Tips for Sending Business Emails

At Global Resources, our business consultants use their unmatched experience to help small and medium – size businesses thrive in today’s business arena.   In fact, we often help business leaders create new processes and procedures to ensure their continued growth. 

Our consultants realize that the rules and etiquette for emails have changed over the last several years.  Since emailing is imperative in business, we have listed some tips that may help you communicate with colleagues and customers: 

1. Take the time to write a subject line that gains attention and priority. Your email lands on long lists, and your most important recipients don’t have time to click more deeply into your meaning. Be creatively concise on the headline and, if appropriate, time frame. 

2. Be brief. If you need to write more than a few paragraphs, you’ve missed a conversation that needs to happen. Keep your emails short and sweet. If you can’t, then start an IM, pick up the phone, or go face to face.

3. Don’t confuse an email chain with a conversation. A string of emails and replies shouldn’t be considered a substitute for a conversation, brainstorming session, or a decision-making process. It’s a series of “tells” with varying lag times that often lead to unnecessary churn. Voice-to-voice, face-to-face, and IM are much better forums for important interactions.

4. Follow the New York Times rule. You’ve heard this one before — now believe it: Email is barely communication. It’s certainly not a forum for risky disclosure. As your General Counsel should say: Don’t put anything in email today you wouldn’t want to read in the New York Times tomorrow. All emails are or can be read by others.

5. Check your grammar, spelling and avoid text-speak in emails. Check your spelling. Read it out loud. Look for words spelled correctly but in the wrong place, such as “here” versus “hear”.” Using text-speak like “btw” and “LOL,” even when sending from your smartphone, degrades your email. Double-check these before sending.

To learn more about us and / or to schedule your appointment with the business consultants at Global Resources LLC, call us at 855-338-0266. 

A Look at the Increase in Seniors Using Social Media

At Global Resources, we utilize our experience to help small and medium – size businesses grow and thrive in today’s competitive marketplace. 

As social media is critical in the growth of many small businesses, it’s important to look at who is using social media today.  Since it has been recognized that senior citizens have become one of the fastest growing demographic on Facebook, we wanted to dig deeper into this group. Below are five reasons why seniors are integrating Facebook into their daily lives:

1. Keep in touch - Social media is a remarkable tool for keeping in touch, especially for seniors who keep in touch with kids, grandkids / grandkids, but it’s more than just family. Seniors are finding their college roommates, best friends from “the block” and elementary school crushes. The social networks enable us to have conversations with people who we thought we’d never see again. 
2. Entertainment - Seniors can watch old television shows and movies, as well as find videos from the past. They can find song lyrics and find out what their favorite entertainers are up to and can also play games, either by themselves or with family and friends. 
3. Learn - Seniors are now taking courses online and reading online books, posts, articles and more to keep their minds active. They also use social media tools to learn more about topics that interest them. In some cases it can lead them to cultivate hobbies and business ideas, and in other cases, such as with all the inaccurate health information available, it can be a confusing mix of resources.
4. Share their experiences - Senior citizens aren’t merely people who are older than us. They have amazing stories and brilliant ideas. Seniors can blog about how life was when they were growing up or how things have changed during their lifetime. They network online and offer advice and mentoring to younger people and students and they can start Facebook pages to talk to others their age.
5. Take advantage of sales and online opportunities - By following their favorite businesses and brands, seniors can save money by taking advantage of promotional opportunities. Many times freebies and discounts are only available via a Facebook page or for Twitter followers.

To learn more about us and / or to schedule your appointment with the business consultants at Global Resources LLC, call us at 855-338-0266. 

Google Listings for Your Small Business

Global Resources LLC can help facilitate the change needed for small to medium- size businesses to grow and flourish in today’s marketplace.  

We know that consumers are turning to search engines like Google when they're looking for a local business. That's why it is crucial for business owners to ensure their Google My Business page is active and up-to-date.

Below are some factors you need to know about Google My Business to ensure you capture the attention of potential customers and gain more business.

• Google My Business was created by the search engine giant to make it easy for consumers to find what they need, and for local businesses to efficiently reach customers. When someone looks for a local business, Google offers My Business listings above websites, making it easier for customers to find you. The good news is My Business listings are free. And, the more complete your listing is, the better ranking you'll receive. 
• If you already use Google Places or Google+ Pages Dashboard, your business listing has automatically been upgraded to a My Business account. However, you should still log in to verify your listing, hours of operation, website links and other relevant information. If you have reviews, don't forget they're public, so be as proactive and interactive with them as possible. 
• If you're a salesperson or professional for a business that already has a local listing, you can complete a My Business listing for yourself and service area. As with "brick and mortar" listings, individual listings should be as complete and interactive as possible in order to influence Google to rank you at the top. 

To learn more about us and / or to schedule your appointment with the business experts at Global Resources, call us at 855-338-0266. 

The Necessary Departments in Small Businesses

Global Resources LLC offers industry expertise in business operations. All businesses need some sort of organizational structure to operate properly. In fact, businesses without a set organizational structure have problems implementing company policies and operating at efficient production levels.  

Every business needs a functional organization, regardless of size.  Even businesses which are too small to have the departmental structure outlined below, need to assign the functional responsibility to someone in the business rather than having the business owner assume all the responsibility.  A business owner who wears too many hats usually fails in his larger responsibility for being the strategic planner for the business simply because he has too many day-to-functions of the business consuming his time.  

Below are departments, or functions, that many small and medium-size businesses must have or assign responsibility for:

• Administration- The chief executive officer, who also may the company president, and any other managers involved in making decisions for the company are a part of the administration department. Businesses need managers to oversee employees and implement company directives created by the president. 
• Accounting - The accounting department handles the bookkeeping for a business during the fiscal year. All revenue, expenses and company equity are tracked by the accounting department and makes the necessary reports to the Internal Revenue Service at the end of the company's fiscal year. The accounting department also tracks accounts payable so that all clients are paid for services or products. Accountants typically prepare income statements, cash flow statements, general ledgers and balance sheets for the company.
• Marketing and Advertising- The marketing and advertising department is typically responsible for developing product packaging and creative materials for the sale of the company products. Additionally, the department may conduct research to discover the needs of its customers. 
• Production - The production department orders inventory for production when needed, fulfills production orders specified by management and coordinates with the marketing and advertising department to make changes to products.
• Sales- Sales departments are needed in companies that sell to other businesses or consumers. Sales departments coordinate their sales force to build customer relationships, meet particular revenue goals and pitch new products. 

To learn more about us and / or to schedule your complimentary appointment with the business experts at Global Resources, call us at 855-338-0266. 

Marketing Trends for the Small Business Marketplace

Global Resources LLC  is a full-service business development group and general management consulting firm focused on small and medium-size privately-held companies in North America. We help small and medium-size businesses achieve profitable growth by accessing critical knowledge and expertise. 

As many business leaders know, marketing is often a key factor in achieving success. If you’re looking to expand your business marketing, here are trends you can expect in 2017:

1. In-store marketing to millennials - With 80% of millennials using their phone in-store and 74% of millennials willing to receive location-based mobile alerts, marketers have a tremendous opportunity to provide relevant offers to their customers directly on their phones. For example, the rewards apps for some stores present offers to customers as they walk through the various departments. With advancements in beacon technology, marketers can place precisely relevant offers directly in the hands of their customers.
2. Invest in social analytics and social budgets - There are many great opportunities still presented by social media. 70% of companies are still not collecting data from social media channels. This gap will close this year given that 47% of marketers say that social channels offer the greatest opportunities in the next two months. That’s compared to 37% who see email and websites as the hotbed of opportunity followed by 26% for SEO. They’re backing up those expectations with their budgets. 
3. Video is key - Video is taking over the social media landscape with 4 times as many consumers preferring digestible video content over text. Marketers are picking up on the trend as well, with 69% of marketers saying their budget on video content is “increasing” or “significantly increasing.” Another accelerator of video is the explosion of programmatic video, projected to be 2/3 of total digital video spending in the U.S. by 2019. 

To learn more about us and / or to schedule your complimentary appointment with the business experts at Global Resources, call us at 855-338-0266. 

Improving Your Job Shop

At Global Resources, we use our renowned expertise to help small business owners solve challenges that they are experiencing in the evolving marketplace.  We have comprehensive experience in the job shop industry and often help business owners improve upon their practices in order to achieve success. 

It’s no secret that North American manufacturing has taken a huge hit in the recent years, as more manufacturing moves offshore. This has left many job shops with reduced business and many more out of business completely. As challenging as the situation may be, it is possible to survive and thrive in today’s manufacturing environment. It merely requires a shift in thinking. 

No longer is it enough to be a skilled machinist or a good fabricator - you must become a smart business person as well. Here are tips that may assist you in growing your job shop:

1. Understand the cost of doing business - You need to know all the specifics of the work that earned you money, and the work that didn’t. You can only do this by understanding the true cost per hour by individual department or work center, and appropriately costing the work that goes through those areas of your shop.
2. Realize the value of your customers - Good customers are the lifeblood of a business and relationships with customers become even more important during a weak economy. Good customer relations require that you be proactive, contacting your customers frequently to understand what is happening in their business.
3. Prioritize quality management -It is not uncommon for most small and mid-sized shop owners to believe that quality is what sets them apart, that it’s their key differentiator. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case.  To stay competitive, you must have a formal quality management system in place that is integrated with your shop floor management solution. Factors such as efficiency in your business, and relationships with your customers, are far more likely to differentiate your shop than quality if your competitors offer the same quality products. Don’t assume that quality alone will carry the day in a highly competitive marketplace.  Today’s highly competitive economic environment requires quality products, competitive prices, and valued relationships.

To learn more about us and / or to schedule your complimentary appointment with the business consultants at Global Resources LLC, call us at 855-338-0266. 

Websites Helping Business Owners Achieve Success

The business professionals at Global Resources are committed to utilizing our knowledge and experience to help bring about positive change for the owners of small to medium-size businesses.  

We understand that business owners often have to wear many hats in the workplace and, as a result, frequently become professionals at multitasking.  

In an effort to help you stay on track, we have listed websites that many business owners consider beneficial: 

Resources

• SCORE – This site will give you loads of free advice from amazing mentors who have plenty of experience to share. You can even meet your mentors in person, as well as get free newsletters. Learn about a number of small business topics, from office security to mobile technologies and more.
• WhichVoIP – One of the easiest ways to save your business money is by using a VoIP service to reduce your phone bills. WhichVoIP is one of the leading authorities on VoIP and contains lots of up to date information that can help you evaluate different business phone service options.
• Entrepreneur – This is a site that is loaded with helpful guides that will help your business to grow. Information you can find includes franchising, setting work schedules with teams, finding new ways to make money, and much more.

Legal

• Small Business Administration – This is a government branch that helps entrepreneurs. You can use this site to get funding, find employees and a whole lot more.
• Better Business Bureau – Learn everything you need to know about business ethics from the BBB. Demonstrate your company’s credibility by getting a BBB rating.
• Shake – This is a new site that provides information on the legalities involved in operating your own small business. Use the mobile app to create contracts that can be signed immediately. The blog will explain the legal terminology used in your contracts.

To learn more about us and / or to schedule your complimentary appointment with the business experts at Global Resources LLC, call us at 855-338-0266.