Small Business Layoffs: Tips for Those Inevitable Terminations

It happens: at one time or another, you’re going to be forced to lay at least one employee off.  It’s an unpleasant situation (unless you’re Donald Trump) to tell someone they’re losing their job, but if you don’t handle it correctly, you can make it a lot worse than it has to be.  Employers that fail to give some thought to the layoff process – especially in small businesses – can create the dreaded ‘disgruntlement’ in the laid off workers and create unrest among the remaining employees.

The first thing you should keep in mind, before you even get to the layoff point, is not to make promises you can’t keep.  For example, one business that started off as a home-based family venture and turned into a multi-million-dollar corporation soothed their first employee through hours of overtime, low pay and grunt work by promising that when the company hit it big, the employee would reap major rewards.  Then, during a downturn in their industry, the company was forced to lay off entire departments, including said employee, who was understandably bitter about the whole situation.

Once you come to the realization that you’re going to have to lay off one or more employees, it’s only fair to warn the company as a whole that layoffs are on the horizon.  This could make the whole process easier for you, since there’s a chance that you’ll have someone close to retirement decide to leave early, or give a nudge to someone who was considering leaving anyway.  All employees will have a chance to look for new jobs before the pink slip shows up on their desk, and nobody will get that awful shock that ‘came out of nowhere’.

Give adequate notice, especially if you chose not to announce that layoffs were imminent. Many employers take the attitude that if they give an employee too much notice, that employee will become unproductive or even sabotage the business, but this is extremely unlikely.  If you call an employee into your office on a Friday afternoon and tell them that they’re no longer needed, you’re not only going to anger the employee, you’re going to put your entire staff on edge.

Treat the layoff victims with dignity and respect. While you should remain professional, this isn’t the time for a small business to start acting like a heartless corporation.  Don’t be so matter-of-fact about it that you make it seem as if you don’t care about the employee’s plight.  In small business environments, chances are you’ve worked closely with the person you’re laying off, and they might be a very loyal hard worker.  Keep that in mind and be empathetic. And never, ever lay off an employee via email.  It’s just plain rude.

Other faux pas to avoid include notifying everyone but the employee of that person’s imminent layoff; having too many people in the room when delivering the bad news and having a security guard escort the employee out of the building like she’s a criminal.

In many cases, after necessary layoffs, you might find that you need the services the employee was providing – just not on a full-time basis.  If you’d like a laid-off employee to work on a contract basis with you in the future, make extra sure to handle the layoff with compassion.

How to Inject Personality into Your Business – Without Going Overboard

Every business owner knows that the single most important aspect of running a successful business is having a good product or service that people want to buy.  But, that’s far from the only ingredient in the complex recipe for long-lasting success. You’ve got to make your business memorable somehow.  In standing out from the rest of the businesses in your field, you’ve got to do more than just serve up quality goods at competitive prices.  Injecting some personality into your business will help customers remember who you are, leading them to come to you more often.

Many startups and small businesses make the mistake of hiding behind a corporate façade in order to come across as more professional.  Folks, looking professional is one thing – turning into a bland, boring, smaller version of a big-box business isn’t going to get you anywhere.  You’ll appear cold, stiff and forgettable.  You’ve got to stand out from the crowd – in a good way.

The first thing you should consider is: who are you? What makes your business special? Perhaps it’s your value system – the fact that you’re personally dedicated to making sure every single customer has the most positive experience possible, or that you take the time to treat everyone like an individual person, not a number.  Maybe there’s something special (and relevant) about your background or previous experience, something that makes you an expert in your field.  But even if you can’t define a specific trait that could help give your business ‘personality’, just making it clear that you’re real people will go far in giving your business a memorable face.

That’s where you’ve got a leg up on most big corporations doing business in your field.  They can’t mock your small business sense of ‘real people’.  Very few get away with it when they try – Wendy’s is one example, though they did take a strange side-step into weird, pointless ads for a while there.  So, if you’re still a family-run company with only a handful of employees, run with it.  The general public tends to associate better, more personal service with companies that project that ‘I’m a real person’ aura.

Here’s the thing, though: don’t take it in a cheesy direction.  You really don’t need cartoon characters or campy over-the-top ads.  Don’t confuse loud, brash attempts at forcing people to pay attention to you with showing personality. There’s also no need to plaster your photo all over everything.  An example of an effective, classy, understated yet memorable projection of personality – by a corporation, no less – is the Dyson vacuum commercials featuring inventor James Dyson, who talks a bit about his passion for developing an efficient bagless vacuum cleaner.

So, how do you go about projecting your new-found sense of identity? First, make sure your marketing materials read like a real person wrote them, not like the flat droning of a faceless corporation.  That doesn’t mean including grammar or spelling mistakes – it just means being casual and conversational.

You should also have a ‘company profile’ or ‘about us’ page on your website that has photos, a personal message and some information about your background.  People want to know who runs the company they’re giving their hard-earned money to. This is something you can also incorporate into your blog – show the photos and names of the people writing the posts, and include a short bio for each.

Finally, use the power of the internet.  Video and social networking are extremely valuable tools that can help you brand your identity into people’s minds. You can create videos that demonstrate or discuss your product or service, give a behind-the-scenes look at your company or delve into issues relevant to your industry.  Stay tuned to Biz Ninjas for more tips on using video and social networking to your advantage!

Photo via TIME Magazine

7 Ways Small Businesses Let Money Go Down the Drain

As a business owner, you’re probably painfully aware of the fact that you’ve got to keep a tight reign on your budget. Of course, that means no extravagant company parties or needlessly fancy office décor. Those things are obvious, but what about the little ways that money can slip away from you without you even realizing it? Even the most frugal of business owners can get a firmer grip on their assets by avoiding these 7 common ways that small businesses waste money.

1. Always buying new. For a small business, thrift store furniture and refurbished electronics are your friends. When you’re first starting out, you may be tempted to put fancy matching sets of furniture and brand-new top-of-the-line computers on your credit card, but there’s really no reason to. Simple desks, chairs and bookcases will work just fine, and refurbished PCs often come with a warranty that’s just as good as those on new machines. You can always upgrade later if the need arises. Of course, that doesn’t mean to buy total junk that will fall apart soon – but if you look hard enough, you’ll find plenty of items that are like new at rock bottom prices. In addition to local thrift stores and consignment shops, check eBay and Craigslist.

2. Failing to comparison shop. Most small businesses have to buy a lot of items and services – paper goods, ink cartridges, telephone service, internet, computer software, shipping and much more. Saving just a little bit on each could add up to big money each month. That’s why it’s so important to comparison shop. Use the internet to compare prices, and always ask each vendor whether there’s a special program or plan for business owners.

3. Focusing on the wrong things. Let’s say you’re the owner of an online store. You’re a technophile, and convinced that your site needs all the latest high-tech features to stand out from your competitors, so you pay programmers thousands of dollars for special ‘zoom’ technology and other fancy widgets. Meanwhile, you’re not putting enough of your time, money and attention into the most important facet of your business: sales. Never put sales on the back burner – no matter what else you’re trying to accomplish at the same time.

4. Skipping low-cost and no-cost marketing strategies. Paying top dollar for television ads, Val-pak direct mail packages and flyers may not be worth it if nobody’s familiar with your business yet. Take advantage of all the free ways to market your business online – they’re plentiful, and easy to master. Check out our previous post, “Marketing with No Money: Using Social Media to Grow Your Offline Business”.

5. Not knowing how successful your ad campaigns are. It’s really important to keep track of whether your latest marketing venture actually got you any sales. You may be using dozens of different marketing devices all at once, from e-mail campaigns to yellow page ads, but if you’re not keeping track, you won’t be able to tell which ones are actually working and could continue wasting money on the ones that aren’t drawing in any sales.

6. Using too many keywords in Google AdWords. Newbies to this online marketing tool often think more is better when choosing keywords for ad campaigns; it’s best to stick with a few targeted keywords that will get you visitors that will actually buy something from you. Use this free keyword suggestion tool to make a list and then place only a few keywords in each ad group.

7. Having too many employees. Remember that graphic designers, writers, accountants and HR can all be hired as independent contractors, which will save you big money on taxes and benefits. There’s no need to have in-house employees for jobs like these. Just make sure that you’re familiar with the characteristics that classify a worker as an independent contractor, or you could face penalties.

Print Marketing: What’s Essential and What to Skip

There’s no doubt that the business world is increasingly web-based.  Companies are more wired than ever, with web sites, search marketing, social networking and other electronic means of getting their name out there.  That’s great – the web is full of opportunities and potential – but that doesn’t mean you’ll never need paper again.  Far from it.  While you may want to cut back on business-related paper items, whether to be more eco-friendly or to save money and space, some items are indispensable.

Rhonda Abrams of USA Today names the following items as essentials:

• Business cards
• Brochures
• Price lists
• Catalogs
• Sales sheets
• Flyers/postcards

The reasoning behind this is simple: you still need face-to-face marketing, and for people to remember your product or service, you need to leave them with something tangible. Printed materials make you look prepared, knowledgeable and professional and ensure that prospects have all of the important details as well as relevant visuals. Nicely done printed materials that include your logo also function as your brand identity system, helping to solidify your company’s presence in the market.

On that note, what are the items you can skip? Print companies will push a lot of add-ons when you place an order, mostly consisting of the sort of stuff that people throw away – calendars, stationary, holiday cards and the like. For most companies, this kind of stuff is a waste of money.  Concentrate on the important items above and you’ll get the biggest bang for your marketing buck.

If you’re a small business and only need a limited number of printed items, you can get away with printing some of it in-house (provided you have a good quality printer).  If you’re going to do this, however, stick to price lists, sales sheets and flyers – it’s unlikely your business cards or brochures will come out looking professional enough.

There are plenty of inexpensive places to get business materials printed up if you’re on a limited budget and can’t afford to work with a local printer.  Check out VistaPrint.com, 123print.com and PsPrint.com, all of which offer good quality for low prices (just watch out for those add-ons!).

Photo credit: Flickr user rahim

8 Steps to Keeping Your Business PCs Secure

The last thing any business wants is to lose all of their data or give outsiders access to sensitive information. Both scenarios could potentially destroy a small business, and yet so many business owners fail to stay on top of computer security. You may think, ‘I’m not an IT expert, how can I make sure it’s secure?’ It’s easier than you think. Here are 8 simple steps to keeping your business network safe and secure.

1. Keep your anti-virus up to date on all company computers. We’re assuming that you have anti-virus software installed already, of course, because that’s the single most important thing you can do to protect your PCs. Many programs update automatically, which is the best option for companies with many computers and no dedicated IT person.

2. Run anti-spyware programs regularly to keep malware off your computers. ‘Malware’ is a generic term for software that collects personal information and sends it to a third party. It might collect your browsing history in order to serve up targeted ads or it could do something more malicious, like log your keystrokes. Anti-spyware programs seek out and remove this software. A few good ones are Ad-Aware, Spybot Search and Destroy and Spyware Doctor.

3. Set up a firewall. Firewalls protect the computers on your network from outside threats by screening traffic and blocking unauthorized attempts to access data. It’s best to have a security expert configure your firewall, if possible, since getting the right balance of protection vs. inhibiting users from doing their work can be tricky.

4. Teach employees how to use email safely. This may seem like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised at how many people still open suspicious files. If you don’t recognize the email address of the person who sent the attachment, don’t open the file.

5. Create an IT security policy. In addition to asking employees not to open suspicious email attachments, ban downloading executable files (.exe), which could be harmful. Most employees shouldn’t have a real reason to download programs onto their work computers. You should also include a line that states that employees may not attempt to gain entry to any network, system, service or data they’re not authorized to access.

6. Keep your operating systems up to date. Older operating systems (like, for example, Windows98) are more susceptible to attacks. For PCs, Windows XP Professional is most secure. If you’ve got Macs, go with OSX. Download updates when they become available – they often include patches that will increase security.

7. Secure your wireless network. Not everyone who accesses your unsecured wireless network is innocently trying to find an internet connection. Unsecured wireless networks give hackers an easy way into your computers. For a guide to securing your wireless network, see PC World.

8. Use password protection. Password protect all important data files. That way, if your computers ever got stolen, the thieves wouldn’t be able to access sensitive data. (Of course, you should have backups of all of your data that are kept constantly up-to-date!). Instructions for password-protecting Windows files and folders can be found here. Instructions for encrypting files and folders on a Mac can be found at MacWorld.

Establishing Your Identity: 8 Branding Tips for Small Businesses

It’s absolutely crucial that your customers know who you are and what you do. It sounds elementary, but many businesses forget that making a strong impression on the minds of the public is a major component of success. You don’t have to be a huge corporation to use ‘branding’ to your advantage – small businesses can get in on the game, too, with simple tips that will help you stand out against the crowd.

Have a website, even if you’re an offline business. In today’s technology-oriented world, potential customers are going to be searching online for information about all kinds of different products and services, and they’ll often choose the business that has the most information available online. Your website should be professional, reflect your brand image, have an ‘about us’ page (see above), include basic information about your products or services and testimonials, if applicable.

Your logo is important, but don’t sweat it too much. Yes, your logo will be on all of your marketing materials, from your website and blog to your business cards and letterhead. It should definitely be well designed by a professional, and fit who you are and what you do. However, it’s not the end-all be-all of branding and it will rarely act to increase sales. The most important thing is making sure it ends up on every piece of your communication, to help establish your brand identity. Consistency is key.

Have a one-page ‘about us’ overview written. Have a professional writer do this for you – it won’t take too terribly long, and it’s one of the most important pieces of copy you’ll have on any of your promotional materials. Your ‘about us’ page can either be a casual, conversational piece highlighting your company background, mission statement and how you plan to grow in the future or a ‘corporate overview’ detailing your value proposition, target audience benefits and experience. It can be used on your website and as part of your press kit, and snippets of it can be used for brochures.

Put a human face on your marketing materials. The online world can be a cold, impersonal place where one business blends into the other. Putting a human face on your company can help make you more memorable. Your name, photo and a brief personal message (most often put on the ‘about us’ page of your website) helps give visitors a sense of the human element behind the mechanical façade, which engenders trust.

Start a blog. Writing consistent, frequent posts that contain information relevant to your industry can position you as a leader in your field, get your website more traffic and build an audience. If you’ve never done it before, don’t worry, it’s really quite easy when you get the hang of it. Publishing software allows you to simply type in your content and hit ‘publish’, so you don’t have to deal with design, code or other elements of web development.

Use social media marketing to your advantage. Social media creates a sense of intimacy, making your online contacts feel as if they know you personally. This, in turn, creates brand loyalty as well as getting your company more exposure on the web. Learn how to use social media effectively in our previous post, ‘Marketing with No Money: Using Social Media to Grow Your Offline Business’.

Stick to what you do best. Sometimes companies embark on misguided attempts to grow their brand through ‘diversifying’, and we’re not saying that that’s always a bad idea. However, when a website that sells water fountains suddenly starts selling children’s furniture and pot racks as well, the brand gets diluted. People don’t know who you are and what you’re trying to do anymore, and chances are, you don’t either. Branching out is okay, but you may want to consider doing it under a different business name.

Listen to your customers. Nothing sinks a business faster than failing to consider the needs of the people who matter most: the ones who buy your product or service. They’ll provide the best cues as to your strengths and weaknesses, and knowing exactly what your customers want can give you a competitive advantage. Ask for feedback, and listen closely to what they have to say.

Needle in a Haystack: Finding Great Graphic Designers for Your Small Business Who Work On Budget and On Time

Finding the right graphic designer can be tough, even for companies with huge marketing budgets. For small businesses, getting it right the first time is even more important – you don’t want to waste months working with a designer that’s totally wrong for your needs.

‘Crowdsourcing’ is a great option for small businesses. It’s a model of labor that takes tasks traditionally done by an individual or small group and sends them out to a global workforce. You set the price for your project, and designers will present their individual concepts. You choose the one that works best to refine the design. Each crowdsourcing site works a bit differently, but the basic concept is the same for all. Here are some of the best:

CrowdSpring.com – CrowdSpring deems themselves ‘a marketplace for creative services’, and you’ll find plenty of designers on here ready to get to work. As the buyer, you pay up front and CrowdSpring guarantees that you’ll get at least 25 entries to choose from or you get a full refund. CrowdSpring charges a 15% commission on all posted projects.

99Designs.com – Post a summary of your project and your budget for a $39 fee and graphic designers will respond with design concepts. You rate the designs, provide feedback and choose the winner within 7 days. The designer then sends you the completed design and copyright to the artwork. 99 Designs has over 11,000 designers as members and adds hundreds more every day.

DesignOutpost.com – Set your budget and pay in advance, and designers will compete to create the perfect design based on your guidelines. You can declare your own deadline, and give feedback to each designer during the designing process. All of Design Outposts’ designers are pre-approved to join the site’s ‘design team’.

For more crowdsourcing options, check out this guide on ReadWriteWeb.

Guru.com is a free service that gives you access to hundreds of thousands of creative professionals. You post your project and your budget and get bids from designers. Guru is a bit different from the other sites we’ve mentioned, as you choose who you want to work with based on their work samples and reviews from other businesses.

Amazon Mechanical Turk is another option for businesses that need an ‘on-demand workforce’. This web service allows companies to outsource simple tasks to a large team of virtual workers for small fees. It has 100,000 workers in 100 countries. Most of the tasks done by Mechanical Turk are repetitive rather than creative.

If you’d rather not use crowdsourcing for whatever reason, there’s always Craigslist. It’s not just for shady personal ads and $5 stained couches. Craigslist is a great place to find graphic designers, especially if you’re smart in how you go about it. Try putting ads up in smaller cities like Denver, Houston, Philadelphia and Phoenix rather than LA, NYC or Chicago to find someone to work virtually. Posting ads in these cities on Craigslist is free and you’ll be able to tap into a great pool of off-brand designer talent.

If you’re smart about spending your design dollars you can have more options than ever in getting your brochure/website/logo designed for your small business. Check references, lay out your objectives in as clear a way as you can, and it might not hurt to cross your fingers.