Business Management

Let’s Maximize Profits

Profits are the lifeline of small businesses. As your profits increase and become more predictable, your small business has a greater chance of surviving—and most businesses don't.
Most of the time, small business owners can't afford to wait for the results of long-term, large-scale changes to their business model.
As much as possible, if you want to turn a bigger profit as a small business owner, the quicker you can do it, the better.
The following simple changes can help you maximize your profitability right away.

1. Convert One-Time Clients Into Recurring Clients
There are many reasons why converting your customers into repeat clients can quickly   improve your profitability. Recurring customers tend to spend more and purchase more frequently than new customers.

2. Examine key performance measures 
    Falling sales, shrinking working capital, and rising costs are key indicators to monitor.

3. Manage your costs
    More effective purchasing can improve margins. Eliminate waste of materials and time.

4. Encourage Referrals
    If there's one marketing channel that can maximize your profits, referrals would be it.

5. Review sales to long term customers
   You may find out some customers are not as profitable as you thought.

In most cases, a combination of these measures will give a boost to profitability. Incorporate these measures into your business plan and review frequently.

Be diligent and execute, execute, execute.

I hope these suggestions help you focus on improving results. Please let me have your thoughts: Gerry@polarisgroupmc.com

Business Management

Want to be Quantum – Safe with Your Cyber security?

Cora Cybersecurity Inc is a company developed by our guest blogger, Joe Latouf.

Here is an interesting brief outline that should attract your interest.


Cora Cyber Security Inc. has pioneered Quantum Safe Cryptography. Current standards of encryption can and have been broken and when Quantum Computers become more commonplace a new standard of security will be needed.

Cora Cyber Security can provide QUANTUM SAFE CRYPTOGRAPHY TODAY. And it is UNBREAKABLE.

Cyber criminals cost the global community  over $700 billion annually.

CORAcsi has developed Quantum Safe Encryption that is:

• Fast – cyber hygene is an important consideration. When users do not have to wait for files/data, the temptation to “bypass encryption” is removed.

• Central Control – unlike decentralized peer to peer networking technology like “blockchains” Cora is centrally controlled. Ownership of the data/solution is well defined.

• Secure – both today and tomorrow. Let potential adversaries spend the time, energy and money to record your transmissions. Even quantum computers, when they mature, will not unCORAFY (decrypt) your information.

These are but a few insights into how you can strengthen your organization’s protection against cyber theft.

For a demonstration on how to secure your business, don’t procrastinate.

Call Joe Latouf, President, Cora Cyber Security Inc. today for a demonstration on this exciting leading edge technology.
Cell: 519-968-1338
Email: jlatouf@coracsi.com

Business Management

Incentives for Key Managers

As the year ends and goals are set for the new year there may be a key role for incentives in managing and retaining key executives for the company. Rewards and incentives in the workplace have benefits for both employees and employers.


Here are some reasons for and examples of how to structure effective incentive programs for the management group.

1. Monetary Incentives
Monetary incentives reward workers for performance and productivity through money. These incentives include employee stock options, profit sharing plans, paid time off, bonuses and cash awards.

2. Non-Monetary Opportunities
Non-monetary incentives reward employee performance through perks and opportunities. These rewards can include flexible work hours, training opportunities and the ability to work independently. The rewards and incentives are valuable to an employee because they may allow workers to learn new skills and pursue advancement opportunities.

3. Turnover. 
You want to retain key management personnel for a number of reasons. High turnover destabilizes the company and can have severe effects on moral of employees and the bottom line.

4. Enhance Growth.
You want to retain high performing managers to enhance your own company’s growth potential and to keep key people from wanting to look at other opportunities.

5. Setting the Bar
Good managers don’t expect a bonus without achievement but don’t set the bar so high as to be unachievable. That becomes a disincentive to achieve growth.

6. Improve Profits.
Set goals that help improve your bottom line; just achieving new sales records is not a priority if the costs exceed the benefit. Sales executives should be just as concerned about profitable sales as the CFO.

7. Share.
Pay executives for overachieving by sharing profits. As profits goals are exceeded rewards can continue to be major incentives if shared fairly. Reward contribution. Roll plans forward and allow incremental bonuses for achievements in consecutive years. That’s a great way to keep a key person from leaving; that extra bonus for additional achievement may be too juicy to walk away from.

Incentives are important tool to maintain a motivated and dedicated management team and a well-designed plan can bear fruit over the long term. 
I trust these suggestions may help with goal setting in the new year. Please let me have your thoughts. gerry@polarisgroumc.com
   

Business Management

Are you a Decision Maker or Procrastinator?

Decision-making is the key to moving forward and in doing so the greatest obstacle is procrastination.

Think the time you spend answering e-mail, composing and trolling Twitter doesn’t have an impact? Think again. Procrastinating in making business decisions generates enormous costs from time wasted and decisions delayed.

There are several approaches that may be considered to eliminate this waste.

1. Don’t delay. 
Any time you put something off the problem often gets bigger leading to more stress and possibly more procrastination. Recognize this behavior.

2. Reduce the issue to small tasks. 
Work in short bursts to complete each portion. This focused activity for short periods allows you to get the feel for accomplishment. Concentrate on results, not on being busy.

3. Learn to prioritize. 
You may never get caught up with everything you need to do. To be an effective leader you have to prioritize and decide what’s important and manage your time effectively.

4. Turn off distractions. 
If necessary, turn off email, stop answering the phone; give 100% attention to the task at hand.

5. Create a daily plan. 
At the end of each day spend 3-5 minutes setting up the next day’s schedule. It may save an hour the next day while you try to determine where to start your work activity.

6. Be accountable. 
Make yourself accountable to someone for what you want to accomplish. This could be an associate, friend, or business mentor. 

A task can more easily be tackled if you visualize it completed. Remember the “Law of Expanded Time”. Work will fill the time available to complete it. By making less time available to complete a task, you will spend less time completing it.

JUST DO IT.

I hope these ideas help with your decision-making process. Please let me know your thoughts. Gerry@polarisgroupmc.com

Business Management

Keys for successful managing

Let’s look at some key factors that contribute to business success. The role management plays is critical and management must focus on and achieve the goals and objectives set for the business. This can be facilitated with effective use of these skills:





1. Effective Interpersonal Relationships
Staff members and colleagues respect managers that demonstrate trust and treat people with dignity and respect. Strong managers keep their word, and show character even under challenging conditions.

2. Leadership
An effective leader has a vision, a drive, and a commitment to achieve beyond that vision. The leader must then also have the skillset to enlist the support of the organization to achieve the stated goals.

3. Communication
An effective manager communicates effectively in person and through all communication channels. That person also is open to feedback and listens well to input from staff and colleagues.

4. Understand the business’ finances
Understand the financial aspects of the business and sets goals and measures and documents staff progress and success. This allows the team to feel a sense of progress, that they are reaching goals and exceeding expectations. Staff want to know how they are performing against expectations and that needs to be openly communicated.


These are just a few characteristics of management success. I trust this outline provides an opportunity to expand opportunities to reach new levels of success in your business.

Please let me know your thoughts. gerry@polarisgroupmc.com

Business Management

Communication issues in business

Communication is the foundation of every single relationship you have in your personal life; it's no different in business. Without effective communication, there can be misunderstandings, problems and conflicts among your staff, your clients and everyone else you come into contact with. Poor communication can make effective delegation, productivity and an enjoyable work environment virtually impossible.


Here are a few issues that you may want to address:

1. Failure to Listen.
The inability to listen is a huge problem. Often you will see co-workers interrupting speakers or planning what they will say next instead of effectively listening. and still others just forget to pay attention, they are too distracted or have a short attention span. Obviously these all reflect on their failure to listen.
To resolve this stress the need to listen before you start a discussion. Focus on content of discussion and make notes later. Maintain eye contact to facilitate understanding. Turning off cell phones, email, or even closing an office door can help ensure the speaker has your full attention.

2. Culture Differences.
The office has become a melting pot stocked with people of diverse backgrounds and cultural customs. People tend to “hang" with others familiar to their culture or habits. When these individual groups assemble, managers face the challenge of team communications vs small group dynamics.
People often cling to “like-minded" individuals or want to share space with others in their culture. Try to mix them together and make sure that during brainstorming sessions, everyone is contributing—even if you have to walk the floor to listen. If someone is reticent, ask them for feedback. The most important thing however, is to repeat back what you’ve heard. Make sure that your understanding is clear. By reframing your understanding, it allows others to know you are listening and fosters better communication.

3. Ask good Questions
When you want to persuade someone, questions can be more powerful than statements. The reason: you engage another person more strongly. You get him or her thinking about the ideal answer – and the steps necessary to get there.

4. Gender Bias
The battle over which gender makes the best leader is taking the focus away from the real issue. Sometimes workers only want to relate to people of the same gender.
Don’t wait for an invitation to speak. Speak loudly and make sure your viewpoints are expressed; establish eye contact, and own your space. Never issue disclaimers, engage in demeaning yourself—and avoid unwarranted apologies.


Effective communication can be important to your business success. It may be worthwhile taking the time to reinforce practices in your organization to ensure improved results.
I hope these suggestions help. Please let me have your thoughts. gerry@polarisgroupmc.com

Business Management

It’s Time for an Effective Business Plan

Creating a road map for a business may be a key to growth and success but how many entrepreneurs do it right. Here are suggestions for developing a solid plan.






1. Shorten the planning horizon. 
With the speed of change today the 5 year plan has become obsolete and even a 3 year time horizon may be a stretch. You can have great vision and well developed strategy but unless you can connect the dots between where you are today and where you want to be, you will fail.

2. Manage what you can measure. 
Knowledge is power. Monitor the right information and your plan will have a greater chance of succeeding.

3. Increase planning frequency. 
When the 2-3 year plan is complete, management meetings should be held at least quarterly to review where you are and what to do next. This will enable the organization to assess progress and realign targets to meet new business conditions.

4. Write the plan yourself. 
This is an element of business that entrepreneurs love to delegate to a consultant. A plan is better understood if it is created within the organization. The elements contained within the plan vary depending on the size and complexity of the organization. Only when there truly is a lack of the skillset for developing plans should the process be delegated to an outsider like a consultant.

5. Share the process. 
Entrepreneurs who keep their plans close to their chest, not revealing them to anyone, do so at their own peril. Making other managers part of the process provides the opportunity to hold them accountable and share ownership of the plan.

6. Be realistic.
Plans that are overly optimistic or too safe are both wrong. Optimistic plans project revenues and a resulting spending scenario that may not be achieved. Deficits will result. Plans that are too conservative may result in limitations on spending because revenues are not expected. This may result in lost opportunities. Every effort to achieve realism should be undertaken and frequent reviews help keep the business on track.

7. Share the plan. 
Once completed the plan should be shared with the management group so everyone understands expectations and the yardstick for success. The organization should, where possible, tie performance bonuses to result attained in the plan.

When employees feel a sense of ownership about the future you may be amazed what they will be willing to do for the organization to help ensure success.
I hope these suggestions help you focus on building an effective plan for your business. Please let me know your thoughts. gerry@polarisgroupmc.com