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. 

Trends in the Small Business Arena

The team at Global Resources offers individual solutions, developed onsite, for small to medium-size businesses.  As your trusted growth partner, we help bring about the change your organization needs to better achieve growth and profits.  Our experts are renowned for innovative approaches to business and being ahead of the current business trends.

Here are some trends the business owners should be aware of:

1. Online presence - The availability of Internet-based technology gives small businesses more control over brand development, marketing and customer engagement. While tech start-ups traditionally benefit most from these services, Internet tools provide affordable and attainable solutions for small businesses in every industry.

2. Ecommerce - Online storefronts, which allow for the movement of electronic commerce, is swiftly dominating the retail scene in the United States.  You can create and develop your business's ecommerce platform with a vast selection of Internet tools, including solutions for small business owners who need to develop an online storefront on a tight budget.

3. EMV payment security - EMV, or “Europay, MasterCard and Visa,” is critical in our modern marketplace. The national migration to EMV payment standards (popularly recognized as microchip debit and credit cards) is virtually guaranteed to safeguard small businesses and their customers against fraud over the next year. As of October 2015, merchants in the U.S. are liable for any fraudulent transactions processed without EMV-enabled terminals. The government-mandated requirement was expedited as a result of large-scale data breaches and an influx of counterfeit cards in the U.S.

4. Business Intelligence - Business intelligence (BI) software gathers fragmented data sets and translates it into information you can use to improve your business. BI has historically been used by large enterprises to curate, store and visualize what’s known as big data. The growth of Internet technology and big-data solutions make it possible for small businesses to take advantage of BI solutions.

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

Business Owners Incorporate Back to School

The back to school retail season is such a lucrative market and many entrepreneurs are interested in capitalizing on it. At Global Resources, we are committed to helping clients understand the present and analyze the future of their business.  We then create a plan of action to meet goals and, finally, we do the work necessary to create amazing result. 

At Global Resources, our deliverables are based on the professional goals and expectations of your organization.  We will solve the intricate and unique challenges you are experiencing in the evolving marketplace.  While there are best practices that are applicable to all organizations, we understand that no two businesses are identical.

For special seasons, such as back to school time, we analyze your target market, how back to school impacts their lives and how your products or services could fit in to get your back to school marketing campaign started.

• Create Marketing Ideas - If your products or services have no obvious back to school tie-in, you can still create one. Be overly creative to find the back to school connection! 
• Expand Audience - Don't limit your marketing ideas to actual students. It means altered schedules for parents, too, and for some, more time to do things for themselves or things they've been putting off.  Back to school can affect the entire community.  
• Teacher Time - Teachers are another great group to target with your back to school marketing ideas if your products or services are appropriate. Many of the marketing ideas that apply to parents will also work for teachers. 
• Deals and Promotions - Whether you are a clothes retailer, school supply retailer, dentist or hair salon, offering customers deals and promotions is a smart way to increase business.
• Go Digital - One of the biggest downsides of back-to-school shopping are the never-ending lines. It’s no surprise that many consumers are now reverting to purchasing their school supplies online. Some retailers even offer the option to shop online and pick up in the physical store, providing a faster option to actually have the product in hand.

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

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.