How To Deal With A 3D Printing Company Near Me

The rapid advancements in technology and phenomenal growth in tech innovations have fueled the growth of new processes. Every business venture today looks for the best processes, innovative technologies, and sound technicalities that lead to successful projects. The same principles are applicable for printing services too. Since the remarkable progress in technology leads to advanced operations, you will surely want to associate with leading service providers.

Dealing with the service providers

It’s not just enough to choose a printer. You should know the art of dealing with these professionals as that will help you keep track of the complete project. Most of the individuals ask who can introduce me to the best 3D printing company near me, but fail to do proper research. It’s imperative to find the best companies and check out their services. That’s not all; once you get in touch with the leading service providers, you should know how to deal with them.

Knowing the tips

Dealing with the chosen service provider is of paramount significance. Get targeted information on their services, service efficiency, deliveries, and quality. If you are wondering about which is the leading 3D printing company near me, build associations with the pioneers in the professional world. From three-dimensional wax prints to rapid prototyping, they will have a diverse range of services for clients. Check out these tips, and they will help you deal with the leading printers.

1. Get knowledgeable about their services

Check the services provided by your chosen service providers. Depending on the diverse needs of your project, you might require distinctive techniques and processes. The pioneering companies will offer exclusive services like wax prints, rapid prototyping, large models, FDM prints.

2. Know their efficiency

How efficient are your service providers? You should develop crystal clear ideas of this particular fact first. Customers will have the opportunity to choose their designs and get them translated into the appropriate medium. Determine your requirements first, and then you can plan the process.

3. Discussing the costs

Costs and project prices are the most crucial parts of the project. Make sure you develop crystal clear ideas of these factors as they will help you keep confusions at bay. Most importantly, complete transparency is a must-have in such projects. Discussion on costs and prices will help you take the deal forward.

4. Checking delivery modules

You will surely have deadlines for your project, and it’s imperative to meet them. Keep this aspect in mind whenever you plan to deal with your chosen service providers. The top companies will render useful support and work according to your convenience.

Planning in advance

Don’t wait for the last moment. Plan your project before it’s too late. A well-designed and well-defined project will fetch you huge returns. All you need to do is develop awareness about the nuances and build associations with the right people. With in-depth knowledge and market experience, they will come forward with professional support for numerous clients across sectors.

6 Tips for Choosing a Good Business Broker

Do you want to avoid hiring a bad business broker? Actually, you should ask some important questions in order to make sure that you don’t end up hiring an inexperienced professional. Given below are some red flags that you may want to watch out for. Read on to know more.

1. Experience Counts

Actually, you should go with a professional who has a proven resume. You can contact the International Business Brokers Association to know more about the credentials of a good broker. Aside from this, if a professional wants to be an IBBA-sanctioned Certified Business Intermediary (CBI), they have to record years of experience on the job in addition to hours of classroom hours.

2. Beware of Generalists

If you think you can read up on a good broker on Google, you are right. But it’s not enough. What you need to do is make sure that your professional is the best fit for your organization. If you are just starting out, you should look for a professional who has tons of experience working for the type of business you operate. Working with a generalist is not a good idea.

3. Size Matters

It’s also important to know if the broker can handle the large transactions. For instance, if they usually handle deals of $10 million and your deal is just $3 million, you won’t get the attention you deserve, according to experts.

4. Negotiate the Fee

Usually, brokers charge a commission for their services. So, if a professional asks you for an upfront payment, know that it’s a red flag. While the average commission charged by brokers is 10%, you can negotiate it. For instance, if you know someone that will prove good for your business, you should negotiate for a lower rate.

5. Avoid Over-committing

You will have a long relationship with the professional. On average, the broker may take between 9 and 12 months to sell a business. The broker may assemble a solid marketing package from time to time.

While the broker may ask you to sign an exclusive contract, you don’t have to sign the contract for a year or longer. The minimum length of the contract should be 6 months. Some people negotiate a 90-day contract and get it renewed for another 90 days. It’s easy to decide whether a professional is good or bad in 3 months.

6. Trust Your Gut

Although you don’t need to have the broker meet your mother, you have to go with a professional who you can trust. What you need to do is work with the professional as a team and try to make a great chemistry. If you are not sure about a broker, you should trust your gut. By trusting your instinct, you will have a higher chance of hiring a trust worthy professional.

So, these are a few considerations that you should make when hiring a good business broker for your business needs. Hopefully, your business will have a great broker down the road.

What Do You Need To Know About Rapid Prototyping Services?

Successful and reputed businesses depend on innovation, and that’s the key to their achievements. However, it’s quite tough to follow the innovative processes since they require optimum care and crucial considerations. Prototypes of designs and prints are of paramount significance for unique results. When it comes to executing these projects, designers have to keep several aspects in mind. Choosing the most efficient company and reputed service providers is the first thing to do.

Things to know

What are the factors and aspects you need to know while choosing prototypes? Since the entire project involves several technicalities, it’s imperative to keep all the crucial aspects in mind. Design creation is an integral part of developing prototypes, and it’s here that the leading rapid prototyping services help you out. With years of professional experience, they are fully aware of the nuances involved in diverse projects. All you need to do is make a choice judiciously thus opting for a reliable, rapid prototyping service.

How to make a remarkable choice?

When it boils down to creating exceptional design prototypes, none other than the top service providers can extend complete support. The leading companies have years of experience, technical expertise, and professional approaches for every project. Right from the inception of a project to its final execution, the pioneering 3D rapid prototyping service will render comprehensive assistance. You won’t have to think about the successful completion of a project anymore. If you are still wondering about the crucial factors associated with rapid prototyping printing services, here’s what you need to keep in mind.

1. The experience

Design creation and prototype development won’t be easy without proper planning. Your chosen company should have the desired experience to render professional services. That’s where you need to find out their years of experience and identify their areas of expertise. That will give you a crystal clear idea of their efficiency.

2. Prototype creation

Working on the prototype is the first thing to do when it comes to creating prints. Check whether the chosen company offers perfect prototyping assistance or not. You will need to breeze through the service portfolio of the company and find out their range of prototyping support.

3. Technology used

The swift and remarkable developments in technology have led to quicker operations. Take a look around, and you will come across numerous tech innovations revolutionizing the printing sector. The technology used by the company is of paramount significance, as it determines the execution of the entire project. Making the right choice is highly important in this context since the quality of prototypes depend on that.

4. Final results

Other than the experience and prototype creation expertise, the final delivery is also important. You should get the entire project completed within stipulated deadlines and make sure there are no delays in between.

Final thoughts

Choosing the best company is no longer a choice. When it comes to getting best quality prints and prototypes, making the most of your available resources is highly imperative. That’s where the leading companies can help you out.

Do Professional Translation Services Suffice?

Choosing the right translation professional company from various ones can be critical. It’s good to use a document translation service as it offers many benefits, but with hundreds of translators out there, how would you decide which one is the right match for your needs? You not only need to inquire about the pricing schedule, but also make sure that you will get the support and services you need.

Proficient translation services can be beneficial in many areas. Most providers will offer translators for the most commonly spoken dialects like English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Arabic, Russian, Polish and Swedish. Every translation service provider will have a group of exceptionally qualified interpreters, editors and style editors to guarantee that you get perfect interpretations with the utilization of appropriate wording. They also make sure that the style and the tone of writing are well preserved allowing the translation to be easy to read while being totally precise.

Make sure to read the following helpful tips before choosing a translator:

Are they providing you with an instant quote? Doing a quick search online, you will notice that most translation companies offer an instant quote. It becomes easy to manage your budget and proceed further. You can also get an estimate for other services that you will require. What sorts of translation services are available? An established and experienced proficient organization may offer a few types of interpretation services that are industry-particular. This implies that you can expect a much higher quality item since the interpreter will probably have propelled information of phrasing and ideas for your specific field. Discover what sorts of other specific services are available to you with the goal that you can rely on getting excellent services for each of them.

Most importantly – know the turnaround time of translation. When you assign the task, they will provide you with its completion time. It’s good to know because, with that in mind, you can schedule your other projects accordingly.

What to look for in an interpreter’s writing style?

The primary thing is to check with the writing style is that it should be easy, pleasing and well formatted. With that, work should be provided on time with mentioned deadlines. It shows their willingness and dedication towards their work.

What is the main point to consider before hiring a Company?

The company’s main aim should be client satisfaction in every way. Secondly, they should be able to provide client support around the clock with best of the services. Keep in mind that a good translator is the one who belongs to a professional body. So, you need to choose one who fully relies on professional work ethics. Also, you need to check with the reviews of the company. Don’t go for the cheapest one if you are looking for quality work.

Upsell to Customers With Stone Floor Cleaning Services

Who knew cleaning floors for a living could be such as lucrative career path? Carpet and tile cleaning professionals are making a bundle just by having the right machines and expertise. As a carpet cleaning professional, you can extend beyond portable carpet cleaning machines and acquire restoration equipment that can be used for cleaning stone, ceramic and vinyl tile.

One of the more popular floor options for residential properties is stone. This can be in the form of marble, granite or even engineered quartz. The reasoning behind their popularity is understandable – they’re very durable! Not to mention, they’re also very nice to look at. They come in an array of colors and styles, making them highly versatile and stylish. Stone floors can also come with a hefty price tag.

All of these are reasons why your clients need professional tile cleaning services. Preserving their investment is top of mind, which means you need to be able to provide this service or risk losing them to a competitor. If you can become a stone floor care expert, you can increase your business’s revenue.

If you’re interested in helping your customers maintain and lengthen the lifespan of their stone floors, then use the following advice when caring for stone floors.

Examine the Floors Closely

When you go to a customer’s home to perform carpet cleaning services, you don’t just whip out your portable machine and start cleaning. You first look at the condition of the floor to see what type of solutions and treatment are needed. The same should be done when you’re about to clean stone floors. Carefully examine the surface to see if there’s any obvious damage. If there is, this will present an opportunity to upsell to customers. Otherwise, just make note of it before you begin cleaning, so you’re not to blame.

When Unsure, Ask an Expert

You’re a carpet cleaner by heart, so it’s alright to lack knowledge in areas of stone floor cleaning. If you run into an issue you’re not sure about, don’t guess. Talk to an expert before you decide on what to do.

Use Neutral Cleaning Solutions

Most damage done to stone floors is due to using the wrong cleaning chemicals, such as those with a pH level that’s too high or too low. Unless you know for sure which to use, go with neutral solutions.

If cleaning stone floors is a service you’d like to provide, make sure to bring along your tile cleaning machine with your portable and truck mounted carpet cleaning equipment.

4 Questions to Consider When Making Life Choices

Choices we make, on a day-to-day basis, have a tremendous influence on how our lives are going to turn out… and this is especially true when you start talking about our business life. It is no secret that making the right choices is going to help your business, but how will you know whether a particular choice is really right? How will you know if you are making constructive choices, or are actually putting yourself through unnecessary hardship for nothing?

These are great questions, and finding the answers can be a challenge! In this article, you will learn four questions to ask yourself that might just help to make the process a little bit easier. These questions might seem a bit routine, but you would be amazed at how many people never really think seriously about their choices before making up their minds! By asking yourself these questions before deciding on a course of action, you will be able to view the possible consequences from a better, more accurate frame of mind. These questions might not illuminate ‘magic’ answers that will help you in solving any problem that might arise, but they can assist you by helping you to categorize what you already know into a helpful lineup of information that is easier to follow and identify with in your own mind.

1-How Will This Choice Affect Me Short Term?

What would the immediate effects of your choice be? What ramifications could it have for you today, tomorrow, next week, next month, or even a year from now? If necessary, make a list of the short term positives and negatives. How will it help you now? How would it hurt you now? Are there any possibilities that you haven’t explored yet? Who else can you ask that may have experience to help you with this choice?

Figuring out how a particular choice will affect you now can really help you to decide whether the choice is even a viable option. In some cases, it might seem like the long term benefits are positive… but if your business or project will not survive the short term negatives, then those long term positives are not going to matter in the end, and vice versa.

2-How Will This Choice Affect Me in the Long Term?

How will this choice affect you down the road? Will you still be experiencing the effects of your decision a year from now, five years from now, or ten years from now? Figuring out what long term positives and negatives a choice might hold for you and your business could make a big impact on whether you decide to go ahead or hold back.

3-Will This Choice Result in Something Professional or Worthwhile?

Are there any immediate or long term benefits that could lead you or your business to a place of enhanced professionalism as a result of making this choice? Will the results be worthwhile? Think about what positives the choice does offer, and try to balance this information by asking yourself how professional or worthwhile it would be. Often, we face choices that seem like they are good ideas, but then end up realizing down the road that those choices did not really lend themselves to the creation of a professional image, additional revenue, or the achievement of any specific goals. In life, as well as in business, you need to make choices that are going to enhance your professionalism, generate revenue, and further your goals.

When you make an investment of your valuable time you want it to produce a desired outcome and result or don’t do it. Every time you invest your time in doing anything, you want to have a specific goal in mind that you want to achieve as a result. Because we all only have 168 hours in a week, we have to spend it wisely if we hope to get to where we ultimately want to be in life.

4-Is This Choice Consistent With My Goals?

Keeping your goals in mind as you make choices is exceptionally important. If a particular choice does not line up with your goals, then it is most likely going to set you back somewhere down the line. Consistency is a key component to success, so make sure that your choices line up with what you have planned for your business in the long term. If you don’t currently have your goals written down, then I would highly recommend doing so before you start making big choices for yourself or for your business. Keeping your goals in front of you and periodically reviewing them can really help you to make choices that will move you towards your goals in the long run.

Choices are a part of life. Everyone has them. Choices are made every minute of every day. In a way, there is really no right or wrong way to make certain choices. Some choices are difficult to make because, at times, there is no apparent good or bad to either path. In times like these, you need to look at your goals and where you are going in life to determine whether a particular choice will help you or harm you.

The truth is that every choice you make is going to impact you… so making choices that are going to affect your life in a positive way is going to be a key element to both your success and your happiness. Few things can drag a person down quicker than a series of poor choices. However, on the other hand, people can seldom be propelled to a better place quicker than they can by making a series of important, positive choices. In the end, it really boils down to two things… what you want, and how you plan to get there.

Consistency – The Model to Increase Your Success

When it comes to business, consistency is absolutely a key to success. Becoming and staying as consistent as you need to be to achieve your goals is not always easy, but it is a behavior that anyone involved in business would do well to learn and apply.

The truth is that more businesses fail than succeed. Statistically, the odds of any new business actually ‘making it’ and becoming profitable enough to sustain itself are slim. But how can you overcome the odds? What can you do to propel your business to a place where it can not only be successful, but also grow and prosper? To accomplish success on this level, you need to embody several behaviors and habits, but one of the most crucial of these is consistency.

If you can learn to be consistent, then your talent can be fully realized and your ideas can be given a fair chance of working. You would be amazed at how many businesses, started by talented and intelligent people, fail because they neglect to continue in their good habits, day in and day out. A lot of factors come into play, but there is no substitute for being determined, reliable, and consistent.

Becoming the ‘Model Of Success’

One of the key concepts to understand, as it relates to consistency, lies in the idea that you need to ‘become what you desire to become’. In other words, don’t just hope that your business will succeed. Instead, start living it on a day to day basis. Embody your ideas to the point where you make them real. When you believe in you and in your business enough, you can only succeed!

If your company was really busy and successful, then you would most likely need to do things a certain way to generate that result and outcome. But for a new start up, for a business that has not grown to that point yet, or even for a business that is older but hasn’t grown a whole lot in past years… a lot can be accomplished by, for example, showing up to work and putting in the hours that you would be required to put in if your business were incredibly busy and successful.

Being consistent in a way as simple as showing up to work, day in and day out, is often overlooked. Many people do not realize how much good a consistent presence on their part can do for their business, even if they have employees who can manage things while they are not there. For example, showing up to work and having little in the way of business actually going on might seem like a waste of time, but you can utilize down time to further your ideas in other ways, which in turn can help to expand and increase your success to the next level – and we all have a next level. For example, you could work on networking or marketing to grow your client base. You could also get into social media marketing or do more in this area, and utilize that to reach out to possible new clients who can use your products or services.

There is also a need to be consistent in the areas of marketing and advertising, especially as they relate to any online ventures. Consistency in these areas has, time and time again, tied itself to successful businesses. In fact, a lot of successful people have said that it is not actually talent or a natural affinity for leadership that sets a profitable businessman apart from one that is not. The only real common denominator among those on incredibly successful levels is the fact that those who remained consistent in their endeavors, and stuck it out when things got tough, often ended up creating a more profitable business. Overnight success stories might sound fun, but you would be AMAZED at how much went on behind the scenes that the public will never know about. A lot of ‘overnight success stories’ were only made possible because the businesses involved remained consistent in their day to day activities, even when things were not going so well.

The Benefits of Consistency

By remaining consistent, you will be ready to jump at any opportunity that might come along. The restaurant owner, for example, who consistently stays open on Mondays when he is never very busy, could very well find his restaurant the most popular place to eat on Mondays if he is the only one who will commit to staying consistent by staying open on such a slow day. The entrepreneur, who is attempting to market his business online, might be tempted to miss a few blog posts here and there… but if he does, he will cause readers to notice that content is not as ‘regular’ as it used to be, and this will result in a loss of interest on their part.

Think about the types of businesses that you utilize every day. Where do you buy your groceries? Where do you go out to eat? Where do you buy clothes? Who is your dry cleaner? Have you ever tried to do business with a company that never managed to be reliable? There is nothing more frustrating than needing something, only to realized that the business you planned on using is ‘closed’ for the day due to ‘personal reasons’. This is the kind of inconsistency that will really drag a business down.

In the end, consistency is all about keeping things steady, regular, and reliable. Consistency is going to be one of the most important assets that your business will ever build for itself, and building it will result in increased sales, clients, and success!

If you have been struggling a little bit in the consistency department (as most people do), then I challenge you to put new energy into making your part in your business as reliable and as consistent as you can. Don’t misunderstand that consistency means that you are set in your ways and that you never look outside the box to try new things that can help your business grow even more. You will no doubt soon realize how many opportunities such an attitude will open up for you!

Starting today, commit to being consistent in at least one area that you have struggled with lately. Try to isolate the most inconsistent parts of your business, and concentrate on making that the most reliable part of your operation. You would be amazed at how much of a difference this will make for your company!

6 Tips for Using Rapid Prototyping

Rapid prototyping helps you build and test ideas for product development. It helps you know if your idea can be turned into a good product in an efficient manner. Given below are a few tips to help you build rapid prototyping models with great success. With these tips, you will be able to go through the process without any problem. Read on to know more.

1. Manage complexity

Actually, the aim of this approach is to test the impact of different models on their performance. If there are lots of variables, you may want to be careful when combing them in the same breadboard. Moreover, if you have some difficult models, you should break them into different builds isolating complex systems. Then you can join them to simulate the actual product.

2. Test parameters

The role of rapid prototyping is not limited to finding out whether an idea can work or not. As a matter of fact, a good breadboard lets you know the variables that allows the process to work. What you need to do is design the system based on the variables that you think can have a great impact on the performance. And don’t forget to test.

3. Go for speed

At first, it’s not a good idea to get the perfect parts. Just go for what is good enough. What you need to do is get the maximum number of off-the-shelf parts. Actually, it’s faster, cheaper and gives you the freedom to change the parts when required. If possible, you may want to go for items with short lead-times and variety.

4. Critical parts

When using off-the-shelf components, you will find custom pieces as well. Fabricating these pieces yourself is also a good idea. Actually, this is the fastest way. You can also tweak them as you find out that your initial design was not the best one. For these parts, using rapid prototyping methods is not a good idea. At this phase, you don’t need to make custom injection parts, especially if rapid prototyping components get you what you want.

5. Robustness

As far as rapid prototyping goes, nothing is worse than ignoring something that is part of your learning process. If you think that you may need a stronger component, you should take steps to make it happen. At this point, you should not worry about cost, design or simplicity. You can take care of that later on.

6. Get Ready to iterate

Following the points given above, it will be possible for you to learn and discover that you need to change or get rid of some of your work. While doing so, you will experience an unexpected scenario. So, what is the solution? The solution will be there if you become iterate and flexible.

If you follow these suggestions, you will be able to get what you want. Learning these things in the beginning will help you save time and money down the road. Also, it will increase your chance of success. Hopefully, this will help you get success.

Small Business Owners: Eliminating Organizational Waste to Increase Profits

You’ve heard it said often… Management can be broken down like this; eliminate, automate, delegate. You must always eliminate anything (and everything) that is not working, is wasteful, too costly, has no return on investment (ROI), and is not making the right kind of progress for your business.

Automate everything you can. This includes client reminders, billing, marketing, promotions, follow-ups, etc.

Delegation is REALLY important, and most often not done. It’s not done enough because we (you, me and most everyone) has a hard time “letting go.” Basically, we’re control freaks. You must determine your value per hour and NEVER do work that is below that pay level. Begin by delegating (outsourcing) all the things you loath.

It will instantly free your time for doing “HUBU” – your Highest Use and Best Use of your time to attract the next big client.

No one talks about how to eliminate unproductive routines, corporate bureaucracy and ‘administration trivia’ that kills ambition and sap energy for far too many employees. That’s demoralizing for employees and a waste for companies, which badly need the full energy and commitment of all their workers to keep or make the business profitable.

No one talks about how to evaluate the true causes of organizational drag — all the practices, procedures and structures that waste time and limit output — not just the symptoms. The symptoms may seem minor annoyances and inconveniences that could be wiped out without much effort – too much process steps to get orders out, too many meetings, meaningless goals, and time wasted on work that no one will even care about.

But those symptoms stem from fundamental problems. Companies wind up in trouble and squander the time, talent and energy of their workforce when they lose focus, spend money on things that don’t make a difference to employees or the future of the business, and use operating models that are out of whack.

Below are some areas that waste can be eliminated from an organization or restructured to help it to become more profitable.

• Board of Directors — being complacent and procrastinating on leadership, governance and compliance issues. Also, delaying or distorting strategic decisions that overlook waste and high costs, hastily conceived and harmful cost reductions, missed new product and business development opportunities and poor long-term investments that destroys shareholder value(profits).

• President – wasted authority, responsibility, ability, talent, technology and knowledge by spending to little time on ‘strategic issues/vision’ and ‘operational improvements strategy’ by accepting positions work on multiple boards that are not relevant to the company but provide networking and resume building opportunities for them. Not executing plans that improve shareholder value(profits).

• Administration (wasted efforts) — outdated technology, lack of current policies and procedures, poor tracking of costs, expenses, lost files, inadequate reports, inefficient ordering methods, no competitive bidding, facilities inefficient for operations and employees mindset of ‘we know what we are doing’. Senior executives having too many meetings that have little or no direct impact on company value (profits).

• Human Resources – Poor Employee Handbook, Ambiguous Employee Responsibilities/ Inadequate Job Descriptions, Irregular Employee Evaluations, Outdated Employee Benefits, Poor job training, high employee turnover and improper employee tracking, record keeping systems and the ‘don’t rock the boat’ mentality.

• Finance/Accounting (wasted profits) — credit losses, poor refund/returns tracking system, poor budgeting (profit planning system), Excessive Expenses, Slow Collections from current/former customers, delayed invoicing, inefficient record keeping (inventory/order management) and idle money

• Sales (wasted business opportunity) — neglected customers, uncalled prospects, lack of sales, calls on unqualified prospects, unsatisfied customers, high pressure sales tactics, rash promises and out-moded compensation structures

• Marketing Communications (wasted actions) — executing old marketing plan (targeting wrong customer audience), ineffective advertising, no publicity, lacks ROI measurement, poor coordination with other internal departments, outdated marketing material, outdated marketing message, no coordinated social media marketing presence, uninformed about company plans, internal employee communications lacks credibility and the ‘they can’t handle the truth’ mentality by senior management

• Operations (wasted products/services) – unused capacity, wasted labor, poor training, absenteeism, slow work pace, idle employees, spoiled work, out-dated methods and equipment.

• Ownership (wasted investment) – no profit on investment and the it’s a ‘write off’ mentality.

No one shows you how to attack the root causes of organizational drag listed above, which allows companies to eliminate unnecessary work, re-energize the workforce and at the same time, put the business on a better course. Making improvements allows you to ‘raise the bar’ in the organization by following the three R’s.

• Refocus on strategic priorities

• Resets the budgets

• Redesign the operating model

Refocus on strategic priorities

Refocus the organization on the most important business units, customer segments and geographies in which the company has a repeatable formula for growth and a ‘right to win’.

A. Within business units, eliminate any sources of profitless volume.

1. Look closely, company may have stretched their brands and used product portfolios to customers and market in which they are undifferentiated and profits are weak. This contributes to drag as well as costs that rob resources from better and potentially, more profitable ideas.

Reset the Budgets

How companies allocate money can contribute to organizational drag by keeping nonessential work going on. But it is not easy to make the tough decisions to refund.

I recommend profit planning based on zero-based budgeting and planning to make the choices clearer.

A zero-based budgeting and planning process using stretch targets challenges conventional thinking and brings forth bolder ideas.

Redesign the Operating Model

After streamlined portfolio and reset budgets, it is important to redesign the operating model —- that is, the way the company is organized to deliver on its strategy. Thinking ‘customer-back’ or ‘frontline-back’ provides lens to eliminate work. Just ask: How does this activity help to serve the customer better? Or How does this activity or information serve the internal stakeholders better? —- Companies need to look at inefficiencies cross-functional, cross-geographical or cross-business unit activities, where no executive or team has any account activity.

Assess your current state operating model. You then need to identify the waste in your operations top to bottom. By identifying the seven wastes of lean which provide a lens and a language to identify waste in your own work. Ask yourself these questions:

Transportation: How many hand offs do I have in my work? Inventory: How big is my queue of work tasks? Motion: How much time do I spend searching for information? Waiting: Does my work sit idle waiting for other tasks or information? Overproduction: Do I perform some tasks long before they are needed, while other tasks are late? Over-processing: Do I do more than is necessary, such as three-paragraph emails where one sentence will suffice? Defects: Do I have tasks I must rework?

Keep a list of what you are looking for, and make notes when you observe those specific instances. Identify the cause of that waste. You aren’t going to eliminate everything, and certainly not all at once. But if you have multiple observations, you can make choices about the best opportunity to improve.

Note, understanding and taking deliberate steps to mitigate identified wasteful process areas in all business units will drastically reduce all kinds of cost and increase profitability regardless of what industry your organization plays in.

The idea of categorizing seven wastes is credited to Engineer Taiichi Ohno, the father of the Toyota Production System (TPS). Although the classifications were intended to improve manufacturing, they can be adapted for most types of workplaces.

The following are the seven wastes, as categorized by Taiichi Ohno:

• Overproduction — Manufacture of products in advance or in excess of demand wastes money, time and space.

• Waiting — Processes are ineffective and time is wasted when one process waits to begin while another finishes. Instead, the flow of operations should be smooth and continuous. According to some estimates, as much as 99 percent of a product’s time in manufacture is actually spent waiting.

• Transportation — Moving a product between manufacturing processes adds no value, is expensive and can cause damage or product deterioration.

• Inappropriate processing — Overly elaborate and expensive equipment is wasteful if simpler machinery would work as well.

• Excessive inventory – This wastes resources through costs of storage and maintenance.

• Unnecessary motion — Resources are wasted when workers have to bend, reach or walk distances to do their jobs. Workplace ergonomics assessment should be conducted to design a more efficient environment.

• Defects — Quarantining defective inventory takes time and costs money.

Since the categories of waste were established, others have been proposed for addition, including:

• Under-utilization of employee skills — Although employees are typically hired for a specific skill set, they always bring other skills and insights to the workplace that should be acknowledged and utilized.

• Unsafe workplaces and environments — Employee accidents and health issues as a result of unsafe working conditions waste resources.

• Lack of information or sharing of information — Research and communication are essential to keep operations working to capacity.

• Equipment breakdown — Poorly maintained equipment can result in damage and cost resources of both time and money.

After you have identified and categorized ‘mission critical’ wasteful business practices/process areas in business units that need and can be to be resolved. Develop specific solutions for specific waste instances. Don’t try to eliminate waste in broad themes.

By identifying, improving and eliminating wasteful areas throughout the organization that decrease profitability. A business owner can increase their ‘profits’ on the bottom line in a good or bad economy.

Make Sure Your Business Is Properly Protected

If you are starting or operating a small business, you know the importance of maintaining its financial stability. Everything from managing cash flow to keeping current with tax liabilities is crucial. Another key contributor to the firm’s financial strength is ensuring your business is protected against risks. While unexpected situations may occur, you can explore insurance options to limit the impact that an unplanned event could have on your most important assets. Start by understanding your current policies, and identify areas where you and your business may be exposed to risk. The following list includes types of insurance you may want to consider:

The basics of business insurance

Among the more fundamental forms of insurance that apply to most businesses are:

· General liability: This type of insurance provides coverage for legal issues ranging from injuries on your property to claims of libel or slander.

· Product or professional liability: If your business manufactures, distributes or sells products at the retail level, this insurance protects against claims relating to product defects. The level of risk you incur depends on the types of products you sell and their potential to do harm. Professional liability coverage pertains to firms that provide services. This coverage, often referred to as “errors and omissions insurance,” protects against mistakes that could occur.

· Commercial property insurance: Just as you need insurance on your home, the same is true for your business property, even if you rent your business space. This insurance protects the valuable assets in your company from risks such as fire, flood damage, vandalism or theft.

Specialized types of insurance

Depending on the focus and state of your business, different types of insurance may be necessary. Be sure you review these options and others in your industry to determine what’s right for you:

· Business insurance for the home: If you run your business out of the home, it is likely that standard homeowner’s insurance will not cover risks associated with the business. Check your policy to see if separate or additional coverage is needed.

· Worker’s compensation: If you have employees, you will likely need to have a worker’s compensation policy in place to cover injuries or deaths that could occur while doing business.

· Auto insurance: Vehicles specifically owned by the company require full insurance. Employees using their own cars can be covered by personal insurance policies in most cases, but be sure to check with your insurer. You may need additional insurance to protect the company in case one of your employees has insufficient coverage.

· Business interruption insurance: A natural disaster or other catastrophic event could disrupt your business operation for days, weeks or even months. This form of coverage can compensate businesses for income lost during such periods. Generally, it is most suitable for a business that operates from a specific location, such as a retail store.

· Cyber or data breach coverage: If sensitive information about employees, vendors or clients is stored within your computers and other devices, there may be a financial impact if your business is subject to a cyber-attack. This insurance can help cover costs associated with notifying affected parties, public relations and legal action.

· Employment practices coverage: Employers can be subject to legal actions from employees and others, including accusations of discrimination, harassment or wrongful termination. Policies are available to protect against these costs.

· Directors’ and officers’ liability: This coverage protects individuals in positions of authority in the company if they are sued over business decisions or actions taken.

· Life insurance: If you share ownership of the business, think about what happens to the firm if one of you passes away unexpectedly. Is another owner in a financial position to purchase an additional share in the company? Life insurance can be a key part of your succession plan.

Look for solutions that are suitable

There is no “one-size-fits-all” solution when it comes to business insurance. The types of coverage you need and the size of your business can guide you in finding the best approach. Working closely with financial and insurance professionals can help you sort through your goals and determine an appropriate protection strategy.