MANAGE YOUR BUSINESS Keep your business running when you're away from the office By Tom Samiljan Posted: 10/06/17 The following story is intended to help small business owners with tips to grow and manage day-to-day challenges, brought to you by Chase Business Banking. With nearly a decade of experience working in the corporate world, two years ago Mike Karp started Rorbi - his own video production company, and his daily workflow changed dramatically and today, its not unusual for him to juggle live chats with clients on his smartphone, payment of caterers via cloud-based bookkeeping software, and use the Chase Mobile® appto track purchases. Karp also uses his smart phone to manage schedules on the road, including his trips to remote locations down a windy road two hours north of Mexico City. "I'm still learning how to balance all these things," he says.
For Karp, smart technology is crucial. Without the resources or support staff of a large corporation, gadgets help run small business each and every day. Here are a few must-haves: 1. Pick the right mobile card payment systemWhether you have a well-established business or you're selling crafts as a side gig, a small business needs to be able to process credit cards, on the go. There are many options available for mobile card payment systems, but one of the most important features is to choose one that can read EMV chips. It's a security feature, since you could face greater liability from swiping chipcards. Always read the fine print with any card reader, since some charge a flat fee for using their services and others take a percentage of each sale. 2. Use wearables as communication toolsThere's nothing worse than being glued to your phone when you should be focused on clients. And yet, some messages can't be ignored. So, Jennifer Overkhat, a Los Angeles real estate agent, wears a smartwatch that's paired with her phone. "I do my best to put my phone away during meetings or meals," she says. "But my smartwatch will notify me of anything important that comes up with a quiet vibration." 3. Stay online when out of the officeWiFi is pretty ubiquitous, but there will be times when you have to be sure that you will be able to have solid internet access. A mobile router (sometimes called a travel router) is just like the router you have at home, except it's smaller and portable. It's a way to make sure you can get online when traveling or when internet access could be spotty, like if you're outdoors. Mobile routers connect to existing WiFi networks, although some have built-in SIM cards for data internet. They are better options than just using your phone as a hot spot, since routers don't gobble up data usage or add extra charges to your cellular bill. If a portable router isn't an option, an affordable wireless hotspot is an easy way to make sure you always have access to internet. Now that LTE (and soon, 5G) mobile broadband speeds are the norm and data access plans are so reasonable, being in transit is no longer a barrier to getting work done. Karp pays $10 a month for each gigabyte of data no matter where he is in the world, which certainly came in handy during a shoot in Mexico. "I use it constantly," he says. 4. Bring your power wherever you goNo small business owner should leave the office without an external battery, though preferably it should be at least 5000 mAh, which is usually enough to re-boot the average smartphone at least four times or a tablet at least twice. "My battery pack is thinner than my smartphone," says Prasad. "If I'm running around town and my phone dies, I can just plug it in via USB. It fits in my pocket, so I don't mind carrying it around." 5. Consider the value of Digital ScannersTaming the paper tiger is a constant battle for a small business. Between receipts, invoices and contracts, there are lots of documents that needs to be kept, and a portable digital scanner is a good way to store them while also being mindful of space. There are a lot of benefits to digital scanning. For one, documents are usually automatically backed up when saved to a computer. They can be searched via keyword. Scanned images can also be saved as PDFs with digital signatures to authenticate contents. Some business owners find portable scanners especially useful at conferences, when everyone is trading business cards and marketing materials. Once you have a digital image of these items, you don't need to keep the hard copies. Most digital scanners require a plug, but many operate with batteries and have WiFi access, so that they can link up with online programs and apps. Source: https://www.chase.com/news/100217-essential-gadgets-4smb-owners So you’ve finally launched your startup. It’s a dream come true, and you are undoubtedly excited. You may even have a customer or two already. But here comes the tough part: How do you go from having a few customers, to enough customers to sustain your business and fuel its growth? Your sales team will of course have a huge role to play in this trajectory, so hire wisely. But you will also need a steady stream of leads that you can feed to your sales people. Where will these leads come from? In all likelihood, they will come from your company’s marketing efforts.
It would great if there was a straightforward formula that shows that if you spend X dollars on marketing you will get Y leads in return. Alas, this is not the case. This is particularly challenging when you don’t have millions of dollars from VCs to spend on testing every marketing whim and fantasy. For most startups, you agonize over every dollar spent. An unfortunate consequence can be paralysis by analysis -- you aren’t sure where or how to invest marketing dollars, so there’s a tendency to do nothing and hope for the best. Marketing is top of mind for me at the moment. My company Torsh, an education software company that produces TALENT, an online platform for teacher professional learning and development, is knee-deep in the hiring process for a marketing professional to propel our business forward. Keep in mind, we are already six years into this startup journey. If you are just starting out, it’s very likely that you don’t have the budget to hire a full-time person, and don’t have money to invest in marketing initiatives that may or may not move the needle. So what can you do in the interim? Here are five simple, straight-forward thoughts on how to market with little or no budget. Give some real thought to your brand and your message, and strive for consistency. Take time to really consider who you are, who your customers are, what you want your brand to represent, and what your message should be. Consider this a very simple marketing roadmap. Then stick to it. A few years into our business, we did a marketing audit and discovered that we had begun to use, over the years, a variety of tag lines. Our web site said one thing, our print collateral said another. We had t-shirts printed for a conference and those communicated yet another message. This seems obvious; but when you are juggling a thousand balls and your hair is on fire, it’s easy to lose sight of these details, especially if no one “owns” the marketing/communication piece of your business. As you prepare to launch your startup, pause and take time to really focus on your brand and your message. If you have launched already, schedule in some time to do this asap. This will save you time and aggravation (and probably money) down the line. Never underestimate the (free) power of word of mouth I’m proud to say that our current customers are our number one source of new leads. We have a great product, but that’s only one piece. We also have a great team in place -- in both sales and client management -- who work hard to keep our clients happy. And, we actually listen to our customers. When they have ideas or suggestions for how to improve our platform, we take this feedback directly to our development team. Of course not every idea is incorporated. But enough ideas are that we’ve gained a reputation for responsiveness, which makes our customers happy. And happy customers tell their friends and colleagues about us. This word of mouth marketing costs us nothing. Always remember that how you treat your customers after they’ve signed the contract matters, and a positive relationship can be worth its weight in marketing gold. Don’t forget to consider Search Engine Optimization (SEO) when building your website. When we designed and built the first version of our website, we did not factor in SEO. Your site can look amazing and be user friendly but if potential customers never see it, then it’s actually fairly useless. Yes, when people type in the name of our company on a search engine, we come up. But what if they type in something like, “tools for teacher professional development.” Does our company come up on page one of Google? Unfortunately in the early days, the answer was no. We had to hire an SEO expert, who then had to do a complete front and back-end audit of our site to see how we could optimize for SEO. Ultimately we made all the changes the audit suggested. But if we had considered SEO in the first place, a lot of this extra work could have been avoided. Pay attention to social media. Every post matters and should be on-brand. Social media is sometimes farmed out to the lowest man or woman on the totem pole with no oversight, but this can be a mistake. Social media requires consistency and focus. Make sure that what’s posted across channels is in line with your brand. Make sure the writing is on-point and professional. Have you ever visited a company’s Facebook page and been utterly turned off by what is posted there? I have. If I see typos, sophomoric writing and just an overall lack of professionalism, it makes me hesitate. Do I really want to spend money with this company? You will be busy. But, check out your social media regularly to be sure it’s on track, and be sure it accurately reflects your brand. If not, make adjustments before further damage is done. Tap into your local entrepreneurial ecosystem, and network like crazy. We don’t have a PR person on staff, nor do we currently employ an external agency. Yet, I’ve had a variety of opportunities to be interviewed by, or be a contributor to, various publications. That’s because I am diligent about plugging myself into the vibrant tech community here in my company’s hometown of New Orlean. I’m involved in the community, I am constantly networking, I am a guest speaker at events, I engage in philanthropic activities. Despite an incredibly busy work life and an equally demanding home life with a wife and three young kids, I hardly ever say no to an opportunity to spread the word about my company. For example In 2016 I was invited to participate in Idea Village’s premier pitch competition, The Coulter Pitch, which gives startups from rising markets exposure to investors and the media. It’s part of NOEW (New Orleans Entrepreneur Week) which is held here in New Orleans right before Collision’s annual tech conference. The preparation was time-consuming and at the time, I felt like it was interfering with the more important task of actually running my business. But I did it anyway. As a result, I met an editor from Forbes who then invited me to contribute to this very blog you are reading. None of the tips I’ve mentioned here will necessarily open the flood gates when it comes to new clients. Have realistic expectations as you invest energy, effort and time into building the marketing foundation for your startup. Remember that this foundation is essential. First, it will provide your team with valuable leads that can help propel your initial growth. Second, it will prevent you from losing the interest of potential customers, who could be turned off by sloppy or unprofessional marketing messages. Finally, when you are able to afford a full-time marketing/communication/PR professional, that person can truly focus on bringing your company to the next level. They won’t waste time and money ripping apart and rebuilding what could have been properly executed in the first place. Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/courtneywilliams/2017/10/06/five-ways-to-market-your-startup-with-little-or-zero-budget/#14012ba07ba5 For any business, marketing is a significant, and necessary expense. Some marketing channels are highly effective and can generate lots of business, others are, quite frankly, a waste of money.
Big corporations can usually afford to cover all their bases, advertising in nearly every area they can think of, and eliminate as they go. As a small business though, you need to be sure that your marketing is actually bringing you business, and that it’s not just a drain on resources. Here are a few marketing techniques that won’t break the budget, but will bring in business. Your LogoYou might not have thought about it, but your company logo really is an important part of marketing. People remember images a lot better than they remember words, so your logo is what they’ll remember and associate with your brand. Make sure you have the best logo design possible. Social Media MarketingSocial media is a relatively inexpensive marketing medium. A page for your business won’t cost you a dime, but it will help people find your business and keep your existing customers engaged and interested. Sponsored ads on Facebook and LinkedIn aren’t too pricey and allow you to target who you advertise to based on their age, gender, location, interests and more. Given the amount of time most people spend on social media, this can be a great way to generate business. Running competitions and promotions on social media can be a great way to grow your following. Make sharing or following part of the competition - “like our page to enter”, extra entries, discount codes or vouchers for every share and so on. Email MarketingThe great thing about email marketing is that you can grow your marketing as your business, your revenue, and therefore your marketing budget grow. A 2014 study showed that marketers averaged just under a $45 return for every dollar invested in email marketing, one of the highest marketing returns. You can market directly to your existing client base yourself, or invest little by little in an email marketing company, who will likely have a database specific to your target market. Web ContentWhether it’s a blog or a newsletter, good content is great for business. It will generate traffic for your website and keep clients and potential customers interested. Share your content via social media or as part of your email marketing campaign to expand your reach beyond your website. If you have a knack for writing, you can create your own content, or hire a freelancer to send you content on a regular basis. Bear in mind, your website design can be just as important as the actual content, so make sure it looks good, is user and mobile-friendly. As a small business with just as small a budget, start with low or no-cost marketing that works. You may have to put in a lot of time and effort in the early days, but it will definitely get easier as your business grows. Source: http://www.tgdaily.com/enterprise/4-things-to-consider-for-smallbusiness-marketing By Nicole Beachum –
3 days ago Gone are the days of not preparing every element of your page properly Source: https://www.bizjournals.com/birmingham/news/2017/10/06/facebook-update-forces-important-changes-in.html Small businesses are leading the way to revitalize America. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s August 2017 Small Business Quarterly Bulletin, they’ve created two out of every three net new jobs since 2014. But small businesses can’t do their important work without the support of the community they call home.
Small business success has been essential to community growth. It’s important to not take one’s eye off building small and mid-size companies, and we are so grateful to the many others who have shared ideas with us and risked their futures to help grow their own company and grow our economy. The most valuable of all are the companies that call this area home, yet they bring in their revenues from outside our area. It’s not just moving money around, but instead a true influx of capital into our economy. Bottom line is, strong communities are good for business. So, what do small businesses need to thrive? Here are 10 things that must happen to create a great small business community.
Communities can strive to create good environments for small business. We in Pensacola have learned from others — and we are still learning — and we hope we can help others as we have been helped. We find that all towns and cities want the same thing: to become a great place for people to live and visit. We are all on the same journey to make people’s lives better. Quint Studer is the founder of the Studer Community Institute and a successful business leader, speaker and author. He is also the entrepreneur in residence at the University of West Florida. Have a question?Are you facing a small business or workplace challenge? Quint Studer can help. Email your questions to quint@quintstuder.com, and it could be the topic for one of Studer's upcoming PNJ columns. Source: http://www.pnj.com/story/money/2017/10/07/studer-strong-communities-good-small-businesses/740493001/ Having dedicated IT support has its pros and cons for a small business, and should be evaluated based on what are the actual needs of the business. There are a lot of glitches that can occur in technological areas of a business, and unless there’s someone working in the company that can fix those issue quickly, having dedicated IT support is something to consider. Some of these issues can include hardware maintenance, an email server crash and point-of-sale operations.
Where to start Deciding if your business needs dedicated IT support should begin with looking at the complexity of your business overall. Perhaps even with a handful of IT employees, it is not enough to manage all operations. Determining how to go about an IT support system may also depend on the size of your business. More employees may require more support as the business grows, such as dealing with larger computer networks. Take a look at the business’s growth rate to evaluate downsizing or expanding. Experienced managers will be able to take care of systems while everyday operations continue. Whether using a managed IT service or an in-house employee, ask where the business may go and what the plans are for the future. Dedicated IT support can help implement any changes to systems as well as help create an architectural plan. Managed IT Using a managed IT service has its pros, especially for small business owners who are more limited on resources. These services can cut on costs as professionals who are always on site may command higher salaries. Many of these managed services also may offer support 24 hours a day to fix problems such as email issues that an in-house employee may not be able to correct at the time. As technology moves faster and faster, it is also useful to have managed IT to stay up-to-date with all the ongoing advances, which could prove difficult for just one technician. With managed IT, training is constantly implemented to keep up with the advances, and they can handle issues involved with multiple employees better as well. In-house IT If your business has many resources, an in-house IT employee can prove useful when emergencies happen. Issues can be solved right away versus calling into a provider or needing a technician to report to the job site. In-house employees have more experience with the equipment within the business, and have a better understanding of where an issue is located. This is incredibly useful in that productivity is not interrupted. These employees do tend to work slower, but this is largely on purpose so that problems can be addressed more adequately, whereas a managed service may not have the high level of equipment detail that is required in some cases. If the business calls for a mixture of both a managed service and in-house, tasks can be directed appropriately to each operation. This is better suited for a larger small business. No matter what size, IT should be considered a vital part of a small business’s future. Source: http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2017/10/07/does-business-need-dedicated-it/ By Claudio Sorrentino
Hundreds of small businesses were negatively impacted as Hurricane Irma roared through the state. While some may not recover from the damage to their structures or their subsequent loss of business, some were able to recover quickly and expect to return to business as usual within days or weeks. We were able to reopen our doors within only five days of Irma making landfall and heading north. The steps that we took could be a lesson to other small business owners in the area should such a disaster strike again. They are as follows:
Small businesses across southern Florida were impacted by Hurricane Irma. It isn’t the first disaster that the state has survived, and it won’t be the last. Rather than allow Mother Nature to ruin your business, use these actions as an example of perseverance against natural disasters, despite the odds. Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/5-hurricane-recovery-steps-for-small-businesses-to_us_59ce4a81e4b034ae778d49c6 Alison Coleman , CONTRIBUTOR
Whether it’s launching a new product in a new market, or an untried and untested service in an established sector, it is a risk for any business. And if it is to stand any chance of success it requires a bold approach to marketing. The partnership strategy Dashboard cameras or dashcams have been one of the fastest growing consumer technology categories for the past two years, yet four years ago it barely existed. When UK dashcam manufacturer Nextbase decided to enter the market it came up with the idea of promoting its products by forging links with an insurance company that would provide a discount to drivers who used a dashcam. Commercial director Richard Browning said: “Our strategy was to connect Nextbase, then a fairly unknown brand, with bigger and more established ones, thus adding the gravitas we couldn’t achieve as a standalone brand. Insurance companies were top of our list. Initially they were apprehensive. Most failed to see the benefit of dash cams or acknowledge that the market would catch on.” Then they approached insurance firm Swiftcover, where initial conversations were positive, but tempered by the insurer's reservations about the notion of a dashcam policy with a discount for motorists. “We persuaded them by positioning it as an innovative business recruitment and marketing tool, even though there were many other benefits, including increased road safety, better efficiencies and financial benefits,” said Browning. In less than four years Nextbase has seen sales rise from 1,000 units per month to more than 50,000, and currently has more than 80% market share in a category that didn't really exist four years ago. Follow Alison on Twitter @alisonbcoleman and https://plus.google.com/+AlisonColeman/posts Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisoncoleman/2017/10/05/three-business-marketing-strategies-that-could-have-flopped-but-hit-the-spot/#56d75974df06 Neil Patel - CONTRIBUTOR
You don't need a massive budget or a major brand name to effectively market your company online. In this video, Entrepreneur Network partner Neil Patel explains how to make sure your business is visible on the web. He starts by explaining how to get your business on the local pack list on Google (you can see a picture in the video for more information) and how you can rank higher on Google search results. After that, Patel dives into how to improve your click-through rate to convert on your improved placement, then finishes by proving that Google isn't the only important resource out there. Entrepreneur Network is a premium video network providing entertainment, education and inspiration from successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders. We provide expertise and opportunities to accelerate brand growth and effectively monetize video and audio content distributed across all digital platforms for the business genre. EN is partnered with hundreds of top YouTube channels in the business vertical. Watch video from our network partners on demand on Amazon Fire, Roku, Apple TV and the Entrepreneur App available on iOS and Android devices. Click here to become a part of this growing video network. Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/video/302167 |
Marcus Guiliano
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