Tips to Stay Productive on a Slow Day

The consultants at Corporate Business Solutions help businesses succeed. When we partner with a business to help with advancement, we often review and revamp employee practices. By doing this, we’ve seen firsthand that many employees don’t utilize slow time as best as possible. 

There’s definitely plenty you can do to pass time on a slow day. However, if you constantly feel that you don't have enough work, talk to your supervisor about long-term tasks or projects that will make better use of your time. 

If your company is experiencing a lull in work, here are suggestions to help you move forward:

• Organize emails- Even if you file every message in your email archives, there are some messages you should save on your company’s shared drive or in your personal files for later use. Save anything involving hiring or HR matters, but also those that you’ve used to diffuse a challenging situation. Also save great feedback you’ve received on projects or comments from a key stakeholder discussing why he or she participates in or loves your product or your work.
• Grab the phone - When you have time, take the opportunity to schedule catch-up calls with your clients and stakeholders. Start with small talk, then ask for their thoughts on how things are going or on any ideas you’ve been bouncing around. You’ll build trust and a spirit of teamwork, and you’ll strengthen the relationship. 
• Help out - If other departments are experiencing a busy season, this may a great opportunity for you to learn about other parts of the organization. If no one needs your assistance, look for new projects. Your boss will be happy that you took the initiative and notice your interest in the organization as a whole.
• Read - If you just have a short time to fill, focus on your professional development. Read articles on leadership, networking, marketing—anything that you’d like to know more about. Get the latest on sector trends or browse the big blogs in your industry. 

To learn more about us and / or to schedule your appointment with the business experts at Corporate Business Solutions, call us today at 877-357-9366.

Tips for Sending Holiday Gifts to Clients

Corporate Business Solutions  is recognized for using expertise, experience and education to access the information that is often necessary for growth in small and medium – size businesses.  

During the holiday season, we know many small business owners are looking for tips for sending out company gifts.  Here are three easy tips that may help you this season:

1. Re-check your list - There’s nothing worse than forgetting someone at a firm who has been a crucial part of your client relationship, so it’s very important to double-check your gift list. Consider including every individual who has played an important role in your business, or send a business-wide gift that everyone in the office can enjoy.
2. Choose the type of gift - Determine whether you want to send a more standard gift, like a basket of cookies, or if you’re going to tailor your gifts to each client. If you decide to send the same gift to each client, avoid cliché gifts, like pens and notepads. Whether you send a standard or custom gift, including a handwritten note or holiday wish shows attention to detail and tells your client that you care about them.
3. Don’t overspend -You don’t have to break the bank on holiday gifts. There are many ways you can express your gratitude without spending a ton of money. In fact, very expensive gifts may backfire by making your client uncomfortable or making them feel pressured to send one in return. You want to stand out, but ultimately, gifts are just a gesture. To avoid overspending on personalized gifts, consider customizing your gifts based on the revenue gained or length of your relationship—it can help you budget proportionately to the income you receive from each client.

To learn more about us and / or to schedule your appointment with the business experts at Corporate Business Solutions, call us today at 877-357-9366.

Small Business Government Contracting

The consultants at Corporate Business Solutions help the owners of small and medium – size business find their path to success.  We can also help contractors navigate through government contracting.  The SBA is also a great source for contractors looking to begin working with the U.S. government. 

U.S. federal government contracts represent a tremendous sales and revenue opportunity for small businesses because:

• The U.S. Government is the world’s largest customer
• It buys all types of products and services in both large and small quantities
• It is required by law to provide opportunities for small businesses

The Government’s Contracting Objectives

As you might expect, the government is very particular about how it purchases products and services. The general aims of the rules and regulations governing federal contracts are to ensure that:

• Competition is fair and open—The process of requesting proposals, evaluating bids, and making awards should take place on a level playing field with full visibility. Any business that is qualified to bid should be considered.
• Products and services are competitively priced. The government seeks pricing that is commensurate with its formidable buying power.
• The government gets what it pays for—The government protects itself by carefully defining requirements, terms and conditions for all purchases. Contractors must document that they have fulfilled all requirements and met all terms in order to be paid.
• Both the government and contractors comply with the law—Different rules and regulations apply to different types of purchases. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) or Defense Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) apply to most federal agencies. Individual organizations often have their own rules as well.

Government Contracting Opportunities for Small Businesses

The government is particularly concerned to include small businesses as it buys goods and services for several reasons:

• To ensure that large businesses don’t “muscle out” small businesses
• To gain access to the new ideas small businesses are great at providing
• To support small businesses as engines of economic development and job creation
• To offer opportunities to disadvantaged socio-ethnic groups

To these ends, most government agencies “set aside” a percentage of their acquisitions (what they buy) for small and disadvantaged businesses. In some cases, these set-asides might consist of certain types of tasks on larger contracts. In other cases, entire contracts may be designated for small businesses.

To learn more about us and / or to schedule your appointment with the business experts at Corporate Business Solutions, call us today at 877-357-9366.

3 Business Trends for the New Year

Corporate Business Solutions is a leading business consulting firm recognized throughout the United States. We offer the valuable information that is often necessary for growth in the small and medium – size business marketplace.

As we approach 2017, we are looking at business trends that are expected to affect the New Year: 

1. Cyber Security - The number of Internet users with portable devices is constantly increasing. Therefore, the number of cyber-attacks is expected to rise. Companies will continue to be concerned with potential cyber-attacks and privacy data breaches in 2017 and the impact that these incidents could have on them. These incidents can be catastrophic for a company, as customers may not feel secure working with them in the future or they may lose their competitive advantages that led them to success. Existing standards of the cyber security world will need to adapt to the current threat situation. 
2. Advancing Technology - Businesses are expected to invest in harnessing emerging technologies and applying them to their business roadmap. Business owners will focus on developing IT tools (ERM, CRM, etc.) and analytics and on building IT technologies to implement their platforms with insights they get from data mining. This year we will see businesses trying more effectively to leverage breakthroughs in science to use for their business strategy.
3. Improving Employee Engagement - In the upcoming year, all-size businesses will continue their efforts to improve employee engagement. As we have discussed recently, an engaged employee is one who is enthusiastic and fully committed to his job, working hard to achieve organization’s goals and improve brand image. Employee engagement is a competitive advantage for a company through its people. The top three drivers that the organizations should focus in order to maintain or increase employee engagement are career opportunities, brand alignment, and recognition. Companies are launching initiatives to ensure their workplace approach results in the right conditions for all members of an organization to give of their best each day.

To learn more about us and / or to schedule your appointment with the business experts at Corporate Business Solutions, call us today at 877-357-9366.

Business Tips for New Franchises

The consultants at Corporate Business Solutions help the owners of small and medium – size businesses find their path to success.  We realize that many business owners consider franchising because it can provide the opportunity to grow their business fast -- but it may not be for everyone. Below are five important tips that should not be overlooked when planning your franchise model:

1. Have a precise concept - As a business owner, you may be comfortable running on intuition. But as a franchisor, you'll want your franchisees to have a plan in place for even the smallest of daily operations.
2. Carefully chose a franchisee with care - Recruiting the right franchisees is one of the most important aspects of franchising your company. Don’t recruit the first potential person that initiates interest. Refrain from giving the first few franchisees special deals by being consistent in dealing with all members of your network. As a franchisor you must be aware of where the franchisee is getting their funding and what their repayment terms are. Lastly, a franchisee should be entrepreneurial minded but not so much that they cannot work within the franchisor’s system.
3. Invest in stringent training- Solid training benefits both the franchisee and the franchisor. Training helps franchisees ensure their employees have the right skills as well as rise to challenges that will most certainly come.
4. Keep tight controls- Control begins with the franchisor providing significant help in operating the business with a proven marketing plan. Beyond this initial start, it encompasses numerous aspects of the franchisee’s operations: promotional campaigns, accounting practices, personnel policies and being clear on hours of operation are just a few.

To learn more about us and / or to schedule your appointment with the business experts at Corporate Business Solutions, call us today at 877-357-9366.

Savvy Tips for Business Travel

Corporate Business Solutions  is recognized in the small business industry for using our expertise, experience and education to access the information that is often necessary for growth in small and medium – size businesses.  We help overhaul a business, including implementing accounting systems, information systems, organizing employees and improving productivity, which often results in maximum success.

We know that travel is required for many business leaders today.  Work travel is often welcomed, but it can also be daunting and tedious. For those with business travel on their upcoming schedules, we have fun tips that may help with your travel experience: 

1. Get elite status: Nothing beats having being an elite member of an airline insofar as travel goes as the perks are just great: Faster lines, free seat upgrades, first class upgrades, the ability to use their lounge in the airport, etc. You can do this by obtaining and using a frequent flier mileage number as well as getting an airline credit card. 
2. Invest in a great four-wheeled rollaway: Not only is checking bags is for amateurs, but a great rolling bag makes travel so much easier since a rollaway with four wheels can stand without you having to touch it, thus freeing your hands.
3. Purchase noise cancelling headphones: Although they are not cheap, they are worth it. Being able to shut out loud neighbors, a crying baby or engine noise when you are seated above the wing can be critical to your comfort. 
4. Skip car rental insurance: Not only does your normal auto insurance probably cover any problem you may have with your rental, but often your credit card does too.
5. Download helpful apps: There are many great apps available that make travel easier, and here are some of the most popular:

• TripIt - Turns flights, hotel, and car reservations into a simple itinerary. Additionally, the app allows you to get flight status, driving directions, and more.
• SeatGuru - Gives you detailed airline seat analysis, comments about seats which have limited recline, less legroom, bad windows, etc.
• TripAdvisor- When going to a new city, these crowdsourcing reviews of hotels, restaurants and more are invaluable. TripAdvisor is the world’s second-most-popular travel app (Google Earth is #1); it is estimated that it is downloaded 25 times per minute.

To learn more about us and / or to schedule your appointment with the business experts at Corporate Business Solutions, call us today at 877-357-9366.

Managing Employee Time Off During the Holiday Season

Corporate Business Solutions is a leading business consulting firm that works with businesses that have a minimum of 10 employees and $1 million in revenue. We offer the critical information that is often necessary for growth in the small and medium – size business marketplace.

Business owners often struggle with the influx in requested employee vacation time during the holiday season.  In fact, at no other time of the year do companies have to field multiple requests for time off. If handled poorly, this could hurt the business at an otherwise busy time of year – not to mention it can hinder your culture and brand.

To prevent potential problems you may have this year, we have general tips to help manage employee holiday time off:

1. Be organized - Many industrial businesses have their holiday schedule planned well in advance, and there’s no reason why a small business can’t do the same.  Send workplace emails and hold a brief discussion early in the year to help avoid any last minute challenges. 
2. Keep seasonal workers– When managing a business that is busier during the holiday season, or you realize many staff members will be gone during one specific time, a helpful option is to keep seasonal workers that you can utilize when you need extra help. It’s also a good idea to keep in contact with these part-timers through the year so you’ll know their availability in advance. 
3. Offer holiday pay - Money may be the main objective for many employees, even if it means they won’t be with their family during the holidays. Therefore, offering a holiday pay differential can keep your business staffed.  However, this practice should be part of the company’s structure and not something you offer just to entice an employee not to take off.  
4. Introduce a vacation blackout period - For some businesses, particularly retail, the holidays are the busiest time of year. This usually means the location needs a full staff, and often extra help. If your business falls into this category, a way to prevent employees from taking off is to have a blackout period where no one can take off.
5. Let employees work at home. These days pretty much everybody has a laptop, iPad or smartphone that enables them to work remotely. If your staff doesn’t have to be on site, letting them work at home during the holidays can be a productive way to get things done without having to bring in additional staff. 

To learn more about us and / or to schedule your appointment with the business experts at Corporate Business Solutions, call us today at 877-357-9366.