Investing in Employees

Employees are often times an underappreciated aspect of a business. If employers would invest in their employees then many of the businesses would save money in the long run. It cost a lot of money to go through the hiring process and then train the new employee to do the job they need to do. However, if a business would give the employees good benefits, a flexible work schedule, and make them feel needed and appreciated it would make employees want to give back more to the business. Employees may invest back into the business with their time, effort, and loyalty. Therefore causing a rise in production, better customer service, and a healthier work environment.

Creating a Logo or Slogan

When creating a logo and slogan for a business, design something that is catchy and easily remembered. When your product or service is desired by customers your logo or slogan needs to be the first one they think of. Colors and design can also influence what potential customers think or see when they look at a business card or sign. It is said that red, black and white has the most influence on catching a customers attention. Keep all aspects of design in consideration when creating what may be the only opportunity for business a potential customer gives you.

Franchising Ideas

Owning a business is desired by people all around the world. However, many do not have business ideas or the funds it may take to invest into starting it. Franchising is something many turn to, as it is not a bad idea. Below is a link to many franchising ideas. Once you click on the link you can choose the amount of money that you are willing to invest, it is possible to invest less than $10,000, and it will give a list of businesses that are available for franchising and the information of the business. Many people have made their financial success through franchising. It is not necessary to come up with a big business idea. You can simply make money by helping someone else be successful in their business.

https://www.franchiseopportunities.com/find-a-franchise/results/industry/all-industries/state/all-states/investment/10000

Grand Opening Debate

A new Wal-Mart is set to have their grand opening November 11, 2015 in a town near me. As my family and I drove by and saw their chosen grand opening date a debate seemed to form when I ask their opinion on whether or not they think Wal-Mart should open on Veteran's day. One side stated that Veteran's day should be honored as many jobs and schools honor those who serve our country and Wal-Mart should have chosen another day to support their grand opening. This opinion believes that Wal-Mart may not pull their desired crowd because it could be offensive to our veterans and customers with the same opinion.  The other view point said many people do not celebrate or consider Veteran's Day an actual holiday and Wal-Mart is using it as a business tactic since many people will be off work and it could pull a larger crowd to attend their grand-opening and buy their products.
My question is, do customers really care about businesses being ethical or moral or do they care about the convenience of a store being open? Many stores are open and run big sales on Thanksgiving causing many workers to miss out on spending time with their family. With the large crowd that appear for these savings one could assume that customers only really care about convenience and saving money.

Many entrepreneurial businesses thrive one season and struggle the next. For most horse industry jobs, such as giving riding lessons, work depends on the weather. This more or less makes my job a seasonal job because one season the weather will be great and everyone will want to ride and the next minute the weather will not be suitable and it is harder to get people to come to lessons. As the owner of a seasonable job it is my job to create as much business as possible during that off season. During my research on how to handle these situations, I found a great article giving tips on how to survive the off season. Below is the link of a fellow entrepreneur, Sarah Pierce, blog post giving insight to running a seasonal job.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/195680

Many times a business will overlook a "minor" problem and instead focus on bigger obligations. However, often times they are losing business because of this minor aspect because their customers are noticing. For example, my family and I have chose to not stop at many restaurants or stores because of unclean bathrooms or strange parking arrangements. Even though the food may be amazing or the store may have excellent customer service we still chose not to go and do business there because of lack of convenience. A business needs to not only focus on bigger problems but also look at details of the every day routine and ensure that customers are getting the convenience they desire. A lot of times the lack of attention to detail costs the restaurant or store business that they would have had otherwise.

Many organizations make many mistakes when running a business because of their pricing techniques. In my opinion, Chick-fil-a is a prime example of how businesses should handle these type of situations. For example, they are one of the more expensive fast food chains but they always have plenty of customers each time I visit. This is because they have found something that customers value more than a "dollar menu".  Chick-fil-a has invested in training their employees to provide great customer service. Each time a customer shows gratitude for the service they are given, an employee quickly responds with "my pleasure". This makes the customers feel appreciated and taken care of and even though they may pay a little more for a chicken sandwich they are happy to spend the money and invest in the business.
If businesses will focus more on attracting and keeping customers by making them feel like they are really appreciated and valued, customers will enjoy their experience and want to keep returning. But if a business neglects this aspect and instead focuses on lower prices then they will lose customers when the business is forced to raise prices.