Having a home based business has the potential to be a wonderful opportunity if you possess or learn the following attributes. It is best if you analyze yourself and face up to your individual circumstances and what your unique situation may be. You have the highest potential to succeed if you possess or learn the following attributes.1) You have to be bold enough to let your client’s know you will be working from your home. Most often because of the nature of your business they infer or know. If not, they need to know up front. Before they hire you, they can voice concerns and you can discuss them or better yet, they may have the kind of personality that does not mind working around the situations that may present themselves with your situation. This may be the very case, the more unique your skills and the more demand for your skills.2) You need to have the personality that can focus and stay on the task for your work, even if things are not perfect in the kitchen or the rest of your home. You need to commit to putting in the hours that it takes to make your home-based business work and work other tasks in after business hours. If you are easily distracted, this has the potential to cause problems and interfere with your success.3) You have to know when to go to Plan B. If you thought you could work with the children in your home and that is not working, the sooner you acknowledge it and do something about it, the better it will be for your business. You may need to have the children in child care for 4 hours a day, if that is what it takes to make things work.4) You have to set business hours that fit for you and stay with that commitment. If things easily “get in the way” you will end up not making a successful go of it. The working hours you have set need to be seriously “written in concrete” to allow your business to survive. Sure, there will be happenings with the children that require your time, but if it occurs frequently, things will not work out successfully for a home-based business.5) You have to use your time wisely. Most likely, the motivating force behind your decision to have a home-based business is to have more time with your children and family. When you are working during the business hours you have set, it is important you make the time work for you. Analyze your demands and work as efficiently as possible. Learn to do things more efficiently as you see what works and doesn’t work with your home – based business. Utilize all the resources around you and involve older children in those tasks that meet their maturity level. All will work for good.6) You have to stick to your goals. In the beginning, you will certainly have frustrations until you work out all the wrinkles. Remember the reason you wanted a home – based business, the clients that made it possible, and all the other goals you’re working on that have brought you to this point.This is a great opportunity! If you keep working at it and possess a positive attitude and tweak those things you need to make it all work out, your efforts will be crowned with success!
Differences in the Types of Auctions That Take Place Around the World
Auctions are those events where properties or goods are sold to the highest bidder. Auctions are mostly public events, where bidders make a series of bids and purchase a particular item for a high price. During auctions, bidders decide the price of an item rather than the seller. It depends on bidders to decide the amount they would want to pay for a specific item. During an auction, a bid is a proof of a legal binding. Bidders agree to pay the amount that they have bid. In a high profile auction, bidders may have to pay a deposit in escrow accounts or give a proof that they can pay for those items.
Types of Auctions:
Different types of auctions take place around the world. Below mentioned are some types of auctions:
1. English auction:
This is a basic type of auction. In this type, people can see the item and then start bidding. Bidders slowly raise the value of their bid until everyone gives up. The highest bidder is the winner. An auctioneer manages an auction, keeps records of the on going bid and decides the winner. Sometimes, the seller will quote a minimum amount for an item to the auctioneer, below which the auctioneer cannot sell that item.
2. Dutch auction:
In this type, the auctioneer sets a particular price and then gradually lowers the price. People in public will start bidding and later decide which prices are suitable for the item. A seller may use this type of auction to sell large quantities of same products to the public. For instance, a seller may want to sell a large amount of hay and will thus, decide to sell this hay to people for the same amount, once a reasonable price is decided.
3. Silent auction:
In this type, the bidders in public will present their bids in a sealed format. These sealed bids open at the same time and bidder with the highest bid wins. There could be a modification in this type of auction. The bidders are allotted a specific period to bid. They can roam in a room displaying the items, and write their bids on an associated sheet of paper. The bidders are allowed to see bids of other bidders and can choose a higher price for an item. At the end of the allotted time, bidder with the highest bid is the winner.
Examples of Auctions:
Auctions can be of two types either public or private. Sellers may trade any kind of items in both types of auctions. Some areas where auctions take place are:
1. Antique auction: An antique auction consists of a trade opportunity as well as provides entertainment.
2. Collectable auction: In a collectable auction, the seller may put up collectables like coins, vintage cars, luxury, stamps, real estate, and luxury for sale.
3. Wine auction: In wine auction, bidders can bid for rare wine, which may not be available in retail wine shops.
4. Horse auction: Bidders can bid for young horses of the best breed.
5. Livestock auction: In livestock auction, bidders can buy pigs, sheep, cattle, and other livestock.
The other examples of auctions may not be public. These auctions are for bidders from corporate levels. Some examples of private auctions are:
1. Timber auction
2. Spectrum auction
3. Electricity auction
4. Debit auction
5. Environmental auction
6. Auto auction
7. Electronic market auction
8. Sales of business auction
Bidders in an auction need to examine the items displayed and decide an appropriate price for an item. Thus, auctions help buyers in getting the best deals and in gaining better profits for sellers.
Top Goal for Small Businesses: The Eight Most Important Checkup Questions for 2021
Are you happy with your business this year? What are you going to do differently? How can you hire the right people to support your vision? Sadly, many small business owners do not spend enough time planning for the future. It’s quite understandable. Managers must keep pace with the daily demands of their businesses, including payroll, taxes, product/service delivery, and customer expectations.Fortunately, the end of the year is the perfect time for a comprehensive evaluation of your company. Your business needs a checkup. Most people can relate to a checkup with their local doctor, depending on their background and personality characteristics (age, sex, family medical history). The doctor will conduct a variety of tests, including blood, vision, heart, and hearing.In fact, one element like an individual’s weight is not the only indicator of overall good health. Likewise, small businesses could benefit from a good checkup too. Successful entrepreneurs think strategically when engaged in a hostile, global environment.After 27 years of managing projects and conducting over 100 organizational evaluations of business organizations, I realize that both large and small organizations struggle in implementing their operations effectively. This article examines how small businesses need to conduct an effective checkup of their organizations.Welcome to the New Normal! Yet, nearly a year after this pandemic, the full impact on the U.S. economy is unclear. According to recent studies, more than four million Americans have left the workforce, and nearly 10 million are now unemployed compared with last February.In fact, the number of unemployed people continues to rise. According to a business study conducted between March 28 and April 4, 2020, small businesses have been heavily damaged by the lockdowns due to Covid-19.In an analysis of more than 5,800 small businesses (reaching a network of 4.6 million small businesses), the research highlighted the damage caused by the pandemic. The results showed evident damage of the pandemic. At this juncture, 43% of businesses had temporarily closed, and nearly all of these closures were due to COVID-19.Respondents stated that they had temporarily closed, largely pointed to reductions in demand and employee health concerns as the reasons for closure. In fact, the businesses, on average, reported having reduced their active employment by 39% since January.All industries have been impacted. However, retail, arts and entertainment, personal services, food services, and hospitality businesses showed significant employment declines exceeding 50%. Some businesses hope for assistance from the government.According to a Babson’s Goldman Sachs report, 88% of U.S. small business owners have already exhausted their Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan; the Small Business Association gave these loans specifically to help businesses keep their workforce employed during the pandemic. These loans were helpful.Yet, these successes do not diminish the fact that more than 32% of PPP loan recipients already have laid off employees or cut wages. In fact, Forty-three percent of Black small business owners reported that their businesses’ cash reserves would be depleted by year’s end due to Covid-19.Today’s small businesses and entrepreneurs must retool themselves, given the potential impacts of Covid-19 have the necessary capacity to change their way of thinking because of their passion. However, small businesses must be willing to evaluate their current operations and make the required changes.For example, customers have largely gone online to purchase services due to the lockdowns. If a business does not have an online presence now, this company does not exist. Internet pioneer and CEO of PSINet Bill Schrader explains the significant of online visibility: “Almost overnight, the Internet’s gone from a technical wonder to a business must.”With the appropriate diagnosis of an organization, a business can develop more sustainable success. Thus, the right checkup is critical.Below are some critical questions to help you conduct your own self-checkup:
Do you have a clear vision for your business? What is it?
Do you know why your customers buy from you and why others do not buy from you?
What results are you getting from your marketing? Do you have an effective online presence on the web?
Are you collecting data or the right kind of data on your customers and competitors?
Are you keeping pace with your industry trends? If so, what are the key trends?
How are you measuring results (i.e., key performance indicators like cash flow and revenue)?
What are your key competitors’ marketing strategies?
Have you evaluated your strengths and weaknesses (i.e., SWOT Analysis)?
In summary, successful global businesses, like IBM and Google, have continuous systems in place to evaluate their performance. Let’s call this process an organizational checkup.Small businesses that want to succeed in this global and technological climate must be able to conduct this self-evaluation or checkup. This article demonstrated the relevancy of a good checkup to help improve a business by asking probing questions. In many cases, small businesses do not have to take on this organizational checkup along.There are various organizations like the Small Business Administration and local universities that can assist in this process. Have you conducted a checkup for your business this year? It’s not too late. Start the new year with a healthy business checkup.© 2021 by D. D. Green