Business Link

Archive for the ‘Small Business Centre’ Category

The world of business is getting increasingly competitive. Companies are doing all that it takes to improve efficiency and generate better returns on investment. Many of them have realized the advantage of using call centers as a means of providing reliable customer service. After all, good customer service can play a big role in building customer loyalty.

Big multinationals have the requisite resources and money to have their in-house customer care call centre. However, for small and medium-sized enterprises, outsourcing their services to an Australian call centre is probably the most feasible option. Financially, it is much cheaper option than setting up your own call centre, and if you find a reliable service provider, customer service becomes an easy area to take care of.

It is always advisable to choose offshore call centres, especially in countries such as Australia, India, China, or Philippines. These regions not only offer cost-effective options, but are also known for the effectiveness of their call centre services. Whatever you choose, it is vital that you monitor call centre operations to ensure that customers are getting quality service. If you train your staff properly, there is no reason why an offshore call centre services provider cannot be successful for you.

Offshore call centres allow companies to focus on their core business by saving them time that is spent on handling customers and sorting out their problems. Moreover, calls centres can also be used for brand building as well as generating positive word of mouth for your business. It is therefore imperative that you choose the right Australian call centre for your business. When looking for a service provider, do ensure that:

•The call centre has the necessary infrastructure for the job •Your contact centre has a proven track record, verified by ex-clients •Their network is secure and can protect your sensitive data By providing top quality customer service, your call centre can help in boosting revenues and retaining your customers. Omni Support is a prominent Australian call centre that offers complete outsourced call centre services. The company helps its clients by handling and resolving their customers’ queries in a cost-effective and efficient manner.

To establish a small business in Canada the first thing you need to find out is some small business grants for funding your business. It is not an easy task although to locate the best available grants in Canada. Most of the small business grants Canada government offers are restricted to some specific types of business at specific locations. And to avail those, you have to abide by certain terms and conditions and invest some amount of personal money as well.

Though there are quite a few subsidies for funding small business, to find out a small business grant you have to search really hard. You have to know where to look for to get a grant which would not have too many terms and conditions and will be easy to avail. As there is no readymade list available for the small business grants Canada government has, to follow some guidelines would always be helpful to make the search less difficult.

If you log on to the websites of Canada government, you will rarely find the term “small business grants”. This is because the government offers very limited grants for small business. Instead of searching for small business grants Canada, you can look for contributions, subsidies, rebates, tax rebates, shared costs, or non-repayable loans. This can be helpful because through these searches you can find out some non-repayable funding for your small business, which can actually serve the purpose of a small business grant.

Businesses which fulfill the criteria of availing grants from Canada government or those located in areas which are specified for government grants, can obtain the small business grants Canada easily. But for other businesses, obtaining funds may be slightly difficult. In Canada, retail businesses receive the least funding from government grants. And businesses located at a particular area get more grants than those of other areas. So, you must plan to locate your small business accordingly to get the best possible grants.

The core sites of the Canadian government are helpful in providing the lists of small business grants Canada government assists with. The Industry Canada Website will give you information about the available government grants in your region. Another such helpful core site is Canada Business Network. And you can also visit the regional Business Service Centre websites, some of which will have helpful information on small business grants.

To make your search more specific, you can look for grants which are available for the particular type of small business that you want to start. Searching on the Canada Business Website by Business Sector can be helpful. Searching through search engine may also useful if you know where to look for.

If your business will be involved in exporting, research and development, or improvement of the environment, chances of getting a small business grant for your small business will be much higher. Special emphasis are now given on developing alternative energy sources and green energy options.

Though the small business grants Canada government offers are few in number, by putting yourself at the right position, you can easily avail the grants for funding your small business.

Does the word “website” frighten you? Do you relate website design to complicated programming, complex html / java scripts? Ever wondered how a small daycare centre can afford to setup a website?

Website designing has evolved since the start of internet. What used to be a complicated task, fit for a computer programmer, has now been made easier. Most web hosting packages now comes with web builder programmes that enable non web designers to setup a professionally looking website without any/little knowledge of computer programming languages.

Here’s how you can easily develop a website for your daycare centre:

Step 1 – Purchase a domain name (www.YOUR-DOMAIN-NAME.com)

You can buy them from many domain name providers that is available on the web. Go to Google / Yahoo and key in “purchase domain name” and you’ll have a list of domain name companies trying to promote their services to you. Domain names are usually charged annually. It can range from as cheap as $1.99.

Step 2 – Sign up with a web hosting company

Many web hosting companies offer free domain name registration for as long as you host your website with them. Web hosting packages are charged monthly but many web hosting companies will offer you a discount if you were sign up with them for a number of years. There a number of things you need to take note of when selecting a web hosting company. How much space? How many email accounts are permitted? Does it have a website design software?

Step 3 – Write your website copy

The most important and sometimes challenging task of building a website is to write the website copy. Fret not. It can be relatively pain-free.

First and foremost, I would suggest spending some time to surf the web for good examples to copy. The rule of thumb is, if you like it and find it attractive, then most likely your customers will as well.

Here are a number of suggested information to include on your website.

• Home page – This is an introduction or welcome page for your daycare visitors. Visitors normally land on this page first so you should make it easy for your visitors to navigate through. As they say “First impression counts” so ensure that it is attractive. However, don’t overdo it and put too many pictures because it will take a very long time to load.

• Core value and goals – As providing daycare services is a delicate profession, core values and goals of the daycare centre are extremely important.

• About us – Include a photo and short bio of all the caregivers. If it is too tedious, then have at least the daycare centre manager’s / principal’s information.

• Programme / Curriculum – List down what subjects you offer as part of your curriculum.

• Schedule – Include a schedule of the centre’s daily activities. If possible, even include a menu.

• Photo Gallery – Snap some photographs of the children at play, during storytelling, etc and include it in your photo gallery. Some website design software already have a photo gallery function included.

• Rates and charges – Some owners may not like the idea of publicizing the charges, so it’ll depend on your preference. Personally, I feel that it helps to qualify your customers.

• What’s New – If possible, have a “What’s New” section where you can include short writeup about your centre’s activities or make announcements of upcoming events such as open houses.

• Contact us – In your contact page, list not only contact details such as address, telephone and email but include a map as well. It will be useful for parents who wish to visit your centre.

Step 4 – Follow the step by step tutorials or guides to setting up a website.

Most website design software comes with tutorials on how to develop a website step by step. It varies from software to software. I won’t lie to say that is a piece of cake but you’ll get better with practice. Just think of the amount of money you will be saving by doing it yourself.

Remember to publish your website only when you have checked it thoroughly. Preview it first to ensure the layout is fine. Check the spelling. Nothing is worse than a website that is poorly developed.

Step 5 – Promoting your website

The first thing you should do is email to all your friends and family and let them know about your website. Encourage them to forward to as many people as possible.

Next is to include your website address on everything; on your namecards and all your marketing materials (brochure, flyers, posters, advertisements and banners).

Get your website listed in as many places as possible. There are also many web directories which you can list your website and not forgetting the metroguides. If you have purchased a franchise, ask if the franchisor will allow a link from their website to yours.

If after reading this, you find it too cumbersome, there are 2 alternatives. One is to have someone professional do it for you for a fee. Second is to forget about having a website for your daycare altogether.