Building Your Business

It may sound cliché, but a happy workplace is a productive workplace. It comes as no surprise that employees who enjoy their jobs will work harder, ultimately impacting a business where it matters most — the bottom line.

Of course, one of the best ways to boost morale is to provide financial compensation. However, for many companies operating in today's competitive business climate, that's not possible. Rest assured, however, there are some easy ways to give your employees a lift without significantly lifting your expenses:

As financial institutions scrambled to issue EMV cards – short for Europay, MasterCard, and Visa chip technology -- to replace the standard magnetic technology, merchants prepared for the conversion. Merchants without an EMV-ready terminal in place now take on the full financial responsibility and risk in the event a chargeback occurs.

A chargeback can transpire in multiple ways: a dissatisfied customer calls their bank to refute either a product or service received from a merchant, a lost or stolen credit/debit card resulting in a fraudulent purchase, or perhaps a reversal of an unauthorized purchase due to identity theft.

The phrase “Cash is King” rules in today’s business environment as much as ever. Access to cash for capital expansion, equipment purchases or necessary day-to-day operations is one of those ever-present challenges most businesses face on a regular basis.

Traditional commercial financing is readily available to qualified businesses from a vast array of lenders. The challenge for any borrower is determining which loan and which lender best suits their unique needs. For large capital expenditures such as financing (or refinancing) the purchase of a building or the modernization of facilities, a traditional commercial real estate or term loan may be the best solution. If seasonal or temporary fluctuations in cash flow are impeding business operations, the solution may be as simple as a line of credit. A line of credit provides quick and easy access to necessary cash when needed with the flexibility of quick repayment to help control interest expense.

Employees deserve to know what is expected of them and how they will be evaluated. A clear and up-to-date job description addresses this expectation while providing a basis for employee performance reviews, salary increases and career development. A job description also forces management to define goals and expectations that are companywide, and determine how to implement them through the employee channel. Using job descriptions is part of good management. Read on to learn about writing or updating a job description.

Components of a Job Description