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Develop Your Managers and Keep Your Staff
Following on from the last edition of The Organised Times where we spoke about developing the people in your business, this week we're focussing on the importance of the continual development of your managers.
Leadership comes from the top...
"Do You Mind If Someone Screams At You?
A headhunter was on the other end of the phone. He was looking for an assistant to a CEO/Owner for a small, but very successful business. Essentially, he wanted someone at his disposal night and day. That didn't seem like a huge deal. And then...
Simple Business Tactics Are Your Key To Success
In a world full of complications sometimes we overlook the simple things in life. We are so busy trying to work out our twisted problems that we miss out on the simple secrets to success. The same can be said of our businesses. We get caught up in...
Small Business Q & A: Investing In Son's Business Could Cause A Real Family Feud
Q: My youngest son wants to borrow $5,000 to start his own business. My wife is afraid to tell him no. She thinks we should just give him the money and not expect anything in return. I disagree. He doesn't have a very good track record with...
Your Ad -- Who Cares?
Junk mail. We all get it. And it goes straight to the trash can. How do you make sure your marketing piece doesn't end up in the round file?
Give it the 'who cares' test. You have approximately five seconds to get your prospect's attention....
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Disaster Prevention - 13 Lucky Tips for Small Business
In the face of a disaster, keep one thing in mind: If you can
live through it, so can your business - most of the time.
But you need to plan ahead.
Sadly, most small and home-based business owners won't do that.
It's a tragic way to reduce the competition. But if you choose
to prepare for disaster, you'll still BE the competition!
The enhance your chances of still being around, you need to
create a disaster preparedness plan. Even something very
simple could help greatly. The most important aspects of your
plan are to make it practical and easy to maintain.
A good disaster preparedness plan starts with disaster
prevention. General prevention is mostly good common sense.
Natural catastrophes such as wildfires, major storms and
earthquakes can quickly convert your office or facility into a
danger zone if you're not prepared. But most of the events
that destroy businesses never make the news -- things like
on-site accidents and small fires that happen somewhere every
moment of every day.
Those things are certainly disasters. But there's an even worse
disaster that happens later if you aren't ready: the unnecessary
demise of your business afterward. That's the disaster
that you can prepare for by planning ahead.
Disaster prevention steps
Here are some basic steps for safeguarding your employees and
business from unnecessary damage:
1. Pay attention to public warnings. Don't second-guess
evacuation orders. Better to err on the side of caution.
2. Establish emergency evacuation procedures.
3. Keep fire extinguishers and first aid kits on hand and
check them regularly.
4. Keep a cell phone programmed with emergency contact
and employee numbers.
5. Back up your data daily. Keep a copy offsite or in a
fire- and waterproof
safe.
6. Regularly update your insurance info: equipment,
inventory, etc. Keep a copy of this offsite (or in a safe) as
well.
7. Look for fall hazards: piled boxes, overhead
materials, and so forth. Rearrange to protect yourself and your
people from unnecessary harm.
8. Don't let debris, empty containers or recyclable
materials pile up.
9. Avoid overstocking flammable items, such as fuel or
materials with a rapid flash point (such as loose paper and
cardboard).
10. Use appropriate safety containers for flammable items.
11. Establish a firebreak around your facility if
possible, and internal firebreaks as well, such as a ten-foot
perimeter around propane tanks if you have them.
12. Keep tree branches trimmed back from structures,
equipment and inventory.
13. Try to separate equipment, inventory, and storage
items in order to mitigate the domino effect of fire spreading
to all areas of your business.
These suggestions are just a sample of what you can do to avoid
unnecessary damage. Walk through your office or facility and
imagine what could happen if it was suddenly hit by a fire or
flood. Your common sense will guide you to create a good
disaster prevention plan in order to minimize your exposure to
devastation.
(For more information on preparing your business for surviving
and recovering from disaster, please see the expanded article
series at the website listed below.)
(c) 2005 Michael Riley. All rights reserved.
About the author:
Michael Riley is a freelance business writer and editor
specializing in trade press and association publications. His
website includes expanded coverage of this topic, as well as
information on marketing your small business and improving
customer relations. http://www.bymichaelriley.com
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