Published on: 05 November 2018
Last Updated on: 16 July 2024
You can see several successful franchises all over the country, and even around the world. Some of the biggest names have established themselves in various parts of the world because of their business model. Franchising is the best business opportunity that allows you to benefit from the good reputation that the brand already has.
Some people are quite sceptical about franchising though. They prefer to start their business from scratch. There is nothing wrong if you decide to build everything from zero. However, it is also essential to know the truth behind franchising, and why you don’t need to be too sceptical of the idea.
You might not succeed:
The good thing about franchises is that you are buying a name that people already know. You also receive assistance and training. You receive the equipment and supplies necessary to run the business. These things will give you a leg up as opposed to starting a business from scratch. Given the help that you receive, it is possible for you to achieve success. It does not guarantee anything though. You only have a leg up, but you still need to work hard. Franchises will give you the opportunity to get ahead, but if you don’t make the most of it, the problem is yours.
The brand might not be beneficial:
Another reason why you are at an advantage when you buy a franchise is that you have the name of a brand that people already recognise. You don’t need to work hard to promote the business. Franchising comes with built-in customers, and it is a good thing. However, some people are sceptical because of the possibility that the brand gets tainted. For instance, if one branch of a fast food restaurant has a food poisoning scandal, the other branches get affected.
You can minimise this by making sure that you don’t choose a company that doesn’t have a stable name in the industry. You need to review the options and find the perfect franchise. On the other hand, even if your chosen brand experiences this problem, it will eventually weather it out. Big names like Coca-Cola, KFC, or McDonald’s have weathered several storms, and managed to survive.
Some franchisors might not care about your success:
Although it is partly true, it only happens if you choose a franchisor who has a lousy record in franchising. If you already know the negative reputation of the said company in franchising, you can jump to other choices instead. Besides, you have tools at your disposal to screen the options. Having a franchisor who cares about your success is crucial in making sure you will succeed as a franchisee.
You can find new franchises UK companies offer which are top quality that will not make you sceptical about the idea of franchising at all. You will receive the help you deserve from the start, and you will continue receiving support along the way.
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It’s the end of your first day. You’ve completed a plethora of online applications, psychometric tests, digital interviews and hopped through all manner of recruitment rings of fire – and you’ve landed the job of your dreams. Or so you thought… But do you know what are the ways to prepare a new employee?
You arrived at your fancy new office, but there was no one to greet you. After waiting near an hour, your co-worker-to-be apologized and took you to your desk, only to find it hadn’t been cleared. Grimacing that your equipment hadn’t been set up, your ‘guide’ spun you around the office’s sea of blank faces. Did they even know you were starting? The awkward acclimations were interrupted by an irritated-looking administrator who lugged a thick binder of forms to fill in. You missed lunch with the gang.
After finally navigating through all the red tape, the person you were meant to shadow was never notified so you were given menial tasks to pass the time, while they were in an important meeting with a client. You stared at the clock, waiting, waiting, waiting.
With the day over, you’re just sad you didn’t get out sooner. Wait – is this really your dream job?
New hires expect and need their onboarding to run smoothly. The above scenario sounds like an exaggerated horror story, but in a survey, Cezanne HR asked new employees about their onboarding experiences and was shocked to find:
52% didn’t know what to expect on their first day
30% didn’t have a buddy
8% didn’t meet their managers
23% didn’t have a desk ready
6% didn’t get told about health and safety regulations
5% didn’t have data security training
6 didn’t have a laptop or computer.
Great onboarding is extremely important. It increases retention and reduces staffing costs. It delivers an engaging experience for new hires, so they connect with the organization and colleagues from the moment they’re given the offer. Also. it should turn first-day new employee anxiety into genuine excitement. It should make them feel prepared for the new job and welcome!
Of course, no one said it’s an easy process, and orchestrating the activities to get onboarding right is time-consuming for everyone. In addition, the burdens of paper-based systems or dancing between data spreadsheets, such as Excel, allow important processes to slip through the cracks – which shouldn’t happen in a modern workplace. However, with the right HR software, you can make new employee onboarding engaging and straightforward, while automating and streamlining the admin involved in bringing on new hires.
Here are the ways to prepare a new employee:
Stay in touch after the job offer
It’s very important for a new employee to engage with employers from the moment they’re hired. This can go beyond a simple email. Make sure you consider the following:
Welcome portals are a very common feature in HR software because they do precisely that: they welcome people. Welcome portals act as an information hub and enable constant communication. They are a platform to share all essential details, including the new hire’s start date, office location, and contact details. It’s also a great way to prepare the new hire by letting them know how their first day will be structured and what their first projects will be.
Make sure you send your new hire links to any documents they need. Provide them with essential advice including what they should bring with them on the first day or week, including items like their passport, P45, national insurance number and other relevant work documents. You could use your HR software system’s welcome portal to deliver this information and advice.
Get the paperwork out of the way in advance of the first day. Signing a lot of forms can delay more pressing tasks, such as the relevant introductions, training, and the new hire’s first projects. HR software can be especially effective here. Instead of wasting time filling out form after form, new hires can sign documents electronically. It streamlines admin processes and makes everything available in one place – and it can all be done before the starting date.
Making use of welcome portals and their visual content is a powerful way of engaging with new hires and allows companies to add photos and embed company videos – it might be a hello from a CEO, or a video demonstrating the company’s culture, or brand values and goals. Portals can also allow new hires to self-serve, adding a profile, information, bank details and the like.
Moreover, all information you collect should flow straight through to your HR system. Cloud HR solutions should come with onboarding modules that are simple to set up and accessible 24/7. Storing information in one place also cuts back on the task of re-entering the same data into multiple systems.
Prepare the desk
When your new hire’s first day comes, ensure you’ve got a plan:
assign someone to receive and greet them at the door
put in an order with IT and prepare all the relevant equipment: a computer, phone, email, and network access, and office supplies
moreover, ensure security and compliance policies are explained as appropriate.
Spread the duties for onboarding tasks across different departments. For example, the IT department might be responsible for setting up the new hire’s laptop and email; the finance team might organize payroll, and the line manager will arrange inductions as well as check-in meetings. HR software’s task management systems can help significantly here.
HR software makes it much easier for these departments to fully understand their roles in the onboarding process. Task managers and checklists make use of notifications, meaning important processes don’t get forgotten about. It gives an overview of what’s been done and what needs doing.
Involve your employees
Send the first-day welcome announcement to the organization and share the news of the new hire with the team. Give their name, title, and something that distinguishes them: it might be a hobby or interest, for instance. This allows current employees to easily see if they have anything in common, making everyone more prepared for the big day. Moreover, give your current employees details of the new hire’s background, making sure the new employee’s biggest strengths are acknowledged.
Find a peer and assign them to mentor/buddy the new hire. This will help the new hire to get settled and to be comfortable enough to ask any questions that are on their mind. This also helps build relationships with the team, integrating the new employee into the company significantly faster.
Also, consider explaining who’s who – HR software can create a staff directory mapping this for you. This will help your new hire to familiarise themselves with their co-workers and assists them in directing their queries to the right people from the right departments, so they don’t feel like they’re barraging their mentor with questions.
Planning welcome social help breaks the ice, too – and not just between the company and the new hire. From team lunches to company happy hours, both new hires and current employees can benefit from getting to know each other in a more open and casual environment, building stronger relationships and channels for collaboration.
Establish a formal training program
The importance of setting a clear and comprehensive training program can’t be overstated. Doing so helps prepare and motivate the new hire for the first day and sets a precedent for the weeks and months ahead as they approach their new projects. Such a structured program does much to ease their potential short- and longer-term worries. Indeed, the HR portal assists here, too. By being able to provide access to important training documents, setting out a comprehensive program schedule through calendars, and by making use of notifications to make clear to current employees what is expected of them in the onboarding process and when. On top of this, it’s an effective and simple way for new hires to view set assignments and tasks, as well as their own schedules.
Check-ins
Check-ins are a series of regular discussions between managers and employees about their progress. They are:
ongoing and build a rapport, setting short and long-term goals
an extremely effective way of ensuring employees are continuously aware of their professional development within the company, allowing them to express any concerns and ask questions, and
they form a crucial part of the onboarding process.
At the end of the first week, give the new hire the opportunity to ask any outstanding questions. This helps demonstrate your enthusiasm towards the employee’s start beyond just the first day and will help set a clear and lasting relationship between the new hire and the company.
HR software can make continuous performance reviews and check-ins an integral part of company culture. Cezanne HR, for instance, provides a seamless and engaging way of recording conversations, achievements and agreed goals or outcomes, so it’s easier to ensure everyone is aligned.
The right HR systems are equipped with performance management functions that allow employees to make use of their flexibility and to collaborate in an online forum where others can easily and securely request feedback, record check-in conversations, and track outcomes.
Poor onboarding is a wasted opportunity
The benefits of great onboarding are infinite. It reduces unnecessary barriers that might otherwise inhibit the new employee from settling in or performing at their best. It gets new hires up to speed swiftly and immerses them in the company’s values, vision, and culture.
Furthermore, great onboarding protects your new investment. A robust, systematic onboarding process boosts new hire retention by 50%, and new hires that experienced strong onboarding are 58% more likely to stay with the company for more than three years.
Why would you waste all your efforts with a dissatisfactory onboarding process?
Onboarding can be the difference between a quick and costly new employee turnover, and a long and lasting productive relationship.
Above are just some of the boxes to tick to ensure an engaging onboarding experience. Do you have any more? Let us know!
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Dropshipping is a trendy business model that has already attracted about 78% of retailers in the USA that implements some form of it; the market is going to reach $240 billion in 2023. The main difference to the standard sales model is that dropshipping is an e-commerce business model that shifts all production and delivery responsibilities to the Supplier or Manufacturer.
At the same time, a Dropshipper is responsible only for the online store. After a drop shipper finds a trustworthy supplier, his main task is organizing an online store. The online store can be created on a relevant marketplace or a separate web resource. In each case, it should be prepared with all information, including pictures or videos of the sold goods and possibilities to make an order for Customers.
This article is aimed at marketplaces, which one to choose for dropshipping for placing your online store. Marketplaces also can be used for searching for suppliers and manufacturers.
Main Requirements For Dropshipping Marketplaces
The main value of drop shipper work is an online store. Customers first choose the website for order and with high competition of Internet proposals, attracting customers to visit and stay on your website is essential. Marketplaces are perfect e-commerce platforms for beginners as they have many tutorials and advice on starting a dropshipping store.
It is recommended to choose a dropshipping marketplace based on the following parameters.
The fee for launching your website;
User-friendly navigation with all required plugins;
Customer traffic for your chosen niche;
Possibility to use software for listing, design templates, order fulfillment, and delivery tracking;
Integration with other marketplaces for easy creation of product descriptions;
Integration with website builders or content management systems (CMS);
24/7 technical support.
Top 3 Dropshipping Marketplaces
Based on the described parameters, the top 3 dropshipping marketplaces are listed below. You can place your products on all three to find your audience or choose the one suiting your requirements.
eBay
eBay is one of the biggest marketplaces where you can buy everything except tobacco, alcohol, lottery tickets, and other goods. The most popular categories are face masks, smartphones, men's accessories, and video games. With dropshipping on eBay, you can access its massive auditory without effective marketing campaigns. Their auction site attracts thousands of customers. This marketplace is recommended for small dropshipping companies starting the business, as they propose fewer investments.
All subscription plans are based on the insertion fee with a limitation of listings, a fee after the transaction based on the sale price, and a fee per order. The basic store fee with 250 listings is $21.95. You can find more detailed information regarding fees and requirements for setting up the store in this guide.
Pros
● eBay does not require to have storage of goods for selling
● Plenty of applications are available for automatization and setting up the store
● Marketing campaigns are not required in the initial stage of setting up the online store
● Possibility for easy business expansion
● Easy to get started
● eBay has a lot of tools for marketing campaigns
Cons
● Strict dropshipping rules
● Difficult to find a supplier fulfilling all eBay requirements
● To be rated as a reliable seller on eBay, you need to have already positive reviews and a proven sales record
● eBay does not allow to drop ship from other marketplaces
● Intensive competition
Shopify
Shopify is one of the most popular dropshipping platforms hosting 500.000 e-commerce stores worldwide. To start selling there, you need to pay a basic subscription for $29 for a domain name, the quantity of sold goods, and additional features (such as gift cards or reports). Plus, you must pay 30 cents per transaction for each tariff plan. For beginners, you can choose a 14-day free subscription. However, with growing your business, you need to change subscriptions to other plans to increase staff accounts and inventory locations.
You should pay additional expenses for customization and automatization; most of the required applications are not free. But the paid money is worth it; numerous apps for setting up the online store with fully customizable themes exist. In addition, many marketing tools are available for Shopify to start selling as quickly as possible.
Pros
● Availability of different tariff plans starting from $29
● User-friendly interface with prefilled pages
● Integration with most dropshipping apps (Oberlo, MXED, Spocket)
● 24/7 email, phone, and chat support
● A large community of drop shippers using Shopify
● 14 days free trial
● Quick set up of an e-commerce store
Cons
● The advanced package is expensive $229
● High competition
● In addition to a subscription, you need to pay for each transaction
WooCommerce
Five million people already use this plugin, and you can also dropship there. It has a special WooCommerce Dropshipping application to manage all activities from there. You can quickly start your online store there, even alone. WooCommerce recommends using WordPress plugins and extensions for setting up the website. WooCommerce does not recommend dropshipping from eBay or Amazon, as you will meet massive competition with the same goods on this platform. The possible suppliers could be found on Amazon, SaleHoo, or simply in Google.
The WooCommerce plugin is available for free, but you need to pay commissions for a domain, host, extensions, and security. Unfortunately, to set up the store, you need time from days to weeks, as you need to install all required applications and go through the delivery policy.
Pros
● Many apps and plugins are available for website creation and automatization
● The WooCommerce fee depends on your business capabilities and needs
● WooCommerce supports all payment methods
● Market integration with all leading platforms
● The store design is executed through a WordPress plugin
● Open-source software and fully customizable
Cons
● Tools are required to set up the store (WordPress, WooCommerce Dropshipping, WooCommerce Lead Time, etc.)
● Requires significant time for setting up the store
● You need to have skills
Conclusion
The marketplaces help to simplify the creation of an e-commerce store, but all work for its marketing and maintenance you should keep to yourself. Do not forget about SEO campaigns, advertisements in social networks, email campaigns, and other tools to attract your targeted audience. If you, in addition to the product description, add to your helpful website information, research, or comparisons of why your products are good, this will significantly increase the value of your goods.
Proper supplier is another milestone for your business, but you must check the Supplier based on the desired marketplace requirements. Finally, marketplaces are significant helpers in setting up a business for newcomers, especially Shopify, WooCommerce, or eBay. They have all the tools for easy creation of the business process and start selling online. But you need to pay subscription fees and purchase applications for proper customization.
Read Also:
How To Get Product Ideas For Your Ecommerce Business
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Recognizing How Important Inventory Management Is To Your E-commerce Store
Keeping a business organized often feels like a futile task. There’s always something to do and it can feel impossible to take care of everything.
Maintaining a high level of organization impacts everything about your company, from efficiency to effectiveness. You can’t afford to let your firm’s operations run away from you.
But there are plenty of online tools available for you to manage every aspect of your business. We’re going to take a look at some of them now.
1. Slack :
Project management is often a battle in itself. Slack allows you to make sure that everyone knows what they’re doing and the progress of every project.
You can collaborate on tasks of any size and create special boards where only certain members have access. Take full control of any project by assigning administrative privileges to your managers.
It’s an easy way to manage your next project.
2. Profisee :
Talk about master data management and you might think that it’s just an IT thing. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Master data management is all about keeping the various bits of data within your business efficient, clean, and useful.
Through proper master data management, you can find out the answers to important questions like, “Which of my customers are the most profitable?”
Profisee makes it easy to understand what master data management is and how to begin implementing it in your small business.
3. Evernote :
A big favorite among small business owners is Evernote. It organizes your thoughts on the go and enables you to keep track of everything.
Furthermore, your notes can be organized and converted into a layout that’s suitable for presentations. The sheer number of different options for this is impressive.
4. Asana :
Virtual online businesses are becoming more common. Even brick and mortar businesses are turning to remote workers. But communicating by email can often be difficult.
Asana allows you to communicate across the globe without the need for email. Conversations are organized based on a specific task.
It can also double as a project management app if you prefer. This means you can assign people to specific tasks and receive status updates pinged to any WiFi-enabled device.
5. Tripit :
Business trips are a necessary evil. Tripit keeps everything from flight itineraries to hotel reservations in one place, and they’re tied to a calendar.
Easily share these updates with your inner circle to allow them to plan around your visit to that client or the next big industry conference in Vegas.
Last Word – How to Keep Your Business Organized :
The organization isn’t just confined to a few areas of your company. This is the biggest mistake business owners tend to make. They often organize a single part of their business, such as their finances, but fail to properly manage the other parts of it.
Inevitably, this leads to problems and invalidates their previous work. Don’t fall victim to that by picking up these five tools today.
Do you have any tools you use to keep your business organized?
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