Hiring Older Workers

In many areas the only workers that are available are older workers...those over 50 years of age who may be trying to re-enter the workforce or they may be trying to change occupations or jobs. The older worker can be one of the most valuable resources of your business.  The following are a few things to consider when hiring a 50+ worker.

1. Ask for a resume, review it carefully.  Look for gaps in employment and frequent changes in employer. 
2. The older worker often has extensive experience, both in dealing with difficult people and situations but also in organization and planning. 
3. I recently heard the comment that older workers show up, on time, ready to work and without attitudes. 
4. Older workers can be more flexible in their schedules, they don't have young children to consider when making work commitments. OR they can be more rigid, they have done the crazy work schedules and now they are looking for stability and routine.  Neither is right or wrong, but as a potential employer you will want to find out which it is. 
5. The job may be a secondary income and therefore money is not the most important thing.  A few well thought out questions will tell you what the employee's motivation is and if the job your are offering can fill it. 
6. Is the potential employee energetic or have they perhaps started the "slowing down process" Again there isn't anything wrong with someone wanting to slow down a bit, but that will not make them suitable for all jobs.  Match the person to the job and be careful not to rework the job to suit the candidate. 
7. Check references.  
8. Has the employee been a senior manager, a business owner or an executive?  They may be used to making the decisions with little input from others. Will this work in your business? 
9. Ask about vacation plans. Travel and family vacations may be high on the employee's list of priorities.  See if there may be conflicts with times that are going to be demanding in the workplace. 
10. Will an older employee fit into the company culture? Do they have the skills that are needed to do the job? 

Ten Advantages to a Business Partnership

Many people are hesitant to enter into a business partnership and there are certainly some disadvantages to business partnerships that need to be considered.  But that is a topic for another blog.  The following are ten advantages to a business partnership:

1. Makes the business stronger by having the strengths of all the partners available to the business
2. Increases the amount of investment in the business, thus making lending to a partnership more attractive (in some cases) that it would be for a sole proprietorship. 
3. Gives the flexibility to the partners to have different "hands on" hours in the business.  One partner may only be able to work 25 hours a week on weekends in the evenings but the other partner can work 40 hours a week.  This will give good coverage to the business and the profits can be divided to reflect the actual time each partner works
4. Paperwork and tax filing for a partnership is similar to a sole proprietorship and therefore less costly than the tax requirements for a corporation.
5. Year ends are calendar year with the final income tax returns (the owners' personal returns) due in June. 
6. A partnership can hire employees. 
7. Family members of the partners can be paid employees of the business as long as fair value is exchanged. The family members provides the work and is paid the market rate. 
8. Succession planning may be easier as a potential buyer may be one of the partners. There is still legal requirements to transfer the ownership from two or more partners to one of them. 
9. Decisions can be made within the management/ownership of the business.  The partners can seek professional opinions if necessary and they can also arrange for an independent opinion in the case of disagreements amoung the partners.
10. The set up and dissolution of a partnership is easier than it is for a corporation. 

This is a brief overview. Before entering into a partnership it is suggested that you seek the advice of your lawyer and your accountant.

When Choosing Accounting Software

Business owners have so much to do and plan and manage that the administration and accounting tasks associated with a business sometimes do not receive much attention. The task of finding and installing, setting up and using an accounting software package can be daunting and intimidating. The following are a few things that may make the process easier.

1. Make a list of the features that you would like to see in your software package.  While there are accounting principles that require things to be done in a certain way there are several different packages available to choose from.  Will you be using the software from more than one computer, do you have a network and consequently need a software package that can be accessed from several machines. Do you want to have the ability to preschedule certain tasks, such as writing recurring monthly payments? 
2. Is there training and support available locally for the software package? If you are going to be relying on this package to track all your financial records then you may want to have classes available in your area where your staff, and you, can receive training on the use of the package. 
3. What software package are other businesses using? Are they satisfied with the performance and with the support from the developer? 
4. If you are using the services of a public accounting firm to have your tax returns and other reports generated, do they have a recommendation for a specific software package?  If they are using one package, it might be to your advantage, financially and otherwise to use the same package. This will reduce time in completing your year ends and other regular reports. 
5. Will you require the ability to track expenses and revenues by project or job? Do you have an inventory that you would like to have recorded and tracked through your software package? How many employees do you have and will you be using this software package to calculate wages and any subcontractor payments? 
6. Can you make changes in tax rates for federal or provincial sales taxes?  If the GST rate drops or if that tax is eliminated you will want to be able to make that change without having to purchase a software update. 

The above are a few of the things to consider when you are starting the process of choosing an accounting software package.

Top Ten Reasons to Review Your Marketing Plan

Many business owners are so pleased when they get all the planning done, the business plan, the marketing plan, the strategic plan and the HR plan that they heave a sign of relief and put the "plans" on the shelf, never to be used again.

Your marketing plan is a living document, at least it should be. The plan needs to be implemented and then monitored and then corrected and the process starts again.


Reasons to Review your marketing plan:

1.  To learn if it is working
2.  To monitor the results of your marketing activities
3.  To implement any updates and changes, using social media for example
4.  To develop a consistent look and feel to your marketing efforts
5.  To develop a budget for your marketing activities
6.  To monitor repeat business
7.  To learn where your customers are hearing about you
8.  Get referrals
9.  Build sales results
10.  Develop marketing materials, brochures, business cards, other promotional material.

Ten Sites with Great Business Advice

1.  http://www.entrepreneur.com

2.   http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2009/10/05/f-entrepreneurs-business-tips.html

3.   http://entrepreneur.lifetips.com/

4.  For Young Entrepreneurs   http://sbinformation.about.com/lw/Business-Finance/Small-business-and-entrepreneurs/10-Business-Success-Tips-for-Young-Entrepreneurs.htm

5.   For Young Entrepreneurs    http://blogs.sitepoint.com/top-tips-young-entrepreneurs/

6. For Artists and Craft Producers     http://ezinearticles.com/?Art-and-Craft-Business-Tips-for-Entrepreneurs&id=1041437

7.  Business Networking Tips.   http://entrepreneurs.about.com/od/businessnetworking/Business_Networking_for_Entrepreneurs.htm


8.  http://www.scribd.com/doc/14021497/Buying-a-Distressed-Business-Ten-Tips-for-Entrepreneurs


9.  Home Based Businesses   http://www.powerhomebiz.com/112007/business-tips-entrepreneurs.htm

10.  Great Canadian Content for all provinces  http://www.canadabusiness.ca/eng/

Ten Reasons to Vote

1. Become involved
2. Influence the outcome
3. Without voting you lose your voice
4. Make changes
5. Reshape the face of parliment
6. Support worthy candidates
7. An opportunity to learn about the candidates and their platforms
8. Raise awareness in others
9. Have an opinion
10. This is your government, without voting you have no say in who will form the next government.

Ten Things to Issue A Press Release About

There are a lot of missed opportunities by business owners, many don't issue press releases. One reason is that a business owner doesn't think they are doing anything that is newsworthy.  The following are a few ideas that could be used for press releases:

1. A business milestone, having the 1,000 customer, or celebrating 10 years in business.
2. Hiring additional employees
3. Adding a new product line or service
4. Being a supplier for a celebrated business
5. Supporting a local charity or organization
6. Being interviewed or featured in a magazine article
7. Starting a newsletter or blog
8. Being nominated for an award, and of course winning an award 
9. Being honoured 
10. Being the guest speaker at an event
11. And the list goes on. 

Is there anything in the above list that you could use to prepare and issue a press release?

Press releases should be no more than one page in length and should be to the point. Enclose or attach a photo if that is appropriate. And be sure to give the name and contact information of the media contact.