EIN Info for Small Businesses

Global Resources is a “full-service” consulting company — meaning that we maintain the expertise and diversification necessary to address all aspects of our client’s business. This requires us to maintain a staff of highly “specialized” professionals across a diverse mix of industries and disciplines. 

We are proud to say, that in the history of Global Resources LLC, there has never been an issue raised during the course of a client engagement where there wasn’t a consultant on staff that didn’t have prior experience in dealing with that issue.

One of the key responsibilities for many new businesses or businesses that are restructuring is obtaining an Employer Identification Number, or EIN, from the IRS.  When you partner with us, our experts will help through every step of the way –including obtaining an EIN.

Below are a list of common questions new business owners often have about EIN’s:

What is an EIN? An EIN is a unique nine-digit number that identifies your business for tax purposes. It’s similar to a Social Security number but is meant for business related items only.

What do you need an EIN for? A business owner needs an EIN to open a business bank account, apply for business licenses and file tax returns. 

What type of business needs an EIN? An EIN is needed by any business that retains employees. However, non-employers are also required to obtain one if they operate as a corporation or partnership.

How do I apply for an EIN? The simplest way to apply for your EIN is online via the IRS EIN Assistant. As soon as your application is complete and validated, you’ll be issued an EIN. There is no charge for this service.

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

5 Tips for Hiring New Employees

At Global Resources, we are dedicated to being the most impactful partner you will ever have.  We will navigate the way for your success, including helping you plan for the hiring new employees.  Employees are the backbone of your business and, with the right team in place, growth and increase in profits will happen. 

If you are a business owner embarking on the hiring process, we have 5 tips for you: 

1. Focus on the candidate's potential. Nothing is more important in a new hire than attitude. While having the right skill set may seem essential, the fact is, skills can be acquired, but attitude is something which the new employee brings to the job.  Attitude is a critical component in overall contribution and productiveness.  A person with the wrong attitude can undermine company teamwork needed to maximize company success.

2. Check social media profiles. Most employers do a background check, including a quick Google search on the candidate's name, to see what is shown online. Today, we suggest looking at social media profiles to evaluate their online presence even further. 

3. Ask the right questions.  In advance, determine questions that will help you decipher a candidate's drive, ambition, and attitude.  This will help you understand how the person works, and whether or not your prospective employee will grow with your business as a productive member of your team.

4. Let candidates ask questions. To help gage if your prospective candidate has the right attitude for your particular job, it's important to help that person understand the company's work environment. Allowing prospective employees to interview you for a change will give you a chance to see what's important to them. 

5. Don't judge a book by its cover. It's easy to write off candidates based on their appearance, but it's more important that you consider how well they can do the job.  Ask yourself, are they a good a good fit in other ways? When interviewing, it is important to think outside the box. Candidates who fall outside the narrow lines of your requirements may still be the perfect fit for your business, if they bring to the business skills or personal attributes which you were not looking for but now recognize as valuable.  

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

Starting a Profitable Restaurant

Restaurant industry sales are expected to reach $783 billion in 2016. Although this will represent the seventh consecutive year of real growth in restaurant sales, the rate of growth remains moderate. The restaurant industry will remain the nation’s second-largest private sector employer with a workforce of 14.4 million.

Opening a restaurant is a challenging and expensive process, and the reality is that many restaurants fail in their first year of business. However, there are certainly ways to reduce the risk of becoming another statistic. 

At Global Resources LLC, our team of experts includes restaurant professionals who know how to grow restaurant concepts.  We will assist you in maintaining positive cash flow, controlling costs and accelerating profitable growth for your restaurant. 

If you are beginning to plan your newest restaurant endeavor, we have five critical tips for you: 

1. Know Your Target Market - Understanding your target market before you begin planning will help you solidify your menu, determine location, décor and the overall atmosphere of your restaurant. 
2. Select a Service Style and Food Concept - What type of restaurant do you see yourself owning? One of the first things you must decide is what specific service style you are interested in. Typically, your service style will either be fast-food, which offers food types that range from burgers, fries, hot dogs and sandwiches; midscale, which has full course meals at value prices; or upscale, offering full service meals with high-class ambiance and, in turn, higher prices. After narrowing your establishment to one of these three options, you can narrow your style of food choices. Is there a particular type of cuisine that you see yourself serving? 
3. Create a Business Plan - Your restaurant will need a strategic business plan, which includes the overall concept and goal of your restaurant, financial information and projection, description of your target market, menu and pricing, equipment and employee details, advertising and marketing plan, and a potential exit strategy.
4. Choose a Location and Layout - It is important to find a location that has a continuous stream of traffic, convenient parking and is in proximity to other businesses. Once you find your location, the layout and design of the interior should be taken into account. You should already have a concept for your restaurant in your business plan.  Now it’s time to bring this concept into the design of the dining room. 
5. Create a Menu - The menu can make or break a restaurant, and should be in accordance with the overall concept of the restaurant. Revisit your business plan to make sure the menu is attractive to your target market, is affordable within your budget, and complements your restaurant's design concept.

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

Determining Your Audience

When you work with Global Resources LLC on a business analysis, you can expect to have your target market reviewed.  In the competitive marketplace today, having a well-defined target market is now more important than ever. In fact, targeting a niche market allows small businesses to effectively compete with larger companies.

Pursuing a specific market does not mean that you are excluding people who do not fit your criteria. Rather, target marketing allows you to focus your marketing on a precise audience that is more likely to buy from you compared to other markets. This is a much more affordable, efficient and effective way to reach potential clients and generate business.

Defining your target market is the hard part. Once you know who you are targeting, it is much easier to determine where and how to market your company. Here are some tips to help you define your target market:

1. Look at your current customer base - Look for common characteristics and interests amongst your customers and determine why they buy from you. Which audience brings in the most business? 
2. Evaluate your competition – Look at who your competitors are targeting. Who are their current customers? Don't go after the same market exclusively, but rather, try to find a niche market that they are overlooking which you can exploit to your benefit.
3. Choose specific demographics to target - Figure out who has a need for your product and who is most likely to buy it. Include the following factors in your process:

          •Age 

          •Location

          •Gender

          •Income level

          •Education level

          •Marital or family status

          •Occupation

          •Ethnic background

1. Look at the psychographics of your audience - Psychographics are the more personal characteristics of a person and can help pinpoint their wants and needs.  Specifically, you should determine how your product or service will fit into your target's lifestyle. This includes: 

          •Personality

          •Attitudes

          •Values

          •Interests/hobbies

          •Lifestyles

          •Behavior

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

Utilizing the Cloud with Global Resources

Global Resources assists organizations with utilizing the cloud. The traditional belief was cloud-based web tools were used mostly by large corporations, and that these tools were costly and their capabilities are too expensive to be efficiently utilized by small and medium-size businesses. However, although cloud technology is often associated with large-scale, enterprise usage, it doesn’t mean small business should avoid it. 

With the many web-based cloud options available today, it is extremely easy to adopt and can be seamlessly integrated into a technology portfolio to increase efficiencies of key business tasks such as client engagement, workflow and day-to-day operations.  

For those who are still unsure about the cloud, the experts at Global Resources LLC have factors you should consider: 

More to the cloud than file sharing - Email and file sharing is a common practice of the cloud but other functions, such as calendar and client management, are not as commonly used by small business management. Online calendar, online scheduling and online CRMs have efficiencies beyond the standard cloud benefits. As with any cloud application they are always available, backed up and have zero maintenance for the business. But they also offer a unique value, as they can actually connect to your website, social networks and email, offering a seamless flow of client information between your customer-facing assets and your internal tools. 

Customers can also benefit from the cloud - One of the greatest impacts of leveraging the cloud that is often missed is the huge improvements in customer service. As customers today want services 24/7 from anywhere, on any device, the cloud has the capacity to turn average customer service into exceptional customer service. The cloud by nature is available 24/7, creating an on-demand repository of every action and transaction between the business and the client. Cloud business applications have the capacity to offer personalized, self-service portal for clients –making the business available for its clients 24/7. 

The Cloud has more benefits when used with mobile- Mobility today means more devices, more locations and more apps that improve productivity, collaboration and your overall business.  And this shift in mobility is paying off with 70 percent of firms saying mobility is improving customer service. But the great power of mobility truly shines when married to great cloud solutions. As an example, the cloud CRM can be programmed to deliver automated email or mobile notifications for customer inquiries or notify the business team member when it’s time to follow-up. On the other end, an online calendar and scheduling automation solution will remind clients of upcoming appointments via email or text messages, eliminating the need for a phone call reminder.

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

Global Resources Advises on Corporate Philanthropy

Adding corporate philanthropy is an important – yet often confusing – practice. Many business owners turn to the business consultants such as those at Global Resources LLC to help establish corporate giving. There are many benefits a company can reap from engaging in corporate responsibility, as long as the philanthropic endeavors are integrated properly. 

If you’re considering becoming more socially responsible and integrating philanthropy into your business, be aware that there are common risks, if not done strategically. 

• Budding social butterflies - One of the risks involved is that a company's leadership can end up getting overly focused on the social side of philanthropy and subsequently lose track of the business platform.
• Direct giving can hamper goals - On the downside, philanthropy that is direct, or created through pure donations of money can make it difficult for a business to actually change what it wants to change in the community, if the receiving charity is not properly vetted before a financial contribution is made.  Some charities which portray a worthwhile community purpose may have an extraordinarily high operating expense relating to their fundraising activities which limits the impact of the corporate giving by the business owners.
• Time, cost and decisions - If a business decides to take a more direct route by investing money in the community itself, then there are other issues which must be taken into account. The business must form a team and decide how much money to give and where it should be given to produce the most impact. Decisions affect not only the length of the project, but also any marketing that goes along with it. In the end, the company must be prepared to spend time, money and decision-making power on a project, if it wants to have an impact beyond a financial contribution.  All factors, both time, money and resources should be evaluated to make a prudent decision as to the best way for a business to engage in corporate philanthropy.

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

Critical Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Consultant

Hiring a business consultant can be the first step in maximizing the success of your organization.  At Global Resources, we provide an objective and comprehensive analysis of the business to give an unbiased view of its strengths and weaknesses. 

If your company is ready to progress forward with the professional assistance of a business consultant, it is important to hire the best consultant for the job. Here are some questions we suggest asking prospective business consultants:

1. How many professionals work at your firm? Business consultants fall essentially into two categories: Solo-practitioners and team players. Understanding the difference between working with a consultant who is on his own or a company which has a team of professionals with experts with experience in a variety of fields will help you evaluate what you need and who offers the best opportunity for you to gain the professional help you deserve.  
2. Will you sign a letter of confidentiality? Will you refrain from working for our competitors?  Ask all consultants to sign a letter of confidentiality. You and your staff must feel free to discuss business subjects with your consultant and trust his or her discretion. If you feel uncomfortable, you won't discuss matters candidly, which will affect the outcome of your consulting engagement. 
3. Ask how many clients do you work with at the same time?  Will you return phone calls or emails the same day? The number of clients a consultant can serve well varies with the kind of service provided and clients involved. But some general rules apply: You want to have same-day response to questions or problems. Be sure to ask about their practices for personal follow through when working with you and their follow-up for client services.  
4. Will you teach us to do this work for ourselves and become self-sufficient? By making training part of the consultant's job, you can limit the chance for the unnecessary expense of the consultants doing what your own employees could be doing, once they are properly trained by the consultants you hire. Establish a schedule within which the consultant can accomplish the goals you have established for the project. 
5. What kind of documentation will you give us when the project is completed? Keeping a paper trail of the work a consultant does for you accomplishes several ends-all of them good. Documentation will usually give you some forms and tools that you can use for continuous improvement and allows you to keep a record of the analyses made of your company and the responses you've taken. 

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