Automation

In a day where machinery can be used to automate and eventually collapse processes, employees often fear that they will lose their jobs to machines and employers are often afraid of lowering company moral if they start using machines to automate the company. Are their fears justified?

Automation is not a bad thing, as many of the world’s largest companies will tell you. It often allows for amazing returns on investments and, more often than not, results in employees automating their way out of a job… and onto a better one.

Instead of looking at automation as one person taking on the job of three, employees and employers need to look at it as three employees able to do three times the work apiece.

Still the fear of automation remains. This article talks about more of the benefits of automating your company and how best to overcome the fear that you or employees may have.

Happy Friday!

The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary. – Vidal Sassoon

Yelp. How to Use it.

Have you ever thought about using Yelp to rank your business? Well many potential customers are probably already searching for your business on it if they are interested in you.

Yelp is an online search and review service where customers can read comments and reviews on several businesses. It is one of the most widely used and respected review sites, so you may want to consider getting on it. It can only help you get closer to your customer by listening to what they have to say.

What if they leave a bad review or comment? Well this is a great opportunity for you to listen to your customers and learn from it, make changes and always do what it takes to keep your customers happy and coming back.

Take a look at the link below to learn more on how you can get your business ranked on Yelp.

Yelp.

Do Yo Remember These Foods?

Here’s a quick little slide show of foods you can't buy anymore, including some of those recently departed Hostess products. Sadly, the demise of a product often also signals the beginning of the demise of a company. There's a need to blame someone, and that blame is often placed on the government for not "doing something" to stop it. But the fact is that sometimes it is WE THE PEOPLE who bring on the downfall of a company, just through our changing tastes.

Sometimes too, the blame can be shared by the company that waited too long to diversify products in response to changing tastes. One way to take care of the health and longevity of your business is to be proactive in watching trends and researching new developments in your industry. We might still be able to treat ourselves to those Twinkies today, if Hostess had paid attention to the changing tastes of its customers years ago ….. Wonder Bread’s whole grain content could have been increased to become healthier ….. Twinkies and cupcakes could have been offered in smaller sizes better suited to calorie counters ……. And some of the products shown in this slide show should probably never have hit the market.

Purple ketchup? Really? Probably should have done a little more research on the need or desire for that product. Ask yourself, "How healthy is my business?" -- if you realize that it's not as healthy as you would like, act now to prepare for a future that includes offering what your customers want, not just what you want to sell.


Click here to see some “no longer available” products

Love what you do.

Featured Florence Business ... MedOne Medical Transport

Every successful business has a secret to its success ... with MedOne, that secret is simple .... compassion and good customer service!

"On time, every time!” is the slogan for MedOne Medical Transport. This isn’t just a tagline, but the core value of how MedOne views patient care.

“We hire only the best employees. People who are compassionate,” said Michael Thigpen, Chief Operating Officer of MedOne. “We don’t make patients wait. We’re gentle and take time at each stop. Sometimes it’s hard because we get attached to our patients, so to lose somebody can be difficult.”

We think you'll enjoy reading about MedOne and its beginnings .... click here to see how they've grown.

Location, location, location.

Are you thinking about opening up a business anytime soon? If you are, the first thing you should think about is where you are going to locate your business. If you are selling products or services to the public, it is extremely important to be in a great location where you can be easily found.

In a rough economy such as the one we are facing today, opening up a small business can be challenging. That’s why it is important to position your business where you have the best possible advantage for the price you can afford; and it can be as simple as the location.

To read more on tips on how to choose the right location for your business click on the following link for some great tips from the Small Business Administration

www.sba.gov