I used to hate selling – both on the website and on the phone. On the website, this meant not working hard to ensure we are using the right language and the right sales process and on the phone, not being proactive and comfortable closing a sale. But after all these years tweaking our website, our sales process, our packages, and handling phone calls, I realize how much I love selling. I realized that I am actually helping customers find a service that they are looking for and selling actually is the process of helping them discover how your service or product fits into their requirement.

In this video I talk about a few tips on getting over the selling fear zone and get comfortable with selling.

Everyone who likes money should learn to be good with it. After all, for most entrepreneurs wealth does not come from a sudden windfall but rather from pennies stashed away here and there over the span of years. Money managing may be unpleasant, but there is one particular part of it that most people particularly hate: budgeting.

What does budget mean to you? To many of us, it has a somewhat negative connotation. We tend to think of earmarking funds for necessities along and leaving no money for more fun considerations. Budgeting does not have to be negative; if you are an entrepreneur, then it is completely necessary in fact. Here are a few budgeting faqs to get you started.

• List your priorities. This is an excellent exercise in simply learning to prioritize and manage time, but it can help with managing money as well. Think of the things that are essential to your business (rent, overhead, inventory, etc) and then move to the second place list. The most important items should receive the most money obviously.
• Don’t get hung up on the small stuff. When faced with any large task, it is easy to get hung up on the smaller aspects which, in the long run, are just not very important. Many entrepreneurs read that there is excellent budgeting software out there and lose focus on the budget itself. You should definitely research which types of software are right for you, but you can certainly begin making a budget without them. Many banks offer free software with a business account; these can be the right solution because the price is right and they are compatible with your bank account. Ditto goes for any other “detail” of your budget. Work on the big picture before filling in the details.
• Set up your budget with strategic priorities in mind. For example, many entrepreneurs need to see not just sales but sales channels. Your budget needs to be set up so that it is easy to examine how reality jives with your plans and modify accordingly. Accounting is so detailed that it can be difficult to discern these things, which is why budgeting and aggregation are important.
• Identify and watch for red flags. What issues could take down your business? In a constantly changing economy, often constantly changing for the worse, you need to identify these so that you can watch for them. For instance, maybe your margins are the most crucial thing right now. You need to incorporate these into your budget so you can easily see when you are getting off track. It is often relatively easy to correct these when they first occur, certainly easier than finding out when it is too late.
• Be consistent. You may be tempted to change categories in your budget as your needs change. This can be a good idea, but it comes with a major caveat. If you change categories often, then you may fail to recognize long term trends. These trends can be a key factor in making decisions and determining the direction of your company, so only make changes when they are truly necessary.
• Review your budget on a regular basis. I have found that a monthly budget review is perfect for identifying trends and making necessary changes. All budgets are wrong, even after years of honing them. Budgeting requires making guesses about what will happen in the future, which is never a precise task. The important thing is that you make a budget so you can compare the ideal financial situation for your entrepreneurial ventures with the reality. Regular reviews can help you to create a more accurate budget and also to identify problem areas.
• Involve employees. Many employees, even in smaller, more informal businesses, do not understand the ins and outs of their employer’s financial goals. If you have employees, you should involve them as much as possible in the ongoing budgeting process. Make them partners in the venture, even if only figuratively. Being aware of your company’s finances will encourage them to always make the best possible decisions and make them feel like a part of your business’s growth.
• Be prepared for the worst case scenario. Analysts are looking less and less optimistic about 2012. It is shaping up to be a year without growth, without credit and therefore a year without spending. You really need to step it up in order to be successful. Moreover, you need to be prepared for the possibility that your best efforts may still fall short. If you make a plan for dealing with financial strain before it even occurs, you will have a better chance of riding out the storm.
• Build sub-budgets. Change in the economic world means changes for entrepreneurs. You may need to introduce a new product, make a new marketing plan or even pull back spending. However, because these are possibilities and not definite plans, you probably do not want to incorporate them into your overall budget. You can still begin to work out how these things will affect your budget; simply make sub-budgets and budgets based on projections. It may seem like a lot of work, but you will be happy when the time comes to implement your plans!
• Don’t give up. It can be tempting to forget about budgeting and begin flying by the seat of your pants. After all, budgeting can take a lot of time, and it is discouraging when your budgets never seem to match the reality. Keep in mind that a budget is a goal—the way you would like to see money spent in your business. Even if your entrepreneurial ventures do not always meet the goals, you still profit from remaining aware of what you really want and need from your business.

Budgets are the only way to determine a path for your business and hold yourself accountable for staying on track. They do not take much time to manage once you have developed a system, but they can make all the difference in the success of your business. Don’t let a little work keep you from achieving your entrepreneurial dreams!

If you are looking for a fast-growing field for your next entrepreneurial venture or even for a new product that will sell well, food just may be the right match for you. Food and food products are some of the hottest products being sold by entrepreneurs. Here is a little information on the genre and a few of the reasons that we think it is so hot right now.

A Growing Industry

The American restaurant business grew one and a half percent last year. This may not seem like a lot, but keep in mind that many industries barely remained flat or even lost ground. There are other good indicators as well; food co-op membership is at an all-time high, which packaged upscale and foreign foods are selling at higher rates than ever. Venture capitalists are catching on; it is much easier to get an investment in a restaurant right now than in other businesses. An entrepreneur recently was loaned $10 million for the development and opening of a restaurant based on the humble grilled cheese sandwich.

Because of the increase in consumer and investor interest, many entrepreneurs are becoming interested as well. But why do consumers care so much about food all of a sudden?

• Home and hearth connotations. American home life is less stable than it used to be, or at least we perceive it that way. What could be homier than a high quality meal? Whenever Americans are longing for simpler times, food is an easy answer. It takes years to create a traditional family, but a comforting meal can be had quickly. This is particularly true in the case of small businesses selling classic comfort foods, such as the grilled cheese sandwich restaurant discussed before.
• Health concerns. The obesity epidemic is rampant, which has led to heightened concerns about diet and health. If a product has been shown to lower the rate of certain diseases or to have other health benefits, many Americans will be interested. If you can offer a healthy product with comfort food appeal, the masses will beat down your door to buy it. Investors know that. In addition, many people have special health needs that are not being adequately met by most food manufacturers, such as the need for gluten free foods.
• Green fever. Many people feel that the environment is in a state of rapid decline. While most of us do not have the power to make huge changes, there is a lot to be said for making small changes that can add up quickly. Plus, buying green or locally sourced food is a good way to at least feel like you are making a difference. Green food and related items are big sellers right now for these reasons.
• Ethnic traditions. How better to experience a culture than to sample its eating traditions? Many Westerners are becoming hooked on exotic foods, with their new and interesting flavors and textures. Packaged exotic foods are enjoying particular success right now because they make it easy for people to sample new and interesting foods on a daily basis. In the restaurant business, people are interested in sampling cuisines that they have never tried before, such as Ethiopian and Taiwanese.

If you are thinking about getting into this in-demand line of business, you are not alone. It can be a very lucrative proposition if you approach it correctly and plan for success. Here are a few things to think about when planning a move into the booming food industry.

1. Start small. You cannot jump into a new line of business feet first; test the water by trying a single food product and seeing how it sells. Start with a product that can later become the core of your brand, and then expand once that is successful.
2. Know the regulations. Because of the potential for illness in poorly prepared food, there are many regulations for people who want to commercially prepare it. These vary from state to state and from area to area, so you will have to find out on your own which apply to you. The list will probably include ingredient labeling, health department inspections and special certifications for food handlers. Sometimes your local government gives special grants to cover these costs.
3. Get your products out there. People may be reluctant to try a new food product, which is why you need to give them ample opportunities to see, taste and experience it. Get a booth at your local farmer’s market and sell product or at least hand out small samples. Cater for friends and generally do everything that you can do to expose people to your product. In addition, you may want to send samples to bloggers who post about your particular niche. This type of word of mouth advertising can be very powerful.
4. Look for capital before you need it. Food businesses typically operate with very low margins, which can mean that there will be a long interval before you begin making a profit—or even break even. This means that you will likely need funding. Luckily, there are many venture capital firms and other lenders that are interested in food businesses. Compared to other industries, it is relatively easy to get the loans that you need in order to start your business.
5. Talk to an accountant. There are some tax considerations when opening a food business that don’t arise as quickly in most fields. First, most food businesses need employees almost from the start; there are special tax credits if this is the case for you. In addition, there may be research and development grants that can help you as you try out new recipes, or at least tax credits. In addition, there are now special deductions for companies that are completely domestically based, which will probably include you.

Food and food products make up a unique field, but also one that is uniquely lucrative. They can be a huge success when run by the right person. Are you that right person?

There is no point in focusing your time and efforts on a segment of your customers that fit the “bad customer” profile. Wether you like it or not, there are always bound to be customers that do not fit your company and your brand. Such customers end up wasting your time, your marketing efforts and your customer service.

How To Fire Your Customers | Full Transcript of video

This can be described by the famous 80/20 rule where 80% of your business issues and problems and customer service head aches are a result of 20% of your customers. If you can identify who this 20% is and fire them, your business would improve dramatically.

In this video, I take a brief look at this issue and suggest a few ways of handling this situation. I am surprised that most businesses do not realize this. In our own business here on Logo Design Works, I did a similar audit and realized that customers of a particular service made up 75% of our customers service calls and email correspondence. This was the brochure design service. I then analyzed the revenue model and realized that the actual revenue from brochure design projects was less than 11% of our total sales.

Because brochure designs are for marketing purposes and clients do not really have a good marketing strategy before they approach us, the designs we create almost always fel short of their expectations. Perhaps these clients have been exposed to brochures created by large companies, who spend thousands of dollars on creating their marketing material and set their expectations high. But they want this service for less than $400 and still get the same results. On top of that printing issues and coordination between their printer and our designers took up a huge chunk of time.

So I made the conscious decision to discontinue offering Brochure Design services. When we get calls related to brochure design orders, we politely turn them down. This has improved our customer service record quite dramatically!

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Most of us have had to sit through painful PowerPoint presentations. It’s really hard to think of a more unpleasant way to spend an afternoon! PowerPoint is a valuable tool, but merely using it will not make you seem more valuable or do anything to improve your company brand. As with all other tools, PowerPoint can be used well or used very poorly. Here are a few PowerPoint crimes and easy ways you can avoid being guilty of them. .

1. PowerPoint crime #1: Not knowing how to use the program.

   Nothing breaks down a brand or reduces your chances of a sale more than fumbling through a presentation. Learning PowerPoint does not have to take forever; merely flip through a Dummies book or ask a more skilled friend to give you an overview. You don’t have to be an expert, but you should know the very basics.

2. PowerPoint crime #2: Feature overload.

   On one end of the spectrum are people who can barely turn on their PC yet feel compelled to put together PowerPoint presentations. At the other end are those who know PowerPoint like the back of their hand, and make sure every meeting has an obscene amount of features and slides. To these people, we say (beg?), no more please. One of the cardinal rules of business presentations is ‘keep it simple’. A simple, uncluttered, just-the-facts PowerPoint will get your message across and keep your audience awake. We don’t need to see your stellar chart-making skills on every single page.

3. PowerPoint crime #3: Not enough show, too much tell.

   Think of PowerPoint as a business equivalent of show and tell. PowerPoint was not designed as a word processing program, so don’t use it that way. You’d never come to circle time without actually possessing the item that you are showing, right? Make sure every aspect of your presentation has a visual and/or physical component. Choose pictures, graphs, videos, and just about anything other than words. You can supply the words while giving the actual presentation.

4. PowerPoint crime #4: Boring your audience.

   The only way to make people want to sit through your presentations is to produce your PowerPoint’s with an eye toward entertainment value. Be witty, funny, and original. Try to get your message across with as much humor as possible. Tell a story with pictures and build up to a crescendo in much the same way as a movie or television show. Similarly, avoid visual elements that are boring, like clip art. Make sure your presentation is as original as your products.

5. PowerPoint crime #5: Leaving your brand in the footnotes.

   Your brand should be a large and recognizable part of your PowerPoint presentations. Use your logo design wherever possible, even as part of the theme. Use colors, fonts, images, and language that are recognizably part of your business. This is not just an opportunity to make a few sales; it’s an opportunity to show off your brand and logo design. Don’t leave this opportunity behind!

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One of the most confusing parts of opening a small business is dealing with legal issues—regulations, laws, and most of all, taxes. While we are not accountants, there are a few general rules that affect everybody in the United States. Here are a few tips for ensuring that taxes don’t become a major problem for your company:

1. Stay Current.

   Many business owners find themselves accidentally in trouble with the IRS because of a simple mistake. Nothing makes filing for taxes more confusing and anxiety-ridden than trying to deal with this task with out-of date books as a reference. It takes longer to play catch up than it would have to stay on top of things, and you are more likely to forget something. Keep your accounting constantly updated and current. Not only with this help you when it comes time to file taxes, it will ensure that you always have an accurate financial picture of your business.

2. Be Write-Off Smart.

   There are tax write-offs that will merely lower your taxes, and then there are ones that will lower your taxes while improving your company. Stick to the latter. If you need a write-off, contribute to your retirement plan or otherwise invest in yourself and your company’s long-term good. Inventory write-offs are another issue that many business owners overlook. Check your inventory and note what goods are unsalable due either to damage or changes in your market. Their drop in value can be an added source of deductions.

3. Increase Expenses.

   If you need a fast way to lower your tax bill, buy ahead. You can pay some of your larger bills early, invest in needed equipment, or even stock up on office supplies. Do you need a brand refresher or a new logo design? These will increase your profits over the next year while lower your claimed income for 2010. Investing in your business is always a better choice than handing money over to the government. Just remember that every item you write off now is one that you won’t be writing off for 2011 and spend accordingly.

4. Defer Income.

   Was this December particularly good to you? If you aren’t prepared to pay taxes on profits from that Christmas rush, defer some of your income. This is a more complicated tactic, so be sure to talk to a tax expert before you begin. Also, as with the last suggestion, keep in mind that this measure will absolutely affect next year’s taxes.

5. Plan Ahead.

   If this is your first year as a small business owner, you may not be familiar with estimated taxes. You should be paying taxes on a more regular basis than someone who is merely taking home a paycheck. This will also keep you from getting hit with a huge tax bill at the end of the year. This only applies to business owners who will be paying more than $500 per year on their taxes, which is just about everyone.

Paying attention to taxes, however painful that may be, can save you a ton of money and keep you off the IRS’s radar when it comes time to audit. Make yourself familiar with the tax laws that apply to you and stay in compliance.

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Higher gas and fuel prices affect everyone, but no one more than small business owners. Not only will you see your own transportation bill skyrocket if prices take their predicted climb over the next few months, you’ll get squeezed from every direction as suppliers and customers feel the crunch. However, there are a many ways a small business owner can build their business and their brand while cutting back on the gas bill. Here are just a few.

1. Think quantity. Try to group deliveries and other logistics into larger batches, because it often takes the same amount of fuel to carry a few extra boxes. This applies to your own deliveries as well as those that come to you. In many cases, outsourcing to a courier or delivery service may actually be cheaper as fuel prices climb, because these businesses deal with large quantities. You may also want to coordinate your travel and deliveries with other businesses so you can share the bill.
2. Make your equipment as efficient as possible. Sometimes switching to alternative energy, such as hybrid vehicles, is actually less expensive in the long run. You may even find that there are federal and local grants to help finance the initial expense. If this is not an option for you, simply think of fuel efficiency as a major factor when buying equipment. Another tactic is to buy smaller. In many cases, you function just as well with slightly downsized vehicles and equipment, which in turn cost less to buy and use less fuel. Regardless of your sector or the type of equipment you use, keep everything well maintained. This will improve fuel efficiency.
3. Collaborate with customers. Many customers are more than willing to help you cut down on fuel costs, especially if this is being presented as a ‘green’ change and not a cost-driven one. For example, many hotels have cut back on laundering costs by allowing customers to use towels for an extra day as a water-saving measure. If you service people at their homes, encourage residents to coordinate their services with neighbors so you can drive down the block instead of across town. You can even offer a slight discount that is a percentage of your own savings, allowing everyone to come out ahead.
4. Plan ahead. Sometimes fuel can be saved by simply planning better. Do all of your work on one side of town in the morning, then switch neighborhoods later. Plan to travel during less busy times to prevent time and fuel wasted sitting in traffic. Map out multi-stop trips to find the quickest and most fuel efficient route. These slight changes can make a huge difference, especially if transportation is a significant expense for your company.
5. Use technology where possible. Sometimes technology offers an easy and cheap option. For example, hold online meetings through Skype or similar services. Call ahead to ensure that no drop of gas is wasted. Look at every single stop you make and evaluate whether there is a virtual alternative.

None of us like to see prices increase, but you can keep these extra bills to a minimum without sacrificing your brand or your quality. Simply think smart and look for greener and lower cost alternatives.

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We are well into the new yeatr, but have you made plans to make it the best it can be? While many people make lists of New Year’s resolutions to find love, lose weight, or give up a few bad habits, you can make New Year’s resolutions for a healthier company as well. Here are a few ideas for making this year a great year for public relations.

1. Get real.

   Before you can make an improvement, you need to know exactly what the state of your company’s public relations is. If it is pretty dismal, which is not unusual for a small business, look at why that might be. If you have managed to garner media attention, look at how much of it was positive or negative and which publications and journalists gave you each. Last, look at angles and strategies that successfully earned you positive attention.

2. Look at the competition.

   Once you have evaluated your own year in public relations, do the same for a few of your closest competitors. What strategies are working for them? What journalists are giving them the positive press? What works for them will likely work just as well for you.

3. Consider your brand.

   The point of public relations is not merely to increase sales this week, although that is very important. You also need to promote your brand and get it out in the public eye as much as possible. This will help create long term sales and make you a fixture in your community. Further, you should consider your brand when choosing publications for your public relations efforts. You’ll have the best luck when you work with media that are read or viewed by your target audience.

4. Take a journalists’ eye view.

   Look at your business the way a journalist would. What is interesting and relevant about you? What angles make your story news? What is interesting to readers? If you can present your story so it is ready for the evening news, reporters and other media figures will be more likely to bite.

5. Make specific goals.

   Once you have a good idea of the public relations ‘market’ for your company, it is time to make goals for the next year. Decide what you are going to do and when. Create a public relations calendar to help you coordinate all of the activities you are planning. Putting your goals in writing and giving them a firm timeline will make it easy for you to see if you are on plan. Your goals should include at least the next six months

Reevaluate and revise. Set a date to examine how well your public relations goals are going. Are you able to keep up with your schedule? Are you getting the results you planned for? Three months is a good interval because you can begin to see the fruits of your efforts, but it is not so long that you have invested a huge amount of time or effort yet.

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As the saying goes, the three most important decisions you’ll make for your small business are location, location, and location. However, it can be difficult to decide exactly what makes a location right for you. Is it the neighborhood? The layout? Room for expansion? Here are a few things to think about when choosing the right place to lead your business to success.

Consider your Customer

The one thing that will give your business a higher chance of success is being in your target audience’s vision on a regular basis. This can be accomplished through advertising, but at considerable expense. This leaves another option: finding a location that is convenient to your customers and likely to be encountered by them in their everyday life. This means that you need to think carefully about the demographic of any neighborhood that you consider. Who lives there? Who works there? Who drives by every day?

Choose Neighbors Wisely

Regular traffic is worth a wealth in advertising, which is why another good option is choosing a location where there are other retailers catering to your target market. When people stop to visit one of the stores in an area, they are more likely to browse in neighboring outlets. As a bonus, there will probably be infrastructure in place already making it easy for your customers to access you, like parking lots and public transportation. If possible, get as close to your competitors as possible—there is a good chance they have already put a lot of thought and research into choosing the right location. Once you are located in an area where there is heavy customer traffic, you can concentrate more on marketing.

Get Help

While it may seem that finding the right location is a large enough task, it is only the beginning. You will need to consult an attorney about any possible site. They can advise you on issues such as whether the zoning allows your type of business and what kind of insurance you will need. They also can help you negotiate a lease that is favorable to your business. You should also talk to a real estate professional, who likely has an in-depth understanding of the area and its customers. Don’t ignore pragmatic issues such as plumbing, wiring, and room for growth; these issues can sink a business quickly if you don’t make the right decisions from the very beginning.

Keep Branding in Mind

Last, but not least, consider whether any location is a good fit with your brand. Will the location appeal to your target customer? Can the premises be economically turned into a visual reflection of your brand? Will the layout work well with the type of business that you have planned?

In many cases, your location will be the first thing that your customers see about you and the picture that they carry in their minds when they hear your name. It is crucial that you think about branding at every step of the process. If you have any questions or concerns, talk to a branding consultant.

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One of the keys to successfully starting a small business is acquiring the startup money needed to get it off to a healthy start. However, this can be a huge challenge for many different businesses in an era where banks and investors are feeling warier—and stingier—than ever. This doesn’t mean that they are not investing, but merely that you have to present a very special package in order to assuage anxieties. Here are a few tips for raising funds in this unfriendly economic time.

1. Show the demand.

   Investors know that it is almost impossible to create demand in an economic recession, even for a superior product. However, it is definitely possible to sell a product, even a merely passable one, to a market that is demanding it. In fact, a product that is in demand, sold by a person with proven sales experience, is almost irresistible to investors because it is the closest to a ‘sure thing’ that you can find.

2. Show an existing customer base.

   Just because customers are looking for an answer to a problem doesn’t mean they think your solution is the answer. You need to show that product already has a customer base of people willing and even eager to buy it. There are more than a few ways to show this: customer testimonials, positive beta testing and sampling results, high repeat sales rates, and positive coverage in different press venues. If your customers are just waiting to buy, investors will want to give them the opportunity.

3. Show an effective team.

   Even the best product with a huge amount of demand can’t succeed without people who know how to work together to make it happen. This makes your initial sales team a crucial part of getting investment capital. Hire people with well-rounded experience as well as a good work ethic and the ability to evolve along with the needs of your business. There is no room for laziness or selfishness on your team! If you have a team that works together well and has the knowledge and experience to get sales, your investors will feel confident in your ability to provide returns.

4. Believe in your vision.

   When you are asking for investment money, you must put all of your sales energy into this process. Here is a chance to show off the sales acumen that you bragged about in your business plan. Remember, investors know that if you can’t sell your business, you probably can’t sell product either.

5. Keep trying.

   Different investors are looking for different ‘packages’ so don’t be afraid to turn your rejections into new opportunities. Many business owners have to look for funds in a variety of places before finding the one that believes in their vision. If traditional bank loans don’t work, turn to investment firms specializing in small business. If you get turned down there, look for nontraditional funding such as private investors. If you know that your business is going to work, don’t let rejection hold you back.

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When you outgrow one location, expanding to another seems like a logical plan. However, there are certain things you need to know before investigating a new location. Here are a few questions to ask yourself when you are considering this huge step.

1. Is it necessary?

   Telecommuting is so easy now that it is almost ubiquitous. It makes it easier for the boss to avoid micromanaging, and usually shortens one’s commute. You can bet that your employees would love the arrangement’s flexibility and casual charm as well. Telecommuting is just one way your company can get maximum value out of one location. Another option is to expand into the internet, which requires almost no space at all but has huge potential for profit. Think outside the box and consider whether your company really needs and can justify the extra space. Offices just aren’t mandatory anymore; well known blog treehugger.com sold for $10 million without a single location or even an office chair to their name.

2. Can you afford the overhead?

   Opening a new office doesn’t just mean more employees; it means a higher price tag as well. Not only will you need to pay for the actual location, you will need electricity, phone and internet, plumbing, office equipment, and a second set of all of the supplies you buy for your office right now. Further, you will need new staff as well. This may take a sizeable chunk out of the profits you thought you would reap from the expansion.

3. Will your brand work well in another area?

   Whether you are adding an office in the next town or the next block, you should consider whether your brand and logo design are universal enough to make the transition. Talk to a logo designer if you have questions about this.

4. Is your business stable enough to do double duty?

   There will be a period of time, in this economy perhaps a long period, when a second location will mean that you do double duty in every possible way. Your current profits will need to cover twice the expenses and your managers will need to do twice the managing. Almost everything that you do for your business will need to be done doubly. Eventually your new location will be able to fend for itself, but this could take a long time. Your business needs to be in a place to absorb the extra work and payout.

5. Will a second location improve your business’s bottom line?

   There are a few times when having multiple locations can be a real asset. For instance, brick and mortar retail locations can only make so much profit in one area; branching out is the only means to expand. Similarly, a second location might look good if you are trying to sell your business or to get a loan for expansion. However, in many modern businesses a second location will not bring the prestige you think it will… and it comes with a heavy price tag as well. While these are not reasons to stay a one-office operation forever, it is important to take this huge step with a lot of forethought.

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Is your business ready for Customer Relationship Management, also known as CRM? While many small business owners think of customer relationship management as something they do on a regular basis, the tern refers a set of technological solutions that help business automate sales and customer service. If you haven’t heard of this technology and implemented it, you are already behind your competitors. Here is a short guide to CRM and tips for using it to your best advantage.

1. Choose the right CRM solution.

   There are software programs that offer CRM, but it can be hard to determine which is right for you, especially before you have had solid experience with the field. It is easy to buy the wrong software and end up with something that simply isn’t right for you. In fact, research from the Garner Group indicated that a billion dollars every year is spent on CRM software that isn’t being used. There are two ways to get around this problem. First, do your homework and talk to businesses like yours about what has been working for them. Second, if you are still unsure, there are many CRM solutions that are internet-based and charge a monthly subscription fee. These may be the right choice for your business, especially if this is your first CRM experience.

2. Train employees to use it.

   If you have employees, they may be reluctant to use your CRM at first. It adds another duty to their to-do list and offers them no immediate benefit. However, you cannot collect and compile data if it is not being offered, so you must insist that they use the CRM. Once they learn to use the CRM to save time and increase productivity, they’ll start doing it willingly. In addition to entering information, remember to go through occasionally and remove obsolete information. This will enable you to get accurate reports and avoid wasting time.

3. Respect confidentiality.

   Your CRM will include information about your customers—information that would put them and you both at legal and other risk if released. Use the software according to instructions and pay special heed to security instructions. Make sure your network and computers are secure as well. Your customers are trusting you with their personal information; make sure you are always worthy of this trust.

4. Try, try again.

   It is rare that a company finds the right CRM solution on the first try, so when your first choice fails simply dust yourself off and move on. If anything, you have learned a little about what you need and what doesn’t work for your business. It may take several tries to determine exactly what your business needs, but the right solution will make this long trial and error process more than worth it.

CRM was once the domain of older, more established companies, but this is no longer the case. Even small businesses are finding that this software solution makes managing day to day operations all the easier. There are so many CRM programs tailored to the needs of a small business that you are sure to find one that is just perfect for you.

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When you are opening a small business, there often seem to be more expenses than you can even count. Not only are there expenses that are necessary to keep your doors open, like rent, electricity, supplies and employees, there are less direct but nonetheless necessary bills as well. Small business insurance may seem like just another bill that has little impact on your business’s long term outlook, but it in fact can have a huge effect on your future.

However, many small business owners wonder how much insurance they truly need. Is a simple general liability plan enough? Here are the essential elements of a small business insurance plan.

The first and most important part of any small business insurance policy is general liability. This type of insurance is the most basic insurance, covering you in a very general way, as the name suggests. In most cases, general liability bodily injury and other damages caused by your company. While this type of insurance is an important, basic type, it nonetheless is not enough. Professional liability insurance is also necessary in order to protect yourself and your business.

Professional liability insurance rather simply insures the actions you make on behalf of your company above and beyond general liability. It usually includes loss of time and opportunity, both yours and your claimed victim’s. There is a good chance that you will at some point be responsible for another person or company’s loss, however much it may or may not be your fault. Many businesses find themselves in this position, which professional liability insurance was specially designed to deal with.

Many people assume that they don’t need insurance for different industries. For example, someone who works on the internet may feel that because they are not handling a person’s property, they have no potential for damage. However, even internet professionals handle a person’s private information as well as large amounts of invaluable data. Customers can and have sued over the loss of this information. The moral of this story if that you need general and professional liability in any industry.

No article can tell you an exact dollar amount of insurance that you need, but a qualified insurance agent can. Be sure to communicate openly and honestly with your agent about your current and expected income, the amount of work you do, and the monetary value of your assets. This will help them to make a professional estimate of the amount of insurance you need, both general and professional liability.

Although the possibility of a lawsuit seems remote when you are just opening your doors, many small business owners are victims of our litigious society. If you are sued, it will cost not just money, but time and peace of mind. Everything that you worked for both personally and professionally could be at risk. Having an insurance policy that includes general and professional liability will allow you to sleep at night knowing that your business and your family are safe.

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Automate Your Business: 5 Ways to Streamline Processes and Free Up Time

Small business owners are always looking for ways to create more time in their day. Automation is one term used for the many ways of putting a business on ‘autopilot’ so you can spend those valuable minutes doing something else. Here are a few ways to get your business running a little more smoothly so you can focus on what really matters.

1. Create policies and procedures.

   Having the processes that make up your daily business put into a standard form and written down will allow any employee in your business to carry them out with very little explanation. If you tend to forget how to perform certain processes, you also may benefit from this arrangement! It pays to figure out the fastest and most efficient way to do something and then to do it this way every single time.

2. Use automated emails.

   Modern technology has made it very easy to use scripts to automatically generate response emails to people who email you. You can even create scripts that will send repeat emails who fail to respond to you. While you still will have to check your email, this will allow you to do so at an interval that is more convenient for your own schedule. Being a business owner is difficult enough without being chained to your inbox.

3. Get the right programs.

   No one can do their job without having the appropriate tools. As a small business owner, you need to invest in some tools as well.  These can vary according to the type of business you own, but the general rule is: if a tool will improve and streamline your daily life, it is probably worth the cost. The more time that you can invest in actually running your business and making money, the faster these conveniences will pay for themselves.

4. Use scheduled tasks.

   You are probably well aware that your computer can perform certain tasks during times that are convenient for you, but you may not be aware that you can program them to do so on a regular basis at scheduled times. These allow you to perform searches, website updates, and other high energy tasks at a time when all of your computer’s capabilities are free. It also prevents having your non-routine work slowed down by a task that can wait for later.

5. Get into routines.

   Efficiency experts believe that having routines actually helps people to function more quickly. The streamlined movement and lack of need for thought can as much as double productivity. Not only can you accomplish the same amount of work in a smaller amount of time, you also can also ensure that certain routine tasks occur at the proper intervals. There are ways to apply this principle to other aspects of your business as well. For instance, hold certain meetings at the same time every week or day, as this will make it easy for employees to plan their workload and make long term scheduling decisions.

Whether you are looking at marketing, branding, or logo design, there are many times when a small business owner needs an expert opinion. However, too many business owners think that they need to hire “in person” consultants from an expensive brick and mortar business in their area. There are actually several good reasons to choose online consultants, and here are just five.

1. Coffee breaks.

   There is a reason online consultants are often cheaper, and this is one major cause. Anyone who works in an office knows that there is a great deal of ‘downtime’ that ends up on the clock. Baby showers, chatty meetings, and, yes, coffee breaks all take time but add little value for customers. Online consultants usually are paid by the job rather than by the hour or on a salary. This means you pay less for the same service. You don’t really need to pay for an in-depth breakdown of last night’s Dancing with the Stars, do you?

2. Landlines.

   Doesn’t it seem silly that most offices have landlines in addition to an army of smart phone bearing employees? Online companies rarely duplicate services in this way. Phones aren’t the only area of waste. Consider the area of rent; often an online consultancy will have an office, but it is a bare, small affair that gets maximum bang for the buck, and not the lavish affairs seen in most consultancies. Traditional offices require rent, but also electricity, complex phone systems, and furniture. These things cost less for online companies, and these savings only make them more competitive. There is little reason to have a traditional office anymore, unless you have some strange affection for cubicles.

3. Paper.

   While memos are often printed, copied, and distributed around offices for a variety of reasons, online companies communicate mainly by online means such as email, Skype, and text message. These are greener options and lower cost ones as well. There is a time and place for paper documents and face-to-face meetings, but online companies keep them to a minimum.

4. Walls.

   Geographical barriers—between employees and between customers—are virtually unheard of in an online business. Have you ever heard an employee from a traditional company state that a certain matter wouldn’t be resolved until a meeting on such-and-such a date or until a key person came in from work? Because online companies are connected by means other than physical proximity, most issues can be resolved quickly without a ton of meetings. This means faster service for customers like you.

5. Debt.

   As a business owner, you know how expensive opening a business can be. There are so many expenses that it is almost impossible for a new business owner to avoid getting deep into debt. Online businesses usually run leaner operations that are less dependent on material goods, and thus have much lower credit card and loan bills… and less interest as well. This savings makes it easy for them to provide quality service at a price you can afford.

Many small business owners toil away everyday at their jobs, trying their hardest keep everything in the black and wondering if maybe there isn’t some secret to this whole thing that they don’t know about. The good news is that there is a secret. The bad news is that it is a little harder than it sounds.

The secret to small business success is repeat business.

There are tricks to getting repeat business, of course. Here are a few of them.

1. You have to get their business the first time.

   And this means having a brand that entices them to walk into your store, and then having a store that is consistent with your brand. If you can handle these two tasks, you are well on your way to repeat business and success.

2. Get in your customer’s mind.

   You should already know who your target customer is; that’s part of the branding and business planning process. However, do you know what would make them return to your business? Play through a typical sale in the mind of your customers. What barriers and frustrations are there? What would make these barriers lower or at least a little less annoying? What would make this customer want to come back?

3. Keep a database.

   If you can get your customer’s information, you should keep this on a database. Then, routinely contact them with special deals and offers. Make being a repeat customer with your business a type of club, one that offers a little prestige and a lot of benefits that make being a member well worth it. This database will also help you evaluate how your actual customers match up with the imaginary ones that you planned for.

4. Be personal.

   You would be reluctant to skip a party you were invited to because the people involved would miss you. Getting to know your customers and calling them by name can partially produce this effect. Just like Cheers, people want to be where everybody knows their name.

5. Look for measurable results.

   Before you spend a dime on marketing you need to have a plan for testing the effectiveness. You need to know what forms of marketing are bringing in customers and, more important, which are bringing in repeat customers. There is a good chance that the repeat customers are responding to an aspect of your brand that is not present in less successful advertisements. Knowing what marketing efforts work will help you increase your sales per marketing dollar.

According to experts, it takes six to eight times as much energy and money to get a new customer. This means that hanging onto customers and getting repeat business can singlehandedly drive your business to success. Many of your customers won’t even produce a profit until they are repeat offenders! So the only way to getting consistent profit is to keep the customers you have. Now that you have a few tools, this shouldn’t be as difficult.

Are you looking for a cheap and easy way to build your small business brand?if so, you are not alone. Many small businesses are on a constant lookout for ways to get their brand and logo design into the public eye without spending a ton of time and money in the process. Getting positive reviews and testimonials is one of the most effective—and most cost-effective—ways of accomplishing this.

There are several ways to get the positive reviews that your business needs. Here are a few to get you started.

1. Find existing reviews. If you aren’t already getting Google Alerts regarding your business, it is time to start. You also should do a search on several different search engines for your business name. Try Google and Twitter as a minimum. If the results are too broad, try your business name combined with the word ‘review’ or ‘complaint’. This should take you to anyplace your customers have already written about you. This will allow you to see what is already being said and which sites are most popular with your customers.
2. Encourage reviews. Many restaurants place a small sign asking people to review them on Yelp or other sites. This is always a good idea, but first you should make sure your business is listed at the review site of your choice. This will allow customers to post their review quickly and easily. You should also include a button on your website or social networking site that will allow customers to send you positive reviews. These can be posted on the internet or in physical locations for everyone to see.
3. Deal with complaints. When you see a complaint about your business at a public website, consider it an opportunity to build your brand. Swallow your pride and leave a message addressing the complaint, apologizing, and offering to make it right. This will show potential customers that you are dedicated to customer service and really want for people to leave your establishment with a satisfied feeling.
4. Avoid bribery. Don’t give people an incentive for positive reviews. Customers can sense the lack of sincerity, so these will be less effective, and they are unlikely to offer the little details that make a true review so enticing to potential customers. If you like, you can send people who left good reviews a note of thanks and a small coupon, but never offer flat incentives for positive reviews. People will find out, and it will be a branding disaster.
5. Have a brand worth talking about. Adequate service and an otherwise unremarkable experience will not be enough to drive people to their laptops. You have to give customers an experience that is unique and interesting enough to gush about.  Before you use customer reviews to build your brand, make sure your brand is professional, appropriate, and deserving of your customers’ attention. People love to have an opinion and share it with others, so a little effort in this area just might go a long way.

Many small business owners watched nervously last year as lawmakers debated the future of health care in the United States. However, as the dust settles and experts begin to sort through thousands of pages of fine print, it appears that most small business owners will be largely unaffected by the new legislation.

While larger corporations are given partial responsibility for providing health insurance for employees, small businesses were spared in the most recent health care reform act. This means that small business owners can continue to make health insurance related decisions based on their company’s best interests. While the impact on taxes remains to be seen, no immediate changes are on the way.

Why do some small businesses take on the economic burden of providing health care while others do not? While Congress did not address this interesting issue, it remains at the heart of at least part of the American health care crisis. Studies found that almost two-thirds of businesses with employees did not offer medical insurance at any point in their first five years of operation. Cost is certainly an issue, but this brings up questions as to why one out of three did indeed offer coverage. Knowing why some small businesses opt to provide health insurance despite the cost will be key to understanding how to encourage more to do so.

Moreover, even fewer businesses move from not providing insurance to doing so. Previously, there were few reasons to add this benefit, which may be responsible for this statistic. This is not because these small businesses are heartless or uncaring, but rather because they are forced to make difficult economic decisions in order to survive in a tough market. With many small businesses employing low skilled, part time employees, offering health insurance could double or triple their personnel costs. Studies have found that businesses offering health insurance do not benefit in any way from this extra expense, despite what lawmakers might claim.

In 2014, Americans will be legally required to acquire health insurance or pay a stiff penalty. This will make offering health insurance a larger draw for small businesses that choose to do so. The good news for business owners is that smaller businesses will not be required to offer these benefits—yet. However, there is a good chance that mandatory employer-paid health insurance will enter the debate at some point, as the government sees that businesses will not voluntarily fill the health care void. With many Americans working for small businesses that do not offer coverage, the demand for government programs will likely increase when the new law takes effect.

With hundreds of thousands of small businesses being opened every year, their role in health care will continue to be questioned. Only a small percentage of these companies are fiscally stable enough to provide health insurance for employees, and few will ever become so. As a result, their millions of employees, and the taxpayers, will continue to bear the burden of health care for these people. Healthcare reform advocates in the United States will continue to struggle with the role of small businesses in this issue for years to come.

Why are companies scrambling to market to the Hispanic consumer? The numbers reveal the answer. Hispanic Americans are expected to have four times the population growth of the general population, making them a formidable market. Second generation Hispanics are a particularly powerful group, with large numbers and plenty of expendable income. Luckily, marketing to this new consumer base is easier than it seems once you answer one simple question: Who is the Hispanic customer?

1. Bilingual. While many Hispanics speak Spanish, most are also fluent in English. McDonald’s recently released ran a marketing campaign using ‘Spanglish’, which was well received by both Hispanic populations and the general population at large. While many companies think that catering to a Hispanic market means adding bilingual signs, this group is generally literate in English and looking not so much for tokens of appreciation as a brand that embraces their culture.
2. Brand Loyal. Many companies, such as the above mentioned McDonald’s, have found that the Hispanic market is more brand loyal than other markets. This means that any business marketing to this consumer must pay extra attention to the quality of their brand and their logo design. Many people in this market already have favorite brands, so you will have to really differentiate yourself in order to win their favor.
3. Technologically Savvy. A recent study found that young Hispanic adults use mobile technology far more often than non-Hispanic people of the same age and use a wider variety of features as well. Almost twice as many young Hispanic adults are interested in new technology as other groups. This means that any company selling technology of any kind needs to build their brand with this key group in mind. Even if you are not selling technology, including it in your marketing can yield huge results in the Hispanic market.
4. Willing to Spend. Hispanics now lead minority group in discretionary income, with this group of consumers spending $863 billion dollars a year on non-necessities. This number is believed to be lower than the actual figure, but until the new Census results are in, there is no way to tell for sure. What is certain is that this market has spending potential that no company can afford to overlook or underestimate.
5. Diverse. As with any group, the Latin market comes from a variety of geographic and socioeconomic background. In other words, leave your stereotypes at the door. While it’s important to market to this group, especially if you are targeting an area that includes a large Hispanic population, keep in mind that there is no average in this or any other group.

Hispanic culture is quickly becoming a major part of mainstream American culture, and companies will do well to take note. This population is growing faster than any other single group, so you can give your small business a huge advantage by creating a brand that they can believe in. An experienced branding and logo design consultant can help you modify your brand to include this one powerful market.

Some people seem to get so much done, while others work just as hard (or harder) for significantly less reward. In many cases, the key to this difference lies in productivity. Some people simply know how to get the most out of their time, a skill that is unfortunately not taught in school. The reward is that productive people often manage to accomplish much more while still working fewer hours. Here are five ways to be more productive in your role as a business owner.

1 Develop policies and procedures.

Then, do these routine things the exact same way every time. When you have to make the same decisions over and over, even small ones, it wastes time. Don’t reinvent the wheel every time you go to answer the phone; figure out the most efficient way to handle daily tasks and then handle them that way every single time.

2 Do what you know.

We all like to stretch our skill set a little every now and then, but doing so on a regular basis is a complete waste of time. Don’t be afraid to turn down work that doesn’t fit your skills and capabilities well. There is a good chance that you’ll spend so much time on these unfamiliar tasks that you’ll end up earning less than minimum wage, while taking your time away from work you could have completed in a reasonable amount of time. In the same note, outsource skilled work like logo design and marketing if you lack the ability to create the same product in a reasonable amount of time.

3 Focus on one thing at a time.

While many people think that multitasking is the key to being more productive, studies show that many multitaskers actually accomplish less than their more focused counterparts. Be logical about what duties can be done at the same time. It’s one thing to type an email while waiting for a phone call, but don’t try to put up a blog while talking to a repeat customer. If something deserves your full attention, give it just that until it is done. Then, cross it off your to-do list and move on to the next task.

4 Deal with things once—no more.

Often, people who are busy yet unproductive are actually doing three times the normal amount of work. This is because they are handling the same tasks several different times before actually dealing with them. Don’t waste time reading an email if you have no time to respond. Don’t begin a task without a clear idea of what you will accomplish and how long it will take you to do so.

5 Prioritize.

This won’t help you accomplish more, but it will ensure that you at least finish the things that matter. For instance, make branding and marketing a priority, because none of your productivity will pay off if you have no customers to buy your products. Consider what it takes to run your business at a bare minimum level and make sure that these things get done first.

Burnout is common in modern life, especially among business owners. After all, small business owners often find themselves doing the multiple jobs with out hiring multiple employees, having to be accountant, salesperson, public relations specialist, and an entire human resources department at the same time. Meanwhile, your labors are repaid with constant worry and less security than even minimum wage employees enjoy. Can you see why it might be easy to get burned out? Luckily, there are ways that you can live the extreme lifestyle of a small business owner and protect yourself from the dangers of burnout.

1 Take care of yourself first.

Eat regular, healthy meals, get plenty of sleep, and spend time with loved ones on a regular basis. Because your business and business meetings being productive depends on your well-being, your emotional and physical health must be the most important thing on your agenda. If you get too burned out to run your business effectively, you’ll wish you had taken the time—as will everyone who depends on you.

2 Be realistic.

In order to have time to take care of yourself, you will need to be realistic about what you can accomplish in a day, a week, a month, etc. Every morning, look over your agenda and see if you have time to finish your day’s work in the amount of time you plan to work that day. If not, reprioritize and whittle down your to-do list to a more reasonable size. Save the less necessary tasks for a slow day or delegate them. This way you can be sure to motivate your most important employee – yourself!

3 Establish boundaries.

Have set working hours and stick to them. Force meetings to stay within their allotted time slot. Close up shop when your work day is done and move on to your personal life. Similarly, make sure customers, colleagues, business network, and coworkers know your policies and that you will stick to them. Expect your loved ones to respect your boundaries as well; the hours that you are at work need to be dedicated to accomplishing business related tasks in order to preserve that delicate work-life balance. By having good boundaries, you will be able to accomplish more and feel that you have a little more control over your life.

4 Challenge yourself.

Boring and meaningless work wears on a person more than interesting, challenging work. While those menial, everyday tasks must be dealt with, they should be mixed with more interesting and entertaining things to do. Find new ways and fun new ideas to do boring things and always look for ways to add more excitement to your business. Find ways to work the things that you value into your daily life. If you love walking in to work every day, your customers will feel the same way and be more likely to return.

5 Keep a good attitude.

Life is too short to waste on negativity. When you feel negative emotions coming on, deal with them appropriately and then move on. Your work day should for the most part be a pleasant experience. Eliminate sources of negativity, even if they happen to be your own bad attitude.

Think the economy sucks right now? It isn’t the first time. The economy cycles between good times and less than good ones. This means that every business has to survive some challenging years just like it would survive price wars. Here are a few ways to get through a lean economy and even to thrive in it.

1 Tighten your belt.

Even the most vigilant small business probably has a little waste to cut. There is no better time to do this than during an economic downturn. Look at every bill and every expense as an opportunity to evaluate your expenditures and, potentially, to reduce them. This will not only help you to survive the weak economy, it will position your business to make some serious money when things start looking up.

2 Market like a pro.

Many people think that a down economy is the perfect time to cut back on marketing expenses. However, experience has shown that businesses should cut back on everything but marketing. There is no time when it is more crucial to have a cohesive brand and a professional logo design, and to use every resource at your disposal to get these into the public eye. Now is a great time to experiment with free marketing sources such as social media, but don’t cut back on other types of marketing. Keep careful track of what works best for you and pour your resources into these areas.

3 Get government help.

The government usually acts to expedite economic recovery, often by helping small businesses weather the storm. This help may come in the form of free consultations from experts, special loans, and even grants (which you don’t usually have to pay back). Take advantage of any help they offer; this is your tax money at work, and you deserve to benefit from it! Contact your local Small Business Administration and see what they can do to help keep your business as healthy as possible.

4 Look for credit before you need it.

If the SBA isn’t giving out loans for your industry, your next step is to look at private lending sources. Banks are even more affected by economic cycles than small businesses. When things start looking down, financial institutions respond by cutting back on lending. This means it will be harder to get a loan or a line of credit, and it will take more time as well. Start looking for new nontraditional sources of credit before you actually need them.

5 Offer value in ways that don’t add to cost.

Regardless of the industry you are in, there are probably ways you can give your customers additional value without adding to your own bottom line. This can mean offering better service or additional benefits; whatever will keep your customers wanting to come back without creating additional expense.

Don’t think of an economic downturn as a death knoll for your business; instead, consider it a challenge. If you can get through the worst of times, you should have no problem thriving when the outlook is better.

If you are opening your first small business, you are likely eager to open your doors. You have the location, the product, and all the energy in the world, but there may be a few things you have forgotten. Here are a few expenses that many small businesses forget to plan for.

Wiring your location. The average store will need internet access, telephones, and other services, which you likely realize. What you may not realize is that companies providing these services often charge more for a business than for a residence. You may be paying as much as five to ten times as much for these things, so call ahead to get the rates and budget accordingly.

Cell phones. Not only will you and any partners need a business cell phone, you likely will need at least one for employees as well. This will allow you to keep constant contact with people who are picking up key orders or running other work errands. A cell phone is a necessary expense that few people consider when planning for their new small business’s budget.

Transportation. You will need a way to get to and from events, meetings, and other business related activities. Using your own car and gasoline without compensation will begin to eat into your own household budget, so the best idea to set up a reimbursement fund to pay yourself as well as any employees for fuel and wear and tear on their vehicle. If you think the expense is worth it, many companies eventually have a company vehicle with a gas card to avoid the complicated matter of reimbursements.

Tax services. This another area that many business owners simply overlook until April rolls along. Business taxes are complicated enough that no small business owner should try to go it alone, but high quality help requires a decent chunk of money. Because mistakes on your taxes can be expensive, it is worth it to pay for an experienced small business tax advisor to help you pay your fair share—and not a penny more.

Collections. This is an unfortunate part of running a small business: convincing reluctant customers to give you the money that you deserve for providing a high quality service or product. You likely don’t have the time or the inclination to call a customer several times a day or send constant letters reminding them of the consequences of not paying. Unfortunately, many people either can’t or won’t pay up, so build this sizeable expense into your profit margins.

As you can see, small business has many unexpected expenses, and these are just the top five. From toilet paper to printer paper, you likely will be surprised by the amount of bills even the smallest business can rack up. Be as frugal as you can, but also plan for some unexpected expenses and leave room in the budget for surprises. Don’t let everyday life nickel and dime you out of the success that you deserve.

Many small businesses have trouble getting the start-up capital that they need. Without a long list of assets or a proven track record, there is no way to show banks exactly how promising your soon-to-be bustling business really is. Luckily, there are places you can turn to for money when the national banks turn you down. Here are just five of the many places that other small businesses just like yours have found the start up finds that they need to get off to a great start.

Credit unions and other local financial companies. Many smaller local banks and credit unions (credit logos) offer special loans for local business owners that may have lighter restrictions than the larger, national banks. This can offer a huge advantage for small business owners. First, you will be competing against far less people because of the smaller regional area. Second, a credit union or other local bank will be more likely to want to help your community by putting funds into businesses just like yours.

Grants. That’s right; the government as well as private organizations have help for people like you who are looking to open a new business. These are often targeted at certain minority groups or specific high demand fields, but you can search at many websites to see if there is one written especially for you. Although grants take time and a certain amount of expertise to write, they are definitely worth the effort. Best of all, you don’t have to pay back grants, allowing you to open your doors without being saddled down with numerous payments before you’ve even made a dime in profits.

Government loans. Government loans are usually administered by the Small Business Administration. There are several options, but the two most common are either getting a low interest loan directly from your state or the federal government, or getting the government to guarantee a loan, which makes banks more likely to give you the start-up loan that you need. Either way, you pay taxes, so you deserve to have access to the funds when you need them.

Credit cards. This is not an optimal option, but often it is the only one available. It is easier to get a credit card than a formal loan, but they function in much the same way. Just make sure that you are aware of the particular terms of your card, and that you are capable of paying off every penny that your borrow before the interest builds up.

Family members. Many people are embarrassed by asking family members for help in starting their business, but there is no more reliable source of funding logos for new business owners. When the banks don’t believe in you, your family still will. Not only that, a relative will be more likely to allow a flexible pay-back schedule and less likely to charge outrageous interest.

If you are opening a business, don’t sell yourself short by going without necessary funding. If the large, national banks won’t finance your dreams, that must not stop you. Look into these five nontraditional funding sources as well as a nontraditional way of marketing and any others that might be able to help you along in your dream.

Being Your Own Boss: Five Ways to Motivate Your Most Important Employee

While there are many books focusing on how to motivate your employees, few discuss how to motivate the most important employee in your business: you. Unfortunately, even the best business owners sometimes feel discouraged and even lazy. Because you can’t afford to lose motivation even for a few hours, here are a few ways to keep your spirits and your work output high.

Be organized. There is nothing more demoralizing than having to sift through a pile of papers to find the one that you need, or even worse, being late to an important meeting because you didn’t leave enough time in your agenda. While it may sound difficult to be organized, you can begin by writing a schedule. Not only will this help you get where you need to be on time, it will give you tangible goals to reach throughout the day.

Be positive. Simply making the effort to put a smile on your face and thinking positive thoughts can go a long way toward keeping your motivation high. Make being positive an ongoing part of your day, for instance by posting inspiring quotes or by giving monthly awards for attitude. We do this all the time when we produce an award winning logo design. As a bonus, being positive yourself will encourage your employees to adopt the same attitude, making your day all the more pleasant.

Be realistic. Be realistic about what you can accomplish and the time interval needed to accomplish it. What could be more discouraging than an impossibly long project with no time in which to complete it? Prevent this by breaking large projects into smaller, more manageable chunks. This will keep your goals in an achievable range while allowing you the satisfaction of crossing items off your list.

Be firm. Be firm in cutting ties with people who are dragging you down. Whether it’s an employee who brings you down, a customer who is never pleased, or a family member who is less than supportive, any overly critical person in your life can rob your mojo and drain your motivation. Prevent this by cutting ties where it is necessary. No one is worth giving up your business and your future.

Reward good behavior. Just as you might reward an employee, don’t be afraid to reward your own good behavior. Have you completed a large project on-time and on-budget? Give yourself a prize, whether it’s a few minutes off, an item you’ve been wanting for months, or even a chocolate chip cookie. Although it seems overly simple, even adults will work better if they know that there’s a prize in store for all of the hard work.

Motivation doesn’t have to be the factor that breaks your business. It is very easy to keep a positive attitude and a solid work ethic if you show yourself the same care that you would give to an employee or a loved one. Learning to motivate yourself and get the job done even when it seems impossibly hard will pay off not just in business, but in life.

Emergency Planning for Small Businesses: Five Ways to Be Prepared

Few small businesses think about emergency and disaster planning, but it is a necessary thing for companies of all sizes. Planning for an emergency or disaster will help you deal with an unfortunate occurrence should it arise, and make you feel more secure in the meantime. Luckily, effective disaster planning can be done in just five steps.

Identify the most likely disasters. Every area has certain natural disasters that are more likely than others to occur. If you live in the Midwest, tornadoes are more common than hurricanes, and people in most areas of California should always be prepared for an earthquake. Make a list of the natural and manmade disasters that are most likely to happen in your area so you can focus on prioritizing.

Choose an exit route. You need to know at least two ways that you and your employees can exit the building as well as two fast routes out of your area should an evacuation be recommended. Speed and safety are the priority in route planning for disasters. It’s important to have at least two of each, so that if one is blocked you will have an alternative choice.

Choose a disaster procedure. What should happen in each of the major disasters likely to happen in your area? Should people go home immediately or stay put to wait out the storm? It’s important to have a detailed, step-by-step list so your employees can make safe decisions in the event of a disaster, even if you are not present.

Plan for good communication with each other and with authorities. There should be a disaster telephone list posted in at least two places in each location of your business. It should include your cell phone number as well as the phone numbers of all of your employees. Also included should be the numbers of authorities such as the police and fire stations, which can come in handy if 911 is suddenly overwhelmed by emergency calls. You may want to also include the names and numbers of local radio stations that would be broadcasting information in the event of a civil or natural disaster.

Stock supplies. There are some supplies, such as bottled water, a fire extinguisher, and a first aid kit, that will be necessary in almost any emergency. Other disasters, such as tornadoes, require other supplies. Turn to that list of most likely disasters and settle on a minimal list of supplies that you will need in the event that one of them happens. Stock up on them immediately, and check every few months to make sure the stockpile is up to date and complete.

Disaster planning is an essential part of running a modern business. In fact, some insurance companies will give you a break on rates if you have plans in place that will minimize damage to people and property. The most important part of disaster planning to have the correct supplies and to have a means of communication with the outside world. Having a plan will ensure that you and your business make it through any disaster without any harm.

A Happy Employee is a Hard Working Employee: Five Ways to Build Employee Morale

Employee morale is an essential component of small business success after 5 things to do before hiring an employee. However, many employers don’t consider employee attitude and happiness something that they can affect. The focus is on meeting deadlines, building a positive bottom line, and keeping the doors open and how employee recognition affects your company. The fact is, you as a small business owner can have a huge effect on the way your workers feel about their jobs and themselves. Here are a few ways that you can help build employee morale without bending your standards or not having to fire employees to save your business.

Volunteer together. While you shouldn’t make employees donate their time, getting together once a month or even once a year to help the needy is a good way to bond. There is nothing as grounding as helping to build a Habitat for Humanity house or dishing out soup at your local rescue mission. It will also help your employees see each other, and you as well, as giving people with many admirable qualities. If you cannot volunteer, you can also collect items for the needy at certain times of year, such as holding a coat drive in the fall or a toy drive just before Christmas.

Celebrate major holidays together. Celebrating major holidays bonds people together, whether the people are family or coworkers. This doesn’t have to break your budget, either. Even the smallest business can afford to have an after-hours cookie and cocoa social before Christmas or an egg hunt for employee children in the spring. Whatever the major holidays in your area, find low cost ways to celebrate them with your employees. They’ll feel appreciated and work just a little harder because of it.

Start an ‘Employee of the Month’ program. Whether you have three employees or fifty, an employee of the month program is a great way to recognize good work and implement good habits. Whether you choose to give employees a small bonus, a certificate, or simply announce their award at a meeting, it’s important to tell your workers when their performance is truly shining.

Start traditions. What’s a family without traditions? Many small business owners want their employees to feel that they are part of the business family, but they are reluctant to put in the minimal amount of energy that it takes to build ‘family’ traditions. Whether it’s casual Fridays or a pot of gourmet coffee on Sunday mornings, your business needs to have traditions, even small ones, that give your employees something to look forward to.

Implement family-friendly policies. Modern people have to balance working with multiple other duties, so making this a little easier has a huge potential to build employee morale. Allow people to take an afternoon off occasionally to go to their child’s soccer game, or let them take a paid day of leave on their birthday. Just a few little extras will go a long way because many employers simply don’t care. These little things pay off; they will not only build morale, but reduce expensive turnover as well.

One of the fun parts of owning or working at a small business is the family-like atmosphere. If you take steps to sustain this feeling of family, you can sustain it even as your business grows. Having good employee morale will not only improve their attitude; it will improve job performance and help retain employees. Every small business can benefit by following these five simple steps to a happy, grateful work force.

While many small businesses fail, others seem to flourish almost from day one. You find yourself overwhelmed with work and faced with the difficult task of expanding from a one man operation to a CEO and supervisor of others. Here is a list of things you must do before taking the crucial first step of hiring your first employee or if you are hiring employees for your startup.

Deal with tax issues. Although this can be scary to a first-time employer, there are really only two basic things you are required to so. First, apply for an employer identification number. You can do this by submitting IRS form SS-4, available at the Internal Revenue Service websites. This number will be used on tax forms and any other documents that the IRS requires of employers. Second, file form 940-EZ when you file your own taxes every year. This form basically allows you to report the federal and state unemployment tax that you paid throughout the year on behalf of your employee. Both forms are available at www.irs.gov.

Register with your state’s unemployment compensation agency and labor department. In most states, when you hire an employee you are responsible for paying state unemployment insurance. This serves as a safety net for anyone who loses their job by providing money for living and job-hunting expenses.

Buy a worker’s compensation policy. This is not just wise, but also legally required because it will help support any employees who are injured in your workplace. Worker’s compensation insurance is necessary for any employee, even in generally safe jobs such as office or counter work.

Implement a tax withholding system. Like all employers, you will need to withhold federal and state taxes as well as taxes for Social Security and Medicare. You can obtain information on how to do this from www.irs.gov (look for Employer’s Tax Guide, which is publication 15, circular E). Your state’s tax website can give you information about what is required of you by your state tax agency.

Create a safe workplace. Not only is this fair to your future employee or employees, it will protect you from law suits and labor board violations. You must comply with OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Act) regulations as well as any state labor safety requirements. This requirements generally include teaching employees safer ways to perform their job duties, keeping safety and incident records, and providing a safe workplace. The details can be found at www.osha.gov. Another way to design a safe workplace is to post all legally mandated notices and posters regarding worker rights. This will keep your employees safe from exploitation and protect you from legal action.

Hiring that first employee is an important step in your business’s growth. Although these five steps can seem difficult and even oppressive, there are good reasons for them. Making sure to follow all legal mandates will ensure that both you and your employees enjoy all of the rights that you are entitled to, and that your business can continue to grow in a healthy and safe manner. You also need to be aware of how employee recognition affects your company. After reading this you might also want to find out how to fire employees and save your business.

A Place to Call ‘Work’: Five tips for finding the perfect location for your business

Every business owner is familiar with the old adage that the three most important factors in a business’s success are ‘location, location, and location’. However, few people know exactly how to go about picking the right location for them and their business. Here are a few tips for choosing the right nest from which your company can soar.

Know your customer and their habits. The best business plan is to be located somewhere on the flight path of the customer you are courting. At the very least, avoid parts of town that they will find uncomfortable or unsafe. For some businesses, a large shopping center is the best choice, while others do best in a quieter, quainter setting. You will need a steady flow of foot traffic to keep products moving, and a good location is one way to bring that traffic in.

Sidle up to the competition. If you have a competitor who is doing good business in a particular area, that is the neighborhood that you want to be in. Why? Because some of those customers, who are already in the area and looking to buy your product, will probably stop at your store out of curiosity or convenience. In many cases, your competition has spent money to entice customers to visit your neighborhood for the product that you also are selling. From there, all you have to do is convince them to keep coming back.

Choose the best location you can afford—no more, no less. People are more likely to trust a location that is in a favorable part of town, and being in certain areas can bring enough foot traffic to justify the cost. On the other hand, while it is important to choose the best location you can afford, don’t go over your rent/lease budget to the point that it will compromise the rest of your business. No location, however wonderful, can overcome the challenges you will face if you end up trying to cut corners on products, services, or marketing.

Make a list of must-haves. Whether you need a certain number of bathrooms, ample parking, or a modern ambience, make a list of traits that your location absolutely must have in order for your business to be successful. Once you have this list, don’t compromise. There are enough commercial properties that the right one might come around tomorrow. Certain weak spots may compromise the success of your business, and it’s better to identify those before even looking for a place to call work.

Get professional help. A real estate agent or lawyer experienced in leases will help keep you from falling into many of the pitfalls that new business owners commonly experience. Nothing can replace real life experience; if you don’t have it, hire somebody who does.

Choosing a location may be the single most important decision that you make on your small business’s behalf. Avoiding the major pitfalls while getting a great deal on the property that is right for you can give you a huge advantage as a new small business owner. Let location be one of your advantages and not one of your advantages; educate yourself and get the location that is perfect for you.

Forget management and product development; attracting investors and convincing them that your small business is a worthy gamble may be the most important skill for an entrepreneur. Without investors, there is often not sufficient capital for starting your business on the right foot or financing crucial expansions. If you have trouble making an irresistible pitch to potential investors, here are five tips to hone your hooking skills.

Keep it simple. One classic first-timer mistake when it comes to pitching investors is filling your media with frills. While it’s important that you be perceived as a professional, fancy pictures aren’t going to achieve that. Keep it simple and fill your presentation and materials with just the facts. Once your potential investors grasp the basic concepts, you can fill in the details as needed.

Keep it real. While it’s tempting to share your winning vision of the future with your investors, they aren’t looking for a fantasy. They want reality—based on prior evidence, how likely are they to get their investment back and then some? Along the same line, show them all of the possible projections for your company, the best case along with the worst case scenarios. No one is impressed by inflated projections; they are impressed by a solid previous performance in a market with a track record of success.

Keep it cheap. Everyone is feeling cheap in this economy, and investors are no exception. Don’t try to convince investors to pay for top of the line materials and extra perks, especially where these materials have no effect on the product or the customer experience. Nice furniture and paid vacations can come later; build your projected budget by adding just a little wiggle room to the most bare-bones operation you can succeed with.

Start small. The one thing most likely to convince an investor not to give you money is to give him or her the impression that you are getting in over your head. Don’t ask for millions of dollars to finance a small start up company, and don’t jump into a complex product line before you have one product selling well. Start small, prove yourself, and then ask for the funding that you need to expand. Investors like to put their money into small businesses that show slow, sustainable growth.

Ask the experts. Sometimes the true strength of a business is the caliber of people manning it. If you have an employee who is an expert in the field, or even a consultant with a great track record, investors are going to feel a lot more confident in your management of their money. Smart people know to surround themselves with smarter people.

When it comes to winning over investors, it isn’t so much what you say or how you say it. On the contrary, both of these elements are equally important. If your presentation has the right mixture of solid facts and professional polish, it is sure to win the funding that you need to begin the business of your dreams.

What is vision? The dictionary gives this word multiple definitions, including ‘the ability to see’ and ‘imagination’. For small businesses, vision can be both of these things and more. A company vision is a firm statement of what path your company wants to take. This vision will be a large part of developing your marketing plan, branding, and even your products. In order to make your customer believe in your company, you will need a vision to share with them. As you can see, developing a vision is very important to your business’s success, and it luckily isn’t very difficult at all. In fact, you should be able to complete the following process in just a few days.

Define success. What does success look like for your company? Do you want to be the corporate industry leader in your field, or an exclusive boutique brand? Are you looking to expand to a global operation or would you rather remain a local or regional brand? The choices are many, and isn’t so important what you choose as much as the fact that are making a firm choice and making decisions based on it. However you define success—that’s your company vision.

Define failure. What would failure look like for your company? What, ultimately, is the factor that would take your small business down? One way of deciding what would make your company fail is to write a company obituary. The magic of this activity is that it will allow you to see the roadblocks in your path to success. On a separate piece of paper, list these roadblocks and develop a plan for preventing them.

Get literal. Now is the time to return to your definition of success. You likely have several factors in your definition that will make your small business successful. Some can be combined, while others may need to be broken down into more concrete ideas. These are your company’s goals. Now that you have a list of goals that will lead to success, give them a projected completion date and include them in your business agenda.

Set your priorities. What you have in your hands now is a list of tasks—tasks to help you achieve success as well as tasks to help you avoid the most likely causes of failure. Obviously you cannot focus on all of these at once. This is where priorities come into play. It’s best to choose three to five goals that are the most important to your company’s vision and to focus on those. Prioritize your entire task list so you can move onto another task as each is completed.

Hone your focus. What good is a vision is you can’t focus your eyes on it? A business vision is no different. Take those three to five top priorities and think about how they can be transformed into a project. Think of which employees would be the right choice to manage this project and hand it off.

You now have not just a vision, but a highly personalized and focused vision along with a series of concrete steps to making it reality. This will not only give your company a set of tangible goals; it will allow you to make better marketing and planning decisions based upon how they fit into your long-term plan. With your bright future set in stone, you can move on to more important things—like running your business.

How would you feel about having a loyal, dependable group of customers who always turn to your business first? Customer loyalty is one very important key to business success. Loyal customers will pay a little more, follow you through almost any transition, and create the word-of-mouth buzz that will keep your business hopping. It’s easy to see how a dedicated customer base can help any small business, but sometimes not so easy to see how you can build one of your own. At Logo Design Works we have worked with 1000s of satisfied clients. Here are five ways to win your customer’s hearts.

Get to know your customers. Don’t just stick to standard sales presentations and just-the-facts phone calls. Talk to your customers about their challenges. Get to know what makes them feel good about a product and what turns them off entirely. If you focus on getting to know just a few of your top customers in this way, you will be able to satisfy their needs more completely and provide a product that is higher value to them. You will also be closer to pulling in more people like them.

Focus on service. For many modern customers, service is crucial to gaining and retaining loyalty. You should have at least one employee on staff who is in charge of customer service. This person should be reachable for telephone, email, and of course in person if you have brick-and-mortar stores. If your business is very small, this can be just part of their duties. What’s important is that you have established a go-to person who has the right kind of attitude, the power to resolve issues and ensure that your customers have a level of service that will keep them coming back.

Communicate effectively. Everyone is barraged with sales pitches, so you will really stand out in the crowd if you drop the sales pitch occasionally and tell customers about who you are. Vary the types of communication that leave your business so you don’t fall into a rut and get repetitive. And don’t forget the other half of communication: listening. Offer customer surveys or merely ask a few people whether they enjoyed their experience and why or why not. This two-way communication builds rapport and makes your customers feel like they are friends—hopefully loyal friends.

Reward loyalty. Many companies have found that they have good luck with rewards. Whether this reward is as simple as a punch card giving customers a free drink with every eighth purchase or a complicated points system, offering a reward gives your customers a compelling reason to return to your business. Everyone likes presents, and company rewards often feel like a gift. Another form of reward is an occasional customers-only event. This can be a lavish cocktail party, a golf game, or even an informal open house. Hosting an event for loyal customers makes them feel included in your business. Here are three steps to enhance customer loyalty.

Respect your audience. Many communities include people of other backgrounds. It’s important that you know what ethnic and national groups are included in your target market audience and make sure to accommodate, or at least respect them. For instance, if many of your customers are Hispanic, having a bilingual employee can go a long way toward making the consumers feel more comfortable. Respecting other cultures isn’t just good for your bottom line; it’s good for our communities as well.

Many businesses fail to actively seek customer loyalty and suffer the consequences. The most unfortunate part of this is that building customer loyalty doesn’t have to be expensive or time-consuming. As you can see, there are a variety of ways to let your customers know that you care and get them to care as well and it is never too late to win back lost customers.

Every successful business owner knows the power of good marketing. Without it, industry giants like Starbucks and Google would still be operating out of someone’s aunt’s garage. However, overspending on market isn’t necessary to get positive exposure and bring in traffic. While marketing is definitely an essential for businesses of every size, there are a few ways to cut marketing costs while still offering a high quality, compelling message to your target audience. Here are five ways you can scale back on marketing expenditures while keeping a steady flow of customers.

Get to know your target audience. Every marketing expert says this, but few elaborate on exactly what that means. When you really know your target audience and make your business scalable, that means you know not just basic demographic information such as gender, social class, age, and income range. Knowing your target audience means knowing their dreams, their aesthetic taste, and, of course, what makes them want to spend money on a product or service like yours. This doesn’t take money, but it helps save your marketing money for the areas where it will do the most good.

Package yourself to appeal to this market. Once you know your customer base, tailor every aspect of your company and products so you appeal to these people. Your materials, website, and even paint job should be in colors that your customer finds pleasant. Whether your target audience wants superior service, the feel of an upscale designer boutique, or a product that will make their friends and neighbors green with envy, your chief challenge in achieving success will be packaging your company and your product so it delivers consistently. This doesn’t cost extra; you will need flyers anyway, so why not make sure they are as effective as possible? Also try and identify what kind of business is YOU.

Sell yourself to the media. Almost every business has a compelling story or a unique person behind it. Many local and even national media groups periodically do stories on interesting people and businesses. Why not be that story? Not only will you get great exposure at a can’t-be-beat price, you’ll gain additional credibility and have an opportunity to get your message out there in more than a fifteen-second ad spot.

Cultivate a referral culture. Customer referrals are taken far more seriously than traditionally advertising, so getting your customers to refer you can be one of your most lucrative marketing tools. Whether you offer a small incentive, such as ten percent off their next purchase when they refer a friend, or try another plan, encouraging customers to refer you by creating effective surveys is a cheap way to increase your customer traffic.

Avoid cold calling. In fact, don’t just avoid it; axe it from your marketing repertoire altogether. All of your advertising should be specifically geared toward your target audience and structured in a way that appeals to them. Cold calling and other types of broad advertising might make you feel like you are getting your word out there, but there are much cheaper and more efficient ways to market yourself such as business networking.

As you can see, there are many ways to save money on marketing without sacrificing quality. By cutting broad advertising techniques so you can focus on quality ads targeted at a very specific audience, you can decrease marketing expenditure while increasing meaningful exposure. That’s a win-win situation for every business, big or small.

Research shows that the majority of small businesses fail. While there are many market forces that cause this, one key reason may be because these small businesses are making decisions based on inaccurate information. In particular, look out for these myths, which have led many business owners astray.

Myth: ‘Doing it yourself’ is a good way to save money.
Fact: ‘Doing it yourself’ is a good way to waste money and time.

From web design to ad copy writing, many business owners believe that they should be masters of many specialized fields. Unfortunately, the result is often shoddy work and an unprofessional image. Not only will doing everything yourself most likely lead to a lower quality result, you will have to take valuable time away from actually building your business. It is usually more cost effective to outsource work to experts where needed so you can focus on doing what you do best.

Myth: Lower prices mean more people will buy.
Fact: High quality means more people will buy.

As a small business person, you stand very little chance of undercutting industry giants. However, there are certain benefits you can offer, including better service and a higher quality, more personalized product. Because you are a smaller business with less red tape, you have the additional advantage of being able to quickly respond to market demands. Don’t undermine your bottom line by charging too little. If people only bought the lowest priced option, there would be no designer jeans or high-end automobiles.

Myth: Marketing is an ‘extra’ expense.
Fact: Marketing is the most important aspect of growing your business.

Many business owners mistakenly think that marketing or using marketing logos is an option. As in, you can do without it in a crunch. Nothing could be further from the truth. Marketing is in fact the only way to keep customers walking in your doors (or clicking on your links). Without a steady flow of customers, even the best product or service won’t be noticed or bought. The only way to create sales is develop a message and deliver that message to the right people. Professional marketing consultants know how to do this.

Myth: The broader the marketing campaign, the better.
Fact: Targeting is key to success.

Why spread your message among the masses when you can instead focusing on hitting the people most likely to buy into your product? This process of identifying and marketing to the small segment of the population who are likely to support you is known as targeting. Before you open a small business, you need to think about who your target market is. What do they enjoy? What do they think? Most important, what do they buy and why?

Myth: A great product will sell itself.
Fact: People who patronize a small business are buying more than just a product.

Having a solid, marketable product is very important—in fact, it’s crucial. However, people who shop at a small business are buying more than that product. They are buying an experience. They are buying a public image. They are buying the story behind the product. Having a solid image and a compelling story is just as important to success as having that unique product.

Have you ever believed any of these myths? If so, you aren’t alone. Many business owners buy into these fallacies and suffer the consequences. If you want to beat the odds by having a successful small business, you will need to avoid the pitfalls that most other small business owners fall into. Don’t let your dreams become yet another statistic.

What causes a downturn? Sometimes there is a general recession, due to overreaching economic events or credit availability. Other times, a downturn may be limited to a particular industry or a certain area. Whatever causes the sales slump in question, every small business has to have tools for making it through the storm. The current climate, even though seems to be improving, still has a long way to go before things really start looking up.

Here are five ways you can keep afloat even in the worst of times.

Keep expenses down. When your sales and income are down, the only way to keep your business viable is to reduce your spending. Often, there are lower-cost or even no-cost alternatives to many of your current expenses, if not identical, will at least get you through the hard times. It may even be necessary to take measures such as cutting back on staff or reducing pay. While these can be heart-wrenching decisions, no one is going to get paid if your business fails for a lack of these extreme measures.

Be creative. This is a time to think of new supply chains, new procedures, and new models for every aspect of your business. Whether you are thinking of a new angle to market your product or a new audience that might become your new customer base, this is a time to abandon old habits and seek new and original ways to run your business.

Be flexible. You may need to take on new duties to reduce expenses or change your operating hours. This is a time of change, and being flexible will make it all easier. It will also set the pace for your employees, making them more likely to react positively to your changes. Remember that in a storm, the flexible objects bend while the more rigid ones break.

Avoid making cuts in crucial areas. It’s one thing to reduce your electric usage or travel less; it’s a completely different issue if you decide to reduce spending in crucial areas such as product quality, service, or marketing. Anything that affects the customer experience or keeps the flow of customers coming should be maintained to the best of your ability. Anything less will diminish your public image and reduce your sales even more they currently are. In fact, many companies have found that the key to surviving a downturn is to increase the budget for product development and marketing. Because so many businesses unwisely cut these areas in a financial crisis, beefing up yours will really make you stand out.

Make new connections. Now is a time for businesses to band together. Perhaps there is a business in a related but not competing field that would like to put up a small sign advertising your business if you do the same for them. Maybe you have contacts in the business community who have survived similar times and lived to tell about it. You have more than ever to gain from meaningful relationships with other businesses.

Can you make it through the next big downturn? While there are no guarantees, following these five tips will certainly improve your odds. Businesses can survive and even thrive during downturns. In fact, many businesses find that hard times are the impetus to help them streamline their business and develop new and more efficient ways of succeeding.

Does your business have a logo?

If not, you should be very interested in logo design. Big or small, every company needs a logo. Having a logo not only gives customers a memorable visual image of your company, it shows that you are a professional, established part of the business community. Unfortunately, hiring a graphic designer to design a logo for your company requires an investment. Not only will you have to invest money for design services, you will also need to spend time in the design process. If either of these is not an option for you, you can consider another option: DIY logo design.

Why should you design your own logo? There are several benefits to designing a logo for your company. The most obvious of these is the money saved. Whether you hire locally or find a logo design firm on the internet, talented graphic designers would cost money. While they bring an impressive set of skills to the table, not all business can afford a professional service. With the right tools and a natural talent for it, you could spend some time and effort to try and create a decent logo, which is why do it yourself logo design is popular with one person logo design companies or small companies with no budget.

However, economic savings aren’t the only benefit in store. While a lower cost is the most obvious reason to design your own logo, but it is merely a side benefit. The most important reason to invest time in DIY logo design is that nobody understands your business as well as you do. A logo should express what sets you apart from your competition, and only you can know that. Designing a logo allows you to develop a finished product that you can be proud of, one that gives the exact message you want to share with your community.

Can you design your own logo? Consider the following questions:

Do you have a solid sense of style? That is, are you good at other forms of design, like home decoration logos and drawing? If you cannot grasp basic principles of design in other areas, leave designing a logo to the pros.

Do you have the time? Having a graphic designer create a logo takes time, because you must meet with the professional to help them understand your business and your needs. However, DIY logo design also requires time—not just time spent designing a logo, but time spent mastering the computer programs involved and going through a trial-and-error process of learning graphic design basics.

Do you have the resources? You don’t need the fanciest design program on the market to design your own logo, but you will need a computer with a decent graphics card as well as graphics software.

There are many resources available for people who are interested in designing a logo. Not only are there several DIY logo design websites, there are also books at libraries and bookstores that can help you design your own logo. There are also many graphics programs that make this process easier, although many budding designers have been able to design striking logos with everyday programs such as Paint and Photoshop. There is so much information available that this low cost, high quality option is available to just about anybody who is interested in it.

The Internet has changed the way we play marketing. It has turned one-way talks to dynamic conversations. Before, businesses bombard customers with messages from printed, radio and TV ads. But with the explosion of company blogs and social networking sites, customers can easily talk back if they don’t like what you’re doing.

A double-edge sword if you will. Do great things and it will spread like wildfire. Yet, one fatal mistake can stir numerous protest and boycotts. The recent privacy issue on Facebook has created hysteria in the online world, forcing the company to retract its terms within hours.

Conversation is a two-way process. Before, only people in the media can launch attacks against companies. Today, everyday customers can start conversations with you through comments in your website and other popular social networks. Passionate and disgruntled customers are now empowered to make or break your image. And they don’t need to pay a dime to do whatever they want to do.

Being responsive is more critical than ever. It can be your advantage over big corporations. These guys have to deal with bureaucracies before issuing official statements. As small business owners, speed and flexibility are on your side. With a little help from your slick BlackBerry or iPhone, you can reply wherever, whenever.

A well-designed website backed by a superior content management platform is a big help in managing crisis and reaching out with your customer. You might remember that there were toy recalls last year from Mattel, the renowned makers of Barbie. Its website became the main mouthpiece in resolving issues and informing the public about safety.

In the market filled with customers longing for personal attention, how you respond can be a crucial element in building strong relationship. Who knows what 1 comment can do to your business.

In running a business, whether startup or established, it is important to find out if it is scalable or capable of expansion over the long haul. It is a serious mistake to assume that your business will remain on the same level.

If you’re a marketing consultant, for instance, your business may start slow with one or two clients. Over time, assuming you’re good, your firm will be flooded with testimonials and referrals. These factors will attract more and more customers. Perhaps more than you can handle.

Though this is the ultimate fantasy of every business man, it can turn to a horrible nightmare if your business is not geared up for expansion. You may end up wrecking your work-life balance for you have to work long hours and during weekends to catch up with your clients’ needs and whims. To make matters worse, dividing your time to so many clients may negatively affect your output.

Before you even get to that point of no return, consider asking these questions to check if your business is scalable:

1. Can I exploit the skills of other people in exchange for money? As your business expands, time becomes a scarcity. Your alternative is to hire the right people or partner with another successful person in your industry to duplicate your success.

2. Am I equipped with the right technology? This is crucial for businesses relying heavily on machines such as video/photo editing, internet marketing, and graphic design firms. When investing in equipment, always consider its capability for upgrades.

3. Will I enjoy the fruits of my labor? Otherwise, what’s the use of all the money in the world, right?

To borrow the words of author Stephen Covey in his infamous book, 7 Basic Habits of Highly Effective People, you should always begin with the end in mind. So go ahead, take a look at your business and see if you’re ready to a profitable future.

As with any form of business, even the logo design business, an essential ingredient for success in online business is passion. I am not talking about a passion to make money – no one starts a business wanting to fail. What you need is a passion for the type of business you will be doing. Your online business is you and your computer. If you don’t love your work, it will become a drudgery and highly likely to be unsuccessful. A look at the basic types of online business will help you decide where you want to be.

Informational sites cover activities like blogs, e-magazines, specialized online news, databases etc. There are two ways of making money here. One is by selling information and articles either through subscriptions or against specific one time payments. What you will need to do this is to have information that is difficult to find or else presented in a way that is what your target market is looking for. Alternatively, the information can be made available free and revenue can be generated from the sale of advertising space on the site. The amount advertisers will pay is dependent on the popularity of the site.

The direct online shop is exactly what its name implies. It is a site which offers goods or services for sale. The goods are stocked by the online business who will arrange for supply against payment. All the stocking and shipment problems are taken care of by the website owner who will also need to control inventories, and sales receipts. This kind of business will require some working capital and physical space for the stocking of the goods. If you want to learn more about setting up an online shop, you can check out Ringgle’s’ online shop management features. It sure provides complete online business solutions. Profit comes from the margin on sales

The secondary, sub or affiliate online shop is similar to the online version as far as the website and presentation goes. The difference is that this type online business does not buy and stock the goods and so does not have the problems of needing a higher working capital amount and storage space. The affiliate shop can work in two ways. The most common is that orders received are passed on to the supplier who receives the payment, ships the good and pays the online business a commission on the sale.

Alternatively the online business can accept the order, receive the payment and, after deducting its commission, send the balance to the supplier who will ship the goods. The online affiliate shop is a good place to start since the amount of money and space required is low. Income in this case is solely dependent on sales commissions.

Web enabled services include project based activities such as sending bulk emails, conducting online surveys, data collection, preparing project or market reports, translation work, graphic or web design, internet marketing and so on. This type of online business is order based; that is, the order for the work is received along with an advance or part payment. Upon completion of the project, it is sent to the customer against the receipt of the balance payment. Much of the work can be regular in nature, such as in the case of ongoing contracts for sending emails or data collection. Income will be dependent on the value of projects completed.

There are other forms of online business such as medical transcription, insurance adjusting etc. which require specialized domain knowledge. See related medical logos description.

Here’s how to use Google for rough market research. If I Google “How to start a business” and I get 281,000 results, I know I am in a hot area. Now, I’m certainly not going to start clicking through 281,000 responses, but, I’ve certainly learned that lots of people have advice, programs, products and services that cater to new businesses. It’s a rough measuring tool, but it’s also fast and free.

You can use Google for rough market research about your new company. Right off the bat, Google the company name you are considering… If you get no results, that’s pretty golden (but still NO guarantee, you must search the USPTO for definitive results!) Google the URL you want. That’s the fastest way to know if it’s available.

eHow is a site I subscribe to, therefore trust and endorse for finding out how to start a business, At eHow, you’ll find a large number of business-related articles. I’ve chosen two samples to give you a taste. One is a laundry list of steps, the other is a good roundup of grassroots marketing tactics.

The point is to explore eHow to find out how to do any number of things that interest you. I subscribe, and find I am often entertained, and frequently educated by the daily delivery.

Because your Website is most often the first point of contact for your customers, it must be professional-looking and search engine friendly. While there are many ways to improve the design of your site, it is important to always monitor the effectiveness of your search engine optimization (SEO) activities.

If you’re just starting your online business and don’t have much money to burn, one of the resources you can use is Website Grader – a free SEO tool designed for entrepreneurs that incorporates things like webite traffic, SEO, social popularity and other technical factors to come up with an overall rating. Moreover, it offers free basic advice to improve your site.

Of course there are many freebies available online like the SEO Company’s 136 free SEO tools and Aarol Wall’s SEO book. Website Grader is quite different because it combines all information in just one place. It may not be as comprehensive as other free tools but it can help you see the big picture easily and the problem areas you need to work on.

You simply need to provide your URL, related keywords describing your site, competitors, and your e-mail address so it can send to you the final report.

Note: This free tool is owned by Hubspot, an inbound marketing system company helping small businesses to get found on the Internet. Naturally, this company will encourage you to avail their services to get comprehensive consultation.

Via Duct Tape Marketing Blog

Risk is an essential part of running a business. It can make your dreams come true but it can also shatter it if you are not careful. A new study shows that successful entrepreneurs are more likely to take risks.

Some 60 per cent of those with assets of more than $1 million said a high appetite for risk had been a big influence in generating their wealth, compared with 36 per cent of those with less than $1 million of assets.

Given that risk is all around us, you should learn how to take calculate your chances of survival in this game. Here are some of the things you need to consider:

1. Look before you leap. Research about the risk you are about to take and consult with experts in the field to gather more information. The more you know the better your chances of survival.
2. Have a Backup Plan. Because there are different ways to solve a problem, you should have an alternative plan in case things will go out of hand.
3. Rank the risks. If you are taking several risks, you should prioritize which one to tackle first. A good measure is to consider the consequences of each scenario and the probability of it happening. However, this is a very tricky method because it’s difficult to avoid subjective opinions.

Some entrepreneurs are afraid to take bigger challenges because they can’t handle the idea of failing. To make matters worse, some say “no” even without even trying. In case you are in this same situation, you might want to do some attitude adjustment. Here’s how:

1. Impossible is Nothing. This famous Adidas advertising slogan is the first step towards better attitude. When faced with a difficult task, you should not give up easily. Explore your options and ask other people for advice.
2. Think big. You should start a business with the dream of becoming a big company in the long run. Combining your think-big mindset and hard work, you can take on challenging projects without fear.
3. Prepare all the time. Instead of dreaming of overnight success, start sharpening your skills and learning new ones. When the big opportunity knocks on your door, you are more than prepared to seize it.
4. Focus on your strengths. Some entrepreneurs spend their time focusing on their weaknesses until they reached a point where they can no longer appreciate their strengths. Find your key skills and learn how to use it to your advantage.

With many banks now catering to small businesses, finding the right bank can be very tedious for many entrepreneurs. On the brighter side, too many options mean we have higher chances of getting low-interest loans and build better business relationship.

In case your intention is to get a loan to improve your cash flow or finance your new ventures, here are some things you can do:

1. Check the websites of different banks in your area and compare their loan rates. The difference would probably be smaller because each bank is constantly monitoring the moves of competitors.
2. Talk with bank representatives to get more details and check if there are hidden costs. Make sure you do tip #1 to help you negotiate better.
3. Consult with your professional network to get their feedback and experience about the different banks in your area.

If you want to improve your business relationship with your bank, you should do the following:

1. You and your employees should be friendly with bank’s staff. Some network only with bank managers but this is a grave mistake. Establish relationship with enablers like tellers, customer service, loan officers, and guards for they can help in your daily transactions.
2. Give referrals. Refer other clients to the bank manager and don’t be shy to promote your efforts. Since they also have sales targets, they will greatly appreciate any prospects you point in their direction.
3. Don’t ask negative questions. Inquiring about bankruptcy or overdraft policies might create a wrong impression to bank officers about your capacity to pay.

Check out related accounting logo design portfolio.

Customer service has transcended from a mere support to become a very important function in every business, irrespective of size and industry. In fact, CNN Money reports that mid-size companies believe this is now a competitive differentiator to fuel growth.

However, there are still many entrepreneurs who do not appreciate the value of this service and continue to commit the 8 common mistakes that will eventually undermine their business performance. These include:

1. Failure to fulfill your promises. Once a commitment is made there must no excuses or apologies.
2. Lack of flexibility. Saying “that’s our policy” is one of the quickest ways to lose a customer. You should explore all possibilities to meet the demands of your customers, even if you have to bend some rules from time to time.
3. Selling substandard products. If you can’t bridge your product claims with actual experience then there is no sense continuing your business.
4. Not accessible to customers most of the time. If customers find it difficult to contact your customer service then don’t feel bad if they switch to your competitors right away.
5. Lack of training. As they say, winning is a habit and so is losing. If you have lousy customer service agents, don’t expect any miracle that they will improve without any effort at all.
6. Lack of proper manners. Basic customer service protocols like greeting your customers and saying “thanks”, “sorry”, and “please” do matter to most customers.
7. Inaccuracy. Misspelled names and wrong contact information can bog down your customer service and might vex even your loyal customers.
8. Ignoring complaints. Some customer service agents like to jot down complaints but don’t really act on it until a customer makes a follow up.

If you are worried that you missed the important news today related to small business or find yourself bombarded with too much information, don’t worry. Starting today, we will gather the important news about small business to save your precious time. So, here we go:

News #1
Entrepreneurs can slow global warming. CNN Money believes that no entrepreneurial firm can tackle huge environmental issues singlehandedly, but with America’s 26 million small businesses representing half of our economy, there is strength in numbers.

Moreover, entrepreneurs can make a big dent in energy demand, for instance, just by using window film to reduce summer heat, and by installing improved lighting, better thermostats and occupancy sensors in bathrooms, offices and storerooms.

News #2
Interested in franchising? Check out the top 10 low cost franchises for work-at-home entrepreneurs.

News #3
If you happen to reside near Corning, New York, there will be a free session for female entrepreneurs on how to successfully grow their businesses.

News #4
OC Register reports that small business owners are addicted to wireless, with 42 percent saying it would be a major challenge to survive (I don’t think we’re talking food and water level of survival here) without wireless technology.

News #5
There are 3 ways technology can help your small business cut costs – automation, real-time business reports, and connect business information & staff. Find out how a Canadian company, Good Earth Café, has improved its operations with the help of technology.

Business intelligence is about gathering information on current market situations, upcoming trends, and competitor activities. If you think this applies only to big companies, think again. A new survey has revealed that poor intelligence results to substantial losses:

58% of surveyed business executives admit that business opportunities have been missed or problems have not been spotted as a result of not having access to relevant information at the right time;

The survey indicates that the Fortune 500 companies are losing approximately $250 million per year in missed business opportunities as a result of inadequate business intelligence.

You may not lose thousands or millions of dollars but the point is you will lose lucrative opportunities and might not stay on top if you don’t take business intelligence seriously. The good news is you don’t need to spend too much money on this, if you apply the following tips:

1. Check your competitors’ websites. Most businesses now do have websites and that is a rich source of competitive information. Important sections include “About Us”, “Press Releases”, and “Products or Services”. Don’t forget to check the profile and competencies of its founders or co-founders to gauge how well they know the market.
2. Internet research. A simple Google search will give you tons of information about the market trends and financial data of your publicly traded competitors. If you are looking for annual reports and financial info, check out Yahoo! Finance and SEC Filings & Forms (EDGAR). Also talk to your accountant about any information that they might share with you.
3. Use your network. If you have friends or professional colleagues connected in your industry, why not give them a call or set an informal meeting? This is your chance to collect info not commonly available in websites like hearsays or daily operations.

Most entrepreneurs live in a very fast paced environment filled with mind-boggling problems and difficult decisions to make every single day. At some point, we barely have time to stop, relax, and assess the big picture. If you fit this description, let me share a story with you about a woodcutter…

A man was struggling in the woods to saw down a tree. An old farmer came by, watched for a while, then quietly said, “What are you doing?”

“Can’t you see?” the man impatiently replied, “I’m sawing down this tree.”

“You look exhausted,” said the farmer. “How long have you been at it?”

“Over five hours, and I’m beat,” replied the man. “This is hard work.”

“That saw looks pretty dull,” said the farmer. “Why don’t you take a break for a few minutes and sharpen it? I’m sure it would go a lot faster.”

“I don’t have time to sharpen the saw,” the man says emphatically. “I’m too busy sawing!”

This classic productivity story came from the infamous book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. In short, we should take time out to renew our energy and come back strong. It’s more of working smart rather than working hard. Here are some simple things you can do to sharpen your saw:

1. Take a long vacation and spend more time with your family or friends
2. Read business books and listen to
3. audio books to improve your skills
4. Get a good night sleep
5. Take power naps during breaks
6. Eat the right food
7. Exercise regularly to improve your physical well-being
8. Stick to your schedule
9. Listen to classical or chillout music
10. Meditate or take time to be alone to contemplate about your life and business
11. Clean your office
12. Clear your e-mail inbox
13. Study different skills (preferably not related to your small business)
14. Maintain a journal or diary for all your rants and raves
15. Solve complex puzzles or crosswords
16. Talk with intelligent people
17. Take time to laugh
18. Engage in sports and other recreational activities

Starting from scratch might be very daunting for some starting entrepreneurs. They might find it very difficult to build a customer base, develop new products, handle initial marketing campaign or hire reliable employees.

To sidestep these birth pains, one alternative is to buy an existing business and expand it to reap more profits. All systems are already in place and you might just need to tweak it to be more efficient. When buying a business, you should carefully consider the following:

1. Reasons for selling. If it is so good, why sell it? Don’t expect some owners to tell you the truth but you should find ways to validate the reasons provided. You can talk to some of the employees or other business partners.
2. Business image. Although having a negative business reputation gives you the power to bargain for a lower acquisition cost, it can hurt the future operations of your business. You should meet with several customers and suppliers to gauge the existing business image.
3. Financial statements and sales records. Get the financial statements for the last 5 years and hire an accountant to audit all the books for accuracy and consistency with tax returns. This will also give you a good estimate of business profitability and much how liabilities you have to assume.
4. Legal documents. Some of the important legal contracts include articles of incorporation, purchase agreements, sales contracts, employment contracts, copyrights, and trademarks. You should consult with legal experts to be more accurate.

Having trouble managing your startup capital? You might be spending more than your budget to carry on with your daily operations. If you’re in this situation, you should start using the age-old system called bartering.

In a nutshell, bartering is the exchange of goods or services without using any money. If you’re looking for a clever example of bartering system, just look at our special offer at the top of our site:

Free Logo Service for Popular Bloggers

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In the end, it’s a win-win solution for both sides without incurring additional expenses. Interested bloggers will finally have their dream logos while we get free promotion for our excellent services. Here are some additional advantages of bartering:

1. Minimize Inventory. For companies selling seasonal products, they can barter their items during off seasons. This will help move excess or aging inventory quickly.
2. Conserve cash. Instead of spending your cash for new products or services, you can divert it to your daily operations or buy more important things like office furniture and fixture.
3. Get new customers. If the other party is delighted with your services, you can expect free word-of-mouth advertising that might lead to new customers or bigger projects.

Barter is just one of the ways to bootstrap your business.

Do you consider health care coverage important to your business? A recent survey about this subject has some surprising revelations. For one, male entrepreneurs are more concerned about health insurance to employees, compared with the female entrepreneurs. According to USA Today:

The American Express survey of 627 small-company owners and managers found that 67% of men vs. 59% of women feel such coverage is important. The results, out today, are surprising to authorities on female-owned firms who believe women put more emphasis on health benefits.

Moreover, the number of small businesses with health insurance has declined given the rising premiums. Here are some tips to help you minimize your health care expenses:

1. Know all your options. Compare the premiums and perks offered by different insurance companies to get the best deal possible. With so many competitors in this industry, you have a good a chance of getting lower rates. Search over the internet and ask other entrepreneurs in your area about their experience.
2. Be part of a group. If you have less than 10 employees, you can partner with other entrepreneurs to create a bigger group. As your group becomes bigger, your premiums will be significantly lower.
3. Have a wellness program. You should be proactive and create a comprehensive fitness program for your employees to follow. As they say, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” It can also include a diet guide and disease management counseling for chronic diseases like hypertension, diabetes, and asthma.

For entrepreneurs, negotiation is a powerful skill we need to master to get better results like lower supply price, longer payment period, or additional discounts. As one master negotiator, Chester Karrass, said, “In business, you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate.”

What would you do then if you find yourself dealing with a more skilled negotiator? In this critical situation, here are additional negotiation tips to help you out:

1. Work with experts. If you are dealing about legal or financial matters but you don’t have enough knowledge or experience, it would be a great help to partner with experts in these fields. Although you need to shell out money, this will give you enough leverage to haggle more effectively.
2. Be prepared all the time. Don’t feel cocky and relaxed even if you already commissioned an expert to handle the negotiations. It is important that you still do your research and cover all possible arguments.
3. Use the mirror strategy. Based on a new research, mimicking the mannerisms of the other party is proven effective in closing the deals more effectively. Get more details at Business Pundit.

When pitching to potential investors, customers and employees, a number of entrepreneurs focus more on what they need to say and less on how to say it. But do you know that our tone can boost or bust our business?

Yes, a monotonous voice sometimes denotes lack of passion or even commitment. This will definitely not win you any funding or close any sale. Although not everyone is given the gift of gab, there are still some things you can do to improve your vocal approach:

Pitching is something you should learn even before you start your business or present to VCs. It will take some time and lot of effort before you can get a standing ovation.

Even successful business owners eventually have to let go of their small business and transfer it to family members or sell to interested buyers. Should you decide to put your business up for sale, here are some things you need to prepare for:

Some starting entrepreneurs still use their personal credit cards to pay for business-related expenses. While this may be convenient during the early stages, it might do you more harm than good once your business expands. Perhaps it’s time for you to switch to a business credit card. Here are some of its advantages to your small business:

1. Easy monitoring. No need to go over every receipt just to separate your personal and business expenses at the end of each year. Many business credit cards provide itemized reports of your expenses for easy bookkeeping.
2. Establish your Business Credit. Regardless of what happens to your business, your personal credit score will not be affected if you use a business credit card. If you have a good business credit rating, it will also help you secure loans easily in case you want to expand your business.
3. More Perks. Many business credit card companies wooing small business owners offer numerous business-related rewards and discounts for office supplies, phone services, and business travel.

In case you’re having a tough time looking for the right business credit card for your company, Small Business Trends will guide you on how to choose a card while BusinessCreditCards.com presents a comprehensive comparison of different cards.

Some entrepreneurs sometimes feel like they can never take another step to meet the demands of the business, suddenly lose their perspectives, self-discipline, and even their funny side. These are some signs of a major burn out. Among the 20 tips shared by BootStrapMe to avoid burnout, I found tip #17 very helpful:

Know your own “Relax” buttons. I not only make coffee, I grind my own beans and use a French press in the kitchen to create a relaxing brew. The relaxation is not only in the coffee itself but in the process of making it.

Here are some additional ways to defeat burn out and come back stronger than ever:

1. Expand your skills and learn something unrelated to your small business. It doesn’t have to be useful as long as it will take your mind off your business temporarily.
2. Spend some time with your family. Sometimes, a child’s burning passion and intense curiosity are all you need to get to get back on track.
3. Take time out to meet with your close friends
4. Learn to let go of the things you cannot change or control
5. Breathe deeply for a few minutes.
6. Meditate.
7. Cry
8. Clean your office
9. Take time to be alone so you can reflect about your life and your business.

If you are both an entrepreneur and blogger, please take time to read Performancing’s 23 Simple Health Tips For Bloggers.

Looking for a great way to relax after a stressful day? Why not try boxing? There are 3 reasons why you should pick boxing over other sports like tennis or basketball:

• Total workout. Boxing training strengthens all your muscle groups in your body, builds your stamina, improve your coordination, flexibility, speed, reflexes, and cardiovascular fitness.
• Improves competitiveness. Competition improves our mental toughness to do whatever is necessary to win and survive in any situation. This is a valuable lesson every entrepreneur can get from boxing. You get to learn how to focus and not being affected by the performance of your competitor. Also, you will notice improvements on motivation, self-esteem, and composure under extreme pressure.
• Learn self-defense. Other sports like basketball or tennis can help you lose weight and tone your muscles. Boxing gives you all those benefits, and at the same time you learn how to protect yourself against any physical danger – should the need arise.

Disasters are not part of our daily survival, but they do happen – in nature, and in business. Be proactive and have a disaster recovery plan ready, especially in terms of data redundancy if you are an information-intensive business.

Some entrepreneurs mistake disaster planning as a tool for big companies only. On the contrary, small business should take disaster planning more seriously because most of us do not operate in several locations. It means all our resources can be destroyed by a single disaster – be it a hurricane, fire or something else. The big companies, on the other hand, can simply transfer to other locations. In general, the cost of preparation is a lot cheaper. Below are some of the things you can include in your scenario planning:

Make a Disaster List

Brainstorm with employees, disaster planning experts, and if possible the local fire department. Identify all possible problems you might encounter given your location and the nature of your business. Once you identify the most probable disasters, create detailed plans and more importantly, run monthly drills to familiarize your people.

Backup Your Documents

Every business keeps information such as sales report, inventory levels, financial statements, and other important transactions. In some cases, entrepreneurs also leave their personal documents in their office. What you should do is to have a backup of these documents in both hard and soft copy. Here’s a checklist:

• Tax returns
• Credit cards
• Personal and business insurance policies
• Contact information of your suppliers and other partners
• Bank statements
• Employee records
• Medical records
• Legal documents like power of attorney and supply contracts
• Financial statements like Balance Sheet and Income Statement

Who’s the man behind the success of Apple Inc.? Maybe 9 out of 10 will answer Steve Jobs. It is very reasonable because Mr. Jobs is in charge of overall marketing. Business Pundit, however, mentioned Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, and how he is such an inspiration to entrepreneurs.

What struck me from that short but very insightful post is the idea of trying things you’ve never done before. How about you? Have you tried something different in your small business lately? Or are you afraid to change what you’re doing right now? Maybe it’s time for you to expand your business by stretching outside your comfort zone.

The longer you are in the business the more you become careful not to make any mistakes and stick to the conventional methods. However, it will be very difficult for you to gain new customers and expand further. In case you find yourself in this situation, just follow the valuable lesson from Carly Fiorina, one of the most powerful women in corporate America:

In bullfighting there is a term called querencia. The querencia is the spot in the ring to which the bull returns. Each bull has a different querencia, but as the bullfight continues, and the animal becomes more threatened, it returns more and more often to his spot.

As he returns to his querencia, he becomes more predictable. And so, in the end, the matador is able to kill the bull because instead of trying something new, the bull returns to what is familiar. His comfort zone.

Ever dreamed of becoming the next powerful entrepreneur like Richard Branson of Virgin Enterprises or real estate logos mogul Donald Trump but don’t know where to start? Don’t look too far, for some of the great investments might be right under your nose. One place to look for startup ideas is within your own passion or the things you love to do. Here’s how:

Consulting

If you have special skills like computer programming or copywriting, you may want to start a consulting firm. If you’re employed and not yet confident to take the risk, you can test the water first as a freelancer. Start taking part time projects and if you have more than enough clients then it’s time to go full blast.

Sports

Even if you are not the next Michael Jordan or Babe Ruth, there’s still room for you in the world of sports. You can start a small business related to sports, like an online store selling varsity jackets or sports gear. You can also get a license to sell merchandise of your favorite teams in different sports categories.

Special Interests

If you spend your time on some passionate hobbies like photography, pottery making or flower arrangements, why not make money out of it? The upside here is you are already familiar with your chosen field. However, you still have to do a formal market analysis to assess your startup ideas.

Note that not all your hobbies or expertise are profitable. Your passion might blind you from seeing the right business perspective. More importantly, you should avoid chasing mirages or too-good-to-be-true opportunities.

While there are multitudes of factors contributing to the success of any startup, it always starts with YOU. In any case, the poem called Invictus says you (and only you) are the captain of your soul and master of your fate. One of the ways to master yourself is to build your self-discipline.

Succession Consciousness defines self-discipline as the ability of an individual to stick to actions, thoughts, and behavior, which lead to improvement and success. Also, it’s the giving up of instant pleasure and satisfaction for a higher goal.

There are different ways to improve self-discipline, depending on your personality. Some entrepreneurs undergo hypnosis while others meditate. It can be as simple as giving up desserts every night. Here are some tips you might want to try:

Engage in Sports

Competition is a good teacher of self-discipline. You’ll appreciate the value of goal setting, teamwork, elaborate planning, and composure under stress. Sports also highlight the need to practice, practice, and practice some more in order to achieve your desired goals. More importantly, it will help develop the winning attitude in you.

Learn from The Last Samurai

You may not like Tom Cruise but his movie The Last Samurai captures the essence of self-discipline:

They are an intriguing people. From the moment they wake they devote themselves to the perfection of whatever they pursue. I have never seen such discipline. I am surprised to learn that the word Samurai means, ‘to serve’…

No wonder the Japanese created some of the best business concepts like kaizen or continuous improvement and just-in-time. Dedicate your working hours perfecting your craft by improving your system regularly, communicating with your customers daily, and spying competition all the time.

It’s very thrilling when you first started pursuing your goals as an entrepreneur. At some point, however, your excitement starts to dwindle as you are barraged with so many urgent things to do. If you are experiencing this very same sentiment now, you are not alone.

According to Entrepreneur Daily, the level of optimism has waned among small business owners, from 80.4% in June to 69.5% in Aug 2007. Maybe you’re wondering if it’s still worth it to achieve your goals, even if you don’t feel an ounce of excitement right now. In case this is you, here are some tips on how to battle your inner demons:

Watch Mission: Impossible

An uninspired and negative thinking entrepreneur starts looking for any excuses as soon as a problem crops up. Be Ethan Hunt (the fictional character played by Tom Cruise in the movie Mission: Impossible) and love the challenge of solving seemingly impossible problems. Consider all probable angles to solve your problems and do not give yourself any excuse to bail out.

Take a Time Out and Smell the Roses

Overdriving is a killer. While many of us love the rush of running the day-to-day operations, it will take its toll at some point of our career. Why not take your family for a short vacation and free your mind from worries. If you’re still reluctant, a short coffee break or a walk in the park might help clear up your perspective.

A fatal business mistake committed by some entrepreneurs is pretending they know everything there is to know about running their business. Maybe it’s pride that’s keeping them from asking “stupid” questions. Leading your startup means relying both on your expertise and consulting with your employees as well.

I have stumbled upon an interesting management style from Jim Collins, author of the renowned book Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t and it’s called “lead with question”:

Leading from good to great does not mean coming up with the answers and then motivating everyone to follow your messianic vision. It means having the humility to grasp the fact that you do not yet understand enough to have the answers and then to ask the questions that will lead to the best possible insights.

This is a good combination with another management style discussed previously, leading by listening. You can call an informal forum with your trusted employees and open the session with a general question like, “what should we be worried about?”

In case you are wondering what specific questions you can discuss about, Write to Right provides 10 questions to answer your business direction.

Business ethics represent your moral principles or values. Unfortunately, some of the age-old business practices are either unethical or considered part of the gray area. Common unethical practices include price fixing, bribery, bid rigging, and selling substandard products.

As your small business continues to expand, you might encounter decisions that will challenge your business ethics. Given this situation, you should know how to influence your employees to maintain your values all the time. Here’s what you can do:

• Set a clear policy and standard procedures about the right values and ethics related to customers, employees, and suppliers.
• Gather your employees and run several “what if” scenarios related to common unethical practices in your industry. This will greatly help your employees maintain their composure under pressure.
• Recognize employees who uphold your business ethics even if it results in lost revenues. Doing the right thing might result in significant losses. However, if you are dead serious about this, you should learn to accept it and reward those who do the same.

Do you know that business ethics can be a competitive edge? Find out how at Business Pundit.

If you want to boost the productivity in your workplace, you should start by saying “thank you” to your employees. According to Brain Based Business, these two simple yet powerful words can transform both your personal and professional relationships.

Say thanks to somebody – for something – according to Dr. Robert Emmons … and watch the power of gratitude transform the human brain. It also brings benefits not found in any ordinary workplace.

Managing your employees is very similar to marketing to your customers. They also need appreciation and recognition. Whether you are saying thanks to your employees or customers, you should observe the following:

Timing is Important

Saying thanks right away instead of waiting for another hour or day renders maximum impact to the receiver. Showing your appreciation is more about courtesy and less about creativity.

If you want to send a thank-you gift to a loyal customer, you should do it before or after holidays, but not during holidays. Chances are, many businesses including your competitors will do the same and that will not make you unique.

Thank Even Complaining Employees and Customers

You should not limit your appreciation to your good employees and loyal customers. In fact, you should try to give a little more attention to your complaining customers and employees. Outspoken employees might help you correct some of the recurring problems in your company such as miscommunication or unsanitary workplace.

Also, a complaining customer is most probably a buying customer. Annoyed customers do not usually complain about your products or services. What they do is shift to your competitors. If a customer complains, it means they he or she is still interested in your product or service, provided you correct your mistakes. Thank them for giving you that one more chance.

Offering incentives is a common practice to motivate employees and increase sales. However, you might have an impression that incentives are for employees only, particularly your sales force. Yes, it is very important to some businesses and you might want to read Young Entrepreneur’s comprehensive discussion on creating a sales incentive program.

But do you know that you have a hidden sales force waiting to be tapped? Yes there is, and they are your beloved customers. Their incentive program comes in different names such as a finder’s fee – which is common in real estate logo designs – and affiliate or referral fee for online marketing.

Powered by word-of-mouth marketing, your existing customers can help you get new customers and encourage trials of your products or services. Even if you do not have extra funds to create an incentive program for customers, you still have alternatives such as:

1. Product discounts
2. Group discounts
3. Free samples or consultation
4. Extended warranties

To make this incentive program effective, you should consult with your customers and brainstorm what rewards will entice them to actively recommend your products or services.

Before deciding on who should write for your business blog, you might still be wondering whether your business website should even have a blog. My general answer is yes. Companies with a business website can benefit from having a weblog for a multitude of reasons, including staying fresh in the search engines. Here are some other perspectives:

1. Customer Evangelists offer 7 reasons to business blog.
2. Rohit Bhargava points 5 lesssons he learned while building up his blog and getting a million impressions in a week. Also check out his article 5 ways to improve your blog.
3. David at xfep asks if blogging is a skill worth having.
4. Des at Business and Blogging suggests that it is worth having, since blogging is a transferable skill.
5. To drive home the importance, Mack says that blogging is a strategy for companies, not a fad.

At the very least, a blog for your business can help you establish some authority in your industry. You don’t have to update it every day, but some consistency of posting schedule helps.

If you’re not convinced, feel free to comment here. State your concerns, what you’re hoping to achieve.

Finding a balance between aggressive selling and effective cash flow management is very important to sustain your business over the long haul. The reality, however, is that many entrepreneurs are more focused on achieving the top line or sales and very relaxed on collections of unpaid invoices. Aside from cash flow factoring, there are other ways to improve your cash flow and these are:

Set up Your Collection Policies

Even before starting your business operations, you should already have a strict policy on collections and your employees should fully understand this. It can be simple policy like a friendly call to remind your customers one week before the actual payment date. Having a working system helps track all your accounts and alert you of possible bad debts.

Negotiate for Longer Terms with Supplier

When dealing with customers, your negotiation stance is to get shorter payment terms, usually 30 days. However, do the exact opposite when meeting with your suppliers. Try bargaining for 45 to 60 days payment terms to give you enough time to collect your debts first.

Read 5 tips on how to quickly improve cash flow at CEO Consultant for some advice on cash flow.

One of the problems with running a business online is the pressing need for fresh articles on your company website – else risk stagnation of search engine results. Writing was hardly a requirement of most business owners, even in the first decade of the Internet. Now, with blogs so popular and so many people saying a business website should have one, you are probably considering it. A good blog can be an ideal branding tool for your company. But who should write for your business blog, and what should you write about?

Maybe you’re too busy, and you may not have a PR department, let alone people with writing skills. What about a comments moderation policy, handling comments, or commenting elsewhere? Should all this be handled by executives, C-level management, non-management employees, or a hired blogger?

If you decide to have a blog, these are concerns you must deal with. Basically, it boils down to this. If you don’t have someone capable of writing regularly – even short summaries – at least 3 days per week, you should either hire someone capable or put the decision to blog on the backburner.

Recommended Reading

Here is some recommended reading:

1. Chris Garrett’s How to business blog without being unprofessional, which is aimed at bloggers who blog for businesses. It’ll give you the perspective of any blogger you might hire.
2. Also check out the Bloggers for Hire blog, run by Jim Turner and Tris Hussey, who run One By One Media. Jim and Tris communicate with a lot of business owners and help them find suitable bloggers. Particularly read Hiring bloggers gaining steam.
3. David Dalka’s Where are the C-level people? which points out that having a non-blogger manage blogs might not be in your business’ best interests.
4. Marshall Kirkpatrick’s Introducing good bloggers and companies to hire them, which is referenced by all the articles in #1-3 above. Marshall writes about how he is currently getting a lot of requests to help hook up bloggers and business owners, and how he’s helping.
5. Liz Strauss’ Successful Blog talks about blogging, developing conversations, and in a general sense is about business blogging.
6. Debbie Weil’s BlogWrite for CEOs offers advice for executives who blog. She’s also the author of The Corporate Blogging Book.

Summary

I know everyone above except David and Debbie, and I know that most of them can help you in some consulting capacity. Some of them are even available for blogging. You can also drop comments in this post, and I’ll do what I can to help you find a blogger, or can point you to resources. (Your email address will not appear in the comment unless you actually put it in the body of the comment.)

We’ll cover what topics your blog should cover in a subsequent article: What is Your Business Blog About. Don’t forget to check out our sister Design blog, which covers various aspects of developing websites and weblogs, including general blogging issues for any type of blog.

After you read Seriously Business’ post about how Body Shop’s Anita Roddick succeeded through hard work, you might be more energized and inspired to turn your dreams to reality. On the other hand, how can you really tell if you are a hardworking entrepreneur just like Ms. Roddick?

A typical hardworking entrepreneur is the one who spends countless hours in his office. You might want to rethink that notion and redefine the concept of a hardworking entrepreneur. You should focus now on business results rather than the number of hours you devote to your small business. Always strive for work/life balance by finding ways to work efficiently. Here are some tips you can apply:

Monitor Your Performance

Aside from evaluating day to day operations, you should be aware of your work habits and identify areas for improvement. Try to make a list of activities you’ve accomplished every single day and you will see how much time is wasted on doing unimportant tasks. You should end micromanaging and empower your employees to make business decisions.

Set Your Work Hours

Discipline yourself to be like any other employee working 8 hours per day. Learn when to stop working and start spending quality time with your family and friends. A good way to do this is to set a fixed working period and follow it religiously.

Want to know what factors lead to success? Biz Plan Hacks has an interesting summary about a seven-year study on 500 successful people. As expected, “strong focus” is one of the key success factors.

If you are a starting entrepreneur, you might find it hard to focus considering that there are so many things to do with so little time. You might be confused where to allocate most of your time and resources. As a guide, you can start by doing one thing better than your competitors by focusing on the following:

1. Concentrate on customer service. It is not enough to sell product to every customer; you must delight them always so they will crave more. One way to create this addiction is providing superb customer service.
2. Focus on getting your hands dirty. Know every detail of your business from marketing, selling, accounting logos, and even some IT-related stuff. This will help you craft more practical strategies and set realistic goals.
3. Concentrate on what you are doing wrong. By keenly evaluating your business mistakes, you can easily arrest these problems and make any much-needed adjustments.
4. Focus on best practices. By copying what the competitors are doing, it will be very difficult to overtake them. Instead, you can study the best practices across industries and apply it to your business.

One difficult aspect of running a small business is the collection of past due invoices. Some entrepreneurs find this part very uneasy but it is really necessary if you want to survive in the long run.

The first thing you need to do is keep your cool and do not resort to any form of verbal or written harassment. Assume that it must have slipped their minds and it is your duty to remind them. In case you are facing this situation now, here’s what you can do:

The Ring

Make phone calls to your delinquent customers to remind them of their past due payments and politely ask them to settle it immediately. This is also your opportunity to determine the circumstances involved why that customer failed to pay on time. If they cannot pay in full, it is better to come up with an installment payment scheme instead of getting nothing.

Unleash Hell

If a customer is not yet willing to pay his debts after several calls from you, it is time to take a stand and claim what is rightfully yours. You can contact your legal counsel or refer this matter to a collection agency. You must act quickly; otherwise you will have to write off that debt as an expense.

Ask for Upfront Payment

In case you still don’t have the wherewithal to confront your delinquent customers, it is better to take a more proactive approach by asking your customers for a deposit upfront or a staggered payment based on milestones. However, always check the prevailing business practices in your industry to check if this acceptable.

Via BizInformer

A common way to fund a startup is to use your personal savings. Driven by passion and blinded by ambition, a common mistake made by many entrepreneurs is to go all in or use all of their personal savings to start a business.

It is alright to always make some conservative assumptions and take into consideration the possibility of business failure. Every business is a gamble – few winners and more losers. This perspective helps you control your personal savings and consider other options.

A good way to finance your startup is to use only 50% of your personal savings to support you in case the business folds up. For the balance, you can do the following:

• Work part time. During the startup stage, you can still find work during your free time to generate extra cash and network with other people. Once the business starts picking up then it is time to quit.
• Know your other options like 401k loans, using credit cards to defer payments, or low-interest loans from family and friends.
• Garage sale. It is time to clean out your closet, look for old personal belongings, and hold a garage sale. This may not amount to big money but it will certainly help add some cash in your pocket.

The important thing here is not to rely solely on your personal savings to jumpstart your business and to be more resourceful in finding alternatives. Please note you need to talk to your auditor logos about any financial advice that you may need.

A common problem faced by many established entrepreneurs is how to spot new business opportunities to expand their ventures. As a starting point, Young Entrepreneur has an interesting post about how Virgin’s Richard Branson identifies an opportunity.

This is a hallmark of Branson’s strategy for entering new markets – look for industries where the customer is either being taken advantage of or is receiving such poor service that they would welcome a change. One of the hardest jobs of a new business is to convince customers to switch from an existing supplier to their companies.

However, that is just the tip of the iceberg. Sizing up opportunities involves different considerations such as:

Opportunity vs. Your Competencies.

Even if there is a gap in the market, it is important to match it with your competencies and experience. If the problem in one industry is customer service for instance, is your business equipped to make a difference in this category?

Additional investment

Entering a new market is always expensive for you have to build a customer base and promote heavily to increase awareness. It is time to check your bank account if you have enough resources to survive this new battle. Do not be tempted to shell out additional money out of your pocket. Ideally, any expansion must come from the income of your existing business.

Profitability vs. Other Business Opportunities

Try to evaluate and compare several business opportunities so you can find which one has a better return on investment and higher projected income over the long haul.

Every business has made some regrettable mistakes that irked some customers. It can be poor customer service, inferior product quality, better competition, or rude sales agents. You must now do some fence mending and find ways to win them back at reasonable cost. There are simple steps to do this:

Identify these Lost Customers

The first thing you should do is to know who these customers are and their reasons for not sticking with your company. This is very easy if you are closely monitoring your customers using a simple database or CRM software. Be careful in your screening for you might include some demon customers in your list.

If their reasons are something you can resolve then include them in your list. If not, simply keep track of them and maybe someday you can serve their needs.

Apologize and Present Peace Offerings

Be sincere in saying your apologies and offer something as a way to prove how serious you are to win them back. It can be a free service, low interest rates or discounts. Visit Ageless Marketing as it analyzes the superb effort and sincerity of JetBlue’s CEO David Neeleman to win back customers. Hopefully, you will embrace this same passion.

Get Feedback

Of course you do not want to lose your customers again, so you must get regular feedback to assess how they are doing. It is advisable that you, the owner, handle these things to have more emotional impact to the customers.

Customers visit your company website for one thing – to get information. More importantly, they want it ASAP, for they can switch to your competitors in just one click of a mouse. Make sure you have the following essential information easily accessible to your online visitors:

After evaluating numerous startup ideas, you are finally down to just one product or service. Your exciting challenge now is where to look for reliable suppliers to support your strategy. In case you are wondering how to do this, you can start with the following:

Trade Shows

A trade show is the gathering place of your future competitors and suppliers. Aside from networking opportunities, you can also gain insights on upcoming trends and learn from many experts sharing their experiences.

Associations

Every industry has its own organizations or associations where you can join and find the right supplier. If you are not sure what association to deal with, just visit the “association search” section of Business Know-How. You can also check the Encyclopedia of Associations available in many public libraries.

Internet

This amazing technology has made supplier search both easy and risky. A quick browse on Google will generate thousands of suppliers around the globe. With outsourcing becoming a trend, you can easily contact overseas suppliers with a simple e-mail or VoIP call.

Conversely, the net is filled with expert scammers waiting for us to make a mistake. Given this situation, you must be extra careful when dealing online. Yahoo! Business to Business directory is a good starting point for entrepreneurs. You can also search for forums related to your industry.

Every entrepreneur must realize that innovation is often essential to survival. We live in a very chaotic business environment where the market is changing fast and customers are more demanding than ever.

Implementing some changes on your products or services does not necessarily mean you are making some innovations. Every change you make must always have a corresponding value before you can call it innovation.

The time is now for you and your team to think outside the box and look beyond your current business practices. You can also experiment with new methods like crowdsourcing. Start innovation now by following these simple steps:

Step 1. Identify the Problem Areas

Review every angle of your business to identify the most common problems encountered such as high inventory, poor cash flow, or inefficient customer service. Brainstorm with your team, talk to some customers, and run a simple survey to verify the problems pointed out.

Step 2. Benchmark

Compare your performance against recognized leaders in your problem areas. Initially, you can compare your process with your main competitors. However, you may need to go beyond that and learn the best practices from other industries as well.

Step 3. Implement and Monitor

This is the hardest part of all. Motivate your people to embrace these changes and reward them for doing a good work. Their commitment is the foundation of innovation.

Want to learn the secrets of top Swedish Innovators like IKEA and Ericsson? visit Endless Innovation for details.

When was the last time you took a vacation? The mere mention of the word “vacation” stresses many entrepreneurs. With numerous pending tasks to do and important decisions to make, it seems that there is no room to take a vacation.

In fact, a new online survey reveals that many Americans now are giving up traditional vacations due to lack of time and money. Don’t be part of this statistic. Understand the value and importance of vacation for you and your family.

Before you take a much awaited vacation to restore balance in your life, you must prepare for your absence. These are some things you can do:

Assign a Temporary Leader

Do not leave without any backup person to take charge of your business. If you have a number of employees this will not be a big deal. If you have a solo business, you can ask some trusted friends or business colleagues to fill in for you.

Inform Your Customers and Suppliers

The last thing you need after a relaxing vacation is a very angry customer. Make sure you inform all your customers about your upcoming vacation and direct them to the assigned backup person. Use technology like automatic response e-mails, voice mail, and even a special announcement on your Website.

The success of our startups is judged on how we meet or exceed our set goals. Mostly, it is all about profitability or hitting our sales quota. Needless to say, our goals set the motivation, focus and direction of our business.

That is why one of top five tips small business owners can learn from Harry Potter author, J. K. Rowling, is not to let anyone, including yourself, sidetrack you from your goal.

Most entrepreneurs get so caught up with daily operations that they forget to take a look at the big picture and overall direction of the company. To avoid committing this grave mistake, the following actions are recommended:

Know the Trends

During down times, research the current and future trends connected with your business. It can be new products, the changing consumer spending patterns, or overall industry performance. This will remind you of the big picture and prompt you to check to see if you need to adjust your goals.

Act Now

Taking the first step is always the difficult part. Stop setting your goals and start running your business NOW. Assess often to determine if the step you are taking now is consistent with your goals.

Develop New Goals

Setting new goals kills complacency and overconfidence brought by your prior successes. Find a new enemy, break new markets, and dominate the entire market. Do not be content with small victories.

There are many things running around the minds of entrepreneurs. We are constantly looking for ways to improve our business, achieve work/life balance, train employees, develop marketing campaigns, handle risks, and manage employees.

For those who do not have a secretary or personal assistant, they rely mainly on organizers, calendars, and memory. Sadly, our lack of sleep and too much stress deteriorate our memory. Even if you are not suffering any memory loss yet, it is better if you and your employees do the following:

• Exercise regularly. A study from New York University School of Medicine has concluded that what you do to improve your physical health may actually go to your head.

• Create a safe working environment. Remove any toxic chemicals harmful to people and serve healthy foods in your cafeteria.

• Sleep at least 6 to 8 hours daily. Lack of sleep worsens memory loss over the long haul.

• Drink Tea or Coffee. Study suggests that drinking 8-ounce cup of coffee revs up brain. In addition, another study suggests drinking tea prevents Alzheimer’s Disease.

Via Sharp Brains Blog

For a very long time in the business world, saying “no” to customers has been considered bad practice. How can we really say no if we have this policy of “customer is king” or “customer is always right”, right? It is even harder for entrepreneurs who have just started building a customer base. While this is difficult, the Trump Blog says saying no is very crucial to business.

You must say no to demon customers and those who are not considered your target market. It is important to train your employees to apply this policy to avoid any possible problems in the future. There are simple steps you must follow to make this approach effective:

Step 1. Set Your Policies and Priorities

Define the scope of your business by categorizing important activities and those that do no fit with your goals and priorities. This will now serve as your guideline when to say yes or no to customers.

Step 2. Give Alternatives

It is not enough to say no to customers, you must try to help resolve their problems. A good way is to provide alternative solutions to their problems or refer them to other companies who can fulfill their needs or wants.

Starting and even experienced entrepreneurs commit many business mistakes in their ventures. Some survived while others eventually folded. One of 5 most common mistakes mentioned by Startup Spark is trying to do everything.

If a task isn’t core to your business try and outsource it. Entrepreneurs are extremely fond of saying they wear many hats (which is true!) but there’s a limit to what’s reasonable in the hat-wearing department. Lots of things can be outsourced, and although you’ll be paying someone else to do the work, you’ll be freeing up precious time of your own. That time will be infinitely more valuable than the money you spend.

There are several benefits you can get from outsourcing some of your non-core business functions:

• More Focus on Your Core Competencies. If marketing is your core expertise, outsourcing sets you free from worrying about the accounting logo design tasks and customer service management. This will give you more time to talk with your customers, tweak your marketing programs, minimize sales mistakes, and develop new products if necessary.

• Improves quality. Outsourcing groups have the expertise you do not possess. That will help improve efficiency and output of your business than doing it in-house.

• Lowers cost and reduces cash outflow. Outsourcing firms have the economies of scale to help bring down your cost. Also, you can stretch your dollar for most outsourcing firms are based in Asia like India and Philippines.

• Less labor problems. No over-complaining or lazy employees to worry about!

A very interesting reference on outsourcing is The Four Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferris.

Going online or setting your own company Website is one of the hottest trends among entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs do not fully understand the importance of managing their sites over the long haul.

According to AllBusiness.com, a survey by a UK-based Internet marketing company has revealed that about 70% of companies surveyed are “compromising their image by failing to update their websites regularly.”

Keep in mind that your Website is a powerful extension of your business identity. It means whatever you do there has significant impact in your total business. Given this statistics, it is safe to assume that many Websites are simply riding the trend blindly. Do not be one of them.

Before you manage your website, try to understand first the purpose of developing it. Usually, it aims to educate customers and promote your products or services. Others simply build an online community to gather customers all over the nation. It is important that you know your long-term directions to identify what contents to add and what to remove in your site.

Once your purpose is clear, consider downloading a free, enriching e-book from Entrepreneur.com that offers 10 east ways to improve your site and 9 moves to avoid. Also, if you’ve decided that your website should have a weblog, visit our sister blog, which discusses building a better website.

Starting a business is a very exciting yet awfully challenging venture. Your passion is overwhelming and you have this great idea that you want to make a reality! Suddenly, reality sets in and fear is now taking over. Are you really ready to start your own business?

There are some issues you need to assess objectively before you quit your job and venture in entrepreneurship. It includes:

Winning qualities

• Do you have the much needed self-determination and self-confidence to turn ideas to realities?
• Are you a self-starter? This measures your ability to work alone, fine tune ideas, and take some risks.
• How much are you willing to sacrifice to succeed in your endeavor? This is not all about money but also time and effort. There are times when you have to work long hours and give up some leisure time.

Business Know-How

Setting up a business is a lot easier if you have knowledge and business skills in people management, sales & marketing, financial planning, and strategic planning. Do not be discouraged if you do not have all these skills. The important thing is you are aware of your capabilities and what skills you need to delegate to other people.

Personal Matters

Some entrepreneurs started out as office employees. The transition can be very shocking to you and your family. Yes, you must involve your family in this big decision because this will have a strong impact on your relationship. More importantly, are you ready to accept that if you fail your whole family will suffer?

In case you are not ready to jump off the cliff and become a full-time entrepreneur, check out Young Entrepreneur’s tips to make this big leap less scary.

Entrepreneurship is a series of negotiations among different parties like suppliers, employees, venture capital firms, tenants, and customers. It requires that you know when to change your negotiating style. Sometimes you need to be tough but there are times when you need to compromise.

You are already familiar with general negotiating tactics like low-balling and silent treatment. It is now appropriate to learn different tactics for different parties.

With Suppliers

As a startup company you do not have enough leverage or advantage to demand lower prices because your starting volume is very low. It may appear you do not have any choice than to agree with the price set and simply ask for small discounts.

The first thing you need to do is to make these suppliers believe in the promising future of your business. To do this, you must have a powerful presentation backed by realistic financial projections. If you manage to impress your suppliers, they will start to lower their defenses and be more flexible with their terms.

Suppliers love to hear “long-term partnership” and I’m sure you do also. Make your promise credible by signing long-term contracts. To make it more appealing you can buy supplies for the next two years. The catch is you demand to spread payments and ask for longer payment terms.

With Landlords

If you need to get rent a commercial office space, The Texas Property Lawyer lists some issues that should be negotiated, many of which are applicable regardless of the state you operate in.

As entrepreneurs it is unavoidable that we must make several business proposals or presentations to different kinds of people. It can be some guys from lending institutions, venture capital firms, angel investors, suppliers, and your regular customers. Not to mention the annual presentation you have to give to your employees regarding the state of your business.

More importantly, you must learn to tailor fit your presentations to each group you are dealing with. In fact, Instigator Blog cites that poor formatting and packaging is one of top ten reasons why proposals fail.

In case you are having a hard time fine tuning your presentations, just follow these rules from the experts:

A veteran of hearing numerous elevator pitches and business presentations, he is advocating that each presentation must have only 10 slides presented in 20 minutes with font size of at least 30.

The Art of Unexpectedness

Presentation Zen says make your presentation stickier by using unexpectedness as your tool.

You can get people’s interest by violating their expectations. Surprise people. Surprise will get their interest. But to sustain their interest you have to stimulate their curiosity. The best way to do that is to pose questions or open up holes in people’s knowledge and then fill those holes, say the authors. Make the audience aware that they have a gap in their knowledge and then fill that gap with the answers to the puzzle (or guide them to the answers).

It’s funny how easy we are easily carried away by one seemingly good business idea. There are moments when we lose our objectivity because we are so passionate about this concept playing in our mind.

Admittedly, some breakthrough innovations were powered by passion combined with courage to venture in unknown territories. However, we need to wake up from our dreams and start facing reality.

Is my business idea viable?

These are the angles you must consider:

Product Benefits

Identify all the benefits your product can give to your intended customers. Once you have a list, compare it with existing brands in the market and start eliminating similar benefits. This will reveal if your product has some strong advantages or simply a me-too product.

Market Dynamics

If you are familiar with the industry this will not be much of your concern. In case you are new in this playing field you must thoroughly research current business practices and future directions of the market.

It also involves identifying direct and indirect competitors in your chosen category or industry. Typewriter is a classic example of business failure due to poor reaction to market dynamics and indirect competition from computers.

For a time, Kodak’s slow reaction to shift to new digital technology nearly ruined the business.

A formal and more rigid approach of this process is called SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) Analysis. A comprehensive post about this tool can be viewed at Internet Marketing for SMEs.

A new survey from online compensation company, Salary.com, brings bad news to all business owners. According this group, employees waste 20 percent of their working day, or about 2 hours per day. The culprit is boredom and not having enough to do.

Instead of doing their jobs, these employees surf the net, gossip with friends, and conduct personal businesses.

For sure even you face this kind of problem with some of your employees. Below are some things you can do to enhance productivity and minimize gossips in your company.

Daily Feedback

Do not wait for quarterly or annual performance evaluation to pinpoint mistakes of your employees. If you see them doing something good or even bad, call their attention immediately and commend or reprimand their action.

No Middle Ground

Sometimes we are reluctant to fire people for different reasons. To be more productive, however, you must let your employees know that there is no such thing as middle ground. If they perform, reward them through incentives or promotion. If not, fire them. This might be harsh to some entrepreneurs but this is something you must do for the good of your business.

Make sure you gather all relevant information first before doing this big decision.

Embrace Technology

Provide and train your people with new technologies that will increase productivity. For instance, using email instead of calling meetings saves time and resources. This is not to say that you will rely solely on technology. You still need to mingle with your colleagues from time to time.

Via Entrepreneur Daily

When starting a business, we rarely think about failure or exit strategy. Maybe because of our overflowing self-confidence and passion to succeed, we completely forgot about this. We are often too busy raising capital, spying on the competition, and improving operations.

PowerHomeBiz asks 3 basic questions when starting a business. We must be fully prepared to answer the 3rd question:

If the business fails, how will it affect me and my family? As a family man with 3 kids, he always looks at the risks involved and the odds of his success. While he doesn’t believe in playing it safe, he also does not want to go blindly into something and lose everything his family has.

But why do small businesses fail?

Among hundreds of reasons, there are are two common ones: Lack of research and poor financial control.

Lack of Research

Without thorough understanding of the market and comprehensive competitor analysis, you can never compete competently and will miss important market trends. This will provoke you to take actions without thinking.

Poor Financial Control

Eager to gain more customers, we tend to overspend on our marketing and sampling initiatives. Eventually, it will lead to insufficient working capital and business closure.

There are different bootstrapping options available to raise capital for our startup ventures. One of the methods is the use of credit cards. Startup Journal reports that this approach has gained popularity among entrepreneurs.

Card spending by small businesses on tax payments and preparation alone jumped by 80% in the 12 months ended February 2007, according to a report by Visa USA, based on data about spending on Visa cards by 600 small businesses during that period.

Now you’re wondering if this method is a practical solution to your startup needs. The answer depends on your objective.

When used to temporarily fill your financial gap, the answer is YES. Since many credit cards are not designed for small businesses, using this method is very risky. So, it must be used sparingly and only as a temporary solution to your problems.

Entrepreneurs usually resort to credit cards after being turned down by banks or other traditional lending institutions. Once you recover from your cash flow problem, try asking your local banks again for loans and refrain from using your credit card this time.

What happens when you are burned out every single day yet your small business is still not performing the way you envision it to be? Frustration and fear of failure set in. Suddenly, you find yourself without motivation to work for another day.

At some time in our business, we all feel lost and without purpose. Even successful small business owners encounter low motivation. Do not worry for this is just a normal phase we’re facing as entrepreneurs.

In case you’re in this situation now, try to follow these tips:

• Kick back and relax. Take time out from your busy schedule, have time with your family or friends, go to retreat centers or spas. Do anything that will take your mind away from your business.
• Have a Break. If it is impossible now to spend some time off, slow down a bit by setting your own break time. More importantly, give your self enough time to contemplate in total silence. Working too much limits your mind on operations and these down times will help you visualize the big picture again.
• Have a goal. Moller Marketing has an interesting post how having a goal is strongly connected with self-motivation.

Entrepreneurship is all about survival. We face growing responsibilities every single day that are sometimes beyond our knowledge and experience. Yet, we struggle to make ends meet and deliver what we promise to our customers.

Young Entrepreneur shares some practical pointers about survival:

This will mean sacrifices. Maybe you have to take a part time job until you have enough money to support yourself. You also might need to take on clients who might not seem “ideal” at first. You can always fire them later on when you have a more solid base of support but money is money and you will need anything you can get your hands on when you are first starting a business.

Here are additional survival tips that you can apply to your business:

• Ask questions. You have so many things to learn only if you just ask the right questions to the right people. This can be other small business owners who faced similar problems you’re now encountering or reliable small business forums.
• Be flexible. Always keep an open mind whenever you’re observing your current process or strategies. If it’s not working, change it right away. In most cases it just requires some minor tweaking but be ready for a major turnaround if needed. Sometimes, you must go beyond your current business practice to differentiate your business against competition.

We often associate business plans with startup companies. However, this is a big mistake for many entrepreneurs – it is vital in managing your long-term growth as well.

Without a good business plan, you will likely react to competition instead of dictating the game. AllBusiness’ 60-second guide to managing growth highlights the importance of this plan:

Revisit Your Business Plan. Your business plan doesn’t go up on the shelf just because your start-up phase is over. Refer to it often to make estimates that accurately reflect today’s realities. Even subtle changes in the marketplace may require you to alter existing contingencies and develop new ones.

As you continue to boom you will face more difficult challenges and make tougher business decisions. Aside from managing growth, other advantages of updating your business plan include:

• Monitor progress by comparing your goals and objectives with the actual results.
• Adjust your strategies based on current and emerging trends
• Allocate your limited resources to critical areas
• Identify your strengths, opportunities, weaknesses, and threats

As entrepreneurs, we all dream that our startup business will be an overnight success or how landing one deal can make a big difference in our business ventures. This may be because of our strong orientation towards fairy tales and about living happily ever after.

These dreams also affect the way we view success of our business. We criticize companies who do not earn much within a year or consider them as failure right away.

However, success lies in patience and diligence. Some adjustments are necessary along the way and we must work hard to get our desired outcome. What can be a very inspiring example of this is the struggle of Seth Godin, marketing guru and author of top-selling books like The Purple Cow.

His social networking site called Squidoo was highly criticized because it did not turn out as an overnight success. According to Small Business Trends:

People were quick to predict that Seth would fail. After all, Squidoo was not that famed “overnight” success. Seth paid no attention – he kept working at it. If something didn’t work out, he changed it. In fact, as he notes, most of what Squidoo did at first was wrong, and they figured the right way to do it as they went along.

So, do not be disheartened if your business fails to meet your initial targets. Instead, make some adjustments on your strategy, study competition well, and work hard to improve your operations.

Calling a business meeting is the first thing we do when we want to solve different problems encountered or when we want to inform the team about something big. However, some entrepreneurs and business executives are guilty of abusing this very important business activity.

Every problem now requires a team meeting. But if you evaluate all your past meetings you will realize that most of them are worthless. It’s a waste of time and money. According to The Dictionary of Corporate Bullshit, meetings are defined as “Excellent forums for observing the subtle humiliation of various staff members and management intimidation techniques.”

Funny but very true and tragic. There are different ways to cure this rather recurring problem. In addition to Instigator Blog’s 7 ways to avoid pointless meetings, here are some more tips:

1. Think of ten reasons why this meeting is not important. Alternately, challenge the importance of each agenda. If you can think of rebuttal in less than 2 minutes then call it off.
2. Embrace Technology. Some issues can be easily solved via e-mail, phone calls, or personal visits to the people involved. No need to drag the whole team.
3. Set up a Friday Stand up Meeting. If a meeting is needed set it on Friday, 4 PM, and without any chair at all. Since we all want to go home early during weekends and we’re not used to standing up for a long time, members will limit discussions on important topics and avoid any nonsense chitchats.

In the first Work/Life balance post we emphasized the importance of time management and embracing new technologies to improve the quality of your life. This time it is all about taking time to relax despite our busy schedules.

Unlike an office setting where there is a regular working period, being an entrepreneur requires you to be ready all the time. Our drive to excel in our chosen field most of the time can result in physical, mental, and emotional fatigue. Then our perspective gradually shifts for we see relaxation now as a luxury not as a necessity. In case you fit this description, it’s time to kick back and relax. Here are some tips:

Lifehack recommends that you make a list of what you must leave behind during vacations or relaxations such as:

Your laptop, your BlackBerry, your PDA, any paperwork from the office, any work-related reading matter. You must treat those as a recovering alcoholic should treat beer, wines, or spirits: absolutely forbidden!

Life Coach’s Blog says do not wait until you are dead to relax. Moreover, Great Bodies recommends that you think of relaxation as an investment.

As you enter the world of entrepreneurship there will be many misconceptions you need to come to grips with. Some have glimmer of truth while others are completely baseless. These startup urban legends are destroying the entrepreneurial spirit and driving many people towards business failure.

The most interesting of all is The Myth About Creation Myths, an insightful article exposing the myth about great businesses starting in garages just like YouTube and Apple.

In other words, companies aren’t born in garages. Companies are born in companies.

Consider two of the founders of YouTube, Steve Chen and Chad Hurley. Both cut their teeth at PayPal–in fact, Hurley was one of PayPal’s first employees and even designed its logo. (He is also the son-in-law of James Clark, who founded Netscape and Silicon Graphics.) Top-tier venture-capital firms were calling them, offering money, counsel, and connections, within months of launch. That’s not quite as uplifting as hearing that twentysomething buddies created a cool site to swap videos with friends.

Aside from these garage stories there are many other myths haunting starting entrepreneurs:

“The Best Advice is Free” is one of the seven deadly small business myths listed by IdeaMarketers.

Read why routermods.com thinks “a brilliant idea will make you rich” is one of his Top Ten Geek Business Myths.

On the other hand, “It’s hard to get a bank loan to start a business” is a startup myth according to Business Opportunities and Ideas.

Most people are afraid and sometimes annoyed about the changes encountered in their personal and professional lives. Maybe it has something to do with fear of the unknown or the laziness to learn new patterns or behaviors.

But if you want to be a full-fledged business owner, you must learn to manage changes positively and productively. After all, entrepreneurship is all about breaking conventions, introducing innovations, and altering perspectives in the midst of intense competition.

Small Business Trends discusses about gradual approach on managing changes.

The bottom line is, that if you start with something you can control, i.e., devoting some small amount of time each day or week to staying current on what is happening around you, change will not seem so dramatic and difficult. You already will be in sync with change. You will have taken the first big step to dealing with change.

Additionally, NFIB shares the ABCs of surviving changes and it begins with A as in Attitude and ends with V for Values. If you look closely, change is all in your mind!

Did you ever consider the contributions of your small business to the economy? Small Business Trends talks about the increasing number of single person businesses based on the latest statistics by US Census.

For proper perspective, US Census defines Nonemployer statistics as “one that has no paid employees, has annual business receipts of $1,000 or more ($1 or more in the construction industries), and is subject to federal income taxes.”

For the past three years the number of single-person businesses has grown each year between 4% and 5%. That means the single-person businesses grow faster than the rate of growth of the U.S. population as a whole (which grows at about 1% a year according to the U.S. Census).

As of 2005, there are 20.3 million single person businesses generating $951 billion annual sales or about 78% of all US businesses! As Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu adequately put, “Great acts are made up of small deeds.” In terms of revenues, real estate logos, construction logos, and technical services are industry leaders.

While this is a positive news on the macro level, it also signals intensive competition in the years to come and more business failures. In one study about success rates of small businesses (PDF, 14 pgs), it is estimated that “businesses with fewer than 20 employees have only a 37% chance of surviving four years (in business) and only a 9% chance of surviving 10 years.”

So, gear up to outsmart and outpace your competitors with innovative marketing programs and strong customer service.

Nevertheless, be proud to be one of the entrepreneurs driving the economy!