5 Ways Social Media Can Make your Business Look Bigger
Big businesses have always had an advantage when it comes to reaching customers. This was because of their big marketing budgets and their ability to utilise large long-term contracts. Whilst these advantages have not disappeared, they do not matter as much anymore and there is a simple reason for this: Social Media. Social Media has enabled the smallest of companies to compete with the largest of companies and it is all free. This article will consider how you can make your business look bigger and more prosperous than it actually is through the use of clever network management and free social media.
1. Become a Trusted Field Expert
Blogging will allow you to establish yourself as an expert in your field. By providing free and accurate advice you will create an ideal relationship with your customers and trigger an increase in email opt-in communications. This method will help to generate leads for your sales team and demonstrate that you are capable in your field.
Additional benefits come through the promotion of your site through Search Engine Optimisation. Google and other search engines provide great website ranking benefits to those who write blogs.
2. Build a Custom Facebook Page
Facebook provides a huge potential market but it is important that you approach this area correctly. Your Facebook page will need to offer the customer something which will make them want to return to it. Include interesting discussions, engaging materials and relevant information about your business. By including an email communications opt-in on the page, you will be able to generate a greater customer contact list.
3. Professional Videos
Video marketing is easy. What was once out of reach for most small businesses is something which can be produced at a very low cost now. The advent of Youtube allows you to present your business to the world through the medium of video. Video hosting is free, so all that you need to do is create the material to place online. Website visitors who watch an online product video are 85% more likely to make a purchase than those who don’t, so it is wise to seriously consider this option.
4. Give It Up For Free
By providing e-books, tips, guides, and other methods of free help, you will be able to demonstrate your expertise and convince potential customers that your business is the right place to go. Customers are far more likely to utilise a business which has offered them a high quality free trial than they are to trust in an unknown and untrusted source. Providing free services is a great way to generate custom.
5. Dominate the Search Engines
Part of your business’ IT service should focus heavily on Search Engine Optimisation. Social media channels will enable you to optimise your SEO ranking. The number of times that a link or video that you have created has been shared will directly impact on the prominence of your company in search engines. If you can make it so that your business is the first result for your industry keywords then you will be able to easily and effectively get a step ahead of the competition.
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18 Tips to Establish and Grow your Small Business
When establishing a small businesses there are always several key factors that need to be considered so that you are prepared for and understand all of the hurdles that will be placed in front of you. By complying with legislation and managing your time efficiently you will be able to remain on top of everything. This article will consider ways in which you can minimise the input you have to invest and still achieve the results you hope for.
Efficient Time Management
It is far too easy, as a small business owner, to become distracted by the day to day issues that need dealing with, and thus forget the bigger picture. It is important to allocate time for strategic thinking and planning so that you can enable your business to grow around you. By utilising things like outsourced IT you will be able focus your time and energy on the more important strategic elements of your business. Business IT support is just one way in which you can reduce the day to day burden of running your business, but the key is really to plan your time efficiently:
Daily and Weekly Tasks:
- Respond to correspondence. It is important to always respond to customers and business partners promptly.
- Review the effectiveness of current marketing campaigns by analysing response rates.
- Organise staff workloads, job delegation and seek to motivate employees.
- Leave free time to deal with urgent occurrences. Note that if you do not build this time into every day, an urgent occurrence will damage your other services unnecessarily. It is better to have free time than to be short on time.
Monthly Tasks:
- Review performance. You can review your performance by considering, sales, cash flow and results against projections and historical results.
- Review projections for coming months in relation to current performance.
- Consider operations in relation to your overall business strategy. Always remember that your business strategy needs to be a working document which develops and evolves as your business does.
Half-Yearly and Annual Tasks:
- Review employee performance. Assess your employees against tasks you have set them, their overall profit generation and their potential for progression. Having regular performance checks will enable you to keep track of development and performance, as well as creating an incentive for continuous commitment.
- Consider the value of your suppliers. It is sensible to review your suppliers regularly. What was once the best deal may not be any more, so shop around regularly and change suppliers if deliveries are consistently late.
- Prepare annual accounts. The process of information collection should be continuous and the more you do on a short-term basis, the easier the end of year accounts will prove to be.
Complying with Legislation
Legislation compliance is a task which needs to take place throughout the year. Whilst managing this efficiently is important, it must be considered in isolation of other tasks so that there are no mistakes in this costly area of business. There are 8 key elements to consider with regards to legislation and it is important to plan these effectively so that you are not hindered by a sudden rush to comply:
- Pay your taxes on time.
- Comply with Occupational Health and Safety requirements to create a safe working environment.
- Be sure to follow employment legislation accurately and effectively.
- Fulfil directorial responsibilities.
- Follow privacy legislation when sending emails and contacting people.
- Ensure that you are utilising all IT resources legally because unlicensed software use is a crime.
- Obtain the appropriate business license before operation begins.
- Be sure to abide by intellectual property and trademark rules.
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The 2nd Age of a Business: Naivety
I’m extremely excited to share this guest post with you all from Dragos Roua who blogs at eDragonu.ro. Not only have I enjoyed his business perspectives, but he is undertaking a very unique guest posting approach, which I admire the creativity of.
The 7 Ages of Business, is a 7 part guest post series, in partnership with this blog and 6 others – and they are all being published at the exact same time!
Enjoy the business wisdom from Dragos, and be sure to check out the other 6 parts of the series – links below.
This article is part of a series about the 7 ages of a business, an entrepreneurs perspective, initially published at eDragonu.ro. The remaining articles are published as guest posts on other 6 fine personal development and business blogs. You will find links to them at the end of this article.
Seeing The Real Picture
The naivety age is the second age of your business. It comes after the initial enthusiasm and exhilaration and it marks the beginning of your real activities as an entrepreneur. But as the name says, the naivety phase will be also a time for trying and failing, a time for learning and growing.
The biggest challenge during this age will be to see the real picture around you. After you clarified your vision and started to move the things around during the enthusiasm age of your business, it’s time to start looking around and see what’s really happening. During this period there will be an intense desire to “walk into the shoes” of a real entrepreneur, but it will mainly be mostly a mimicking approach, not one based on a clear understanding of what’s happening.
I remember I made hundreds of business cards during that period and also I remember I hunted for business cards obsessively. 10 years ago,& when I started my internet business, social networking wasn’t so advanced, so the only way to get in touch with a potential partner or client was by meeting him in person. During my naivety business period I also acquired most of my shirts and starting to wear a suit,& strongly believing that if I dress like a business man I will somehow become one.
What To Avoid
It’s pretty easy to get caught in a bigger wave that you can swim during this period so here are a few things to keep an eye on.
Speaking Over Doing
Your desire of making yourself and your ideas known can make you speak more than you actually do. While this is great for your speaking abilities, it won’t help the real business much. Avoiding excessive speech in favor of more grounding activities, like organizing and planning, would be a solid approach at this stage. Continuing to write in the journal you already started in the first stage would be a good idea.
Believing Everything
Being so exposed in search for clients or partners will make you extremely vulnerable. There is a real danger of believing everything around you. This belief is fueled by your hope that everything will turn out well, a sense of positivity that would be fantastic, if backed up with the proper assessment. During this age you can fall for “get rich quick” scams or you can get involved with rather slippery people.
Sudden Partners
This is a particular case of the problem described above. You will observe a lot of opportunities for partnerships – mostly because you get out much more often than before – but most of them are not appropriate for this moment. As a rule of thumb, you should enter partnerships only when you can offer an approximate equal value, which, at this stage, is rather unlikely to happen. Learning to say “no” is one of the lessons of this stage
What To Do
But being so exposed can also have some positive consequences. Here are some of the things you should insist on in order to make your path a little bit more enjoyable.
Increase Your Network
Your continuous hunt for partners and clients should end with a big rolodex. Even if you don’t start something together, even if you don’t close a sale, this period could leverage a big asset: a network. Networking is more often than not better than advertising, a secret that not many entrepreneurs will be happy to reveal. And networking can be started at any level. Since you’re already going out a lot, why not starting it now?
Work Your Presentation Skills
Being in the position to speak a lot, you will be somehow forced to speak better. This is a great time to start improving your presentation capabilities. You don’t really have something to lose at this stage, so any mistake will have minor consequences. But the advantages of becoming a skilled speaker will last even if you’re not making to the next stages.
Control Your Cash-Flow
I’ve seen a lot of businesses failing because of a faulty cash-flow in the first stages. Up to the next age of your business, attention you should pay extra care to your budget. You may or may not have an initial funding, but regardless of the physical availability of money, you should take extra care now to any money commitment, because it’s really easy to make mistakes. Use this period to try and assess errors as much as you can.
From Naivety To Attention
The next age of your business will be marked by attention. It’s stage in which you will start to really do things. My initial naivety period lasted a few months. I consider it closed when I finally decided it’s time not to wear my suit at the office, but put a tee-shirt and start some real coding. Your mileage may vary.
As always, there is no quality measurement of a stage, I think all are necessary and all are able to give you the tools to reach your goals. The most important thing I remember from my naivety period is the belief that everything is possible. Despite the failures and broken projects, I still have this feeling till the present day. And it’s a wonderful feeling.
Want to Read the Rest of the Series?
You can find the remaining 6 ages of your business on these fine personal development and business blogs:
Attraction Mind Map – 1st Age: Enthusiasm
Advanced Life Skills – 3rd Age: Attention
Steven Aitchison – 4th Age: Maturity
Rat Race Trap – 5th Age: Expansion
My Wife Quit Her Job – 6th Age: Leadership
Learn This – 7th Age: Exhaustion
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7 Steps to Writing a Killer Mission Statement
Every organization whether it be a Fortune 500 company, or a sole proprietor, should have a mission statement. A mission statement defines your reason for being in business. It should encompass your core business objectives, the values of your organization, and your purpose. Below are some tips and examples to help you write a winning mission statement.
Tips
- A good way to start is by answering the question “Why am I in business?” or “What purpose does my business serve?” The answer to this will go a long way in writing your mission, and should be more than “To make money”. Making money will be a byproduct of your business operations aligning with your mission.
- Keep it short and sweet. By keeping to a succinct format you will force yourself to put in your mission statement on those things that truly matter to your business. Five to seven sentences should be the maximum.
- Ask yourself what values you and your organization have, and how are they integrated into your work. Are you a company that prides itself in being eco-friendly? Perhaps faith plays a big part in your value system? The dovetailing of your purpose and your values will create a much stronger mission statement.
- Keep in mind you are writing this not only for yourself, but your employees and your customers. If part of your mission statement is to treat every customer like they were the first customer, then you should make sure your mission is shared with your customers in some way. Likewise for any mention to how your company values it’s employees, all of your employees should see and know your mission statement.
- Use the “Front page of the newspaper” rule. Whatever you put in your mission statement you should believe in enough to have it printed on the front page of the newspaper, and be proud of it.
- A mission statement is no place for slang or jargon, keep it business professional.
- Lastly, write a mission statement that really resonates with you and your employees. Don’t just write words on a paper that sound good in a sentence. Your mission statement are the rules, beliefs, and attitudes that you will live by on a daily basis, so make it genuine.
Keep In Mind:
- Your mission statement is setting the long term objectives and strategies that will guide your business for many years to come. You should write your mission statement in such a way it will not have to be revised for quite some time.
- Be sure to share your mission statement with key stakeholders. This could be employees, customers, vendors, suppliers, or anyone you do business with. Get their feedback and adjust as necessary.
- To be really effective your mission statement should be woven into your corporate culture. Everywhere you go, and anyone your company touches, should see and feel your mission in action.
Examples:
Notice how simple some of these are, but how they completely address why these companies are in business, and set the standards for which they will be held. Coca-Cola Company: “Everything we do is inspired by our enduring mission:
- To Refresh the World… in body, mind, and spirit.
- To Inspire Moments of Optimism… through our brands and our actions.
- To Create Value and Make a Difference… everywhere we engage.”
Starbucks: Establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles as we grow.
Nike: “To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world. If you have a body, you are an athlete.”
Apple: Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.
Ben & Jerry’s
| Product Mission To make, distribute & sell the finest quality all natural ice cream & euphoric concoctions with a continued commitment to incorporating wholesome, natural ingredients and promoting business practices that respect the Earth and the Environment. | Economic Mission To operate the Company on a sustainable financial basis of profitable growth, increasing value for our stakeholders & expanding opportunities for development and career growth for our employees. | Social Mission To operate the company in a way that actively recognizes the central role that business plays in society by initiating innovative ways to improve the quality of life locally, nationally & internationally. |
Quit Being Difficult!
One of the many benefits to writing for SmallBizBee.com is once in a while a topic comes along that allows me to help small business owners with their business, while blowing off some steam on topics that drive me absolutely mad. My number one business peeve is so obvious that’s why it bothers me so much.
So what’s the number one pet peeve?
Businesses who are difficult to do business, especially when I am trying to PAY them!
This is absolutely inexcusable, and I see it all the time. What do I mean by being difficult?
Let me give you an example:
A couple of days ago my cell phone died, just stopped working, and gave me no warning it was nearing the end of it’s life. In my business my cell phone is business and ordering a phone online only to wait a couple days for it to arrive in the mail just wasn’t going to work. So, I made the dreaded trip to that preteen babysitters club known as the mall with the intention of visiting one of the nearly 200 cell phone kiosks there and purchasing a new phone. When it comes to selling a phone, I was the buyer these guys should have been looking for. I was stuck and I wanted to purchase NOW! “Easy commission” was written on my forehead.
Unfortunately my enthusiasm to purchase was not met with the same enthusiasm to sell. I was the only customer at this particular outlet, however 15 minutes passed as I wandered around looking at the numerous phone models they had displayed, before the lone customer service rep noticed me.
Finally, I get…”Help you with somethin’?”
I just come out and say it, “Listen, my phone just died and I need a new one tonight…which is better out of these two”, pointing to the display case.
“Uh, hold on a second…”, he answers his personal cell phone gives directions to the caller to his house where something is “going down” later.
“Sorry about that, uh, what’s up?”
I repeat my questions.
He actually says, “I don’t know, I like mine” and hands me his phone.
It’s a new model, and believe it or not I actually like it enough to say “Sold, I’ll take it!” With commission dollars dancing in his head you would have thought he’d spring into action. Not so much. Nonchalance is the only word to describe the speed at which he begins to get my phone.
“Dude, all we have is green or pink”.
“No other colors, you’re sure?”
“Let me call our store upstairs” Calls store upstairs, “yeah they got a black one”.
“Great, I’ll take it!”
“Uh, we can’t leave the store alone” he says, “You mind running up there and getting it?”
Whatever, at this point the mall is nearly closing and I need a phone tonight. Truth be known I’d probably run around the block for it, but I still thought a better store transfer procedure (other than having the customer hoofing phones back and forth between stores) was needed.
Back from upstairs, we begin the checkout process in earnest. Mind you online this takes roughly 2 minutes, requires one electronic signature, and a click of the radio button saying “I accept the terms and conditions”. In person it takes on a song and dance that would rival the world’s greatest ballet.
I have no less than 6 forms to sign, there are copies of my ID being taken and “faxed to head office”, my bill is going up and down and then back up again like the stock market as he quotes me the price of the phone, minus the mail in rebate, plus the upgrade fee, minus the instant rebate, plus the…
20 minutes after checkout began, I have a total bill and we are ready to complete the payment process. The only thing softening the blow at this point is a $50 Visa gift card burning a hole in my pocket. It won’t cover my entire bill, but it will help.
“Uhh, sorry dude I can only accept one form of payment.” Smoke begins to come out of my ears.
“What do you mean?” “Can you run my gift card and then I’ll pay the balance on my debit card”
“We can only do one card”
I put my gift card away and slide my debit card across the table. Fifty-five minutes after arriving, and after my debit card has been swiped and then “phoned into head office”, I am the proud owner of a new cell phone.
Key Takeaway: Don’t be Difficult to Do Business With!
- Analyze your business and pinpoint every process and procedure that intersects with the customer’s experience. If there are barriers to the customer at any intersection, alleviate them immediately.
- Buying your product or service should be the easiest step in the customer experience, and any way the customer wants to pay should be accommodated! Keep in mind if they are unable to pay you, they will pay somebody else willing to take their money.
How about you, have any business pet peeves you care to share? Let me hear about it in the comments section below.
Photo Credit: gotplaid?
Cross Marketing During a Slow Economy
Women Partner International and Business Women
Join Forces to Reach the $1Million Dollar Sales Mark in a Slow Economy
Women’s Media Desk, September 26, 2008
A group of seasoned business and professional women with the assistance of WomenPartner International, a women’s cross marketing (or strategic alliance) consortium, are joining forces to help each other thrive and reach the $1 million sales mark. Instead of selling to each other, they are finding ways to leverage each others’ existing client base while sharing marketing costs to stretch their precious marketing dollars.
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The women in business market has been experiencing a feast and a famine for some time now. It’s been widely reported by the Center for Women’s Business Research that 3% or 312,000 of an estimated 10.4 million women-owned companies have $1 million in annual revenue. Yet, the fact that the U.S. Census data shows 46% of women-owned businesses or 4,784,000 are tiny enterprises with revenue of less than $10,000 per year isn’t widely known. Women will have to start thinking collaboratively if they want to thrive in this tough economic climate. Maryland Heights, Missouri businesswoman, Khrys Vaughan, owner of Her StartUp, LLC, is one of those women.
Vaughan knows that the government isn’t going to bail out Her StartUp, LLC if it goes under so it is up to her to keep her company doors open by implementing smart yet cost effective marketing strategies. WomenPartner International’s unique approach to cross business interaction is allowing her to do just that. It educates women about the metro women in business market in the U.S. and other countries from the perspective of a businessperson putting together a marketing plan and assists them with developing cross marketing partnerships with the business, executive, and professional women who reside in the metro areas they want to target.
Vaughan recently took on a leadership role in WomenPartner International to chair its new Greater St. Louis chapter. She will foster cross marketing relationships between women in her metro area by co-sponsoring complimentary business partner matchmaking events that also help female college graduates find contacts that can assist them with launching their start ups. Vaughan will also work with other chapter chairwomen around the US to facilitate joint monthly cross marketing boot camps. Members from two to three chapters will team up to work on podcasts, direct sales campaigns, shared ad space in business publications, business summits, and more to gain access to each other’s metro women in business market and clients while they motivate each other to strive towards the $1 million sales mark.
Over the next 12 months, WomenPartner International plans to establish cross marketing chapters in every US metro area while helping women in other countries forge cross marketing partnerships with women in the states. Business and professional women seeking cross marketing partners can visit WomenPartner International’s blog at http://www.womenpartner.com to browse its business profiles and get tips on how to effectively cross market.
For information on how to get involved with WomenPartner International, visit http://www.ivwcc.org, or contact jerrilynnbthomas@ivwcc.org. Receive a $25 referral fee if you refer someone to become a part of WPI.
Student, Athlete, Entrepreneur
Meet Daniela Maldonado, owner and founder of Hello Bath & Body Company. In case running a successful business wasn’t enough, Daniela is also majoring in Physics at Rutgers University and captains her collegiate fencing club! If you’ve ever thought you were too busy to accomplish everything, one look at Daniela’s schedule will have you thinking again. Below Daniela shares a day in the life of a student, athlete, and entrepreneur.
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Hi, I’m Daniela Maldonado, owner and founder of Hello Bath & Body Company based in Oakland, NJ. I am touted for being a full-time everything; in addition to my business, I …am a full-time student at Rutgers University working towards my physics degree, am President of the Rutgers Fencing Club, serve on the Tournament Committee for the New Jersey Division of the United States Fencing Association, and am expected to fence competitively for the New York Athletic Club this season. Whew! That was a mouthful. So, want to see what my typical day is like? Let’s go!
Today is a Tuesday and my morning starts at 6 AM. At this time, I’m feeding my pets, checking emails, and cutting soap made the previous day. By 7, I’ve walked to the bus and am on my way to the train station in nearby Ridgewood. Tuesdays are good, because I catch the express trains in the morning. My usual commute lasts anywhere from 1.5-2.5 hours depending on whether or not the trains are running on schedule.
A little bit after 9, I make it to campus. By this point, I’ve done plenty of work and phone calls while on the train. I look at my schedule nearly 50 times a day:
The definition of how I get through my days. I have a personal planner for school and fencing and a notebook just for business notes and to-do’s. I leave space in my personal planner “free” – this usually means I’m free to make product or purchase supplies depending on where I am.
Tuesday mornings this semester, I have my last lab course – Computer Based Experimentation and Physics Computing. It’s as fun as it sounds. What you see here is a Geiger tube and counter, counting the nuclear decay of 137Cs. It’s more or less a practice in Gaussian and Poisson distributions, and took way too long. I have one more class today at 1:40 and that runs until 3.
After class today, I am looking at an office space in downtown New Brunswick. I spend a lot of time in New Brunswick, and I’ve considered moving some of my workload down here – distribution and whatnot. The building was nice, but the space itself was a bit unkempt and depressing. Next up is a meeting with our program director for the fencing club at the University. If you’re not familiar with Rutgers New Brunswick, it is comprised of five different campuses, with an inter-campus bus system. The short ride from New Brunswick to Piscataway looks like this:
This actually isn’t too bad, but you can imagine how bad it gets right before and after classes on any given campus. Being in charge of the fencing club is not what I wanted to be at this point in my college career. I was looking for something more along the lines of Varsity Team Captain – but our athletic department controversially cut six Olympic sports right after my freshman year. I think about this plenty, but it just gives me more incentive to create a great experience for the club members.
After 8 hours on campus, I’m off to New York for fencing practice. Mondays and Thursdays I have practice at school, while Tuesdays and Fridays I practice at the New York Athletic Club near Central Park South. Dinner tonight? More like a late lunch – veggie delight sub! I get the foot-long for a mere $5 and save the other half for after practice. I try and use my commuting time wisely. Today, I’m reading a few journals on clinical trials of Arnica montana for a research project in my Herbals and Neutraceuticals class:
Joining me on my journey is my fencing bag, which I swear weighs 100 lbs. It doesn’t, it’s more like 30. Maybe 25. This bag holds more than $600 in equipment and you can imagine I hold onto it tightly everywhere I go:
The New York Athletic Club is responsible for bringing fencing to the U.S. and is a host to both Olympic fencers and coaches over the years. I would certainly say I am lucky to be able to fence amidst the amazing athletes there. They inspire me and keep me going – and some of them are just great friends. During the week, time at the club is essentially the only time I get with my boyfriend, but he is one of my biggest supporters and is always understanding. I get home around 11 later that evening, tired out and ready to go to sleep. Friday through Sunday is not as jam-packed, and that’s when I get my production time and I do my Farmers’ Market on Saturdays as well.
My advice to other ambitious individuals? Time management is key! I promise you, you can do it all, just prioritize. Prioritize, write everything down, and schedule accordingly. And when I say schedule, I mean schedule everything – not just appointments. Whether it’s answering emails, picking up lunch, or that bath you’ve been dying to take – write it in. I’ll admit, I don’t schedule in my lunches or dinners, but my stomach will tell you I should. Some might think I try to do too much, but I just remind myself that I am doing everything I want to do – and that keeps me happy and successful.
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About the business: Hello Bath & Body Co. was founded in 2008 and has locally been a success since its beginning. A perfect blend of science and art, soapmaking became a passion of mine and there was no turning back. I strive for Hello Bath & Body Co. to be a business with a conscience: part of profits are donated to reforestation projects in Indonesia (http://orangutans-sos.org/) and organic or sustainably-harvested oils and ingredients are used where possible. Follow Hello as it grows at www.hellobathandbody.com or keep up with Daniela at http://hellosoap.blogspot.com
5 Ways to Boost Your Business Today
1. Connect With Your Customers
Brainstorm ways to connect more with your customers, then implement those strategies. Custom emails, follow up phone calls to say “Thanks for ……”, customer service training for your staff, appreciation day(s), valued customer cards/discounts/coupons, etc, etc, etc…business is about making connection with people. The more you find ways to connect with your customers the more your business will grow, period.
2. Know Your Target Market and Reach Them
Spend 10 minutes thinking about targeted advertising for your business, then put a plan in place to reach that market. Already done this? Analyze the effectiveness of your targeted campaign, and tweak where needed.
3. Give Away The House
If you offer a product or service you think your customers cannot live without, give it away! That’s right, if you offer something you feel is so good your customers will be hooked the minute they try it then give it away to them for a period of time. Make a great smelling soap? Give out freebies. Offer consulting services? Make your first consultation free. Sell the next greatest gadget? Run a contest where the winners all get one. You can never loose money giving away an indispensable product for a period of time. If you’re right and your customers love the product/service, they’ll be back for more and be happy pay for it. However, if your products or services are marginal you will never see those customers again.
4. Know How to Market
Commit to learning one new thing about marketing for small businesses. All business come down to two things, marketing your product and service, then making a connection with the customers you marketed to. Learn marketing techniques, and use them DAILY in your small business. Most businesses come down to a numbers game, I believe most all of you produce a great product or provide a great service. The only thing stopping you from breaking your business wide open is you don’t get your product/service in front of enough people. Fix that!
5. Do Something!
Do something, anything, to promote and grow your business. As simple as it sounds, one of the best ways to boost your business is to do something today. If everyday you do something for your business, no matter how small it may seem, the effect those “something” have will compound over time. The only way your small business stalls, is if you stop actively moving it forward.
What are you going to do to boost your business today? Let us know in the comments section.
What to Consider When Starting a Small Business
Do you have a dream of starting your own business, working for yourself, and being your own boss…well you’re not alone.
The idea of starting your own business is exciting and scary all at the same time, and one of the first and most important decisions you’ll have to make in the beginning is what kind of business will you start.
If you want to accomplish your goal of starting a small business, and fulfill your dreams as your business grows and prospers, you will want to make sure that you carefully choose which type of business you want to open. There are a number of important factors that first need to be examined.
Questions to Ask Yourself When Deciding What Business To Start
- Do you prefer running your small business out of your home?
- Do you want to work outside the home, in commercial building or office space?
- Do you want to run an online business?
- Do you want to do a combination of them all?
- What kind of time commitment are you willing to make?
- Will this business need to dovetail with your current lifestyle (working days, weekends off, no traveling, etc)
How you want to run a business or how you are able to run a business should have a significant impact on the type of business that you are interested in starting.
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The next step is to sit down and really think through the things that interest you the most, and areas of personal strengths and weaknesses.
Assess Your Skills
- What are you knowledgeable about
- Do you have any areas of specialized training
- Do you have a hobby that could be turned into a business
- What are your passions? Can they morph into a business
- What about the job you currently do? Do you enjoy it enough to branch out on your own?
Starting a small business based on something that you not only know, but also love, will up your chances of your business being a successful one.
Now that you have a list of things you are good at, and have an interest or passion about, it’s time to objectively look at the competition in that particular field.
For example, lets say you have a love of fishing and fancy yourself quite the angler. You want to open “Big Mouth Bait & Tackle Shop” (you specialize in bass fishing) today! Not so fast, a few things you may want to consider.
A Look At The Competition
- Are there other competitors in the area (are you the only bait and tackle shop in town?)
- Will you do business online, and where is the competition there?
- Are you filling a niche in your market (maybe there aren’t other bass shops around)?
- Who is your biggest competitor and where are they located?
In the example of “Big Mouth Bait & Tackle Shop” you will have a much better chance of success if you don’t plan on opening your shop in a town that already has 3-4 tackle shops, one of them being a big national chain. Your chance of success skyrockets if you live in a community of fishermen where no tackle shop currently exists, or if you are filling a void in a niche market of bass tackle shops.
The smaller the amount of competition, the better it will be for you and your business.
Also, if competition does exist, make sure you check out the competition. Don’t be shy, take a look at their products and services and see if there is a niche you can fill, or if you can do what they are doing better, more cheaply, or both.
If you do not think that you can compete with your intended competition, it may be difficult for you and your small business to make a profit; therefore, you may want to refrain from going with your intended business idea. That doesn’t mean that you can’t start a business, it just means that you should carefully choose which type to start.
Recap:
1st - Consider how you want to run your business, what would fit your lifestyle the best (work at home, online business, part time business, etc)
2nd - Write down a list of what you are good at. What you already have skills and training in, and things you are passionate about or interested in.
3rd - From that list identify business opportunities that fit with how you want to run your business, and your knowledge, skills, abilities, and interest.
4th - Once you land on a couple ideas, analyze the competition. The lower the competition the greater chance for success.
5th - Once you’ve identified a business opportunity that fits all the above, the real work begins…time to start writing your business plan, estimating startup cost, and positioning yourself for success!
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Photo Credit: spike55151
Dirty Business Words and Phrases
The following words and phrases should be banned from your vocabulary, at least as it pertains to your business.
- Someday
- Someday never comes. Today is 5 days ago’s “someday”. Don’t wait for someday, today is all you have.
- Sometime
- A close cousin to someday.
- Maybe
- What a wishy washy word. What is “maybe”. Maybe I’ll do this, maybe I’ll do that, maybe they like me…forget maybe.
- Should
- If there is something you “should” do quit reading this and go do it. No more “should dos”, turn them into “dids”
- If Only
- Ah yes, if only. If only I had more money, if only I was better looking, if only I liked people. Worthless! You have what you have, and probably more than a lot of people, quit letting “if only” make the decisions for you.
- Once _____ Happens
- Sorta’ like “if only”. You can talk yourself into believing almost anything needs to happen before you can really do something. _____ may never happen, so don’t let it stop you reaching your goals.
- I Really Need To ______
- Kind of like “should”. If you really need to do something, quit reading this and go do it.
- Could Have
- Could have implies that the time has come and gone. If there was something you could have done, you can still do it. Almost nothing is so time sensitive that the moment has passed you by forever.
- Some Time
- As in “I wish I had some time” to do whatever. Or if you had “more time” you could really achieving something great with your business idea. News for you, you won’t get any more time, life will only get busier. Use the 24 hours you do have to accomplish something
Take these words and phrases out of your vocabulary…they will only stop you from achieving your goals in business and life.
If you can think of any other “dirty words” please post them in the comments section.
Are Your Goals SMART?
The practice of goal setting is a key component of business success. Your business must have strategic and operational goals in order to know where you want your business to go and how you want it to get there.
The goals for you and your business should be SMART:
S = Specific
M = Measurable
A = Attainable
R = Realistic
T = Timely or Time Sensitive
As you look at each goal for your business you should be evaluating if that goal is a SMART goal.
Specific:
Ensure your goals are very specific. What are you going to do, when are you going to do it, and how will it get done.
Measurable:
If a goal can’t be measured, it can’t be managed!
Attainable:
Goals should be a stretch, but within your reach. If you pick a goal that is too unrealistic you will most likely give up on it once you realize your chance of success is slim. However if you pick a goal that is a stretch for you, but still attainable, as you make progress you’ll find yourself becoming more committed to reaching that goal.
Realistic:
Goes hand in hand with attainable. Your goal needs to be realistic to your business, and your own skill set. I’d love to start a software company that puts Microsoft out of business, but that’s probably not very realistic considering I have no experience coding software.
Timely or Time Sensitive:
You need to give yourself a timeline for achieving your goal. It could be next week, next year, next month, or next year but you need a time where you can assesses whether you goal was achieved or not. Without a time limit your sense of urgency to get things done will wane and your chances of attaining your goal will be slim.
Example of a good SMART GOAL:
I’ll use myself and this blog as an example. If I were setting a SMART Goal for this blog it may go something like this:
GOAL:
I will post at least once a day this week, and increase my RSS feeds 10% by Sunday September 13, 2008. This will be accomplished by doing nightly research for post topics, writing at least 1 hour each day, and promoting the blog on blog community sites such as MyBlogLog.com. Also I will be adding a RSS sign up button to the bottom of each post I make encouraging people to sign up. This will help drive traffic to my site and make sponsorships I am offering more valuable, and get more visibility into my consulting services.
- Specific: I am spelling out what I want to achieve, when I want to achieve it, and why.
- Measurable: There are clear metrics. One post per day, and 10% increase in RSS Readers
- Attainable: Writing one post a day is certainly attainable. However I do have a busy weekend planned, so I will need to make sure I have content for Sat/Sun. The 10% gain in RSS is a stretch, but I believe it’s attainable.
- Realistic: I have set as a goal is out of my skill set or so over the top I have no chance at success
- Timely or Time Sensitive: I have a deadline of September 13, 2008
So there you have it, a SMART goal for this blog and hopefully an example that illustrates what SMART goals are about and how they can help your business. I’ll report back on how I did with my SMART goal next week.
Additional Resources:
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Photo credit: mark lorch
Don’t Be A Loser – Most Businesses Fail, But Yours Won’t!
We’ve all heard the stats on what percentage of businesses fail within a given time frame. Depending on whose research you use, and how the data was compiled, they usually go something like this: 50% – 80% of small businesses fail within the first 1-5 years. The exact percentage and the number of years differ, but the overwhelming reality is that starting a business and staying in business is tough under the best of circumstances.
Conversely when we look up reasons why businesses fail, there is much less gray area. I believe the list below represents the majority of reasons small businesses fail within whatever time frame you choose to look at.
My thought is this, and call me a simpleton if you will, that if we know the top reasons businesses fail wouldn’t it stand to reason that when we are contemplating starting a businesses we should take measures up front to ensure our business does not fall into one of these traps? If I were to tell you that 90% of people who walk over such-and-such bridge plummet to their death, would you walk over that bridge? NO – you would just find another route to get to your destination!
If, during your startup phase, you address each of the issues below, think them through, and create a plan on how your business will avoid these common pitfalls I believe that you are light years ahead of any competition who has yet to go through such an exercise.
So don’t be a loser…a little planning will go a long ways.
1. Lack of direction
2. Impatience
3. Greed
4. Taking action without thinking it through first
5. Poor cost control
6. Poor product quality
7. Bad or nonexistent budgeting
8. Inadequate financial records
9. Loss of momentum in the sales department
10. Failure to anticipate market trends
11. Lack of managerial ability or experience
12. Indecisiveness
13. Bad human relations
14. Diffusion of effort
Did we miss any? Let us know in the comments section.
Startup Cost – What’s it Take to Get Going?
A question I get all the time is, “What’s it cost to get up and running?” And in that phase of startup euphoria usually they don’t even wait for my response before following up with “Well, how much? Huh, give me a number…come on, I got a great idea I need to get on this now!” To which I reply, “It depends”…their face goes blank, they feel they’ve been cheated, what do I mean “it depends”, they just want a number so they can “GO GO GO!!!”
The unfortunate (or fortunate depending on how you look at it) truth is, it really does just depend. It depends on what kind of business you are starting, what your income expectations are from that business, and how (or if) your personal finances are in order. The cost to get going will be much different if you are starting “Fancy, Dancy Micro Chip Factory, LLC” than “Phil’s House of Hot Dogs”
What kind of business are you starting?
The nature of the business will drive much of the initial startup cost. If your business will require heavy machinery, high paid specialist (think Architect), buildings, or loads of inventory (retail) your startup cost are going to be exponentially higher than someone starting a small home based business, or someone providing a service such as consulting, web design, or income tax preparation. The latter is not necessarily better than the former just because it requires less capital up front, but initial expenses (and where that money will come from) should be carefully considered when trying to find the business that’s right for you.
What are your income expectations from the business?
- Is your business going to be producing cash from day one (rare)?
- Will you need some capital reserves to sustain your business, and personal expenses until it starts producing income (more likely)?
- Do you have other sources of income (other job) that will help bridge the gap while you wait for your business to turn a profit?
- When do you expect to see a profit?
- How much profit?
All of the questions above will influence the amount of money you will need in order to get your business up and running. The answers to each will vary depending on your personal situation, the type of business you are running, the market you operate in, and your long-term projections for your business. The general rule of thumb is to have at least 3 months worth of money available to carry you and your business in the beginning.Put it this way, I have never seen a business start with too much money, or have too much money available to them in the startup phase. So three months is definitely the guideline instead of the rule.
Are your personal finances in order?
I’ve seen a lot of businesses fail because the owner’s personal finances are not in order. What could have been a successful venture gets bled dry because the owner expects too much in the way of spendable income from the business than it can sustain in the early phases. The more stable your personal financial situation is the less money you will need during the startup phase. If you will continue working your 9 to 5 job during the startup phase you can afford to have less in capital reserves than if you quit and go full time into the new venture.
Final Words
So you can see we’ve asked about 1,000 questions and have yet to provide a solid number as to what it cost to get going. Feel cheated? We hope not, because as you can see there is a multitude of considerations that will affect the cost associated with getting you up and running.
Photo Credit: daCityDrifter
Is Starting a Business Right For You?
One of the first questions to ask, and the hardest to answer, before starting any business venture is “Is starting a business right for me?” By starting your business after some serious self reflection you’ll be getting off on the right foot and giving your business a chance at success from day one.
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Consider This:
- Do you enjoy making decisions and being in charge?
- Are you willing to take risks and accept the outcome?
- Are you adequately capitalized?
- Are you flexible, and can you adapt to change well?
- Are you good at short and long term planning?
- Do you have strong people skills and build relationships easily?
- Plus many others…
Let’s take a look at these one by one so we can illustrate the importance of each before you jump head first into the deep end of business ownership.
Do you enjoy making decisions and being in charge?
From the first day you decide to go into business you will be the decision maker for your operation. From your business name, to who you will use as a supplier, to whether or not to hire help, these decisions and more you will need to make. Also as your business grows you will continually be accessing and making decisions that could positively or negatively affect the success of your business. When running your own business there is nobody to hand off the tough decisions too or escalate an issue. You will need to be comfortable in this role, and able to act decisively when needed.
Are you willing to take risks and accept the outcome?
The key word here is to accept the outcomes of the risk you take. Many people say they are okay with risk, or that they don’t have a problem taking a risk, but the more important side of that equation is the acceptance of the outcomes those risk involve. If for example you choose to put your life savings into a business venture because you think it’s “worth the risk” then you must be able to accept the outcome of loosing your savings if the business does not perform as you thought it would. I’m not saying you will loose your life savings if you start a business, but even something that has a 90% chance of success still has a 10% chance of failure and you need to be able to accept the downside possibilities.
Are you adequately capitalized?
This isn’t to say you need to be wealthy or rich to start a business, but you will need to have some money. While starting a business on a shoestring is possible, to give your business the best chance for success having some money as reserves is a must. While there are programs to get the money you need to start your business, buy products, and market, some emergency reserves are a good idea in case personal expenses creep into the mix as well. While I can’t tell you exactly how much money is enough (that will depend on the type of business you start and what your personal financial needs are), I can say without a doubt the more the merrier. You will have a little more leeway if you intend to keep working while setting up your business, but if you intend for your business to support you and your family from day one cash reserves are necessary to bridge the gap until your business replaces your earned income. The last thing you need is to be worry about how to pay the mortgage when you should be focusing on building your business, and concentrating on operational efficiency during the startup phase.
Are you good at short and long term planning?
Planning is extremely important when starting a business. You will need to be comfortable planning 1 month, 6 months, 1 year, 5 years, and even 10 years down the road to properly address the needs of your business. The last thing you want to do is start your business without a plan for the future only to see a success idea get blindsided 1 year down the road because you didn’t plan for it.
Do you have strong people skills and build relationships easily?
This many be the most important skill a business owner can posses. All businesses are built around relationships with people…I don’t care what product, or service your business sells, or what market you operate in, your ability to make connections with people and build relationships are the cornerstone to being successful in the long term.
Do yourself a favor, and make sure you think through each of these questions before you make the leap into business ownership.
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