Is it okay to re-hire a former employee?

Should you Re-Hire a Former Employee?

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In today’s highly competitive job market, the option to re-hire a former employee could prove invaluable to many small businesses.

Hiring a typical job-seeker–that is, someone completely new to your organization–is fraught with all the expected risks. Does he or she really have the skills to do the job? How well will they fit in with their co-workers and our culture? What if we’ve made a huge hiring mistake?

On the other hand, recruiting and re-hiring an ex-employee (or what’s become known as a “boomerang employee”) may eliminate some of these nagging questions. Of course, since no hiring outcome can be absolutely guaranteed, there are additional risks to consider.

Here’s a look at the pros and cons of the decision to re-hire a former employee:

You know what you’re getting.

Generally speaking, you can rely upon your knowledge and experience of a former employee when considering whether or not to re-hire them. In many cases, you can access the individual’s prior HR record and take a close look at his or her performance evaluations during their time of service. As a result, there’s often less risk when contemplating a re-hire move.

The boomerang employee knows your business.

An ex-employee is already familiar with your culture, products, customer service strategies, internal processes, and so on. This can sharply reduce the need for training (and the costs/time involved).

They bring a fresh outlook.

Let’s say the employee originally left for a “better” opportunity. Employees who wish to return, notes Forbes, might have “gained valuable experience during the time they were gone,” perhaps a “new skill set, more leadership experience, or even experience and insights into how other companies handle situations” that can be of value in your workplace.

The returning employee can motivate your current staff.

At one time or another, all employees wonder if the grass is greener somewhere else. The presence of a re-hired boomerang employee “can improve department retention efforts by attesting to improvements made since they left,” according to Glassdoor.

With these positive elements in mind, you should also consider the impact of some potentially negative factors:

They were let go for compelling reasons.

A former employee who you terminated for poor performance or inappropriate behavior is obviously a bad candidate for re-hiring. As Insperity notes, “the underlying behavior behind performance problems and personnel issues … is not easily changed.” A person who “was a problem employee before will probably be a problem again.”

They harbor lingering resentments.

Sometimes, a departing employee feels mistreated or otherwise slighted in some way. It’s vitally important that no such lingering grudge is still present; otherwise, the personality fit won’t work.

Coincidentally, rehiring an ex-employee might trigger anger among your current workforce, and prompt other staff defections.

They cling to old habits.

A former employee who seems stuck in “old” ways of doing things might not meld nicely with your new, improved company culture. If you cling to “how I did things in the past”, you can do a disservice to your operational processes now.

So how can you go about determining if the “pros” outweigh the “cons” of rehiring?

Ask tough questions.

Be sure you interview an ex-employee just as you would any other job candidate (same questions, same scenarios, etc.). But go further. Ask open-ended questions designed to uncover what types of knowledge and experience they’ve acquired since leaving your company. Also, ask questions that help you better understand their feelings towards your business, both in the days of their exit and now. You may or may not get sincere answers, but reading between the lines may help clarify the situation.

Talk with other team members.

Depending on the circumstances, there may be several current employees who remember the person now being considered for re-hire. Talk to your HR staff about the best way to approach these employees, with the goal of discussing the impact (favorable or otherwise) of bringing the ex-employee back on board. If you encounter great enthusiasm among staff members, the decision might become clearer. But if the former employee’s return generates considerable resistance, it’s a red flag you should seriously consider.

In past job markets awash in candidates, there were always new people to contemplate hiring. When qualified job candidate selection is more limited, the idea of hiring a boomerang employee can make a great deal of sense. Explore various opportunities and then use your best judgment about that final hiring decision.

How to Prevent Small Business Cyber Attacks

Small Business Cyberattacks and Ways to Prevent Them

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The consequences of small business cyberattacks are no joke. IBM research shows that a small business data breach can be particularly severe for companies with less than 500 employees, according to a recent press release. In the study, small businesses suffered losses of more than $2.5 million on average.  The number equates to costing up to 5 percent of annual revenue.

And the effects of small business cyberattacks can be felt for years. In fact, IBM looked at the long tail financial impact of data breaches and found that 67 percent of associated costs were realized within the first year.  An additional 22 percent accumulated in the second year.  And, another 11 percent amassed more than two years later. Moreover, the long tail costs were higher in the second and third years for businesses in highly-regulated environments, such as healthcare and financial services.

However, small businesses can mitigate cyber risks by implementing some of the following security practices.

Use Access Controls

Strong access controls can help prevent small business cyberattacks. An access control policy should at least address who should access company data as well as the circumstances in which to deny access to a user with access privileges. Small businesses can use authentication factors to reduce cyber risk, including:

  • passwords
  • personal identification numbers (PINs)
  • biometric scans
  • security tokens

Implement Extensive Use of Encryption

Studies have shown that 96 percent of stolen data is unencrypted, according to IT Security Guru. Therefore, in addition to implementing access controls, small businesses should routinely encrypt their primary copies of data as well as their secondary copies of data, such as backups, migrations, archives, transfers and live data to keep information safe.

The extensive use of encryption can also reduce the total cost of a data breach by $360,000, according to IBM.

Deploy Security Automation Technologies

Security automation technologies allow businesses to handle security tasks that would otherwise be done manually. These technologies can automatically check for system vulnerabilities, for example, without human intervention.

And when it comes to cyberattacks, security automation technologies can help small businesses mitigate losses. According to IBM, businesses with fully deployed security automation technologies experience about half the cost of a breach compared to those that do not have these technologies.

Properly Vet the Security of Third Parties

It’s important for small businesses to vet the security of their partners and suppliers, as it can cost businesses $370,000 more than average when a data breach occurs, according to IBM. This can be done by ensuring that security standards align and by actively monitoring third-party access.

Have An Incident Response Plan

A solid incident response plan should be in place well before a cyber incident occurs.  Why? Because the speed and efficiency at which a small business is able to respond can reduce consequences. IBM finds that businesses with an incident response team and an extensively tested incident response plan have had approximately $1 million less in data breach costs on average compared to businesses with neither measure in place.

By implementing these security initiatives, or a combination thereof, small businesses can stay protected against costly cyberattacks.

Small Business Budgeting and a Healthy Bottom Line

Small Business Budgeting -Turn Your Growth Plan into a Healthy Bottom Line

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Hearing the word “budget” often conjures the image of belt-tightening. But small business budgeting is the down-to-earth process of planning for the growth and profitability of your business. It’s about translating ideas and predictions into numbers. The ROI of thoughtful budgeting includes being able to secure financing to help accelerate your growth.

So how do you go about the process of small business budgeting?

There are different approaches, but here’s one. First ask yourself: Am I where I want to be next year? If yes, that’s great, but you can’t just create your next year’s budget from the last year’s profit and loss statement (P&L). You need to think about the reasons for the results you had. Next, you need to make your best guess as to whether they’ll hold up going forward. For example, you might ask yourself questions like:

  • Is it safe to assume that the competitive landscape will remain the same? Or do I need to prepare for the possibility that competition will heat up?
  • Will I need to make any enhancements to my products or services to keep up with market conditions and technology?
  • What changes might occur in my staffing needs? If I have to replace any key workers due to resignation or retirement, how will that impact my payroll?
  • Can I count on no big changes in the cost and prices of the goods and services I consume to keep my business moving forward?
  • Is any of my equipment wearing out or becoming obsolete?
  • Should I plan for any changes in the economy, for better or worse?

Chances are, your answers to some of those questions will point to the need to roll up your sleeves, sharpen your pencil and get to work on a new budget.

Budget for Revenue, Profit Growth

Start with revenue, using the revenue categories on your P&L, assuming it’s reasonably detailed. Revenue is the hard part, but it’s also what largely determines the expense side of the budget. Before you start plugging numbers into a spreadsheet, think about and determine which of your products or services…

  • Are the most profitable?
  • Are the ones that you’re best at making or performing, and give you the greatest competitive advantage?
  • Have the greatest potential for market growth?
  • Are most likely to be in demand for a long time?
  • Can expand your capacity to produce or perform?

Then think about new products or services that you might want to introduce.  What would it take to do so? And how quickly you can generate revenue from them?

Turn a Business Plan into a Budget

These questions are the foundation of a business plan that can be translated into a budget. It might be a multi-year budget, but the process forces you to become a strategic thinker.  Or, at the very least, it will allow you to translate your existing strategic plan into something concrete.

Next on the revenue side of budgeting comes this question: How conservatively or aggressively do you want to predict your revenue for the coming year? It’s a balancing act, and depends partly on your personality. It’s OK to be somewhat “aspirational” but without living in a dream world.

If you’re planning to borrow money or seeking to draw in some equity capital from outside investors, you might choose to be somewhat conservative. It’s usually better to under-promise and over-deliver, than the other way around. Besides, it can be very disruptive to business operations when you overestimate revenue, then have to retrench on spending midstream to protect your bottom line.

Also, you can give your sales team revenue goals that exceed your budget.  This lets you aim high without going out on a limb.

In picking revenue numbers, take your recent actual numbers within each product or service category, check to see how good you were in the past at predicting future sales, and learn what you can from the forecasting process you have used so far.

Forecasting Budgeted Revenue

If this is the first time you’re making a detailed budget, take your current revenue pattern and do your best to predict the impact that all the variables that go into sales results will have in the next year. Naturally, it’s easier to do if you’re not planning to make any big changes in strategy, such as raising prices, adding new products and services, increasing your sales and marketing efforts, opening new offices, and so on.

The small business budgeting process for expenses generally follows the revenue part. An exception would occur if you were forced into budgeting higher revenue (and figure out how to generate it) by an expected big jump on the expense side, such as a major increase in the cost of an important input. For example, higher import tariffs on goods from China are having this effect for some businesses. Others may be facing higher local minimum wage standards, or steep increases in health benefit costs.

As on the revenue side, you can use your P&L as the foundation for your expense budget. If you’re not planning any big changes in your business for next year, expense budgeting can be fairly straightforward. Certain changes in expense categories can be predicted, such as wage raises you plan to give, or additional staff you plan to hire. Other categories like rent and utilities generally aren’t hard to predict.

If you’re trying to improve your bottom line and aren’t expecting a surge in revenue, you’ll need to find savings on the expense side. If instead you’re expecting a significant increase in revenue based on a new business plan, you’ll need to incorporate the new expenses associated with the plan to build that revenue. It might be something as basic as higher sales commission and bonus expenses, or that plus many other expenses.

Don’t Neglect a Cash Flow Forecast

Small business budgeting also includes a critical component sometimes overlooked: cash flow forecasting. You might come up with a realistic budget that shows a healthy profit at the end of the year. But without a cash flow budget, you could find yourself with a depleted bank account and suppliers hounding you. That’s because your expenses and revenues rarely come in at the same rate every month.

You might accurately budget a big jump in sales in June, and some correspondingly higher vendor bills and payroll obligations that must be dealt with promptly, but the actual cash generated by those increased sales doesn’t come in before late August. A cash flow forecast will alert you to whether, without drawing on other resources, you’ll have enough money on hand to pay those bills.

And if your cash flow forecast points to a need for extra funds to tide you over a dry spell, it’s time to begin a conversation with a small business lender who can help you address that need. The better your budget and cash flow forecast, the better your prospects for a productive relationship with such a lender to help you achieve your business objectives.

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Recruiting a high powered sales team.

How to Recruit a High-Powered Sales Team

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Do you need to hire a sales team? When it comes to building a great sales team, savvy businesses follow a variation on the perennial sales mantra: “Always Be Closing.”

For hiring and building a team, the refrain is (or should be): “Always Be Recruiting.”

Why? Because (a) companies thrive or fail based on their sales volume; (b) the most talented sales reps are always in short supply; and (c) you never know where your next rock-star salesperson will come from.

Furthermore, notes Inside Sales Box, the urgent need to replace a gifted, departing salesperson “can force you to compromise and the ones hired might be merely the talent available rather than ideal candidates who are a great fit for the company.”

In other words, filling a sales position in great haste is frequently a recipe for disaster.

For a more systematic approach to recruiting the kind of high-performing sales team for your business, consider these steps:

Determine your company’s genuine need for salespeople.

What are your personnel needs in terms of sales?

Heinz Marketing defines “personnel needs” as “the number of new salespeople depending on sales growth targets, distribution strategies, changes in sales force organization, and sales force turnover.” Armed with this information, you can avoid hiring when you don’t need to, but in a more positive vein, focus more closely on the type of salesperson your company needs.

Tap into your professional network.

Traditional approaches to hiring have their advantages, but an alternate first step (or in addition to “normal” recruitment activities) is to reach out to people in your professional network for referrals–colleagues, vendors, current and former clients, even your own employees.

Once you compile a list of prospects, contact these individuals (even if you don’t have a job opening and/or they’re not looking to change positions). Let them know that you know they’re out there. Staying in touch with your top two or three candidates means you’ve got a functioning pipeline to call upon later on.

Craft job descriptions that stand out from the rest.

Simply put, a generic job description is likely to attract generic job candidates.  Meaning, what you’ll get is individuals with some talent and experience.  BUT they may also be lacking the specific traits and knowledge your sales team demands.

Job postings, by and large, are incredibly boring to read. Stand out from your competitors by taking time to craft a sales job description that taps into an applicant’s hopes, ambitions, and desire to make a difference.

Without in any way falsifying the nature of the open position, look for ways to describe it that’s different from flat statements like, “We need new associates to boost sales of our products.” Instead, build into the description answers to questions like these:

  • What’s unique about your organization?
  • What’s the typical length of employment for sales team members?
  • Do you provide a competitive pay and benefits package?
  • Would you describe your workplace environment as “fun” or “challenging” or “inspiring?”
  • Are there genuine opportunities for sales reps to advance within the organization?

All of these considerations should be added to the job description. But be sure it’s done in a way that’s certain to catch an applicant’s eye.

Identify the skills you want.

Hiring the right salesperson isn’t achieved through a “one-size-fits-all” approach to recruiting. Skills, rather than sales experience, is often regarded as the most desirable trait for a candidate to possess. Soft skills–those centered around successful customer interactions–may be more valuable than the number of years a salesperson has been in the game.

For example, it’s tempting to “hire someone who made the most calls at their last job,” notes Capterra. “But if your product is a new idea in the marketplace that requires a lot of education, an ability to educate prospects” is more important than call volume.

Tap into LinkedIn’s powerful resources.

LinkedIn offers an advanced resource for recruiting sales reps and other types of workers. Its advanced search function enables you to compile a list of preferred candidates through filters.  These filters include job title, zip code, and education, among many others. The popular site’s premium accounts bring even more powerful resources into play.  The premium features include an expanded search through the entire LinkedIn network of applicants.

Promote your company and its culture wherever you can.

Enterprising businesses do everything in their power to boost their reputation as an “employer of choice.”

To achieve this, they devote a ton of space on their website to relay the story of the company’s culture.  These businesses maintain a steady stream of news and updates on their social media platforms.  They also consistently let their followers know that the organization is great to work for, and always welcomes new applications.

Interview wisely.

Assuming your strategic recruiting efforts have paid off, now you have a handful of quality candidates to interview. As we have noted elsewhere, here are key interviewing mistakes to avoid:

  • Going into an interview without becoming familiar with an individual’s educational and professional background
  • Relying on questions that require only “yes” or “no” answers, as opposed to open-ended questions designed to get beneath the surface
  • Lacking a systematic process that applies to all applicants (confirming interview, scheduling, what to bring to the meeting, questions asked, etc.)
  • Failing to include others in the interview process, such as HR, department managers, and employees who might be working with the chosen candidate
  • Doing most or all of the talking, when the real goal is assessing the candidate’s personality through his or her answers to questions, their body language, level of interest demonstrated in the conversation, and so on.

In other words, “going by your gut” in deciding to make a job offer is a surefire way to bungle the interview and selection process.

Great salespeople are out there. Some are “passively” waiting to be recruited. It’s up to you and/or your HR team to let the world know you’re looking for them.  More importantly letting them know that, if hired, they will be treated like superstars within the organization.

Improve productivity by whittling down your choices.

Want to Improve Productivity? Whittle Down Your Choices

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Humans make upwards of 35,000 decisions each day. Would your ability to make 40,000 help you improve productivity?

It turns out that the exact opposite is true.

All humans experience decision fatigue. In the simplest of terms, the more decisions people make in a defined period, the lower the quality those decisions become. That’s probably not the impact you want your decision-making to have in your company. What’s also true, however, is that too many options can make you over-thing and jam-up sound decision-making, too.

That’s called analysis paralysis, and it can do a real number on your productivity, and not in a good way.

Let’s have a look at analysis paralysis – what it is, why it’s a problem, and tips to help you avoid it. By taking a few simple actions, you can improve productivity throughout your company and leave the logjam of analysis paralysis far behind.

Do more choices improve productivity? No.

“Think about when your computer is sluggish, lagging, and not operating well,” says Joanne Ketch, a licensed therapist well-versed in how the brain makes decisions. “You bring up Task Manager. You see all the programs and processes that are running, using your system’s resources whether you are aware of them or not. They are slowing your computer and getting in the way of its functioning, reducing the computer’s productivity. Look at humans as having a Task Manager.”

Ketch says that people aren’t always aware of what they have running in the background, slowing productivity. The key to boosting productivity is becoming aware of what’s running in the background.

When you’re in a position of leadership, decision-making is literally your job, and you likely have a myriad of pressing matters running in your background. There’s so much on your plate, and you don’t know where to focus first. How do you choose where to focus your time when you have so many options?

“We all get to choose where we focus,” says Neen James, author of Attention Pays: How to Drive Profitability, Productivity, and Accountability. “When our attention spans are split, we’re allowing them to be split between multiple stimuli, inputs, devices, and decisions.”

When your Task Manager is on overload, you’ve allowed too many pieces of input into your machine. That’s what causes analysis paralysis. To improve productivity, smart leaders decrease their input. They reduce what’s running in the background.

Tips to decrease analysis paralysis

To help take control of your Task Manager, there are active steps you can take to help both yourself and your teams.

Reduce distractions

“Turn off all bells and whistles, notifications, and stimuli that are wasting your attention. Focus on the evidence you have and trust your experience,” says James. Distractions add to what’s running in your background.

Consider outsourcing

“A cleaning service or even an errand in your personal life,” says Ketch. “From the business side, look at what roles and responsibilities it’s time to outsource or delegate.” Even important decisions and critical data can be distractions if they’re drawing your attention away from decisions that most need your attention and expertise.

Ask bigger, better questions

“Does this get me closer to my goals? Is this in line with our strategic objectives? Will this move the project/initiative/goal forward?” James says. Questions like these will help you decrease distractions, keep you from over-thinking and help you to identify areas where you can delegate or outsource. They’ll also help you focus on the most critical decisions to move your company forward.

Set boundaries

“Productivity drain often comes down to boundaries,” says Ketch. “Boundaries from a personal or work relationship standpoint are barriers to success and distractions.” Ketch suggests that leaders explore working with a mentor, life/business coach, or therapist to identify areas and activities that could be hampering productivity.

Set timelines

“Set a deadline, make it public, and honor it. Hold yourself accountable,” James says. By being public and forthcoming about schedules, you’re also helping your team know when it’s time to end the idea gathering/brainstorming phase and switch over to narrowing down options to those most promising. Analysis paralysis often happens when teams fail to make the switch from gathering ideas to narrowing them down.

Self-care

“Build business retreats and self-care into your planning,” Ketch says. “Do not rely on what’s leftover to sustain your energy.” If you’re not taking care of yourself and encouraging your teams to do the same, productivity isn’t likely to accelerate or improve.

Now, you have six actionable ideas to improve productivity and keep both decision fatigue and analysis paralysis at bay. When you can shift your input and focus to the matters where you’re the most crucial decision-making component, you’ll free up the mental energy needed to make better decisions faster and with fewer distractions.

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Best Books for Small Business Owners: E-Myth Revisited

Best Books for Small Business Owners Series: The E-Myth Revisited

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September Monthly Must-Reads: Best Books for Small Business Owners

Business and careers experts often stress the importance of lifelong learning. But, as a business owner, you have a lot on your plate, making it difficult for you to make time for learning and professional development.

You need a strategy that’s simple and can be folded into your everyday life–try reading. One simple way to keep up with current innovation, management and workforce trends is by reading the right business books for your situation.

With our Monthly Must-Reads series, we aim to save you time by covering well-known and new business books. We share each featured book’s main focus and key take-aways, so you can determine within a minute if it’s relevant to you—really, whether it’s worth your valuable time. This month, we’re sharing The E-Myth Revisited as one of our best books for small business owners, and you can also check last month’s must-read: Blitzscaling.

Business Book:

The E-Myth Revisited, by Michael E. Gerber

Focus:

Exploring why 80% of small businesses fail and what pitfalls new business owners should avoid

Main Idea:

Even if you understand and perform technical work wonderfully, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you can successfully start and run a business around that type of work.

Great for Small Business Owners Who:

Are still in the early stages of business planning.

Synopsis:

Voted as the #1 business book by Inc. 500 CEOs, The E-Myth Revisited opens by dispelling the “entrepreneurial myth” with what author, Michael Gerber, calls the “Fatal Assumption: if you understand the technical work of a business, [then] you understand a business that does that technical work.”

Gerber argues that new business owners must prepare to take on three different roles to achieve success:

  • Technician (e.g. an expert)
  • Entrepreneur (e.g. a “big picture” thinker)
  • Manager (e.g. the one who sees to the details that get things done).

While walking readers through a typical business’s lifespan, Gerber points out that successful companies run on repeatable processes and achieve success using proven business models. Beyond hard work, Gerber argues, business owners must focus on three ingredients to create a thriving business: rules, regulations and a plan.

Key Take-Aways:
  • Successful small business owners balance their time between managing employees, getting things done and performing big picture thinking.
  • Work on your business, not just in it. It can be tempting to let yourself remain distracted by the day-to-day tasks of running your business—think ordering inventory, serving customers and making sales—but in order to succeed and grow their companies, business owners must make time to work on their businesses. Working on your business includes high-level thinking like strategic planning, market research and developing unique selling propositions.
Reviewers Say:

“I own a small service business with around 15 employees. I had been struggling for years doing all managerial work myself so that it was done up to my standards. We did great work but at the expense of my sanity! A mentor told me to read this book. The E-Myth was the driving factor that took my small business, which had been controlling my life, and transformed it into a business I could run remotely. If you own a small business, you need to read this book as soon as possible.”

“I owned my own successful retail business for 12 years and this was the Resource Book that helped the most. Here’s the core message – it’s easy to spend time working IN your business, but If you want it to grow, you need to block out critical time to work ON your business.”

 

Kapitus Monthly Must-Reads:

August – Blitzscaling

September – The E-Myth Revisited

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7 Tips and Strategies for Marketing Your Healthcare Practice

7 Tips and Strategies for Marketing Your Healthcare Practice

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Marketing your healthcare practice is essential in attracting new patients and keeping your business “in the black”. Yet, putting together the right strategies, plan and technology to keep a busy practice growing can be challenging. Here’s a quick, actionable guide that will have you generating a steady stream of patients over time. Working on your marketing challenges will help you focus on delivering top quality patient care.

Invest in consistent branding.

All too often, it’s not clear from a medical practice’s name or branding what they do. You can make it easy for prospective customers to recognize you. Choose a name, logo and visual presence that immediately make your brand clear. Then, strive to deliver consistent branding across channels.

Consistent branding helps patients understand what value you offer. It helps them recognize your brand whenever its advertised. Pay attention to synchronizing your printed materials, advertising, social channels, website and other marketing.

Add self-service features to your digital experience.

Frequently, practice managers and healthcare professionals assume that marketing your healthcare practice ends with creating a website. Increasingly, customers want access to self-service features. When you remove friction from your patient experience, you create a winning customer experience that keeps patients coming back.

Also, convenience is a powerful message in your ads. Whether you’re enabling patients to make a payment online, automating appointment and test confirmations, or simplifying scheduling, today’s busy patients will be excited to be part of a modern practice. It’s important to optimize your website and app (if you have one) for mobile devices to eliminate friction from the digital patient experience.

Create knowledge resources.

Every unique discipline within medicine and healthcare has answers that patients need. There are strict guidelines on what information is shareable. But, developing compliant content marketing is a smart way to help patients get to know you. Trust and a sense of compatibility is important in the way patients choose doctors.

Be active on social media when appropriate. Consider starting a blog. Send a regular newsletter. For example, a dietician might offer strategies on avoiding overexertion during the holidays, jumpstarting a New Year’s diet or getting kids to love healthy snacks. Think about the most common questions you get from patients and find a way to share those insights.

Experiment with social media advertising.

Social media can be a great way to connect with patients, share promotions or schedule changes, and promote the content you create. Increasingly, social media platforms are becoming “pay to play” — and investing a bit in social media advertising can increase your reach.

Choose the network where you’re seeing the most engagement or return. Experiment with ads. Depending on the platform, you can boost your posts to maximize visibility or even promote your account to prospective patients based on location, age or interests.

Get out into the community and talk.

Unless you’re seeking telemedicine patients, most healthcare practices serve local patient bases. Look for opportunities to get out there and talk about what you do. Whether it’s speaking at a local business association meeting or giving a talk at a health fair, in-person events are a great way to build your brand.

This type of outreach not only gives you the platform to showcase your approach and knowledge, this form of marketing lets you get your practice in front of new patients. You’re likely to cross paths with individuals who might not have heard about you in other ways and foster those connections.

Sponsor events and open houses.

Inviting people to an open house at your practice can be a great strategy for raising awareness. During an open house, people interested in becoming patients can come and ask questions. They’ll learn more about what you do, too.

Many practices find that pairing an open house with an event or talk can generate more interest. For example, a chiropractor might offer a talk on how to combat bad posture from working at a desk job or avoiding the dreaded “tech neck” so many people complain about due to mobile devices. After the talk, the chiropractor and their staff can stick around to answer questions and sign patients up for an initial visit.

Give away branded swag.

When marketing your practice, one way to help build buzz is getting your name and brand in front of new people. Branded items such as pens, coffee mugs, bags or mousepads that have clever sayings or healthy tips can be fun giveaways.

Encourage patients to use your branded items. They might be asked by others for information about your practice or services. Word of mouth is one of the most valuable ways to spread awareness of your practice. Branded items can help you organically foster opportunities for patients to talk about what you do.

Marketing your healthcare practice requires some planning. With the right strategies, tools and productivity tips, you’ll find creative ways to keep it growing. By balancing efforts to attract new patients with different approaches to engaging current patients, you’ll pave the way for long-term growth for your independent healthcare practice.

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Laptop. Laptop screen is featured as a file cabinet.

5 Hacks to Streamline Your Financial Record Keeping

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Staying on top of your financial record keeping can be a challenge, especially when you already have a full plate running your business. However, the benefits of having a strong financial records system is critical. Whether you’re filing taxes or trying to understand your performance, accurate financial statements are key — and those are built on strong record keeping. Score reports that 82% of businesses that fail don’t understand their cash flow. Here’s how to avoid that trap and streamline your process in five quick steps.

Use Software or an Accountant

If you’re going it alone in developing a system for financial record keeping, it’s natural that you’d struggle. There are three easy options that can streamline your process:

  • Work with an accountant: Hire an accountant who specializes in small business accounting. They can develop a system that works for you and help you track, record and consolidate your records each month.
  • Hire a service: Increasingly, there are combo service-and-platform solutions that offer small business accounting as a recurring service. Bench.co and Xendoo are two popular options.
  • Use software: If you prefer to manage your accounting internally, consider leveraging a solution like QuickBooks or Freshbooks. Manage billing, expenses and compiling your full profit-and-loss statements in one platform.

Implement a Month-end Close Process

Falling behind is the death knell for reliable financial record keeping. Implement a month-end close process where you submit all expenses, pay your bills, capture receipts, and reconcile accounts.

Doing this every month gives you real-time visibility into your financial situation and highlights issues to address before they become urgent problems. One strategy that can speed up the process is using an expense management app, such as Expensify or Wave.

Expense Management: The Key to Profit and Taxes

As a small business owner, deducting the business expenses that keep your organization running is crucial. It helps you really understand your profits and only pay the taxes you owe. However, every expense must be fully documented during that process.

The IRS has strict record keeping standards about substantiating any expenses. Record each expense, and retain two documents: a receipt showing what the purchase was for and confirmation that you paid it. For example, if you pay a vendor for a specific service, retain the receipt that outlines the provider, service and totals. Make sure you also keep proof of payment like a canceled check or credit card statement.

Tracking

Using your car for business can be a significant expense. However, tracking those expenses and capturing them on your financial statements and tax returns gets complex. Every trip must be logged, and then substantiated with other documents that show mileage throughout the year to separate business mileage from personal mileage. Consider automating the process with an app such as Mileage IQ. With these tools, simply download the app to your smartphone, and it will track the miles you drive. You add trip details directly into the app, and then have all the data on hand to the strictest reporting standards in case of an audit or future questions.

Use a Business Expense Template

When you work for a corporation, you submit expense reports to get reimbursed. These expense reports show the receipt, business justification and payment information for each purchase. Once they’re approved by management and accounting, you’re reimbursed.

Using a business expense report approach for your business can streamline financial record keeping in your own business. Create a template that fits your needs and records the essential details for each expense: the date, vendor, expense description, amount, payment type and business purpose. Jot down a few details about how you used the expense or how it relates to your business for later reference.

It’s important to have a plan for your financial records management. Not only does it give you deeper visibility into how your business performs, but it makes the financial management of your enterprise fast and easy. Whether a question arises regarding a business expense or you need to quickly apply for a small business loan, having your records in order allows you to quickly complete everything, and then get back to what matters most: running your business.

Small Business Owner Stress: How to Train Your Brain to Reduce Your Worries

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When you run a small business, you’ve got a lot of responsibility. Sometimes that results in small business owner stress that can hurt your company. A study conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Alarm.com found that the average small-business owner in America loses 44 minutes of productive work time every day due to worries about their business, representing an annual cost of about $10,000.

Fortunately, there are some simple things you can do to combat it. Our brains have four natural chemicals that help us feel happier. It’s possible to naturally trigger the chemicals to tap into their power and better handle the stress of being a business owner.

1. Dopamine

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that’s naturally produced in the brain. It contributes to feelings of pleasure and satisfaction as part of the reward system, according to Psychology Today. When we achieve a goal, our brain releases dopamine. This chemical is also linked to focus, which can be derailed when you’re stressed.

If you’re overwhelmed by a big project, you can get a natural dose of dopamine by setting small achievable goals. For example, break down a large task into tiny steps. When you hit each milestone, you’ll get a release of dopamine that can help you overcome your stress. Be sure to mark each completion in a way that fuels your brain. For example, simply making a list and checking off tasks when you’re done can be all you need.

2. Endorphins

Called “feel good” chemicals, endorphins are the body’s natural way of stress reduction. They boost happiness and act as a pain reliever, according to Medical News Today.

One of the easiest ways to get a natural release of endorphins is through exercise. This can be as simple as a brisk walk, or you can choose another activity that you enjoy. Another way to increase your endorphins is to do something nice for someone else. Volunteering is one idea, or even just giving someone a compliment can work. You can also release endorphins with food. Studies have found that dark chocolate can help. And another way to release endorphins is to laugh. Take a break at work and watch a funny video—anything that gets you to laugh will relieve stress.

3. Oxytocin

Oxytocin is a chemical that is linked to trust and loyalty. It’s known as the “cuddle hormone,” according to Psychology Today. While you probably don’t want to cuddle with your employees, this hormone is also triggered by social bonding. When you release oxytocin, you enhance the sense of camaraderie.

You can naturally release oxytocin by keeping a gratitude journal. Write down three things you’re thankful for at the end of each day. You can also express gratitude to others. Make a point of thanking employees or recognizing them for jobs well done. And make time for bonding experiences with your employees. Work retreats can help release oxytocin, allowing you to get rid of stress and come back strong and refreshed.

4. Serotonin

Finally, serotonin is a chemical that regulates mood and helps with sleep. This is also known as the “confidence molecule,” according to Psychology Today. Higher levels of serotonin are linked to self-esteem and accomplishment. This can be helpful when you own a business and you need to be willing to take risks.

You can naturally release serotonin by simply reliving a moment when you accomplished a goal or tackled and completed a difficult task. It can help to write down your successes in a journal so they’re handy. Sunlight or bright light can also trigger serotonin. Put your desk next to a window or make sure your office is well lit. Using daylight light bulbs can help. Exercise can also increase serotonin. Make time to take a walk outside, especially on a sunny day, and you’ll get yourself a double dose.

 

Small business owner stress can cost you productivity and money, and sometimes a simple solution is the best one. When you’re feeling stressed at work, take a break and do an activity that will release some of your happy chemicals. You’ll recharge your outlook and feel ready to tackle whatever comes next.

Host more productive meetings.

5 Tips for More Productive Meetings

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Who doesn’t want productive meetings? There’s no law that says meetings have to be boring and time-consuming.  Yet, the business environment is littered with plenty of those. Many meetings take place simply because someone “wanted” to have one, or because “we always have them.”

When meetings lack purpose, agendas, active participation, and any follow-up strategy, they achieve nothing for anyone. If this describes meetings in your workplace, here are five tips for turning things around and ensuring that your team actively takes part and walks away ready to move forward:

1. Insist on a goal for every meeting, and make sure the right people attend.

Too often, meetings occur with no clear objective and employees are obliged to attend, during which they serve no useful purpose. That’s why “planning a productive meeting is not only about knowing what you want to cover but also, and more importantly, what do you want to get from it,” Forbes notes. “Clear, detailed and relevant agendas are a must!”

Prior to a meeting, draft a working agenda and have it distributed beforehand to all participants. Encourage attendees to review the agenda, add notes of their own, and come prepared to be actively involved in  conversations.

Just as importantly, if an employee’s job responsibilities aren’t relevant to the agenda, leave them out. You’ll get more accomplished with the right people in the room.

2. Adopt a “no devices” rule, with no exceptions.

There may not be any quantifiable data on this, but employees who set aside their mobile devices during a meeting actually make it through unscathed.

On a more serious note, it’s clear to everyone that keeping such devices on hand in a meeting can prove enormously distracting for all involved. If you haven’t done so already, hold your next meeting with an ironclad “no devices” rule and see what happens.

In the same respect, if you as meeting leader are making use of video conferencing or other communications technology as part of the meeting, have the system tested ahead of time. Nothing kills the interest of participants more than sitting around while attempts are made to fix a technical glitch.

3. Stick to the meeting agenda and closely moderate the discussion.

Some people like to talk at great length, while others can’t be persuaded to say a thing. Most of us fall in-between but whatever the case, the meeting moderator should pay close attention and keep the conversation on track. (That’s also where agenda bullet-point items are helpful.)

Make clear that the time allotted for the entire meeting is no more than 30 minutes. Which means discussions must be appropriate and limited. Don’t hesitate to tell someone, “That’s a very good point, but we’ll need to take it up further at the next meeting” (or off-line).

Do your best not to let any one individual (including yourself!) dominate the conversation. As AZ Big Media notes, “less-outspoken team members … often have innovative ideas but might not be inclined to jump into discussions without prompting.” Also, be ready to “ask individual participants directly for their input.”

4. Start and end on time.

One big complaint about meetings is that they frequently start late (after someone straggles in) and never seem to end. The most productive meetings occur when they begin at the allotted time and, regardless of where participants are with an agenda, end at the prescribed time. This demonstrates efficiency on the part of the moderator, as well as respect for everyone’s busy schedules. You’ll get a lot more buy-in from employees if they know a 30-minute meeting means no more than 30 minutes.

5. Assign action items and follow-up with a summary.

The best meetings end with team members being given specific assignments and/or action items to complete. In this way, decisions made during the meeting are translated into tangible progress towards some larger goal. And people understand that, going in, they’d better pay attention to what’s going on.

Finally, take it upon yourself or ask another attendee to draw up a brief summary of what took place in the meeting. This can take the form of an email with a handful of bullet points and/or additional thoughts from the moderator or others involved. Whatever the case, the summary gives people something to refer to afterwards.

Meetings may never be “fun” in the common sense of the word. But, handled effectively, they can be productive, energizing, and a way for people to bond closely with their co-workers.

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