Free daily tips, information, advice and ideas
to help you better manage your small business
A business frequently grows out of things we do in our early years. As a child or teenager, we become interested in an activity that can later become a viable business undertaking.
Example: Tom worked summers during high school for a small construction company. He learned how to install siding, gutters and downspouts, build steps, paint and pour concrete and more. Tom saved his earnings. When he graduated high school, Tom could have started his own renovation and repair business, but he had a bigger idea. He used his savings to make a down payment on a three-family building that needed work. He put the place in tip top shape, rented the apartments to three tenants, and looked around for another building to buy.
Example: As a child, Jennifer watched her grandmother sewing. Needle and thread became magical to Jennifer--things got joined together and became something new and exciting. Out of the scraps from her grandmother's work, she made little outfits for her dolls. As a teenager, Jennifer's sewing became more ambitious. Encouraged, she made blouses and tops to wear herself. Fabric fascinated her. She turned old jeans into jackets and handbags. When she graduated from high school, Jennifer and her grandmother opened a small shop. It was filled with Jennifer's creations and they sold well. While Jennifer created new designs, her grandmother waited on customers and helped with the sewing. They reworked the shop's layout, installed a short runway and small stage, and today they hold regular fashion shows featuring Jennifer's designs. She is now graduating her business to the next level, farming out production and selling to other stores.
Example: Dave and Jim were buddies as teenagers and both were into fitness. They spent hours in the local gym working out and playing sports. When they graduated, they talked with the owner of the local weight training center about how to open a gym. Their idea was not to compete with weight training but to have an up-scale fitness center--offering weight reduction programs, healthy living, with a smoothie bar and vitamins and supplements. To their surprise, the owner proposed that Dave and Jim take over the weight training center and turn it into what they had in mind. The owner offered to structure a loan to cover the payout over several years. Dave and Jim were suddenly in business and on their way.
These examples show how people can take their interest to the next level. Keep in mind that any activity can be turned into a business. It takes time, planning and lots of hard work.
Whether you are in high school or stuck in corporate America, look to your interests and turn them into a business. It can be done at any age.
Starting a business takes hard work, an attitude, confidence, and persistence. Just do it!
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Monday, November 2, 2015
Avoid business strutting
Free daily tips, information, advice and ideas
to help you better manage your small business
You believe in your business. You know every aspect of what you do. You know where you are headed. You will not deviate from your plan because you are convinced that your plan is best and will get you where you want to go.
Careful. Strutting your own stuff in your business can be dangerous. It's one thing to believe in yourself, but it's another to turn a blind eye to what's happening around you.
The marketplace is continually changing. Technology is continually changing. How you attract your clients and customers is continually changing. Effective promotional tools change. Strutting your business stuff must change as well.
Example: Mika designs handbags. She began her business because of her interest in leather as a fashion accessory for women. Mika's business made a splash in the industry--magazines devoted spreads to her leather handbag designs. Television shows brought her in for interviews. Then came attacks by animal rights activists who were opposed to leather. Suddenly, no one in the media called Mika. Her free media splash ended, and sales plunged. Mika was hard-headed and persisted with her leather bags. Today, she is struggling, but she is still strutting her original business model--designing handbags entirely made of leather.
Example: Sara also designs handbags. She uses leather and many additional materials--colorful plastics, natural bamboo, woven fiber materials including even glass fiber. Sara keeps a sharp eye on the marketplace. Her business plan includes several lines of handbags--different materials, different sizes and uses. She insists on top quality production, both with the handbags produced in-house and those under contract production elsewhere. When sales of leather bags went through a down period, Sara shifted with the market demands. She regularly contacts her retail partners to obtain their inputs, and she closely follows fashion industry trends. She has even used inputs from focus groups. Her business strutting is solidly grounded in the marketplace demands--not her business plan which gets updated regularly.
Think of driving to the Grand Canyon. Alternate routes are everywhere. Different roads can get you there. You plan your route, but encounter inviting side trips, and these can alter your overall plan.
Business strutting occurs when you become a slave to your business plan. Business plans change as the world changes. Avoid business strutting.
to help you better manage your small business
You believe in your business. You know every aspect of what you do. You know where you are headed. You will not deviate from your plan because you are convinced that your plan is best and will get you where you want to go.
Careful. Strutting your own stuff in your business can be dangerous. It's one thing to believe in yourself, but it's another to turn a blind eye to what's happening around you.
The marketplace is continually changing. Technology is continually changing. How you attract your clients and customers is continually changing. Effective promotional tools change. Strutting your business stuff must change as well.
Example: Mika designs handbags. She began her business because of her interest in leather as a fashion accessory for women. Mika's business made a splash in the industry--magazines devoted spreads to her leather handbag designs. Television shows brought her in for interviews. Then came attacks by animal rights activists who were opposed to leather. Suddenly, no one in the media called Mika. Her free media splash ended, and sales plunged. Mika was hard-headed and persisted with her leather bags. Today, she is struggling, but she is still strutting her original business model--designing handbags entirely made of leather.
Example: Sara also designs handbags. She uses leather and many additional materials--colorful plastics, natural bamboo, woven fiber materials including even glass fiber. Sara keeps a sharp eye on the marketplace. Her business plan includes several lines of handbags--different materials, different sizes and uses. She insists on top quality production, both with the handbags produced in-house and those under contract production elsewhere. When sales of leather bags went through a down period, Sara shifted with the market demands. She regularly contacts her retail partners to obtain their inputs, and she closely follows fashion industry trends. She has even used inputs from focus groups. Her business strutting is solidly grounded in the marketplace demands--not her business plan which gets updated regularly.
Think of driving to the Grand Canyon. Alternate routes are everywhere. Different roads can get you there. You plan your route, but encounter inviting side trips, and these can alter your overall plan.
Business strutting occurs when you become a slave to your business plan. Business plans change as the world changes. Avoid business strutting.
Friday, October 30, 2015
Promotional pictures
Free daily tips, information, advice and ideas
to help you better manage your small business
You already know the value of using social media to promote your business. You snap those pictures all the time and post them on Facebook or LinkedIn or Twitter or whatever.
The whole idea on social media is to use pictures to attract attention. Wellness centers show pictures of hands working on a client's backside. A home improvement specialist shows pictures of bathrooms turned into spas. A bakery reaches out with pictures of awesomely designed cakes.
But you don't have to use your own products and services to grab some eyeballs. Pets always attract attention as do close-ups of various things in nature.
Example: Ted is as chiropractor. His website and his posts on Facebook always include his dog. The dog is big, active, friendly and lovable. Ted takes many pictures of the dog--showing him running, jumping, chasing a ball, carrying a stick, or curled up asleep. With his pictures, Ted is getting across the message of an active, pain-free life style. His chiropractic message is not about bones and muscles--that discussion is on Ted's website, awaiting viewers who want to know more. Ted's dog is the message. The pictures on social media is upfront, attention-getting, and draws the viewer inside.
Example: Tom operates an independent pest control business. To promote his services, Tom takes close-up pictures of bugs and post them on his website. Close-ups of roaches, spiders, termites and ants are regulars on his Facebook pages. But he really made a hit when the town experienced an invasion of stink bugs. He posted pictures--not only of individual bugs, but hundreds of the insects littering sidewalks. The calls came in for Tom to get rid of the pests.
Example: Susan operates a women's clothing and accessories shop. Her customers are well-heeled and discriminating. Susan entices them with close-up pictures of clothing patterns, stitching, buttons and the like. She rarely takes pictures of entire outfits, opting instead for the fine details and quality workmanship that her customers care about.
Put your creativity to work in your promotional pictures. Close--ups of just about anything can be attention-getting. Pictures of pets and flowers can pop your message on social media.
to help you better manage your small business
You already know the value of using social media to promote your business. You snap those pictures all the time and post them on Facebook or LinkedIn or Twitter or whatever.
The whole idea on social media is to use pictures to attract attention. Wellness centers show pictures of hands working on a client's backside. A home improvement specialist shows pictures of bathrooms turned into spas. A bakery reaches out with pictures of awesomely designed cakes.
But you don't have to use your own products and services to grab some eyeballs. Pets always attract attention as do close-ups of various things in nature.
Example: Ted is as chiropractor. His website and his posts on Facebook always include his dog. The dog is big, active, friendly and lovable. Ted takes many pictures of the dog--showing him running, jumping, chasing a ball, carrying a stick, or curled up asleep. With his pictures, Ted is getting across the message of an active, pain-free life style. His chiropractic message is not about bones and muscles--that discussion is on Ted's website, awaiting viewers who want to know more. Ted's dog is the message. The pictures on social media is upfront, attention-getting, and draws the viewer inside.
Example: Tom operates an independent pest control business. To promote his services, Tom takes close-up pictures of bugs and post them on his website. Close-ups of roaches, spiders, termites and ants are regulars on his Facebook pages. But he really made a hit when the town experienced an invasion of stink bugs. He posted pictures--not only of individual bugs, but hundreds of the insects littering sidewalks. The calls came in for Tom to get rid of the pests.
Example: Susan operates a women's clothing and accessories shop. Her customers are well-heeled and discriminating. Susan entices them with close-up pictures of clothing patterns, stitching, buttons and the like. She rarely takes pictures of entire outfits, opting instead for the fine details and quality workmanship that her customers care about.
Put your creativity to work in your promotional pictures. Close--ups of just about anything can be attention-getting. Pictures of pets and flowers can pop your message on social media.
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Choosing directions
Free daily tips, information, advice and ideas
to help you better manage your small business
Managing a business is an art, not a science. You can use inputs from science and technology, but how you put it all together is unique to you.
It is a high wire act and you are juggling limited funding with marketplace realities. You must like this balancing act to be successful in building and operating a business.
Artists who live by their creations, alternative health practitioners, technology businesses, restauranteurs and every other small business owner must tackle each day with gusto, choose among the many possibilities, and enjoy the process.
Managing involves many pieces. You motivate yourself and your employees. You watch the bottom line. You prepare for emergencies. You stay on top of technology. You stay alert to market opportunities. And, most importantly, you listen to your clients/customers.
Example: Alex is an artist who paints in oils. His abstracts attract attention, but sales are not enough to support him and his family. He began doing portraits, but commissions are few and far between. At a show where Alex was displaying his works, he overheard someone say that there was nothing available priced low enough to be considered as gifts to friends. It gave him an idea. Today, Alex turns out many small paintings, quickly done, and reasonably priced. He frames them himself and sells them on his website, in high-end gift shops, and at shows. He has found a way to make ends meet.
Listen to the marketplace. You gotta give 'em what they want.
Example: Mary is an expert Reiki practitioner. She works from home, seeing clients at their place. Mary was approached by a wellness center to join the group. For a reasonable monthly payment, she would have her own room to see clients. With her certifications, Mary could now offer to teach others. And by being part of the wellness center, she is attracting more clients. It was a good directional choice for her business.
Joining with compatible business partners can solve growth problems.
Example: Sue runs a small printing operation. She stays on top of the technology that has revolutionized the printing industry. Instead of listening to salespeople trying to sell her bigger presses, Sue opted for a newer, smaller, cheaper, technologically advanced press that could turn out short-run color work. She chose a direction that has propelled her into a narrow, but very profitable, market segment.
Technology changes everything. All businesses are affected.
Managing a small business means you stay on top of everything. You make all the decisions. Then you take out the trash and turn off the lights.
to help you better manage your small business
Managing a business is an art, not a science. You can use inputs from science and technology, but how you put it all together is unique to you.
It is a high wire act and you are juggling limited funding with marketplace realities. You must like this balancing act to be successful in building and operating a business.
Artists who live by their creations, alternative health practitioners, technology businesses, restauranteurs and every other small business owner must tackle each day with gusto, choose among the many possibilities, and enjoy the process.
Managing involves many pieces. You motivate yourself and your employees. You watch the bottom line. You prepare for emergencies. You stay on top of technology. You stay alert to market opportunities. And, most importantly, you listen to your clients/customers.
Example: Alex is an artist who paints in oils. His abstracts attract attention, but sales are not enough to support him and his family. He began doing portraits, but commissions are few and far between. At a show where Alex was displaying his works, he overheard someone say that there was nothing available priced low enough to be considered as gifts to friends. It gave him an idea. Today, Alex turns out many small paintings, quickly done, and reasonably priced. He frames them himself and sells them on his website, in high-end gift shops, and at shows. He has found a way to make ends meet.
Listen to the marketplace. You gotta give 'em what they want.
Example: Mary is an expert Reiki practitioner. She works from home, seeing clients at their place. Mary was approached by a wellness center to join the group. For a reasonable monthly payment, she would have her own room to see clients. With her certifications, Mary could now offer to teach others. And by being part of the wellness center, she is attracting more clients. It was a good directional choice for her business.
Joining with compatible business partners can solve growth problems.
Example: Sue runs a small printing operation. She stays on top of the technology that has revolutionized the printing industry. Instead of listening to salespeople trying to sell her bigger presses, Sue opted for a newer, smaller, cheaper, technologically advanced press that could turn out short-run color work. She chose a direction that has propelled her into a narrow, but very profitable, market segment.
Technology changes everything. All businesses are affected.
Managing a small business means you stay on top of everything. You make all the decisions. Then you take out the trash and turn off the lights.
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Promoting beyond
Free daily tips, information, advice and ideas
to help you better manage your small business
Promoting your small business is an everyday activity. When holidays approach, businesses tend to shift promoting into high gear. But you need to think beyond the holidays.
In today's world, promoting your business is easier than ever. Social media promotions offer pathways to success that are quick and cheap.
It is now October, and many business owners are already snapping pictures and posting them on Facebook and other platforms. They are anticipating the spending that goes on in November and December.
Example: Ella runs a high end gift shop. She specializes in offering hand made items by artists and artisans. Beginning in mid-November, Ella begins putting up pictures on Facebook--every day. Pictures are meant to attract attention to her website and to her store. They show jewelry in all lines, items in leather and wood, ceramics, glass and other unusual and one-of-a-kind creations. Ella's promotions work for the holidays, but what about January, February and March?
Example: Pepe is a floral designer. His shop attracts and serves clients from a wide area. As with all florists, Mother's Day is the biggest day of the year for Pepe. He begins in March promoting the big day, and the orders begin coming in ahead of time. But what about June and the summer months?
Example: Myra runs a bakery. She offers all sorts of concoctions--specialty cakes, breads, cookies and others goodies. Her clientele includes businesses, corporations, private parties and others. They depend on Myra for the bakery items for holidays, birthdays, parties, meetings and other gatherings. To expand, Myra began offering to ship brownies anywhere to customers who placed orders on her website. This has considerably expanded her operation--accessing a much wider geographical area, but serving the same types of meetings and gatherings far beyond her town.
Of course, you promote for holidays. But don't neglect the rest of the year. With social media, every business can build by promoting year round.
And when you've exhausted your immediate area, put on your thinking cap. How can you use social media and shipping to serve a wider area?
Promoting beyond the holidays and beyond your immediate geographical area is key to building your business. Get with it.
to help you better manage your small business
Promoting your small business is an everyday activity. When holidays approach, businesses tend to shift promoting into high gear. But you need to think beyond the holidays.
In today's world, promoting your business is easier than ever. Social media promotions offer pathways to success that are quick and cheap.
It is now October, and many business owners are already snapping pictures and posting them on Facebook and other platforms. They are anticipating the spending that goes on in November and December.
Example: Ella runs a high end gift shop. She specializes in offering hand made items by artists and artisans. Beginning in mid-November, Ella begins putting up pictures on Facebook--every day. Pictures are meant to attract attention to her website and to her store. They show jewelry in all lines, items in leather and wood, ceramics, glass and other unusual and one-of-a-kind creations. Ella's promotions work for the holidays, but what about January, February and March?
Example: Pepe is a floral designer. His shop attracts and serves clients from a wide area. As with all florists, Mother's Day is the biggest day of the year for Pepe. He begins in March promoting the big day, and the orders begin coming in ahead of time. But what about June and the summer months?
Example: Myra runs a bakery. She offers all sorts of concoctions--specialty cakes, breads, cookies and others goodies. Her clientele includes businesses, corporations, private parties and others. They depend on Myra for the bakery items for holidays, birthdays, parties, meetings and other gatherings. To expand, Myra began offering to ship brownies anywhere to customers who placed orders on her website. This has considerably expanded her operation--accessing a much wider geographical area, but serving the same types of meetings and gatherings far beyond her town.
Of course, you promote for holidays. But don't neglect the rest of the year. With social media, every business can build by promoting year round.
And when you've exhausted your immediate area, put on your thinking cap. How can you use social media and shipping to serve a wider area?
Promoting beyond the holidays and beyond your immediate geographical area is key to building your business. Get with it.
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Social media promotions
Free daily tips, information, advice and ideas
to help you better manage your small business
If you don't use Facebook and other social media to promote your business, you are missing opportunities that are easy and quick.
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and other platforms are useful additions to your marketing toolbox. Everyone who runs a small business deserves to make use of them.
First, it's easy to set up your business on social media. Even if you are not computer-savvy, you can follow simple directions and be up to speed and running smoothly very quickly. Just go to the site, and they lead you through it. You can buy an ad, but start out with the freebie route.
Second, social media pages put a friendly face on your business. Everyone snaps digital pictures these days. Photos are easily uploaded to your Facebook page, for example. Social media platforms are different in their requirements, but I recommend beginning with Facebook. Get your feet wet and then check out other platforms
Third, social media platforms make maintenance easy and cheap. You don't need an expert, like you might if you are developing your website. With Facebook, for example, you simply check in, post one of those photos you've taken, say a few words (the fewer, the better), and you are done with your promotion for the day.
Fourth, social media platforms bring you new clients/customers. Social media spreads the word and brings in referrals. People tend to pass your photos around, getting your business in front of more eyeballs.
Keep in mind that social media is not a brochure. It's not an ad--although they will sell you one if you like. Social media is more like a scroll--unfolding day by day or week by week. It's not static, it changes as you put more input up. And you are making the changes yourself.
Photos are the key. Bakers photograph every cake made. Florists show every arrangement before it goes out the door. A massage therapist photographs hands working on a subject. A landscaper show one beautiful blooming plant after another. Pest exterminators show endless pictures of bugs. Mechanics at repair shops show hands fiddling with something under the vehicle hood.
Don't try to be professional. Aim for being informative, humorous with a little craziness thrown in for good measure. You're having fun, not taking photos to be displayed in an art gallery.
You can promote your business in many ways. Almost all cost dollars. But social media opportunities reach far beyond others and they can be free.
to help you better manage your small business
If you don't use Facebook and other social media to promote your business, you are missing opportunities that are easy and quick.
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and other platforms are useful additions to your marketing toolbox. Everyone who runs a small business deserves to make use of them.
First, it's easy to set up your business on social media. Even if you are not computer-savvy, you can follow simple directions and be up to speed and running smoothly very quickly. Just go to the site, and they lead you through it. You can buy an ad, but start out with the freebie route.
Second, social media pages put a friendly face on your business. Everyone snaps digital pictures these days. Photos are easily uploaded to your Facebook page, for example. Social media platforms are different in their requirements, but I recommend beginning with Facebook. Get your feet wet and then check out other platforms
Third, social media platforms make maintenance easy and cheap. You don't need an expert, like you might if you are developing your website. With Facebook, for example, you simply check in, post one of those photos you've taken, say a few words (the fewer, the better), and you are done with your promotion for the day.
Fourth, social media platforms bring you new clients/customers. Social media spreads the word and brings in referrals. People tend to pass your photos around, getting your business in front of more eyeballs.
Keep in mind that social media is not a brochure. It's not an ad--although they will sell you one if you like. Social media is more like a scroll--unfolding day by day or week by week. It's not static, it changes as you put more input up. And you are making the changes yourself.
Photos are the key. Bakers photograph every cake made. Florists show every arrangement before it goes out the door. A massage therapist photographs hands working on a subject. A landscaper show one beautiful blooming plant after another. Pest exterminators show endless pictures of bugs. Mechanics at repair shops show hands fiddling with something under the vehicle hood.
Don't try to be professional. Aim for being informative, humorous with a little craziness thrown in for good measure. You're having fun, not taking photos to be displayed in an art gallery.
You can promote your business in many ways. Almost all cost dollars. But social media opportunities reach far beyond others and they can be free.
Monday, October 26, 2015
Changing business direction
Free daily tips, information, advice and ideas
to help you better manage your small business
Businesses change directions in two ways. They can drift into new markets or they can deliberately strike off down another road.
When you spot your business drifting, it's time to evaluate whether or not you want to follow the drift. It might be the future, or it might be a dead end. Remember the video store?
On the other hand, when you spot a new market opportunity, it can represent a direction you might want to check out. It might work, or it might not.
Example: A small machine shop was a family operation for many years. The shop had long ago installed the computer-driven machines to serve customers in aerospace, medical, and other corporate fields. Then, along came 3-D printing. This new technology could produce parts in plastics and metals. The machine shop owner was reluctant in the beginning to jump into the new field too quickly. But 3-D printing showed the promise of revolutionizing the industry. He installed one of the new machines, began training his people, and began turning out useful pieces--some of which could expand the market he served. He was changing the way his business would serve the marketplace in the future.
Technology can offer all sorts of opportunities to change business direction. Think how social media can point thousands of potential customers to your website. This has changed the direction of many businesses, exploding the reach into new markets.
But things less sexy can change as well. Think food.
Example: A local small farmer is producing lettuces, spinach, and seasonal greens and herbs. He spotted a new product in his fields--the flower buds produced in spring from last year's kale crop. It's fresh, it's local, it's kale, it's new--all the elements to excite the marketplace. Chefs are now using kale buds in various ways--sauteed, in soups, in omelets. The farmer also offers milkweed buds and day lily buds which chefs are using in the same ways. These are "new" products which were there all along, but whose time has come in the marketplace.
Changing the direction of your business offers opportunities to push more products and services into the marketplace. Think outside the box to come up with ways that work for you.
Changing directions in your business can open up new avenues to growth, expansion and future success. Keep an eye on that business plan, however. You don't want to get ahead of your self.
to help you better manage your small business
Businesses change directions in two ways. They can drift into new markets or they can deliberately strike off down another road.
When you spot your business drifting, it's time to evaluate whether or not you want to follow the drift. It might be the future, or it might be a dead end. Remember the video store?
On the other hand, when you spot a new market opportunity, it can represent a direction you might want to check out. It might work, or it might not.
Example: A small machine shop was a family operation for many years. The shop had long ago installed the computer-driven machines to serve customers in aerospace, medical, and other corporate fields. Then, along came 3-D printing. This new technology could produce parts in plastics and metals. The machine shop owner was reluctant in the beginning to jump into the new field too quickly. But 3-D printing showed the promise of revolutionizing the industry. He installed one of the new machines, began training his people, and began turning out useful pieces--some of which could expand the market he served. He was changing the way his business would serve the marketplace in the future.
Technology can offer all sorts of opportunities to change business direction. Think how social media can point thousands of potential customers to your website. This has changed the direction of many businesses, exploding the reach into new markets.
But things less sexy can change as well. Think food.
Example: A local small farmer is producing lettuces, spinach, and seasonal greens and herbs. He spotted a new product in his fields--the flower buds produced in spring from last year's kale crop. It's fresh, it's local, it's kale, it's new--all the elements to excite the marketplace. Chefs are now using kale buds in various ways--sauteed, in soups, in omelets. The farmer also offers milkweed buds and day lily buds which chefs are using in the same ways. These are "new" products which were there all along, but whose time has come in the marketplace.
Changing the direction of your business offers opportunities to push more products and services into the marketplace. Think outside the box to come up with ways that work for you.
Changing directions in your business can open up new avenues to growth, expansion and future success. Keep an eye on that business plan, however. You don't want to get ahead of your self.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)