Guiding you to become the top entrepreneur !

Discounts and special offers can be powerful marketing tools to encourage new customer to buy products or services from your business, and they can also be used to improve customer loyalty. However it is important that you balance discounts with profits, as there is no point working to a continuous loss.

So for example instead of offering discounts on all of your products, you could choose those which are not selling so well for special promotions, as this will not only help to boost sales and move stock you have had hanging around, but it will also leave your more successful products at the full price, continuing to bring you in a good profit.

You could also think about only offering discounts when clients sign contracts with you, as this is a good incentive for them to commit themselves to your business for the long term, and can help to guarantee you work well into the future.

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Many self employed people find that running a business from home can be very stressful, because they feel that they are never truly away from work and so are constantly under pressure. Therefore it is very important with home businesses that you set some clear parameters between your working and home life, as this will help you to maintain a professional attitude at work and will also help you to relax more at home:
• Home Office – dedicate a separate room to your office space if you can, with a separate phone line. This means that you can shut the door and walk away from your work when you are on your ‘home’ time, and the separate phone can be switched to an answerphone service so you do not have to pick up business calls.
• Work Log – you should log the hours you spend working, as this can help you to make sure you are utilising your day efficiently, and also ensure that you are not working too hard each week and leaving no relaxation time for yourself. Take breaks just as if you were at a regular job, and this should be away from your desk and phone so that you can clear your head for a few minutes and then go back to work fresh.

It takes a lot of grit and determination to succeed at building up your own business, and you will need nerves of steel as things can often be very tough for the first few years, and even if you have some money to put into setting up the business you will most likely have some debts to juggle until things start picking up.

One of the main attributes all entrepreneurs have in common is a determination to succeed, and this is combined with good business sense and the ability to be flexible and take advantage of new opportunities. If one idea isn’t working entrepreneurs should be able to let go and move onto the next project, without losing sight of their overall goals. These skills are all important for success and sometimes come with experience so don’t be worried if at first it feels as it you are not getting anywhere, just trust your instincts and keep persevering.

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If you need financing for your business then it is important that you approach your lender in a professional, realistic manner, as this will show them that you are a serious business manager and that your business is a good investment.
Collateral – lenders will be more willing to extend you credit if you have collateral or ‘security’ to balance the request against. This may be business premises and equipment, or even a privately owned property, and is particularly important for getting that important loan if your business already has debts and is struggling financially.
Business Plan – a straightforward, realistic business plan is essential when approaching a lender for financing. They will want to know exactly how much money you need, what you want to do with it and how you plan to pay it back, and this needs to be delivered in a sensible, professional manner with realistic figures relating to future revenues and potential losses.

Business cash flow is all about having the money available to run your business to the highest levels of efficiency and service, and this can be crucial to the overall success of your business so it a very important area to focus on. Here are just a few tips to help you improve your business cash flow:
• Invoicing – invoices tell people what to pay you and when, and are an essential tool to ensure that the money you are owed comes in quickly so that you can use it for paying your own bills. The standard payment deadline on an invoice is between 10-14 days, and after that you should start chasing the invoice up vigorously.
• Large projects – if you are carrying out a large project that requires a significant investment in equipment, materials and wages then ask for a down payment on the main fee before you start. This will ensure that if the project is suddenly cancelled, or the client refuses to pay upon completion you have limited your initial losses.

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