Daily Biz Solutions

Are you thinking about becoming a franchise owner? If you like the idea of owning a small business without being completely on your own, the life of a franchisee might be a good option for you. When you open a franchise, you will be your own boss and own your own business, but you’ll do so with the strength of an established brand and the support of a corporate office behind you.

There are many different franchise opportunities, ranging from restaurants to retail establishments – and many other types of businesses. Starting a franchise requires start-up capital, an entrepreneurial spirit and a willingness to follow franchise policies and procedures. If this sounds appealing to you, it just might be time for you to start exploring the various franchise opportunities that exist in your area of interest.

Are you thinking about buying or selling a business in the UK? If so, it’s important to choose to work with specialist business brokers that have expertise specific to the processes involved in these types of transactions. After all, selling a company that you have built and operated, or investing in a business that you want to begin operating and growing, requires knowledge and experience beyond what you might have learned from buying or selling estate property to live in or to let to tenants. When you sell or purchase a company, many other factors have to be taken into consideration and it’s essential to consider all of the relevant factors to avoid experiencing pitfalls that can have serious financial consequences

For example, when you are considering listing an accountancy practice for sale, establishing the value goes far beyond just looking at the actual assets that your company owns. Is there an established client base? Are they likely to stay with the new owners? Does the business have a positive reputation? Are the receivables in good shape? If so, these factors must be taken into consideration when setting a price.

The same is true for any kind of business. If you’re considering listing dental practices for sale, for example, it’s important to consider the size and loyalty of the patient base, how new the equipment is, how effectively the practice has been operated and many other factors.

With so many variables – and they are variables that can be quite difficult to measure, it only makes sense to seek assistance from specialist professionals who really know the ins and outs of these types of transactions when you need to sell or purchase a business in the UK.

Are you thinking about going into the medical supply business? If you have a strong desire to become an entrepreneur and you have an interest in owning and running a retail store that allows you also work in the healthcare profession, you just might find that starting a medical supply company is a great business opportunity for you to consider.

Before you start this – or any – type of business, it’s important to create a solid business plan that is based on sound research and due diligence. Study the industry, conduct a competitive analysis and learn everything that’s involved with successfully operating and managing this type of business before making a decision regarding whether or not to proceed with your idea.

If you decide to move ahead with opening your own medical supply company, you’ll need to decide what type of product mix to offer, as well as make a decision about what market will be your primary target. For example, you may want to focus on providing durable medical equipment for home health agencies and consumers. If there isn’t a strong scrubs store in your market, you may want to consider offering a line of http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/categories/Scrubs/ to meet the needs of healthcare professionals in your community. These are just a few of the many options you may want to consider if you decide to pursue this type of business opportunity.

If you run a small or medium sized business, do you employ any family members? Currently, more than a fifth (21%) do so. The impact can be great – a staggering 94% of SMEs employing family members felt that their business had benefitted as a result.

The source of these figures is specialist public liability insurance providers, Hiscox, who carried out a survey of 1000 UK business owners on the subject of family employment. Interestingly, 43% of those currently employing family members said that this was due to the recent recession. A lot of SMEs have struggled due to happenings in the financial world, but employing a family member could help you weather the storm.

One reason for this could be that the recession has led to people with the right skills being available: if there is someone in your family who has been made redundant and has great experience and skills, employing them in your business could be mutually beneficial.

Of course, when employing family members, there are things to consider. The Hiscox survey found that 43% of those questioned felt that the biggest risk was keeping family and work life separate. A further 25% were worried about family politics but positively, while succession of business ownership is generally seen as being a big issue, only 8% felt that this was a risk.

While this shows that there are definitely issues to consider when employing a family member, the fact that you already know them means you are more likely to be able to easily identify the relevant risks. Plus, your pre-existing shared interests mean that it’s in both your interests to make it work. With the majority of SMEs in this study who employ family members saying that it’s a good thing to do, there are clear benefits to the business that can be found.

Article Contributed By HRM Business Practices and Notes

Close to a half a million Americans are losing their jobs since the last quarter of 2008 when the financial crisis hit the U.S. and swept the entire globe. While economists conclude that we have already seen and felt the worst of the recession, and basic economic indicators show that this crisis is bottoming-out; however, the unemployment rate continue to average between 8 to 9 percent every month.

A Shrinking Job Market

Worse, even if the economy normalizes, job opportunities will remain scarce because most companies who downsized during the downturn are not likely hire additional employees in the next few months. Newer technologies, a more competent and lean workforce, and efficient management systems were adopted and given priorities. Thus, hiring additional employees will take a back seat for while.

So, where does this leaves you as a job seeker? The job market is shrinking, and many more are vying for a piece of that small pie. If more people are still losing their jobs, how can you possibly find great job opportunities in recession?

Job Opportunities in Crisis

Understandably, the current economic prognosis is still not good, but there should be no reason to lose hope. I believe that the ancient Chinese traders were right when they say that there are actually “opportunities in crisis” such are there are great job opportunities in recession. In fact, some jobs were created because of this slowdown. The key is finding these job opportunities and grabbing them.

More so, even if more people are joining the ranks of the unemployed, you can still find better paying jobs if you try to find them in the right places. I have learned, as an HR Practitioner, that those who can easily get a job are those who are proactive and persistent. Look and ye shall find! Knock and the door shall be opened to you!

Practical Tips to Follow in Job Hunting

Okay, while you’re at it, here 5 practical tips on how to find a great job during recession:

1. Look for jobs on the internet; it is more time efficient and cost-effective. If you have a twitter account, try to search for a specific job in your area and you will be surprised to find how many job opening being twitted every minute. Better yet, network with these headhunter twitters so that you get to have a firsthand info to new job ads.
2. Refine your resume to highlight knowledge, skills, and other professional strengths that will add value to an organization. Do not write a resume that ‘fits all.’ Customized each resume for a specific job position you are applying for. You need not overhaul your entire resume; just highlight your competencies and experiences to suit the job or position you desire.
3. Rehearse (if possible, master by heart) your answers for possible interview questions with someone. Ask their opinions how you can improve your answers or presentations. There are only probably less than 10 questions that are commonly ask during job interviews. And more often, the same question is being asked in several different ways. For example, “Tell me about yourself” is similar to “Why should we hire you?” “What can you do for the organization?” “What are your strengths?” or “How can you add value to the organization?” The focus is on your competencies or qualifications for the job. The secret of giving a good answer lies on how well you understood what is being asked and the underlying intent/s behind. Lastly, you might want to write your answers and see how you can improve them.
4. Be the solution! Be Proactive. Apply to organizations you deemed would need your expertise even if they were not hiring. Most progressive companies with good Human Resource Management Department usually gives chances to people who present themselves as problem solvers.
5. Do your numbers! Meaning, apply to as many organizations as you can. Do not just zero-in on one or two, so that you will have the upper hand in deciding which job interview to prioritize, and ultimately which job offer to accept. Don’t stop searching even if you are already waiting for a job offer or two. Again, it pays to give yourself the latitude to choose which organization you think will suit best your interest. Besides, hiring companies have always the prerogative to make last minute hiring decisions. Do your numbers.

Perseverance is Key to Job Search Success

I know that this 5-point advice sounds too simplistic and easy; nevertheless, the most important element of job hunting success is perseverance. Again, do your numbers. Do not wait for those calls, do the follow-up yourself and continue sending those resumes. Do this, regardless of the economic climate; you will get that dream job of yours.

Good luck and good hunting!

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.