|
|
|
10 Ways For Entrepreneurs To Find More Time
It's occurred to me lately that I don't feel like there's enough time to do everything I want to do in my business. Between working with clients, writing books and articles, teaching/training other professionals, marketing, and just living a...
Are you looking for a Small Business Loan?
A small business loan is designed for a wide range of UK small, medium and startup business needs including the purchase, refinance and expansion of a business.
Finance is the lifeblood of a business. Without it you cannot grow.
Small...
Effective Public Speaking for Small Business Owners
Public speaking is comfortably the quickest and easiest way to improve your company visibility, establish yourself as an expert, get you face known and get businesses coming to you.
Most small business owners and managers fully recognise this...
How to Protect Yourself & Your Business
As a business owner, you already know how important it is for your customers to feel safe about doing business with you. After all, if a customer even suspects he may not receive everything he was promised, then chances are he's taking his business...
Small Business Q&A: How To Handle Customer Billing Snafus
Q: I just discovered that for the past six months I have been billing a client half of what I should have been. Should I just include the total of the past due balance on his next bill or contact him first to let him know that it's coming? This...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Making A Small Store Go
I just got a note from a 19 year-old business student who is
determined to start her own business. "It's a trendy clothing
shop. I have the location, the start-up money, a lawyer, and an
accountant" she wrote enthusiastically. "My parents think I'm in
over my head but I'm determined to make my dream come true."
That's a situation most of us can identify with. You've got a
great idea for a new business and you've done every bit of
preparation you can, but in the back of your mind you know you
could fail. What can you do to make a small store go?
By far the most important factor is location. If at all
possible, find a location you can afford that has built-in
customer traffic. Mall locations are great but often too
expensive. Look for a nook near a group of stores or on a major
street that brings a steady flow of shoppers--the kind of
shoppers who would be interested in your store.
Find an affordable way to promote that reaches your best
prospective customers. Here are some other ways to save big
on very effective ads:
* Desktop publishing makes catalogs and brochures easy to
produce. Create your own booklet to include with orders.
* Get a toll free number. Even though long distance calls
aren't nearly as expensive as they used to be, many customers
will call you faster if you list an 800 number. Mine is
888-429-6203. Using the phone to sell person-to-person is often
the fastest way to get a buy.
* Advertise in specialty and neighborhood newspapers. I get
incredible response advertising in an entertainment paper placed
in restaurants. A classified ad is just $10 per week.
* Buy TV ads on cable TV. Cable rates are cheaper and you can
limit your commercials to specific parts of your city.
* Get a big cell phone package and give your cell number out to
everyone. When customers can reach you just about any time, you
get the sale.
* Give away or sell your own video. Nine in ten people own a
VCR. One friend has sold hundreds of his video telling how he
earns a living selling antiques on eBay.
If you can't clearly see how you can effectively market your
store, stop immediately and reevaluate your plan.
Also, remember that marketing works best when it isn't rushed.
The best advertising media require you to place your order well
in advance. Great designers, writers, and (especially!) TV
production firms are usually
booked weeks into the future.
Quality. As you can quickly see, you get better quality when you
don't rush your marketing. A top writer can take several weeks
to write your sales letter. We've worked 7 days a week to
improve the speed for good writing, but long copy can take a
professional writer several days of full-time work to complete.
Many expert designers like to flesh out several versions of your
ad, web site look, or logo before deciding on the best. That,
too, takes time.
Price. Planning your marketing well in advance can save you lots
of money. Let's say you started planning this year's ad plan way
back in October of last year. Today you would be taking full
advantage of advance ad buys, slack times for media, maybe be in
line to get cheap regional or remnant space in national
magazines.
More than anything else, planning your marketing well in advance
will help you avoid knee-jerk moves. Most marketing efforts fail
because the owner pulls the plug too soon and starts a new plan.
Insisting on taking your time will make your marketing more
consistent and effective.
Once you've marketed your way into the hearts of your customers,
a great tactic is to find a way to keep them coming back. A great
restarant down the street from me devised a great plan during
this past holiday season:
When I went to the cash register to pay my tab the waiter handed
me a $15 gift certificate. "That's a gift to thank you for
coming in each week," he said. How can this struggling
restaurant afford to give away gift certificates?
I noticed a big pile of these gift certificates next to the cash
register. Obviously they were handing these freebies out to all
their customers.
It's a very smart move. While $15 is a nice amount, my tab
always comes to more. I'm sure that is the case for almost all
their customers. During the cold, dark months of January and
February when others restaurants have lots of empty tables, this
little restaurant is packed with customers returning with their
gift certificates. The amount deducted from each tab is
considered a small price for having the place filled during
otherwise slow months.
About the Author
Kevin Nunley provides marketing advice, business writing, and
popular promotion packages. See his 10,000 free marketing ideas
at http://DrNunley.com Reach Kevin at mailto:kevin@drnunley.com
or 801-328-9006.
|
|
|
|
|
| United States Small Business Administration |
| An electronic gateway of procurement information for and about small businesses. Search engine for contracting officers, marketing tool for small firms, ... |
| www.sba.gov |
|
| SBA |
| The Small Business Planner includes information and resources that will help you at any stage of the business lifecycle. ... |
| www.sba.gov |
|
| Main Page - SmallBusiness.com - Small Business Resources |
| Find Small Business plans, advice, tutorials about organization, corporations, entrepreneurship, and smallbusiness. |
| www.smallbusiness.com |
|
| Yahoo! Small Business: Domain Names, Web Hosting, E-commerce ... |
| Yahoo! Small Business provides products and services that enable you to establish and grow your business on the Internet. Services include domain name ... |
| smallbusiness.yahoo.com |
|
| Small business advice business start up small business finance ... |
| business start up small business finance start up advice. |
| www.smallbusiness.co.uk |
|
| Smallbusiness.gov.au redirect to business.gov.au |
| Business Entry Point - Helping small business in big ways. An Australian Government initiative. The content from this website has now been consolidated into ... |
| www.smallbusiness.gov.au |
|
| Business & Small Business |
| Online and print small business publication. Information to help start, grow or manage a small business. |
| www.entrepreneur.com |
|
| Microsoft Small Business Center |
| Your home for information about Microsoft's small-business products and services, tailored business advice, technology tools, and more. |
| www.microsoft.com |
|
| The Small Business Advisor - advice for starting and operating a ... |
| Advice and assistance for starting and operating a small or home based business. |
| www.isquare.com |
|
| SCORE "Counselors to America's Small Business" |
| A nonprofit association dedicated to encouraging the formation, growth, and success of small business nationwide through counseling and mentor programs. |
| www.score.org |
|
| Small Business and Self-Employed One-Stop Resource |
| IR-2006-2, January 3, 2006 - Temporary and proposed regulations will significantly reduce tax filing burden for nearly 950000 small business owners. ... |
| www.irs.gov |
|
| Welcome to Small Business BC your business resource in British ... |
| BC Business Services offers assistance and resources for those running or starting a business in British Columbia and Vancouver. |
| www.smallbusinessbc.ca |
|
| Small Business Service | Home |
| Provides information and advice to help small businesses realise their potential. |
| www.sbs.gov.uk |
|
| NSW Small Business |
| A site developed by the NSW Department of State and Regional Development for small businesses. Topics include management, resources, current issues and ... |
| www.smallbiz.nsw.gov.au |
|
| Business Management & Advice: Small Business Resources & Information |
| Looking for business management and advice? Our website includes small business resources and information that can help you. Visit the small business ... |
| www.businessweek.com |
|
| Small Business Lawyer, Attorney, Law, Legal Help - FindLaw for ... |
| Information and legal sites relevant to small business. |
| smallbusiness.findlaw.com |
|
| Small Business Funding Opportunities (SBIR and STTR) |
| Links to Small Business Funding Opportunities and SBIR / STTR Applications. |
| grants.nih.gov |
|
| Microsoft bCentral Small Business Directory |
| Directory categorized by industry with company business card feature. |
| sbd.bcentral.com |
|
| Our site has moved! Please update your bookmarks! |
| Facilitates the sharing and exchange of information among small business development centers, the small business administration and other business-oriented ... |
| sbdcnet.utsa.edu |
|
| Small Business Development Corporation |
| Our business information services provides guidance to improve business skills and knowledge on advice on starting, buying, selling and expanding a small ... |
| www.sbdc.com.au |
|
|