Small Business Hiring And Other News

July 3, 2014 by

business (1)It is always good for the small business owner’s morale knowing hiring is up and the economy is recovering.  According to recent numbers, hiring in June has been the strongest since two years ago, and that can only be good for the US economy and the small firms across the United States.  For more info about this and other stories follow the links below.

Small business hiring surges to fastest pace since early 2012

Now that’s more like it.

Small businesses nationally added 117,000 jobs in June, a 60 percent increase over their average for the first five months of the year and the fastest pace of hiring since early 2012, according to the latest numbers published Thursday by payroll processing firm ADP.

More than the companies in any other size category, those small firms pushed the overall job numbers last month to 281,000, the highest mark since fall 2012. Construction, transportation and professional services sectors posted the steepest gains.

“The job market is steadily improving,” Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics, said in the report, noting that the gains were “broad based across all industries and company sizes.”

Still, it’s a particularly important rebound for the county’s smallest employers, who are often lauded as the most steady job creators but hadn’t cracked six-digits in monthly job gains since November. In addition, June was the second straight month that small companies have contributed more than 40 percent of all jobs created — a mark they fell shy of during the first four months of the year.

The Not-So-Small Business Administration

Last month the Small Business Administration updated the criteria it uses to determine what qualifies as a “small business” for the first time since 2008. The formula varies by industry, sometimes calculated by number of employees, other times by annual revenues or total assets. Thanks to the change, approximately 8,500 more companies (some with more than 1,000 employees) will now be eligible for the designation—and the federal assistance that goes with it.

Modern Tools for Mom-and-Pops

MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. — Operators at KES Dispatch keep track of the company’s taxis on a yellow legal pad. They communicate with cars using a two-way radio. Drivers navigate their journeys largely by memory.

In the age of Uber and Lyft, the company is desperate to modernize.

“I gotta change something,” said Miguel Duarte, who has run his Mount Kisco, N.Y., company for 13 years. “I gotta stay ahead of the competition.”

Help is on the way. Dashride, a new start-up, wants to give KES Dispatch a fighting chance. It is helping Mr. Duarte modernize his company’s clunky dispatch system, starting with a mobile app that will soon let customers book, track, pay for and rate rides.

Dashride is just one of several web-based start-ups with a mission of empowering small, local businesses — often in struggling, traditional industries — by equipping them with tools and strategies that could help them keep up with changing times.

For example, Cups, a coffee subscription app that came to New York in April, helps independent coffee shops compete with giant chains like Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts. It is working with 50 small shops in Manhattan and Brooklyn. ShopKeep, a New York company, helps small businesses ring up sales, accept credit cards, email receipts or print remotely with an iPad-based checkout system.

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Vacations Are Important For Your Bottom Line

July 1, 2014 by

business (2)Job related stress is universal.  Almost everyone has had job stress negatively affect them personally and professionally, sometimes on a daily basis.  Even people who thrive on it will admit there are times when it’s too much for them.  One of the greatest relievers of work stress is taking time off, whether it’s 1 day or 2 weeks.

And yet there were 429 million unused vacation days in the U.S. last year.  Many Americans don’t take enough time off – to their own and their company’s detriment.  Fore-going time off isn’t healthy, profitable or productive for people, companies or the economy.  It’s estimated those 429 days would have generated $160 billion and created 1.2 million jobs (mental_floss, July 2014).

It’s well documented that chronic stress takes its toll on the body: it decreases the ability to resist infection and maintain vital functions, increases accidents and injuries, creates sleep disturbances and can even negatively alter genetic material at the cellular level.  It’s equally well researched that chronic stress creates mental health issues: irritability, depression, anxiety, memory difficulties, poor decision making, social isolation, poor impulse control and loneliness.

Vacations help break the stress cycle by getting people out of their usual work schedules and habits.  Time away can be a 3 day weekend staycation or 2 weeks in Finland for the Air Guitar World Championships.  The essential part is to do something that’s a healthy break from the stress and routines of work.

A healthy break means different things to different people.  It can be: restful and recuperative, challenging and exciting, a religious pilgrimage, a decadent spa visit, seeing new cultures, or spending time with family and old friends.  It’s important to identify the desired benefits and how to achieve them before the vacation is taken, to be pro-active.

Unfortunately, vacations are often poorly planned and executed, too expensive and as stressful as the job people are taking a break from.  They don’t take time to think about what would be beneficial and what they actually need.  A little self awareness and planning can keep them from making the common mistake of needing a vacation from the stress of their vacation.

Every workplace has some form of stress, therefore, employers and employees alike can greatly benefit from time off.  Some companies have recognized this fact and made it mandatory for everyone to take all of their vacation time.   A mentally and physically healthy work force, capable of coping with workplace stress, goes a long way towards efficient productivity and successful profitability.

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Should You Have a Business Mentor?

June 18, 2014 by

business (4)There are many issues a small business owner has to look into when running their own business.  Whether you have employees or not, all the decisions to be made come and stop with you.  Small and big business decisions and the success of your company are strictly correlated to the choices you make. Regardless of what decisions you take, research has shown time and again that having a small business mentor is extremely important and beneficial for you and the success of your business. To read more about this topic follow the links below.

Small business weekly: Health care, tax breaks and veteran entrepreneurs

A review of the biggest small business and startup stories from the past week, with a focus on Washington.

Under siege: Critics of the health care law, including many business owners, have long bemoaned a provision that requires employers to provide health coverage to their full-time workers. Now, some of the law’s supporters are starting to call for the rule’s elimination, too, warning that it will push employers to pull back on hours. (OSB)

More delays for many: The Obama administration last week approved 18 states’ requests to delay for a second year an important feature of the health law’s new insurance exchanges for small business. The feature was supposed to allow employers to give their workers a choice of multiple plans through the online marketplaces. (POL)

Suddenly small: The Small Business Administration last week announced that it would adjust its small-business size-standards for inflation, lifting the cap on either receipts or assets for 487 industries. Consequently, roughly 8,400 previously large companies can now apply for resources restricted to small businesses. (WBJ)

Look for support to combat small-business isolation

Years ago, when I first decided to start a business, a friend who had owned a small business for more than a decade gave me some words of advice.

She warned me that I would have to overcome three main challenges: a lack of financial stability; a need to be disciplined: the isolation of being a business owner.

I certainly understood that things would be rocky financially. And I quickly came to realize I had to establish strict work and spending habits to succeed.

But I brushed off her comments about isolation. How could someone like me, with so many contacts, friends and family ever feel isolated?

However, my friend was right.

Running a small business is a lonely business, especially if you work from home.

Even if you have an office and employees, all important decisions and major difficulties are yours. The buck stops with you — and that’s isolating at times.

Who do most people turn to so they won’t be in a vacuum?

• Spouse. Most spouses lose patience hearing the gritty details of your business.

Their own fears about money, the demands on your time, and their perception of your capabilities often color their advice. Besides, it’s often nice to have someone with whom you can escape from work worries.

• Employees. Employees can be a good sounding board for many things, but for

New insurance proposals give more choices to small business

PORTLAND, Maine — On average, insurers in Maine are seeking smaller increases to health insurance premiums for small businesses in 2015 than in the past decade, when annual increases have most often been in the double-digits.

The filings for 2015 still require state and federal review, but the first look at rates proposed by the five insurers planning to offer small group insurance next year in Maine show rate proposals for the first quarter of 2015 will rise 5.7 percent from the first quarter of 2014. Premiums have increased by at least 10 percent annually for the past seven years.

“At a high level, I can say what I’m looking at on paper is good news for small businesses,” said Joe Ditre, of the Augusta-based advocacy group Consumers for Affordable Health Care.

The average rate increase figures give a sense of how much more money the entire small group market stands to spend on health care costs. It doesn’t reflect what each business owner will experience.

“I think companies just kind of brace themselves for the annual quote from their brokers or agents and then see how they can handle it,” said David Clough, state director of the National Federation of Independent Businesses. “That’s been going on for a number of years.”

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How the Ohio BWC is Hurting Small Businesses

May 28, 2014 by

business (3)News about the Bureau of Workers Compensation and the illegal practices against small business, the cost to Ohio workers and the state as a whole is nothing short of abhorrent.  How many small businesses have scraped by or gone under because of the high rates imposed by the BWC? Small business with less capital are  at the mercy of these institutions, and the rates that have been historically and inexplicably high have certainly put a burden to the small business owner. Read more about this topic by following the links below.

BWC is hurting small businesses

The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation is hurting the majority of job creators in Ohio — the small business owner, like me. It overcharged me and Ohio’s other small business owner so it could give a few businesses, usually the larger companies, huge price breaks on their worker’s compensation coverage premiums. A court has ruled that the BWC overcharged me — to the tune of several hundred dollars a year, and the majority of other small business owners illegally. It is sitting on an $8 billion (that’s right billion with a “b”), but refuses to pay the judgment against it; even after losing the frivolous appeal it filed to try to overtune the judgment against it in favor of the small business owners it overcharged.

It’s time for the BWC to do the right thing, take responsibility, and pay the judgment against it in favor of the small business owners it overcharged. And every day the BWC refuses to honor its obligation, it is costing Ohio $2.3 million dollars a month. It’s time for the BWC to meet its responsibility to pay its obligation to the roughly 270,000 employers who struggled to pay the Bureau’s illegally inflated premiums when paid and who continue to thwart the same roughly 270,000 employers from investing on the future of Ohio’s economic comeback.

Ohio Senate approves bill to expand income, business tax cuts

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Senate on Wednesday approved one-year expansions of state income and small-business tax cuts, as well as raising tax credits and exemptions for poorer Ohioans.

The Republican-sponsored measures in House Bill 483, which passed the Senate, 24-8, come as a result of higher revenues and lower state spending than expected.

Under the revised budget review bill, a 9-percent income tax cut previously approved for this year would be increased to a 10-percent cut. The move would save taxpayers an additional $94 million this year, according to state Sen. Scott Oelslager, a North Canton Republican.

Another change would give businesses making $250,000 or less a 75-percent business tax deduction for 2014, up from a 50-percent deduction in current law. That would mean $225 million in savings, Oelslager said.

System works against small businesses

For many years, the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation has favored some businesses and charged more for others (“Appeals court: Ohio businesses were overbilled,” Dispatch article, May 17). This ends up making the small mom-and-pop shops that employ many Ohioans the bearers of undue burdens.
Many of us go out of business due to these unfair practices.

The Bureau of Workers’ Compensation has lost its case in court, and again lost its appeal. It’s time for Ohio small businesses to get what is lawfully theirs.

We are Ohio. The bureau is here to serve us, not themselves.

JOHN ANDERSON
President/CEO
Anderson Computer Consulting
Marion

Regulators close small lender in Ohio

WASHINGTON — Regulators have closed a small lender in Ohio, marking the eighth U.S. bank failure of 2014 after 24 closures last year.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Friday that it has taken over Cincinnati-based Columbia Savings Bank.
The lender, which operated a single branch, had about $36.5 million in assets and $29.5 million in deposits as of March 31.
United Fidelity Bank, based in Evansville, Indiana, has agreed to assume Columbia Savings’ deposits and to buy essentially all of the failed bank’s assets. Columbia Savings’ failure is expected to cost the deposit insurance fund $5.3 million.
U.S. bank failures have been declining since they peaked in 2010 in the wake of the financial crisis and the Great Recession.
Only three banks went under in 2007. That jumped to 25 in 2008, after the financial meltdown, and ballooned to 140 in 2009.
In 2010, regulators seized 157 banks, the most in any year since the savings and loan crisis two decades ago. The FDIC has said 2010 likely was the high-water mark for bank failures from the recession. They declined to 92 in 2011 and fell to 51 in 2012.

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3 Types of Networks Every Leader Should Develop

May 26, 2014 by

business (9)Every organization has a “go-to person”, the leader who can successfully get things done, who knows everyone and is well liked.  The one some call a natural leader and while others say he’s/she’s “just lucky”.  However, chances are, luck has very little to do with it.

Organizations are social structures created and operated by people.  Leaders effectively navigate them by building and maintaining the relationships they need to be successful.  In the article “How Leaders Create and Use Networks” (Harvard Business Review, 2007) Herminia Ibarra and Mark Hunter identified the 3 types of networks successful leaders have or should develop.

Operational – This network is internal to the organization and is developed to get work done effectively.  The goal is to build strong functioning lateral relationships by identifying who can be counted on in other departments (HR, IT, accounting, etc).  It’s equally important to identify individuals who are depending on you and to be an essential part of their network.

Personal – This network is mostly external to your organization and is crucial to your personal and professional development.  Successful leaders have an eye on the future and become involved with outside activates, which provide opportunities to meet useful contacts.  The key to establishing this network is to be involved in the activity and not just show up.

Strategic – This is a leveraging network that separates the leaders from the managers.  It’s both internal and external to your organization and is oriented to the future.  Identify your future priorities and challenges, and then secure support for them with the people in this network.  Formal or informal mentors and coaches are usually a part of it.

The main factor in successfully building and maintaining all 3 networks is to give more than you take.   Leaders know that establishing relationships, doing a favor, showing interest in someone, giving a referral and communicating face to face is still how things get done.  Yes, it can be time consuming, but as Coleman Cox said, “I am a great believer in luck.  The harder I work the more of it I seem to have”.

Nicole Abbott – writer, educator and psycho-therapist

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Why Your Employees Won’t Listen to You

May 15, 2014 by

business (10)Talk to any manager about the problems they’re having with their employees and one of the main complaints is, “They won’t do what I tell them to do.”  However, the problem is often with the supervisor and not with the employees.  Many mangers don’t want to do the job of managing; they want the employees to manage themselves.

But, if you’re a manager who wants to manage and are looking for ways to get your employees to respond better, the fact that you may be the problem is good news.  If it’s your problem then the solution lies with you, it’s in your control to change.  With coaching, some practice and a little introspection the problem of getting people to follow your instructions can be greatly reduced.  These are the 3 most common errors many supervisors make.

Poor communication skills – The biggest problem people have with communication is assuming it has taken place.  Effective communication skills don’t come naturally to most people, they must be learned.  An effective manager will make the effort to learn the skills.  Ultimately being a better communicator will make your professional and personal life easier.

Don’t want to be the “Bad Guy” – Many managers don’t want to be the bad guy, they want to be liked.  However, kindheartedness is frequently a pretext for weakness.  It’s more important to be respected than liked.  People will like you and still take advantage of you.

Poor or no follow through – Countless managers mistakenly believe, “I shouldn’t have to hold their hand. I should only have to tell them once and they should do it.”  This idea shows a poor understanding of human nature.  People learn through a repetitive 3 step process – instruction, supervision (manager, parent, teacher) and consequences for poor work or praise for good work.

After you’ve corrected your errors and have consistently implemented the changes, you‘ll find most employees will understand and perform better.  However, there will always be difficult employees who no amount of communication will help.  But, with your new skills and knowledge you’ll handle them more effectively.  You’ll be a manager who’s managing.

Nicole Abbott – writer, educator and psycho-therapist

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The Benefits Of Having A Virtual Team

May 13, 2014 by

business (2)The integrated workforce experience page at Cisco tells us that the company sales force consists of 20,000 people in 87 countries, and keeping abreast of the new products, solutions and architectures is a critical task.  Although your company may have a smaller workforce than Cisco, the challenges and rewards of having a virtual workforce is indubitable.  Keeping your team engaged and collaborating with other team members may not be as easy as you would think.  The challenges of keeping your team members offering great customer service (if you are a service company) may not be easy to track if you do not have a good system in place. Training and engaging your virtual team is a must for your business and the rewards you can achieve with them can be beneficial for all parties.

Building an All-Star Virtual Team

Employers and managers are often skeptical when it comes to hiring virtual workers.

To build a virtual team of employees, trust and confidence factor into the hiring process. Indeed, some employers never meet candidates in person. Yet that employee is involved with building a company’s success; no wonder some managers are nervous when it comes to hiring virtual workers.

Apprehensive about hiring telecommuters? Consider current trends about virtual work environments: According to Forrester, nearly 34 million Americans are working from home and telecommuting is expected to rise 43 percent in the United States by 2016.

Virtual teams allow an employer to tap into some of the best talent available because recruiting is not restricted by geography. By opening up positions to candidates across the world, companies such as Upworthy, Buffer and Mozilla have experienced success with virtual teams, finding individuals who are truly passionate about what they do.

Smells like team spirit

A virtual workforce opens up access to a global talent pool, but needs special attention and a personal touch to build trust among members spread across geographies

The website that you use for online shopping or the aircraft that takes you places have most likely been built through the collaborative effort of teams dispersed across continents. Organizations are increasingly turning global to take advantage of diverse talent, achieve operational and cost effectiveness, and inculcate the ability to respond to market demands with swiftness to be able to thrive in a highly competitive environment.

Virtual teams are the order of the day and, this, of course, has been facilitated by the rapid advancement of technology which has helped transcend distance, time zones, cultures and organizational boundaries. Virtual teams embody a distinctive shade of group dynamics, along with their concomitant set of unique challenges. There are umpteen examples of teams that have outshone their collocated counterparts in terms of productivity and effectiveness, but there are plenty that have shrivelled and fallen apart. So what makes a virtual team tick?

Managing & Achieving Goals with a Virtual Team

Managing one or two remote workers can be difficult enough–never mind an entire team of virtual employees! Whether it’s for a short period of time or a long-term work situation, virtual teams are becoming a more common occurrence in the modern workplace. There are many benefits for both the team members and the employer, such as less time spent traveling to meetings and a reduced commute for employees. However, virtual work needs to be monitored closely to ensure quality and productivity. There are a number of available tools that make this task much easier.

1.  UberConference: UberConference is a hit among virtual workers and those who manage them. The rich interface is actually quite easy to use, and provides virtual workers with a number of tools and resources they need to easily complete a remote work assignment. This is a good option for those who need to participate in remote conference calls, as it allows workers to easily connect to and chat with others.

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Is Small Business Hiring Slowing Down?

May 5, 2014 by

business (10)A Washington Post article by J.D Harrison dated April 30th. talks about  how small business hiring has remain flat in April, and the belief that the projections of greater figures in the small business sector has fallen short. The news can lead one to wonder whether the rising costs of health care and the minimum wage increase has led small business owners to think about those issues first before hiring.

Read more about this topic by following the links below.

Small business weekly: Minimum wage, maximizing loans and expensive limes

A review of the biggest small business and startup stories from the past week, with a special focus on Washington.

SBA slammed: During a hearing last week, Democrats and Republicans on the House Small Business Committee ripped into the Small Business Administration for creating several new entre pre neur ship training programs that have not been approved by Congress while pulling back on some of its long-standing counseling programs. (OSB)

Nation’s job engine? While employers as a whole posted strong job gains last month, small businesses are still struggling to pick up the pace. Hiring by small companies was flat in April, according to the latest readings by ADP, while their share of the nation’s total job gains declined for the fourth consecutive month. (OSB)

Mimimum wage splits businesses: Senate Republicans last week blocked legislation from moving forward that would raise the federal minimum wage to $10.00 per hour. Some small business owners say the legislation would cripple their companies by driving up labor costs, while others strongly favor raising the floor on wages. (OSB)

Many Small Employers Face Rising Insurance Costs Under ACA

Size matters – when it comes to the impact of the Affordable Care Act on employers. For the next three days ideastream health reporter Sarah Jane Tribble will walk us through the differences. She starts the series today by going to a bar.

Paul Siperke is the co-owner of Fat Heads – a popular brew pub in North Olmstead. He has fewer than 50 full-time employees, so he’s classified under the Affordable Care Act as a small business.

He doesn’t have to provide health insurance to his employees. But that’s what he’s been doing despite some pretty crazy volatility in rates.

“They just seemed to keep going up every year.  One year we got a 38 percent increase, another year we got 11. One year we got 3,” Siperke says.”

This year, under the Affordable Care Act, he saw another hike – this one for about 20 percent.

“It just seems odd that we get such a drastic price increase when nothing has really changed with us as far as our employees and health issues,” he says.

Until now, if employees were healthy and claims were few, premium prices were relatively good. But, for a small business, if even one employee was in a car accident or was diagnosed with cancer, insurance costs could skyrocket the next year.

Advice for small businesses navigating Obamacare

Serving as a partner in a health care staffing and consulting firm, health insurance costs were the second largest expense only to employee salaries.

We maintained a commitment to providing health benefits to our team, but each year the cost would climb often by double digits, forcing tough decisions on whether to reduce benefits, increase employee shares or take a bite out of the bottom line.

As a business owner, the decision to offer health benefits is critically important particularly in light of the roll out of the Affordable Care Act.

Health benefits help companies recruit and retain talent in their workforce. A recent survey by Towers and Watson found that more than half of employees surveyed identified the health plan offered as a major reason to stay with their current employer.

Small business has traditionally been at a disadvantage providing these benefits facing higher premiums and administrative costs than large employers.

Much attention on the Affordable Care Act has been on the individual health care coverage options and the technical challenges with the exchange website. Depending on where you stand on the issue, the act has been a great success at enrolling millions of uninsured into coverage, or complete failure in both concept and implementation.

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New Funds For Small Business In Ohio

April 22, 2014 by

business (3)The U.S Department of the Treasury announced Thursday that it will transfer $18.1 million to Ohio to help small business lending to companies and small business entrepreneurs.  These funds will provide Ohio small business owners the available resources to help create jobs thus improving the Ohio economy.

Read more about this by following the links below.

Ohio offers more money for small business loans, using once-controversial funds

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ohio just got more than $18 million to loan to small businesses, which officials say should seed $180 million in private loans from banks.

The $18.17 million is being transferred from the U.S. Treasury Department to Ohio’s Development Services Agency, which will work with businesses and bankers to expand or start small companies that are deemed credit-worthy and promising but need help meeting collateral or other underwriting standards.

In some cases, this is because the value of their inventories or real estate declined during the economic downturn, creating a shortfall between their collateral and their financing needs. Bank rules require them to have more money on hand or more value before a loan can be issued.

The federal money, through the state’s Collateral Enhancement Program, can help make that up. It also will help businesses through related programs: the Ohio Capital Access Program and the Targeted Investment Program. The state previously received $12.4 million for these programs and stands to get $24.5 million more once the new amount is put to use, according to Treasury Department figures.

Fed transfers $18M to Ohio small business lending program

The U.S. Department of the Treasury on Thursday announced the transfer of more than $18.1 million to Ohio to support the state’s small business lending program.

Through the State Small Business Credit Initiative, the funds will support Ohio’s Collateral Enhancement Program, Ohio Capital Access Program and Targeted Investment Program.

Officials said Ohio will use the funds to leverage greater levels of private lending and investing in small businesses located in the state, often by partnering with local community banks.

“Ohio continues to leverage federal State Small Business Credit Initiative funds to attract new loans and investments to the state’s small businesses,” said Cliff Kellogg, director of the State Small Business Credit Initiative, in a statement.

“These funds are intended to continue the state’s partnership with local entrepreneurs and small business owners to provide new sources of capital, help create jobs, and improve the economy,” he said.

Playhouse Square seeks to fill empty retail spaces through small-business grant contest

New signs, including archways like the one pictured here, have popped up in downtown Cleveland’s Playhouse Square district during the past few weeks. As the theater district finishes a $16 million transformation of its public spaces, the Charter One Foundation and the Downtown Cleveland Alliance are running a grant contest to revive empty storefronts on East 14th Street and Euclid Avenue. (Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer)

Small businesses seeking space in downtown Cleveland’s theater district will have a shot at $1,500 to $20,000 in grant funding through a program that has helped fill other empty storefronts in the city.

The Charter One Foundation and the Downtown Cleveland Alliance announced Monday that they’ve teamed up with Playhouse Square to launch a grant competition that ends May 16. The money, $20,000 in all, could help a handful of businesses or a single entrepreneur cover start-up costs such as rent, equipment and fixtures.

Playhouse Square is targeting the Hanna Building, the Hanna Building Annex and the Keith Building — two office buildings and a residential redevelopment where the upper floors are largely full but some street-level retail spaces sit vacant. The empty storefronts, on Euclid Avenue and East 14th Street, range from 420 square feet to 3,257 square feet.

 

 

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How To Keep Score For Your Business

April 10, 2014 by

business (4)Many small businesses – and small teams in large ones – work hard without working smart. More effort is exerted than necessary and the results are that the business is less efficient.

So how do we work smarter and more efficiently?

The answer to this is dashboarding. A dashboard is a tool many newer businesses are using as a means of charting the work they do and projecting future outcomes where applicable, such as in sales and the green energy sector.

Among the common programs to create a dashboard are Microsoft Excel and the Numbers app.

How to Create a Dashboard

Using a spreadsheet, the top rows should title the tab. Below that, the columns for important data need to be input. The rows on the left hand side that run from top to bottom will note the project, customer, or prospect.

Using a Dashboard to Track Sales

For sales professionals, the dashboard not only helps you stay on track, but also enhances your progress and increases your income. When you dashboard, you’ll not only have your customers’ information in one place, but you’ll also note important information such as:

  • When you called last
  • When you’ll call next
  • The reason for calling
  • Notable information

Additionally, many sales people like to note how many “points of contact” they’ve made so as to track just how many times they have to call someone to make a sale.

Secure Your Future With a Dashboard

David Katz was an intern with a green energy company in New York City when he was preparing to graduate from Columbia University. The position was only meant to last the summer, but during that time, Mr. Katz did a complete overhaul of the company’s energy measurement and billing methods via dashboard.

When the summer ended, the dashboard was deemed too valuable to lose, as was its master. Mr. Katz is now one of the top players at this company that may go public in the next five years.

If this wasn’t enough, the dashboard also added to the young man’s legacy. Those in his circle have replicated his actions and dubbed the process he enacted as “pulling a Katz!”

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