TimeStation App: A Mobile Version Of A Time Clock |  |
- TimeStation App: A Mobile Version Of A Time Clock
- Is Summer Slow or Busy for Your Business?
- Big Data Provides Big Advantages in Small Business Lending
- Spice Up Vanilla Customer Communication
- Digg Returns with New Design
| TimeStation App: A Mobile Version Of A Time Clock Posted: 09 Aug 2012 01:00 PM PDT Everything in the business world is becoming mobile. Business owners and employees use their smartphones and tablets for just about everything, but some companies still don't have an easy, instant, and mobile way to punch in and out of work. Enter TimeStation, which is a new app that serves as a modern version of a time clock.
TimeStation gives business owners and managers the opportunity to turn their mobile devices into a contactless time and attendance system. Using custom QR code cards and an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, employees can punch in and out of work in less than a second. Employers can also assign employee pin numbers so that people can sign in by using their assigned numbers. TimeStation also offers a site where employers can manage their departments and hours, track attendance, run reports, and more. In addition, employers can set up TimeStations on multiple devices. By using their TimeStation credentials to set up the app on each device, employees can punch in on their own mobile devices or by checking in with another manager or supervisor. Employers can also give employees the ability to manage their own reports and edit entries, but managers have full control over which employees receive access to those abilities. Other features available from TimeStation include the ability to work off-line, GPS tagging so managers can see where employees punch in and out from, and data security and encryption. For small businesses, this mobile, cloud-based system can help to reduce overhead costs that come with traditional time and attendance management systems. It also gives managers the ability to see time and attendance reports from just about anywhere. To use the TimeStation system, companies need only to sign up and download the app and then print out cards for their employees. Signing up and downloading the app are both free and TimeStation is free for organizations with up to ten employees, with several different monthly plans for larger companies. From Small Business Trends |
| Is Summer Slow or Busy for Your Business? Posted: 09 Aug 2012 11:00 AM PDT For the first years of my business, summer slowed everything to a near halt. It seemed that so many people were taking vacations that they didn’t need much in the way of marketing. For some reason, that’s completely changed over the past few years. Summer has been busier than ever for me, and I’ll admit, I rather wish it wasn’t.
Make the Most of Your Time If your business is a little slow this time of year, use this time productively. Consider all the projects you’ve been putting off, from organizing your desk (and the stack of papers on top) to tweaking your business or marketing strategy. Maybe now’s a great time to start writing that book you keep threatening to start., Or catch up on your business reading. Whatever you don’t have time to do the rest of the year, make it your goal to take care of now. (The winter holiday season is another great time to play catchup) Making Time for Work/Life Balance If you’re like many entrepreneurs, when you’re busy, you’re extremely busy. There may be months at a time that you work more than 40-hour workweeks and have little time to spend with your family. It’s easy to stay in this rut, even when your workload lightens. Make an effort to disengage from work for a week or so, or just cut out early on Fridays. If you do take a vacation, take measures to truly go on vacation, and don’t check in on work like 71% of small business owners do. This is your time to completely disconnect. Not only will it bring you closer to your family, but it will also give you fresh perspective on your business. Trust your staff to handle work in your absence, and plan your activities just before you leave to include letting everyone know you’ll be on vacation, assigning a go-to person to cover for you, and completing any pending projects. What if Summer is Busy Time? If you’re like me and have a full schedule but still want to take time off, strategically plan your work schedule. Maybe you work early in the morning or late at night so that you can spend time with your kids while they’re out of school. Working one weekend might allow you to catch up so that you can take a family vacation for a week. Be flexible with your schedule and build in downtime deliberately. Whatever your summer looks like, manage your time so that you maximize both work and play this time of year. Vacation Photo via Shutterstock From Small Business Trends |
| Big Data Provides Big Advantages in Small Business Lending Posted: 09 Aug 2012 08:00 AM PDT Increasingly, the power of data is impacting the small business lending marketplace by enabling banks and others providing funding to make more detailed risk assessments of potential borrowers.
Advances in technology and the accessibility of big data enabled underwriters to: • Spread risk more widely across geography and industries. Since the credit crunch began, small companies — particularly businesses that have been operating for less than two years — have often been denied loans by traditional banks. Use of technology provides lenders with more robust information about borrowers and enables them to offer products specifically targeted to the needs of startups. Because of this, people with credit scores as low as 535 can secure funding, in part because lenders are able to access robust information about their credit history, industry, and even the economic status of the area in which they live. Today, financial institutions can analyze primary data, such as loan application documents, and information from credit ratings agencies such as Equifax and D&B. Since financial data is so detailed today, lenders can develop financial products especially for startups. I am seeing this more and more among non-bank lenders, which have become increasingly important in small business finance since 2008 when credit markets tightened. The so-called “alternative lenders” approve more than 60 percent of funding requests, according to the most recent Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index. Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of the integration of technology in small business lending is that it has made it easier for women-owned and minority-owned companies in economically disadvantaged areas to secure capital. As financial institutions streamline the credit decision-making process, they save entrepreneurs time and frustration that they otherwise might encounter in seeking funding to start and expand their operations. Technology truly is revolutionizing small business finance in the same way that online shopping forever changed retail. Loan Approval Photo via Shutterstock From Small Business Trends |
| Spice Up Vanilla Customer Communication Posted: 09 Aug 2012 05:00 AM PDT Would you want to read your company emails, packing slips and bills? As consumers in an online market, we are often asked to "register" before being shuttled through to the buying stage of the online experience. It's a nuisance at times. I occasionally opt to move through this process as a "guest" rather than taking the time to enter my information.
But what if we knew that at the end of the registration process, we would be rewarded and welcomed in with open arms by an email that is spunky and fresh AND contains important information like benefits and links to customize your personal account? I might always take the time to register—providing essential consumer information to the company (bonus for the company)—and look forward to a continued relationship starting with a welcome email that pops! Zappos wants to be known as a service company that happens to sell shoes, handbags, and more. The lens through which the company makes decisions is service. This is obvious in the tone of the welcome email that graced my inbox upon registration at Zappos—SERVICE with a smile (and shoes to quickly follow). Check out how I'm welcomed after registering on their site:
What if every email registration confirmation greeted you in a personalized manner that is consistent with their brand personality? Surprisingly, few businesses have clued in to the fact that communication exposes how much they consider the customer on the other end of the email, letter, notification or packing slip. Companies consider these touchpoints as tasks they have to execute – not opportunities to showcase their personality and connect with customers in a real and human manner. Zappos has opened their arms to me, and while I know in reality it's not personal, the warmth behind the sentiment makes this welcome email seem like a great big hug. And I'm not kidding when I say—it makes me want to shop for shoes. A CDBaby.com Email Read 'Round the World! CD Baby is another company that has succeeded in the customer communication arena. This company was born to create an enjoyable and profitable channel to enable musicians to sell their music to the public. The company has made it their quest to keep these musicians in business, cutting out the record-producer middleman that prevents many independent musicians from making a living. CD Baby carries this commitment to artists through every action, including how they bond and communicate with customers. CD Baby has a warm style we see far too rarely in customer communications. And that is to "write like you talk." Just to give you an idea, this is a direct quote from their order confirmation email:
It goes on in this same silly, but heart-warming manner to elaborate on a fanciful journey each CD is taking as it leaves the shelf and lands with the buyer. While whimsical, this note CD Baby sends out to confirm orders gets to the heart of the company's commitment to the more than 360,000 artists they represent. Began as a garage start-up in 1997, CDbaby.com is now the world's largest online distributer of Indie music. Zappos and CD Baby have both taken risks, straying outside the boundaries of regular communication patterns between customers and company. By letting down their guard and "writing like they talk," these companies have succeeded in their individual industries and relish in the customer loyalty that sparks repeat business and earns constant raves by their fans. Try This: EVALUATE The Personality of Your Communication
Take a Chance: SHOW Your True Colors
Email Surprise Photo via Shutterstock From Small Business Trends |
| Posted: 09 Aug 2012 02:30 AM PDT A few weeks ago we ran a roundup about the descent of Digg from one-time social media pioneer to failing Web business sold off bit by bit to a variety of companies including LinkedIn, The Washington Post, and New York-based tech firm Betaworks. But now Digg is back with a brand new look. The question of whether it's possible to resurrect an under-performing brand is important to every entrepreneur. Here's more: Up and RunningIt's alive! Fans got a chance to see just how much has changed as the new Digg was officially launched after a very rapid redesign of the beloved social bookmarking site. The Newsbar and Newsrooms are gone, with a focus on top, popular, and upcoming stories, and Facebook and Twitter sharing are taken into account when ranking each story. The Verge Back to basics. Even days before launching the new Digg, the team at Betaworks offered up some thoughts about the changes. The redesign would be an attempt to get back to basics and focus on what the old Digg did best: creating community instead of unique content. Sometimes the best way to fix a business model is to get back to its roots. BetaBeat The Big FixGuiding principles. Another interesting thing the Betaworks team did in its run-up to the Digg redesign launch was to survey users for more information about why they visited Digg, incorporating some of what was said into the new site. Updates show a very transparent process during the redesign. The best way to find out what your customers want is to ask them. Here's one example. Digg Blog A Rose by any other name. Digg founder Kevin Rose admits after leaving the company he helped create, he found it hard to return to the site and see what was being done with his "baby". Among the most important lessons learned from the experience, he said, was to develop a pool of generalist talent who could adapt to changing situations. Gigaom TakeawaysGoing with your gut. Sharing some thoughts about Digg in a series of videos posted recently, Rose had some other insights entrepreneurs may definitely wish to take to heart. The most important of these is to go with your gut. Rose said the greatest regret he has is approving changes he deeply felt might be bad for the community. TechCrunch A fond farewell. But for some former Digg users like blogger David Leonhardt, all this second guessing is too little, too late. He and other Digg users have moved on to different homes, becoming part of new communities on the Web to share the information most important to them. One thing to remember is that sometimes, when a community or customer base is gone, it's gone. Do your best to realize this before it's too late. David Leonhardt's SEO and Social Media Marketing Lessons learned. Another lesson to be learned from the Digg situation is that perhaps innovation is not always the answer. There's a time to make changes and a time to stick close to your roots. One blogger has a solution any entrepreneur should heed before making big changes. If you want to know whether it's a good idea, ask your customers first. Seeking Alpha From Small Business Trends |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Small Business News, Tips, Advice - Small Business Trends To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment