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Teaching English for Communicative Performance and Business Communication

It is a challenge to us English teachers to manage with our own widely differing linguistic competence the large classes of mixed ability students. Non-availability or high cost of books and instructional material are the challenges just as tests and exams seem to have become the only goal in themselves. In addition, lack of students'(and even teachers’) motivation, administrative apathy, inaccessibility to electronic media, journals and books, balance between the use of mother tongue and English to ensure acquisition of communication skills, or perhaps, a better teaching-learning situation in the mother tongue and other languages, and dissemination of best English Language Teaching (ELT) practices internationally, with an e-culture interface are the new problems teachers have to cope with.

As teachers we need to work on our own affirmative action programmes, despite constraints of our situation. In order to do something new, we may have to give up the old. As John Swales says, “We may need to recycle not only our projects and our programmes but also ourselves.” In fact a practical teacher should be able to operate within, what may be called, “here and now” state of affairs. It is with some sort of inbuilt flexibility and utilitarian purpose that one can practice ELT in the days ahead.

NEGOTIATING DIFFERENCES

With sensitivity for the language (to me, language use is more a matter of pleasure and beauty than of rules and structure), I would like to assert that the yardsticks of the British or American native speakers, or their standards as reflected in GRE, TOEFL or IELTS etc, or their kind of tongue twisting, are simply damaging to the interests of non-native speakers. We have to develop our own standards, instead of teaching to sound like Londoners or North Americans. Pronunciation must be intelligible and not detract from the understanding of a message. But for this nobody needs to speak the so called standardized English (that makes inter- and intra-national communication difficult). David Crystal too appreciates this reality and favours ‘local taste’ of English in India and elsewhere. The problems of teaching, say spoken English, relate to lack of intercultural communicative competence.

Many of the misunderstandings that occur in multicultural or multinational workplace are traceable to inter-group differences in how language is used in interpersonal communication rather than to lack of fluency in English. In fact native speakers need as much help as non-natives when using English to interact internationally and inter-culturally. It is understanding the how of negotiation, mediation, or interaction. We need to teach with positive attitude to intercultural communication, negotiating linguistic and cultural differences. The focus has to be on developing cultural and intercultural competence, tolerance (the spread and development of various Englishes is an instance of grammatical and lexical tolerance), and mutual understanding. Rules of language use are culturally determined. I doubt all those who talk about spoken English, or communication skills, care to teach or develop intercultural communicative abilities. This presupposes a good grasp of one’s own culture or way of communication, or the language etiquette, gestures and postures, space, silence, cultural influences, verbal style etc.

Understanding and awareness of non-verbal behavior, cues and information is an integral part of interpersonal communication in many real-life situations, including business and commerce. Though research is needed to understand the role of visual support in our situations, it does seem relevant in making students aware of the context, discourse, paralinguistic features and culture. This can be advantageous in teaching soft skills which are basically life skills, or abilities for adaptive and positive behaviour, so necessary for successful living.

If one has to work abroad and use English with others there, one has to be sensitive to the culturally governed ways of speaking or talking to each other. The speech community’s (the language culture of the group of people) ways of communication cannot be taken for granted, when one seeks to learn or teach spoken English. People fail or suffer discomfort or embarrassment in negotiations in business or political affairs, or achievement of personal goals due to incompetence in persuasion, negotiation, mediation, or interaction. It is their performance, their intercultural interactional competence which matters; it lies in managing social interaction, and not just communication, in the narrow sense of the word, or use of right grammatical form, syntax, vocabulary, or even certain polite phrases. The goal is to enable one to express what one wishes to convey and make the impression that one wishes to make, using language with a sense of interaction and mutuality.

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

In the context of Business Communication, it is not without a sense of social business for creating value and better business outcome. One needs to demonstrate social insights, too, in the use of, say, (social) networking sites, smart phones, mobile, tablet PCs, voice mail, electronic mail, and other e-business instruments such as computer network, teleconferencing and video conferencing that are being integrated to enterprise design. This means one needs to be able to share information, discover expertise, capitalize on relationship, and be collaborative in creatively solving business challenges. One needs to demonstrate leadership and management traits, innovation, and decision-making; one needs to be able to identify oneself with the shared values and beliefs of the organization one is associated with; and more importantly, one needs to demonstrate intercultural and interactive abilities with sensitivity for change and adaptation, if one is working in a foreign country or in a multinational company.

In short, one’s personal communication, both oral or written, needs to be in tune with the communication philosophy — goals and values, aspirations and pledges, beliefs and policies– of the organization one is working for, just as one should be able to blend with the host culture.

When I mention intercultural interaction, I point to the need for adapting to differences in life style, language, business philosophy as well as problems with finances, government, cultural shock, housing, food, gender, family etc. Although many of the people sent on foreign assignment know their (foreign) market, they are often unable to accept another culture on that culture’s terms even for short periods. Sensitivity for intercultural business environment, or being aware of each culture’s symbols, how they are the same, and how they are different, is important.

COMMUNICATIVE PERFORMANCE

The staff development programme of this kind provides us with an opportunity to revisit the issues related to ‘communicative’ teaching, in general, and business communication, in particular. If communication is the aim of English (or any other language) teaching and ‘communicative’ syllabuses fail to develop what Dell Hymes called ‘communicative competence’ and Noam Chomsky mentioned as communicative performance, we need to reflect on our classroom practices, research and materials production from time to time. Chomsky’s focus was on the sentence-level grammatical competence of an ideal speaker-listener of a language, and Hymes, as a sociolinguist, was concerned with real speaker-listeners who interpret, express, and negotiate meaning in many different social settings; he brought into focus the view of language as a social phenomenon and reflected on its use as units of discourse. Socializing competence and performance, Dell Hymes also mentioned ‘appropriateness’, that is, “when to speak, when not, and as to what to talk about and with whom, when, where, in what manner.” This concept of “appropriate use” as ‘communicative competence’ was accepted by Chomsky and called “pragmatic competence” (i.e. rules of use). Thus, Dell Hymes ‘communicative’ is Chomsky’s ‘pragmatic’ and includes knowledge of sociolinguistic rules, or the appropriateness of an utterance, in addition to knowledge of grammar rules. The term has come to negotiate meaning, to successfully combine a knowledge of linguistic and sociolinguistic rules in communicative interaction, both oral and written.

Michael Canale and Merril Swain in various papers on communicative competence have referred to “appropriacy” in terms of ‘sociolinguistic competence’. In fact, they offer another term “strategic competence”, that is, the ability to use communication strategies like approximation (or paraphrase strategy, using, for example, ‘pipe’ for waterpipe or ‘flower’ for leaf to come close to the intended meanings), word-coinage, circumlocution (i.e. describing objects or ideas using “It looks like…”, “It’s made of…” etc when one temporarily forgets an exact word), borrowing including literal translation and language mix, appeal for assistance, ie. asking for information appropriately using “Excuse me,” “Could you…?” “What’s the word for…?” “I didn’t know how to say it,” etc). mime and all that. Their strategic competence(Canale and Swain) refers to the ability to enhance or repair conversations and means the same as Chomsky’s ‘pragmatic competence’ or Fluency. Brumfit and others too have used the term ‘pragmatic’ in the sense of fluency.

Thus, communicative competence consists of LINGUISTIC competence (ACCURACY), PRAGMATIC competence (FLUENCY), and SOCIOLINGUISTIC

competence (APPROPRIACY).

The Linguistic competence or Accuracy in communication is much broader than mere grammatical competence; it includes the linguistic domains of grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation as well as the linguistic skills of speaking, listening, reading, and writing, spelling, discourse (particularly interconnections and interdependence of the sentences and paragraphs), and the ability to contrast with the mother tongue.

The pragmatic competence or Fluency in communication relates to ease and speed of expression, i.e. how to keep talking, how not to remain silent because one doesn’t know the word (the skill of paraphrasing), and other strategies of learning, including how to listen to oneself and so be able to self-correct and self-edit at once; that is, the ability to monitor immediately.

The sociolinguistic competence or Appropriacy includes varieties of text types (stories, dialogues, non-fiction passages etc) and functions of the language, different levels/degrees of formality or informality, or appropriacy and use of language in authentic situations.

I doubt if we follow such a communicative curriculum with understanding of communicative competence in terms of linguistic ability, pragmatic ability and sociolinguistic ability. But its adoption should help students become independent learners; it should equip them with linguistic forms, means, and strategies that would help them overcome communication difficulties both inside and outside the classroom. From this perspective, communicative competence should be thought of as communicative performance just as a communicative syllabus should be essentially performance-based, that is, increasing the learner’s proficiency.

To quote Brendan Carroll: “The use of a language is the objective, and the mastery of the formal patterns, or usage, of the language is a means to achieve this objective. The ultimate criterion of language mastery is therefore the learner’s effectiveness in communication for the settings he finds himself in.”

POOR COMMUNICATIVE PERFORMANCE

Work-related skills such as team work, cultural awareness, leadership, communication and I.T. skills are as vital as academic achievement for Business/Management students. It would be poor communicative performance if, for example, someone makes a multimedia presentation without knowing how to use the equipment and experiences technical difficulties, or “tries to liven up a dull topic merely by adding flashy graphics rather than by improving the content of the presentation. People who attend meetings unprepared waste others’ time. People with poor listening skills frustrate those who have to repeat information for them. Those who make inappropriate grammatical or vocabulary choices embarrass themselves and those around them. Incompetent communicators hurt the organization they represent. This has especially been the case with hastily sent emails composed in a moment of anger.”

POSITIVE ATTITUDE NEEDED

Academic or professional communication skills, both written and oral, have to be imparted in such a way that students in their contexts are able to identify their own language learning needs and to set their own language learning goals. At college and university level, teachers may act as facilitators, just as they would need to teach with positive attitude for inter- and intra-cultural communication, the skills of negotiating linguistic and cultural differences.

It is with this sensibility for English language and its teaching in various contexts that I speak to you. Yet, as I say all this, I keep in mind the ground reality: that is, poor literacy skills, fluency, and even comprehension; poor communicative ability, with limited experiences in writing, speaking and listening unless, of course, teaching of English as a Second, or additional language improves from school level and need for a supportive classroom climate and positive student attitudes towards learning at post secondary level is recognized. Also, both teachers and students need to be aware of what to do, how to do it, and when and why to do it, as part of practicing self-regulation strategies.

The English Language Teaching community as also the other stake holders in the country should, therefore, revise and reformulate appropriate strategies and policies, with tolerance and multilingualism at the core, to remain relevant in the coming decades. The objective of looking back is to move forward with a reasoned perspective for taking measures to develop communication abilities and higher discourse competence, with a broadened inter- and cross-disciplinary bases, for learning to understand (rather than memorize) and apply in one’s own contexts.

COMMUNICATION IN BUSINESS

The digression apart, let me now come back to teaching communication in business. In terms of ESP, we should be aware of the ‘specific purposes’ of what we do in the classroom, just as we should do it in terms of students’ specific needs. For example, if we teach written communication, we teach it in the specific context of Business, maybe, where applicable, in terms of ‘rhetorical functions’, with a sense of logical organization of knowledge or information, as noticed in actual use. Students need to be exposed to range of authentic report material from business, commerce, finance, administration, marketing, production, personnel etc. They need to understand the logical steps in writing a report, from ‘collecting the information’ through to ‘summarizing’ and ‘appendix’. In short, they need to be presented with task-oriented activities that are both challenging and authentic in the field of business: they need to be forced to read and think about the content of the report; they need to be made to think about the structure and organization of the report; they need to think about the language used to express the content; and they have to be made to apply this knowledge to the skill of writing a report. The variety of writing exercises may include paragraph writing, expansion of notes, completion of paragraphs, sequencing of sentences into paragraph, and using the right punctuation marks, connectives, sub-headings, presentation of non-verbal information or transfer of information from text to diagram (graph, chart, table, outline etc); linking findings, conclusions and recommendations, extracting main points for making descriptive and evaluative summaries etc. We teach all this in terms of what the students already know and what they need to know. They unlearn, learn, and re-learn, both formal and informal expressions, within the conventions of the discipline they belong to.

As I already said, their career success depends on good writing and speaking skills, along with proper etiquette and listening skills and understanding skills. Skills that need particular attention are informational and analytical report writing, proposal writing, memo writing, letter writing, oral presentation, and a sense of grammar, punctuation, word, sentence and paragraph.

The methodology should encourage students to learn from each other via activities both of a productive kind and of a receptive nature. We may exploit developments in the case study approach, use role plays and simulations that place the students in realistic and stimulating situations to create spontaneous personal interaction and creative use of the language in a business context.

A mix of the task based approach, group work, and simulations should help the future business people develop the skills for meeting and negotiating as also for the necessary mastery of English for functioning autonomously in the field. The challenge is not to teach a descriptive course on discourse, but to provide for a pragmatic and custom-tailored input, ready for processing by the learners in an authentic learning environment.

In other words, in stead of mere ‘business communication’, the emphasis has to be on, what I already mentioned, ‘interaction in business context’. It is not merely the language of business, but also the cultural conventions of meetings and negotiations in an intercultural setting that one has to be aware of, and learn. As far as teaching is concerned, it is rather helping students with learning how to learn, how to create the learning opportunities for themselves, and understanding the ways in which language and business strategies interact. If we follow a learner-centred approach, a three-step procedure could be: first, to illustrate (=a good model), then, to induce (=induction for effective learning by the learner), and finally, to interact (=the outcome).

I would like to quote Christopher Brumfit from his opening speech to SPEAQ Convention in Quebec City (in June 1982): “…Being communicative is as much or more a matter of methodology as of syllabus or materials, and methodology is something that teachers are uniquely qualified to contribute to. We should therefore be willing to use our expertise, to innovate, to improve, to inform each other, and to criticize.” What we are doing here, friends, is just to make a beginning, the beginning of a process of communicating, of understanding, that we can start but cannot finish.

ECLECTIC APPROACH

I am aware that there is no universal teaching method or ideal teaching material suited to many contexts of language teaching. Whatever didactic techniques one knows without excluding the behaviouristic drills, and practice and use of mother tongue, where appropriate, are all valid at different points in the teaching process. I stand for an eclectic approach as different methods for different students have always worked and there has not been one best method any time. With our freedom to choose and adopt any notion that serves our teaching ends, with a reasonable degree of historical sense, flexibility and adaptability that allows us to select among a variety of approaches, methods and techniques, we can meet the challenges of today and tomorrow. I see teaching communicatively essentially consisting of an eclectic methodology which incorporates what is valuable in any system or method of teaching and refuses to recognize bad teaching or defective learning. In any educational setting, sensitive and sensible application and continuing evaluation of the chosen practices should be inbuilt.

English has been practised in a social, economic, political, educational and philosophical “hot-house”, to use Peter Strevens’ expression, and the hot-house in India differs in quality from state to state. It is necessary to create an enabling environment – managerial, administrative, institutional, academic, and curricular-to promote not only quality education and effective learning with exposure to lots of natural, meaningful and understandable language, but also genuine communication. This means learners should read and listen to live language; they should speak and write it in ways that can be understood by educated speakers everywhere. Moreover, they should eventually be able to produce and comprehend culturally appropriate natural discourse.

SUMMING UP

To sum up, we as teachers need to recognize the changes that have shaken all human conditions with new technology, new social structures, new values, new human relations, new functions. As Young Yun Kim notes: “The complexity, diversity, and rapid pace of change makes us ‘strangers’ in our own society.” The challenge is, to understand the “sameness in differences” for international/intercultural exchanges, or learning business negotiations and written communication. Language teaching alone may not develop communicative abilities in business English unless we realize that learning the language implies learning the culture also-one’s own culture and other’s culture. It is language and culture teaching together and sharing the “us” and “them” differences to reflect on one’s own culture from the viewpoint of an outsider, and thus, become less ethnocentric and more tolerant of the values of the foreign people and their ways.

The ESP of business communication seems highly culturally biased and value based, even as Western ethno-centricism, including the North American, may not be the answer to our communicative difficulties. But we have to be OPEN to all local peculiarities to communication and interaction. If we view English as the lingua franca for business negotiations, we should also not forget that it is NOT the mother tongue of any or most of the negotiators. To that extent, the English used is commonly a variety in which the mother tongue interferes not only phonetically and phonologically, but also in the cultural norms and attitudes expressed by the speakers. To quote Susanne Neimeir, “Their non-verbal behavior, for example, does not automatically switch to an ‘Englishized’ non-verbal behavior but normally stays rooted in their home culture. Thus, even when they think the negotiation partner should have understood (verbal and non-verbal) signs they are using, misunderstandings still occur because signs may be differently encoded-and decoded-on the other’s cultures or may not be noticed to be signs at all.”

Therefore, we need to sensitize students to cultural richness and cultural diversity for developing mutual understanding and using individual and group knowledge constructively, and not stereotypically, in learning skills of business communication, both oral and written. It also seems imperative to integrate discourse analysis, decision-making and generic patterns of meetings and effective conversation and the role of cultural influences for success in actual business situations. In fact, it is significant to provide professional students with opportunities to experience what it means to communicate and to do business with different people who obviously are alike in several basic ways.

In today’s globalized business context, while teachers of business English have to be aware of various analytical and practical approaches to business communication, especially as intercultural understanding and strategies of flexibility, adaptability and tolerance are some of the keys to make the best of economic opportunities, students of Business communication have to learn to find their own strategies, or use of structural and stylistic devices for successful business interaction. Their verbal communication in the ‘ESL’ context, to my mind, would be largely ‘EIL’ to be able to work together, using English as the common language.

I hope at the end of the programme, having shared with each other what some of you have done and how, we will emerge more enlightened and aware about what more we need to do to succeed in the days ahead. Mutual interaction should help us envision a possible policy framework required to support teaching for economically valuable language skills at tertiary and/or professional level.

(Text of the author’s Special lecture delivered at the AICTE SPONSORED STAFF DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME ON ‘EMERGING TRENDS IN BUSINESS ENGLISH AND THE METHODS OF TEACHING’ at National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST), Berhampur, Odisha on 23 March 2012.)

–PROFESSOR (DR) R.K.SINGH

Dept of Humanities & Social Sciences

Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad 826004 India

Business Communication Writing Skills Benefit From Originality and Media Based Marketing Training

From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you’re on vacation in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30.”

~anonymous high school essay

Greetings. Thank you for indulging me in yet another example of analogies collected by high school English teachers. I do so because the language we all share is a treasure chest of words that in the odd combination can make us smile, chuckle, even laugh out loud. And, like Larry the Cat — whose house we share and whose antics are just plain goofy — the best humor is unintentional humor.

Anyway, the gaffe above resulted from a sincere, albeit immature, effort to be original and evocative. Good for him or her, I say. At least the brain has been engaged. But what about the way us adults fall into shallow “copycatism” when we communicate in a professional setting? And how does that reflect on you and your business communications when you mindlessly insert those phrases in your website text or emails? Do you really want to sound like a faceless, unimaginative bureaucrat when it comes to writing skills?

Herewith some inaugural entries in my Language Hall of Shame:

o Negatively impact, as in “Our failure to fabricate even one paper clip that actually holds two sheets of paper together is negatively impacting our sales performance.” First of all, “impact” became a verb only about 30 years ago, even though the verbs “affect” or “influence” did the job quite nicely. But now that it’s here, why compound the damage by adding an awkward adverb (fellow Mainer Stephen King said in his book on writing, “The adverb is not your friend.”)? Why not rely instead on unambiguous, active, space-saving standbys such as “harm” or “hurt?”

o Core competencies, as in “Our core competencies include a flexible attitude about quality control and a collective tendency to stretch the lunch hour beyond normal parameters because we adhere to the principle of saving personal energy.” Does anyone realize that by using the adjective “core” to define “competencies,” you’re implying that you have other “competencies” that might not be so “core?” And that a careful reader could deduce that those other competencies might actually be subpar, or least rather pedestrian? Here’s a solution, in plain English: “What we do best is…” or “Our reputation rests on the way we…” or “We are known for…”

I bring this up because I don’t doubt that your readers are critical thinkers (at least that’s what I tell my writing seminar students to expect), which means they will view phrases like “core competencies” as lazy, unproductive thinking.

o Skill sets, as in “Our employees can bring the most unique set of skill sets to finding a solution to your problem, which is why we consider ourselves a high-end firm that can justify overcharging you for our services.” First of all, you can’t be “most unique” because “unique” means one of a kind. I used to think that foolishness was restricted to the sports broadcast booth, but now I’m seeing it on websites, which was probably inevitable.

Anyway, I ask you: What’s wrong with just using “skills?” How can adding “sets” possibly add anything beyond the useless appendage of another four-letter word? If you use “skills sets,” ask yourself: “Why? What have I gained beyond the obvious tendency to imitate others unthinkingly?”

The News Media…Not Always Nosy Busybodies

“Literature is the art of writing something that will be read twice; journalism what will be grasped at once.”

— Cyril Connolly, English writer

Learning to deal with the press constructively need not be limited to traditional definitions of news. Some realistic role-playing in a media training setting can, in fact, help you frame and sharpen your message for commercial purposes. That’s where I can be of assistance. As a former newspaper and magazine reporter, I like to know how things work and what sets them apart. Then I try to pass on what I’ve learned in succinct prose, as Connolly noted.

Let me describe the sort of training I do. A couple years ago, a clever nurse in Maine came up with a blend of four aromatic oils that she said eased the nausea of first-trimester pregnancy, chemotherapy and motion sickness. To help with marketing, I put her through questions a reporter for the business section of a newspaper or magazine might ask. Then I wrote an article about her “aromatherapy,” which we discussed in detail for lessons learned.

The result? She and her marketing and investment associates came out of the exercise with a much clearer view of how the public would perceive their unusual product. The questions I asked were born of healthy skepticism, and she said she planned to adjust her pitch accordingly.

Enhancing Business with Envelope Printing

In history, envelopes have been used and proved to be a good packaging medium. They are effective and widely being used for carrying letters, with variation on sizes and shapes. Within your first impression of envelopes, they surely are only being used for its purpose, a pack, protection for mails. Of course, you can always enhance your message to a recipient whether it’s only a business reply envelope, corporate envelope, direct mail envelope, billing envelope, there are endless ways to customize an envelope and envelope printing can enhance its packaging.

Envelopes have different sizes and formats. There are pocket envelops and a banker envelopes, the size varies depending on the size of the document inside. Along with quality material, envelops are widely used for handling documents whilst being sent or kept.

In helping your business niche, envelopes carry the name of your company or simply have fancy prints to make them look pleasing to any recipient. Here are some of the benefits you can get when having a customized print on your envelopes.

With those window envelopes, having a custom print can always expose excellence in service, In billing envelopes, a good printed one can always have the impression of quality, so to speak, this carries a company’s image, and packaging can always be a good way to boost quality service.

Direct mail envelopes are one of the things that need a good printing scheme. Your promotional material does need a good packaging. Often being the first thing a customer looks out for, making them attractive and pleasing will always become a business enhancing strategy, with a good customized print that can entice customers, you can lessen the instance of unsolicited mails.

Corporate envelops can be used to portray its style, class, and distinction to others, having a good customized print will also depict quality. With storing files, legal papers, and a corporate document too needs its own customized envelop, there are a lot of things you can design and embed to your corporate envelope prints.

Business reply envelops need a custom print to distinguish and have its own set of standards in marketing. A good customized design will likely get good impressions from your clients. This can also benefit from having their own print that signifies your sincerity, your aims on quality business, all counts when you are transacting with your clients so don’t stint on good quality prints on your envelopes.

Custom envelopes can also be used to send out your messages, of course, you need to have your own style when sending out to clients. Having to produce envelopes to match your preferred audience can always be gratifying, this can have your own scheme and could be able to attract more of your clients.

There are a lot of online printing services available today. They can meet the demands of printing bulk envelopes to suite your needs. Often having a quick turnaround, the printing technology is evolving and always having the best solutions for its customers. From there, having a custom-made envelop can enhance your business in terms of quality.

Envelopes are not just common sheath of material for mails; they can be a very potent tool in terms of marketing. They can draw customers’ attention, with high quality printed envelopes; this will likely enhance your business to its highest point.

Gardening Business – Developing Your Elevator Pitch and Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

There are two (2) concepts that you need to understand and embrace if you want to succeed in business. These concepts are your Elevator Pitch and your Unique Selling Proposition.

The Elevator Pitch is:

a short and sweet summary of what you do and it is not really about trying to sell to someone. So instead of telling someone “I mow Lawns”, you might say “We turn our customers gardens into Landscape Showpieces”.
a pitch for other people’s attention
what you tell people if you were in an elevator and you only have 30 seconds (or 100 to 150 words) to impress them or to engage them
a pitch for someone’s attention telling them what you do and hopefully they will be interested to ask you for more information. It is an introduction to what you do and in the process you create some intrigue and hopefully generate some enquiry from the listener

Your Unique Selling Proposition is:

the reason (or the compelling Point Of Difference) your customers choose you over your competition
the foundation of your advertising program – it is what you communicate to your market-place. It may be your slogan or tagline.
the foundation of your professional image – Your image and brand are a result of devising your USP, and your image and brand is carried through to all your livery – clothing – uniforms, letterheads, business cards, magnetic stickers, motor vehicle signage, web sites, emails, flyers, brochures
the first impression new customers and prospects have of you
most probably more important to have than your Elevator Pitch

If you avoid or skip defining your own USP, you’ll struggle to grow your business.

Your Unique Selling Proposition is what you tell the market place through your Flyers, Leaflets, Website, Business cards, Brochures, Radio advertisements and so on. It helps to remind prospects and existing customers why you are different to your competitors. It is a summary of all the benefits (as opposed to all the features) you provide to your customers.

This Point of Difference (your USP) that you articulate may be something as insignificant as the location of your business, the way you carry out your service, or the speed of service delivery. So when you develop these concepts or slogans don’t say something like “We provide excellent service”, because anyone can say that. In other words there is NO point of difference here!!!

Famous examples of good Unique Selling Propositions include: “You get fresh, hot pizza delivered to your door in 30 minutes or less – or it’s free.”

Domino’s Pizza:

FedEx: “When your package absolutely, positively has to get there overnight”

DeBeers’: “Diamonds are forever”

You can see why the Domino’s & FedEx slogans are so effective because they are very specific with their mentions of benefits & guarantees. These slogans or taglines are complete statements which can be verified by the customer and they don’t resort to marketing hype words like “ultimate”, “best”, “greatest”.

The “Advertising Age” voted the DeBeers’ “Diamonds are forever” the best advertising slogan in the 20th century. Also, DeBeers would have benefited nicely from the glamorous James Bond film and book with the same name.

In summary, with both the Elevator Pitch and your Unique Selling Proposition, you are communicating to prospects and customers how you take Prospects with a Problem or Pain to another place where there is Pleasure.

Start a Home Based Company With Small Business Grants

In this day and age as we witness the rapid advancing of technology in unison with the increasing unemployment rate, many American citizens are turning to small business grants sponsored by the US government as a means of establishing home based online businesses. This practice is becoming more and more popular each and every day as the evolution of technological business enhancements is rapidly rendering traditional methods of company operations obsolete.

There is no better time than now to begin considering telecommunication and virtual office positions as a regular work or career procedure. This is the age of computers, and web cams, and digital this, and automated that. It’s seldom that you are ever even able to reach an actual live representative when calling most customer service centers. It is pretty frightful to think that your job can actually be eliminated and replaced by an inanimate object, yet those days are growing near. It is a daily occurrence that thousands are laid off of their long time jobs while major corporations downsize employees to redirect payroll funds, in order to upgrade their automated systems. Becoming self-employed is seemingly the last chance at any type of job security for some, and small business grants are often the only chance of achieving that.

The smartest thing about using small business grants to establish an online “work from home” business is, obviously, because this is free government money. Most taxpaying American citizens are eligible to qualify for business grants, and the best part is, they never have to pay them back. There is no credit check, cosigner, interest, collateral, or anything else. This is a gift from the government awarded to you to establish your new business. By using these funds to create an online web and/or home-based business, you can virtually open up shop and see an immediate profit with absolutely no overhead whatsoever. No other type of business can achieve those highly favorable results.

You can acquire enough free government money in small business grants to start your home-based business in the utmost of professional fashions. It is entirely possible to be awarded enough funding to…

*Construct and/or set up an efficient and well equipped home office

*Purchase computers, software, telephones, copy machines, fax machines, printers, and all other essential major electronic or technical equipments to keep your company running smooth and efficiently.

*Buy all paper, pens, folders, professionally printed letterhead stationary, calendars, business cards, and all other necessary office supplies that you will need.

*Afford advertising materials and services to properly promote your business, whatever it may be.

*Obtain special training or college courses that correspond to your choice of career path to enhance and improve your business.

These are just a few of the advantages of creating your own online business. We haven’t even touched on the pleasure and freedom of not having a boss, not having to commute to work, not having to pay for gas or parking, wait for trains or buses, get stuck in rush hour traffic, be late for work, take a cut in pay, or get laid off. Sounds pretty appealing, doesn’t it. Well imagine being able to do all of that, for free.

Follow the links below to see how much free government money you qualify for in small business grants. It may not be long before you are enjoying lifetime job security in that plush corner office with a window…with a view of your patio.

Project Outsourcing: Why ALL Businesses Should Consider Outsourcing An Integral Part of Business

OUTSOURCING: AN OVERVIEW

Businesses of all kinds can and do benefit from the tool of outsourcing every day. Businesses large and small have been outsourcing every day projects for many years. The businesses that use outsourcing as a tool to enhance and grow their business already know the value that outsourcing brings to their organization. Outsourcing is a business process term for what has literally become known as hiring a consultant, independent contractor, or freelancer to do a specific task or tasks for an organization in which the organization either does not have the time or the expertise to do on their own. The organizations that have used outsourcing for many years know that with the positives it brings to the organization that it is also important to have a well managed plan of action for hiring a consultant or contractor for a business task. This includes deciding which projects or tasks to outsource, whom to hire for these tasks, how to manage the project, how to agree on payment terms, and how to achieve the desired results. There are many forms of outsourcing ranging from outsourcing payroll to outsourcing package handling, to everything in between. Small businesses hiring a self-employed accountant to handle the corporate tax returns are in essence hiring a tax consultant. Large corporations that hire outside customer service firms to handle their customer support are outsourcing that function of their business to focus more on their core business functions. It is entirely possible to outsource practically every business process within an organization.

OUTSOURCING TOOLS

There are a wealth of tools available for the organization looking to outsource business processes. Companies such as SmartyLance.com, enable a business to post a project to a project marketplace and receive bids from experts in the field. These type of freelance sites match companies with freelance professionals, consultants, and independent contractors. There are many advantages for a business to use services such as SmartyLance. First, the marketplace enables businesses to use a centralized location to post their project, receive bids on that project, communicate with potential providers, choose a winning bid (either based on lowest cost or based on the credentials, expertise, or prior feedback of a particular provider), manage the project specifications, receive the delivered project and make final payment based on the terms of the auction. This centralized marketplace provided by SmartyLance greatly streamlines the entire outsourcing process and enables the business owner or manager to have greater control over the entire outsourcing process.

INCREASING COMPETITION

Competition is a complicated subject for many people. Ultimately, competition is good for the consumer, whether the consumer is an individual or a business, competition enables products and services to maintain high quality and low cost. Although many people dislike competition because it forces action to improve quality, the benefits to the overall economy even result in improved products and services for the very people that dismiss competition and the headaches it sometimes brings. Freelance marketplaces such as SmartyLance are no exception in that competition improves the overall quality and value for the project buyer and causes the freelance provider to adjust to market conditions in a practical, intelligent manner to win new business. The benefits to the company looking to hire freelancers are obvious. For example, Company A can compile a list of consultants to work on the design of their new company logo. This list may include a multitude of design firms from the same geographical area. Company A would be required to submit an RFP by contacting each design firm individually, stating the requirements of their project and requesting a quote based on the requirements. Many factors come into play in deciding which design firm Company A will choose. Chances are, that using this approach, Company A will end up paying too much for the project and will only have a handful of providers to choose from. Company B also must outsource the design of their new company logo. Rather than compile lists of design firms, which can result in overpriced quotes, Company B decides to post their logo design project to the SmartyLance marketplace. Doing so enables Company B to get competitive bids that help ensure that Company B gets the most competitive price for their project. By posting the logo design project to SmartyLance, Company B not only reduced costs associated with the project, they had access to specialists and skilled professional designers from around the world that were competing to give Company B the best cost and highest quality design for their money. The entire process was managed easily through Company B’s SmartyLance account enabling them to keep in contact, manage project specifications, manage competing bids, and send payment easily and securely through one of several different payment methods. An escrow account enabled Company B to ensure that payment wasn’t released to the provider until all project requirements were met. Company B successfully outsourced the logo design project and was able to save several hundred dollars. They also received the project several days quicker than Company A. In this example of Company A and Company B, we see that Company A had limited its ability to find a skilled professional and limited its ability to save money on the project. Company B took full advantage of all the resources and benefits of the SmartyLance marketplace and was able to save time and money. By outsourcing critical business functions that are not core business functions, the organization greatly benefits through a savings of time and money which in turn benefits us all through decreasing costs that are passed down to the consumer.

TO OUTSOURCE OR NOT TO OUTSOURCE?

That is the question many small business owners and large corporations alike are asking themselves each and every day. Risks are inherent in any new business strategy or thought process. However, like any business decision, risk can be managed. By intelligently choosing a provider that matches your intended skill requirements, carefully detailing and outlining your project requirements, and ensuring that you maintain the requirements within budget, the benefits can far outweigh the risks.
One of the more common fears among some larger organizations that may be reluctant to outsource projects is a fear of the unknown. This fear stems from the inherent inability to oversee each and every aspect of the project from start to finish and to evaluate each step along the way. Internal employees devoted to a project are more easily evaluated and can be guided through performance and work appraisals. Managers may feel that outsourced projects are more difficult to oversee and manage with an eagle eye. The fact of the matter is that so long as there are well-defined contractual obligations and project reporting requirements, an outsourced project can in fact result in a more manageable outcome than actually thought. Also, the talent pool and skills obtained that may be completely unavailable to the organization allow the organization to reach milestones and achieve success that may never have been possible with their current employees.

OUTSOURCING CONTROVERSY

The outsourcing controversy that is making headlines today is the public opinion of outsourcing jobs to other countries. This includes manufacturing of products, such as those that are “Made In China” as well as service outsourcing such as computer programming that is outsourced to skilled workers in India. One can argue that outsourcing projects overseas is taking opportunity away from workers in their native country. Others may contend that outsourcing projects, whether it’s overseas or in the same country is a great opportunity that will improve business processes, improve productivity, reduce costs and have an overall positive effect on the economy, thus creating more new jobs and specialized jobs in specific skill areas. All businesses are consistently looking for ways to increase productivity and lower costs. From an economic standpoint, increasing productivity and lowering costs are essential elements for business success. Business success, in turn leads to more growth, which leads to new job creation, be it in a more specialized skill area or through the development in new types of jobs in new specialized areas.

OUTSOURCED BUSINESS PROCESSES

As mentioned previously, practically any business process not related to the core business activity can be outsourced. Some examples of commonly outsourced business processes include:

Accounting and Finance

Graphic Design & Multimedia

Sales and Telemarketing

Web Design and Development

Administrative Support and Data Entry

Business Strategy, Advertising, Business Plans, Consulting

Legal, Contracts, Copyright, Corporate, Incorporation

Software and Technology, Database Development

Writing and Translation, Copy Writing, Creative Writing

Press Releases

A REWARDING CAREER

Having a specialty or skill in a particular business area can enable you to begin a career as a consultant or freelancer. Freelancing enables you to have the flexibility to work on your own and on your own schedule. You can choose which projects match your skill set and decide which types of freelance projects that you would be interested in working on. There are numerous sources available to find freelance work. Some sources include browsing freelance directories, job boards, and registering with talent auction sites such as SmartyLance. All of these resources are filled with potential jobs. In comparison, it seems that talent auctions are the most comprehensive resources offering the most flexibility to both the freelancer and the company hiring a freelancer. They offer the breadth and depth of listings and the simplicity to bid on numerous projects as well as services enabling the handling of the entire payment process through a service provider account with the talent auction site. Bidding on projects requires much discipline and planning. Before placing a bid or giving a quote on a project, the freelancer must take into account many factors including the length of time required for the project completion, the budget the service buyer can afford, and whether or not they can actually meet the requirements to complete the project. It is also important to keep in mind that developing relationships with service buyers can lead to more work in the future. Developing a relationship with service buyers and meeting or exceeding their project expectations will enable you to develop a client base that allows you to practically always have new projects to work on.

COMPETITION FOR PROJECTS

There will always be competition in all forms of business. Competition for freelance projects is fierce. One of the major ways to compete and win is to make yourself stand out from the rest of the crowd. You can start by fine tuning your resume. This will force you to think about your accomplishments as well as your exact skills and abilities. There are numerous services that can help you with your resume, including ResumeEdge. Using a service to help you with your resume will enable you to better explain your accomplishments and present them in a manner that will captivate and impress the reader. Especially if you are an independent freelancer, having your resume retooled by ResumeEdge will allow you to stand out in a crowded marketplace. Many freelance service buyers will wish to see a list of your accomplishments and your skills. If you register as a service provider with a freelance marketplace such as SmartyLance, they offer several different options that enable you to stand out above the crowd. First, there are different subscription levels when registering. There is a Limited subscription, a Novice subscription or a Professional subscription. Each higher level subscription offers more options to the service provider. Every service provider does have the ability to post a profile, detailing various information about their abilities. Limited subscriptions limit the cost range in which a service provider can bid. For example, a Limited service provider can only bid on projects with a price range less than one thousand dollars. Novice subscription service providers can bid on projects less than five thousand dollars, and Professional subscription service providers can bid on any service level project. Several added bonuses with the Novice and Professional subscription levels include the ability to purchase credential verification services as well as the ability to post “Buy Now” projects. Credential verification services enable you to post information related to your references, certifications, licenses, education and previous employment. Simply adding these options to your account gives you a special designation stating that your information has been checked and verified as being true and accurate by the freelance marketplace. This designation gives you an added level of credibility making you stand out from the rest of the service providers and enabling you to showcase your achievements and abilities, giving a service buyer confidence in choosing you to complete their project. This will undoubtedly lead to more work and more projects coming your way. In addition to verifying your credentials, you have the ability to showcase a portfolio of your previous work. This allows you to show the service buyers your achievements and your successes with previous clients. Showcasing your portfolio is another important aspect that gives the service buyer confidence in your ability. Finally, the higher level subscriptions enable you as a service provider to offer “Buy Now” solutions. Similar to purchasing products immediately without bidding as on major product auctions such as Ebay, “Buy Now” solutions enable freelance service providers and consultants to make a solution available to all service buyers for a specific set price. For example, a freelance graphic design firm may create a “Corporate Identity Package”, enabling a service buyer to purchase this package that may include the graphic design of a logo, along with designs for letterhead, business cards, and banner ads. Another example could be from a lawyer or legal consultant who creates an incorporation package that includes corporate setup and incorporation services for all fifty states, creation of shareholder agreements, employment agreements, and registered agent services all for a set price. These simple examples of “Buy Now” services enable freelance consultants and independent contractors to create easy options for service buyers who are looking for simple solutions and quick turnaround time. Service providers also enjoy creating these type of services because it enables them to focus on their core interests and abilities. Only higher level subscriptions such as the Novice or Limited subscriptions enable freelance service providers to post “Buy Now” projects. The beauty of these additional options as a freelance service provider is that you can focus on one specific aspect of your business. If you are a consultant for a graphic design firm and you simply enjoy creating and designing corporate logos and identities, then you can find work specifically in this area by posting your own “Buy Now” solution. If you are a lawyer working for your own legal firm and your passion is new business setups and incorporation services, then you can steer projects your way with a “Buy Now” solution posted on a freelance marketplace like SmartyLance.

CONCLUSION

These are only a few examples of the many opportunities that exist as a freelancer. Whether you are a small business, an individual, or a large corporation, this article simply serves as a guide to help you in your quest to use outsourcing to your advantage to help your business grow and flourish. Outsourcing, when done correctly, can benefit your business in so many different ways. The two most obvious benefits are a savings of time and money. From the freelancer’s standpoint, this article has been developed to help educate and guide you with the many options available to find work as well as to delve into the minds of freelance service buyers. Knowing their concerns and understanding the reasons for choosing one service provider over another will greatly benefit you by enabling you to increase your odds for getting new business. Understanding the concerns and needs of service buyers will lead to your gains as a service provider. If you are able to provide enough people with services that they wish to have, then you will always be in demand.

Digital or Business Transformation

Digital transformation refers to the changes associated with the application of digital technology in all aspects of human society. Digital transformation may be thought as the third stage of embracing digital technologies: digital competence → digital literacy → digital transformation. The latter stage means that digital usages inherently enable new types of innovation and creativity in a particular domain, rather than simply enhance and support the traditional methods.

– Wikipedia

It has been more than 30 years since computers had been introduced into business world. With the help of, powerful mobile devices and high connectivity, now we are living in a momentary world that is evolving so fast towards digital that now digital transformation is inevitable.

Most of the C-Levels in corporations started to pay more and more attention to Digital Transformation. They believe, without this transformation, even a long-established company may extinct. It is the Kodak example they are afraid of. To be honest, the risk is there, however is ‘Digital Transformation’ just enough?

Marketing, sales, manufacturing, finance processes should all be digitised in order to fulfil the transformation. It includes working anywhere anytime, broader and faster communication, enterprise integration that would enable performance & efficiency improvements.

That is all well planned and should be executed step by step. Yet can you imagine any change to be internalised without a holistic approach? Without embarking every team member, adjusting / improving their competencies, engaging them all around the same evolving mindset…

That’s why, we believe this topic should be handled with a broader scope and it is the reason behind we like to call it a “Business Transformation’ rather than a Digital Transformation.

In other words Business Transformation shall handles the topic more broadly including mindset and organisations, leadership and entrepreneurial mindset, education and pragmatic planning.

Your Business Transformation journey is unique

Every company has its own inner dynamics and every category has its own realities hence your journey should be tailor made to your business. When there is so much at stake, it is not an easy task to move the rocks around, without rigor planning, sufficient on-boarding, kicking off the new mindset with an adjusted organisational structure.

The internal impact – Mindset & Organisation

Any change in a company first impacts its own resources, starting from human. Top-down transformation approaches tend to stay at the top level with Digital Transformation Teams, causing manager level (or further) to think it is not their business. The only way to beat the resistance to change is to embark the resistors ASAP.

Corporate and entrepreneurial mindsets are two far ends thus moving from one to other is not given. However, with the power of a corporate company, an entrepreneur mindset can achieve higher goals sooner. That’s why, we should keep on increasing skills of the individuals in our organisation, empowering them to move forward within the team.

The Impact on Consumer Experience

Digital transformation for the consumer end includes an architecture of your digital ecosystem to be able to do better listening, segmentation and tracking, enabling you to increase your digital media investments efficiency, letting you to fish where the fishes are. All these changes will definitely have a positive impact on your consumer engagement and thanks to the new tools, we will be able to measure the ROI of your campaigns / activities.

Step by Step Approach

As said, digital transformation is a key stage throughout this journey. All your existing processes should be analysed with expert analysts according to the dynamics of your company and industry. Only after then, a solution can be determined and tailored to your needs. The gains here are not necessarily immediate, therefore long term investments should be planned with an entrepreneur mindset.

All in all, Digital Transformation is inevitable in this era, we just need think it as broad as it requires to land it well in your organisation. As Portera we are committed to understand, analyse together and help you build the right organisation to reach this new mindset fully.

Printed Business Stationery a Propaganda Tool

In times of pandemic and frequent lock downs businesses deem fit to reduce or halt completely discretionary expenses. These are thought to be as avoidable with no strategic implications. But reducing marketing communications or propaganda tools is a sure shot strategic failure the impact of which may not be immediate but would be realized as a negative move much later.

For expenses and investments in marketing communications and advertisement have a long term implications the results if executed correctly and persistently can increase tremendous profitability due to customer engagement, earned digital reputation and consumer awareness. There are many cheap ways of company propaganda one of which is the subject of discussion here.

Absence of propaganda even for a brief period can create a void among the brand loyal customers or clients who seek regular services. Absence of marketing communications in any form for a long duration would invite negative impressions about the company and the brands. This can even reduce the market share and trust in a brand. Hence propaganda should never be curtailed. Thus sending the right messages using the right medium should never experience disruptions.

Printed business stationery is cost effective and right medium for propaganda. Businesses should always be focused on the customers and partners. Since long printed stationery has proven to be an effective marketing tool that promotes business if the campaign is careful planned and executed.

Design and colors are weapons of attraction and to add to it a message that portrays the company in good light is a powerful way to garner reputation bring products and services in bright light and create an everlasting trust that add business year on year.

Printed stationery is making businesses more and more empowered thanks to constant innovation in design and technology development in printing. The medium be it a paper, plastic or boards the effect of modern printing is spectacular. The channel could be any even a small business card can yield wonders and the use of appealing letterhead is not an old method of communication any more. The artistic representations, fonts and the actual subject matter make a difference.

It is not only the business stationery suppliers that matter to a company. It is those innovators, designers and copy writers that matter too. Attention has to be paid towards professionalism in designing printing and sloganeering on stationery items that are used for promotional purpose. If taken seriously this marketing communication and propaganda tool can enrich the company’s fund.

The IRS Wants to Know, Are You Running a Business or a Hobby?

Being a small business owner brings with it a whole host of challenges. Not only are you concerned with taking care of your client’s needs, getting paid and paying your vendors. You also have to be concerned with staying compliant with federal and state laws as well as local guidelines. Small business owners, especially sole proprietors, are at an increased risk of audit. The federal government believes that self-employed people are grossly under-reporting their income and over-reporting their expenses. According to the website Tax Help Online, “You might be shocked to learn that 20% of all small business audits involve disallowing deductions because the IRS reclassifies the small business as a hobby under the so-called ‘hobby loss’ rule.” Internal Revenue Code Section 183 (Activities Not Engaged in For Profit) limits deductions that can be claimed when an activity is not engaged in for profit. IRC 183 is sometimes referred to as the “hobby loss rule”. As a small business owner, it is your responsibility to make sure your business is viewed as a legitimate business in the eyes of the IRS and not a hobby.

Below, I have listed some smart business practices that will not only help you define and grow your business, but will also help you document that you are running a real business and not just performing a hobby.

1) Write a business plan. There are lots of local small business support centers that can help you to put your plan in writing. For example, the Small Business Administration has both local and online resources to assist you.

2) Determine your legal structure (LLC, Partnership, C-Corporation, S-Corporation, Sole-Proprietor).

3) Obtain an Employee Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS.

4) Open a separate bank account for all of your business transactions (deposits and expenses). You need to keep your personal and business transactions separate.

5) Establish a separate line of credit or credit card to use with your business. Put personal expenses on a personal card and put business expenses on a business card.

6) Keep your business documents organized. The National Federation of Independent Business recommends keeping business records and receipts for at least seven years.

7) File completed tax returns on time. This would include all required schedules and signatures. Depending on the type of organization you have, you or your CPA will be filling out forms like 1020, 1065, 1040 Schedule C, 1096, 1099, 940 along with calculating your self-employed tax. I highly recommend finding a local Certified Public Accountant (CPA) that is familiar with your industry to help you determine which forms you will be required to file and making sure they are submitted on time and to the right government office.

8) Hire a support team: A lawyer can help you with your legal structure and a Certified Public Accountant can help you keep your finances in order as well as keeping you compliant with local, state and federal government.

9) Create industry standard business documents and forms to include: logo, letterhead, business cards, and website.

10) Advertise in your local media along with appropriate trade periodicals.

According to IRS document, FS-2008-23, below are some of the questions that the IRS may ask when determining if your business is engaged in for-profit activity. You will need to be prepared to answer these questions and provide documentation.

1) How many hours a week do you work in the business?

2) Do you depend on income from this activity to pay your bills?

3) Do you have the knowledge needed to carry on the activity as a successful business?

4) Have you made profit in similar activities in the past?

5) Does the activity make profit in some years?

6) Do you expect the activity to make a profit in the future?

7) Are there elements of personal pleasure or recreation?

8) Has your business made a profit in 3 of the last 5 years?

According to IRC 183, “If your business activity is not carried on for profit, allowable deductions cannot exceed the gross receipts for the activity.” The result is that your business deductions will now become itemized deductions and be limited to your hobby income.

For more information and assistance in helping your company maintain their position as a legitimate business, please contact a local CPA. Each state has its own independent licensing board. If you are located in North Carolina, you can contact the NC CPA Board website and click on their “Licensee search” button to locate a CPA near you. All licensed and active CPAs in North Carolina will be found on this website.

Build Your Startup Business Infrastructure on a Budget

There are quite a few steps to take when building a business from the ground up. This article assumes you have already gained a basic knowledge of these steps and are at a point where you have some funding and you are ready to put the building blocks of your business in place. If you are not familiar with the basic steps to build a business, I encourage you to go check out the multitude of publications you can find on the web and then come back and revisit this article.

In most cases, it is paramount to build your business in steps, being very careful how you spend the precious funds that are available to you, regardless of the source of your capital. By now you should have a list of components that need to be put in place, such as the IT infrastructure, including but not limited to email accounts, a website, internal software systems (both “canned” packages as well as custom software) and more. On the creative side, you will need to decide on your branding (logo and color theme). Then most likely you will need business cards, brochures, letterhead, fliers, signage and the like.

Building a business in steps (or increments) can be done, but you need to look for the right talent. At the beginning, you will be much better off finding individuals that are competent in several different areas. The less resources you have to employ, in most cases, the lower your spending outlay will be. If one individual can perform the duties of six or eight people, your budgetary savings should be significant. Later on, when things are taking off, you can replace these multi-talented individuals with dedicated resources, as each duty will likely become a full-time job. Over-staffing too soon can put you out of business in a hurry or put undue pressure on your business to perform sooner than it is capable of.

Let’s turn the clock forward and assume your business is gaining traction. Let’s say your multi-talented individuals just helped you get your business off the ground and now you are going to replace them with employees dedicated to specific business segments, or departments. It will be painless to replace them because they will be expecting it. Why? Because you brought them in as contractors. You have a lot of flexibility with contractors. If it’s in your interest, and the contractor’s interest, you can propose a contract to hire arrangement. Then if things work out well, you could bring them in as part of your senior staff since they will have such a good understanding of your business. Or, they could simply move on. There are many advantages to using contractors in a case like this. If things are not moving as fast as you hoped, you can reduce the contractor’s hours to stay within your budget. You can cut them loose if they are not performing as expected. You will also save money because you will not be providing benefits, and in many cases, not providing a work-space for them.

Another smart move may be to secure certain essential services on an outsourced basis. These days, you can even outsource your human resource department. Outside services are becoming more popular these days. Such services take the worry out of keeping up with ever-changing legal requirements, minimizing the exposure to your brand new, fragile business. The cost is normally a lot less than in-house staffing for comparable services. A good service company will come with a guarantee (they will have an insurance policy) that protects your company should the service company fail to keep up with current legal requirements, unintentionally creating a liability for your company. It is not practical for in-house personnel to make such a guarantee. In that case your business is assuming the risks for your hired employees.