7 Tips on Personal Branding and Motivation from Gary Vaynerchuk
I ran across an older video from 2008’s Blogworld Expo featuring Gary Vaynerchuk. It was a short interview, only about 6 minutes, but in it he summed up what it takes to build your personal brand, stay motivated, and ultimately succeed.
Gary Vaynerchuk is known for his popular videos on Wine Library TV. Regardless of what you think of Gary, you can’t debate his success and he will be the first to tell you it didn’t happen overnight.
Tips on Personal Brand and Motivation
1) Content
It all starts here, with what you are producing or what service you are providing. You have to be good – Your content has to be good.
2) Community
Building your community is what will take you to the next level. Interact with those around you, bring them in to what you are doing and go to where they are to interact.
3) Hard work for Big Goals
You need to be willing to work hard enough to achieve big goals. Putting out one video, or blog post, or one comment is not going to get you to where you want to be. As Gary puts it a lot of people are “half pregnant”. Not willing to do the big work to achieve the big things.
4) Only as Good as You
We’ve talked about this here many times. Most of the time in business people are buying you, not necessarily your product or service. If you believe in yourself you can sell anything. Customers will recognize your conviction, and that translates into trust.
5) Think Legacy
Think about your legacy. It’s not all about the money. Think about your great grandchildren watching what it is you are doing. What are they going to think of what you are doing?
6) Have Pride in What You Do
With legacy in mind - do something you are proud of, you will believe in it and you’ll be able to monetize it. Being proud of yourself, what you are doing, and what you are leaving behind will be a key motivator in achieving your goals and becoming successful.
7) Do the Hustle
The hustle is the whole game, you have to be willing to work your A$$ off in order to win.
Photo Credit:melanie_hughes
Does Your Business Risk Being Netflixed?
Netflix Inc., the largest U.S. mail- order movie-rental service, reported they added 1 million subscribers last quarter.
Add that to the ~13 million subscribers they already have and you’re talking real numbers.
Only a few short years ago everyone went to the video store to get their movies. Blockbuster recently annouced their plans to close up to 960 stores nationwide by the end of 2010.
Yep, the game has changed. But what does that have to do with your business?
Does Your Business Risk Being Netflixed?
Back in Blockbuster’s heyday they were a video force to be reckoned with.
Not so long ago if you lived in or around a major city, chances were you went to a Blockbuster to get your rentals.
Then the Internet got a little quicker, and doing stuff online became easier, and then Netflix came along and said “order online – larger selection – we ship free both ways – you don’t pay late fees” and people said “hmm, for the price of two rentals at Blockbuster I can get a month subscription to Netflix and get more movies for less – I’m in”.
And so, becuase of this Blockbuster is left scrambling to catch up to the forward thinking Netflix, and is slowly going the way of the Dinosaur.
Today is Tomorrow’s Not So Long Ago
Not so long ago if you wanted shoes you went to a big box retailer, tried to find something you liked, hoped they had your size and purchased.
Then Zappos.com came along, and destroyed every barrier to buying shoes online.
“It takes to long to get something you order online” – Enter next day shipping
“Getting it quick cost to much” – Make that next day shipping free
“Well if it doesn’t fit what do I do?” – How bout you send it back to us for free too?
“Okay, but what if something goes wrong, those online places don’t give much customer support?” – Zappos is now the customer service standard by which all online retailers are held.
Not so long ago phone had cords and you kept them in your house.
Not so long ago you went inside the bank to make a withdrawal.
Not so long ago I didn’t see the need for a laptop computer.
Not so long ago…
What’s Our Point Here?
Every small business owner should be asking themselves if they are at risk of being Netflixed, or Zappo’ed.
Is the product or service you’re selling – or the way in which you’re selling it – going to be tomorrow’s “not so long ago”?
It doesn’t have to be. But you’ll need to start thinking about what the next curve is for your business. Don’t let somebody else see where your business is heading before you do.
That’s what Blockbuster did and now they’re playing catch up.
That’s what the shoe stores did and now they’re playing catch up.
That’s what the phone companies did and now they’re playing catch up.
Ketchup is a condiment, not a business model.
Photo Credit: jcestnik
30 Minutes a Day Online Marketing Tips
Don’t think you have enough time in the day to effectively market your business? Think again! This is a guest post by Stacey Cavanagh of Tecmark: SEO Liverpool and Manchester, shows that with as little as 30 minutes a day you can be on your way to attracting more customers.
30 Minutes a Day Online Marketing Tips
For the small business operating in a particularly tricky financial period, the bulk of your marketing budget may come in the form of time.
While it’s true to say that online marketing, SEO, social media marketing etc is a worthwhile investment, we’re not just talking in terms of money.
Putting some time into online marketing can pay dividends for a small business and you can even make a difference in just half an hour a day by implementing some of the following:
It takes just a few minutes to make a contribution to Twitter and making this a part of your daily business routine is a steady way to build up a network of followers interested in your area of industry. Share a link to an interesting news story relating to your industry or details of a special offer on your own website. Just make it a post that offers the reader something (information or a great deal) and your followers will gradually build up. Start to search for people in a similar area and follow them. Begin networking within your niche to meet contacts.
Blog
The same sort of concept applies with blogging as with Twitter, except the posts are much longer! This needn’t be an everyday thing but posting to a blog a couple of times a week is a way to keep in touch with your customers and to convey more about your business and the market in which you operate to your potential clients. This is an excellent means of marketing. It takes a while for a blog to take off, so have patience. 20 minutes or so twice a week can really get this going for your business.
Blog commenting
Contribute to the conversations on blogs by bloggers in the same niche in which you operate. This, again, is a form of networking and it also keeps you abreast of everything else happening in your industry. You also get back links when commenting, which potentially has SEO benefits for your website. A few minutes a day to read and comment on blogs in a similar niche will make a big difference in the long term.
Forum Discussions
Find and sign up to forums on a related topic to your business. Actively take part and get to know your fellow posters. Yes, more virtual networking but once again, the importance of this cannot be overlooked. It contributes to building an online presence for your brand and can begin to establish you, the business owner, as something of an authority in the specific area in which you operate. This can eventually lead to people getting in touch with you about the products and services you supply, as well as encouraging more links from the sites of others back to yours (more SEO benefit)!
Checking your content
Make it a goal to read one page of your website through each day to check the content. You’re looking for grammatical and spelling errors, typos etc. But you should also be keeping an eye on how frequently your keyword is mentioned. By keyword, we mean the word relating to what the page is about. It’s surprising when reading back over content how infrequently your keyword might be mentioned. When you think about it, the only way in which Google can recognise the topic of your page is by the words on it. So ensuring you mention the keyword in the content is critical. However, this should not come at the detriment of the meaning of your content and if you struggle to write keyword rich content that reads naturally, you should consider investing in a professional copywriter through an online marketing company. But it’s certainly worth investing a few minutes a day to read through your own existing content.
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These are quick tips that will, over time, increase your web presence which will, in turn generate more traffic and thus more leads to your small business website.
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Photo Credit: mao_lini
The Tale of a Marketing Dictum, Mantra, and Yo-Yo
Here’s an old (old as in I’m not making it up) marketing dictum that I believe should be a mantra for all small business marketing efforts.
It was as true yesterday as it will be tomorrow when it comes to explaining consumer behavior.
We’ll look at each of these individually, but I think you’ll see that by approaching your marketing with all of these in mind will lead you to the results you’re after.
People Don’t Believe What You Tell Them
How many of you are selling your products or services by telling your customers what it can do for them or why they need it?
This Yo-Yo is the best Yo-Yo money can buy! I think you’re going to be so happy with this Yo-Yo you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it.
They Rarely Believe What You Show Them
So if telling them doesn’t work – maybe show them?
Watch the Yo-Yo go up and down, see it’s fun. Up, down, up, down. Walk the dog. Want to buy it now?
They Often Believe What Their Friends Tell Them
Ah, here we are finally getting to the meat of what good marketing should be doing – creating word of mouth. If my buddy is using your product, and likes it, that means something to me!
Dude, check out this sweet Yo-Yo I bought – I don’t know how I ever lived without it! WHAT? You haven’t got one yet? Are you living in a cave?
They Always Believe What They Tell Themselves
The crux of all effective marketing lies right here. If through your campaign you can get individuals to believe themselves that they need your product or service, it’s sold.
That is a pretty sweet Yo-Yo, and I hear the chicks really dig a guy that knows how to Yo – why am I living without one of these? I’ll take two.
Make this Your Mantra
What the above says to me is that you need to position what you’re selling in front of your potential customer in such a way that they sell themselves on it.
That’s right – starting selling to your customers in such a way they sell themselves, and you’ll start to see the results you want from your marketing. Whether you’re selling Yo-Yo’s or not.
Photo Credit: Sarah_Jones
The Recipe for Success in Business from Glen W. Bell Jr Founder of Taco Bell
Sadly Glen Bell Jr, the founder of Taco Bell, passed away January 16, 2010 at the age of 86. For those of you unfamiliar with Bell, and his business successes – consider this.
Bell first sold tacos for 19 cents in San Bernardino in 1951, and he built Taco Bell from one stand in 1962 to a $125-million business when he sold it in 1978.
In reading about Bell’s life, and his outlook on doing business, I ran across his Three Rules for Success – or as he called it “”recipes for success”. Growing a business from one taco stand to a $125 million dollar company – I want the recipe, and thought you would too!
Glen Bell Jr’s Recipe for Success in Business
Here are Glen’s top three rules for growing a successful business, with my thoughts on how we can use them to grow our businesses.
You Build a Business One Customer at a Time
Every customer counts. Too often we get caught up in the idea of growth, or scaling our business and forget that it really happens one person at a time.
Considering the velocity of word of mouth these days as opposed to Bells time has the ability to grow or destroy a business much quicker than when Bell was selling his first tacos.
Satisfy the individuals and eventually your business will satisfy the masses.
Find the Right Product, Then Find a Way to Mass-Produce It
The right product for any business is one that there is a need or perceived need for. The greater the need, the larger your business can become. Don’t confuse a need with a necessity. A $4 cup of coffee isn’t a necessity, but Starbucks has me believing I need it.
Once you confirmed the need within your market, your only obstacle to growth is finding a way to scale up – effectively, and efficiently.
This is probably the toughest point in a young businesses life – scaling too fast or two slow can lead to at best sub par results, and at worst disaster.
An Innovative Product Will Set You Apart.
This could be a product or service, the important piece is differentiation. Why should customers buy from you, what sets up apart from the competition?. And what will keep your competitive advantage into the future?
Conclusion
There is no debating the success of Glen Bell Jr, or the continued success of the Taco Bell brand.
The “recipe” is simple when put down on paper, and while few businesses may never reach the level of success of Taco Bell they can become better and more successful by remembering Glen’s rules.
Your Turn
Would you add anything to Glen’s rules? Let us know in the comments below.
Photo Credit: KayVee.INC
New HR Management Tool for Small Businesses
As our small businesses grow we need tools to help us manage that growth. I know first hand from my days as an HR consultant that many small businesses are woefully underprepared when it comes to managing the human resources side of their businesses.
That’s why when Vincent Chan, developer of Backbone HRM 2.0, contacted me about a beta test of his new software I agreed to pass along the information to you all.
Below is an overview of what Backbone is, and how it may help your business from an HR perspective. Vincent is offering to let our readers beta test this application for him, and is donating $1 to Kiva.org for every beta tester he gets.
How to Sign Up
Simply go to: http://backbonehr.com and click on “Join the Beta”
Enter your invite code: smallbizbee2010
Try it Out – Give Your Feedback
If you are looking for an HR solution give this one a try and then give Vincent your honest feedback. I’m not making an endorsement one way or the other of the product yet, just that it looks interesting and I’ll be trying it out with you all. And it’s free to try – you know we like that.
Here’s what Vincent had to say about his new product…
What’s Backbone HRM All About?
Backbone is a simple but powerful human resource management tool for small business. Unlike other complicated enterprise HR systems, Backbone is built for small business from day one. It was created to make solving simple HR issues simple. We look at the needs of small business, include the best features, and take away everything else.
Traditional enterprise HR management systems are too expensive and difficult to use, especially for small business. Because of these reasons, many small businesses hack together solutions for many of their HR problems with Microsoft Excel, pen and paper, or nothing at all. We want to reduce the technology gap between large enterprise and small business.
Backbone enables workers to take care of their own HR operational tasks. It streamlines the processes for submitting and approving employee leave. Employees use it to view their absence balances, record their time off requests, and track the approval status. Managers can look at employees’ current, planned, and historical absence events; monitor absence trends as a predictor for employee engagement.
Besides traditional HR features like Attendance Tracking, Expense Reporting and Goal Management, we also integrate numerous Web 2.0 features into this application. For example, Backbone allows users to securely post updates of their activities, follow others’ updates, and share great resources to co-workers. This is similar to what people are already doing in social networks. However, we take it one step further. In the Backbone’s Dashboard, users not only can see group and personal updates but also other business activities happening inside the application. In this way, managers can monitor all activity in one single place. In short: Backbone will completely transform the way you collaborate with people in your company.
Backbone also provides important HR metrics and charts in different Analytic dashboards, which help small businesses better understanding their HR’s overall performance and employee productivity. With Backbone, small business will stay on top of everything that’s happening in the company with updates on people, groups, documents, and application data. Managers will find experts and discover new information in the activity feed. Together with a clean and intuitive interface, Backbone simplifies HR management so small business can focus on developing their talented workforce.
Benefits of Backbone HRM
- Make information about company activities more visible, accessible and measurable
- Help small businesses gain control over and do more with their workforce
- Give managers rich insights into their workforce
- Save time, improving HR operational efficiency
- Identify employees’ hidden talents
- Foster a more inclusive and collaborative culture
- Better retention and higher productivity
5 Budget Online Marketing Ideas for Your New Business
Below is a guest post from Michelle Strassburg, a small business owner who shares her ideas for budget online marketing.
Marketing your new business has its fare share of challenges. Your marketing is supposed to generate leads and sales on a competitive budget, but you’re also expect to keep running the business on a day to day basis.
This means dealing with everything from cash flow issues to finding suppliers, therefore getting your marketing right is crucial.
Here are a selection of budget online marketing ideas for your new business which are easy to action and proven to deliver results. Let’s get to it.
1. Register Your Business with Google Local
Google has been offering local businesses a chance to register their business address and phone number in its local listings for some time. When the search giant started to display local listing in its search results, the service become a must service for many businesses. When a user searches for a keyword together with a location, for example ‘DC plumber’, the search results will include listings from Google Local displayed on a map. The service is free to register.
2. Register Your Products or Services with Google Merchant
Another helpful and free service from the search giant, Google Merchant is a place for businesses to upload a data feed which includes products or services. Under some types of user searches, Google will include feeds from this service in its search results. Creating a data feed is easy and quick. You will need to build a simple product feed based on the type of products or services which the business is offering and upload them. It’s that easy.
3. Promote Your Business Elsewhere
If you’ve reached the stage of been able to manage your own business, clearly you know a thing or two about your industry or occupation. To get your business out there in the public eye consider contributing your time and knowledge. Offer to write a guest post on quality sites and participate in the conversation across Q&A sites such as Yahoo Answers and Linkedin Answers.
4. Consider Paid Search
Google AdWords is the largest sponsored search result program. While this marketing channel isn’t free, it does fall under budget marketing ideas for new businesses simply because you are able to manage it yourself within a small budget. The idea behind any type of sponsored search result is simple. You bid on a keyword which best describes your product or service and pay a certain price for each click. While the price for each click depends on many variables the beauty of this channel is that you can set a daily budget to limit your investment. If you’re new to AdWords and think your business might benefit from this channel, Google has a fantastic online how-to resource.
5. Build a Basic Reward Scheme
Offer an exclusive incentive to your regular customers which will help the business retain customers and win new ones. The incentive could take the form of a discount on future orders, discount on bulk purchase, upgraded delivery method, end of stock offers, priority customer support and much more. A reward scheme could also be based on customers referring new customers which has the added benefit of helping to grow your business.What are your budget online marketing tips?
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Photo Credit: Jeff Keen
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10 New Year Revolutions
Below is a guest post from author, speaker, and business coach Andy Hanselman, who says forget New Year resolutions and start thinking New Year revolutions in 2010.
January is the time for New Year Resolutions. Well here are 10 ideas for ‘New Year Revolutions’.
Not a list of ‘do’s and don’ts, but some simple and practical things to consider that can help ‘Revolutionise’ your approach in 2010, which the evidence suggests is going to be a tough one for many of us. See it as a menu, not a recipe. Pick the stuff (or variations of it) that appeals and could work for you.
Here they are, in no particular order…
10 ‘Revolutions’ for 2010
1. Get That ‘Vision Thing’
The evidence suggests that in tougher times your people may well be looking to you for focus and drive. As well as the traditional 12 month ‘Vision Thing’, you may also need a short term one too. What are your key business priorities for the coming months? Does everyone know what they are and what they need to do to achieve them? Your job is to let them know, and get them on board.
2. Work On ‘Dialogue’, not Diatribes
Focus on creating ‘conversations’ with your people in 2010. Ask for their opinions, views and ideas. This is not just about memo’s and emails and meetings. Aim to ‘engage’ your people more this year. People are often looking for security and reassurance in tougher times. That means listening, and reacting and having ‘ongoing’ discussions on things they say are important.
3. Stand In Your Own Queues
Regularly spend time in 2010 ‘at the sharp end’. What are you like to do business with? Find out what’s stopping your people delivering what customers want. How can you make it easier?
4. Don’t Just ‘Think’ Out Of The Box – GET Out Of It
It’s easy to get drawn down into the ‘nitty gritty’ of daily business. Try to create time to make visits to companies, conferences, events and seminars (even some that have nothing to do with your industry). Read a magazine or journal, surf websites from sectors you know nothing about. The point? To get a different view and perspective. Who knows what you’ll learn?
5. Think In ‘3D’
That means being ‘Dramatically and Demonstrably Different’. What makes your business stand out? How do you demonstrate it? Remember, it’s not what you say, it’s what you do. Explore ways in 2010 to demonstrate your competitive edge in everything that you do, particularly to your existing customers who will no doubt be getting mailshots, calls and visits from your competitors desperately looking for business.
6. Value Your Values
Evidence suggests that customers are engaging more with businesses they believe in, they trust and respect. What does your business really ‘stand for’? Work on establishing, communicating and demonstrating your values. Not a list of weasly words and phrases, but a set of principles you believe in and that differentiate your business. Why not create a ‘manifesto’ that outlines what your business really is about?
7. Stand Out And Deliver
Actions speak louder than words. Concentrate on consistency. In 2010 focus everyone on creating a ‘great experience’. ‘Champion’ those in your team who ‘go the extra mile’ and deliver the goods. ‘Challenge’ those who don’t. There’s no room for ‘passengers’ in times like these.
8. Maximise Your Customer Relationships
When things slow down, it’s tempting to get out there knocking on doors and chasing ‘new’ business. Obviously, this can be very important, but I see too many businesses doing it at the expense of their existing customer relationships. Now is the time to get closer and focussed. Who are the key people you need to be getting closer to?
9. Be Visible
What are you like as role model when it comes to your key priorities? In 2010, ensure that you live your values, demonstrate your commitment to those key priorities and make sure that your actions reinforce this. That might mean taking ‘symbolic’ actions for emphasis. Not PR stunts, but genuine activities that ensure that your people know what’s high on the agenda. Ensure that in these tougher conditions no one is under any doubt about what you see as important.
10. ‘Just Do It’
When it comes to thriving or surviving, don’t just talk about it, just do it. It’s as simple as that. Commit to making 2010 your year for action, and…..’Do Something’!
Best wishes for this New Year and have a great and successful 2010!
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Andy has developed a reputation for his innovative, inspirational and stimulating approach. This is reflected in his training and motivational seminars, and is in demand as a speaker at team building events, seminars and conferences up and down the country. Having presented to over twenty thousand business leaders and decision makers Andy is recognised for his engaging, humorous, and down to earth approach. He has been recognised by Enterprise Magazine as a Future Top 100 Entrepreneur. You can reach him at AndyHanselman.com
Photo Credit: Sukanto Debnath
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The Importance of Brand Identity and Logo Design for Small Businesses
Below is a guest post from Jeremy Schafer of MyCorporateLogo, who reminds us of the impact a good logo can have on our business and brand identity.
A logo represents a company – it defines its identity – its purpose. It is an integral part of a company’s brand strategy.
Without a logo or brand identity it would be impossible for a consumer to identify one product or service from the next.
Brand Connection
Most consumers have very strong opinions regarding their favorite brand. These opinions are more emotional than rational. Some brands (e.g. Nike, Coca-Cola etc.) resonate with customers more than others. They form an emotional attachment to these brands, often disregarding better products and services for ones with higher visibility and brand recognition.
Some brands even become synonymous with the product and the consumer starts recognizing the product by its brand name (e.g. Xerox).
It is therefore of the utmost importance that every company – especially the small business, has a sound brand strategy and a strong brand identity with a unique identifiable logo.
Logo Design & Brand Identity
Brand Identity and Small Business Logo Design helps small businesses in many ways. A few of the more important ones are listed below.
- It helps give the company an established and professional feel. This increases the customers trust in the products or services the company offers.
- A powerful brand identity is important as in general, people find it easier to recall images than text. There is an old saying “A picture is worth a thousand words”. The logo represents that picture and can be remembered and identified with greater ease than a thousand words describing the company.
- Logo graphics can bring about awareness of the products or services that you offer in cases where the company name is not self-explanatory.
- As the company grows, the consumer base stays loyal to the brand.
- The brand value generated can also be leveraged when selling stock in the company or the company itself for a higher perceived value than the actual value.
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Since 2005, MyCorporateLogo.com has been offering affordable logo design and corporate identity design services to start ups, small and mid-sized organizations. Our creative team can effectively deliver any message across a wide variety of media. We have successfully designed thousands of logos catering to the needs of almost every industry imaginable. Additionally, we have designed hundreds of websites, brochures, letterhead, business cards, and stationary.
Photo Credit: kyz
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30 of the Best Business Tips for 2010
The collective wisdom of our readership never ceases to amaze me.
Over the past couple weeks we’ve been asking for your Best Business Tips for 2010, and the responses did not disappoint.
And, as promised we selected one of these great tips at random, and that person won a $25 Amazon gift card courtesy of Smallbizbee.com (you’ll have to read to the end to see who won).
A big thanks to everyone who contributed – Here’s to taking your business to a new level in 2010!
What’s Your Best Business Tip for 2010?
Website: www.pencilbugs.com
Don’t sit on your ideas because doing nothing will guarantee nothing. Everything takes effort.
Bob Baylor
Website: www.ccca.org
Whenever possible, always try to give your prospect — and customer — more than they’re asking for. Under promise, but over-deliver; they’ll appreciate it, and keep coming back.
Trevor
Website: http://twit101.com
Don’t hesitate, but make plotted decisions.
Nick Leung
Website: http://feedbackjar.com
Not only should you listen to customer feedback, but engage them on how you could improve your products and services.
Cindy Miller
This is something simple I learned from my days with Mary Kay Cosmetics….always carry your business card with you and each time you get into conversation with anyone (at the grocery store, at a restaurant, etc.), introduce yourself and hand them your business card. Have them handy (in your pockets; not your wallet or purse). Make it your goal to hand out a minimum of five business cards a day! Oh yeah, keep record of your mileage as you are making your errand runs since you are going to be discussing business.
Jamie Glass
Website: www.artfulthinkers.com
Identify three groups, associations or networks that you can join in 2010 that have your target market decision makers as members. Look for opportunities to join groups that your competitors wouldn’t join so that you can definitely stand out and influence them over time.
Website: www.publiside.com
Continue to communicate coherently, consistently and credibly.
Jessie Burke
Website: www.posiescafe.com
For new businesses: Make sure that there is actually a real need for your business (just because it will make all of your dreams come true is not a good enough reason… unless you have the money for that).
For existing businesses: Know that everything is renegotiable, especially in a tough economy (rent rates, vendor pricing, etc.)
Jenna
Website: www.verticalresponse.com
Fill in your small businesses pot holes. With things like social media sticking around, it is going to be more and more important that each customer’s contact with you is an experience. In order to make it an experience you need to have all your bases covered. Make sure you know what happens to your customers the second they step in the door until they no longer have a need for you if and when that happens.
Website: www.postsurgerycomfort.com
Have a good plan and stick with it. Change is bound to happen, so make sure to incorporate it into your plan. Work your plan, and plan your work!
Anita Campbell
Website: http://smallbiztrends.com
If you run an online business, stop wasting time looking at stats and surfing around. Set goals: sales goals, profit goals, and other achievement goals. Tell your spouse your goals, or hire a business coach and share you goals with your coach — you need someone else to hold you accountable for meeting your goals. Give it respect as a business.
John Carroll
Website: http://trescoach.blogspot.com
Keep it simple – don’t over-complicate the work that must be done in 2010 to ensure your success.
Brian J. Smith
Website: www.scanmonkeys.com
One of the best tips is to get everything in writing before you begin a service or deliver a product of any significant size. This includes expectations for both parties. If everything is laid out properly up front, there are less chances of things veering off course. Clients tend to be happier when you hold up your end. You tend to get paid easier making it a win-win. (Oh and coming through on your promises is good for business, too).
Chris Taylor
Website: www.CustomPlanet.com
Embrace Social Media. Businesses, both with or without a web presence need to get next to the idea that sales and conversations about their brand or product are occurring whether they are present online or not. These conversations are happening millions of times per day on social media sites. Businesses that recognize this will be more successful.
Recently, we were hired to print custom t-shirts for an upcoming event for a cheer team. We posted the design to their facebook page and sold 30 more shirts, not to mention that we exposed our brand to 600 new potential customers that were fans of their facebook page. These people would have never heard about us otherwise.
Michelle Mangen
Website: http://www.thevirtualasst.com
For marketing on a “shoestring” I would highly suggest you do two things which can have a significant impact on your business 1) get a WordPress site and begin to blog 2) join the social media craze
Both of these things will take time but you will find, if done properly, can have an amazing impact on your business and bottom line
For great free software I have so many but will limit my suggestions to only two.
1. Free online accounting software www.outright.com
2. For remote screenshare sessions www.crossloop.com
There are so many great things out there that can help you and your business succeed – and the most important one is “other people’s knowledge”. So start building your relationships now!
Michelle @mmangen on Twitter
Ken Conn
Website: http://www.dataprojections.com
Postal mail your customers hand written thank you notes once a project is complete. With customer service becoming more and more automated or outsourced it is valuable to show your customers that you are there for them and to treat them more like a partner and not just another customer.
Simon Paul Louw
Small and medium sized business entrepreneurs should not allow themselves to be bullied by some of these big conglomerates, but look at effective ways to grow their businesses. Now with this downswing of the economy world-wide they should take the opportunity and race ahead with their marketing, creating a niche market for them. Take good care of the meager finances you and don’t splash on anything that is unnecessary.
Lynn Strand-Meyer
Website: www.OutsideKnowledge.com
When face to face networking, remember to be a good listener. Too often, we spend time giving “our pitch,” and forget to listen to what the other has to say. You will be surprised what listening can do to help your understanding of what the other person might need.
Website: http://SweetTea-StraightTalk.com
Get comfortable with business planning in the midst of chaos. Planning is good – but when you spend your time saying “going to do” and “learning to do” you are not doing. Implement. Test. Measure. Revise. Rinse. Repeat.
Ken Shenkman
Website: http://www.bulkcandystore.com
Reinvigorate yourself every so often. It’s human nature to become complacent when things are going well. Every now and then find a reason to push yourself to bring your business to the next level. For me, it was an article about how well a competitor was doing. That article forced me to push even harder and double our our online business this year.
Dave Kollasch
Website: http://greenerbilling.com
People can go to many Web sites, can use numerous similar applications … but they will remain faithful to the business that supports them and their needs. Before launching a business, it is imperative that you assess the level to which your customers will be in control. Some of their needs may not deliver a high return on investment (monetarily), but if those result in a flurry of positive word-of-mouth advertising, then it has paid for itself!
Kamau Jackson
Website: http://www.internetknowledgesolutions.com
Building a local search engine presence– with optimized listings, online coupons and customer reviews– will give you a competitive advantage. Especially so when you don’t limit yourself to Google alone. The tight integration with social media makes it even more powerful.
Peg Kelley:
Website: www.meetingtoolsandjewels.com
Have only the meetings you really need to have. One of the biggest complaints of businesspeople is the time wasted in meetings. Therefore, have fewer of them.
Ask yourself a few questions such as:
Does the size of the group make a meeting feasible?
Is the knowledge required for any problem solving dispersed among several people?
Is the commitment of several people or groups necessary for successful implementation of the results?
Are there likely to be conflicting points of view that need to be reconciled?
If the answers to this are YES, then a meeting makes sense. If not, then consider email or phone calls instead.
Always respect the time used in a meeting and give a second and third thought to your first impulse to call a meeting.
Merchant Account Provider
Website: www.ampyourcashflow.com
Find creative ways to trim your bottom line. This could include finding new vendors for cell phone service, Internet, web hosting companies, and merchant account providers (to name a few). A little bit of research could pay good dividends for your business.
Kristi Hines
Website: http://kristihines.com/
Be honest with potential clients. Even if it costs you one sale, you will gain their trust. If they recommend you to others, you will benefit with many more sales and loyal clients.
Julie
Dedicate yourself to entrepreneurial reading materials at least 1 hour a day and applying at least one insight within the next week.
Timothy Kioko
Website: https://twitter.com/CRMBrussels
2010 is the year of relationship building… segment your customer base and build a one on one relationship with the customers in the most profitable segment… do not forget the other segments…. success
Daniel Watson
Website: http://uniqueinsights.com.au
What’s your best business tip for 2010? Read all 26 business articles published at http://uniqueinsights.com.au and apply the relevant advice to the areas you know your business can improve. The hour or so invested in reading and absorbing the article will pay dividends many times over for your business.
Andy Hanselman
Website: www.andyhanselman.com
Think in 3D! That means be ‘Dramatically and Demonstrably Different’ in your chosen market places. In ever more crowded markets, and massive customer choice, remember ‘same as’ sucks!
Matt | Small Biz Bee
Website: http://smallbizbee.com
Set specific goals for what you want your business to accomplish in 2010 – and make sure they’re SMART goals!
And the Winner is…
All the business tips were great, that’s why I had to pick a winner of our $25 Amazon Gift Card at Random. The winner is…Cindy Miller! Congratulations Cindy, we’ll be in touch to send you our gift of thanks for your contribution.
Your Turn
If you think a small business out there could benefit from these tips, we appreciate you sharing this post with your network.
Have a tip you want to share? The comment section is waiting…
Headline Photo Credit: rachaelvoorhees
Top 50 Free Online Tools For Startups
I don’t know about you, but I love free…especially when it comes to free tools I can use to make my business better.
Since I’m cheap a good steward of financial resources I was pretty happy to stumble across this collection of online resources, put together by Shiv, and posted on Slideshare (for free!).
Top 50 Online Tools for Startups
Your Turn
What free online resources do you use? Share them with us in the comments below.
Photo Credit: Cappellmeister
8 Business Lessons Learned from Using Twitter in 2009
The debate will continue in 2010 about the value of using Twitter for your business, and if you jumped on the Twitter wagon in 2009 I’m sure you have your own conclusions as to its effectiveness.
I found myself asking how valuable Twitter was as a business tool, and what I found is the main things I learned from using Twitter in 2009 were business lessons brought to light from the Twitter medium.
So if nothing else the value of Twitter for business, at least for me, was the learning that took place through the application about business in general not just business on Twitter. Here’s my top 8.
1. Communicating beats selling
On Twitter as in life communicating gets you farther than selling. Those constantly pumping their products on Twitter – we ignore. Those constantly pumping their services at the mall – we ignore. Talk to me, provide some value in the conversation – okay, now you’ve got my attention.
2. 10 is better than 10,000
Ever notice there is a core group of your followers on Twitter who really dig what you’re doing? They’re always there, retweeting your stuff, talking up your service, and gushing about your products. That’s what you’re looking for, on and off Twitter. Those people make your business better. I’ll take the 10 people obsessed (we’re talking tattoos of my logo on their chest obsessed) about what I do, than 10,000 casual “fans” any day.
3. Relationships take time
No brainer, but often neglected. Want to get the most of out your business? Just like on Twitter, relationships take time…but
4. They are worth it
If you’re creating those obsessed fans we talked about above, the weeks, months, and years you take to create the relationship will pay you back 10 fold.
5. No magic bullet
If you jumped on Twitter thinking it was going to solve all your sales problems you’re probably disappointed today. There really is no magic bullet, nothing is going to turn your business around overnight or take it to the next level other than hard work.
6. Marketing is the sum of its parts
Much like the “magic bullet”, no one piece of marketing or advertising is going to be “the one”. Some of your campaigns may work better than others, but your marketing is the sum of all its parts. This includes your advertisements, your service, and your relationship with your customers.
7. Unfollowing – not just for Twitter
Customers are unfollowing you all the time if you don’t meet their needs. On Twitter we can see this because our follower count goes down, in the real world it’s less visible. What are you doing to make sure you’re not being unfollowed?
8. First it’s about you, then it’s about them
Why someone followed you on Twitter is probably about you, why they continue to follow comes down to them.
As a small business owner you make or break your business. We’ve talked about how most people are buying you, not necessarily your product or service. At first you attract the customers…but then the dynamic shifts… your business becomes about them. Your success or failure lies in their hands.
Your Turn
What say you? Any Twitter reflections from your experience? Put’em in the comments below…
New Comments Policy at Smallbizbee.com
As our blog has grown, and rankings increased, I am seeing more and more questionable comments being submitted as the incentive to drop a comment here for a link has increased.
Why The Change to a Policy?
I love the comments we get on this blog, the conversations they start, and the interaction I can get with our readers through the comments. Interacting in the comments section with our readers is one of the most satisfying things I do around here.
I want to maintain that aspect of Smallbizbee, and ensure the comments section is still a great place to hang out while your looking over our articles and content.
By putting some parameters around what kinds of comments will be accepted I feel we will continue to foster the type of environment where people feel comfortable leaving their thoughts or comments on a post.
Commenting Policy
1. Only comments relevant to the post being discussed will be accepted. “Nice post”, “Great job”, “This site rocks” type of comments will be deleted.
2. Use your name when adding a comment to the site. No more comments from “widgets are us”, or “Russian nesting dolls online” will be accepted. Making a comment for the sole purpose of getting some link juice back to your “pink flamingo shop” is just spammy.
3. Relevant links in your comments are encouraged.
4. Irrelevant links in your comments will cause your comment to be deleted.
5. I will never delete a legitimate comment just because I don’t agree with the point of view of the commenter. I will delete comments that push the envelope of common human decency (luckily we’ve had none of that so far).
I don’t want to seem like I’m coming down on commenters, quite the opposite. I hope the new comment policy will make Smallbizbee a great place to drop your comments and converse on topics related to small business and entrepreneurship.
We currently have over 2900 comments on this blog, and very few would have been filtered out due to the new policy - I’m just making sure it stays that way.
Your Turn
Thank you for being part of this community, if you have something to say about the new policy drop a line in the comments section below.