5 things to know about marketing your small business

1.) Know what you’re trying to achieve. Don’t just embark on marketing efforts because you think you should! Set an objective for your marketing efforts. Are you trying to reach a new audience?  Do you just want to sell more?  Do you want to re-position yourself so you can charge more? 

2.) Know who you’re marketing to. You can’t market to everyone!  So, who will most likely be your customer? Define these people as specifically as you can.  Where are they, what is their lifestyle, how will they learn about your product or service? 

3.) Know what you’re going to tell them. There are lots of great things about your business, but don’t try to tell everything all at once. What are the three most important things your audience, as defined above, needs to know?  What makes your business different or unique?

4.) Know your strengths and weaknesses. If you don’t have a large marketing budget, then advertising may not be the right type of marketing for you. On the other hand, if you have a huge database of contacts and past customers, a series of small events might help you spread the word. Determine what marketing tools you have in your stable and start with those. 

5.) Know how to measure your efforts. You should know whether your strategies are working. Make sure you’re monitoring results on an ongoing basis -- whether via web traffic, promotional codes, or simple surveys, there is always a way to determine if a strategy is working. This way, if a strategy isn’t working, you can change course before investing more resources.  And if a strategy is working, you can invest more and see even greater results.

Source: http://www.workitmom.com/articles/detail/3246/5-things-to-know-about-marketing-your-small-business

5 things to know about marketing your small business

1.) Know what you’re trying to achieve. Don’t just embark on marketing efforts because you think you should! Set an objective for your marketing efforts. Are you trying to reach a new audience?  Do you just want to sell more?  Do you want to re-position yourself so you can charge more? 

2.) Know who you’re marketing to. You can’t market to everyone!  So, who will most likely be your customer? Define these people as specifically as you can.  Where are they, what is their lifestyle, how will they learn about your product or service? 

3.) Know what you’re going to tell them. There are lots of great things about your business, but don’t try to tell everything all at once. What are the three most important things your audience, as defined above, needs to know?  What makes your business different or unique?

4.) Know your strengths and weaknesses. If you don’t have a large marketing budget, then advertising may not be the right type of marketing for you. On the other hand, if you have a huge database of contacts and past customers, a series of small events might help you spread the word. Determine what marketing tools you have in your stable and start with those. 

5.) Know how to measure your efforts. You should know whether your strategies are working. Make sure you’re monitoring results on an ongoing basis -- whether via web traffic, promotional codes, or simple surveys, there is always a way to determine if a strategy is working. This way, if a strategy isn’t working, you can change course before investing more resources.  And if a strategy is working, you can invest more and see even greater results.

Source: http://www.workitmom.com/articles/detail/3246/5-things-to-know-about-marketing-your-small-business

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Top 5 questions you should ask yourself before starting a business

When people dream of starting their own business, very often they think of the Donald Trumps and Bill Gates of the world: Business people who have reached the pinnacle of success and who are wealthy beyond imagination.

But how exactly did these business figures actually reach that kind of success? We see the outcome of their success, but not many of us are aware of the blood, sweat, and tears successful business owners invest before they make it to the top.

Before you throw in the corporate towel and follow your path to riches, you need to think long and hard about a plan of action. Following a dream to be self-employed is admirable, but without a plan and a support system, you will set yourself up for failure.

These are the top five questions you need to ask yourself before starting your own business:

1.) What target market or niche do I want to serve? Choosing your target market first is important because, in order to become successful, you must know your customers’ likes, dislikes, and needs. Think about what target markets you belong to yourself and how you could fulfill a need or provide a service. Whatever niche you choose, be sure that you enjoy and care about the people in that market.

2.) What product or service should I offer? As you acquaint yourself with your target market, you will discover certain needs that aren’t being fulfilled. Or maybe your chosen group needs the next best product you have to offer. If you want to offer a service, ask yourself if you have enough training to do this for a living or if you need to take classes.

3.) How will I fund this business? Home-based service businesses are relatively easy to start with limited funds. However, if you open up a storefront or manufacture a product, financing becomes much more important. Decide how much you can afford to invest from your personal finances, ask your banker if you qualify for any loans, or seek investors.

4.) Can my family survive financially until the business turns a profit? Very often a small business will not turn a profit for at least one year, sometimes two years. What is your plan for feeding and clothing your family during that time? Do you have enough money saved to pay your rent or mortgage during that time? Do you have a nest egg to pay for unexpected emergencies?

5.) Do I have the time and determination to make this business a success? You wanted to be your own boss, so now you are the one solely responsible for all the marketing and sales. Are you ready to commit to 12- to 16-hour days? How will this affect your family? Is your spouse supportive of your efforts?

As you can see, our list can probably expand to more than 100 questions you should ask yourself. Once you think one issue is resolved, other questions arise. This is not meant as a discouragement, but merely a way to help plan for your business success.

Source: http://www.workitmom.com/articles/detail/2561/top-5-questions-you-should-ask-yourself-before-starting-a-business

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There are pros, cons for start-ups in bad economy

Looking to start a small business during this economic slump?

Well, it's not impossible, but it does require entrepreneurs to be extra diligent to help optimize their chances of survival.

In this economy there's little room for error when it comes to launching a new business, but there are also opportunities that start-ups can take advantage of now that may not have surfaced during better times, experts say.

"It's the best of times and the worst of times for start-ups," says Lawrence Gelburd, a Philadelphia-based management consultant and a lecturer on entrepreneurship at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. "It's the worst of times because there is a tremendous lack of consumer confidence and a lot of fear in the marketplace, but it's also a good time for getting great deals."

To start, there are a lot of unemployed workers at all levels looking for jobs and willing to take less pay.

"There's a lot of real talent out there, and you can hire many of them for a song and dance," says Gelburd.

Plus, the down market has eliminated some of the competition from the marketplace and made suppliers more willing to negotiate, he adds.

Still, it's a tough market, and to survive, a start-up needs to be prepared.

"You need to start a business smart," says Gloria Glowacki of the Small Business Development Center at Stony Brook University. That means having a business plan in place and also realistic financial projections, says Glowacki, noting that the center can assist start-ups with their planning at no cost.

A business plan can help keep your business on course, but it is also important if you're looking for funding, notes Trevor Davis, senior vice president and chief lending officer for the Community Development Corp. of Long Island, or CDC, in Centereach, which provides small-business lending and training.

Lenders generally want to see monthly cash-flow projections for the first year and then annual projections for the next two years thereafter, he notes.

The CDC offers a 12-hour program for $40 that covers four major components necessary to run a business, including cash-flow planning. Entrepreneurs who complete the program and a business plan and have a credit score of at least 620 can be eligible for a jump-start loan of up to $10,000.

Michelle Zimmerman fulfilled those requirements and secured a jump-start loan last January, which helped her kick off Rainbow Star Books, a Centereach-based publishing company of educational resources. The CDC loan and a $2,000 grant from the Suffolk County Women's Business Enterprise Coalition helped launch her first book, "Can't Catch a Butterfly" ($16.95).

"I needed help to be able to get started," says Zimmerman, who also works full-time as an independent speech pathologist.

She says she hasn't given up her day job because she's trying to be fiscally responsible and grow her business cautiously.

"I don't want to get in over my head," says Zimmerman.

That's the best tactic to take in this economy, notes Rosalind Resnick of Axxess Business Consulting, a small-business consulting firm with offices in Centerport and Manhattan.

"Keep your overhead low," she says. Start by working out of your home, perhaps even part-time, she advises.

"You really need to be prepared to stick it out for the long haul," says Resnick. "It may take two to three years to get your business to the point that it's kicking off positive cash flow."

That's why it pays to have a cash reserve of six to eight months to fall back on, notes Glowacki.

The bottom line is that start-ups need to be ready for even the worst-case scenario.

"They have to be adequately prepared for anything that comes up," says Les Fixell, a counselor at the Service Corps of Retired Executives office in Melville, which provides free business assistance to entrepreneurs. "A surprise usually comes when they're not prepared."

KEEP ON KEEPING ON

Making it as a startup over the long haul is difficult in any economy.

While 66 percent of all small businesses survive at least two years, only 44 percent survive four years, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy in New York City. So it pays to be prepared. For more tips on getting started in your new business, check out the SBA's startup guide at www.sba.gov/small businessplanner/plan/getready/serv_mark_getinstartd.html.

Source: http://www.newsday.com/services/newspaper/printedition/monday/business/ny-bzherz6011963jan26,0,43597.story

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Sagework Ranks Most Profitable Private Industries of 2008

Below is the Sageworks Rankings of the most profitable industries in 2008. Companies in these industries had the highest profit margins of all privately held companies over the period of January 2008-December 2008. 

You may notice that 9 of the 10 industries are service providers. These industries are well positioned to withstand the economic downturn due to their profitability as well as the continued public demand for many of the services.



Source: http://sbdcnet.org/blog/4.php

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Five Most Overrated Small Businesses

Some start-up ideas get more attention than others—and undeservedly so

By Matthew Bandyk
for US News and World Report
Posted November 13, 2008


Starting a business is never easy. There are a million headaches in writing a business plan, getting financing, hiring employees, and finally getting the business underway. But being realistic about these difficulties is part of overcoming them. Entrepreneurs just make it harder on themselves when they go into a start-up with a too sunny outlook.

That's why U.S. News has put together a list of five Most Overrated Small Businesses. These are not necessarily bad business ideas. You might even be able to make your business dreams come true with one of them. But the popular perception of what it's like to run these businesses or how likely they are to succeed simply does not match reality.

We interviewed dozens of experts in the small-business community, including entrepreneurs and academics, about start-up ideas that have become clichés and don't hold the promise they perhaps once did. A few types of businesses stood out as the most overrated and form our list of start-ups to approach only with caution.

It might seem counterintuitive to call choices like restaurants and contracting overrated. After all, probably millions have found success in small businesses like these. True enough. But when it comes to today's entrepreneurs' chances of succeeding, the more established an industry is, the harder it can be to break through in it. "As industries get older, growth rates tend to slow. People build up economies of scale, so when you enter, you're at a competitive disadvantage," says Scott Shane, professor of entrepreneurial studies at Case Western Reserve University.

Keep in mind when reading this list that what is overrated tends to fluctuate over time and with the ups and downs of the economy. Certain types of businesses are going to have an uphill battle in a recession, especially those that cannot find innovative ways to cut costs. "The pitch that works best in tough economic times is 'I can do that for less,' " says Greg Gianforte, author of Bootstrapping Your Business: Start and Grow a Successful Company With Almost No Money. Some businesses, such as those trying to market "green" products, may have trouble making that pitch.

Fads can consign some business ideas to the overrated pile. More and more Americans care about energy efficiency—no argument there. But it's not clear how much those consumers will pay for "green" products that don't actually save them money on energy costs. Entrepreneurs shouldn't think that simply sticking the label "green" on a product or service will instantly stamp it as a success. On the contrary, if the "green" label means higher prices, customers may turn to your competition. "The evidence seems to be that a lot of consumers talk the talk but don't walk the walk" when it comes to green consumerism, says Michael Morris, a professor of entrepreneurship at Syracuse University.

Other overrated ideas come from taking popular ideas a little too far. You might dream about creating a blog or a social networking site that will be seen by everyone on the Internet. But let's face facts: Websites that don't sell anything struggle to make money on ad revenue alone. The odds of one person creating something the size of Facebook or MySpace are tiny. "The Googles and the Facebooks get so much publicity. But those businesses are really rare," says Steve King of the Institute for the Future. "It just gets so much hype."

Finally, some businesses get overrated simply because they are so well known that they are the first idea that comes to the mind of someone looking to start a business. Restaurants, contracting, and franchises fall into this category. Just because there are a lot of these businesses doesn't mean they are more likely to prosper than lesser-known start-ups. Sure, some of these businesses do make money and stick around. Yet the returns to the small-business person may be not as great as one would expect for all the effort expended. In the case of restaurants, "you can't assume that just because a business does millions in sales that it's even making any money," says Rosalind Resnick of Axxess Business Consulting.

Still, U.S. News is not out to kill your dreams. If your heart is set on opening that little French bistro or being the genius behind the next Facebook, we wish you all the very best in your quest to make a fine living while being your own boss. Just don't think that by choosing one of the Most Overrated Small Businesses, you've tilted the odds of small-business success in your favor. We think you will have done just the opposite.

Most Overrated Small Businesses

*  "Green" businesses
*  Contracting
*  Restaurants
*  Franchises
*  Traffic-driven websites

Click Here to go to original article
By Matthew Bandyk for US News and World Report
Posted November 13, 2008

(c) 2008 Copyright US News and World Report

Source: http://www.mtsacsbdc.com/web/index.php?module=article&view=46

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Is Small Business Ownership For Me?

Alberto G. Alvarado
U.S. Small Business Administration
District Director

Today, we initiate a monthly series on various aspects of small business ownership and SBA services. We'll start with an obvious topic with a potential to propel you forward with energy and purpose. At the same time, this most basic question and the introspection it spawns will serve to make certain small business ownership is for you if you have the dream.

Starting and managing a business takes motivation, desire and talent. It also takes research and planning. Like a chess game, success in small business starts with decisive and correct opening moves. And, although initial mistakes are not fatal, it takes skill, discipline and hard work to move forward.

To increase your chance for success, take the time up front to explore and evaluate your business and personal goals. Then focus on the issues raised in this essay to build a comprehensive and well thought out approach that will help you reach those goals. Deep thought is never unwarranted as you ponder this lifestyle change.

The process noted here will help you think through important items that you may not have considered. Asking yourself these key questions will become a valuable step as you set out your vision, market your product or service, raise money and ultimately attract customers to your business. It should also provide milestones to gauge your success.

To help guide your initial reflection, the SBA, through a relationship with My Own Business, offers a special online course on how to get started with a small business. Visit the Web site at http://www.myownbusiness.org/course_sba.html

The SBA training site at http://www.sba.gov/services/training/onlinecourses/index.html offers several other start-up courses, including How to Start a Business on a Shoestring Budget, offered in conjunction with Trump University.

Before starting out, it is important that you list your reasons for wanting to go into business. Some of the most common are wanting to be your own boss, wanting to attain financial independence, wanting more creative freedom and/or wanting to be able to fully take advantage of your talents and skills.

In this regard, remember that an owner (especially of a start up business) works more hours than you might imagine. He or she, it has been said, works 14-16 hours a day to keep from getting a job. Will this be you? Is this what you dreamed of?

Next, and vitally important, you must determine what business is "right for you." Ask yourself a few questions, such as: What do I like to do with my time? What technical skills have I developed? What do others say I am good at? Do I have any hobbies or interests that are marketable?

By now, you are either fully convinced that small business ownership is not for you and that 10 hours a day on your job is enough work or you are ready to identify the niche your business will fill. Is my idea practical and will it fill a need? What is my competition? What is my business advantage over existing firms? Can I deliver a better quality service and create a demand.

With answers to those questions, you're just about ready to begin your Business Plan. We've gone from one initial inquiry: Is small business ownership for me? to questions that may have left your head spinning or your mind truly focused on your dream. Remember, though, your answers to these questions will help you create a focused, well researched plan of action that should serve as a blueprint to detail how your business will be operated, managed and capitalized.

Source: http://www.mtsacsbdc.com/web/index.php?module=article&view=31

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10 Great Startup Tools & Tips for Today

Dear Dan: I’m about to launch my own solo business. Any tips on the essentials I need to get started - like phone services, office space and legal help? - Solo Gal

Dear Solo Gal:  With big companies vaporizing jobs by the millions, self employment is becoming an option - and often a necessity - for more American’s than ever before.  And with a still-weakening economy and more job losses looming, the self-employment ranks seem destined to rise.

For some, the shift to self employment after years of working for someone else can be difficult. Suddenly it’s just you and that can be daunting. You’ll have to arrange for some kind of office space, create a business identity and website, establish phone service and voicemail, figure out how to reach and communicate with prospects and customers, advertise your product or service, manage billing and perhaps incorporate as well.  

The good news is this: It’s never been easier to manage all of these things with low-cost, web-based services designed for exactly this purpose.

Here’s a 10-piece toolkit for self employment survival:

1. Get a domain name and website for your business.  Easy, low-cost options abound. You can register a domain name at GoDaddy.com, NetworkSolutions.com, Register.com or Domain.com and purchase a do-it-yourself website package at the same time. Microsoft’s Office Live Small Business (www.officelive.com) is a fabulous place where you will find everything you need to take your business online - much of it free (including the website).

2. Form a corporation or LLC. It’s easier than you think, and will give your business a more professional look. You can do it online at Incorporate.com or MyCorporation.com.

3. Plug into the office space you need, only when you need it. Holding meetings in your home or a local coffee shop won’t inspire confidence in your business.  Virtual, temporary or shared office space is available in most cities nationwide. Check out the offerings from Regus.com and DavinciVirtual.com.

4. Get setup for web conferencing, online presentations and free conference calling. WebEx.com offers web conferencing solutions specially designed for self-employed professionals. Flowgram.com is a free web-based platform that lets you share presentations online. FreeConferenceCall.com offers free private conference lines that are great for three-way calling.

5. Unify your phones and messaging. Services such as RingCentral.com and GotVmail.com make it quick and easy for a solo business to establish a full range of phone and messaging services, including toll-free lines, virtual phone systems, unified messaging and more.  These services were built specifically to help entrepreneurs stay connected and sound more professional.

6. Bill and collect money through easy web-based systems.  The most essential function for any business is getting paid, but it’s foolish to think that clients and customers will readily send payments in full and on time. Try using a web-based system such as FreshBooks.com to handle all of your invoicing chores easily and inexpensively online. Most FreshBooks customers are, in fact, self employed. The service makes you look more professional by branding invoices to your business and putting an end to the manual process of drafting and mailing invoices by hand.

7. Use web-based ads and email marketing. Google AdWords (www.adwords.google.com) and yellow pages sites such as DexKnows (www.dexknows.com) can get your business visible online for a modest budget. And check out ConstantContact.com for email marketing ideas.

8. Legal issues often present a dilemma for cost-conscious solo businesses. You want the best information and advice to understand your options and make the right choices. But paying legal professionals for every little thing gets expensive. LegalZoom.com is a web-based do-it-yourself legal solutions site that offers free or low-cost help for solving everyday legal matters - or at least learning enough about them to work more efficiently with a lawyer.

9. Create a business identity without going broke. Web-based services such as LogoWorks.com and LogoDesignCreation.com let you create an entire business identity, including a custom logo, for a few hundred dollars. Package deals can include everything from your logo design, to business cards, stationery, brochures, website design and promotional products.

10. Get a merchant account. You’ll need one if you plan to accept credit cards at your business. You can apply at sites such as Card Service International (www.cardservice.com) and Authorize.net.

Source: http://whatworksforbusiness.wordpress.com/2009/01/07/10-great-startup-tools-tips-for-today/

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