7 Actions to Take Now To Avoid Losing $200,000 (or more!)
Posted in: General, Management | Comments (0)
Employee Theft
Is it Happening to You?
Ron Willingham the founder of Integrity Systems advises “don’t be afraid to ask the hard questions.” So I ask you, are your employees stealing from you? How do you know? It never ceases to astound people that a trusted employee could steal from you. It angers you and makes you sad, but it is happening every day. Large amounts are stolen from businesses and the most vulnerable companies are sustaining the biggest losses.
In its 2008 Report to the Nation on Occupational Fraud and Abuse, Association for Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) cites that small businesses are especially vulnerable to theft. The median loss suffered by companies with fewer than 100 employees was $200,000. This was the highest of any category. Unfortunately, small businesses have consistently suffered the largest losses of any category in their annual studies. Check tampering and fraudulent billings were the most common small business schemes. In fact, it was a check tampering scheme that cost Portland area business Paul Schatz Furniture over $500,000 in theft losses.
Are you a victim?
Most of us would immediately say “No, all my employees are completely trustworthy.” In fact, I have never had a business owner answer otherwise! But, what about new employee you recently hired? What about the long-term employee who has had an unexpected life change (divorce, death, or other experience) that has affected his/her financial stability? What about that employee that continually lives beyond his means? The trusted bookkeeper at Paul Schatz Furniture who was previously considered “family” blamed her embezzlement on a gambling addiction. The company was somewhat fortunate because the theft was discovered after only two years. Check fraud schemes generally continue much longer. The bookkeeper admitted in court that if she hadn’t been caught she would still be stealing.
Considering the potential losses
Could your company sustain a loss of this magnitude? It behooves small business owners to make the prevention of fraud a priority in their businesses. The first step in preventing employee fraud is letting employees know you’re watching for it. “Perception of detection is a very powerful deterrent,” says John Gill, a certified fraud examiner and general counsel and director of self-study publications for the ACFE.
7 Steps to Take Right Now
In his book “How to Prevent Small Business Fraud” Gill shares some of the most useful approaches that help fortify a business against fraudulent activity.
1. Hire the right employees. Conduct background checks for people handling inventory and money. Check past employment, criminal convictions, references, and education and certifications. Also, conduct drug screening since often, according to Gill, employees will steal from a business to support an addiction. Remember, however, to always get the written consent of candidates before doing research since many federal and state laws govern the gathering of such information.
2. Maintain strong internal controls. Have checks and balances in place, suggests Gill. “For example, you don’t want a signatory on the bank account balancing the check book,” he says. “If I can write checks on the account and I reconcile the bank book, I’m free to manipulate the check register.”
3. Make sure expenditures are approved. For every expense, have a manager and someone in accounting approve it. The supervisor will ensure that the expenses are valid, while accounting will run the math.
4. Monitor cash situations. In a retail situation, Gill suggests having security cameras monitor activity at registers and storage areas where inventory is kept. “People are less likely to do it if someone is watching them,” he says.
5. Conduct surprise audits. Catching an employee off guard could be your best bet in discovering fraud. “The key is that an employee generally doesn’t know what’s coming and won’t have the time to change the records to hide the fraud,” says Gill. “We’ve seen cases where somebody creates a phony company, submits invoices to accounting and accounting sends payment to a P.O. Box,” says Gill. In one case, Gill recalls, an employee who set up a fraudulent business through which he submitted preprinted, consecutive numbered invoices to his employer every few months. When outside financial professionals examined the invoices, particularly the invoice numbers, it seemed funny to them that the business submitting the invoices didn’t have other clients or was having an extremely slow year since each consecutive invoice was sent to the company. A surprise audit also can uncover duplicate invoice amounts and duplicate invoice numbers, both of which can be red flags for possible wrongdoing.
6. Create a fraud policy. “Don’t create anything complicated,” says Gill. Simply inform employees during employee orientation, training programs, memorandums, or other communications that fraud is not tolerated and let employees know what to do if they suspect fraud. Also, be sure to inform employees of the actions the company will take if it suspects or determines fraud has been committed.
7. Enforce mandatory vacations. “Our research has shown that if employees don’t take vacation, it can be a red flag,” says Gill. “They’re afraid to go on vacation because someone is going to find out that something is not right.” Requiring employees to take time off can aid in the prevention of some frauds.
Steal from My Own Company?
In his book, “The Danger Zone, Lost in Growth Transition”, Jerry Mills founder of B2B CFO® discusses the dangers of owners taking cash out of the till, bringing inventory home, and other like activities. These actions can set up negative perceptions with employees and create an atmosphere that taking from the company is tolerated. Remember, we want to set the right example and be the leaders that people can look up to and respect at all times.
There are many ways an employee can steal from their employer. There are also many ways an employer can prevent this activity. Being aware is the first step.
My partners and I at B2B CFO® (www.b2bcfo.com/partners/scotts) have over 4,000 years of cumulative experience assist businesses in developing internal controls to prevent and detect employee theft and fraud.
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Ed Bejarana @ November 4, 2009
Fear Based Motivation
Posted in: Management | Comments (1)
There are numerous ways to motivate your employees, but one of the most common is Fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of loosing your job. Fear of harm. Fear is actually a poor motivator because of what happens neurologically.
In the book Wet Mind by Stephen M. Kosslyn and Oliver Koenig, they explain how your brain makes an uncontrolled shift when encountering fear and stress.
- There is a limited ability for problem solving.
- The person becomes hyper alert with a constricted focus.
- The brain frantically searches for response information, relying on past experiences.
- For some, the person can become overwhelmed and dissociate.
Dissociation is common during times of high stress. Have you found yourself daydreaming, while driving and not sure of where you are? Then you have dissociated. If your goal is to improve importance, you need to avoid fear.
Triggers for Fear and Stress:
- Loud noises cause an immediate response and are very useful in life safety situations.
- Closed door meetings heighten fear and anxiety because of the unknown. People seldom function well when kept in a vacuum
- Unexpected activities like laying someone off, will cause most of the staff to become stressed. This is especially true if they did not see it coming.
To diminish fear, simply apply a compliment or word of encouragement.
Ken Bear Cole
A Second Look Business Consulting LLC
Ed Bejarana @ October 27, 2009
Word of mouth marketing – The Tipping Point
Posted in: Marketing | Comments (1)
All of us on this business community are seeking new ways to promote and sell our wares. We know the value of Word of Mouth Marketing (WOM), 
but do we all understand the value of business blogging as it related to WOM?
I just finished reading Malcolm Gladwell’s book, The Tipping Point. For the last week or ten days I’ve been biting at the bit to write this article, but I wanted to wait until I finished the book. Not only did Malcom ask the questions why some ideas took off, but he answered societal questions on what stifles momentum. To bring Malcolm’s thoughts into perspective for us business folks in Portland Oregon, I’ll ask a question that directly pertains to US.
Why blog on Portland Business Community?
“The success of any kind of social epidemic is heavily dependent on the involvement of people with a particular and rare set of social gifts.“
America is suffering through a very difficult recession. Without arguing politics, let’s assume for a moment that times are still bad and maybe getting worse. Most, if not all, of us are members of “other” networking groups (chamber’s, lead sharing, associations, etc.) and our goal is to build new connections with other people who may need our services or know someone who needs our service.
Those of us who’ve been around a while know the “Card-Droppers” as me centered folks who will almost never carry our message to their network; but instead attend the groups for just long enough to fail at getting any business before moving on to the next failed networking venture. I call this process Group Cold Calling. Work a room, make the same sales pitch over and over and hope that some business is gained.
A Better Approach to networking
Get to know the business people around you, help them solve their problems and they’ll be your very best friend–helping bring you LOTS of new business.
Business Blogging allows you to help people you’ve never met; building relationships with people who find your idea over the internet.
PortlandBusinessCommunity.com, being a FREE business blogging site for business people means your audience may have found your words because they were brought to the site by search phrase liked to another article.
PortlandBusinessCommunity.com, using Malcolm’s terms, is a Connector. The authors on this site are the Mavens and the search engine become the Salesmen.
Unlike your elevator speech at a chamber meeting, your words in your business blog article live forever in the sales channel (i.e. search engines).
Ed Bejarana @ October 27, 2009
Onsight SEO Basics ~ Secrets Revealed
Posted in: Marketing | Comments (1)
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Basics
Business owners that want to “do it themselves” can get confused about all the information available for Search Engine Optimization. Although it is true that SEO has a great deal of layers to it – there are some very basic strategies that business owners can do themselves. Many business owners think they know a few things about Search Engine Optimization ~ it is expensive, difficult, and needs to be outsourced. I am here to tell you a secret – are you ready? Are you listening? SEO is not hard, not complicated, and not beyond your reach. It is actually easy, just time consuming. The most basic concept is this – use keyword phrases that you want search engines to index for your company. That is it – the whole concept. Now for the strategy ~ where do you use these keywords? Here is a rundown of several places (not an exhaustive list) where keywords need to be utilized:
- Page Titles (each page needs to be different)
- Article Titles – These titles need to be Header1 or H1 tags
- Articles need to use subtitles – Header 2 – Header 6 – like an outline
- Anchor text (the link that is actually clicked is the anchor)
- Picture alt and title tags
- Meta tags
Although this is not a complete list ~ everything on this list is important and completely within your ability to do – as long as you are using some sort of content management system.
Page Titles
Every page has a title tag that will show in the browser title bar. Each page needs to be unique. If you are using the same title for all pages then you will be considered a search engine spammer – if each page was truly the same then you only need a one page site. Carefully consider your titles. Don’t use ”Home” – instead use something like Web Design Vancouver Wa: Premium Websites. This title gets the message across that it is a website design site and means much more than Home to the search engines.
Article Titles
If you are running a Blog then make sure all Articles or Posts are using the H1 tag for the Title, and that your keywords are in the title – preferably at the beginning of the title. This is why you will often see something like this – Search Engine Optimization: Basics for Business Owners. By using the colon tactic it makes sense to have the main keyword phrase at the beginning with a short explanation to follow. Remember how you title your articles should also be how the link to the article appears. Having your link include keywords is very important to rankings. Another great Title would be 6 Easy SEO Secrets – having a number in the title always seems to do well.
Articles need to use sub headers
Sub headers need to be H2-H6 tags and they need to be organized like an outline. Not only does this make the article easy to follow, easy to skim, and easy to read – it also allows for keyword phrases to be used in the headers. Search engines give more weight to keywords in H1 tags than keywords in H2 tags all the way down to the H6 tags. The top of the articles has the most weight for keyword usage.
Keywords in Anchor Text
Search engines place very high value on other websites that link to your website. It is like a vote of confidence for your website. The text used in the incoming link is also very important and is called anchor text. It must contain some of your keywords in order to get the full SEO value from this strategy. “Click here” won’t cut it. By using your keywords and linking to your site with the same keywords it gives the search engines a clear understanding of what your site is about, and how to rank it.
Picture alt and title tags
All images used need to be labeled with the alt tags. This makes the website compliant for people that use screen readers. It also gives you another instance of using a keyword phrase. The alt tag is what comes up if for some reason the image does not load, and the title tag is what shows when the image is hovered over by your mouse. Both should be used and the words used need to be both relevant to the image and using keywords. This is one area that is usually overlooked.
Meta tags
Meta tags are not used as much as they used to be. It used to be that search engines went from the meta tags to get a description and keywords for ranking the site. Now search engines usually use the actual content of the site for their listings. This does not mean that they are not important. They are often overlooked, but should still be used. Also the keywords should reflect the actual page, not be generalized for the whole site.
By keeping these basic Search Engine Optimization tips in mind when updating or creating your web content your website will greatly benefit with higher placement in the search result pages. Once this is done if more help is needed then you can feel better about hiring more optimization ~ knowing you did all the easy stuff yourself.
Ed Bejarana @ October 26, 2009
Buying and Selling in the Same Market
Posted in: Economy | Comments (1)
Buying and selling in the same market is ok to do. Some people feel they need to hold off until the market is better to sell their home. Sould you put your home on the market now? If you want to upsize or downsize, now is the time, while the market is low and the mortgage rates at almost record lows. Remember, when your property increases in value, so does the property you might wish to purchase. The published RMLS findings for September show that the Clackamas area is down 9.8%, Oregon City area is down,11.3%, and West Linn/Lake Oswego area down 13.3% in average price from last year. With that said, seems like now is the time to find a property in the West Linn area.
Ed Bejarana @ October 24, 2009
Is This One Of Those Pyramid Things?
Posted in: Marketing | Comments (3)
To the seasoned Network/Multi-Level Marketer this has almost become a non-question. The fielding of which has become nearly as involuntary as sneezing. The answer is almost universally “no” or “what do you mean?” The resulting explanation generally pacifies, at least temporarily those skeptics that might be examining your business. However, it seldom really addresses the core understanding of what a “Pyramid” really is.
Pyramids, according to Federal law are illegal. A true “Pyramid” is dependent on a constant influx of participants at the base in order to move others to the top. Multi-Level or Network Marketing dispels this requirement due to the fact that if a real product or service is being sold, the business will continue regardless of the influx of new participants. Additionally, “Pyramids” will require a fee, sometimes nominal and sometimes substantial, which will be paid partially to the company and partially to the recruiting agent. Most states have outlawed this practice and deemed it uniquely an act of “pyramiding”. A legitimate Network/Multi-Level Marketing company my have a startup fee, but it is usually only enough to handle administrative services and initial supplies and marketing materials.
The only real difference between Network or Multi-Level Marketing and traditional business models is the number of hands that a product or service has to pass through before it reaches the consumer. The true mark of any business, is to ask the question, “Would people own this product or service if they were not involved in the business of marketing it”? Many Network/MLM’rs become marketing distributors for no other reason than to receive a discount for their product or service.
It’s true that the earnings for being self employed are unpredictable, but the advantage of being self-employed in a Network/Multi-Level marketing business is that you can out earn your “sponsor” or the person that hired and trained you. What would happen in a traditional J-O-B if you started outperforming the person that trained you or even worse your supervisor? In Network/Multi-Level Marketing there are no buffers, either on the top or the bottom. Success and failure are an act of your own efforts.
To most Network/Multi-Level Marketers, anyone that works a traditional J-O-B is involved in a “Pyramid”. You go to work for a company at an entry level. There are lots of you at that level. In order to oversee things there are a few supervisors. These supervisors are usually amenable to department heads, who in turn usually answer to any one of a number of upper management administrators. Upper management usually has a CEO or owner that is ultimately at the top of the…oh wait…isn’t this one of those “Pyramid things?”
Gary Russell
GoSmallBiz.com
www.GaryLRussell.com
www.DefendMyLife.com
503-519-3592
Ed Bejarana @ October 23, 2009
The woe's of buying short in real estate
Posted in: General | Comments (1)
Many buyer’s who have been waiting on banks to approve short sales are quickly running out of time to receive the touted $8000 tax credit. Some are pulling out and buying houses that were second on their list to get into a home before the program for 2009 ends. That is OK, because there are no perfect homes out there for the average buyer. It is better to buy a home now when rates are low and housing prices are fairly low. Talk to any finance guru, and they will tell you, real estate is always a good investment for the long term.
Ed Bejarana @ October 21, 2009
Helping People Leap Toward Ultimate Success
Posted in: General | Comments (0)
Of all the reasons I love coaching entrepreneurs, leaders, professionals and youth, the one that brings the hugest smile to my face is the moment when clients realize that the connections, breakthroughs and leaps they make come from inside, from their own highest intelligence, core intuition and internal power. In the space of the coaching relationship, clients own these little tiny miracles that add up to full-fledged shifts in their outer lives, businesses and personal relationships. What a privilege to witness THAT!
Ed Bejarana @ October 21, 2009
Strategic Planning – A Plan for Planning
Posted in: Management | Comments (2)
When we started our businesses, we did so with an idea of delivering a great service or product (and making money). 
How much time did we spend planning the direction or the bases by which future decisions are made? If it feels at times like you don’t have a grip on daily tasks or if you always feel like you are behind the eight ball, then the answer is probably NO.
Answer the following questions:
1) What do you do?
Be specific. Avoid general statements like, “provide excellent service” or “sell insurance”. Spell out all the details.
2) For whom do you do it?
Be specific. See a repeating pattern? Strategic planning involves tending to the details. Before you can provide an excellent service or product, you need to know exactly who will be your customer. Why? Because every personality trait you will be dealing with will require a different approach. No ONE marketing presentation will work for everyone.
3) How do you excel?
Once you know what you do and who you do it for, then is the time to bring YOU to the equation. What sets you a part from your competition? Try this little exercise. Make a list of five things you do better than your competition. Next, for each of the five things, make a list of those things your competition could do to improve their operation in that particular area.
Looking at your competition from the perspective of your customers can help you further define your unique selling proposition.
Always date your strategic plan and schedule time next year to review and alter your plan.
Ed Bejarana
Zenith Exhibits, Inc
Ed Bejarana @ October 16, 2009
Maslow Got It Right!
Posted in: Management | Comments (1)
Anyone who has taken a business management in college has heard of Abraham Maslow and his hiarchy of needs. 
Even though his paper, “A Theory Of Human Motivation“, was written in 1943 it is still very relevant today. But it seems that in the midst of all the stress of downsizing and reorganization, too many managers have forgotten it’s principals.
While the lines of communication breakdown with more and more closed door meetings at the office; employees are left to imagine what is really happening. Are jobs in jeopardy? Who’s name is on the list? All of this additional stress causes a uncontrolled neurological shift in the brain. Employees revert to “Fight or Flight” mode. You can feel the hard drive spinning in your head as it searches for information on what to do. Creativity is beyond the reach of your brain during these times. All you can access are past experiences. Sound familiar?
To relieve stress in the organization, management needs to be forthright and honest. If cuts are coming, announce the news with the assurance that the company will do all it can to help those laid off. Yes this may cost additional dollars, but you will help prevent sabotage. Employees need to know that you care about them. This will go a long ways to easing conflicts and help prevent angry outbursts.
Once cuts have been made the remainder of the staff needs reassurance of their value to the company. All of these things will free up creativity in the organization.
Ken Cole
A Second Look Business Consulting
Ed Bejarana @ October 13, 2009
