Here at Core Skills Training Consultants we would like to provide you with some really great tips that will surely help you save time and money. And don't forget.. please email us if you would like further information or have some tips of your own you would like to tell us about!

Determining the price of products or services is one of the trickiest decisions for a new business owner. Theoretically, the price you set for your product or service will have a direct relation to the demand it will have at that price. At a glance, you can have a quick analysis as to whether you have under-priced or over-priced your product based on the reaction of your customers. You may want to make adjustments as the demand increases or decreases.
In a traditional business, for example, many stores/services set their prices on a specified or fixed mark-up: for example, setting the price 200% of the acquisition cost. To use this formula effectively, you need to understand the cost structure of your business. Your business has fixed and variable costs which must be integrated with the cost of the products or services.
In the end, where the survival of your business greatly relies on the revenue that it generates, you have to pay particular attention to how you set your prices. Calculate your costs and look a little bit farther. Through serious research on your target customers, you can anticipate how much they are willing to pay for your product or service and set your prices where they are most advantageous.

No matter what kind of business you have, whether on-line or traditional, it is important that you maintain control over your operation from the beginning. You must be able to assess your personnel needs, manage costs, and attract and hire good people. Most important of all, you need to have customers -- lots of them! To do otherwise spells doom for your business.
The key is to make them value their relationship with you. Call them with tips that will save them money. Tell them about un-advertised specials that you are about to announce and about any seasonal discounts you offer. Use any other avenue to keep your name on their mind and they in return will want to keep you.

Giving to the community is a smart business move. It can increase employees' pride in working for your company, making it easier to recruit and retain people. It can enhance your reputation in the community. And it can help to strengthen the community, which ultimately is good for everyone.
Make a commitment to set some money aside. Use your employees to build a feeling of teamwork and identify a cause. Get employees involved. Decide what interests you as an owner. It's not that difficult to do. There are thousands of charities out there. We'd love to see every owner of a small to medium sized company serve on at least one board. Once you commit your time, you become interested in the work the group is doing. Then it becomes easier to commit your money

It's tough to keep your employees focused on their jobs when everyone knows the numbers are bad and many fear being laid off. The uncertainty decreases productivity, lowers morale and can drive away talented staff. Here are some techniques for holding on to good employees, keeping them productive and avoiding lay offs.
Anticipate job-skill changes as doing so will enable you to teach your employees the new skills they need.
Communicate early. Communicate the good news and the bad news - this way you retain your credibility with the employees.
Be with your people. When the financial picture is not good, it's not enough to be accessible. Business owners and managers should spend time every day with the rank and file.
Consider less drastic alternatives first and be creative - if sales drop off, consider furloughing about a third of your workers each week.
Eliminate the layoff mind-set. Make the workforce stable through your core values. Use workforce planning, workforce tracking (tracking value-added per employee, controlling workforce size, etc.), building in workforce flexibility, and creating and communicating an equitable employment security policy.

There are many other techniques to use, these are but a few.

Most financial consultants recommend getting half of your fee paid up front and working out payments that dovetail with completed work. Build in a set of project milestones so at least all your material and labour costs are always covered. Doing so minimises your exposure and guarantees that you'll usually already have about 75% of your money before any payer starts to renege.
It's also important to clearly tell customers up front what your payment policies are, including penalties for late payment. Whatever policies you adopt, follow through. If you require payment in 30 days, call on day 31, but use good customer service skills.