Starting A Small Business

Posted on October 17, 2011 by Brian

It is perhaps everyone’s dream to be their own boss, leave the 9-5 rat race behind, and starting a small business. Most people don’t get this opportunity or just don’t take action. In times of economic uncertainty, redundancy can force people to realize their very own business dreams.

Running a small business is among the biggest life altering events that you can experience. It can be thought of as a marriage; starting a small business requires the same commitment and desire. And just like marriage, you will be living with your business 24 hours each day and 365 days in a year. Here are easy steps to guide you when jump starting a business.

Examining your heart

The initial step in starting a small business knows whether it is perfect for you. You need to have that passion and burning desire to be your own boss, transform your dream into reality and market your service/product. Running a business is not for the indifferent and ambivalent. Ask yourself the following questions before digging into this new venture:

  • Do you want operate independently and be the decision maker of the company who will shoulder all responsibilities?
  • Are you capable of working hard and make the necessary sacrifices needed in jump starting a business?
  • Do you have self discipline and confidence that will equip you to persevere and grow your new enterprise into a success?

If you answered ‘no’ to one of these, then you are not ready for this new entrepreneurial venture. Overnight success stories are just stories. True success only comes from hard work and perseverance over time.

Do you have what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur?

There are distinct traits and attitudes that make some individuals more suited for starting a small business compared to others. A recent study revealed that the top attributes of successful entrepreneurs include perseverance, competitiveness, self reliance, willingness and desire to take initiatives, self confidence, excellent physical health and the passion to achieve. But even if you have all these successful entrepreneur qualities, you really won’t get anywhere if you don’t put these traits into action.

Abilities of a successful entrepreneur

According to a research study, there are six factors that every entrepreneur needs when starting a business namely business/industry knowledge, self motivation, marketing skill, customer/vendor relations, organizational/management qualities and a strong vision.

Business and industry knowledge should be on top of the list for your business success. Investing time in learning the skills before you even start a business is wise as you have already decided to put a lot of effort into starting your business.

Avoid becoming a statistic

The business failure statistic shows that about 75% of small businesses fail in the first five years. Many businesses fail because of weak general management, weak marketing capabilities and weak financial management.

Preparation and planning will help you avoid the failures of starting a small business. Aside from having the top entrepreneurial qualities, you need to have that passion to fuel your commitment.

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Do You Need A Social Media Marketing Plan?

Posted on August 30, 2011 by Brian

Facebook fanpages for businessA lot of people are now creating Facebook pages as a component of their social media marketing plan Once it used to be only  personal pages that you would find of mostly young people between the ages of 21 and 28.  Nowadays you can find almost everything you are looking for on Facebook.

Often time’s even businesses that don’t have websites have Facebook pages.  This should go to show you just how effective having Facebook pages for business can be. Every business is using internet marketing today and what better way to do it than with the use of Facebook.

It is currently the most popular social networking website and the most trafficked website in the world to date. This means having Facebook pages for business can bring your business more traffic than any other method you may have or have not used in the past such as article marketing or blogging.

Facebook is ideal even for businesses just starting out as you can freely access all the necessary tools on the website once you create a profile with a valid email address. With around an hour or so you can have a perfect page up and start looking for friends or relatives to add to your page.

You add these people first and then they can do some word of mouth to get you some fans and likes as well. Many times when you get something free it usually is not worth much but not so when it comes to Facebook.

You will need to learn a lot of things if you are new to the field of internet marketing but who has the time o wait to learn it all before you start benefiting?

Not you, right?

That is why Facebook is right for you. When you create your business profile and add a couple of friends your profile will start working for you right away giving you time to go and learn some more while it works by itself basically.

Yes you have to update the page ever so often to ensure that you keep attracting potential customers but with more knowledge of the tools you can utilize on Facebook you can reach even more people in record time.

If you are considering internet marketing one of the first things you should do is to get some Facebook pages for business promotion. You may find (and a lot of people do) that this is all you need to make it successful as a business.

Just by joining this free website and using the many free tools that they have available to all their subscribers you can make the future of your business a brighter and more promising one.

Check out Facebook as a part of your social media marketing plan today and see how getting some Facebook pages for business promotion can help you get to the top of the ladder in your niche market and help you stay there for the long haul.

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Fill Your Sales Pipeline – Describe Your Services

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Brian

Service businessToo often professional service providers neglect to clearly define to their prospects (or  referral partners) what services they deliver. Have you ever spoken to an existing client about what you do, and they have said; “Oh, I didn’t realize you did that!”. If you have then that is an indicator that you may be missing out on opportunities to sell other services to your prospects/clients.

When providing business coaching to my clients, I ask them to really communicate their services effectively and powerfully. You will need to sit down and answer these questions:

What Services Do I Offer?

  • Ideally the services you provide would match and satisfy a real demand in the market place.
  • Do you deliver a range of services or go with a one size fits all approach?
  • Do you offer basic, medium and premium services based on client size and complexity?
  • What problems do your services solve for your clients?
  • How will your services benefit your clients?
  • Do you perform analysis only or a full spectrum of analysis, design of solution, implementation and ongoing support?

How Do I Communicate What I Do?

Having a great range of services is one thing, conveying this to educate your market is another. You need to constantly be describing what you do for your prospects and clients. Include your service description in the following:

  • Your brochures
  • The company website
  • Business cards
  • Your invoices and quotes
  • Email messages
  • Presentation materials
  • Your elevator speech

Prospects will appreciate knowing what it is that you do for them. Erase the confusion, and not only will you get more business, you will save lots of time and energy by not pursuing prospects that are not a good match for (or do not want) your services.

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A Passion Based Business Strategy

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Brian

Ever wonder why you went into business and just what the heck are you doing all this for? Sometimes it helps to go right back to the beginning of your business journey. What prompted you to go into business? This trip back in time to the roots of your entrepreneurial seizure is illuminating.

Your business strategy should start with a purpose statement. The why of  how you came to be in business. This is the very beginning of it all. As they say – “If the why is strong enough, the how will present itself”.

Many people start businesses to make a lot of money, others because of a passion for a particular idea or philosophy. Either way there was a drive within to express yourself through business.

Running your own business can be one of the most challenging and rewarding things you may ever do in your life. It helps if you keep in touch with that little flame that started it all.

If, through introspection, you can still feel the burning desire to achieve your highest ideal through business, then fan that flame through visualizing once again your cherished outcomes. Even better, write down your goals and aspirations and commit to them in your business plan.

Go back to the beginning of what you wanted from your business such as financial freedom, creative expression, a fantastic lifestyle or all this plus lots of time with family and friends. By focusing on what it was that initially put you in the position you are now in, you can gauge whether you are on track or not.

Be brave about what you want from your business and life. Don’t settle for less than your ideal. When we come to the end of our days we will all ask ourselves pretty much the same questions; “Did I Live?’  “Did I Love?” “Did I Make A Difference?” I am sure you have been told that life is short, so make the most of the opportunities you have now to make your business everything it can be.

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Your Marketing Mix – Reduce Your Risk

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Brian

Is your business too reliant, and therefore vulnerable, because it relies on one form of marketing? Or do you have an effective and tested marketing mix? These are important questions to ask yourself when it comes to your business longevity. A high percentage of businesses take a passive approach to their marketing.

They wait for their existing clients to tell other people about their business (referral marketing or word-of-mouth). Whilst this is a powerful way to generate business, it also makes you totally reliant on something you can’t control – your clients comments about your services.

You need to become proactive when it comes to marketing your business, and you need to have more than one leg on your marketing structure to create a stable and consistent revenue stream. Now, I can’t show you one way to generate 100 clients, but I can show you 100 ways to generate one client.

This is the concept behind your marketing mix. By employing multiple approaches to how you generate leads and prospects, you not only create a more consistent stream of income, you reduce the risk to your business of only having one strategy working for you.

By all means have word-of-mouth marketing working for you. To increase its effectiveness though, implement a proactive referral campaign. To then add more legs to your marketing base you could then  include networking events, public speaking, article writing, promotions, and advertising.

The message here is simple, reduce your risk and increase your business by developing a low-cost marketing mix to build revenues.

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