A Cheat Sheet for the Working World?

Odette Murat shares her insights and experiences over years of work to guide us through the Working World. Below I quoted from the article at Wall Street Journal personally written by her.

The working world can be a very unpredictable place. It differs from our time as youths, when we pretty much knew what to expect according to our behavior. The truth is: day-to-day life on the job turns into a challenging proposition every now and then. Cheat Sheet for the Working World by Odette Murat allows us to somehow foresee and influence events in order to control outcomes affecting our lives.

Cheat Sheet for the Working World uses a global perspective to alert readers, especially those in their initial stages of work, and provokes thoughts and reactions from the more seasoned members of the workforce. It analyses the job of an Operations Manager in both national and multi-cultural settings, outlining goals and responsibilities, potential problems encountered and possible solutions. This book takes an inside look into potential experiences, and it gives readers advanced knowledge for faster decision making and a more effective course of action throughout their careers.

Read more on A Cheat Sheet for the Working World at Wall Street Journal.

Dealing with the financial meltdown - tips for businesses

With the global financial markets in disarray, lots of people are worried about their money.

In times like these, business owners need to be just as vigilant about their business accounts as they hopefully are about their personal accounts.

In the United States, for instance, there has been a lot of concern that the market for money market funds could be "the next" to run into problems as many institutional investors have demanded redemptions.

Here are some tips for business banking in today's environment:

• Find out what insurance, if any, your bank and financial accounts are covered by. In the United States, for instance, checking and savings accounts for corporations and partnerships receive $100,000 in FDIC coverage. If your company has more than the insured amount in a single account, spreading it across multiple accounts (and at different institutions) would be a wise move to ensure maximum protection.
  
• Preserve capital and liquidity. Many companies were hit earlier in the year by the failure of auctions for auction rate securities (ARS). Most of these companies had been told that ARS were highly liquid and because they offered higher interest rates than mutual funds were very appealing. But the liquidity was an illusion and a number of startups reportedly ran into cashflow problems when they couldn't pull money out of their ARS.
  
  The lesson - if you have money that is going to be needed for accounts payable, etc., you might want to reconsider whether or not it should be invested. In my opinion, risking principal and/or liquidity for interest is not smart. It's far better to be in cash (and have some protections) than to put your principal at risk.
  
  For those business owners who do decide to keep some capital in interest-bearing instruments, know what you're investing in. Any instrument offering higher-than-average interest rates should raise huge red flags.
  
• Focus on fundamentals. In tough times, it's easy for businesses to fall upon hard times, go into debt and even to fail completely. Today, even strong businesses are finding it more difficult to borrow money from banks that just don't have a lot of capital to lend.
  
  That's why it's doubly important to ensure that your balance sheet stays solid - you have a better chance of making it through the downturn and at the same time maximize whatever potential exists to obtain financing from lenders if absolutely needed. And when we emerge from the downturn, you'll have a business on good footing to take advantage of the recovery.
  
• Stay informed. Keep current on what's happening in the financial markets, monitor the news about the financial institutions you deal with and don't hesitate to ask questions.
  
• Don't panic. It's easy to become overcome by fear in a market like this. When making decisions, however, be sure to stay rational and check your emotions at the door. This will help you make smart financial decisions.

Volatile markets are never fun and the current global crisis is certainly the worst in decades. But crises like this give business owners a good reason to go back to basics and rediscover some of the good practices that are often lost when times are a little too good.

Source: Dealing with the financial meltdown - tips for businesses

Outsourcing as a Trend

Demand for outsourcing has never been healthier, and a lot of service specialists are growing and getting more optimistic - perhaps too optimistic.

The first half of 2008 came in as the best half in more than 10 years. However, like Indian heritage service providers have long been dependent on the project based, discretionary type of work for their growth and haven't participated as much as one would have assumed in the uptick in traditional outsourcing of non-discretionary functions.

The vibrant global outsourcing market may spark enthusiastic expectations of immediate demand, creating one of the biggest risks to the offshore-based providers. Some sobering realities of this paradox are already surfacing and in this new climate expectation-management will become the differentiating factor.

This is a comment from the article - Outsourcing the Offshore Operations. This is an insight from the commenter which very well presented the truth of outsourcing as a trend.

Want to go global? How a Web site can help

Start small. You don’t need to get the entire world coming to your site. Do some research and figure out which country is your best bet for breaking in. Of course, you’ll want it to be one where there’s a sizable market for your product or service, but also consider factors such as whether you’ll need to translate the site into a different language and whether you have connections in that country who can help you.

The above is quoted from a short and concise post of Rieva Lesonsky from Microsoft Office Live Small Business Community blog. The above statements from her article is really true. Start small. And this is what we should bear in mind. We can't just a build the whole building and make it complete at a glance. We have to start it from gravel and even small pebbles in founding that building. Same goes with business. It's a matter of perseverance that entrepreneurs should have.

Going Global: Is It Right for Your Small Business?

Have you been feeling the itch to send your small business global? Many are in your shoes--seeing the benefits of business expansion but also fearing the risk of taking products abroad. Although exporting your products may expand your business and bring higher sales, the task may seem daunting to a small business with fewer resources than a large company. But if you take your time and research the process, going global with your company may garner more rewards than costs.

Communication in the New World

In a global economy, everything from textiles to taxes is being exported to overseas companies. While this may come as a shock to many, it increases the standard of living worldwide. There are a few reasons why it is so easy to throw work around the globe these days.

With the arrival of the "Internet Generation" into the workplace, there are several things that should be addressed regarding communication.

Indeed, communication has become more important than ever. The world is beginning to resemble a giant collaborative force of talented people working with one another.

Say for example, corporations are becoming flatter, as is the world itself. Groups in India work all night for a firm in Chicago, who then transfers their work seamlessly the next day. Everything is becoming streamlined, and communication process becomes even more important. These are the most reasons that communication is becoming such an important aspect of 21st century business. Thus, one of the most prominent examples why it is so easy to throw work around the globe these days.

Building a Productive International Sales Network

Ready to take on global selling? Looking for exporting best practices? One of the most challenging aspects of exporting is creating a sales network to promote your product overseas. For a small business with limited resources, it can seem like an impossible task. Luckily, you've got a lot of options to choose from, and some them might be just across town. Below are the three proven methods for creating an effective foreign sales network.

Selling to Domestic Buyers Who Export

The easiest way to begin building an international sales network is to sell your products to domestic buyers who will then export them abroad. From your company's perspective, these transactions are the same as selling your products to any other domestic buyer because the buyer - not you - assumes all risks and handles all of the exporting details. The downside is that the buyer also makes all the decisions about how and where your products are sold.

It might sound like this approach doesn't accomplish much in the way of building a foreign sales network. However, for a small business taking its first steps in exporting, it's a great, low-risk way to introduce your products to an international market.

Exporting Through Intermediaries

If you are looking for a way to maintain more control over how your products are exported, then exporting through an intermediary might be a better option than selling your product to a domestic exporter. Intermediary firms specialize in connecting domestic businesses with international buyers, and they have the contacts and expertise to prove it.

In addition to leveraging an intermediary's expertise, this method keeps you more intimately involved in the export process. You retain much of the decision-making and you learn a lot about exporting along the way.

Direct Exporting

Direct exporting is by far the most complicated and riskiest method for building an international sales network since you will be required to handle every aspect of the export process, including the promotion and distribution of your product abroad. For many businesses, this requires internal restructuring and a level of expertise they may or may not possess.

A common method for exporting products overseas is to employ the services of a foreign distributor. Distributors are foreign companies who purchase products from exporters and then resell them within their own country. They also provide service and support for your products, eliminating the need for you to create your own mechanisms for foreign consumers.

If you prefer, you can also sell directly to foreign retailers. To do this, you will need to establish a network of foreign sales representatives, much like you do when you sell your products at home.

Newcomers to exporting rarely start building an international sales network through direct exporting. Instead, they build their network in stages, beginning with the use of intermediaries and gradually processing to direct exporting as they gain knowledge and adapt their organization. To help better your chance of success, take the time to carefully map a strategy to create a foreign sales network that is suited to your goals, capacity, and experience.

Source: Building a Productive International Sales Network

Expo teaches small business to think big!

Luis Ruiz of Longmont Signs talks with Geno Lechuga of Broomfield’s Checkers Industrial on Thursday during the Boulder County Multicultural Business Resource Fair at the Radisson Conference Center in Longmont. The event drew about 75 participants and these expo teaches small business to think big.

Well, this optimism is what we really need especially when we are eyeing into global entrepreneurship. To give us more insights, read the whole story on TimesCall.com written by Tony Kindelspire.

Challenges for Global Business

A global small business owner cannot allow him or herself to become trapped by what currently exists or is currently possible. Challenge yourself and your team to do or discuss the following to stretch your thinking and imagination.

1) Think of the current constraints within which your team or business operates. If those constraints were gone, what could you do?

2) Identify your current greatest business challenge. What could happen if this were eliminated?

3) Consider and entirely different way in which the organization could be structured. What would be the consequences?

4) If your present distribution channels disappeared, what would you do?

5) If your current sources of material disappeared, what would you do?

6) Suppose your staff members were all from different parts of the world. How would your staff be different?

7) If you could increase sales by 250 percent in one year, what would be the consequences?

8) What would happen if you could reduce the time it takes to do your work by 50 percent? What would you do with the time?

Source: SMBCEO written by Steve