Islam and Business Finance

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Hello readers, I am assuming you all prepare financial statements for your businesses. After that being said, in order for you to control your inventories (stocks). The purchases and sales let you know the inventories bought and the ones sold. The inventories on your statement of financial position will let you know the value of inventories you do have. However, you have to compare what you have on your statement with what you have that physically exist.  In order to be able to ascertain if the inventories you have written on the financial statement correlates with what that physically exist you have to carry out a physical inventory count. You might not be able to carry out your inventory counts yourself it depends on the volume. Inventories should be prioritized based on its value, as such the expensive inventories must be identified first and be given the most attention. Inventories should be tided up and m...

Image courtesy of Multipedia at FreeDigitalPhotos.net 1. The name of the supermarket should be memorable and catchy. 2. Your supermarket should be close to a busstop, that way individuals that do not have cars can easily access your shop/store. 3. You should always have goods that complement themselves. For example if you sell bread it will be reasonable if you sell butter or olive spread or chocolate spread 4. Your products should be arranged in ways that customers can easily locate them. 5. An ATM should be located near your shop, that way customers can easily pick up money for shopping at yours. 6. Your shop/store should be located on a busy street. 7. Lastly, prices should be reasonable Keep checking out my blog regularly.

Image courtesy of KROMKRATHOG at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Hello readers, so today I will be looking at 4 business ideas. I think you should explore one of them. 1. Halal Beauty Products This are products that need to be fully explored. Yeah some companies make halal beauty products, however, there is still room for more investors. Beauty products could range from make up to facial scrubs to body cream and much more. 2. Globalization Okay, that term sounds bogous, but these days people like to buy products from countries they do not reside in. So what your business will be doing is to be the middle man. They buy products for customers in one country and deliver it to their doorsteps in another country. It is a good one. 3. Manufacturing This is one industry that can bring you a lot of income and it is quite sustainable. However, you will need to manufacture a product that falls into the basic needs of life which are food, water, shelter and clothing. While focusi...

Hello readers, internalization is a situation whereby a company sells goods or provide services to another country (a country that is different from where the business headquarter is domiciled. In other words it involves a sale between one country and another, this includes giving out a franchise to another company in another country. Image courtesy of jscreationzs at FreeDigitalPhotos.net - Perishable goods are provided by companies that are present in the same country as you, as such, if you are planning to explore internationalization you should not go into a business that will involve making perishable goods as they will be difficult to transport to other countries as they spoil easily.  - Small scale services such as dry cleaning, car wash services and other similar services are not easy to transport from one country to another. Therefore, if you are thinking of internalization then you should not go into such businesses. - When you are into a business that t...

Image courtesy of cookie__cutter at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Hello readers, so today I will be talking about hierachy in business. I am sure most individuals have been employed before. One of the challenges individuals do face at work as to do with positions. Someone said to me yesterday, a HOD (Head of Department) sent for her, however, she is also a HOD (Head of Department). So she did not respond, she called (by phone) a superior colleague to report the situation and the superior colleague told her not to respond. This HOD that called her has just been promoted (Director), however, she is still holds the HOD position. Because, she has been promoted as a Director she feels she is now superior to the other HOD. However, the other HOD does not feel that way, this is because 1. They are both HODs and 2. She feels her department is more important, as she and two people that are superior to her at work are the ones that take the important positions during meetings. That is j...

Image courtesy of Sura Nualpradid at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Hello readers, the weekend has come and gone, hope it was good. Registering your business is an important aspect of your business. We all know that. So today I decided to let you know how to register your business name as a sole proprietor. I will be looking at 4 countries today, they include USA, UK, India and Nigeria. In USA in order to register your business, you will have to visit this website by clicking this link  http://business.usa.gov/knowledgebase/register-your-business-name . According to the page the link will take you to, you will have to register your business name if you do not plan to trade with your personal name. This process is known as "Doing Business As" DBA name. The registration could be done at your county's clerk office or with your state government. In UK in order to register your business as a sole proprietor, you must have a national insurance number. Then you go ahead...

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Hello readers, so today I decided to pick 5 airlines. It is good to note that other airlines were not checked. It is basically the airline that offers the best prices amongst these five. The competition is actually between BA and Virgin, this is because at times Virgin offers better prices than BA while BA does the same in other situations. However, I will be giving the number one position to..... 5. Fly Emirate This airline is the most expensive based on my research. For those that enjoy connecting flights whereby you will land in one airport before embarking on a plane that will take you to your final destination, Fly Emirate will most likely take you to one airport before taking you to your final destination. 4. Arik This airline is also expensive. According to research their service is not one of the best. They offer direct flights to your destination. 3. KLM This airline takes the number 3 position,...

Image courtesy of OZphotography at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Morning hot chocolate with donuts. Image courtesy of Mister GC at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Hello readers, today I will be looking at how to handle your business tasks. You should plan first when you have several tasks. While planning you should assess you tasks first. When tasks do carry equal weights, the task that requires the minimum time to execute should be carried out first. You do not want to get stuck carrying out a task that requires time and a lot of mental effort to execute. You carry out the less tedious tasks first. The most challenging one which will require more time should be carried out last. When tasks do not carry the same weight, then it is a different ball game when it comes to prioritizing. A task that has a close deadline and is of high importance must be executed first. A task that is of high importance and minimal urgency can be executed secondly, you can divide the tasks into smaller parts. Execute them in such a way that you meet the deadline. Tasks that are of little importan...

Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Hello readers, Your human resource is one the most valuable resources in your business. With your capital and machineries, your business cannot exist without your work force. The way you treat your staff is the way they will treat your customers. Well, the theory works well at times. Positivity could be contagious so is negativity. I do expect you to cut your clothes according to your size in business as well. Always ensure your staff are comfortable, for example if you provide tallies to your customers at your carpark. The staff providing it should be provided with a facility to prevent excess cold or heat. If you can afford more benefits for your staff without jeopardising the existence of your business then you should. All of these will help you retain high quality staff and attract new ones. Keep checking my blog regularly, cheers!

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Hello readers, today I will be looking at how to create value in business. The value chain will be used to explain how to create value in business. The primary activities goes from the inbound logistics to operations to outbound logistics to marketing and sales to services. Inbound logistics This has to do with bringing in goods into the organisation. In a manufacturing organisation you will be bringing in raw materials. Whether you are manufacturing or not they must be of good quality. The goods must be delivered and stored in a way that does not cause any defect to it. This will contribute to the value you are planning to create. Operations Basically, this has to do with the daily activities of an organisation. Thus, it is the process whereby raw materials, labor and capital are converted into end products. You must ensure that all the products are free of defects. That is the goal and that will help you cre...

Image courtesy of Multipedia at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Hello readers, these days some businesses do start up and due to major competition they fold up. Some businesses do have a higher chance of being sustainable than others. The industry is more profitable and more patronised, as such most of the time there is always income for all. After that being said, the marketing mix still matters such as price, product, place and promotion. Here they are: 1.Supermarket Have you noticed supermarkets tend to have a longer life span. Every individual goes to a supermarket, I am sure you do. For you to stay competitive you must have the right product mix, most of the time customers want to buy every item at one spot if possible. Well, at times customers do come around for one item or the other. It is a definately a good one. 2. Restaurants A lot of people like to eat, they want to hang out with family or friends. A restaurant is a good place to that. People working, during ...

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Hello readers, today I will be writing about ethics in business. You should be ethical in your business dealings. This will help you serve your stakeholders appropraitely and thus help your business achieve success - You should be honest in your business deals. Do not conceal the truth -  Fulfill your philantrophic responsibilities. Thus, you should be charitable. Make sure customers are able to return goods if they do not like it. -  Do not deal with usury (interest)  - Prices should reflect the quality of the product being sold. - Treat your stakeholders  (shareholders, customers, employees and others) righteously. - Make sure the products you are dealing with are not forbidden islamically. Keep checking my blog regularly. Cheers!

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Hello readers, today I will be writing about diversification. This could be seen as a situation whereby a business enters a new market by developing a new product (goods or services). Diversification in business is also done to minimize risks just like when you diversify your investment portfolio. However, it is also done to create more profit as well as a competitive advantage for a business. Some researchers say that diversification could destroy as well as create value. As such caution must be taken to ensure that the business is entering a market that they fully understand. The business must also ensure that they possess the tools to compete in the market. That way value will be created rather than destroyed.  Businesses in a declining industry tend to diversify their products, with the goal of mitigating the risk associated with a declining industry.  Porter's essential tests can also be used to ...

Invest in one commodity, it could be gold,oil or amethyst. Make sure zakat is paid on it

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net Hello readers, so today I will be writing about identifying your strengths and weaknesses in business. For a business to thrive it must know its strengths and its weaknesses. When you identify your business strengths, it helps you to gain a competitive advantage. You use the strength to compete in the business market. Identifying your weaknesses will also help you stay competitive, as competitors will be looking for your weaknesses so they can use it to have an edge over you. But when you do identify them, then you are able to work on them and eventually eliminate them or turn them into strengths if it is convertible. Today, I will be mentioning some factors that you should consider to see if your business has such strengths or weaknesses. Factors you should consider Prices When products are too expensive you capture just a little percentage of the population but when they are reasonably priced you attract more cu...