If you work for or own a small business, this Wall Street Journal article might be of interest to you.

The article profiles companies that have used the struggling economy as an opportunity to diversify the services they offer and found that doing so has not just helped them survive, but in many cases thrive.

Smaller companies are able to adjust faster than larger businesses and whether it’s finding new markets, or increasing profits with existing clients the general consensus is that there is still money in the marketplace if you know your business well enough to find it.

From a personal trainer who turned his one-on-one sessions into smaller group training, to the landscape service that shifted its focus to environmental awareness, the article provides great examples that could help you generate some idea for your own business.

Photo copyright of jurveston under the Creative Commons License

Identity theft has been a hot topic for some time, but as news about the economy continues to make people anxious, corporate fraud has also become a real issue.+

The Federal Trade Commission’s website has an extensive list of tips and tricks to protect yourself from identity theft. However, the same tips that you use to keep your personal finances protected should also apply to your company’s finances.

Below is a list of some of the most helpful tips from the FTC site:

DO:

• Sign your credit cards as soon as they arrive
• Keep a record of your account numbers, their expiration dates, and the phone number and address of each company in a secure, preferrably locked, place
• Keep an eye on your card during the transaction, and get it back as quickly as possible
• Void incorrect receipts
• Destroy carbons
• Save receipts to compare with billing statements
• Open bills promptly and reconcile accounts monthly, just as you would your checking account
• Report any questionable charges promptly and in writing to the card issuer
• Notify card companies in advance of a change in address

DO NOT:

• Leave cards or receipts lying around
• Sign a blank receipt. When you sign a receipt, draw a line through any blank spaces above the total
• Write your account number on a postcard or the outside of an envelope
• Give out your account number over the phone unless you’re making the call to a company you know is reputable. If you have questions about a company, check it out with your local consumer protection office or Better Business Bureau

These are just a few — but important — tips on fraud prevention from the FTC web site.

What would you add to the list?

A recent story that should be of interest to fleet managers and small business owners in general showed up in the news earlier last week, where a former employee was arrested for accumulating thousands of dollars in personal charges on a company card.

Tami Nation Trull, who used to work at the Sunshine House school in Greenwood, South Carolina, was brought into custody by authorities after running up personal charges on an American Express Business Card and a Wright Express fleet fuel card.

Trull had worked for the company for 10 years and had access to the company card as a part of her job where she made travel arrangements for other employees, but over time had used these cards to pay for items for herself and family members that included airfare, hotel rooms, rental cards, tickets to a variety of events, meals and much more. Trull’s charges quickly added up to more then $20,000 in unauthorized expenses.

Unfortunately for you and your business, hearing stories like these are not that uncommon.  The challenge is being able to trust employees–especially if they’ve worked with you for as many years as Trull had for her company–but also creating a system of accountability so that there is more than one person looking at what is being spent on your cards.

For fleet managers in particular, entrusting a number of drivers with gas cards can prove to be a challenge. However, many fleet fuel cards allow you to monitor spending and put controls on what can and cannot be purchased on your company’s card. If you’re not already set up and working with these controls, be sure to contact your fleet card provider as soon as possible to ask about how to set them up.

The Sunshine House would also have benfitted from a corporate lodging card. Similar to a fleet card, a corporate lodging card will set restrictions on the types of hotels your employees can stay at (since they may want to stay at the W, but the travel budget is more Best Western) as well as electronically audit your hotel bill before your card is charged.

You’ll sleep better at night knowing there’s one more layer of protection over your company’s expenses.

If you are a fleet manager, there’s a good chance that your desk is gets buried in paperwork, receipts and probably a few trade magazines faster than you can say, “I know it’s here somewhere”.

That’s not to say you don’t know where everything is, but we thought we’d share a few tips on how to get or keep things in order so nothing falls through the cracks at work.

Of course a good fleet fuel card service should provide you with reporting features that will help cut down on the need to save every receipt and maintenance record. (If you don’t have a fleet card, click here and let us help you find the right card for your company.)

At the same time, don’t underestimate the power of different color folders to help create a quick system that will bring sanity back to your desk.

When labeling your folders, be very specific. Write exactly what it is you have in the folder on the folder. You don’t want to put “Misc” on a file because that’s basically moving one pile to another.

You’ll be surprised at how quickly things get in order, without giving up the job security in you being the only one that knows what’s going on.

Next, get rid of any office supplies that don’t work or you haven’t used in a while – from the pen that doesn’t have any ink, to the coffee mug that’s started to look like a science project to all of the trade mags, complimentary calendars, beef jerky wrappers…you get the point. Get rid of the stuff you don’t use.

Do the same with your address book or that rolodex on your desk. Take all the names out that you haven’t used in the last year or so. If you are feeling guilty, just take all those cards and drop them all in one of those “free lunch” bowls at a local restaurant.

Start keeping a check list of work you need to get done and goals you are trying to achieve, even if things keep coming up in your day to distract you, keeping a “to do/goals” list will help you get back on course throughout the day. Try updating the list at the end of each day so that you can add new items and even better, check a few things off.

Another idea that might make your life easier – only work from ONE calendar. Whether it’s on your computer, phone, or the “you might be a redneck” desk calendar you got at the office holiday party, only use one. That way you can truly keep an accurate schedule of both your personal and professional life. If you’re keeping track of more than one schedule, use different colors for each person.

Also, when you’re entering your schedule, make sure you give yourself a reminder about that event about a week out. That way you don’t send a truck out on a cross-country road trip on the day it’s due to at the mechanics for a tune up.

These are just a few basic tips that are an easy way to quickly get things in order and make your operation more efficient at a time when efficiency is everything.

Photo copyright of Visnup

Improve safety and save money on your fleet

Did you know that the maintaining the right tire pressure can save you about two weeks worth of fuel a year?

Fleet Equipment posted an article back in 2005 that may have even more relevance today, discussing the importance of keeping the tires on your commercial trucks properly inflated.

While it’s sometimes easier said than done, just having your fleet drivers follow a few simple steps could help save your company a lot of money at the pump and even more when it comes to maintenance:

1. Make sure your drivers have an accurate pressure gauge and check the tires on their truck each day.
2. Give every tire on your truck a quick inspection prior to operation.
3. If you’re changing a tire, make sure to use a safety cage when inflating tires after mounting.
4. Avoid mixing tires types on your vehicle.
5. More extensive tire repair and service should be done by trained mechanics.
6. If a tire has been running at less than 80 percent of the recommended pressure, always dismount and inspect that tire before putting it back on the road.
7. Driving on a flat tire dual can cause irreparable damage to both tires because of the increased load the inflated tire must carry.

Keep this guide of handy and make it a regular practice and maybe some of those calls you get off of those “how’s my driving?” bumper stickers will just be to compliment you on how good those tires look.

Click here to read the entire article.

Turning your fleet into a moving billboard

Few small businesses these days have the cash flow to spend lavishly on local advertising, let alone immeasurable mass media. It turns out, the best use of your ad dollars may be capitalizing on the media you already have: your fleet.

Let’s say two fleet vehicles pull up to a stoplight side-by-side. One has eye-catching signage advertising your business. The other is plain white. A recent report in Fleet Financials suggests 90% of drivers will notice the first vehicle’s signage, and surprisingly 75% of them will develop an impression of that company based solely on what it says and how it looks (and how the vehicle is being operated).

It goes on to say that a single vehicle with the right signage can collect more than 8 million impressions a year.

So what works?

Simple sells. Bright colors. Easy-to-read fonts. Who you are. What you do. Phone number and Web site. Or try this: Hold your business card out in front of you. Now move it across your line of vision. Can you still read it? If not, consider what would make it more legible and apply the thinking to a moving billboard.

“Everywhere I park, people will walk up and ask for a business card. I don’t bother advertising any other way,” declares Tony Gallina, president and CEO of The Green Mop, a house and office cleaning service headquartered in Arlington, Va.

Did he invest $4,000 car wrap with neon lights and a flashy LED license plate? Nope. The article reveals Gallina’s secret to success: a couple 12×24-inch door magnets and 3×3-inch stickers for the rear window — all customized online in about 30 minutes.

To read more, visit Fleet Financials.

Photo copyright of Signarama

If you are a business owner, having vehicles on the road is normal but not knowing if they have passed a safety check is nerve racking.  But why put yourself through that?  Make safety your number one priority.  Here is a simple – but important – checklist of items you should check before any one of your vehicles hits the road:

• Test the brakes to make sure they are in good working condition
• Verify that fuel and oil tanks are full
• Check that there is an adequate amount of windshield washer fluid
• Double-check that all cargo is secure
• Walk around the truck to check all tires. Any deflated or bald tires should be fixed or replaced.
• Verify that the vehicle is stocked with road flares, first aid kit and fire extinguisher