How to Find the Right Market Entry Consulting and Small Business Advisor

A lot of firms stumble in the process of internationalization of their business, identifying the right partners and the exact process to achieve success in a new market. Hence the question most CEO’s and business owners deal is with to whether they internalize all the activity or find the right consultants or international advisers help their businesses succeed outside of their current markets.

There are several process and cons in both approaches to market entry consulting. Having an internal business growth team helps having tighter control over the entire process and ability to quickly adapt and learn to achieve the desired results. However the pitfalls are a biased approach to a new market, existing success methodology-which might or might not work and steep learning curve required by an existing team

An external market entry consulting firm or consultant will add a lot of value in terms of market knowledge, proven process, track record and access to key decision markers that will help a business hit the ground running in a new market
A lot of small businesses hit a plateau in their growth within a particular region, product and/or service offering. The key challenge is to constantly evaluate the state of the business and ask the hard questions as to how the next wave of growth will occur in the business. Rather than this being an internal dialogue within the business it’s essential to get all the key stakeholders- customers, employees, partners and vendors involved in the process and provide their input.

A simple example could be taken of a local laundry mat or drycleaners. How does the business grow from say an existing customer base of around 500?

A business advisor talking with the business owner and other stakeholders can help define the existing challenges, current capacity, staffing needs and opportunity for the business. Will a new marketing channel help the business acquire new customers? How are the other competitors in the neighborhood doing? A simple survey of existing and former customers will defiantly add insights of how the business can be improved. Maybe the customer have taken deal offers in the neighbor to be granted and are keen to goto the laundry service with the maximum discount, or maybe the flyers of the service need to be provided at places with high foot traffic, prompt home delivery of clothes is something customers value and don’t mind a little bit extra.

A existing business owner sometimes need a fresher perspective of his/her own businesses to gather insights. A small business advisor offering that will certainly be in demand and can build a sustainable business of adding value to those types of clients...

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Calhoun Insights into Truck Driver Resources and Retention

Commercial Carrier Journals is tackling the issue of truck driver pay and industry retention of the drivers as the focus of a new three-part series.
The first article, “Weighing demand for drivers, Part 1: Shippers prepare for capacity crunch“ looks to cover the reasons behind the industry’s driver shortage in the United States, and the impact it is having on shippers, fleets, truck drivers, capacity and more. Kevin Jones is the writer as well as Senior Editor, Trucking Media sees that the simple solution to increasing the numbers of drivers should be to raise their wages. However it is not quite that easy. He writes:
“Though pay in some trucking niches has surged, it has been comparatively flat for trucking as a whole. Since 2003, wages for the entire for-hire trucking industry have grown 32 percent, slightly less than the entire private work force, at 34 percent.”
The article describes reasons besides stagnant wages why there has been what it calls a ‘persistent’ driver shortage:
- Older drivers: A large number of long-time drivers are approaching retirement age;
- New regulations: Many drivers have left because of new regulations like the Compliance Safety Accountability program, have pushed many drivers out of the industry;
- Productivity losses: losses due to new hours-of-service regulations will increase driver demand, and;
- Reluctance: Fleets are reluctant to add capacity in a sporadic economic recovery.
We need to face facts here: The last five years have not been great for the trucking industry as a whole. It is been a prolonged period of stagnation on the economic recovery front. And moreover, driver pay will not dramatically increase unless the trucking business costs lower or the industry as whole increases the volume of moving shipments. Under the current administration, it’s not an entirely promising outlook.
But in the midst of these difficulties, Midwest intermodal trucking company Calhoun Truck Lines has increased our driver fleet 35% this year. Much of our firm’s success relates to allocating more resources towards driver retention and driver education. We spent more time training our drivers and using a variety of incentives to retain our fleet. Yes, the overall regulatory environment and an evolving intermodal sector is difficult to manage in the midst of these changes. But we feel that this environment can present many opportunities for drivers to succeed and stay close to home.
If you are a truck driver and interested in driving for one of the leading intermodal trucking firms in the Midwest, contact us. Calhoun Truck Lines supplies intermodal trucking services throughout the Midwest from our locations in Chicago, Detroit, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, and Omaha. We would be happy to learn more about you and see if you are ready to go trucking with us.....

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How Boston Accounting Firms Can Quell the Fears of Start-ups

For a new Boston business, the unknown can be a very scary place. A lot of people have to advance beyond their fields of expertise and that can be extremely challenging. Having a guide into these areas can be invaluable, but the best Boston accounting firms can provide advice and somewhat of a partner for moving forward. The recession has made jumping into a new business an even scarier proposition than it usually is. Everyday on the news, scary statistics present how often new businesses fail and that can only add to the trepidation. That said, a good Boston accounting firm can help allay those fears and guide through a lot of issues that arise. What’s tricky is finding the right Boston accounting firm for what the business is looking to accomplish.

A new business may not have a lot of experience so it’s critical that their accounting firm does. Dealing with the complex state and federal tax code is something that can only be mastered with time and experience. With time, a good Boston accounting firm can find areas where a new business can save money and that can be critical as it takes a lot of time to accrue new accounts. That said, experience alone isn’t a guarantee of success. A Boston accounting firm that has five years of experience in a specific industry could be much more valuable than a firm that has been around for 20 years working with different verticals. It’s also critical to find Boston accounting firms that have a lot of time supporting start-ups because the needs of a new business are so radically different than one that has been running for some time.

The interpersonal relationship between a client and firm is important. Having a good relationship is important because the best Boston accounting firms will be serving as a guide to their customers and if the client can trust the experienced firm they will be much more secure in working comfortably and taking that advice. That customer service aspect is often overlooked, but creating a harmonious relationship is critical to leading to success. The biggest and most experienced firms may not have the time or inclination to work with a small start-up that they don’t have a lot of time working together with. Finding good references that attest to their talent is important, but finding references that indicate they have strength in working with these start-ups is incredibly important.

Fortunately, the economy in Boston hasn’t been as bad as it has been elsewhere. That said, Boston has a lot of challenges for new business that make them comparable to the issues faced for new businesses in New York and other big cities. For start-ups, finding success can often come down to the ability to save money on taxes and early expenses. Bringing in revenue can be very tricky for a start-up, so any savings and guidance provided by a Boston accounting firm is extremely critical to survival. Competing with existing companies that have an established client base is difficult and advantages have to be fought for......If You Like Please Visit My Blog ....

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Effective Marketing Strategies of Today

The term marketing is often perceived by many as the act of selling products and services. However, it is not just that. Marketing refers to the act of conveying the value of a product or service to the customers. Selling an article or service is just one of the various fractions of marketing. Marketing has not been in existence ever since the inception of business. Earlier when businesses had no competition, the term didn’t exist as such, although the practice of marketing did. With the increasing competition in the market, marketing has emerged as a gigantic concept and field of practice. In the present scenario, marketing is of great significance in businesses.
The marketing strategies adopted by business units too, have changed over time. Earlier, till late 1950’s business units adhered to a marketing approach focused on production. To bolster profit, they would increase production to the maximum attainable level. Later business units started focusing on Product quality. It was believed that till the time the quality of product is good, no matter what, the business will thrive. Later businesses started implement sales focused marketing strategies. In this marketing strategy businesses would focus on selling a product in multiple ways. In the present scenario marketing strategies are mix of all the above mentioned strategies and in addition to that business units make use of some more advanced techniques. Below are some of the effective marketing strategies of today-         
1. E-commerce: Present world is technologically advanced. Internet has emerged as a very effective tool for various purposes and marketing is no different. Organizations use e-commerce websites to run their business online. Consumers can go through the products’ and services’ images and description and buy them online. This helps even small business to operate across the globe. Besides the web portals businesses also use international payments structures to manage the funds. A software called Sage International Payments is very famous for this regard, one can learn how to use the software in few days with the help of a Sage training course. Perhaps this is the reason why this particular software is so famous.
2. Social Media marketing: Social networking websites have emerged as effective tools of marketing quite recently. Millions of people around the world spend time over various social networking sites. Business groups saw this as an opportunity and have started exploiting it. They use various strategies to engage target audience, keep them informed and bolster profit. Social media is one of the most effective modes of marketing, effective yet cheap.
3. Customer Relationship: Business now-a-days pay a lot of emphasis on customer relationship. They do everything possible to build and maintain good relations with the existing and potential customers. Many business organizations use various CRM softwares for managing the customer relationship effectively. Most of the small to midsized units use Sage CRM as it s one of the very efficient and economic software. Another that adds to its wide usage is that any new employee can be taught how to use the software inn just a few days with the help of a Sage eLearning course focused on CRM......

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Best Approaches for Healthcare IT Training

New and better technologies are essential for providing quality medical service to patients. Many health facilities are implementing enterprise systems software in order to better service delivery and improve their record management. There is need to ensure that the staff members are well trained in order to use these technologies effectively. There are a number of companies that offer IT training to health practitioners. It is essential that you select the best consultants in order to be assured of high quality results. Here are the approaches used by the best EHR training consultants.
Organic approach: The best IT consultants use an organic approach to administer the training. This entails clinical transformation from the ground up. It is meant to ensure that the system will answer the organization’s needs. It also ensures that your staff members are confident in using the new technologies. All the staff members should be prepared to adopt the new technologies in their normal operations. There should be sensitization to ensure that nobody interferes with the implementation process. The staff members should also be encouraged to offer their input in the software implementation process.
Advance planning: Advanced training is essential before embarking on the healthcare IT training. The best training consultants will develop a training schedule that will not interfere with the normal operations of the medical facility. It is worth to note that simply updating the technology is not adequate. There is need for true transformation through better technology and proper implementation. The best EHR training consultants should analyze your current capabilities and develop a sustainable transformation roadmap.
Peer training approach: The best healthcare IT consulting company should also use peer training in its implementation process. Peer training is meant to enhance the results and also reduce the disruption of normal healthcare provision. They will use handpicked educators to train staff who are available. The training will also be fast racked in order to minimize the training period. The staff members who are trained will be involved in further training of the rest of the members. The best healthcare IT training consultants will also make a schedule for training different departments in order to minimize the disruptions.
Post training support: The enterprise software deployment healthcare consultant will also offer post training support. This is aimed at ensuring that all the members are comfortable with the new system. The consultants will conduct an analysis of the usage of the new system after the training. They will also seek clarification regarding the comfort level of the staff while using the new system. Staff members are also required to seek further clarifications on the use of the system. The EHR training consultants will always ensure that everyone is comfortable with the new subsystem before they finish the training process.
In conclusion, health facilities are adopting IT technologies in order to enhance their service delivery to the clients. There is need to ensure that you get good healthcare IT training consultants in order to be assured of a good transition.......

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Business Coaching- The Changing Needs of Organizations

How we do business has changed over the years because of the changes that the society is also experiencing. If you have a business today, maintaining growth and profitability is not very easy. You have to be committed to the business and to achieving goals set for you to see success. Therefore, when planning on improving the performance of your business you might need business help from a professional. Business coaching is the professional help that most businesses seek to be able to attain their goals.
Changing Needs of Organisations
Business coaching has also had to undergo changes because of the different needs that business today have. In the past, most of the businesses sought executive coaching because they needed to address leadership issues that were affecting the growth of the company.  Therefore, CEO coaching was what most businesses sought. In addition, most of the businesses that sought business coaching were large enterprises.
This has significantly changed today with most businesses seeking executive coaching not only for their leadership but also to improve the performance of the whole team. Things like work life balance have become a major issue because businesses are discovering the need to ensure that their workforce can perform at their optimum level.
There is also an increased need for businesses to audit the talent that they have and find leaders among the employees. Most of the large enterprises seek business coaching to improve their performance and understand that for this to happen, everybody needs to get on board.
Increased Popularity of Small Business Coaching
Small business coaching has also been introduced in the market. This is mainly because the main players in the market today are small businesses that are providing products and services to the public. These small businesses have different needs from the large enterprises. It is extremely important when getting a business coach to choose somebody that understands the needs of a small business.
Most of the small businesses that seek small business coaching want to get the following:
Increase their sales
Find a business strategy to deal with competitors
Find ways to grow in the market
Identify leadership that will work for the business
Find solutions to problems that they are already facing
Small business coaching helps businesses to deal with all these issues. The first thing you need to do is identify the reason for seeking business coaching. This will help you in choosing the type of coach that you need. The business coaches will help you in addressing the problems that you have in your business. They will also help you to come up with solutions that will address the specific problems that you face. It is also important for them to help you identify new strategies that will grow your business.
A business coach will offer you a fresh, objective opinion when dealing with matters that involve your business. Small business owners can get very personal when dealing with issues relating with their business. A business coach will be objective when handling these issues.....

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Why finding a Good New York Bookkeeper Should be the First Thing a Start-up Does

New York City is one of the trickiest, yet most potentially rewarding areas, in which a new company can start a business. There is often significantly more competition, talent acquisition and retention difficulties because of how many other options exist out there, real estate is both expensive and difficult to acquire while we are also facing the trickiest recession in many decades. For a new business owner lacking bookkeeper training, adding those responsibilities and dealing with complex tax laws make it seem almost impossible to get a new business off the ground. Starting to allay those concerns can come from forming strong initial partnerships. Finding one with good New York bookkeepers can put aside many of these concerns and can truly help a new business focus on their core competencies.

The IRS and the New York tax authority have notoriously been hard on many start-ups. This isn’t done to pick on new business owners, but because a lot of mistakes are made in how new companies are drawn up and how they approach the tax code. A good New York bookkeeper can help in the case of that dreaded audit. A really good New York bookkeeper can make sure the situation is avoided all together if they are working with the start-up from day one.

Finding a good New York bookkeeper that can help avoid these costly missteps is a difficult process in its own right, but it should be one of the first things that a business acquires before doing much else. They can help draw up documents and create tax shelters that can be extremely beneficial down the road. The problem is that there are many bookkeepers, all with differing specialties and experience plus new ones are joining the industry all the time. Separating a good New York bookkeeper from a bad one can be a lot more difficult than one would initially assume.

Only considering New York bookkeepers with relevant start up experience is a good starting base point. Many New York bookkeepers follow the money and specialize on corporate accounts and large multi-national companies. These are some of the most talented New York bookkeepers, but that doesn’t make them a good fit for newer start-ups. A lot of accountants have good knowledge, but they may not have the time or customer service focus to properly work with someone just creating a start up. And by working with a company and its owner from day one will require someone who has good customer service focus. In these scenarios, it’s simple to imagine that a person setting up their first business will have many more questions and require significantly more guidance than a more experienced customer who only needs an accountant to balance books and file paperwork. New York is a difficult, but very rewarding place. Finding a good New York bookkeeper is also difficult, but finding a good one from day one can also be ultimately rewarding.....

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