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Small Business Articles |
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| 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. "I guess I just have to do everything myself," she ranted.
My calling as a small business consultant requires that I maintain objectivity in the face of a client's frustration and anger. My calling as a human being and a small business owner myself leads me to empathize with what she was feeling at the moment.
It often seems, as small business owners, that we do i More.. |
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| How To Ruin Your Business |
| If you're like the rest of us, you've spent a lot of time trying different things to make your online business come together. There are countless methods of conducting a viable marketing career, but there are also as many ways to destroy one as well.
In any endeavor, there are costs. You need to weigh the costs before even getting started. Oh, you know about up front capital, advertising costs, webhosting monthly rental fees, and the like, but. . .
The costs that many entrepreneurs aren't thin More.. |
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| 3 Ways To Make Certain Your Business Fails |
| Most small businesses incorporated in 2005 will fail by the year 2007. No matter the industry or the economic times in which the company was initially conceived, the fact remains that businesses fail on a daily basis due to general lack of knowledge and know-how. What follows are my opinion on three very common methods to ensure not only mediocrity but failure as a business entity in today's world.
1. Lack of vision and focus
Most business, like most people today, lack a clear vision for their More.. |
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| Shortcuts Will Kill Your Business |
| Think of your business as a living, breathing, organism. It requires you to give it a large portion of your time and effort in order for it to grow and flourish.
You must spend time "feeding" it fresh content and searching for ways to improve it.
I remember growing up as a child, all I ever wanted was a puppy. When I finally received it, I realized that it was a large responsibility to feed it, groom it, and provide it with attention.
At times I felt like just "skipping" a day in order to hav More.. |
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| 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. You know the technical nature of this business; you do it everyday; over and over again. The question is: How can you do this technical work with the highest level of efficiency and effectiveness so that you'll have a great business?
Some of you entered the business as the manager. You plan, you quantify, and you implement it with and through others. The question More.. |
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| But This Is Just My Opinion |
| Hi, Charles...here, Your Cap and t-shirt guy From Texas. How are you doing today.
I have been doing that for the last 18 years. Taking care the needs of my customers and becoming Con fondant and friend.
Now I want to be your friend and take care of you.
But first I want to tell you a story.
I want to tell you a story about a customer of mine.
Keith lives in Florida he has been a customer of mine for 6 or 7 years. He always get's tshirts for his crew, and has them printed with one print just More.. |
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| 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. If your business is in crisis - deal with it. But the secret to keeping your business alive is growth.
That is the litmus test of keeping your business alive. Look at nature. Everything that is alive continues to grow. Growing your business is the best way of keeping it alive in the long term. How do you continue to grow your business? Feed it, nurture it, invest in it and treat the bu More.. |
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| 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. If you don't sell; the beast, (your business), dies. The impact of selling is immediate. You may love it, but it is a beast. You need to feed it and control it.
Your second priority is marketing. Marketing is taming and grooming the beast. Marketing is everything that makes it easier to sell. Marketing is about sending messages - and everything you do or don't More.. |
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| Advertising - For Small Businesses (Part 1) |
| Is it right for you?
If you decide to advertise your product or service then you must ask yourself - "Will potential customers read this publication and will they take action having read my ad?"
National newspapers - Read by a huge cross section of the population. If you're inserting a display ad then it would need to be professionally designed and you'd need to be in it for the long run. It would be expensive and I don't see any small to medium sized business justifying the cost. It may suit More.. |
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| Advertising - For Small Businesses (Part 2) |
| How to do it
People skim through newspapers and magazines and they aren't necessarily looking for information on products or services (unless they're reading the classifieds) It's therefore absolutely vital that your advertisement grabs their attention and encourages them to read more. Many ads are designed merely to create awareness of a product or service, however, small to medium size businesses need a result.
Use words that attract attention in your headline - The two most powerful words i More.. |
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| 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. You have to have some type of an edge.
You may have an excellent product or service, but if everyone else is selling a product or service similar to yours, just how much of the market can you expect to capture?
You will have to learn everything there is to know about your competition and understand their marketing strategies.
The be More.. |
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| 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. Implement these skills and you'll be on the right track.
1. Personal Skills
A healthy self esteem is necessary for you to tackle the day to day tasks of business. As an entrepreneur, you will spend a great deal of time working solo. Listen to your heart but consult your head before making final business deci More.. |
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| 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. For instance, If John Doe has a business name as John Doe's Grooming Parlor, a fictious name isn't necessary.
When opening a business in your residence, additional inform More.. |
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| 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.
Accountancy skills
You will have to balance the boo More.. |
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| 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.
Crazy isn't it? But true.
The saddest part in all this, is that they don't even know that they are destined for failure long before their dreams shatter and break apart.
Statistics tell us that within 5 years of start up 90% of all small business will go under.
My personal experience shows me that 98% of all home based business will do the same.
Why?
Because More.. |
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| 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. Maybe so. But to really realize its true potential you need to understand what business process automation is and why you will need it?
If you own/run/manage a business, take a look around yourself at the daily activities you perform to run your business effectively and efficiently. If you do observe closely, you will quickly notice that you (or yo More.. |
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| 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.
The first step of the Customer Analysis is to define exactly which customers the company is serving. This requires specificity. It is not adequate to say the company is targeting small businesses, for example, because there are sev More.. |
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| 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. "If we just sent out a few thousand more fliers" they say, "we will get some more clients". When in reality, they should be looking at how the message they're sending to their target market is perceived in the first place. Here are a few pointers to look at:
-Color-
Colors evoke innate responses, which mean More.. |
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| Find Your Niche & Follow It - Part 1 |
| In this series of articles I'm going to show you how to find out if there's a hungry crowd for your information product BEFORE you write a single word.
Mark Twain once said: "Find out where the people are going and get there first".
With the advent of the internet you can certainly find out what folks are wanting. Being the first at the front of the line to bill them might not be quite so easy.
But there are ways to find out if there's an existing hungry crowd for your information product, an More.. |
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| How To Get Slightly Famous in Print |
| Early in my career, I wrote an article for a small business magazine about self-publishing as a marketing tool for businesses. Because I specialize in helping businesses get into print, the article only took a few hours to write. A few months later it was published. Almost immediately, my phone began to ring and my email box filled up with inquires.
As a result of "Be An Expert, Get More Business" I landed two clients, submitted several proposals, and added dozens of names to my mailing list. L More.. |
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| Where Can I Get Clients From? |
| The following tips have come from a wide variety of sources; some from other successful businesses we know, some from our Home-Based and Small Business Support Group meetings and some we've developed by trial and error.
Some of the ways to get clients are:
contact previous employers;
mailing lists;
cold call your target market;
attend group meetings and seminars for your target market (conventions for doctors, lawyers; computer seminars);
attend local Chamber of Commerce meetings;
join gr More.. |
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| Using Technology to Manage Customer Loyalty |
| Don't let your customer satisfaction research initiative collect dust on a shelf. Integrate technology with research to optimize the use of customer information.
The typical company spends 80% of customer research time and effort gathering information, and only 20% of that time using it. Companies conduct research to gather information, but it is only useful if it can be turned into positive action.
In the audio book, "Sound Advice on Customer Loyalty," author Steve Walker suggests that integr More.. |
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| Perception: What Are Your Patients REALLY Hearing? |
| Never underestimate the power of perception! Perception plays a major part in what is actually said -vs- how it is heard. And to patients...perception is reality!
For example, lets look at broken appointments, one of the biggest problems in your practice. Last minute changes and no show appointments account for thousands of dollars a month in lost revenue for the practice!
Are you sending signals to your patients that it's all right to break appointments?
When the patient calls and says they More.. |
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| Naming Your Business: 3 Tips To Ensure Success |
| If you are just starting your business, or if you have just developed a new product or service for an existing business, one of the first questions you need to answer is, "What should I name it?" And while you may feel pressure to make this decision quickly, I caution you to not make it lightly. What kind of things should you take into consideration when choosing a name?
(1) Don't Use Your Own Name
Well, first of all, use a name other than your own name. I often see service business profession More.. |
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| Looking for a New Office Chair? |
| Perhaps you are building a new home office or you are redoing the one you have. Or, maybe you are looking for an office chair to replace that broken down model sitting in your office. Regardless, the office chairs of today offer more then just comfort. Choosing an office chair can be as much fun as getting a raise! Well, maybe it's not that good, but it's still a great moment!
You're sitting in your old office chair and it's uncomfortable. It may be worn and barely movable. Or, it may be too ti More.. |
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| Can Your Business Run Without You? |
| What would happen if you decided to take an extended vacation? Would you still have the same business results when you returned?
I met a business owner recently who told me an interesting story. His business was 15 years old and he had approximately 50 employees. A couple of years ago, he decided to take a vacation to Europe for a month. After all, his business had turned a profit every month for 13 years. He deserved it.
Off he went to enjoy the fruits of his many years of labor. He had a gra More.. |
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| The End -- Fireworks or Fizzle? |
| Seems as though there are a lot of business closings going around lately. Everywhere I look small businesses -- one on top of another -- are closing their doors.
On small marquee signs, empty storefronts, and in the newspaper it's common to see the message, "ABC Company Closes It's Doors After 35 Years."
Is that what you want the newspaper to print about your business?
Somewhat deflating, isn't it? Like a balloon leaking air. So where will your business be in 35 years? Have you decided what " More.. |
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| Tell Me The Reasons Why I Should Believe You? |
| Have you ever heard the phrase, 'PREPONDERANCE OF PROOF'?
I recently heard it to describe a situation where a person was backed up against a wall (legally speaking) and needed a way out of the mess.
The legal guy came in and said, 'I feel we may win this case'. The defendant was furious with his lawyers. I want you to have an abundance, a 'preponderance of proof' so that we bury them in evidence. I want them to 'surrender' because of the unending proof we can give them!
That real life example More.. |
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| Creating Time the Virtual Way |
| Time. As a small business owner, it's the commodity you covet most but never seem to have enough of.
If you had more time, you could complete all the administrative chores required to operate your business.
With enough time, you could do more marketing, more networking, more planning and systemizing.
If you had just a little more, you'd be a whole lot less hurried and stressed.
But how on earth do you create more time to do all the things necessary to run smoothly, build business, and create More.. |
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