Depending on the nature of your business, you may have workers who are employees or contractors, or you may have both. Each has its merits, but it’s important to review which are which to meet your tax obligations. When you have an employee, you must withhold income tax as well as report on additional benefits. Contractors generally look after their tax obligations. It’s against the law to treat an employee… Read more
Customer service is the heartbeat of any successful business. It’s the unsung hero, that transforms a potential disaster into an opportunity, and a mere transaction into a lifelong relationship. In the narrative of customer loyalty and retention, service is the protagonist. Your approach to customer service has the power to attract and retain customers. Why stellar customer service is key The importance of customer service for loyalty and retention cannot… Read more
Traditionally, employers have relied on giving employees raises as a way to retain their staff and reward them for being hard-working and loyal. Raises can get expensive, and there is often an upper limit for what you can offer when it comes to increasing salaries and wages. Keeping your employees happy makes business sense. You want to keep your good employees, and it costs money to find, hire and train… Read more
The question of motivating employees is often on a business owner’s mind. It can be difficult to find ways to genuinely motivate employees at work, and often the old standards—performance-based bonuses, increased rewards and commissions—only work in the short-term, if they work at all. In fact, some tests have shown that the usual motivational tactics aren’t always effective. So how can you authentically motivate workers? 1. Share positive feedback Too… Read more
It’s no secret that data loss can be a costly nightmare for a small business, with recent estimates citing the total cost of data breaches exceeding $2.1 trillion by 2019. Unfortunately, cyber attackers increasingly target small businesses because they are less likely to have security protection in place. Accidental loss or loss due to a natural disaster can be just as harmful to a business, with recovery efforts and delays… Read more