Tag: business
Entrepreneurial Myths: The Truth Behind Them
If you are about to start off in business you will have no doubt heard these comments:
ìSo many businesses fail. Why are you doing this?î
ìI hear that you need a large amount of money to get a business off the ground these days.î
ìWhy are you throwing away the security of your job?î
These, and more of the same, are typical of the barriers that so called friends and advisors, put in your way if you are thinking of starting a business. These barriers are built on the back of myths about the pitfalls and challenges which surround running your own business.
In this article, we’ll take a look at some of these myths and reveal them to be exactly that just myths! Don’t get me wrong, being an entrepreneur can be tough and there are hurdles to cross, but let’s bring some common sense into the debate!
<b>You Don’t Have a Personal Life</b>
Yes you will! It can be hard juggling the responsibilities of running your own business and spending time with the family, but at the end of the day, you are going to have far more flexibility with your personal life, than any employee will ever have. The real issue is, do you have the time management and planning skills to get things done, thereby allowing you time to spend with your family.
<b>You Have To Be Cunning and Ruthless To Be a Successful Entrepreneur</b>
Ok, it may help you in the short term but this is not a sound, long term strategy. To be a successful entrepreneur you need to build relationships with both customers and suppliers who will stick by you during the rough times. Being ruthless over pricing may get you one or two good deals but you are unlikely to build a lasting and profitable relationship. Your aim should be to strike a balance between what you want and what your customer or supplier wants.
<b>You Won’t Have To Work As Hard</b>
Your current job may be stressful and subject you to long hours. The idea of running your own business is appealing because you can slow down and take life at your own pace. To a degree this is true but there’s no getting away from the fact that it will be hard work. Most small businesses don’t achieve profitability until year 3 and so it’s a long slog. Remember, if was easy, everyone would be doing it!
What does make the difference though, is that you are finally doing something you love and so the hours and the struggles don’t seem like hard work at all. So perhaps this myth may be true after all!
<b>You Have To Have an Original Idea</b>
No you don’t. Most businesses are built around a central idea. The difference is usually how it’s delivered. The core products of all fast food places are the same, as are clothes shops, newsagents etc. You can make a decent living effectively copying someone else’s idea but done in a slightly different way. Don’t be put off by the doomsayers who will gleefully point out that ìit’s been done beforeî. Your response should be, ëGreat! That shows the idea works!î
<b>You Will Be Your Own Boss</b>
No way! There’s only one boss in your new business the customer. They are essential to your success. When you were working for that large, faceless Corporation, the loss of the odd client wasn’t that big a deal – plenty more where they came from.
In your new world you have to do whatever it takes to keep your customers and keep them happy. The customer is the one who calls the tunes. You have to listen and take note, before someone else does. However, at the end of the day, when all their demands are met, then perhaps you can have some time to yourself and enjoy the pleasures of being your own boss after all!
<b>You Need A lot Of Money To Get a Business Off The Ground</b>
Some businesses do need a fair bit of cash to get moving but there are many areas you can go into without the need to invest in a large amount of stock, machinery or equipment. The low-capital businesses involve the use of three very cheap commodities – your brain power, your knowledge and your time.
A business where you sell your expertise, not actual goods, to other people can be cheaply set up and carry high profit margins. All you may need is a PC, a desk and a telephone line. What’s stopping you?
<b>You Only Have To Do What You Want To Do</b>
Unfortunately this myth is wrong. We all have areas or skills in which we excel and it’s this expertise which usually forms the basis of your business. Your dedication to paperwork, bank statements and the VAT man may not be that high, but branching out on your own doesn’t mean you have the choice to avoid these terrible tasks.
Whilst you were able to do this when you were sitting in the big corporate office, you can no longer hide. These tasks have to be done otherwise the deck of cards can start to collapse.
If you do have serious misgivings on certain areas, marketing for example, then consider taking a course to improve your skills. If it’s something you seriously can’t do, then go and find someone to do it for you – don’t hope it will go away because it won’t.
You will have seen that some of the myths not being true is good news and others not so good news! Be sensible in considering the myths which are thrown at you. See it for what they are – comments from people who don’t know what they are talking about! In the next issue I’ll have some more myth-busting ideas for you.
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Business Tools to Help You Run a Successful Business
Setting up a small business, whether web based or not, can be a very time consuming and difficult task. The increasing popularity of the Internet and the resources available has seen a massive increase in business tools to help you on your way.
When setting up a business, even the best prepared among us will struggle to do everything and remember everything. It is very unlikely that we will understand all of the financial and legal ramifications of a new business, especially when we need to concentrate on getting that elusive first sale or completing the first contract. It isn’t always feasible to employ an accountant and a solicitor as well as a secretary, a salesperson and any other workers needed in the daily running of the business. So, we need to be able to diversify when setting up a new business and the best piece of advice anyone can give you to help is to make the most of the widely available business tools on the market.
Financial Documents and Tools
An accountant is a very expensive commodity that many new businesses can afford full-time. It is down to us to undertake as much of the financial side of things as possible; a daunting task indeed. There is help at hand in the form of business tools.
Spreadsheets have become immensely powerful and can do much of the financial work that any business needs, even invoicing. The Internet is awash with free standard documents for almost any occasions; if you aren’t proficient at doing this yourself, you can find balance sheets, daily cash sheets and almost anything you could need.
The Legal Minefield
Mention legal documents to a new business owner and most will curse you. Again, paying for a lawyer to create all your contracts and other legal documents is a cost that new businesses may not be able to afford. Look at other contracts, get ideas off the internet and take a look at the standard contract and terms and conditions guidelines and when you’re ready, book a session with an affordable attorney and let them look over everything. This way you will only pay once and get all the information you need for an affordable price.
It is important that you get any legal documents checked at least once. A poorly written contract can cost you a lot more than the lawyer’s fees.
Human Resources
Human Resources, or personnel as it was once known, will become very important when you start to employ staff. There are a lot of rules and regulations to abide by as well as a lot of extra information to store that is both important and
confidential.
You can get time and attendance software, standard contracts, standard terms and conditions and software to look after your payroll details.
These are just a few tools available to new business owners. To do a job right requires the right tools. It is better to spend time researching your options first to find the right tools, than to get yourself into a real bind attempting to do the job with the wrong (or no) tools. You will find that the time it takes to get the right tools will pay off time and time again.
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Advertise, no matter if you are big or small
What is your attitude as a small town businessman when it comes to advertising or taking help of an advertising design agency to provide creative design solutions? I bet, more often than not it is on the lines of “What ever is left over, we’ll use for advertising”. Well, you are not alone. Most of the small town businessmen treat advertising as such, as they feel that they know most of their customers who will come back, advertising or not.
Fair enough, but what if you have a competitor within the town or even without in the form of E-commerce ensuring doorstep delivery and definitely much larger choice. You getting the point?
Competition or not, you always need to remind your customers that you are there and what value you bring to them. This way you not only ensure that loyal customers remain so, but you net new customers. Remember marketing and advertising is an investment, not an expense. Without enough money put aside for advertising your sales can go down and you suddenly have less and less for promotion. You advertise most when you need business. You advertise more when you don’t.
A small-budget advertiser doesn’t have the ”deep pockets” to develop big advertising campaigns or go for top shot advertising design agency. In this case you need to break the rules to be noticed. Avis did it by admitting they were “Number 2” in the car rental business and that campaign took them from 6th place to second place.
Now you must be wondering is there any sure shot way of advertising which not only is cost effective but has maximum impact. To be sure, there isnít any readymade formula for bullís eye hitting creative design solutions but this article proffers some tips to get this sort of marketing in place. Before we get to the tips let’s look at the basic strategies of successful advertising.
* In order to be successful, your advertising must provide a consumer benefit or solve a problem.
* That benefit or solution must be wanted by the consumer.
* The product or service you are offering must be tied directly to that benefit or solution.
* The benefit or solution must be distinctly communicated through medial advertising. In other words, be clear, forget the advertising glitz and make sure the message isn’t lost in the ad.
Average cost of advertising is usually 1 to 5% of gross sales, which can vary according to location, local advertising rates, and industry. Budget conscious advertisers must achieve top results for their advertising dollar. Expand your dollars by adopting some creative techniques.
<b>Some Tips</b>
* Place your ads in off hours or in unusual locations on discounted rates. This will help you in containing the cost. Many times you can still reach your target market with these spots.
* Instead of a one-time big splash ad, be consistent with frequent small ads that work to keep reminding your customers of your presence.
* Consider advertising in regional issues of national magazines. The costs are lower and you can reach your target market. TV Guide is also a good choice. It stays around for at least a week.
* Sponsor a community event if you can like a fun-run, golf tournament, or other event that will be well publicized in the community. Your name may not be prominently displayed but sometimes the positive exposure in the community will bring in new customers.
* Exploit the media you choose to the fullest. If your message is verbal, you don’t need TV. Use radio, billboards and newspapers to the fullest.
* Consider direct mail. A letter and brochure before customer contact can increase business.
*Hire an advertising design agency which might not be top of the heap, but can get creative and specializes in interactive campaigns to provide you with creative design solutions.
I hope these tips will help your business grow. Not all may be relevant to your particular situation. Hopefully, they will illustrate the importance to plan and control your advertising budget.
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Choosing a Company Name
When forming a limited company the name of the company can be an important decision. Some people may choose the first name that they think of and others may select a ready made company for speed or because they like a particular name. However, many businesses may prefer to select a company name that either clearly distinguishes itself from its competitors or contains something unique or personal. Company names can be chosen for different reasons.
One of the most common ways of selecting a company name is to use something personal. A quick look through your local newspaper will probably introduce you to many personalised business names. Johnson Consulting Limited, T Smith & Son Limited, Stephens & Barley Limited are some fictional examples of what may be found. This may instantly make a company recognisable locally, it can be deemed as more personal by its customers, and often works well within geographical areas. However, it does little to tell new customers what your company does.
A popular choice for a small business is to choose a name that is ëdescriptiveí. This tells prospective clients exactly what your company does. Examples of this may be to call your business The Window Company Limited, City IT Consultants Limited or The Advertising Agency Limited. Whilst this does serve to reinforce your primary business it offers little differentiation and may easily be adapted by competitors.
A less personal option is to use a company name that is ëassociativeí. This type of company name helps to create an image or connection to your business activity. It is less direct than using a descriptive name but helps to position your companyís name within the market through peoples understanding of what words mean. For example a flick through the Yellow Pages will offer plenty of examples of this. A hairdresser called Classic Cuts or a printer called Selectaprint Limited are examples of what may be found. These names offer some differentiation but may not ultimately set your company aside from its competitors.
An alternative is to choose a company name that is ëfreestandingí. These names are completely abstract and not related to the companies business activities. A fictional example may be to call your catering company Zedoc Limited. There are many popular brand names that illustrate this point. Consider, Kodak, Gillette, or Mars, these names will probably be instantly recognisable to you and conjure up a particular product or business. This is a good way of setting your company aside from the competition but it is important to consider the market that you operate in. Will your prospective clients know what your business is offering?
Choosing a company name may be a simple process, but it is not uncommon for people to deliberate over names for quite some time. Whilst company names can, and often are, changed during the life of the company most people like to choose a name that they like from the outset. Therefore consider your market, how much you want to differentiate from your competitors and what your company name should say about your organisation. Once the decision is made focus on the important business of making your company a success.
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Business Cost Savings Through Safety
Business Cost Savings Through Safety
Setting a health and safety program in place will reduce costs. Having a program will reduce accidents and will lead to lower company worker’s comp premiums; further business insurance companies prefer their customers to have health and safety programs. These insurance companies might even discount the premium if a program can be proved to exist. The average cost of an accident is $68,000. Direct costs in accidents such as worker’s comp and fines levied can close a business. Indirect costs such as low morale of employees, legal fees, and retraining can be as costly if not more.
A working program will:
1) Improve employee morale – Shows care in their well being
2) Reduce revenue loses – Fewer accidents keeps all employees at work
3) Give a boost to the customer – Makes sure business is operating optimally
Small businesses that have a voluntary health and safety program in place have fifty percent less accidents and reported insurance claims than that of their counterparts according to OHSA stats. Most small businesses fall below the legal requirements for having a formal health and safety program in place due to number of employees on staff. Sixty eight percent of reported accidents are in the service industry which shows even businesses such as retail establishments are not free of accidents.
A health and safety program can be started by writing a health and safety policy; this is simply values that a company wishes to convey in its work processes. Secondly, is how communication between all employees and owners will function. And lastly, put procedures in place to ensure safe practices.
To find unseen hazards and unsafe practices, an audit needs to take place. Take a hard look at the workplace and record all factors that may lead to injury. These hazards might be dangerous chemicals or as simple as a letter opener. Identifying these hazards will lead to procedures to controlling them. Controls such as ‘Don’t run with scissors in your handsî are effective. Write all procedures in a manual.
Implementing these health and safety procedures will be done with behavioral change. Some programs become weak and non effective because of:
1) No definition of safety practices – No written processes
2) No teamwork – Safety is communication from the top to bottom and vice versa. A well written plan will describe what roles everyone plays in safety policies.
3) No effective goals – The ‘accident free daysî poster will come as a result of sound safety processes.
4) Wrong incentives – Money as a reward does not work well. Health and safety should be fun and worth employees effort. The right incentive plan can be cost effective and have obtainable goals. Incentive plans can include movie passes or simply ‘free coffee on the boss.î The insurance industry reports for a dollar spent on health and safety yields four to six dollars in savings.
Once all of the hard work of developing and implementing the health and safety program is done, set aside some time each month to review the workplace. Record what is found; this is a good practice to see dangerous trends that might occur such as a fire exit constantly being blocked. On the quarters of the year post a meeting with employees. These meetings are a great way to get vital feed-back from employees and keep them involved. At least once a year, do an audit to make sure your health and safety program is current with present business operations.
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Does Your Small Business Need A Web Site?
You are a small business owner. You use the internet both in your business and personally. Obviously you know there are many, many web sites out there. More then likely, you’ve even made purchases through someone else’s web site. Perhaps it is apparent that you could be doing the same thing with your own business. Certainly, extra e-commerce sales could only help your bottom line. But does your business really need a web site?
In deciding that, consider what a web site really is to a business. A well designed site can give your business exposure to a much larger group of potential customers. That makes it a powerful tool in your marketing arsenal.
In today’s hyper-competitive business environment, marketing experts tell us that having a successful marketing strategy is essential to the growth of your business. Effective use of a web site can draw in new leads and turn leads into conversions. Now these new customers (your best market) can be further wooed through follow up online newsletters, automatic appreciation e-mails (auto-responders), special offers or any number of tactics. All the while building a mailing list which is like gold to anyone’s marketing efforts. With this almost limitless and relatively inexpensive marketing tool in the form of your web site, your profits have an even greater ability to soar.
A web site does need to be well designed. Also, in addition to targeted, effective content, your site needs to be regularly maintained and updated. Using its full potential requires someone in your company continually coming up with new online marketing strategies. But these efforts, if thought of as marketing investments, can mean big rewards in the form of increased profits for your business.
In this information age, the internet is key to making innovative marketing decisions that build a successful business. Your competition knows this and he/she probably has a web site. If they are savvy enough to realize its marketing potential, then they have a competitive edge. But you can make up ground and pass them up with a well designed web site of your own.
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Add Value to All You Do
While reading some very informative material recently, I found myself inspired by a concept that enables a person to soar to higher heights. The concept of adding value to everything you do, when applied to specific areas of a person’s life, can bring that person to be highly sought after by those receiving the added value. The material I was reading focused on business and what this concept will do for the success of a business. Another way of looking at this concept is in the idea of doing more than is expected, or doing more than that which you are compensated to do. When doing this a person will be “weighed” against others who do not. In comparison, the person who adds value to all he/she does will be sought after to the degree that there will be keen competition for his/her service. As a person becomes more and more recognized for doing more than he/she is compensated to do, he/she will begin receiving more and more compensation for their services.
There is an additional benefit that comes to the person who exercises this concept in his/her business; the development of that person’s strength. In nature, do you suppose the strongest trees are those that are protected from the storms and hidden from the sun? This isn’t the case. The one that stands out in the open and bears all of the winds and rain and is shone upon by the blistering sun is the tree that develops the strength to withstand the most violent weather. This also is the case for the person who goes beyond expectation to deliver added value in everything he/she does. This is the person that becomes strong enough to succeed despite the adversities that one is sure to come up against in his/her business. The fact that most people are delivering as little as they can get by with, serves as a great advantage to you when you deliver added value. One who delivers as little as he/she can, may rest assured he/she will receive the same.
I hope this information will add value to all of your experiences.
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66 Ways To Promote Your product or Services
Some guru sells his program because he has 60 ways of marketing. One Dentist was asked about his marketing he said he had 100 ways and use them all. Well I came up with 66 so far. I will work on more sometime after tax season or you can email me with ones I might have missed.
The true is you canít use them all. Some are too costly for many of us. Some wonít work. Try as many as you like and find the ones that work and work them till they stop working or you stop working, whichever comes first.
Here they are:
1. Direct to Consumers
2. Party plan
3. Rack Jobbers
4. Wholesalers
5. Mail Order House
6. Resident Buyers
7. Fairs and Exposition
8. Chain Stores
9. Discount Stores
10. Lease Departments
11. Supermarkets
12. Free Publicity
13. Sales People
14. Franchising
15. Co Party
16. U.S. Government
17. Direct Mail
18. Co-op Mailing
19. Trade shows
20. Advertising Specialties
21. PXís
22. Premiums
23. Classifieds:
24. In Papers
25. In Magazine
26. On the net
27. In Special papers
28. Articles
29. Ezine
30. Emails
31. Sig files
32. Radio
33. Television
34. Seminars (paid to You)
35. Bill Boards
36. Flyers
37. Brochures
38. Seminars you give free
39. Telephone
40. Referrals
41. E.books
42. Free Search Engines
43. Paid Search Engines
44. Post cards
45. Yellow Page ad
46. Cross Selling with others
47. Joint Ventures
48. Telemarketing
49. Take out Boxes with ads on
50. Posters
51. Booth at Mails or stand at mall
52. Man or Women with sign about your business
53. Window Display
54. Outside Signs
55. Articles for directories on the net
56. Free downloads with ads about your business products or services
57. Free Recording
58. Free Video
59. Free CD
60. Free Report
61. Free Samples
62. Special Events
63. Contests and Sweepstakes
64. Column in a Newspaper
65. Editorial writing by you
66. Free Phone Messages
Let me know at Joetrevis@aol.com if you would like me to explain any of these in a report that your interest in. It will be at least 2 pages with a lot of information.
More info’s and free registrations (restricted to pros), please join our live seminar
The Elevator Pitch: First Contact
Entrepreneurs with businesses in early start-up differ on what they believe to be the most important element, although many professionals will argue that creating a solid business plan should definitely be the first step. A well-crafted business plan lays out all the details and strategies, includes projections for revenue and spending, and will be reviewed in detail by bankers and venture capitalists. But in fact, the most important document that should be created even before the business plan is the ìelevator pitch.î
The fact is, most people will not read a business plan unless they have been motivated to do so beforehand. The elevator pitch is that motivating factor. It’s the hook that gets them into the room. It’s the catchy jingle that gets people to pay attention to the ad. It’s the best parts of the business plan, without the boring details. The elevator pitch is the place for the excitement, not the place to include all the technology, buzzwords and explanations.
An elevator pitch should be able to be condensed into a single-page presentation, short enough to be memorized, or read easily within a few minutesóthat’s how it got its name, it’s a pitch that’s short enough to be presented during the course of an elevator ride. The elevator pitch condenses your business concept into something that can be presented in about a minute or twoóessentially, the parts that matter, the very ìessenceî of the business.
The elevator pitch skips the hard-core financials, and gets straight to the heart of what it is about the business that really gets you excited. That’s what this pitch is aboutóyou don’t need the proof of concept here yet, that comes in the full-length business plan. The elevator pitch is the commercial that gets people interested.
The elevator pitch should be inspirational and creative, hitting the high points of your business concept, and should accomplish the following:
ï Hit the high points of what it is you hope to do
ï Summarize the problem/solution aspect of your concept
ï Describe the business modelóhow is it going to make money?
ï Create excitement on the part of the reader/listener
ï Describe the profit potential without having to bring out charts and graphs
ï Tell why you/your company are well positioned to accomplish your goal
ï End with a call to action
The first couple sentences are the most critical, and should present your core concept. If you can’t tell what it is you want to do in two sentences or less, then you need to simplify your concept. There will be plenty of time to get into all the details later, once you’ve captured your audience’s interest.
The "Networking" Part of Network Marketing
Networking is obviously an essential part of network marketing. Every successful network marketer knows this to be true. Although networking is such an intricate part of network marketing, the two terms are not synonymous. However there are many similarities. Both rely heavily on people skills. Both require people to confront their fear of talking to other people. Both carry with them the risk of rejection. Both also carry with them enormous opportunity. And to some people, both are considered dirty words.
Of course people that consider networking as something that is ‘not done’ don’t understand what networking is really about. The same can be said of people that think network marketing is something that is beneath them. Many people think of networking as a way to get connected solely for their own advancement in life. In that respect a person might feel that it is unethical or not noble to network. This line of thinking stems from the idea that advancement will always come at the expense of someone else, that success in life is a zero-sum game. These people often look at network marketing from the same perspective. They think of profiting from other people’s efforts as something that is negative and not fair to them. In reality, successful networkers will tell you that it doesn’t work that way at all. Networking doesn’t have to be at anybody’s expense and the business of network marketing doesn’t reward anyone for taking advantage of others. It actually rewards people for helping other people to succeed. In that respect it may very well be the most ethical business model in the world today.
A lot of the negativity around networking can be explained by the different types of networkers. Some can be considered ‘hunters’, moving in for a quick kill, after which they move out again. They often operate without regard of the other persons interest and because of this they will enjoy the fruits of success for only a limited period of time. Often it will not take long before people find out what’s really driving the hunter. Once they see that he or she is only looking after his or her own interests, their willingness to interact with this person will quickly evaporate. By contrast, truly successful networkers are often ‘farmers’ who spend a lot of time sowing and nourishing their relationships, instead of just focusing on reaping. They invest in their network, they energize their network. They use their network, but they never ever abuse their network! And their network knows this. A true networker will always keep the interests of others in mind. That’s why working with a true networker is so enjoyable. Networkers are often very likeable and as such people like to interact with them.
Networking is a skill that is essential to all businesses not just network marketing. Although network marketing differs in many ways from the more traditional forms of doing business, the importance of networking is just as prevalent. If not more so. A network marketer that doesn’t know how to network will be out of business in no time. Network marketing is first and foremost a people’s business and this implies that the ability to effectively work with people is absolutely critical. This is why successful network marketers are extremely adept at networking. Many have found out over time that developing this skill can pay off in many areas outside their network marketing business as well. Business owners who have started a home based business on the side often apply their enhanced networking and people’s skills in their traditional business with great success. For some network marketers this spin-off has earned them more money than the income from their network marketing business itself.
So whether you are in network marketing or in a more traditional type of business, don’t underestimate the importance of becoming an effective networker. And if you really want to master this skill you may find there is a lot to learn from good network marketers. So if you happen to know anybody that fits that description, try and benefit from their knowledge on the topic. It will surely help you network your way to success!