5 Tips for Business

5 Tips for Developing Policies for Your Business

Think ahead. Establish policies before you need them. Doing so helps avert crises and awkward situations, and helps solve problems before they arise. Determine what policies you need. Some you’ll want early in your business include a mission statement, as well as compensation, performance evaluation and employee policies. Get input from key employees, as well as from members of your advisory board, your board of directors, and/or your professional advisors and consultants. Communicate policies to everyone in your business. Review policies on a regular basis—once a year, for example—and revise them as necessary. 5 Tips on Choosing a Location for Your Business Find out if local zoning laws permit your kind of business at the site that you desire. Make sure the site has adequate public services—such as water and sewer services, trash collection, adequate drainage, and police and fire protection. Determine if there’s adequate, affordable transportation. Can your employees get to work? If you’re a manufacturer, are trucking services available? Consider the surrounding community. If you’re a high-end retailer, for example, are there sufficient high-income households nearby to support your business? Look at the other businesses in the area. Decide whether or not having direct competitors will be helpful. 5 Tips for Using Colleges and Universities to Help Your Business Volunteer your company to be a business school case study. You’ll learn much about your company in the process and get good ideas for the future. Obtain management and technical assistance from one of more than 50 Small Business Development Centers. Check the U.S. Small Business Administration web site at www.sba.gov for locations. Participate in special programs. Many colleges and universities sponsor venture capital forums, entrepreneurship centers and family business programs. Work with the business school to offer internships to graduate students. Find out what expertise is on a business school’s staff. You may find just the right person to hire as a consultant or serve on your board.