In today's world, living in the American melting pot with people from all nationalities, customs, temperaments and generational differences, its no wonder there are so many conflicts in the work place. When there are people gathered together from different backgrounds - whether the setting is in an office, retail store, home based business in a team setting, school, wherever! There will always be conflicts and disagreements. Search on any news group on Google and all you see tragedy and conflict everywhere.

It's not to say that all folks are like that - some may become life-long friends, or just get along well enough to have a conducive work environment. Specifically I would like to address the flip side of that and talk more about resolving conflict and alternatives.

People have different experiences in life which shapes and forms who they are, why they act the way they do, and what their goals are in life. In our society until recently, the goal has been to climb the corporate ladder to success, but there's been a paradigm shift in that because of the economy and more pointedly - greed in some instances. Corporations are no longer stable. No longer do you really see 20-30 year veterans working in the same company anymore - they are a rare breed!

More and more - our society is focusing on building their own business. With the rising - exorbitant cost of Franchises, the more appealing choices are Home Based businesses. More and more people are discouraged with working a traditional "J-O-B", living paycheck to paycheck and are focusing on having control of their future, by starting their own Home Based Businesses. There's a deluge of Home Based businesses available to choose from, albeit not all are worth the time, effort and investment - but there are very good, reputable Home Based businesses to choose from.

I'd like to quote Actor "Rainn Wilson" who plays everybody's favorite workplace irritant on TV's "The Office" . Wilson had a few very interesting thoughts to say about real workplace offices when interviewed by "Business Week Magazine". One of the questions posed to him was what was his advice for those struggling to "make it" in their dream careers...his interesting answer was to give up immediately, move to Phoenix and go into Real Estate - he further states that in all seriousness, there's a big difference between living your dream and living in denial, you have to go where the universe is telling you to go.

What Wilson is trying to point out is that for your own well-being and benefit, if you're miserable in your job - whether or not it's the "dream job", it's time to reflect and decide if this is really where you want to be. Is this going to give you the kind of future you desire? Would you rather have your own home Based business that would give you freedom with your time, finances and family? There's plenty to choose from on Google for sure!

Changing gear a bit, if you currently are in a situation where your workplace has issues, here's a few tips to help you smooth things out:

Dealing with the "nasty 'tudes" -

Take a step back and reflect on what their childhood must have been like, what their marriage must be like, or how much they desire to have a partner but have none. Put yourself in their shoes for a minute and imagine how they must really feel about themselves. Even though they might make YOUR life miserable - you might just find some compassion for them, making easier on you when they rub you wrong.

Balance your work life and your personal life -

What is the main regret of successful business people on their deathbed? The majority regret not having spent enough time with their family! Too much stress, irritability usually means your life is out of balance. If you need to take work home, set aside a certain amount of time for it and the rest of the evening is to unwind and enjoy your family. If you have a Home Based business, set parameters as well. Work around your family's schedule, that's one of the benefits of having a Home Based business! You can work when and where you want, with today's technology it's easy to have a portable office. Balance is the key to keep your peace, sanity and family.

Isabel Gelo C. - Ultimate Chick, Ultimate Home Biz Advocate THE ULTIMATE TEAM http://workfromhome4parents.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Isabel_Gelo_C.

Expert initiators generally lay out all of their ideas thoroughly in their business plans. Therefore, you have to describe all your business ideas in as detailed a fashion as possible, so that investors feel free to invest into your company.

Your business plan not only gives you a feeling of integrity, but will also improve the likelihood of your business success. Even though creating a concrete written plan for your business is a lengthy and seemingly difficult task, it is actually not as trying as you may think.

The following is a simple guide detailing the ways in which you can construct a business plan just like an expert initiator:

1. Executive Review: Experts often have said that, it is the first item that investors are likely to notice and look at long before they notice the table of contents. Here, you need to write your business goal in three to four sentences, but make sure that you are thorough nonetheless. Also, be positive that these excerpts define your business distinctly, while grabbing the gaze of your investors.

2. Market Research: Often, experts focus on this area more carefully, as thorough information on the business sector shows your business potentiality. Therefore, you need to do comprehensive information gathering on overall market conditions. Include size, rate, trends and growth that may have a great effect on the industry. Also, show your targeted demographic describing the types of customers that your enterprise aims to cater to.

3. Business Description: After market research, you need to put in a section about your business in the plan. It must have the nature, objectives, aims, location and name of your enterprise.

4. Tactics Adopted: This section should have the enterprise's strategies such as sales activities, methods for distribution, kinds of sales for, methods for marketing and other growth strategies adopted by the enterprise.

These are some essential tips that expert initiators generally put into their business plans. If you want to be one of such expert initiators, then attempt to use these important tactics in writing your business plan.

Visit Here To Discover much more on how to write a business plan.

Benny Horowitz is a business initiative who has written dozens of articles on the subject of business world, business plan and how to start and manage your business.

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Whether you are just opening your doors or you are a seasoned veteran in the medical transcription industry, one thing's for sure-cash flow is a crucial concern for any business owner. The bottom line: if you don't have enough readily available cash to pay your employees, contractors, suppliers, and creditors you won't stay in business for long.

Defined as the movement of money in and out of a business, cash flow is the heartbeat of a thriving medical transcription service. Hence, the timing of its movement is extremely important to a company's overall health. Ironically, it's when business is booming that a company may start to have cash flow problems. Not only does more business create larger volumes of accounts, new growth opportunities also means purchasing new equipment and software, hiring additional medical transcriptionists and possibly building interfaces. In a nutshell, as a business grows, so too does its need for capital.

There are many reasons in addition to rapid growth that could explain why a company would need additional working capital. For example, seasonal influxes, local or national economic conditions, external economics and poor management decisions could all negatively or positively affect a business' cash flow at any given time.

Regardless of what has caused the increased need, it's important for medical transcription service owners to take the proper steps in identifying that need, analyzing it and preparing to help improve the company's bottom line and fill in any cash flow gaps.

Inflows, or sources of incoming cash, generally come in the form of customer payments. The typical invoice in the United States is paid in 45 days. The typical hospital takes longer, and physicians are all over the board. Keep in mind the impact of 15 days of receivables outstanding can be dramatic; so the first step a smart business owner can take to prevent headaches from the start is to have procedures in place to pre-screen the creditworthiness of potential clients and formalize a credit policy within his/her contracts.

Taking the time to invoice effectively after approving clients is an extremely important second step. Distributing invoices in a timely manner with the appropriate documentation is half the battle. Making sure the invoices are sent to the right person/department will also affect the length of time it takes to get them paid. The invoice should specifically articulate the terms of payment as well as reference penalty for late payment, if any. Some other ways to ensure speedy payments are to consider accepting credit card payments, requesting deposits or pre-payments and staying on top of collections.

Another thing MTSOs can do to help their cash flow is to create a working cash flow budget, which should include the following: a sales forecast with projected cash inflows (account receivable aging schedule) and projected cash outflows (payroll and tax obligations, operating expenses, upcoming purchases and current debt obligations). Upon reviewing the cash flow budget, a business owner will know if his/her company's capital needs exceed its capabilities. If this is the case, then it's time to consider funding options.

Before approaching any source of capital, it's important for the owner to do his/her homework. For example, if a business owner cannot answer the following questions, then the owner is not really ready to solve his/her company's cash flow problem.

* How much money do I need?
* How long will I need additional capital?
* What do I plan to use it for?
* How will the money improve my business?
* How am I going to pay it back?
* If Plan A doesn't work, what is my back-up plan?

Before seeking external sources of capital from investors or lenders, an MTSO should thoroughly explore all reasonable sources for meeting its capital needs internally. Even if this effort fails to generate all of the needed capital, it can sharply reduce the external financing requirement, resulting in less interest expense, lower repayment obligations, and less sacrifice of control. In addition, lenders and investors will be more willing to commit to lending if they see a business has already taken the steps to try to solve the problem internally. Some things to explore are increasing retained earnings, liquidating nonproductive assets, establishing more rigorous credit standards for customers, personally investing in the business and/or paying the company's suppliers a little slower than usual. Of course each of these options has their own benefits and disadvantages, so it's important to think through each before adopting one or all of them.

After running through the options above, the next best thing is to start researching debt capital options, namely banks, savings and loans, and commercial finance companies.

For short-term borrowing, the first step is to go to a commercial bank. Credit lines are reserved for businesses that have already established themselves as being worthy of short-term credit and the amount needed fluctuates from time to time. While lending institutions all have different standards; this is a particularly difficult time to qualify. A general rule of thumb to be considered a viable candidate for a commercial loan requires a business to have three years of operating history with at least two of these years being profitable. The profit should be significant enough that the business has positive retained earnings or owner's equity. The exact amount to be borrowed can vary according to the needs of the business but cannot exceed its established credit line.

Long-term borrowing comes into play when a business intends to borrow a lump sum and make payments on a regular basis until the loan is paid in total. When dealing with long-term bank loans, it's important to have a good understanding of the repayment schedule in order to plan accordingly.

The criteria which businesses must meet in order to qualify for a bank loan can be long and onerous. A bank evaluates the company's capacity to repay the loan, scrutinizes the owner's personal character, wants to know what kind of collateral can be used in the event that the loan cannot be repaid, will need to see a proven track record of the business' profitability and also takes into account any current economic conditions.

Being approved for a traditional loan may sound daunting, but there are a few things business owners can do in order increase their chances of being approved. Developing a relationship with a banker, moving accounts, fee income, wires and credit cards to that bank, and being honest and insightful about the business' challenges are all ways an MTSO can show the lender that he/she is a good candidate to receive the loan.

When considering funding options, a business owner also needs to understand the difference between a secured loan and an unsecured one. With a secured loan, the borrower pledges certain assets as collateral to protect the lender in the event that the borrower defaults on the loan. When it comes to long-term borrowing, fixed assets such as real estate or equipment are usually pledged as collateral. For short-term borrowing, inventories and/or accounts receivables are usually pledged.

With an unsecured loan, the note holder does not have the same protection as a secured lender because it does not ask for pledged collateral. So if a company defaults on an unsecured loan, the creditor can only re-negotiate the amount due or force the company to liquidate. The advantage to this arrangement is the borrower does not have to pledge collateral to secure the loan. However, the disadvantage is that interest rates are much higher and this type of loan is much more difficult to secure.

Outsourcing the company's accounts receivables to a medical transcription factoring firm is another option for a growing medical transcription service. Within a factoring arrangement, the medical transcription business sells its accounts receivable to a factor (buyer), which immediately converts them into cash. The medical transcription factoring company will generally advance 80 percent of the invoice and then works to collect on them, giving the business owner the ability to focus on other areas of operating his/her business. Medical transcription factoring is generally easier for a business to qualify for than a traditional loan as the credit decision is based upon the creditworthiness of the MTSO's customers rather than the business itself. Many factors will work with start-up businesses and will fund receivables without requiring the personal guarantee of the business owner allowing the owner to protect their personal assets. Medical transcription factoring agreements generally allow for generous "lines of credit" as factors are able to increase their funding as the MTSO's business grows.

The final option for business owners to consider when it comes to financing is equity capital. Finding investors is difficult and takes a lot of networking and creditability building, but the results of such efforts is equally rewarding. Because equity capital is permanently invested in the business, there is no legal obligation for the company to repay the invested amount. If the business thrives, selling equity in your business can often be the most expensive source of financing as the business owner has sold a percentage of their future profits. Some sources of equity include: friends and family, Angels and Angel Networks and venture capitalists.

This article has gone into great detail about how the need for capital arises and discusses the different approaches medical transcription service owners can take in order to establish a balanced cash flow. In the end, if a business owner is willing to routinely analyze his/her company's cash flow and respond accordingly to cash flow gaps, he/she is well on the way to managing a successful medical transcription business. The facts are all here, how a business owner chooses to use them is up to him/her.

Philip Cohen is the President of PRN Funding, LLC, a nurse staffing accounts receivable factoring company that provides growth capital to small and midsized businesses that service the healthcare industry. Prior to founding PRN Funding, Cohen served as the Senior Vice President/General Manager of The MRC Group, where he was responsible for corporate development initiatives as well as the company's speech recognition product line. Web site: http://www.prnfunding.com

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