Business Insider Blog: June 2012

Easy Small Business Ideas for Owning Your Own Business

Please let me give you a few great examples of easy online business ideas. If owning your own business is something you have always wanted to do, but didn't know where to start, here are just a few simple ideas:

Selling personally purchased items online: This is one of the easy small business ideas that have become a booming business for many who enjoy selling. You can go from selling a few items on eBay to starting your own store and owning your own business. Just watch for great deals at your local stores, clearance sales and such, and then resell what you have bought with a respectable markup. Sounds easy enough doesn't it.

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Selling merchandise from a wholesale warehouse: Here is yet another way of owning your own business. There are businesses that will actually help you get a website set up and help you stock merchandise in your online store. Shoppers find an item they want, purchase it from your website. The warehouse ships them the product and you make the profit. This is called "drop shipping." You even get to set your own competitive prices. This too, is one of the easy small business ideas that attract a great number of entrepreneurs.

Affiliate selling: This can fall into this category as well. You get your blog or website started. Again, there are legitimate folks in the online world who will actually get you set up with a professional looking website and help you every step of the way as you learn all the ins and outs of owning your own business. Affiliate selling is simply having an advertisement on your blog or website from an online business. When someone comes to your website to look at whatever you have there and sees that add and clicks to that website and purchases something, you get a commission! Some Easy small business ideas can really be pretty easy.

Selling your knowledge or skill: Do you know how to play the guitar, banjo, piano? Offer some online lessons or locally offer private lessons on your website. Owning your own business doesn't have to be some mystical, complicated process. It can be as easy as selling whatever knowledge or skill you may have to offer. The better you are at what you do, the more attention you are going to get. Do a YouTube video show off your knowledge and talent. No telling where it may lead!

These are just a few easy small business ideas, there are countless others. Just the thought of owning your own business is exciting in itself. There is some great free business training available from folks who are truly interested in seeing you succeed in your business endeavors. Find something that really catches your interest, learn all you can and go for it. Hope you have great success!

Easy Small Business Ideas for Owning Your Own Business

Hope this has been helpful,

Marlin Prentice

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Communicate To The Four Main Personality Types

You probably know this already, but there are generally held to be four main personality types, which I call: Extrovert, Amiable, Analytical and Pragmatic .

Let's take a moment to consider each of them in the workplace.

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Extrovert: someone who probably has a messy desk; who leaves projects 75% completed then gets distracted by new, 'more exciting' projects; someone who communicates their ideas with enthusiasm and charm; makes instant decisions; hates 'paperwork' and the 'dull routines' of life, such as filling in order forms, checking bank statements, etc.; is usually 'fashionably late' to meetings, events and parties (and they love entertaining clients!); always has interesting screen savers.
Amiable: someone who is the 'peacemaker' in the office; is always striving for a 'win-win' in everything in life; someone who probably isn't terribly ambitious and striving, but is very happy to support and encourage others who are; someone who cannot say "No" very easily and so are probably on every committee going (whether they actually want to be or not); is more likely to make a decision on the spot if only to stop you 'hassling' them, otherwise will take weeks to make a decision (if at all, as they prefer others to make the decision for them); like to know what others are doing (in case they themselves are doing something inappropriate or foolish).
Analytical: 'GadgetMan' - has multiple PDAs in case one fails; has several computers for the same reason; adores punctuality; when they tell you they recently bought something they won't round the number up but will tell you to the exact dollar and cent how much they paid; loves playing with spreadsheets, charts and projections; will never make a decision on the spot; will buy a car based on fuel economy, servicing costs, resell value, depreciation and other factors, never 'because it's a lovely shade of blue'.
Pragmatic: a 'take charge' person; their view is the way things will probably get done; they listen to others' points of view out of courtesy or intellectual curiousity, but will still do things 'my way' ; doesn't take business rejection personally; not interested in how 'exciting' a project might be, only interested in how much money it will cost/make and how soon it can be implemented/built; very often the Pragmatic likes the colour ' Red '; doesn't have any photos of family or friends on their desk (too unprofessional); has a neat, organised desk.

Now, sales trainers have for years been pushing the line that we 'buy with emotion, and justify that purchase with logic'. But having seen a few Analyticals in my years I don't actually believe that to be the case. An accountant friend of mine in England never purchased anything because of emotion - he always poured over spec sheets from various manufacturers, weighed up the costs involved, considered his options. And because he was also part-Amiable he then let his wife make the final decision, based on his input.

Which raises an important point. No one is ever a 'pure' type. We are all a mix of the four personality types to some degree or other. Yet we also have a strong preference for one particular type.

I'm an Extrovert with a leaning towards the Analytical. I couldn't begin to count the number of my own marketing projects that I have half-completed here in my office; each one almost ready to roll but just in line behind the latest 'more exciting' idea I've just had. Yet I also love getting deep into Dreamweaver and working out how to tweak my website pages for greater speed, better search engine optimisation, tidy up loose bits of code, and so on.

But that's beside the point...

The real purpose of this page is to let you know that your business communications - whether they are email, web page, pdf brochure or even initial word of mouth introduction - need to appeals to the different needs of the four personality types.

How do you do that?

By making sure that your communication has a reasonably equal amount of the following:

* Facts and figures to appeal to the Analytical and Pragmatic

* Enthusiasm and excitement to appeal to the Extrovert

* Testimonials to appeal to the Amiable

Get that right and you have a greater chance of getting your message across.

Communicate To The Four Main Personality Types

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Farm Business Ideas - Turn a Lifestyle Into a Money Maker

People from time immemorial have always practiced farming. This being so, there very many farming business available and they can be transformed into highly profitable incentives. Most people have been able to venture successfully and made a niche business from these ideas. Such Farm business ideas are like;

* Herbs Farm-It is obvious that herbs and anything herbal nowadays enjoy a big following. You plant and take care of your herbs, then when they are mature you harvest them, take them to the market .Wholesalers, retailers, and manufacturing companies have a big demand for these herbs. You start small then as demand grows you expand and plant more. The only disadvantage of this business is that you need to have some prior knowledge about herb farming before you start out. This though should not be a hindrance to your starting the business. You learn as you grow your farm business. Furthermore, the profits are worthy the learning trouble.

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* Organic Farming-For farming enthusiasts, this is the ideal farm business idea. There is a big booming market for organically grown produce. Organic grown products have been scientifically proved health than the traditional grown produce. They really a big following and the market is quite hungry for these produce. Before you start on this endeavor, you should consider various factors. Start up financial investment is quite hefty, also this is a specialized type of farming hence you should consider getting an expert to help you out. Once it take off profits are huge.

* Flower farming

* Lawn care farm business

* Tree planting and selling business

Farm Business Ideas - Turn a Lifestyle Into a Money Maker

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How to Define a Business

Businesses are everywhere. They are the units that perform most of the economic activity in our economy. Most businesses exist to generate a profit. There are some businesses that exist to perform a function other than profit, such as cooperatives and non-profit organisations. The traditional definition of a business is an entity that brings together time, effort and capital in order to produce a profit.

There are many different ways of classifying businesses but here are the main types:

Business

Businesses can either be privately owned or publicly owned by the government. Government usually regulates business for a variety of purposes. This will include collecting corporate taxes. Also certain business pose a risk to the public and so must be regulated. Some businesses, especially extraction and manufacturing but also others, have a significant impact on the environment. If they were left unregulated, they could, while carrying out their functions for profit, do irreparable harm to the environment. Others, such as drug companies and pharmaceuticals must be regulated so that safety and health standards can be maintained. Drugs must be monitored so that any that begin to cause serious side effects are quickly taken off the market.

Most people hold the view that it would not be successful to have businesses regulate themselves when it comes to vital areas of the public interest.

How to Define a Business

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How to Structure a Good Bonus Plan

Bonuses Plans Should Be Universal

To get your entire staff pulling in the same direction devise your bonus plan to include all employees at some level and after a pre-employment evaluation period (often 90 days) with the company. Many plans include part timers as well as full timers but at a somewhat lesser share of the proceeds.

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Bonuses Must Be Significant and of Perceived Value to the Recipient

To create an incentive, the recipient must perceive the bonus potential as a significant addition to income. Otherwise, the bonus is looked upon as supplemental income or even a "benefit". There should be public (company) recognition of the employees' performance that resulted in the bonus to add to the perceived value.

Bonuses Should Relate to Individual Performance

One factor in the determination of how much an individual employee receives should be their rating as determined by their last formal job performance appraisal. All other things being equal, a superior job performance should command a higher share of the bonus proceeds.

Bonuses Should Include a Factor for Employee's Job Responsibility

It is reasonable to relate an employee's rating for bonus purposes to their overall responsibility in the company as determined by the number of employees supervised and/or budget for which they have direct control. General categories can have different ratings in the bonus distribution process (hourly/clerical, supervisor, department head or officer).

Bonuses Should Include a Factor for Employee Loyalty

It is reasonable to associate time with the company as "loyalty". An employee that has been with the company for 25 years should have a somewhat higher rating for bonus proposes than someone having only 1 year. A factor can and should be included in the bonus program for employee tenure.

Bonus Plans should be Based On and Pay a Predictable Share of "Excess Profits"

Set a trigger level that must be achieved before bonuses are paid and communicate this clearly to all staff. The trigger level should provide a base for company growth and replacement of capital. Many small businesses find that this occurs at the 8-10% net profit level but each company. It is to be understood that a portion of the profits above the trigger level will be shared. The % shared may be determined by company owners but should not be so low as to yield little employee incentive or so large as to give away the bank. Typically, this share is 25-50%. Disclosing the trigger level and distribution share percentage is at the discretion of the owner but the more open the system is the more trust, rapport and enthusiasm will be developed with the staff.

Devise a Distribution Method and System to Manage Bonus Disbursements

Devise a rating system that accumulates the value of the criteria mentioned above (responsibility, loyalty, performance). Aggregate the values for all employees. Determine the amount of money to be distributed as a percentage of "excess profits" and divide that amount by the aggregate points for all employees to determine the dollar value per point. Individual bonuses can then be determined by multiplying the individual's score by the average value per point. A spreadsheet can be easily set up to automate this task with only a little maintenance required to update employees and employee performance ratings.

Distribute Bonus Payments Frequently

Pay bonuses as frequently as practical but no less than once quarterly, otherwise the incentive is not kept in front of the employee. Annual bonus plans are not looked upon as "incentives"; they often are viewed as supplemental income (and an entitlement) or a "Christmas Bonus". Bonus payments should be viewed much like salespeople's commissions, if not, the incentive wanes in the average employee.

When Bonus Plans Are Not Bonus Plans

Avoid devising a system that pays on a percentage of salary as it is difficult to relate to the three criteria stated above (responsibility, loyalty and performance). Even though companies contribute mightily to savings and investment plans such as 401k's, do not look upon these programs as bonuses. They are simply supplemental income, and although they may affect loyalty, they do little to meet the other two criteria.

How to Structure a Good Bonus Plan

Robert A. Normand is Executive Director of the Institute for Small Business Management (http://www.isbminc.com) and author of "Entreprenewal!, The Six Step Recovery Program for Small Business" ([http://www.entreprenewal.com]). Mr. Normand has served as principal management consultant for more than 100 businesses ranging from 0,000 to ,000,000 in annual sales and has owned and operated several small businesses of his own in diverse industries. Mr. Normand’s small business philosophy is premised on the belief that small business management skills can be developed by busy entrepreneurs using readily available information, tools and procedures not found in business schools or formal degree programs. He can be reached by telephone at 941-330-0889 or by mail at 3751 Almeria Avenue, Suite A4, Sarasota, Florida 34239.

Why Use Facebook For Business?

Why should you use Facebook for business? That's a good question, and the answer is really quite simple. It's a tool that can help you interact with your customers and attract new ones. To ignore this tool is the same as ignoring any other tool available to you, such as networking, direct mail or special promotions. When trying to promote your business online, it's best to make use of every tool available. At the very least, it's a good idea to test it to see whether it produces results.

Why is it important to interact with your customers online? Your customers will tell you all kinds of things if you ask them, and you can use this information to improve your bottom line. For example, you might notice that you are hearing a lot of people say they would buy your widget if it was blue instead of red. By offering another color choice, you might be able to sell more widgets.

Business

What about using Facebook to improve customer service in your online business? You can encourage your customers to contact you through Facebook and let you know about any problems they have with their order or with the products they have purchased. This will give you an extra opportunity to resolve the issue to the customer's satisfaction so that you end up with a happy customer who will tell others about your business.

How can you use Facebook to spread the news about your online business? The best way is to encourage word of mouth. Start by asking your customers to "like" your fan page. Their friends will see it and may decide to visit and see what it's about. You can also run contests where customers post a status message about your products or services in order to be entered to win a prize. Anything you can do to get your customers talking about you will help attract new customers.

Why Use Facebook For Business?

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Don't Restrain It, Nurture It

I love it when I meet individuals who are intensely focused on their goals and have a plan for their success. In many cases, their focus is so unmovable and unshakable that they won't let anything get in their way. On the downside, however, one major character flaw that many of these individuals share is that they try to do too much on their own. Because they feel that they need to control every aspect of their quest, they struggle with delegation. In many cases they don't believe that, with a little direction and development time, others might be capable of doing it better, or at least just as well as they do.

I believe that there are two extremely important lessons that, once learned, will turn a good leader into a great one. Great leaders first and foremost hire talent that is sharper than they are themselves. A great leader will also develop the talent of those individuals in their organization that have the potential to become strong leaders themselves.

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Admittedly, hiring someone that might be sharper than you are takes confidence. Many organizational leaders readily buy in to sourcing talent where they may have gaps, but it requires a greater level of self-assuredness to hire individuals who may have the skills to replace you.

Remove the fear and become a great coach! There is already a high probability that individuals on your team demonstrate superior skills to yours in one or more areas. Why not help them improve upon that skill and assist them in becoming more proficient in a couple other areas? If you do, you certainly have a lot more to gain than lose.

I recall that one of the most talented individuals I sourced during my career worked as a technical service representative in a new organization that I was leading. This young man had been passed over for promotions numerous times before because his obvious potential intimidated some of the hiring managers above him. Within a two-year span, I promoted him three times to lead various teams within my organization. He often would let me know that he had his eyes on my career path and wanted to achieve a similar success. Instead of getting fearful, I relished the fact that I knew I had a winner who would always outperform my expectations. Talk about low-hanging fruit! This was more than 10 years ago and, today, this young man is living his dreams as a leader in a Fortune 500 organization.

Remove the restraints and capture the potential!

One of the most common restraints I observe typically occurs during goal-setting. As leaders, we often establish goals for our teams based on the objectives we want to achieve. We do this without considering the potential that we might be able to harness based on the skills of our team members. Inherent in this type of restraint is a failure to understand the scope of what is achievable. Your team member's goals might actually be higher than your own. Throughout my corporate career, my goal as a coach was to reap the maximum potential from every team member. I knew that the only way I was going to be successful was to make sure I understood what my team member's own short and long-term objectives were. Once I grasped that part of the equation, it was simply a matter of connecting their goals back to the overall objectives for performance.

There are many dimensions to team performance, but here is a five-step process that focuses on maximizing goal achievement after you have established your base goal:

1. Review with each team member his or her personal goals for the project.

2. If they happen to achieve their personal goals, determine if the delta is higher or lower than the goal you establish.

3. If it is lower, determine what coaching you can provide to fill the gap, and whether or not you believe that you can summon the necessary skills to fill the gap from your team member. Adjust your goal higher or lower, based on your confidence in your coaching abilities.

4. If your delta is higher, ask yourself what coaching can you provide that would allow you to adjust your goal even higher? Adjust your goal higher.

5. Determine what the total potential opportunity would be if everything worked optimally. Adjust the goal upward based on your intuition, experience and capability of ensuring that all the stars will align.

Assessments are necessary of course and I personally support using tools to understand where the gaps in required job skills may be, but great coaches are intuitive coaches who often have a sixth sense about individuals who have the desire to excel. If your team member is clear in what they want to achieve for themselves, it is usually a good sign that they are willing to put forth the effort necessary to reach an even higher destination. Don't stop them, even if it takes you beyond where you might be today, and into some unfamiliar territory. It will be a growth experience for both of you!

Inspired by the numerous teambuilding sessions I perform each year, I'm excited to launch the Robert Van Arlen Team Development Series in partnership with Illuma Studios, in Scottsdale, Arizona. This facility provides an opportunity for up to 20 participants (from the same organization) to experience a program that drives higher performance, using a creative process that is captured on video as a tool for continuous development. Participants will have the opportunity to create a musical masterpiece through learning, participating and directing teams of musicians and engineers who assist in the creation of the final project. During this full day event, participants will learn specific techniques for developing team cohesion and collaboration. Upon returning to their organization, the participant will be equipped with the skills necessary to achieve excellence through motivating and inspiring not only themselves, but their team members as well.

Don't Restrain It, Nurture It

Robert Van Arlen is considered one of the most versatile, energetic and effective speakers on the planet. His experience as a successful Fortune 500 executive ensures that the audience will receive...

A Motivational Experience That Lasts!

Robert Van Arlen is an expert in transforming organizational culture through a process called "Focused Synergy." Born in Honolulu, the former Fortune 500 executive built a reputation during his 15 year career of changing the culture of his teams from whiners to winners.

Robert gained international experience as the leader of the Canadian sales, service and technical support divisions of CCH Limited and its French counterpart CCH FM. At the young age of 28, Robert was assigned to lead a division of veteran sales professionals that were not performing. Within a few months, Robert had them aligned to the vision of being the top sales division in the company. His team accomplished their goal. He worked closely with the other international divisions based in the UK and Australia.

Private Lending

Private lending is usually done by specialists who fund ventures which have a higher degree of risk because they have thorough knowledge of the market segment that their money is going to be used in and clearly understand that the increased risk comes with the promise of greater opportunities in making profits.

Private lending requires the same due diligence that any bank or financial institution will conduct, however the criteria are usually less stringent. Private lenders will also ensure that there is a sound business plan, some financial involvement of the people who will be conducting the business, contingency planning, good business ideas, realistic forecasts as well as reputable, knowledgeable and professional people in the management before committing any funds to that business. Private lending is a realistic alternative to bank lending, especially if the latter find the proposals too risky to advance a loan. Moreover, private lenders tend to be more flexible in their approach to the loan repayment schedule and tend to give a patient hearing in case of genuine difficulties being faced by the business and can sometimes provide a wealth of information which may not be normally available to the people running the show, especially if he or she is in the same line of business. Private lending may broadly include venture capitalists and angel investors, however they tend to seek part ownership of the business or representation on the board as well as a say in the daily running of the business. These are activities that a true private lender would not normally get into.

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Private Lending

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The Importance of Corporate Strategy

Let's talk about strategy. A lot of companies that we work with spend too much time focusing on tactics and execution and not enough time really determining what their overall strategy is as a business and the impact on spending enough time at the strategic level can really have an stunting impact on a company's overall ability to accelerate its sales, gain market leadership, and really power up its revenue growth. A lot of CEO's get bored when it comes to spending time on strategy and they view strategic work as being theoretical or hypothetical exercise that doesn't add a lot of value to a company. But when you look a little bit more deeply, companies that execute really well usually start by having a strong foundation in their strategic objectives and their strategic plans.

Many companies that do well in strategic planning actually formalize this process and conduct it on a periodic basis and make sure that their strategy is updated and aligned with changes in the market, changes that are going on with their competitors, changes that are going on with their customers in terms of specific needs, preferences, and overall requirements. So, a company that does good work on strategy has a much better change at being successful than a company that neglects this important area. Strategy is all about setting the foundation for understanding how to be successful in a market and how to win.

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Companies that have a good go to market strategy or strategic marketing plan are in a much better position to execute, according to a company's overall vision and to leadership's overall vision, than companies that don't. It's the job of leadership to provide this vision and set the framework for building a go to market strategy that can allow the company to be successful in its target markets and achieve its revenue and profit objectives over time. Strategy is also important in terms of being able to align the different elements of a business together and make sure that all of the people in your organization clearly understand where the company is going and what's required in order to get there as well as what role they will play in executing the company's overall successful strategy.

When leaders don't spend sufficient time defining their go to market strategy, often times the company suffers and resources are wasted. Members of the team don't understand what exactly it is they are trying to accomplish. Resources are wasted as sales people hunt for opportunities that don't fit with the company's core strategic objectives. And in general, a company that doesn't have alignment on strategy, is under-optimized and wasting time and effort on needless things that don't contribute to the company's overall bottom line success and leadership in the market.

It's the responsibility of a company's leadership to set the overall strategic direction for the company and make sure that they are keepers of strategy as the company moves forward and evolves. Second of all, to set that and to develop it as a vision for the company that can be projected and communicated outwards to its market place as well as internally with its employees. Good leaders plan. Good leaders have a strong focus on what the company's strategic direction is and work to align all of the companies constituents, including internal employees, as well as clients, business partners, channel partners, etc. with the company's overall strategy.

The Importance of Corporate Strategy

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Diversity in the Workplace: Benefits, Challenges and Solutions

Workplace diversity refers to the variety of differences between people in an organization. That sounds simple, but diversity encompasses race, gender, ethnic group, age, personality, cognitive style, tenure, organizational function, education, background and more.

Diversity not only involves how people perceive themselves, but how they perceive others. Those perceptions affect their interactions. For a wide assortment of employees to function effectively as an organization, human resource professionals need to deal effectively with issues such as communication, adaptability and change. Diversity will increase significantly in the coming years. Successful organizations recognize the need for immediate action and are ready and willing to spend resources on managing diversity in the workplace now.

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Benefits of Workplace Diversity

An organization's success and competitiveness depends upon its ability to embrace diversity and realize the benefits. When organizations actively assess their handling of workplace diversity issues, develop and implement diversity plans, multiple benefits are reported such as:

Increased adaptability

Organizations employing a diverse workforce can supply a greater variety of solutions to problems in service, sourcing, and allocation of resources. Employees from diverse backgrounds bring individual talents and experiences in suggesting ideas that are flexible in adapting to fluctuating markets and customer demands.

Broader service range

A diverse collection of skills and experiences (e.g. languages, cultural understanding) allows a company to provide service to customers on a global basis.

Variety of viewpoints

A diverse workforce that feels comfortable communicating varying points of view provides a larger pool of ideas and experiences. The organization can draw from that pool to meet business strategy needs and the needs of customers more effectively.

More effective execution

Companies that encourage diversity in the workplace inspire all of their employees to perform to their highest ability. Company-wide strategies can then be executed; resulting in higher productivity, profit, and return on investment.

Challenges of Diversity in the Workplace

Taking full advantage of the benefits of diversity in the workplace is not without its challenges. Some of those challenges are:

Communication - Perceptual, cultural and language barriers need to be overcome for diversity programs to succeed. Ineffective communication of key objectives results in confusion, lack of teamwork, and low morale.

Resistance to change - There are always employees who will refuse to accept the fact that the social and cultural makeup of their workplace is changing. The "we've always done it this way" mentality silences new ideas and inhibits progress.

Implementation of diversity in the workplace policies - This can be the overriding challenge to all diversity advocates. Armed with the results of employee assessments and research data, they must build and implement a customized strategy to maximize the effects of diversity in the workplace for their particular organization.

Successful Management of Diversity in the Workplace - Diversity training alone is not sufficient for your organization's diversity management plan. A strategy must be created and implemented to create a culture of diversity that permeates every department and function of the organization.

Recommended steps that have been proven successful in world-class organizations are:

Assessment of diversity in the workplace - Top companies make assessing and evaluating their diversity process an integral part of their management system. A customizable employee satisfaction survey can accomplish this assessment for your company efficiently and conveniently. It can help your management team determine which challenges and obstacles to diversity are present in your workplace and which policies need to be added or eliminated. Reassessment can then determine the success of you diversity in the workplace plan implementation.

Development of diversity in the workplace plan - Choosing a survey provider that provides comprehensive reporting is a key decision. That report will be the beginning structure of your diversity in the workplace plan. The plan must be comprehensive, attainable and measurable. An organization must decide what changes need to be made and a timeline for that change to be attained.

Implementation of diversity in the workplace plan - The personal commitment of executive and managerial teams is a must. Leaders and managers within organizations must incorporate diversity policies into every aspect of the organization's function and purpose. Attitudes toward diversity originate at the top and filter downward. Management cooperation and participation is required to create a culture conducive to the success of your organization's plan.

Recommended diversity in the workplace solutions include:

Ward off change resistance with inclusion. - Involve every employee possible in formulating and executing diversity initiatives in your workplace.

Foster an attitude of openness in your organization. - Encourage employees to express their ideas and opinions and attribute a sense of equal value to all.

Promote diversity in leadership positions. - This practice provides visibility and realizes the benefits of diversity in the workplace.

Utilize diversity training. - Use it as a tool to shape your diversity policy.

Launch a customizable employee satisfaction survey that provides comprehensive reporting. - Use the results to build and implement successful diversity in the workplace policies.

As the economy becomes increasingly global, our workforce becomes increasingly diverse. Organizational success and competitiveness will depend on the ability to manage diversity in the workplace effectively. Evaluate your organization's diversity policies and plan for the future, starting today.

This article may be reproduced provided it is published in its entirety, includes the author bio information, and all links remain active.

Diversity in the Workplace: Benefits, Challenges and Solutions

For additional employee surveying resources go to http://www.alphameasure.com.

Josh Greenberg is President of AlphaMeasure, Inc. located in Boulder, Colorado.

AlphaMeasure provides organizations of all sizes a powerful web based method for measuring employee satisfaction, determining employee engagement, and increasing employee retention.

An AlphaMeasure employee satisfaction survey is fully-customizable and allows you to target the organizational topics and challenges facing your staff today. Designed by HR professionals from the ground up, the AlphaMeasure Employee Satisfaction Survey System provides an affordable, feature rich solution for deploying fully-customized employee satisfaction or employee engagement surveys.

Click here to learn more about employee satisfaction surveys.

Starting a Business in Times of Recession

Starting a business poses its own set of obstacles, which are common to any business venture. Indeed, when you start a business you must overcome difficulties like getting the necessary startup capital, building your operating structure, hiring employees, getting costumers and marketing your business in some way.

Once you have done that, you are then exposed to the risk of failure, which is always an option no matter how prepared you are. Of course, careful planning and organized execution of your tasks should lead you to a successful run.

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The whole process of starting a business (in the traditional sense of the word) can take months, if not years, from the moment you start planning (a step you should never skip) to the moment you start pouring money into the project to kick start your operation.

From there, provided that you are doing well, you will be in a recovery phase during your first year or so in business, which means that you will be paying bills, loans and other expenses you incurred during the startup, but you will not be seeing a dime in profits.

Therefore, starting a business leaves you at risk of losing your investment until you are well on your feet and stepping on solid ground, which means you have significantly reduced your debt and your sales are at levels that allow you to at least break even.

If you choose to do all this in times of recession, that risk multiplies by 10, and you are not likely to see a dime in profits, while you might take a big hit in your pocket of things do not go as planned.

Does this means that we cannot do business in times of recession?

Not at all, it only means that we must seek to do business in areas that do not demand a huge investment (as a natural alternative to reduce risk) and in which potential costumers are willing to take a look even in these difficult times.

These days people are spending less, so we must seek to do business in areas that offer value to our potential costumers, or in areas where we do not need costumers at all.

There are many ways to start this kind of business with only a small investment, but in order to do that you need determination and the will to really change the way you are used to doing business.

Starting a Business in Times of Recession

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