Posts Tagged ‘Budgets’

An incorrect but sometimes common stereotype of the non-profit sector is a poorly-funded or maybe even ramshackle group of operations. Yes, you’ll still find those traditional “soup kitchens” out there to this day, supported by local churches or an occasional donation drive, but there is a lot more to this sector than that. Charities can be regional or nationwide, which means they need to market and promote themselves like any other big organization does. Bring on the promotional products!

Take a closer look at large charitable organizations like the Red Cross and you’ll see something that represents a well-oiled machine like any for-profit business. Does this mean that they need to approach promotional products the same way any for-profit business would? Sometimes. Context is always important in marketing; one route doesn’t meet the needs for everyone equally, and this applies to a non-profit organization as much as it would for anything else.

Potentially the difference would be the availability of funds to spend on marketing efforts. A business has things like profit (of course) that can be converted into money to spend on the more ethereal things like marketing and branding. Budgets at non-profits can end up very limited, especially because the reputation of a non-profit can be a huge factor in its success. Some non-profits see it as a priority to keep the amount of money they spend towards “administrative costs” as low as possible. Critical to their reputation, even. In the case of a charity, how likely are you to give if they seem to spend half of their donations on themselves?

That said, the similarities to a normal for-profit business do mean following some of the usual guidelines. If a non-profit is going to be at a trade show and intends to give away corporate gifts to drum up some awareness they’re going to want to keep the giveaways small. No one is going to want to carry them around all day if they’ve been given cumbersome promotional products. Avoid the temptation to just toss money into purchasing any little trinket you can find, either. Giving out an easy to carry but completely useless promotional item is just going to be a waste of money. Money that may more difficult to come by in a non-profit environment!

It can be really important to avoid letting budgetary concerns scare a non-profit from being creative. In fact, less room to maneuver might mean letting those creative juices flow and use promotional items that aren’t entirely obvious or common! Charities can attract a younger and creative group of employees or volunteers, so it is important to tap into that resource. Take advantage of the fact that many people don’t look at non-profits as a business, which can mean more freedom. Picking a promotional item that might not be entirely professional could be a bigger benefit to a brand than a hindrance!

If you are in the promotional products industry, it is important to not write off the non-profit sector as a source of potential clients. They’re out there and they need your help! If you are a non-profit, the promotional items out there could be a critical contribution to getting some awareness out there and some contributions rolling in.

Chris Ellis has been around imprinted promotional items for many years now, and has guided countless successful marketing campaigns. This marketing and author is here to guide you through the many pitfalls of promotional products.

Author: Chris Ellis
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Unix inter-process communication (IPC)

Training spending per employee is a question that every mortgage company owner wrestles with. How does one balance the amount spent and how does it correspond to the value obtained?

This might help put things into perspective. It is from the Besin Study “Bersin & Associates Announce Comprehensive Research Study of U.S. Corporate Learning Market”:

“Spending per employee varies widely, depending on industry sector and the company size. The spectrum ranges from $4,000 per employee in business services to $200 in retail. The average per learner expenditure is $1,412.”

While this provides a ‘snapshot’ of what training expenditures are average, the larger more important question is; does the training that is paid for actually translate into value for the company? Is there research that compares an organization with no training support versus another that has workplace training programs in place? If so, what is the comparison in job performance?

Think about that is being asked, there are two Loan Officers (I am writing the article and get to choose the position) doing the same job. One Loan Officer is trained properly and the other is not.

It is believable that a person is capable of doing a particular job after training. Doing the job with little or no training, now that is a stretch to believe. Unless the job is so simple that it does not require training. I personally cannot imagine that a Loan Officer could reliably perform their job, where ‘training is required’, with zero training.

How many within the mortgage and real estate industry get their training in this fashion: ‘follow Charlie, our Loan Officer de Jour, around and do what he does’. We often refer to this as OTJ, or on-the-job-training.

This type of training results in two primary outcomes:

First, we must assume that ‘Charlie’ may be (but we are not sure) fully versed in the position skills and will share a comprehensive presentation of what is required to correctly be a Loan Officer. What more like is the situation, the trainee is provided a set of Loan Officer experiences by Charlie, without structure, and whatever is learned is ‘at best’ incomplete. OTJ training also reinforces habits that may be counter-productive to business processes. Charlie says that ‘you don’t need to learn that or do that because Processor Jane will fix whatever you failed to provide’. The cost for the mortgage company could now be that they have two Loan Officers incapable of properly performing their job. We also now have bad Loan Officer habits, not being done by one but by two, and compounding these bad habits with each new hire.

A second outcome is that ‘Charlie” becomes distracted in performing his job, while he attempts to teach the new employee how to do it. This business costs for this situation is lower revenue production for ‘Charlie’. Worse, the new employee is frustrated by the learning experience, is incapable of performing in the position, and is left with unanswered questions on what the job is and the requirements necessary to actually perform in the position. The time of this training is never determined and there is no method as to testing for the new skill set. The business cost here is that both perform poorly during the period of training, and afterwards the new hire remains as a poor performer due to the inability to do the job. This disruption to the company’s pipeline can only be estimated.

Contrast that with a real trainer. The new Loan Officer is provided with a structured learning course, where all of the elements necessary to perform the job are taught. The learning is confirmed via testing. The speed at which the training occurs is shortened. Ideally, the coursework is reviewable, so that the new Loan Officer can refer back to it to insure accurate performance of their position. The business’s cost is that the new staff member is fully trained, capable of correctly performing in their position and the business process remains streamlined.

How would an owner calculate the costs associated with both styles?

What does the OTJ cost the business in terms of the possibly immediate disruption to revenue. Longer term, what does the incomplete training cost the company when you compound the disruption to the loan process while others (the loan processors) fix or perform the Loan Officer’s job to complete the file. I encourage any owner to estimate what this cost is.

Conversely, a mortgage company with a training system and budget, might have (choosing the medium training cost) a cost of $1,412 that results in the new Loan Officer being fully trained. Capable of originating a complete loan. Properly pre-qualifying the client and obtaining the correct documentation, prior to submission to processing. The loans submitted are streamlined and the processors are capable of processing the loan quickly and professionally.

Ronald Jacobs at Ohio State University cites his own research on structured training: “Employees who learn tasks thorough structured training make fewer quality errors than employees who learn through unstructured OTJ. The reduction in errors had been shown to have a substantial financial impact on organizations…… In addition, employees achieve training objectives faster and more completely through structured OJT that though unstructured OTJ. The increased efficiency and thoroughness have been shown to have financial benefits. For example, and organization that increased training efficiency by a factor of five times thought the use of structured training received twice the financial benefits in terms of employee productivity.”

So how much then should a mortgage company budget for training?

* Each company must analyze their training processes.

* Determine the economic impact that their decisions have on their business operations.

* Compare that with the benefits by having a fully and properly trained staff.

Then the answer is simple. A company should spend as much as necessary to properly train your staff so that the return on your ‘training investment’ translates into measurable increases in revenue.

Copyright 2007-2008 Bryant Nielson. All Rights Reserved.

Bryant Nielson – Managing Director and National Sales Trainer – assists executives, business owners, and top performing sales executives in taking the leap from the ordinary to extraordinary. Bryant is a trainer, business & leadership coach, and strategic planner for sales organizations.Bryant’s 27 year business career has been based on his results-oriented style of empowering.

Subscribe to his monthly ezine – Lengthen Your Stride! ™ – and learn the legendary secrets of top business achievers at: http://www.BryantNielson.com

Author: Bryant Nielson
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
iPhone/iPad apps

A Small Business Opportunities Magazine is one of the new small business opportunities opening up everyday. More and more companies are looking to outsource for basic services, cutting their budgets in the process and increasing profits. With this happening globally, the business opportunities available are increasing. This process will only benefit the company’s bottom line, but will also open the door for more employees to own their own businesses and take control of their lives.

So where does one go to showcase their skills or to find a small business opportunity? Small business opportunity magazines is one place worth checking out. It is also a great place to make an investment to own a business of your own.

Magazines are a multi million dollar industry every year. Advertisers and consumers both will benefit from a well laid out magazine. Opportunity magazines have a myriad of information in them regarding new positions, new trends, and new industries for the small business owner. Having a magazine available to the small business and home based business owners would be a gold mine.

This magazine concept would be helpful to anyone looking to start a small business as well. Articles regarding how to start businesses, tax information, and investment estimates are all things that a home based professional will need to know. This magazine could be offered to anyone interested or already involved in a home based business.

Additionally, the companies and organizations looking to hire home based employees would then be your advertisers. MLM and other marketing strategies are continually looking for the next advertising boom and your small business magazine could be it. Advertisers are interested in reaching an eager market, and business opportunities magazines would provide them with that.

Start up cost for you, as a self publisher of a small business magazine will vary greatly. You will need to find a printing house to print your magazine, or purchase the equipment to do it yourself. With all the computer software available you could do your own publishing quite easily. Deciding on the extent and scale to which you want to distribute is an important factor in cost as well.

To avoid the costly nature of publication, some small business magazines are being published on line as ezines (electronic magazines). Ezines offer the same benefits as regular publication, except that you avoid printing costs. Quality and timely delivery are still essential.

Even though ezines are a relatively newer market, they are widely popular. Ezines are perfect for email, which is how many telecommuters and home based businesses are communicating these days. Web space to house your ezine is going to be greatly cheaper than print, and of course there are millions of Internet users worldwide. Shipping costs will be zero and you can email links to your subscribers and advertisers virtually for free.

Clients interested in web based advertising will appreciate this twist on your publication. You will have access to a worldwide audience. Now all you have to do is get the news out that you have this publication to share.

Advertising for your magazine is going to be imperative. Looking through and communicating with web site owners of freelance and small business web sites is a good place to start. Trading advertising is also an idea. Offering an ad in your publication for promotion on a web site could be a good offer.

Do some research on ezines and small business magazines for price comparisons. Make sure that you are offering a fair value for your product. Advertisers on the Internet are looking for places to advertise. People looking for home based opportunities are looking for resources. There is demand on both sides of the spectrum, and you should be able to do well in this industry.

Copyright Randy Wilson, All Rights Reserved.

Randy currently has a website dealing with Reviews of Coffee Related Products such as coffee makers, espresso makers, coffee, k-cups, and more plus articles on coffee enemas and other coffee and health related topics. He also has a website of Reviews of Small Appliances such as ice cream makers, vacuum cleaners, mixers, irons, toasters, food processors, and many other appliances.

Author: Randy Wilson
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Credit card currency-exchange fees

In Britain, when you take your car in to have new tires fitted, do you buy a brand name or do you buy a budget tire? What is the difference? To the average motorist, a budget tire might sound like an inferior product that does not have the same quality specification or endurance as that of a branded tire, tires made by famous manufacturers with long-standing histories.

Either way, it will depend upon how much you are prepared to pay, or your personal preference from past experience. Nearly all the tires available today in the average tire fitting bays are imported. That may not be such an issue because some brands are, by their very name, of European or Japanese origin, and therefore accepted as part of what they are; high quality, foreign, branded tires. However the same cannot be said for the budget tire. Whilst some of these brands originate from Europe, a vast majority come in from the Eastern-Bloc, China and the Far East.

Are tires imported from, say, China of inferior quality to those manufactured in Europe? No, not necessarily. If, like me, your perception were that branded tires were made in their original factories and that Budgets were just that, then you would be mistaken. I recently went to have a tire fitted on my car and the retailer was very kind enough to show me their tire stock room. I was amazed to find my favourite branded tires that I thought would have been made in Italy, instead stamped with ‘Made In China’. I was doubly shocked to learn that you can buy two identical tires by the same manufacturer, to the same engineering specification, but have different country of origins.

One set I looked at found one was made in Spain, while its twin was made in China both under the same brand name. This again is hardly surprising with many global companies today multi-sourcing or setting up manufacturing cells around the World. The retailer also went on to explain that, to some drivers, simply getting the same tire specification and tread for each wheel, is not good enough. According to the retailer, since it has been seen that branded tires can have different origins, it is not uncommon for drivers to insist that their chosen brand be not only from the same country but also carry the same date stamp and batch number. All this detail is readily available to those wishing to look for it, albeit in very small text on the wall of the tire. All you have to do is ask.

It is a fact that many tire retailers would have to search their stocks to ensure that tires can be matched in this way, or order them in specially. For the rest of us, whether buying a budget tire, or a branded tire we may be content on simply having the same tread all round, irrespective of where the tire came from.

Import from china

Author: Keith E Blakesley
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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