http://www.bizadvice.co.nz Practical advice for the small business Mon, 01 Mar 2010 23:13:05 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Every person who has ever tried to establish their own company knows it's a difficult challenge to carry out.  I’m in no doubt you know that more than 50% of small business ventures fail in the first 12 months & 95 out of every 100 fail within the first 5 ... http://www.bizadvice.co.nz/are-you-at-risk-of-you-becoming-another-business-failure-statistic/ For many, tax is a sizeable “expense” of doing business. Business owners have always had opportunities to lessen their tax bill, legally. The focus has always been on the small business owner to “find” an accountant who is prepared to help them. Until they did, they were repeatedly oblivious of what ... http://www.bizadvice.co.nz/a-few-straightforward-tax-planning-tips-for-the-small-business-owner/  2009 World Bank "Doing Business Indicators" have just been issued and New Zealand has been ranked as the easiest place on earth to start a new business. Starting a Business indicators evaluates the steps & and expenses related to forming a new business.  This excellent result is primarily attributed to the ... http://www.bizadvice.co.nz/new-zealand-is-now-ranked-the-best-country-in-the-world-for-starting-a-business/ How you design your core message is probably one of the most critical and primary steps in marketing.  It sets the foundation for creating clear, focused and specific marketing messages.  The key message produces valuable strategies for many other marketing applications like your emails, brochures, your "elevator" pitch, sales letters and more. Developing ... http://www.bizadvice.co.nz/how-to-design-your-core-message/ Your customer service level is a significant measure of how well (or how poorly) you assist your clients.  Hence, it is a vital factor of how well your firm will do - especially how good you are at keeping clients and generating ongoing business.  Indirectly, it also adds to your referral ... http://www.bizadvice.co.nz/five-ways-to-test-your-customer-service-levels/ Over the last 10 years, I've learned numerous lessons managing my own businesses and also by consulting to my customers and by far the single most significant lesson is ensuring that customers stay happy. The logic for this is watertight. Marketing people will advise you it costs between five to seven ... http://www.bizadvice.co.nz/why-it-pays-to-look-after-your-existing-customers/ Cash flow is definitely the lifeblood of every business. One of the biggest challenges while running a small business is cash flow management. Read on to find out how you can close the floodgates and improve the cash flow of your business. Insist on down payment: This way, it is your customers and ... http://www.bizadvice.co.nz/8-tips-to-close-the-floodgates-and-improve-your-cash-flow/ In the current economic climate, you may be tempted to take in some private boarders or student homestays to top up your income. This article aims to give you an overview of the tax implications if you do so. If you receive income from private boarders, including student homestays you can choose ... http://www.bizadvice.co.nz/tax-on-private-boarders/ Small businesses can grow fast even in times of recession.  Surprised to hear this? Owners of small businesses are constantly looking for ways and means to grow their business and increase their profits. Here is some very valuable information that will help both you and your business grow. 1. Customers are the ... http://www.bizadvice.co.nz/3-steps-to-grow-your-business/ Setting SMART goals for business is important because being SMART is the only way to be to achieve any kind of success. It could be a plan to promote a brand or achieve a sales target within a given time frame, setting smart goals is of paramount importance. Needless to say, ... http://www.bizadvice.co.nz/learn-how-to-set-smart-goals-for-your-business/