Small Business Information


Build Credibility, Value, and Trust on a Shoestring


Setting priorities in your business? Your first job is to sell. Selling is - writing the orders; receiving the cash; feeding the beast.

Where to Find a Cash Windfall of $10,000 to $1,000,000 -- You Never Knew You Had


There is a rather famous true story called "Acres of Diamonds".It is about a successful farmer who risks everything searching the African continent for diamonds.

How to Effectively Design Your Business Image


In many industries, image is one of the last things business owner looks at. If business is not booming, they assume there is something wrong with the sales method, as opposed to the image.

Analyzing Customers in Your Business Plan


The Customer Analysis section of the business plan assesses the customer segments that the company serves. In it, the company must 1) identify its target customers, 2) convey the needs of these customers, and 3) show how its products and services satisfy these needs.

An Example of Business Automation - eCards with pizazz


The last time I spoke and went into a bit of detail on business automation. Today I would like to give you some details of how I actually used it personally so you get to see first-hand what I wanted, how I went about doing it and finally executing it.

What is Business Process Automation?


Business Process Automation or BPA for short. This was a buzzword a few years back with anyone and everyone claiming they were experts in this area.

Building Your Business for Success in 2005


It's a strange anomaly.Most people who set out to start their own business, no matter what type, build it for failure, not success.

Your Practice is Only as Valuable as Your Referral Base


Many physical therapists in private practice have the appearance of a very successful business that is built on the backs of about four to five doctors. Now if anything would happen to any of these guys, the value of these practices would drop markedly.

Restaurant Operators - What Skills do you Need


A tongue-in-cheek look at the skills required to operate a restaurant but?on he whole they come pretty close to the truth.People Skills,You need to be good with people, because you will have different customers almost every day, you will have repeat customers who have higher expectations, a high-maintenance shift-based staff to manage, suppliers who won't always meet your expectations or time frames and creditors who want their money now.

How Do I Choose The Right Business Opportunity For Me?


First you have to start with knowing your budget and how much you can afford to spend on a business opportunity. There are ways of starting a business opportunity online for as little as $50 as an affiliate; this figure goes all the way up to $1 Million dollars with a McDonalds restaurant.

Is Your Business Legally Prepared?


It is imperative to have your business legally prepared. How you ask? You need to have a business license, a home occupation license, if running your business from home, a city or county license, (depending on what State you live) plus you need to register your business as fictious if you are not using your name as a business.

Six Essential Skills to Business Success!


The following are six essential skills to business success. You may not have developed all of these skills, but like most things in life, you can by learning, practicing and determination.

Get In Touch With Your Competition!


We all know that competition is an ugly word but competitors are a fact of life in business. If your business can't compete with other businesses, don't start it.

Small Business Owners - Form a Relationship with Your Bank Manager


It's just like a marriageTo expect a bank manager or officer to play such close attention to your account that he (or she) knows when you intend to deposit money and to know when to hold back a cheque is a hopeless dream.He has neither the time nor the resources, and you can complain until your blue in the face but, in the end, you have the sole responsibility to manage your bank account.

Keeping your Business Alive


As long as you eat and breathe you will stay alive. But is that really living? In a crisis that may be enough.

But This Is Just My Opinion


Hi, Charles..

Building A Business That Works For You


Before you want to build your business, you need to know why you are in this business.Many of us entered business as a technician.

Small Business - Is The Accounting Profession Ripping Them Off?


My 16 year-old daughter said, "Gee Dad! You look just like an accountant" And she wasn't being complimentary. Accountants are perceived to be boring, stodgy and conservative.

Business Failure, The 8 Traps Causing Failure And The One Attribute Which Ensures Business Survival


It is estimated that 78% of all small business start-ups fail within the first twelve months years, and long-term survival is likely for only 22% of all new business start-ups.At the same time huge corporations with seemly vibrant trade suddenly close their doors.

Serious About Writing A Business Plan... Start A Business Plan Library


Tap these treasures of ideas. The best money you can spend is money invested in your business plan education.

Work is a Four Letter Word


I love work, I can watch it all day.I am not scared of work, I have been known to approach within arm's length of it on a number of occasions.

Choose Your Own Guru


What is a guru? A guru is a teacher. A mentor.

A Business Plan Is Not Worth A Cracker To A Struggling Business - A Plans The Last Thing It Needs


Before you start a business we encourage you to prepare a business plan. Without it your business has a 92% chance of failing within the first 12 months.

Marketing Your Small Business - The Top 10 Brilliant Ideas


A Brilliant Marketing Idea..

Do I Have to Do EVERYTHING Myself?!


The air in my client's office nearly crackled with her irritation. A scheduling snafu had left a client without important services.

Top 10 Mistakes to Avoid When Joining a Professional Association


I'll be the first to admit that I went a little nuts when I moved I moved recently in terms of going all-out to participate in a variety of professional associations. I had some experience with most of the groups that I visited in other places I had lived, or had clients who had positive experiences with certain groups.

Boy oh Boy, The Obstructions and Obstacles


The bad things starts with the letter 'O'?.like Obstacles, Obstruction, Obscene?.

Finance Your Small Business: So Much Money, So Little Time


$37.4 million funded from venture capital today.

How To Choose A Franchise


You'd like to go into business for yourself, and believe that the best way for you to become your own boss is to buy a franchise. You know it will takes time and money to be successful, and that's OK.

Small Business and Branding - Why and How?


When we speak of branding most of the time people try to relate it to big business house, however, the fact is that every business needs to establish their brand in order to survive the competition. This is nothing new; experts and management gurus had been preaching the same sermon for years now but what they have not told is why you need to brand your small business? How is branding going to help you to establish your business? How can you establish your brand without spending a fortune on it?You might be having a very small business but would you like your client to perceive your business as a small time entrepreneurial effort? Definitely not, and your business cards, letterheads and other marketing collaterals does just that.

Are You Using a Chess or Checkers Small Business Marketing Strategy?


Until the day I learned to play chess I loved playing checkers. Both games require a strategy that maximizes a player's ability to capture her opponents pieces without first losing her own.

Definition of Security: Small Business Owner


Yes, that IS security when nobody can downsize you because you OWN that small business of yours! But preserving that special advantage is a never-ending job. In fact, do you know what needs to be preserved more than anything else?Well, since they hold the future of your business in their hands, I believe that an outside group of people whose behaviors can effect your business' survival more than any other, deserves your rapt attention.

The PR Commitment to Small Business


We're birds of a feather, public relations and small business. Wonderfully compatible and a perfect fit.

Arent Small Businesses Lucky?


Why? Because they have access to world class public relations no matter how small they are.That's one way of saying, take care of your key target audiences, Mr/Ms small business owner, and they'll take care of you.

Small Business Failure? Nuts!


Pardon my enthusiasm, but a large part of your small business'success is somewhere else. Namely, out among the company's important external audiences.

Small Business Success - It's a Matter of Confidence


I was floored! I couldn't believe what they were saying! But there they sat -- three of the biggest film stars of our age -- telling the world they had issues with confidence. I was watching an interview where Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman and Julianne Moore were talking with Oprah Winfrey.

Public Relations: Antidote for Small Business Failure


When small businesses fail, the wreckage is often assigned to undercapitalization, among other mistakes. Seldom is failure attributed to a lack of effective communications that might have modified the behavior of sales prospects in a positive way, thus averting bankruptcy.

11 MONSTROUS Small Business Marketing Mistakes and How To Avoid Them


Increase your profit potential by identifying - and avoiding - these 11 marketing mistakes.MONSTROUS Marketing Mistake Number 1: Sinking a Fortune Into an Unproven ProductIs your business idea built on market research or a hunch?Entrepreneurs often fall in love with their products or services before they determine if there's a real market, and they throw fistfuls of money into the venture.

Making Direct Mail Work for Small Businesses


If you own a small business, then you know the value of affordable and effective marketing. Unfortunately, many traditional and online advertising methods are becoming quite expensive.

Your Babys Ugly..and Youve Got Bad Breath


I've got good news and bad news. The good news is that 98% of businesses are small businesses.


More Resources


Commodity Sales Prospecting - How to Stand Out From Your Competitors
I have received a number of requests for advice from salespeople and sales managers that sell "commodity" products and services. When I refer to commodities, I don't just mean pork bellies or frozen concentrated orange juice.
The Achilles Heel of Management Coaching
While heading home at day's end, you begin reflecting on a coaching meeting you had earlier that day with an employee, Chris. You hope that, this time, you finally succeeded in getting her to understand the importance of spending less time in disruptive socializing in the office and more time elevating her performance.
How to Sell Strategically
If you want to maximize your sales performance, take a strategic approach to selling. After all, wouldn't you agree that "the 80/20 rule" applies to customers, where approximately 20 percent of customers produce approximately 80 percent of sales?The starting point for strategic selling is figuring out a) which customers produce the bulk of your sales, and b) what they are buying.
5 Secrets to Managing Your Sales Manager Productively
Many people believe that the main reason for representatives leaving their organisation is that of money in that they leave for a bigger salary. In fact, the biggest reason why people leave organisations is that the role they are doing is no longer offering any challenge or excitement.
Is Sales Process & CRM Stopping Sales?
Standard metrics and KPI's (Key Performance Indicators) are created usually between The Sales Director, The Financial Director and The Managing Director. These KPI's tell the sales teams what they should be doing.
14 Top Lead Generation Tactics
According to former Harvard Business School professor David Maister, typical marketing practices are not only inapplicable for professional service firms, but they may be dangerously wrong.Often professional service firm principals tell me they are frustrated with the quality of their marketing materials, they are concerned with their firm's low profile or they feel pressure because their efforts are not generating enough new client leads.
6 Steps to Avoid Losing Summer Sales
It's a fact - the online world dies down in the summer time. Kids are out of school, families are on vacation, there's fairs to attend to, and many are just spending too much time outside to be online.
A Fracas in the Franchise - Keep Your Customers by Keeping Your Workers
As a previous owner of a Franchise I know the importance of maintaining employee commitment, loyalty and enthusiasm in maximising customer satisfaction, generating positive customer perception and protecting your investment.Repeat business is the life-blood of any business worth its salt.
Is Your Sales Trust Factor High Enough to Win Against the Competition?
How high is your sales trust factor?Is it higher than the sales trust factor of your competition?It should be, if you want to increase your success in sales.Your trust factor represents the level of trust that buyers have in you as a seller.
Drop Discounts and Earn Top Dollar
Every dollar you discount is a dollar of pure profit you're giving away. Therefore, your efforts to remove discounts will be richly rewarded.
The Nine Warning Signs that You Need a Sales Video
Corporate videos are an important sales tool that can often be overlooked in marketing budgets.We look at the top nine tell-tale signs that indicate whether your company is in need of an innovative and effective way to promote itself.
How To Build A Worldwide Distributor Network
When your product is market ready and has a good bargain, it will be no value to you if you don't know who's going to buy it, or how you are going to tell the world about it. Your product will only sell if it has a good wide distribution network.
Getting Off The Advertising And Sales Rollercoaster
Seeing the results of advertising your business can be like watching a roller coaster. The day you run your ad you see a flurry of activity; your ph0ne starts ringing, your web site traffic increases and/ or potential clients visit your store.
10 Things to Help Your Business When Sales Are Slow During the Holidays
Twiddling your thumbs and waiting for some business to come in? Why not use this downtime to set yourself up for greater success in the new year? Here are my 10 picks, but you don't have to do them all. Even doing just one will get you another rung higher on your business ladder.
Sales & Marketing Plan Strategies
Design and Implementation of a new Sales & Marketing campaign must be carefully thought through from the beginning. What message do you want to send about your company, products, and services? What are the anticipated results? What is the execution strategy? What is the cost ratio versus expected return?These are just a few of the questions that run through our minds in the early stages of planning.
Pointless Targets
I recall a heated discussion with a sales director some time ago where I proposed that the long-term effect of setting activity targets for salespeople would eventually lead to failure. He vehemently made the point that he had systematically imposed activity targets on his sales force and that the result had been to treble average income per salesperson within 18 months.
3 Ways to Increase Your Sales
Last week I got a call from Jose, who was looking for help improving his ads. He'd been running the same ad in four local papers for two months and only gotten one response.
Increasing Business Through Distributors
You're a small company with a good product. You are confident that the product can sell, but you don't have the financial resources to hire a team of fifty salespeople to market and sell the product for you.
The Hardest Job Of A Trade Show
You've heard this before: There were four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody.There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure Somebody would do it.
Shorten Sales Cycles in Complex Sales Environments
Help buyers discover the answers they need to understand and align all of their decision variables.In complex sales, salespeople often find themselves negotiating their way through a web of decision influencers, conflicting initiatives, and multiple priorities.

More Small Business Information:

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Financial Dose for Business
The goals of businesses have undergone much evolution from the times when entrepreneurs were content with anything that they received above the capital invested. Businesses now want to expand their reach globally, riding on the wave of technology.
Dispute Resolution of Territory for Mobile Franchised Companies
Franchisors of home based and mobile businesses need to carefully watch their franchisees who innately try to hunt in their fellow franchisees territories. The most important advice a franchisor should give the franchised outlets in this case is to work it out themselves.
Three Big Barriers To Small Business Marketing Success
When you feel like you're always busy working on your business, but not getting where you want to go, it can be frustrating trying to figure out how to get your marketing on track. It can easily become a "not seeing the forest for the trees" feeling.
Outsourcing - A Positive Approach For Small Businesses
Outsourcing is the strategic use of outside resources to perform activities traditionally handled by internal staff and resources. Small business owners can outsource non-core functions to specialized and efficient service providers.
Excuses Franchisees Make; When They Violate Exclusive Territory Agreements
One of the biggest excuses franchisees of home based and serviced based franchises make when violating their exclusive franchise agreement with their franchisor and fellow franchisees is: My Family Works There. As a franchisor, I cannot believe how many times neighboring franchisees steal each others clientele or work outside their exclusive franchise area.
25 Valuable Phone Numbers For Small Businesses Success
Starting and growing a small business can be a daunting and sometimes lonely process we have compiled a list of 25 helpful phone numbers for agencies and services that work with small businesses. They can give you information, ideas, and resources to help you be more successful.
9 Things You Must Do To Maximize Your Chances Of Obtaining A Small Business Loan
To get approval for your small business loan application, you must be able to meet the lending criteria set down. Some organisations are more risk averse than others, and will therefore have more stringent criteria.
Beating the Small Business Cash Flow Blues
Small business owners can relieve a lot of their own cash flow problems, according to Caroline Jordan, small business advisor and author. "Small business owners have more control over their cash flow than they realize.
Reduce Stress, Increase Profits By Incorporating Strategic Systems In Your Small Business Success
Whether you are an Entrepreneur or Business Professional there are many things you do each week that would benefit from a strategic system to help you be more effective, reduce errors and stress, help you enjoy your time at work and give you more time to have fun outside of work.Strategic systems are not static; they allow you to be flexible, creative, and spontaneous, and because they help you look at situations with a clear focus and a specific intention you can easily achieve your desired results.
Five Simple Software Tips for Small Business Owners
The start of a new year is a time for a clean start. Resolutions are made, you clear your files of last year's paperwork, and you swear you are going to start the year off keeping your financial house in order.
Environmental Boat Washing and Detailing
Some marine biologists feel that the concentration of dead marine growth on boats and in boat harbors can create hypoxic zones or a lack of oxygen. This causes a decline in the water quality and may at times cause adverse effects on living marine life such as salmon in the case of the State of Washington.
Take a Break - Have a Pity Party
Pity parties are nothing new. In fact, we do it all the time and I'm guessing that you probably go to many.
Entrepreneurs Ask: What Can a Virtual Assistant Do For Me?
Great question!Freeing your time is an indisputably key element in growing your business! When you delegate tasks to the capable hands of a professional Virtual Assistant (VA), you can quickly and easily refocus your energies on other aspects of business directly linked to generating revenue.Partnering with a professional Virtual Assistant will:Increase your revenue.
Employee Monitoring - Business Risks For Employers And How To Avoid Them
E-mail and Internet use are integral parts of the typical worker's daily routine. Because of its speed and overall convenience, e-mail has replaced the interoffice memorandum as the preferred method of communication.
Starting an Aircraft Washing Service
To wash an airplane there are many items you will need to keep in mind. The first is safety while working on the tarmac of an airfield.
Is a Small Business Web Site a Wise Investment?
One of the greatest pitfalls in e-commerce is Field of Dreams thinking, the notion that all one has to do is "build it (a web site) and they will come.""I can't think of anything further from the truth," Ron Scott, a Riverside, California web designer, says.
Cashing In Your Chips & Pastures New
No, I'm not talking about gambling or dairy cows - although business is often referred to as a gamble, I'm referring to your exit strategy. That time when you decide to 'play no more' and go off and practise your golf swing.
Franchising Pros and Cons
Last week's question from Anthony R. on how to choose the franchise that would best fulfill his life-long dream of owning his own business sparked a number of emails from other readers wanting to offer their two cents on the subject.
Pressure Washing Business; Steam Cleaner Fuel Maintenance
It is essential that you fully understand how the fuel system works on your hot water pressure washer or steam cleaner. If you mess it up it could catch on fire and if you are not right there to put it out, you could potentially lose your machine.
A Look at Small Business Incorporating in Florida
The choice to incorporate a small business in Florida has several advantages. Corporations are separate legal entities and, as such, the corporation rather than individual owners pay both the taxes and the liabilities.