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Licensing may be answer to global marketing

03/29/07
Ian M. Berkowitz

   Whether you believe it or not, spring is in the air. For us -Florid ians, knowing when spring kicks in is strictly a function of moving our clocks ahead. We are limited with our changes of seasons, and our leaves are certainly le-ss color ful than they are up in the North - east.

    However, when spring comes, so does spring cleaning. A-s a busi ness owner, you and your business should take advantage of getting your house in order by do-ing a lit tle spring cleaning. A good spring cleaning can lead to a mo- re e cient, e ective and well-r-un busi ness. A few good areas to start your spring cleaning are with e- mploy ees, operations, and your business relationships.

Check employees

    Spring cleaning of and with your employees can sometimes be the one most e ective wa- y to im prove your business. The rst few months of the year, you are able to see how your employees reacted to the holiday bonus or raise, and whether or not they still have that drive and energy to be part of your team.

    Statistically, the beginning of the New Year is the time that em - ployees will often revisit loyalty and dedication to their job. They evaluate the pros and con- s of be ing your employee over the course of the previous year, and o- ften de cide whether or not they -are stay ing or beginning search for a new position.

    So you too should take this opportunity, to recap on the ef - fectiveness of your employees, and each of the contributions to your company. If someone may not be pulling his or her weight, or you’ve noticed a slide- in pro ductivity, it may be time to have a heart-to-heart conversation with that employee about his or her future with the company.

Get organized

    On the operational level, spring cleaning is sort of like organizing. How often do you nd yourself turning your o ce upside down looking for that one piec-e of pa per, folder or business card that you need, and simply can’t nd? Your spring cleaning should be about developing and imp- lement ing a system to be more organized which translates into putting things in place. In life, everything has its place. You should look to abandon the method of placing stacks and stacks of paper on your desk in order to have everything in your reach.

    Committing to a ling system, where the essential things are at your ngertips, and the things that are completed or used less often are tucked away somewhere out of reach, will give you- a ght ing chance of being mo-re pro ductive. The less time you spend looking for things, the more time you have do the things that earn you revenue.

    Spring cleaning of and with your business relationships is somewhat similar to what you do with your employees. This is the time to look through you- r busi ness cards and your database to determine the purpose and use of each of your contacts. What is the likelihood of you doing business with someone that you haven’t spoken to in ve to 10 years? Do really believe that one de-al is go ing to come around, and that one contact will be your best bet?

    Your best business relationships are those that you interact with often. Those contacts that you see at church, synagogue, sporting events, chambers of commerce, the grocery store, the mall or just around town are the best bets to do business with. Relationships that are current are productive.

    So instead of simply holding on to a business card or contact information, why not pick up the phone and plan to go to breakfast or lunch with an old conta-ct in or der to reignite a relationship that you think will have some value in the future.

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Ian M. Berkowitz is a former attorney/advi - sor with the United States Small Business Administration in Washington D.C. During his tenure with the Federal Government he speci - cally worked in the areas of disaster relief for homeowners and businesses and government contracting. He is currently a p- racticing busi ness and real estate attorney in Boca Raton. In addition to his law degree, Ian also holds a Masters Degree in Government from The John Hopkins University.