7 Series A Companies That Used Direct Marketing to Grow Their Customer Base by More Than 10x
Direct marketing has proven to be the most effective method for founders and marketers to build their customer bases. But what is direct marketing? In this article, we cover direct marketing examples and strategies that can be used to multiply your customer base.
Top Bookkeeping & Accounting Tips for Small Businesses
The majority of small business owners and start-up founders are on their toes almost every day. Though several activities stake their claim on your time, accounting and bookkeeping form a significant chunk of your workload. Whether you are documenting your monthly expenses, getting tax papers in order, or taking care of bills, organizing your accounting back-office is essential. Cash flows are critical for business. US Bank research confirms that cash flow issues are the number one reason for the closure of almost 82% of small businesses. The failure rate of sole proprietorships is even lower, according to the same study. What differentiates businesses that become successful from those that shut up shop? Sometimes, the difference between success and failure can be as simple as: Setting clear and manageable goals Making a plan of action for business visibility Investing in the right tools to run the company Proactively avoiding common pitfalls In this blog, we’ve curated our top accounting and bookkeeping tips that’ll help organize your finances, prevent liquidity issues, and grow your small business. Accounting tips and tricks for small business owners and startups You may get away with manual processes in the beginning. However, things can get messy as the business grows and takes on more clients or staff. Here are some top bookkeeping tips for startups that will help you plan, organize your cash flows, and build a successful business. Keep tabs on expenses Overspending can be the bane of businesses. However, it is important to note that not all expenses provide the same value. Remember that every dollar spent takes the company one step away from profit. So when you start your business, keep a close watch on all expenses. Understand the benefit gained from every expense and document it carefully. Choose an accounting structure Deciding which accounting structure to use for your small business is not your accountant’s prerogative alone. Consult your accountant on which accounting method to choose from — cash-based accounting or accrual-based accounting. Here is a brief primer on both methods: Cash-based accounting: In cash-based accounting, companies document revenue when money is received. They record expenses when the cash is paid. Cash-based accounting is perfect for smaller businesses and professional service firms that do not hold inventory. Accrual-based accounting: In accrual accounting practice, income is reported when earned, not when cash is received. Expenses are documented when money is incurred, not actually paid. Accrual-based accounting is suitable for significantly larger and more complex businesses with inventory or shareholders and investors. Automate manual processes Automating routine processes is one of the golden accounting tips for startups. Many accounting and bookkeeping activities are repeated, such as: Calculating mileage payments for staff reimbursements Documenting utility bills in a centralized database Tracking invoices sent to customers Following up on late invoices Paying staff salaries each month Make your life easier by using a unified accounting project management solution to track expenses, generate custom reports, and send invoices automatically. Categorize expenses Tracking business expenses can make or break your business. No business owner wants to pay unnecessary taxes. To ensure that you receive the benefit of tax write-offs and deductions available to your company, keep a record of all expenses. Start by documenting expenses, then classify them into appropriate categories such as bill payments, vendors, administration, or miscellaneous. Keep an eye on the credit One of the most common signs of an insolvent business is an inability to make payments on time. It may struggle with a poor credit score, lack of funding, or difficulty fulfilling its working capital needs. When companies use bank finance to fund their daily operations, they often struggle to pay back the high-interest debt. Do adequate due diligence before taking on any external funding. Forecast future expenses and income When setting your financial goals, consider three distinct elements — the past, present, and future. Going full steam ahead without a financial forecast is a waste of time and money. An Institute of Business Forecasting and Planning study confirms that businesses can save up to $3.5 million per year with accurate financial forecasting. Companies need to create and maintain accurate financial forecasts that keep finances in top shape. This will help answer questions such as: What will our annual sales be in the next two years? What will the percentage increase in customers be in the coming five years? Will the company break even in the next accounting period? Do we have enough staff to handle client projects for the next year? Keep business and personal banking separate Getting a business bank account is one of the first steps you should take as a small business owner. Put this on your to-do list once you get a social security number as a sole proprietor or an Employer Identification Number (EIN) as a professional service firm founder. Here are some reasons for separating personal and business banking: Having clear visibility into business cash flows Saving time by not scrambling through endless bank statements to identify and differentiate individual and business transactions Keeping tax-related documentation clear and ready Avoiding legal responsibility for business debts [caption id="attachment_472816" align="aligncenter" width="2500"] Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash[/caption] Know the law Many small business owners know how to manage a business. However, they may not have sufficient knowledge about accounting and bookkeeping. Additionally, business owners are likely to be unaware of the federal, local, and state laws and legal regulations required for business. For example, a company must: Maintain paper receipts for the last three accounting periods (accountants recommend retaining receipts for the previous seven years) Provide paper receipts to legal authorities such as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to claim tax deductions Accurately record income to avoid tax underpayments and IRS penalties Create business budgets Did you know that setting up and reviewing a budget is directly related to startup success? According to a survey by the US Small Business Administration, small businesses that review their budget weekly, monthly, and annually have success rates of 95%, 75%, and 25%, respectively. The survey found that successful small businesses have these financial management traits in common: Relatively higher unused credit balances The ability to earmark appropriate amounts for payroll expenses Regular budget monitoring An understanding of the benefits of using credit for business Consider paying yourself Entrepreneurs managing S corporations and C corporations pay themselves a salary on regular business payroll. Small business owners and startup founders can do the same and consider it an owner’s draw in legal terms. Having an apportioned salary for the business owner is an accepted business practice that helps you reinforce the business’s distinct and legal standing. Consider a tax accountant Investing in a professional tax accountant can bring immense value to your business, with a time commitment of a few hours per week or month. A bookkeeper records income and expenses and categorizes them for specific periods. An accountant, meanwhile, helps file taxes and sets up the accounting backbone of the organization. With an accountant or bookkeeper taking care of financial tasks, small business owners can spend more time attracting new customers — Fundera estimates that this could net small companies up to $320k annually. Invest in accounting software Simplify business finances by automating manual workflows and processes to save precious time and resources. One of the easiest ways to do so is with accounting software that fits your business needs and budget. Forget the days of clunky, on-premise software. Pick from a wide variety of cloud-based accounting project management software that gets bookkeeping in order, streamlines cashflows, and helps you stay updated on finances. Worried that you need to be tech-savvy? There are many accounting project management solutions with clean and straightforward user interfaces perfect for non-techy entrepreneurs. Avoid business thefts and losses A study by Hiscox found that 68% of employee theft, fraud, and losses occur in small and medium businesses. The same study reports that a small business encounters an average loss of $289K a year. The most common occurrences were: Theft of business funds by employees (34% of cases) Check frauds (22% of cases) More than 70% of check fraud cases happened in companies with less than 100 employees. Optimizing your inventory management and automating your bookkeeping with dedicated software is essential to safeguard your small business from employee theft. Stay on top of invoicing Everyone likes being paid on time. As a direct fallout of COVID-19, more than 54% of businesses are struggling with delayed invoice payouts. Late invoice payments can mean: Failure to make timely payments to vendors, suppliers, and banks (for interest payments) Inability to make utility payments, including water, electricity, internet, or software subscriptions Struggling to pay staff salaries and travel expense reimbursements Inability to expand, invest, and make capital purchases Corporate insolvencies Delayed client invoices can also make businesses too dependent on bank financing or shareholder capital funding, which can further impact their finances. Plan for major purchases Whenever there is a major purchase in the offing, a business will need to have adequate cash flow to meet it. Bad credit can ruin business finances. In such a scenario, it may be difficult to obtain the necessary funding for business expansion or complete capital expenditures. Having your accounting and bookkeeping in order will help you get external funding or bank financing for major purchases. Why use Wrike software to keep your books up to date? Accounting and bookkeeping can be complex, time-consuming, and tedious. Establishing robust accounting practices and processes can help small businesses be more financially organized, tax-ready, and profitable in the long run. Most accounting tips for small business owners have less to do with accounting and more to do with managing your business. Elevate business productivity by getting Wrike’s project management software for accountants that helps: Teams collaborate seamlessly with automated reports for clear project visibility Adjust team workloads to ensure optimum productivity Improve business profitability by tracking project budgets in one place Speed up expense approvals and automate manual workflows Finance forms the core of any business. Get a free Wrike trial to establish a predictable cash flow system, eliminate the guesswork in accounting, and achieve small business success.
The 10 Best Job Perks That People Really Want
The infographic below lists 10 of the best workplace incentives you can offer your employees, and even names which companies are known for offering them. Perhaps it’s time to examine some other benefits that will help attract and retain top talent.
How to Be More Grateful By Changing One Word (Work Management Roundup)
Friday is finally here, and with just one week left before Christmas/Winter Holidays, we're bringing you the Work Management Roundup filled with articles not just regarding productivity and working smart, but also thankfulness and team-building. Thanks for coming back every week to read our roundup. It's our privilege to share our favorite links and advice with you. Enjoy! Show Your Appreciation by Changing Just One Word (James Clear): 'Tis the season to be thankful! A really short read by entrepreneur James Clear on how to exercise gratitude. It may just change your (work) life. Why I Don’t Want My Startup to ‘Go Viral’ (Observer): Laura Roeder shares a common problem she sees in startups: thinking that a viral loop can be planned. Doesn't work that way. You have to put in the hard work and find the right marketing to grow your user base. The Ultimate Guide To Winning Your White Elephant Gift Exchange Using Game Theory (FiveThirtyEight Life): Since it's holiday party time, chances are you're having some type of gift swap game. Thanks to Ben Casselman, here's a surefire decision-making system that will allow you to get (or steal) the best gift every time. 8 Team Building Exercises That Rock (Slideshare): And just in case you feel the gift swap is too outdated, you may want to peruse our Slideshare for 8 team games that you can play at the holiday party this year. How I Learned to Suck Less at GTD (Todoist): If you've ever tried the Getting Things Done productivity system and failed to maintain it, you may want to try these two tips that were written for the average disorganized Joe. 5 Ways to Winterize Your Cubicle (Payscale): It's cold, we know! (At least it is for us here in northern California!) But there are concrete steps you can take to make your work area much less wintery and much more comfy. Our favorite tip: sip hot water to keep you warm. More Work Management Reads Think About This: The Startup Framework to Validate Your Idea Before You Spend $1 (Medium) Information Overload Causes Fatigue Among Smartphone Users (Infographic)(Adweek) The 9 Email Mistakes That Make People Ignore Your Messages (Fast Company) Drinking Alcohol Will Not Help You Feel Warmer (Mythbusters) Go Try This: How to Work From Home Without Losing Your Mind (Entrepreneur) 9 Ways to Start a Conversation With Someone at a Networking Event (Hustle + Grind) 9 Ways to Make Sure You Run Effective Meetings (Infographic) (Wrike) How To Sleep Better: 16 Proven Tactics You Can Use Tonight (Mintfull) Browse The Work Management Roundup on Flipboard If you use Flipboard on your mobile device, then you can check out these links via The Work Management Roundup magazine. View my Flipboard Magazine.
How to Launch a Product in 2 Weeks (Work Management Roundup)
Friday is here, which means the Work Management Roundup is back with links to the week's helpful articles on productivity, product management workflow, startups, team building, management, and technology. Read on! From Zero to Product in 14 Days (Medium): Ben Hoffman walks us through how he and his team built Venture Route in two weeks. An insightful look into the planning and execution of a startup's minimum viable product aimed at serving the VC community. Singing is the Best Team-Building Exercise, Study Shows (Yahoo! Finance Canada): Here's something that our colleagues in Asia have known for quite some time — karaoke singing is an awesome team activity. It allows people to let their guard down in a fun setting. All you really need is a venue... and maybe some Bon Jovi. The One Side Project per Year Challenge (Medium): Stuck wondering which side project to spend time doing? Here's a suggestion: start one side project per year. You dispense with analysis paralysis by cutting down your choices to just one and you set a 12-month time frame that forces you to buckle down and get to work. Tony Schwartz’s Internet Addiction (and Why You Should Care) (Cal Newport's Study Hacks): When a person like Tony Schwartz admits he struggles with cutting back his Internet time, that's when you know it's a serious problem. He's made a career out of coaching people to reach their full potential and yet found it easier to quit soda and alcohol than to lessen screen time. Let's face it: his struggle is our struggle too. Digital Natives: Creating and Maintaining a Work/Life Balance at Home (Fresh Business Thinking): Three concrete strategies on maintaining productivity even within a potentially distracting home office setting. More Work Management Reads Think About This: Dropbox’s Move Reminds Us Teams Must Evolve Beyond Email (Wrike) 50 Free Apps to Make you an Incredibly Productive Person (Fast Company) 23 Best Productivity Hacks of the Year (Inc) Go Try This: Stock Your Break Room for Better Productivity [Infographic] (Wrike) 5 Rules for Building a Family Friendly Startup for Grownups (Fast Company) 9 Aggressive Time Management Techniques (Sharepoint Aaron) Browse The Work Management Roundup on Flipboard If you use Flipboard on your mobile device, then you can choose to read these links via The Work Management Roundup magazine. View my Flipboard Magazine.
15 Under $15: Business Books to Gift to Your Colleagues This Holiday Season
It's that time of year again. When you're so busy scrambling around at the last minute trying to buy gifts for your family that you completely forget about your colleagues! The biggest challenge in colleague gifting is finding something that is both useful and inexpensive. Our solution? A business book! A book that inspires leadership, entrepreneurship, passion, and creativity can help propel their career, and possibly benefit your team as a whole. Here's a curated list of 15 great business books under $15 to give as 2015 holiday gifts: 1. Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products by Nir Eyal What turns products into habits? And how do you make those habits long-lasting? Author and entrepreneur Nir Eyal unlocks the secret to building habit-forming products with his four-step process called the Hook Model. We were even lucky enough to interview Eyal about his book and how the Hook Model helps you better understand your customers. 2. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini An oldie but goodie: Dr. Robert B. Cialdini reveals the psychology behind why people say "yes" and how to put the art of persuasion into practice. This book explores the six universal principles of persuasion, and teaches you how to use them as well as how to combat them. 3. Compelling People: The Hidden Qualities That Make Us Influential by John Neffinger & Matthew Kohut As required reading at both Harvard and Columbia Business School, this book has a lot to offer. Everyone wishes they could be as influential as Oprah Winfrey or Taylor Swift. However, since most of us do not fall under the international celebrity category, what qualities make us influential? Neffinger and Kohut discuss how the balance of strength (root of respect) and warmth (root of affection) is the key to becoming charismatic and influential, and they reveal ways to apply that balance in your daily life. 4. So Good They Can't Ignore You by Cal Newport Have you ever heard the phrase "follow your passion?" Well, Newport says stop. He claims that pre-existing passions usually have nothing to do with why people end up loving their jobs and can be a source of anxiety and stress. In this book, Newport explores the welcoming world of people who love their jobs. He shares their strategies and experiences, as well as the obstacles they've faced and lessons they've learned along the way. 5. Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success by Adam M. Grant Praised by Amazon, Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post as one of the best books of 2013, this book really brings home the spirit of the holidays. Grant shows how the secret to success is not necessarily talent or passion, but how we interact with others. He reveals how giving without receiving anything in return can positively impact success and transform organizations. 6. Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi In Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's account of psychological contentment, he describes "flow" as being a state of consciousness that makes our experiences easier to manage and more enjoyable. During flow, a person may experience joy, creativity, and feel completely engaged with whatever they're doing. In this book, he explains in-depth about how to reach this state, and even control it, on a regular basis. 7. The Lean Startup by Eric Ries Today, innovation is more important than ever. With more and more technologies readily available at our fingertips, the battle between the young startups and the tech giants continues to grow. Ries uncovers why some startups fail and others don't, and why it's important to have an even balance of efficiency and uncertainty in your startup mix. His scientific approach helps growing teams maximize their strengths, recognize their weaknesses, and embrace agility. 8. Purple Cow by Seth Godin Cow are pretty much everywhere. And once you've seen one cow, you've seen them all. Unless you see a Purple Cow; you'd probably remember where and when you saw it. In this book, Godin talks about the qualities that make companies like Starbucks, Netflix, and Apple into Purple Cows. He urges you to put the Purple Cow into everything you create, dream, and think. 9. Drive by Daniel H. Pink This book argues against the idea that people are motivated by material items such as money. Instead, Pink suggests that people are motivated by improving themselves, expanding their own knowledge and experiences, and directing their own lives. Pink's techniques for changing perspective help people transform how they think, work, behave, and live. 10. Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman Written by world-renowned author and Nobel Prize Winner, Daniel Kahneman, this book takes you on an astounding journey through the way we think and looks at the psychology of what motivates us. One side of the brain is known as fast, impulsive, and intuitive, while the other side is slower, cautious, and logical. He provides insight into our decision-making process and how we can avoid the mistakes that often lead to trouble. 11. Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull What's the recipe to magic? Written by co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios, Catmull dives into what it's like to work at and be a leader in one of the most successful film and animation studios in the world. Also featured on our top books every manager should read list, this book really takes you behind the scenes and explores how to be a great leader at an exceptional company. 12. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho One of my personal favorites, this one is hard to put down. In this book, you join a young boy named Santiago on his quest to Egypt after having a recurring dream of finding treasure there. The story's theme revolves around finding one's destiny, and Coelho recognizes it as more of a self-help book rather than literature. On Santiago's journey, the author hopes readers find the truth in following their dreams and encouraging others to do the same. 13. Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel and Blake Masters They say imitation is the finest form of flattery. But if you're the imitator, what does that make you? This book teaches you how to build on a whole new idea of your own making, and transform it from "zero to one." 14. The 4-hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss We all know the newest from of currency is time, not money. This ultimate life productivity guide provides worksheets, templates, and shortcuts for getting more done during the week without sacrificing quality or income. It shares real-life examples of how people have doubled their income while shortening their workweek. 15. Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t by Simon Sinek Another feature on our top books for managers list, this one exposes the sacrifice involved in being a good leader. Through actual examples and experiences, Sinek proves that individuals only perform well when they feel safe within their group — confirming that the most successful teams value trust and cooperation above all else. Any favorites that aren't on this list? Add them in the comments!