Better use of copiers - Employees can save considerable copying expense by using color copiers only for final drafts and increase the incidence of two-sided copying.

How can we cut costs even more?
Everyone in your workplace can get involved in this process by finding opportunities to...

• Improve your processes so that you can accomplish the same excellent results in less time, with less effort, and for le
  The Cold Facts of Starting Your Own Small Business
  Do you have the right stuff to make it work? Ask yourself these five questions before making that leap from steady paycheck to entrepreneurial uncertainty:1. Are you a self-starter?You must have the self-discipline to plan, set goals, not procrastinate and stay focused.2. What are your expectations?Do you think you’ll work less and have less stress and more money? Think again.3. What are your financial goals?Be prepared to work more for less money, at least in the beginning. Set up your retirement plan in the beginning and stick to it. Forget vacations and be sure to
  Why cut costs now?
  Efforts are multiplying to cut costs wherever possible in order to achieve or preserve high profits. The resulting benefits for all of a company's employees should be obvious.

  It should be obvious, but sometimes it is not. One of the lessons of the Dot-Com debacle is that many of the companies went belly up due to profligate spending by the executives.

  Of course, you would like to achieve high profits by having a record-breaking sales year, but that may not be likely to happen this year given all of the uncertainties of the economy and the political situation. Levels of sales success are certainly unpredictable.

  The level of sales, however, is only one ingredient in the recipe for success. You must also be interested in keeping your costs as low as you can, because the real number to watch is your profit, the difference between your income and your spending. Remember that this year can be more successful than last year even with lower sales if you can reduce your spending enough.

  To increase profits, you can either increase your income, reduce your spending, or both. As your salespeople are aggressively searching for additional customers as well as seeking opportunities for more sales to existing customers, the rest of the employees can work on the other end: reducing costs. If sales are lackluster or even dismal, your cost-reduction efforts can ensure your survival. On the other hand, if sales are great, you can use them to achieve a banner year.

  Get everyone involved
  Everyone can participate in cost-cutting efforts. Here are a few examples:

  Reduced travel – Many meetings formerly held in person are now managed by video-conference or simply by teleconference. Perhaps even senior managers can reduce their in-person meetings from one a month to one per year.

  Increased use of e-mail – Communications that once took place in person or by phone are now routinely done by e-mail. Even faxes are beginning to use network connections rather than more costly telephone lines.

  Economy of scale – By combining the purchasing power of multiple sites, you can reduce the cost of routine purchases, such as uniforms, computers, and office furniture by obtaining volume discounts from your suppliers. Negotiating new leases for photocopiers and other equipment might save you thousands of dollars per month.

  Increased utilization – If you can increase the percentage of time each employee is doing productive work, you can save a lot of money. Encourage employees to use their down time either for gaining additional training or for seeking ways to improve the efficiency of their processes.

  Seek suggestions from employees - Ask your people, "How can we accomplish the same thing for less money?" You will be surprised at the creativity they have. At my company, for example, in response to an employee suggestion, water coolers placed at strategic locations throughout the plant have replaced providing individual bottles of water to employees. This has already resulted in a significant savings per week.

  Better use of copiers - Employees can save considerable copying expense by using color copiers only for final drafts and increase the incidence of two-sided copying.

  How can we cut costs even more?
  Everyone in your workplace can get involved in this process by finding opportunities to...

  • Improve your processes so that you can accomplish the same excellent results in less time, with less effort, and for les
    How To Access The Power Of Trust And Respect In The Workplace
    People naturally include trust and respect in their list of important values. Yet so often, at all levels, people complain that they are missing.Every human is a sovereign entity and is owned by nobody. Nothing but force can change that. Therefore people will choose to follow only those whom they trust and respect.Trust and Respect are earned by the consistent correct practice of value-based behaviour, including: -Treating all others as if they would wish to be treated. Being the behaviour they seek from others. Listening to what others have to say. Honouring others right to an opinion. Hon
    the recipe for success. You must also be interested in keeping your costs as low as you can, because the real number to watch is your profit, the difference between your income and your spending. Remember that this year can be more successful than last year even with lower sales if you can reduce your spending enough.

    To increase profits, you can either increase your income, reduce your spending, or both. As your salespeople are aggressively searching for additional customers as well as seeking opportunities for more sales to existing customers, the rest of the employees can work on the other end: reducing costs. If sales are lackluster or even dismal, your cost-reduction efforts can ensure your survival. On the other hand, if sales are great, you can use them to achieve a banner year.

    Get everyone involved
    Everyone can participate in cost-cutting efforts. Here are a few examples:

    Reduced travel – Many meetings formerly held in person are now managed by video-conference or simply by teleconference. Perhaps even senior managers can reduce their in-person meetings from one a month to one per year.

    Increased use of e-mail – Communications that once took place in person or by phone are now routinely done by e-mail. Even faxes are beginning to use network connections rather than more costly telephone lines.

    Economy of scale – By combining the purchasing power of multiple sites, you can reduce the cost of routine purchases, such as uniforms, computers, and office furniture by obtaining volume discounts from your suppliers. Negotiating new leases for photocopiers and other equipment might save you thousands of dollars per month.

    Increased utilization – If you can increase the percentage of time each employee is doing productive work, you can save a lot of money. Encourage employees to use their down time either for gaining additional training or for seeking ways to improve the efficiency of their processes.

    Seek suggestions from employees - Ask your people, "How can we accomplish the same thing for less money?" You will be surprised at the creativity they have. At my company, for example, in response to an employee suggestion, water coolers placed at strategic locations throughout the plant have replaced providing individual bottles of water to employees. This has already resulted in a significant savings per week.

    Better use of copiers - Employees can save considerable copying expense by using color copiers only for final drafts and increase the incidence of two-sided copying.

    How can we cut costs even more?
    Everyone in your workplace can get involved in this process by finding opportunities to...

    • Improve your processes so that you can accomplish the same excellent results in less time, with less effort, and for le
      Executive Recruiters-Love 'em or Leave 'em?
      Are you using or planning to use an executive recruiter? Better know what’s in store for you!The first step to considering a recruiter is to understand how they function. You can save yourself a lot of worry and enhance your candidacy when you take the time to learn how to interact with these professionals.Recruiters get hundreds of resumes in response to an opening they’re looking to fill. Typically they narrow them down to 20. And eventually wind up with four or five who become the primary candidates. You can see from the numbers what your chance are of making it as a finalist.You sho
      he other hand, if sales are great, you can use them to achieve a banner year.

      Get everyone involved
      Everyone can participate in cost-cutting efforts. Here are a few examples:

      Reduced travel – Many meetings formerly held in person are now managed by video-conference or simply by teleconference. Perhaps even senior managers can reduce their in-person meetings from one a month to one per year.

      Increased use of e-mail – Communications that once took place in person or by phone are now routinely done by e-mail. Even faxes are beginning to use network connections rather than more costly telephone lines.

      Economy of scale – By combining the purchasing power of multiple sites, you can reduce the cost of routine purchases, such as uniforms, computers, and office furniture by obtaining volume discounts from your suppliers. Negotiating new leases for photocopiers and other equipment might save you thousands of dollars per month.

      Increased utilization – If you can increase the percentage of time each employee is doing productive work, you can save a lot of money. Encourage employees to use their down time either for gaining additional training or for seeking ways to improve the efficiency of their processes.

      Seek suggestions from employees - Ask your people, "How can we accomplish the same thing for less money?" You will be surprised at the creativity they have. At my company, for example, in response to an employee suggestion, water coolers placed at strategic locations throughout the plant have replaced providing individual bottles of water to employees. This has already resulted in a significant savings per week.

      Better use of copiers - Employees can save considerable copying expense by using color copiers only for final drafts and increase the incidence of two-sided copying.

      How can we cut costs even more?
      Everyone in your workplace can get involved in this process by finding opportunities to...

      • Improve your processes so that you can accomplish the same excellent results in less time, with less effort, and for le
        7 Characteristics To Foster Your Entrepreneurial Spirit
        Entrepreneurial spirit, the most exciting of the spirits an individual can experience, is not something that can be explained comprehensively without being long-winded. You can think of it as a combination of an irrepressible ambition to grow rich or to create something by a relentless dedication to succeed. The spirit often negates risks such as health warnings and loss of money; all due to one inherent nature - refusal to accept failure.The unusual character traits of an entrepreneur often define success or failure. One exclusive characteristic that distinguishes an entrepreneur from the crowd is his na
        e sites, you can reduce the cost of routine purchases, such as uniforms, computers, and office furniture by obtaining volume discounts from your suppliers. Negotiating new leases for photocopiers and other equipment might save you thousands of dollars per month.

        Increased utilization – If you can increase the percentage of time each employee is doing productive work, you can save a lot of money. Encourage employees to use their down time either for gaining additional training or for seeking ways to improve the efficiency of their processes.

        Seek suggestions from employees - Ask your people, "How can we accomplish the same thing for less money?" You will be surprised at the creativity they have. At my company, for example, in response to an employee suggestion, water coolers placed at strategic locations throughout the plant have replaced providing individual bottles of water to employees. This has already resulted in a significant savings per week.

        Better use of copiers - Employees can save considerable copying expense by using color copiers only for final drafts and increase the incidence of two-sided copying.

        How can we cut costs even more?
        Everyone in your workplace can get involved in this process by finding opportunities to...

        • Improve your processes so that you can accomplish the same excellent results in less time, with less effort, and for le
          Business Intelligence Strategy
          Why a Business Intelligence strategyDeveloping your Business Intelligence Strategy involves first considering your organizations vision and mission. Melding the corporate strategy with your business intelligence strategy will make a winning combination.Business Intelligence Elevator SpeechTo get key players on-board with your BI initiative you need an 'elevator speech'. This allows you to quickly give stakeholders your idea. Your elevator speech should be: "Business Intelligence allows data to be transformed into knowledge that fuels business growth. Business Intelligence allow
          ave. At my company, for example, in response to an employee suggestion, water coolers placed at strategic locations throughout the plant have replaced providing individual bottles of water to employees. This has already resulted in a significant savings per week.

          Better use of copiers - Employees can save considerable copying expense by using color copiers only for final drafts and increase the incidence of two-sided copying.

          How can we cut costs even more?
          Everyone in your workplace can get involved in this process by finding opportunities to...

          • Improve your processes so that you can accomplish the same excellent results in less time, with less effort, and for less expense;
          • Eliminate waste;
          • Employ teamwork; and
          • Find ways to add value to what you are doing without adding cost.

          Ideas needed
          You need each employee and every department to bring forward any suggestion or idea on cutting costs. Create multiple ways of passing along each idea, such as:

          • Present it to your department manager;
          • Share it with any member of your Quality Circle;
          • Write it down and drop it in a suggestion box at your site; and
          • Call it in to a suggestion hotline (voice-mail).

          Investments must continue
          All of this emphasis on cost-cutting creates the danger of cutting too much. The purpose of all of these measures is to ensure your ongoing profitability.

          Some things you should not cut. For instance, you must not cut expenditures your need for facility upkeep or upgrades or to keep pace with technological advances. Neither can you afford to cut back the service you offer to your customers. They must continue to receive the best service you can deliver, combined with the speed and accuracy they have come to expect.

          In reality, these are all investments rather than costs. You cannot afford to neglect your investments in facilities, technology, and your people. The long-term costs would be too high.