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How to Keep Employees Motivated During the Holidays

With Christmas and the new year right around the corner, now is a time when productivity slips, attention spans shorten, and minds wander. It’s no surprise considering there’s so much going on outside the company: trip planning, shopping, decorating, and family gatherings. Inside, it’s supposed to be business as usual, but, the holiday season takes over. No one wants to be a Grinch during the holidays and it’s easy to let festive spirit slow things down. However, in the remaining days of the year, the pressure is on and it’s not always simple to stay the course.

How to Keep Employees Motivated during the Holidays

While some team members will be on vacation, others will still be showing up and this creates an unstable atmosphere. What’s more, you are not immune from the holiday fever and find it’s difficult enough just to keep yourself on-task. If you’re not careful, you’ll unconsciously let it be known and that’s tantamount to telling everyone to take it easy and slack off. While you certainly don’t want to portray yourself as Ebenezer Scrooge, you do need to set an example and temper your own excitement with good work ethic.

Keeping your employees engaged in their work can be a challenge during the holiday season. Considering that the holiday season lasts roughly from the week of Thanksgiving until after New Year’s, managers who don’t find ways to keep their team motivated risk losing a lot of money during the fall and winter months. —Business News Daily.com

Doing so won’t necessarily be simple and might even strike you as unnatural, but, if you want to be an effective leader, you’ve got to learn how to play different roles well. That’s what being an entrepreneur is really all about: being flexible and knowing when to take off one hat to put on another. For your employees, the holidays are not only exciting and distracting, it’s the end of the year and looking forward to next year takes their eyes off today. Here are some helpful tips on how to keep employees motivated during the holidays:

Be flexible with schedules. The last thing you should do is create conflict and ill will during this time of year. Try to be as flexible as possible with schedules and don’t be afraid to ask for others to step-up when necessary. If you act with team effort, you’ll get a lot more cooperation and positive responses.
Let the excitement in the office. There’s nothing wrong with allowing employees to decorate, exchange gifts, and fill the space with holiday music. It puts the spirit of the season to work for you instead of against you.
Openly communicate expectations. No one likes the sneaky, sly boss who surprise employees with unpleasant things. You have goals to reach and tasks to get done, so don’t just bark out orders, communicate in a friendly manner and always open up the discussion to new ideas — you might be very surprised by what you hear.
Actively engage and manage your team. While people don’t like to be micromanaged, they do appreciate being guided. You’re in a position of authority and this is a wonderful opportunity to sharpen your leadership skills, as well as demonstrate your ability to motivate.
Take time to reflect on the year’s accomplishments. Remind people of this year’s accomplishment and be sure to give congratulations with enthusiasm. Speak about being vigilant and finishing the year strong for the good of everyone in your organization.

In addition to these, you should also carve out some time for a party or even a dinner. Keep it simple and ask for ideas from your team about what they’d like to do and where to hold it. Give small gifts or even a Christmas card to your employees and let them know just how appreciative you are of their work and dedication.

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BREAKING NEWS! Entrepreneurs who need to raise capital will have no restrictions!

May 24, 2017 No Comments

Hi Everyone! The moment many of us have been waiting for has finally arrived! About an hour ago, the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) voted to approve the FINAL rules for Title III Equity Crowdfunding under the JOBS act legislation. What this means is that in approximately 90 days, ANYONE, regardless of income, will be able to invest in a startup by purchasing shares or issuing debt and earning a financial return on their investment. This also provides entrepreneurs who need to raise capital a HUGE new investor pool as there are no restrictions on income or net worth in order to make an investment (there are caps / safeguards however built into the legislation). I will update you all as I get more information but today is a HUGE day to celebrate! To everyone who has been following this movement for the last few years, get ready for things to change in a HUGE way! Manolis Sfinarolakis Founder & CEO RCTV & VICN This is great news for Entrepreneurs who want to raise funds from the general population. I’ll post more on this later, in the meantime please share and celebrate! John Waters [shareaholic app=”follow_buttons” id=”26833294″]

Pros and Cons of Building a Mobile App for a Small Business

April 22, 2022 No Comments

Small businesses often struggle with the decision of whether or not to build a mobile app. On one hand, there are many advantages to having an app – it can help increase brand credibility, engage customers, provide a personalized experience, act as a direct marketing channel, and let businesses create a loyalty program. However, on the other hand, there are also several disadvantages to consider – such as the cost of developing and maintaining an app, complying with Apple and Google’s store security and performance policies, the phenomenon of consumer app fatigue, and lack of customer use. In this article, we will explore both sides of the argument so that you can make an informed decision about whether or not to develop an app for your small business. Biggest Advantages of Building a Mobile App for a Business Another advantage of having a mobile app is customer engagement. A study by Forrester found that 78% of smartphone users check their phone within 15 minutes of waking up, while 60% check their phone within 15 minutes of going to bed (Forrester, 2014). This constant connection gives businesses a unique opportunity to engage with their customers throughout the day. Creating a loyalty program or sending push notifications about sales and promotions can help increase customer engagement and keep your business top of mind. As consumers become increasingly connected with businesses on their smartphones and devices, many businesses develop mobile apps to connect with their customers. If your company is going the app route, you want to be sure it’s worth your time and money. While a mobile app can be an invaluable tool for many companies, certain company types may not necessarily need one. —Forbes.com Building a mobile app can also provide a more personalized experience for your customers. With an app, you can collect data about your customer’s usage patterns and preferences which can then be used to customize the experience for each individual. This is much harder to do with a website because there is less data available about how users interact with it. For example, if you own a clothing store, you could use the data collected from your app to show each user relevant products based on their previous purchases and browsing history. This personalized experience can help increase customer satisfaction and loyalty. Finally, having a mobile app gives businesses a direct marketing channel to reach their customers. With over 90% of Americans owning a cellphone (Pew Research Center, 2019), businesses have a unique opportunity to reach a large audience with targeted messages. You can use push notifications to send special offers and announcements directly to your customer’s phones. This is an effective way to increase sales and improve customer retention. Common Disadvantages of Building an App for a Business While there are many advantages to building a mobile app for your small business, there are also some disadvantages that you should be aware of before making the decision. One of the main disadvantages is cost. Developing and maintaining an app can be expensive, especially if you hire a professional company to do it for you. In addition, you will also need to pay Apple and Google a yearly fee to keep your app in their respective app stores. Another disadvantage of having a mobile app is that you have to comply with the security and performance policies of both Apple and Google. This can be difficult and time-consuming, especially if you are not familiar with the technical aspects of building an app. If your app does not meet these standards, it could be removed from the store which would damage your business’s reputation. Despite the disadvantages, there are still many advantages to building a mobile app for your small business. These include increased brand credibility, improved customer engagement, and a more personalized experience for your customers. In addition, an app can act as a direct marketing channel and provide you with valuable feedback about your products and services. If you do your research and assess the needs of your target market, you can decide if a mobile app is right for your small business. What are some other pros and cons of building a mobile app for a small business? Please take a moment to share your thoughts and experiences so others can benefit from your input! Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group.

Why Natural Disasters are So Disastrous to Businesses

September 28, 2017 No Comments

While hurricanes Harvey and Irma are gone, Hurricane Maria poses a possible threat. And, that’s a warning because in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, there were over 1 million insurance claims processed. The fact of the matter is, there are still businesses in Texas and Florida which are dealing with the devastation left by Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma. Although time has passed, simple supplies remain scarce. This isn’t to unnecessarily frighten you, only to serve as a stark reminder natural disasters are so disastrous to businesses of all kinds. Why Natural Disasters are So Disastrous to Businesses Dealing with a business emergency doesn’t have to be an exercise done on the fly. In fact, it shouldn’t be approached without an effective plan. However, too many businesses simply are not prepared. Statistics show that 94 percent of all small businesses in the U.S. do backup their critical financial information. But, only 4 in 10 backup off-site. From natural disasters like Hurricane Sandy to common theft and hardware malfunctions, small businesses are particularly vulnerable in times of crisis. “Disasters can wipe out a small business in seconds,” said the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Yet small businesses are often the most unprepared for emergencies. —Forbes This one figure is a peek into why so many businesses fail in the wake of natural disasters. Nearly 40 percent of all small businesses never reopen following a natural disaster, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency or FEMA. That’s not an insignificant figure to ignore. And, it clearly shows businesses are quite susceptible to natural disasters. How to Protect Your Business from Natural Disasters You shouldn’t have to endure more stress and worry than necessary. Your company can make it through a fire, earthquake, tornado, or hurricane. All you need is a plan and to be proactive. This way, you’re fully prepared and know precisely what to do. Here’s a few helpful suggestions for how to protect your business from natural disasters: Back up company records in the cloud. Not only should you routinely backup your company records, including your financials, on-site, but off-site, as well. There are many platforms out there and these provide an invaluable service. Focus on those which cater to business information as those will offer the best fit. Establish clear policies for employee, vendors, and customers. To keep your working relationships in good standing, you’ll need an actionable plan for team members, vendors, and customers. After all, if there’s going to be a delay in paying employees or delivering to your customers, you need a way to deal with such situations. Create a workable continuity plan to follow in the aftermath. Your continuity plan should identify key and essential operations. Basically, what your business can’t do without. You might need to cross-train employees. But, your goal is to put a workable continuity plan into place. Run drills from time to time and strive to make improvements. Even the best plan is useless if it’s never practiced. So, run drills periodically to keep everyone in practice. This will help ensure things run smoothly if the time comes. What’s your business’ plan for a natural disaster? How are you preparing your company to avoid losses? Are there any other precautions you would suggest taking? Please share your thoughts and experiences by commenting! Interested in learning more about business? Then just visit Waters Business Consulting Group. [shareaholic app=”follow_buttons” id=”26833294″]

How to Keep Employees Motivated During the Holidays

How to Keep Employees Motivated during the Holidays

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