Recruiting – A Full Time Job

Hiring good people is one of the most important tasks you will face as a business owner. Surrounding yourself with smart, talented and creative people will make you successful, just as making bad hires will cost you thousands of dollars. You’ve got to put Recruiting Good People at the top of your to-do list, and never mark it off. I say that because good workers are hard to find. Can I get an “Amen”?

Most owners and managers only think about hiring when they need to fill an immediate need:

1. Someone quit
2. Someone was fired
3. Someone is out for an extended period (illness, pregnancy)
4. Increase in workload

In a perfect world, employees would give us a month’s notice before they quit or got sick. In a perfect world, we’d never have to fire anyone. But we all know it doesn’t work that way. Employers are rushed to place an ad in the local paper and forced into making a quick hiring decision. They can’t put the necessary thought and time into finding the right person. I’m not saying that it won’t ever work out in your favor, but I don’t like the odds.

I would rather see you make the time and put in the effort to constantly recruit for good people. I don’t mean that you run a continuous ad in the paper. I mean that recruiting, through networking, should be in your thoughts and actions constantly. The most desirable workers are typically not looking at help wanted ads. You have to find them – and it’s not as hard as you think it is. You will run into them at church, at school functions, at baseball games, at seminars – everywhere you go in your daily life. Strike up conversations and tell people what you do for a living when you get the chance. Build relationships and contacts through networking. That time and effort will pay dividends the next time someone quits on you or you’re ready to upgrade to a more productive worker.

Negotiate Everything

A word of advice to all business owners.  Review your vendor contracts – at a minimum – once a year.  Shop the competition and negotiate everything!  Examples of things you should be reviewing on an annual basis include – medical insurance and other employee benefit plans, workers comp insurance, liability insurance, auto and property insurance and lease/rental agreements on office equipment such as printers and copiers.

Your vendors and suppliers would love nothing more than for your contract to automatically renew without any questions or  resistance.  They receive their renewal commission from their employer and they’re on their way!  I know that if you do this – shop for better rates, terms, etc. – you WILL save money.  There is room to negotiate in every deal.

Think about it – with all the careless companies out there who DON’T shop the rates, these vendors are getting price increases and making high margins because they can.  For this very reason, they have some “wiggle room” to make deals with the customers who do shop them or negotiate for better terms.

Even if you don’t negotiate a great deal, at the very least you’ve accomplished two goals:

1. Many things can change in the course of a year, personally and professionally, so you want to make sure your policies are giving you adequate coverage.  Sitting down with your agent to review your policies will give you piece of mind.
2. You’ve sent a strong message to your vendors and suppliers (as well as your employees) that you’re keeping a close eye on them and you won’t settle for less than the best.

Steiner Business Solutions can help you negotiate with your vendors.  With our network of industry contacts, we can review your contracts and agreements to determine if you’re getting the best deal possible.

Looking for money?

Cash flow is a constant battle for most small businesses. Today’s tough economic environment doesn’t make it any easier. With the mortgage crisis, home foreclosures, and rising inflation, banks are very hesitant lending money right now. I’m experiencing that firsthand with my own companies, so I’m always on the lookout for alternative sources of cash.

I came across an article in Entrepreneur magazine recently that talked about a website iBank.com that lets you apply online for mortgages, credit cards, lines of credit and small business loans. The site provides users access to 325 different lenders. According to the article, iBank made more than $81 billion in loans to small businesses last year. You can store and organize your business data in a secure, electronic “vault” that you can access any time from anywhere in the world where there’s an internet connection. Whenever you need the cash, you simply select the type of loan you want and the information stored in the vault is automatically entered into your application form. The company that owns iBank claims that borrowing costs are 30% lower than applying for loans the conventional way, and funding time is less, with many loans approved on the spot. Fees to prepare a loan application range from $49.95 to $300, depending on the loan size.

Be aware that I’m not recommending or endorsing iBank for your company because I’ve never used the service myself. I would suggest that if you are in need of funds, it wouldn’t hurt to check this out. If anyone reading this has used iBank before, I would love to get your feedback.