Potomac Agcra

A Woman’s Touch

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 20:37:59 +0000

Many people set out with great big dreams of owning their own small business at some point in their life. Sometimes these dreams and goals happen for people, and other times they unfortunately do not work out as hoped for. I know that when I set out to open up my own business twenty years ago I was not only terrified of failing, but I was unsure of whether or not I had what it took to effectively take care of my own small business. You see, I am a woman business owner, and even just twenty short years ago that was strange to see.

Today, however, there are many women running their own small businesses. This is something that I admire and find to be exciting and promising. These women owned operations are growing and growing, and more and more businesses today are owned by women. How can the successes of women owned businesses be explained? Obviously there has to be something special about a woman’s touch on a business, but there are other factors that determined the great growth in these businesses, like:

Women choose lower risk businesses
The revenues are more positive
Women are not as likely to purchase their business

Find out more about a woman’s touch in the business world below.

Reading a Forex Quote

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 15:08:27 +0000

If you are a newcomer to the world of Forex trading (also known as the Foreign Exchange market, in which world currencies are bought and sold rather than company stocks,) then you will need to familiarize yourself with some of the terminology involved in trading in this volatile market. First of all, the Forex trader should be aware that Forex markets are open 24 hours a day, for five days each week. Anytime a currency is quoted, it is done in relation to another country’s currency; the value of one is always in direct relation to the value of another. When trying to determine theexchange ratebetween the U.S. dollar (USD) and the Japanese yen (JPY), for example, the forex quote would look something like this:

USD/JPY = 118.75

What you see there is referred to as a currency pair. The currency to the left is the base currency, while the currency on the right is called the quote (or counter) currency. The base currency always represents one unit and the quoted currency (in this case, the Japanese yen) is what that one base unit is equivalent to in the other currency. The quote means that $1 = 118.75 Japanese yen. So, for each $1, you can buy 118.75 Japanese yen. The forex quote includes the currency abbreviations for the currencies being observed.

Enjoy the following video that explains more about Forex Quotes in greater depth:

Avoid Ruining Your Established Business

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 19:26:02 +0000

After being in a business for a long while, the owners and operators can become quite complacent. That complacency might lead to owners who are not prepared for the future and worse. A lot of information out there for businesses is for those that are just starting up or are fairly new. What about those businesses that have been around for a while? Do they not need to focus on creative thinking and new, innovative ideas? Of course they do. Unfortunately the lack of creativity and inability to adapt is something that can lead reputable and long standing businesses to have to close their doors. This holds especially true for the businesses in a time of a weak economy. So what are the things that your established business need to be on the lookout and ready for in the future? Let’s find out…

Being Complacent. No matter the age of your business, there always should be a start up mentality. This will allow for you and employees to use your creative thinking skills to create new and innovative ideas that could allow you to grow even more. You might be the king of your product or service, but you still need to be reaching out. The way social media and other outlets have taken off, if you are not utilizing new tools and available products, then you might lose your top spot.
Shelling Out Big Bucks. Salaries for your employees are something that you always want to be competitive. Each year as your business increases in revenues and size, then you want to be sure that you reward the loyal employees. That makes perfect sense, but when you have an administrative professional bringing home the same pay as a company officer, then it is definitely time to re-evaluate how you reward loyalty and give raises.
Forgetting About Personal Goals. It is so important for business owners to often look at how the business is running and ensure that it is fitting into personal goals. At different points in one’s life he or she can put different resources into a business. If you find that it is not fitting in your personal goals to do that, you might want to find a way to exit.

Legal Herbs Direct the Business Laws

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 17:37:29 +0000

Business law is a complicated matter for many types of business organizations, regardless of which kind of business entity you believe in and support. Avoiding law suits is one of the goals of many business people, and in today’s society of high rates of litigation and corporate lawsuits, the legal implications of operating certain kinds of businesses, for example, like http://www.legalherbsdirect.com, should be of supreme interest to the business owner. In this case, the company in question is selling barely legal substances marketed as synthetic or fake marijuana. Similar substances were outlawed in several states in the past three years; ones called “spice” and other things are made of a specific blend of ingredients, so what companies like the one above have done is start selling substances missing just one of those banned elements, either replacing it with another ingredient or leaving it out altogether. What are the legal complications that could arise? There are many. I would not personally want to follow any of the below business structures and be involved in such a business. What do you think? Click to expand the infographic to see the complexities of various business entities and the protections from lawsuits each type comes with.

No Small Business

Tue, 09 Aug 2011 13:49:45 +0000

The fact that the United States economy has been facing some less than stellar years means that more and more and more people are either getting laid off or some how losing their jobs. Yet, this still does not keep Americans from going out and pursuing their dreams. Basically a lot of people out there have taken the opportunities that they have been given to go forth and start up a business that they have most likely been planning for quite some time but could not do it because of their working schedules. Thanks to companies closing and lay offs, dreamers can make their dreams into reality by starting up their own business.

Now small businesses and start ups do not have the same costs, requirements, and other factors like it is specifically in the United States. I came across this very nice infographic that gives all sorts of information about starting up a small business in countries other than the United States. Interestingly I found that in some places starting up a small business is as simple as getting direct tv in Alabama. There is even some showing of failure and success rates in the United States which I found to be quite interesting also. See what you think about small business start ups all over the world, and let us know your thoughts about it.

Retrain Your Leadership Thoughts

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 18:57:27 +0000

Some of the lessons that have been taught in leadership books and seminars and other things like that have quickly become ancient and unnecessary. Still, it has been quite a struggle for many leaders to deviate from their previously admired leadership thought processes and take on new and more useful approaches that will actually far better benefit a business overall. Now, correcting thought processes and such takes some time, but you will notice that after you do away with some old lessons that were once tried and true and move to a new school leadership approach, your employees and business will be grateful.

It is no process. A process is defined as “a systematic series of action directed to some end.” Therefore, in no way is the act of leadership a process. There is not a routine in place with steps that you repeat, but instead there is a behavior. Instead of trying to implement a process of leading, you will in turn simply lead by your own actions as a leader. With that said, no action or incorrect actions might end up ruining leadership.

You do not need to have an answer at all times. Sometimes not having the answer right at hand to a question can lead to better results. Be sure to be ready, in stead, with a question that can stem ideas and input from others.

Ideas stem from discussion and questions, not conflicting ideas. When there are conflicting ideas, there is rarely a positive outcome as far as new ideas are concerned. But when you take to asking questions and fueling discussion, you will be surprised at the amount of new and interesting ideas that will form. Asking questions helps to create a space for brainstorming and discussion fuels this even more so.

Let go of some power. There is no need for you to hold on to all of the power and authority, so learn to let go of it. Again be sure to ask questions, get some feedback, and in turn, you are giving up some of your power. Honestly, your employees will see this as the opposite of a weakness. They will notice the importance that they bring to the business and find it to be quite positive.

Google and Damage Claims

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 14:45:35 +0000

The French search engine named 1plusV has claimed that it its going to sue Google, Inc. for 295 million euros, or $418 million, asserting that Google, Inc. used its power in order to ruin rival companies. This is not the first company to say that Google has ill-treated its very powerful position in order to squash the rival search engines and provide a preference to its own results. Three other companies have also made the claim, including Microsoft Corp. The European Commission is launching an investigation into the claims.

Just last week teh United States Federal Trade Commission began a serious look into how Google performs and practices, so there is a heated battle on either side of Google. This is all quite like the tests that Microsoft was forced to endure early on.

The French search engine 1plusV claims that it was unable to create concentrated, vertical search engine results due to Google’s prevention. On top of that, the company also claims that Google prevented it from stirring up new business, as well as, the ability to advertise. The entire claim is to cover up for the profits lost and also future profits.

1plusV has said that they have shown huge potential as far as business is concerned, yet they were unable to really take off due to Google. Google has been made aware of the claim, and there is no comment as it has only just been received. A spokesman did say that Google does always attempt to do what is the best for their users, and that is the main objective that drives their business.

People are speculating that this filed claim may just be the first in a series of many other claims. It just might be enough encouragement for others to file claims and get the damages that have come about thanks to the fierce Google practices. 1plusV said that Google’s policy of having Adsense, their advertising service, linked in to its search engine is forcing rivals to go under.

The European Commission is currently investigating all of the claims made by 1plusV. Rules and regulations have in the past taken a toll on Microsoft with an amount of fines that equaled more than one billion euros.

Hollywood meets Facebook

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 16:03:36 +0000

How do you make your product famous overnight? Facebook. Not in the conventional sense mind you but in a more in depth approach.

The hit show Weeds about a mother that has reached the end of her rope financially and turns to drug dealing to fix her problems has a new game of Facebook. The game is Weeds Social Club and in it you buy and sell virtual good and harvest your products before they wither so that you can sell them below or above street value. In this case the “product” is none other than the subject matter of the show, weed. There has been a lot of hype over the game and as everyone will tell you. There is no such thing as bad publicity. Every time the news covers this new controversial game they plug the show it was based on and get potential money from players of the game while doing so.

The game is based not only off the show for subject matter but if you noticed a few words that I described about the actions in the game then you should be reminded of another craze; Farmville. Based off of the way farmville is with the planting, harvesting, selling, repeating, and buying things to fix your place up hits on the premise of the most popular game on Facebook. With this strategy they stand to get a whole new fan base so it will be interesting to see the viewer ratings after a little more news coverage.

5 Things Your Business Needs

Tue, 07 Jun 2011 17:09:37 +0000

Starting up a small business can be quite a challenge for people. There is so much time and energy that must be put in even prior to the business opening that many people are not able to do. While you may be preparing to open your small business, or if you have already opened up the doors to get started, have you made sure that you have all that you truly need? There are things that a small business should have that can often be easily overlooked. Make sure you have the below 5 things for your office to ensure things run smoothly for you and your staff.

Commercial Printer – when you have a printer that can handle tasks like smaller signage and brochures, and you find that you will be needing a lot of papers printed, then having your own commercial printer in-office will in turn save you more money over time as opposed to having to pay for a printing company to do the work for you. If your marketing involves a lot of print work, it may even be beneficial for you to hire an in-house graphics worker who will be able to create marketing ideas and put them on paper to be printed for your business.

cable internet bundles – there is nothing worse than calling a certain business and receiving a busy signal. Be sure that you don’t have that issue at your business by having a phone system with multiple lines and a voice answering service. A busy signal could mean the difference in making money or not, so do not miss out on any potential business because you were to cheap to get a business phone package.

Hard-working employees – this is one of the most difficult necessities for a business to find. When you are on the search for good employees, then look for people who care about your business as much as you do. You want people at your business that are respectful and genuine. A great way to get to know if an employee is a good fit for your business is to put into place a 90 trial not just to protect you, but the employee as well. If either of you feel like the job is not working out, then you can let the employee go, or he/she can move on elsewhere.

Dependable Office Supply Company – When you utilize an office supply company to order your office supplies through, you will be saving money because they can offer you your supplies in discounted bulk sizes. Saving money is good for your business overall, yet you know that you will have enough supplies to make it throughout the day to work also.

Alarm System – no matter what type of business it is that you own, or are looking to begin, an alarm system is a necessity. If you don’t have cash registers, then you certainly still have business checks in your business. Your computers and telephones can even be valuable to someone who would break in, so looking into having a secure device for your small business.

Married to the job

admin — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 13:16:31 +0000

A friend of mine, Steve, owns a sporting goods store with his wife. I’ve always admired the fact that they work together; it always seemed like it would be a lot of fun.

But the other night after a couple of beers, Steve started talking about how hard it is to work with your spouse.

“We’ve had a lot of challenges, and one time we almost split up over it,” he said. “But that was a long time ago, and it’s made us a lot stronger together.”

Their problems began when they had their first child, Steve said. His wife worked from home doing the bookkeeping and other tasks she could do without going into the store.

“Before we had the kids, we worked all day together,” he said. “We got used to being in the store all day long and working until late and having dinner together. But the kids changed all that. My wife felt like she didn’t know what was going on in the store, and I resented the questions she asked when I got home.”

Once their youngest child was in school and Steve’s wife came back to the business, they also developed communication issues.

“The job started consuming us,” he said. “When we went home at night we didn’t talk about what the kids were doing, watch our favorite shows on direct tv, or what we were going to do on the weekend. Instead, all we talked about was work.”

That situation took them right to the edge of divorce, Steve said. They got marriage counseling, but they also found a business counselor to help them sort out what was going on at the store.

“We started by identifying what we each did the best at the store,” he said. “We also made a list of what we each did poorly. Then we divided the list of tasks so we each took care of things we did well. And we hired someone to do the jobs we needed help with.”

That put Steve and his wife on equal footing, he said, so they were partners instead of one working for the other one.

“That changed our perspective,” he said. “We felt like we were in the store together, instead of fighting about it. And we learned not to overstep boundaries with each other; we learned a lot of respect for one another.”

Steve said they also learned to adapt.

“I found out that my wife does a much better job of talking to sales reps than I do,” he said. “I hate doing that, so I was glad to turn it over to her. Now she does all our inventory tracking too, and we always know exactly what’s in the store and what we need to order.”

Today, Steve said, he wouldn’t have anyone else for his business partner.

“Our store wouldn’t exist today if it weren’t for her,” he said. “Our success is due as much to her as it is to me. We’re a very good team.”