated) 

  • The COCO franchise business model is primarily run by the franchisor itself and the franchise partner only has a stake in the property.
  • COCO model offers franchisees a unique opportunity to generate profit from an established and well-loved brand.
  • The only thing required in this model is an investment. The franchisee does not have to engage in the daily running and gets a guaranteed return.  

FOCO (Franchise Owned Company Operated) 

  • In the FOCO Franchise Model the initial set up cost is borne by the franchise or the owner of the business.
  • The franchisee gets a percentage of revenue or minimum guarantee while the running cost is borne by the company.
  • The company will be responsible in operating it and taking care of all the things necessary to run an outlet, such as Marketing, Logistics, Staff wages, Electricity, rent etc. and the franchise is the owner of the business.
  • The company will also have to give a fixed percentage of profit shares to the franchise owner.

FOFO (Franchise Owned Franchise Operated)
 

  • In the FOFO business model, the company basically rents out the brand for a pre-agreed time period and a particular non-refundable sum.
  • Merchandising and money are decided by the company although the company provides a few similar benefits like in the FOCO model; such as marketing, print and electronic.
  • This Franchise Model is owned by the store, that’s why the operational cost has to be borne by the franchise itself. The Franchise has to assured the percentage share of revenue and the minimum guarantee to the company.
  • This model is adopted for faster expansion of business/brand by the company. 

For example; in a Fast Food Chain where the business is operated and owned by the franchise but regular audits are done by the company to ensure standards are maintained.

COFO (Company Owned Franchise Operated)

  • This Franchise Business Model is adopted by companies when they want to reduce the operational expenses.
  • In this model the company leases the operations to an interested franchise to ensure standards are adhered to.
  • The business ownership still lies solely with the organization, the franchise partner can be changed when the company identifies a more profitable and efficient franchisee.
  • This model is adopted by the company only in well established markets where the company has operated and got a high return on investment.

FICO (Franchise Invested Company Operated) 

  • This business model is similar to FOCO but unlike the FOCO the franchise does not involve themselves in the business operations.
  • Only a fixed amount is paid to the Franchisee by the company as an investment done by franchisee in the business.
  • In this model there can be multiple franchise partners and investors as the company runs the business operations with end-to-end control of the supply chain.

Hope this account has given you a clear Idea about the different kinds of models that are present in the Franchise Business. Hence, evaluate all propositions before getting into the franchise model depending on which side of the table do you stand.  

Categories
Sales

Grow Your Business Globally Through Channel Partners

How to build a successful Channel Partner Program?

Whenever you want to increase your profit, you always look at the sales team first. Your business depends on sales and therefore the team needs to find prospects, work towards getting the sales done, get signatures and close the deal. But a company just cannot rely on its sales force for revenue generation. And therefore, other strategies and programs need to be instituted. If the goal of your company is to boost revenue, you might need a secret weapon outside the sales team; a channel partner business. By partnering with channel partners, you can increase your sales numbers, drive new customers and grab the opportunity you may not have been exposed to.

Look for a channel partner that fits your DNA

  • Look for a company or a person who can ideally sell your product or services.
  • Make sure your channel partner fit is logical and long term in nature. Check for the cultural and competency fit too.
  • Understand if your channel partner is ready for this opportunity? Do they have all the resources to invest in this opportunity or partnership?
  • Analyze if they can make you reach your goal?
  • Do they have the skill set they need for a successful implementation?

Build relations with your channel partner

  • Building a mutually beneficial plan is the key to making a channel partner work. Make sure it is a win-win situation for both.
  • Build a relationship with your channel partner where they invest in selling your product the way you and your team do.
  • Your first partner should be the one whom you are familiar with and can trust. 
  • Make an agreement where your channel partners see enough value in the partnership for them to focus on it.
  • Work closely with your partner and build a strong relationship, if you want it to be effective. This will help you understand what works and what needs to be adjusted.
  • Build a team of relationship managers to maintain a relationship with the channel partners. For example; Bada Business Pvt ltd has a team of proficient 25 relationship managers to maintain relations, get feedback, and follow up with the partners and also check if all the formalities are in place.

Equip your channel partner with the right tools

  • Provide a sales toolkit to your channel partner business and show them what the selling process is going to be like.
  • Have multiple training sessions with your partner on how your product is pitched and positioned. This process will make sure they represent your brand well in the market.
  • Build a channel partner business plan that includes development assets like company videos, success stories, landing pages to encourage them.
  • Go the extra mile to educate and empower your partner with whatever they need, this will add more value to your company.

Make sure you can scale along with the new channel partner

  • Before approaching a channel partner, make sure you do your homework on them.
  • Build a solid team to handle the partner and divide them into regions.
  • Look for a partner who fits your DNA, then provides them effective training and sales tools to ensure your commitment towards the opportunity they bring in.
  • With a smart channel partner strategy, you can dramatically grow in no time.
  • Selling through channel partners can take your business to a new market effectively.

Bada business Pvt. Ltd. provides immense growth opportunities to associate with the brand ’Dr. Vivek Bindra’ as a channel partner. In this partnership each of the partners is focused on working towards solving the burning problems faced by entrepreneurs today. 

If you also want to work with a brand like Bada Business (Dr. Vivek Bindra’s initiative) as a channel partner and fulfill your dream and vision of doing something for entrepreneurs of ’Real Bharat’ then click on this link and fill up the given requirements:-

https://www.badabusiness.com/franchise-partners

Build a solid platform like Bada Business where the partner can exchange their ideas and create a lasting impression on your customers. 

Categories
Marketing

Importance of Online reputation management (ORM)

Win Customers through Online Reputation Management (ORM)

Online reputation management (ORM) is an important function to manage your brand or company’s profile online and on social media. Basically ORM helps to improve and monitor your digital presence. It analyzes your potential customers and what information will they get about your product or brand whenever they use Google search or social media.

With the growing popularity of third party reviews on websites, social media, and other online platforms, strong online reputation management is important for your business.

The online world has become a powerful platform for people out there to share and express their feelings and that is why companies need to be proactive and reactive to manage their online presence.

The concept of online reputation management 

ONLINE REPUTATION MANAGEMENT plays an important role in reducing the number of negative reviews about your company/product. Through the concept of ORM, a brand can insert new and relevant content that pushes away the unwanted content down in the search ranking. In some ways it also impacts the company’s bottom line and customer loyalty. An effective online reputation management strategy provides you with new opportunities and insights on increasing brand awareness and the love for it. It helps you build upon your existing customer base online along with attracting new customers on to your social media profiles.

Why ONLINE REPUTATION MANAGEMENT is important for your business

  • Business is all about building an image and improving it every day. It is important to make sure your brand is interesting and fascinating to attract new customers.
  • Before buying anything online, customers look for reviews online to know the brand, product, and its functioning. The preference of your customers largely depends on the search results.
  • Anyone can give reviews online, even your competitors can write negative reviews to spoil your reputation online. Online reputation management helps you to overcome all this.
  • With the help of ORM you can eliminate the negative content that is untrue; this helps in painting the right picture in front of the customer.
  • Online reputation management helps you improve the reviews and feedback about your brand and create a positive brand image. Customers usually pay more attention to a brand that has a positive feedback and reviews online. This helps to generate sales as well.
  • Online reputation management boosts the search engine optimization of your company.

A survey indicates that there are 90% of customers who read online reviews before purchasing anything, therefore ORM becomes paramount today.

How to check your reputation online? 

Before taking any steps, you need to analyze the online presence of your company. You can check your online reputation with the help of this checklist:-

  • Search your company or product name online and look at the top listing. Can you find your company or product name in the top 5 listings? If not then you have to improve your search ranking. You have to make sure that your company has a positive impression on Google or any other search panel.
  • Check if the information provided about your company or product is correct on Google search. For better visibility, you can list your company on Google my business account.\
  • Keep an eye on all your social media accounts. When was the last post you have posted? How many followers do you have? What kind of engagement you are building?
  • Do your posts represent your brand or not?
  • Look at the average response time of your followers.
  • Keep an eye on your Facebook and Google feedbacks & reviews. Check how many new followers you have made on these accounts.  Make sure you respond to each feedback and review.
  • If there is a complaint that has come up on any of your social media handles, address it first.

What makes online reputation management an integral part of your digital promoting strategy? 

Brands need to watch, evaluate and improve their product’s perception in the minds of the consumer by keeping a note of the below-mentioned parameters.

  • Improvement in the site’s ranking
  • Ratings
  • Search profiles.
  • Better brand acknowledgment via Social media, third-party review sites, web journals, and blogs.
  • Presence of improved Social media
  • More followers
  • Conversions through social media

This is one of the key reasons why modern organizations consider ORM an important fundamental for their business.

Let’s discuss four particular digital marketing channels associated with ORM

Let’s understand the PESO model:

1. Paid: The channel in which cash is paid to put the messaging out, and control its appropriation.

2. Earned: The distributed inclusion of an undertaking or an individual’s message by an effective third-party, for example, a writer, blogger, exchange analyst or an industry influencer.

3. Shared or social media: The go along sharing and remarking upon your message by the network through social channels.

4. Owned: The messages you compose, distribute, and control through your own, committed blog or other channels.

Paid Media 

Paid media incorporates all advertising endeavors that require payment to highlight your business on outside websites and networks. This incorporates PPC advertisement with Google Ad Words, show advertisements on Facebook, and supported posts on industry/influencer web journals and blogs. Paid media expands your range and directs people to your web properties by building new associations with accomplices and clients.

Earned Media 

Earned media portrays the presence of your business on external web elements for which you didn’t pay. It expects you to stand apart from your competition with extraordinary content, service, or products that customers also think is worth sharing, reviewing, referencing, and reposting.

Social Media

Pages and profiles on social media are “an augmentation of your image and make additional avenues for individuals to the interface”.  When it comes to social properties, it’s critical to dedicate the assets and resources to remain active on them by participating in discussions and distributing new content consistently. Video content, interesting contests, and tying up with Micro-Influencers can help boost your visibility, reach and engagement levels.

Owned Properties 

Your business sites and online journals are properties owned by you, which implies you have full power over them. Obviously, the more properties you own, the higher your odds to successfully formulate your digital marketing presence.

Online reputation management requires regular monitoring; it is not a one-day activity. Online reputation management will help your business in the long term if you keep an eye on your activities and the activities done by your competitors.

Categories
Process & Business Expansion

How to Transform Your Business From Physical to Digital

How to Transform Your Business From Physical to Digital
How to Transform Your Business From Physical to Digital

Move your Offline Business to an Online Business

Setting up an online business has become the new trend these days. The usage of smartphones is rising and so is the demand for an online market for everything. It’s time to get out of the traditional forms of running a business by adopting the path of Online Business Transformation. Ecommerce companies can reduce their physical infrastructure costs at the same time be available to customers at the click of a button from anywhere in the country.

Want to take your business online? Here are some key steps for easy Business Transformation.

Open a Seller Account –

Amazon is the world’s largest e-commerce company with an expertise in this for over 2 decades. One needs to register as a seller first on Amazon. Other online platforms are also available such as Flipkart (now owned by Walmart), Snapdeal, Myntra, etc. Opening a seller account is free of cost and the process is very simple. The seller just needs to add company details like:

  1. Name of the company
  2. GSTIN
  3. Bank Account Details (to receive payments) etc.

Creating a seller account is the first Business Transformation step that an entrepreneur needs to take

Product Listing –

The second Business Transformation step is to create a product listing. The seller needs to list the entire product range he wishes to sell online. A proper Product title, Bullet points, description, images, videos are required to create a good product listing. It is important that the seller should add as much information about the product with its price to make it easy for the customers to grasp and then make their buying decision quickly.

Order Fulfillment Method –

For easy Business Transformation, major e-commerce companies allow sellers to choose from different fulfillment methods i.e.,

  • Self-Ship – Here seller needs to pack all the orders themselves and take responsibility for the timely delivery of orders received within the given time period.
  • Drop Ship – The Seller is required to pack the products. Ecommerce Company gets the ordered product picked by their logistic partners. The seller is not responsible for any delay in delivery.
  • Fulfilled– Amazon and Flipkart have their own fulfillment channel called FBA and FK Assured respectively. Sellers are required to transport their stock to the warehouses of e-commerce companies in bulk. All the packaging and order delivery is then handled by the company itself.

Regular Payment –

There are no issues of payments when one decides to go for digital Business Transformation. Normally, the first few payments of the orders dispatched is credited to the seller’s bank account within 15 days. Post that, the seller receives payment every 7 days. The seller should keep track of all the transactions. Any delay in payments should be notified to the Ecommerce Company.

Amazon and Flipkart is very seller centric, they get these issues resolved in 24-48 hours.

Account Health –

Last but not least, the seller account health is very crucial for future business and this is a key Business Transformation step. Account Health or Seller account reputation is a reflection of customers’ good or bad experiences. When orders get delivered to the buyer, the Ecommerce player asks for customer feedback which is added to the seller account health. Satisfied customers can give a 5-star rating on the products; on the other hand, unsatisfied buyers will give lesser star ratings. This way the seller will be alert at all times and will supply perfect products to reserve the goodwill. Frequent negative ratings from buyers can result in the suspension of your seller account as well.

Easier said than done, right now these digital Business Transformation steps may seem easy, but providing a good quality product and strong backend operations to keep you ahead from the competition is a tough task. Today E-commerce deals in almost every product providing discounts and benefits to their customers. The customers take more interest to shop online than stepping out as they can buy whatever they want and that too at prices lower than the market. Going digital is cost-efficient and effortless for both sellers and consumers at the same time.

Categories
Powerful Personalities

Learn From The Best Leadership Coach in India

Learn From The Best Leadership Coach in India
Learn From The Best Leadership Coach in India

10 Reasons why you need a Leadership Coach

No doubt, there are many leadership coaches, but a few stand out, among them is Dr. Vivek Bindra, who has emerged as the top leadership coach in India. Millions of people have already heard his motivational talks and turned their lives and businesses around. His YouTube channel has over 12.5 million subscribers.

Market dynamics have also changed. To run a successful business venture, you must also learn to be an influencer and changemaker.

Listed here are the top 10 Reasons why you or your company needs India’s top leadership coach.

1. Re-evaluation:

The best leadership coach is the one who helps you reassess your strengths and weaknesses. A real business coach will not just be a motivational speaker, but will also have a thorough knowledge of business tools like SWOT, Lean, Kaizen and Six Sigma and many such other tools that can help you change the dynamics in your organization and impact your bottom line. These proven tools can be used by senior management as well as the junior-most recruit in your company. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses makes you question your belief systems and you come up with new solutions for your problems.

2. Decision-making:

This is a process in which people have to weigh the pros and cons of making business decisions. This can be quite intimidating for most, and that is where a leadership coach can help. He can make you weigh the pros and cons of each decision and help you develop enough courage and confidence to implement decisions when earlier you might have been hesitant and unsure. Dr Vivek Bindra has helped many corporates and their leaders to take critical business decisions that has helped them turn the table for their organization. Even for medium-size businesses, Dr. Bindra has helped them with strategies and decisions that have helped them expand their business to a different level.

3. Personality Analysis:

It is very important to know and understand your own personality and that of others’ inside out. Once you do a personality test, you will know the value of a personality analysis, which can be done once in a while. It helps you clarify what your needs and wants are. Complete personality analysis is best done by a qualified business coach. Such analysis can also help you get the right employees for your core team such that the foundation of the company and its people is super strong.

4. Defining your goals:

What are your goals? Do they align with those of your company? All your employees will have different goals, a different mindset, different motivations and different basic personalities. But an experienced leadership coach will help your company get closer to and acknowledge all of these and help you align these with your company goals. Many organizations host such sessions with Dr Vivek Bindra and their employees. His power to set a common agenda, and ways and means to align employees to the company’s goals and vision has helped many enterprises tread on the path to success

5. Acknowledging your uniqueness:

Whenever a person’s uniqueness, special talent or special skills are acknowledged, they feel validated and motivated to do better. The job of a business coach is also to understand and acknowledge everyone’s uniqueness. That’s where it helps to be trained by the leading motivational and business coach in India.

6. Problem-solving skills:

Running a business is like a rollercoaster ride in an amusement park. It has its daily ups and downs. Every entrepreneur must develop amazing problem-solving skills to run a business and this is not an easy thing to do. The best leadership coach in India like Dr. Vivek Bindra also has in-depth knowledge of the scriptures of the Bhagwad Gita and gives you invaluable tips from there to develop your problem-solving skills and at the same time, stay relevant as an entrepreneur.

7. Lead by example:

The best leadership coach walks the talk and inspires you to do what is right even when you are tempted to take the easy route. You learn how to run your enterprise or factory with business expertise and deeply entrenched ethical values.

8. Go For It:

A leadership coach in India like Dr. Vivek Bindra inspires you at all times to go for it – this is not empty talk but is deeply grounded in sound business wisdom backed by facts, figures, real-life examples and business strategies. A business coach uses examples you understand and helps you to do your personal best.

9. Fiery Enthusiasm:

We all know the value of a pep talk. It can energize anyone and everyone. Everyone needs to be motivated once in a while to step out of their comfort zones and to feel charged up and move on. That’s when you go all out to get what you want. A leadership coach like the visionary Dr. Vivek Bindra has proven himself to be that leadership coach in India who infuses his talks with fiery enthusiasm. When you listen to him, you can’t stay indifferent to his words. You have to get up and take action.

10. Surmount All Obstacles:

When you learn to overcome and surmount all obstacles, you really do become the

best version of yourself. And when you have reached your personal best, you can face any challenge both in your business and personal life. You can see the true picture as well as rise above any temptations.

So, go ahead and book yourself for a session with Dr. Vivek Bindra, so that you too can benefit from listening to the best leadership coach. He can come to your office to address all your employees or you can enroll into one of his online courses to benefit from his invaluable tips. It is the best gift you can give to yourself and to your employees to look at things from a new perspective.

Categories
Strategy

Small Business Disaster Planning Checklist

बिजनेस टिप्स
बिजनेस टिप्स

Risk Preparation in Business: Key to fight Natural Disasters

In India, companies are not generally prepared for any kind of disaster but it is imperative to have a plan in place. Many small business owners do not understand the importance of a natural disaster plan. Being a business owner you might be ready for internal & external business challenges but you should also be ready for the challenges that Mother Nature throws your way. Unpredictable disasters can cause extensive damage and might take everything that you have; but proper business disaster planning can reduce the loss. You need to understand that it does not take a major disaster to impact your business; even a power failure that can shut down your phone systems can lead to a revenue loss.

Before going forward let’s discuss the business disaster planning checklist:- 

1. Transfer all your business documents to the cloud

  • Whether your business is threatened by any disaster; such as fire, heavy rain, earthquake, permanent loss of critical documents can be devastating.
  • To avert the loss of your paper documents and records, you must move all your documents to the cloud.
  • Make sure you digitalize your entire systems and documents to ensure access to your employees to continue working on the projects.
  • Make a proper business disaster planning checklist to avoid any kind of hassles during the disaster. Make sure you train your employees and share the business disaster planning checklist with them so that they are also prepared for the worse.

2. Safety first

  • The safety of you and your employees is of primary importance during an emergency.
  • Every business must have an escape plan and should test this plan regularly with their employees to ensure its viability.
  • Make sure you provide proper training and workshops to fight back during a disaster.
  • Ensure business disaster planning, backed up with proper medical support.

3. Enough funds and insurance to cover the expenses

  • It is important to have enough funds to cover up the operational expenses, inventory, and payroll.
  • Do not wait for any kind of disaster to seek insurance. Insurance will help you and your business recover the loss that happened during the disaster.
  • The insurance policy can help you to cover the damage of inventory, building, computers, big machines, and antique cash registration.
  • Make sure you have 2-3 policies in your hand for your business.

4. Everything else

  • Make a business disaster planning checklist that is easy to access and clear to everyone.
  • Make sure your business supplies are well stocked.
  • Make a list of all the emergency contact numbers of your employees, including the nearest police station, fire station, lawyer, local suppliers, and utility or any other emergency management service.
  • You should regularly test your business disaster planning with your employees to prepare them for the worse.
  • Pen down all the important processes and functions of your business and bills you have to pay regardless of the circumstances.
  • Have a digital copy of your contracts, leases, and at least one person other than you should have the ways and means to access it.
  • Be prepared if the insured fund or loan fund does not arrive immediately.

Business disaster planning is one of those things that you should always prepare for but we hope you never use it. Building a business disaster planning checklist can help you go a long way in channelizing your disaster response mode. Owners need to be prepared for everything that can harm the business and they need to have a disaster plan in place to minimize the impact of the disaster on their livelihood.

Categories
Process & Business Expansion

How To Write A Business Proposal

स्टार्टअप इनोवेटर्स
स्टार्टअप इनोवेटर्स
create a winning business proposal
A Business proposal bridges the gap between you and a potential client. The proposal consists of key project details, summary and other key objectives about your business. It outlines the value proposition of your business and the primary purpose is to persuade the client to do business with you.
A solid business proposal increases your chances to win a new business. It is a definitive sales record, and answers all the concerns your client has. There can be tons of ways and approaches to write a proposal; from the content to the designing, each piece of a triumphant business proposal requires keen arranging and advancement.
Before crafting the perfect Business proposal, it is important to understand whom are you writing this proposal for, and hence it needs a little preparation.
Preparation
The arrangement stage represents the moment of truth for your business proposal. It guarantees that the proposal doesn’t simply say what your identity is, it recognizes why you are the best choice to serve the customer.
Think about these inquiries before writing a business proposal: 
  • What do they do?
  • Who is the decision-maker?
  • What are their primary concerns?
  • What support or assets do they currently have?
  • Which arrangement would give the best worth?
Here are a few points you need to know before writing an effective Business proposal:-
1. Start with the title
Your business proposal should begin with a cover sheet, which ought to incorporate your name, the name of your organization, the name of the individual to whom you’re presenting your proposition and the date submitted.
  • Make sure you include your name, contact information, logo, your company name, date, and details of the client you are submitting the business proposal to.
  • You should be very clear on the points ’Prepared by’ and ’Prepared for’.
2. Cover letter/Introduction
  • The introductory letter is all about the presentation, mission, and vision of your organization.
  • Start with a small company introduction, a concise background of your organization, and a short passage of what makes your business better and unique than the rest.
  • Highlight the accreditations, awards, and achievements of your company in the introductory letter.
  • Make sure your introductory letter is clear and ought to urge your customers to pose the inquiry.
  • Try to clarify the fundamental belief of your organization.
3. Table of contents
Contingent upon to what extent your proposal is, a chapter by chapter list is a pleasant touch. Incorporate it after your cover sheet or title page, and before you dispatch it into any details. In case you’re conveying it as a PDF, include grapple interfaces/anchor link down to each segment, so it’s easy to get to specific point and area. If you are sending an electronic proposal, make sure you are creating a clickable table.
  • The table of content depends on how long your proposal is?
  • The table of content includes the page number where each segment and sub-segments can be found for easy navigation of your readers.
4. Executive summary
Present your proposal with an incredible executive summary, one that truly sells your business and product you are offering’it clearly states why you’re the correct organization for the job.
  • Explain why you are sending this proposal and why you have the best answer for your prospective customer.
  • Mention how your organization and service is taking care of the consuming issues to make it more engaging and relevant.
  • Summarize the offer and the value proposition of your organization.
  • Your customers ought to have a clear thought regarding your organization and product in the executive summary, regardless of whether they read the full proposal or not. 
The executive summary covers the entire body of your proposal. It incorporates 5Ws and 1H. It includes the problem, solution to that problem, deliverables, project milestones, budget and pricing, clients & references, social proof, and terms & conditions.
 

Let’s separate it to understand better:- 

  1. Problem ’
    Here you need to give the outline of the problem that is affecting your potential client. Show them that you comprehend and feel their concern and the massive need to eliminate it.
  2. Solution ’ 
    You have to tell them that you know about the difficulties in the undertaking and give them a plan of how you would move towards solving the problem. Ensure you alter the solution according to the customer’s needs.
  3. Deliverables ’
    This segment characterizes the statement of work. Covey your exact timelines, manpower, cost requirements. This segment of your business proposal makes the data increasingly critical and time-bound.
  4. Project Milestone ’
    Here you will give the customer a smart thought of how the advancement of the venture will look like. Try to separate the task into a few stages and feature the key events and expectations required at each stage.
  5. Budget and Pricing Create a table for your financial plan that clearly shows your whole product and administration costs. Try not to overestimate the spending that frightens your customer. Be more specific with your costing to negotiate late down the line.
  6. Social Proof ’
    Including tributes and remarks from a portion of your fulfilled customers and clients help in constructing believability. Disclose to them why they should trust you. Have 2-3 effective contextual case studies of your past projects; this will build confidence among the other party that you handle the venture well.
  7. Terms & Conditions ’
    This segment incorporates the insights concerning the payment plan, venture timelines, how the proposition can be revised, and the span of the agreement. Terms and conditions incorporate an outline of what is concurred among you and your customer. Make a point to be extremely clear about the terms and conditions with your legal team before sending it.
  8. Final Touches-
    The final touch is to incorporate space for signature at the end of the document. 
A business proposal is your chance to exhibit your business’ abilities and your one of a kind strategy to address a client’s pain point. Focus on the length and language while writing the proposal. Keep it simple and clear for your customer. Building up a solid proposition should not be done in haste because thought through proposals can lead to big business achievement.
Categories
Marketing

Tips to Network Remotely During The Corona Downturn

How to keep Networking with social distancing! 

If you are one of those outgoing types who loved to network and grow their professional web face to face, don’t lose heart! Even though physical networking has been halted because of the Coronavirus outbreak, there are many ways and means to still get going.  

Be proactive in finding ways to build an online network with the help of emails, social media, webinars, and online group chats. This way you will stay on top of mind and explore new information.

Leverage the power of technology and you will find that in-person meetings are not required to develop and build relationships. Although we’re all practicing social distancing because of the Corona outbreak, here’s how you can maintain and grow your network while in quarantine.

Remember networking remotely is not difficult at all. You can still have your connections at a safe distance. 

    

Start by updating your LinkedIn profile:-

  1. Suppose you have not taken time out to make the most of LinkedIn, this is the best opportunity to update your profile and connect with people. 
  2. You can always ask your connections for recommendations.
  3. Stay connected to people who are from your industry.
  4. Join new groups you are interested in. Many groups and communities offer a high degree of interaction with forums, podcasts, training, offline events, etc. Take an active part in these communities; don’t just go to the sites.
  5. Work on your existing networks. Share unique content and posts that interest them. Start a conversation with your existing network and tell them about your work.
  6. If you are a business owner then connect with your clients to share updates and ask how you can support them even if they are not in a position to engage your services.
  7. You can stay connected with varied professionals and can get informed about the new stuff happening around the world.
  8. Smartly share your company, services or product details on LinkedIn. The point is to be as visible as you can.

Use Facebook and Twitter for professional networking

  1. Participate in Facebook and Twitter groups to grow your professional network.
  2. Facebook and Twitter allow you to connect, discuss, and network with each other with a common interest and topic.
  3. Start making videos to promote your business and build your brand. Make sure your video must be trendy and should have unique content.
  4. Post relevant updates, product knowledge and awareness about the service/product.
  5. Start doing surveys to know your target audience and their interest.
  6. Advertise on your platform; banners, sponsored posts, stories, go live with your service/product, brand mentions.
  7. Follow other companies of your interest and get updates.
  8. Focus on the right people. You need to concentrate on people who will be able to make a difference to your business or career.
  9. Find out some time during the day to contact clients/people you haven’t recently kept in touch with.
  10. Ask your clients, how they’re managing? Make sure that it is not a sales call, it is a goodwill call. They will remember it later.
  11. Try to take a daily break from work to send short notes to former colleagues and other contacts and let them know that you are thinking about them. It is friendly gestures like these that will help you keep you in touch with them.

Other ways to communicate online

  1. Blogging and email newsletters can complement your online networking.
  2. Both can also be time-consuming, as to remain current the material must be updated regularly in the minds of your audience.
  3. The Blog offers the audience a platform to get to know you better but it only works when your target audience spends the required amount of time to read it.
  4. It equally applies to online newsletters too.
  5. Fill the gap in between you and your audience and let them know about your products or services, build your brand, alert them about the latest updates & happenings in your company.
  6. Online Networking with a newsletter can help you engage with your target audience and generate support and interest.

Always remember that social media can be a very powerful tool to build Online Networks. It can also raise awareness and branding with regards to your business amongst the community if done properly. 

Be proactive in finding ways and utilize social media for Online Networking while maintaining social distancing during the outbreak.

Categories
Finance

How GST Can Benefit Your Small Businesses

Benefits of GST in business

The benefit of GST in business has positively affected different areas of the Indian economy. Depending upon the industry you work in, GST has its advantages. We are actually looking at low inventory expenses that can benefit the Indian economy in the long run.

Let’s discuss some advantages of GST in India:-

1. GST eliminates the cascading effect of tax

GST has been designed and implemented to bring indirect taxation under one umbrella. More importantly, it eliminates the cascading effect of taxation. Cascading tax effect can be best expressed as ’Tax on Tax’. To reduce this problem, the input tax credit (ITC) was created under the benefits of GST to businesses.

The concept is simple ’ you purchase the supplies for your business from different vendors and pay GST when required. Then, when you sell your service or products, you charge GST from your customers. Every month, the government authorities expect you to pay that amount in taxes.

2. Higher threshold for registration

Earlier, in the structure of VAT, business with a turnover of more than 5 lakh (in most of the states) is liable to pay VAT (Value Added Tax). Also, the tax depends on the nature of business you are operating in, and service tax was exempted for service providers that have a turnover of less than 10 lakh. 

Now, with GST coming in, the service provider organizations with turnover lower than Rs.20 lakh are exempted and take benefits of GST in business. In the case of North-Eastern states, Rs.10 lakh is the threshold. This will help small business owners to avoid lengthy taxation procedures.

3. Composition scheme for small businesses

Under the GST regime, small businesses (with a turnover of Rs 20 to 75 lakh) can benefit and pay only 1% of the tax of their turnover as it provides an option to lower taxes by utilizing the scheme of composition. This has moved down the taxes and compliance burden on many small business owners. The benefit of GST to small businesses in India has also helped at reducing corruption and sales without receipts.

4. The simple and easy online procedure

The entire GST process (registration to filing the returns) is made online with super simple operations. This is beneficial for start-ups, as they do not have to get into different registrations such as VAT, excise, and service tax.

5. The number of compliances is lesser

Earlier, there was service tax and VAT, each of which had their compliances and returns. 

However, under GST there is just one return to be filed. Therefore, the number has come down of returns to be filed. There are approximately 11 returns under GST, in which 4 are basic returns that apply to all taxable individuals. The main GSTR-1 is manually populated and GSTR-2 and GSTR-3 will be auto-populated. Under the benefit of GST to business, the compliances are now lesser.

6. Defined treatment for E-commerce operators

Before the GST regime, supplying goods through e-commerce was not defined. It had variable VAT laws. 

For example, The e-commerce brands were treated as facilitators or mediators by states like Kerala, West Bengal, and Rajasthan which did not require them to register for VAT but if the online brands are delivering to let’s say Uttar Pradesh, they had to file for VAT and mention the registration number of the delivery vehicle otherwise the tax authorities could seize goods if the documents were not produced.

All these confusing compliances have been removed under the benefit of GST in business. It has now clearly mapped out the inter-state movement of goods for the provisions applicable.

7. Improved efficiency of logistics

Earlier, In India, the logistics industry had to maintain many warehouses across states to avoid the inter-state movement and CST which pushed them to operate below their capacity.

However, these restrictions on state movement of goods have been lessened under GST.

As an outcome of benefit of GST to business, Instead of operating from other cities, the logistic aggregators have shown interest in setting up the warehouses at a strategic location which leads to a reduction in unnecessary logistics expenses and increasing profits for businesses.

As the GST in business eliminated the varied state taxes, It opens ups India for business. 

8. Convenient Filing

For a small business, one of the best things about GST is its convenience. In the old system, the owner had to pay and track a variety of taxes, which included service tax, central excise duty, purchase tax, luxury tax, countervailing duty, and many other taxes.

Under GST, the small business owner, only needs to pay a single tax that makes your monthly and annual returns much easy. That means you can stay compliant without spending much money on a tax professional. You can handle each step of the tax process by using the online GST portal, from registering for GST to paying your taxes.

The GST system is relatively easy to master for the small business owner. Once you get the hang of the forms and filing requirements, you can streamline your accounting to save time, energy and money.