Business Journal

Posts Tagged ‘Profits’

A retail business is hard word. You have to open and shut the business at predefined times and always make sure that you have the right number of staff present so that the customer gets great service. How do you boost your profits?

I ran a retail business for five years over 15 years ago. Then I sold it and started supplying packaging to manufacturers. Now I run an internet based business. The following is how I boosted the business in my retail outlet.

One of the best ways to boost profits is by having the right technology and software in place. I find it staggering that many small business owners do not even know how much stock they have at any one time.

By linking your till to the right computer and software package you will know:

1) How much stock you have any one time
2) How much dead stock you need to get rid of
3) The exact margins you are making

By buying cameras and anti theft equipment you will greatly reduce the amount of pilfering that normally goes in the retail trade and remember to cover your storage area where goods are delivered. It is estimated that half of all stolen goods go out the back door! Now that technology is so cheap, it does not make sense not to have a decent system.

Have you considered expanding your sales area by reducing the size of your stock room? Once you have the right technology in place you will not need so much stock. Your high street premises are far too expensive to use for stock anyway. Renting a cheap lock up and keeping slow moving lines there will mean that you have now got a much larger sales area!

Moving location can also work wonders to the bottom line. We all have heard of location, location, location… but how many businesses do you know that once they have started never move?

Keep your eye out for your ideal location and if it comes up for sale / rent make sure you get it.

By making the right changes now it is possible to enhance the profitability of your retail outlet.

Managed Futures Trading

Managed futures are investment options and are similar to mutual funds. Managed futures, however, are positioned in government securities and are managed through future contracts or various options on future contracts.

Those who invested in managed futures a few years ago have seen their earnings doubled. Analysts are very optimistic on the future of managed futures. They expect the market to continue to grow in the medium to long-term if stocks under-perform or returns on hedge funds are flat.

Managed Futures Offer Efficient Hedging Mechanism:

Managed futures come across as an attractive investment option because of their potential of reducing portfolio risk. Market studies indicate that when asset classes are combined with alternative investment options, such as, managed futures, risk reduces significantly. This is because such a combination diversifies the portfolio through negative correlation between various asset groups.

Managed futures have inverse correlation with bonds and stocks. They can successfully track the performance of various stocks and provide an efficient hedge mechanism to any potential damage to equities in adversities. This means, managed futures program are outperforms even in the conditions of rising inflation when the stocks and bonds generally under-perform. Thus, fund managers suggest combining managed futures with various other asset groups for better allocation of your investment capital. Managed Futures Trading

Who Manages Your Managed Futures?

Managed futures are managed by professional money mangers popularly known as Commodity Trading Advisors (CTAs). CTAs are the registered representatives of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). They are given license to do the business only after the FBI thoroughly checks their background; they are bound to produce all the disclosure documents such as independent audits of financial statements on an annual basis before the National Futures Association (NFA) for review.

CTAs take decisions on the positions of the managed futures based on their analysis of the potential profits the futures would yield. They manage their clients’ futures by a proprietary trading system through long or short future contracts in various industries.

Evaluate Your CTAs before Investing With Them:

You must make some important assessments before making the final decision of investing in a particular asset class with a money manger. You can obtain all the necessary information for such assessments in the disclosure documents that will be provided to you by the CTAs. Insist on getting the disclosure document even during the initial stages of your meetings with the CTAs, when you might be just considering an investment option. Such a document will have all the necessary details pertaining to the CTAs trading plan and the fees they charge. Mostly, the CTAs charge 2% management fees and demand 20% as performance incentive. However, such fees may differ largely in some cases. Managed Futures Trading