Tips to Retain Employees at Your Small Business

Small businesses often have only a handful of employees, and when one leaves, it puts a strain on everyone. The owner or manager must worry about being able to provide enough service or product to the customers and the other employees must take up the slack for the person missing in action, often without additional pay.

Many small businesses cannot afford benefits such as health insurance, dental, retirement, paid vacations, paid holidays and sick days. So how do you keep employees when other companies offer these benefits, and often, more pay?

* Benefits: You may not be able to offer all benefits, but try to offer at least a paid one-week vacation each year. You are already paying the employees to work throughout the year, since they may not take a vacation if it’s not paid. Arrange the schedule so that each employee is off during a different month. If you have fewer than six employees, you can have the employees schedule vacations two months apart.

* Keep Lines of Communication Open: Keep an open-door policy. Your employees are more likely to come to you with problems relating to the job if they know you are approachable. If employees can come to you, you know what is going on with the business and can head larger problems off, thus saving money in the long run. An employee who would normally quit because she or he is unhappy may come to you to look for a solution. You may be able to keep the employee if the employee sees that you are looking out for his or her best interest.

* Define Job Duties: Define each employees job duties clearly. If your employees must cover for others occasionally, make sure it is in their job description. If each job’s duties are clearly outlined, there are no surprises for the employee performing that job, which means that the employee does not feel like you are taking advantage of him or her. This also prevents strife between employees, as each one knows what is expected of the other employees.

* Get Employee Ideas: If you are considering making a change to the business, adding a new product or service, or changing job duties, ask the employees for their input. Your employees are the ones that work with customers all day. They are the ones that hear the customers’ complaints and praises. Have a meeting so that everyone can discuss the new idea. Ask employees for ideas, too, to help bring in more customers or to garner more sales of a particular product or service. This makes your employees feel like they have a stake in the business. Further, your employees may come up with ideas or considerations that you haven’t thought of.

* Praise: Give lots of praise where it is deserved. Employees like to know they are appreciated. A word of praise every now and then shows the employee that you appreciate the work he or she is doing, and that the employee is doing the job to your satisfaction. This goes a long way in reducing employee stress.

* Holiday Benefits: Give the employees something during the holidays. A turkey at Thanksgiving shows the employees that you do care about their well-being, and they are not just someone to complete a job. A holiday party is another much appreciated gesture. You can have a holiday party at the shop/office, at a restaurant, or even at your home. Holding a holiday party at your home means that you do not have to splurge on what could turn into an expensive restaurant meal. You need only a couple trays of finger foods and desserts, which can be inexpensive to make, but much appreciated by your employees. Invite special customers to the holiday party. This shows the customers and employees that they are appreciated: the customers for their continued patronage, and the employees for their superior treatment that brings these customers in over and over again.

* Bonuses: If you must ask your employees to take up slack for an employee that left or that you had to fire, give the employees that are doing the extra work a small bonus. An extra $100 in one paycheck, buying lunch for all employees (pizza, wings or something that may be delivered) or having a dessert party in the afternoon are good, inexpensive ways to say, ¡§Thank you¡¨ and to let your employees know they are appreciated.

* Birthdays: When an employee has a birthday, hold a birthday party. You can either buy a cake in most any grocery store, or, if you are talented in the kitchen, you can make a cake. It’s a small token, but it shows the employees that you think of them, and it’s something to break up the day.

* Year-End Bonus: If you like to give year-end bonuses, put money aside throughout the year, so you have it. Give the bonus to the employee near the beginning of December, so that the employee has a little extra money for whichever holiday she or he celebrates. Consider giving the employees one or two paid holidays per year if you don’t normally provide paid holidays. You don’t have to pay for the entire time off, say for Thanksgiving or Christmas, but paying them for one day helps. This is also something you can put away for throughout the year.

With a little planning, you can effectively give your employees reasons to stay with you, instead of leaving for a better paying job or a job with benefits. Employees like getting attention, especially if you verbally express your appreciation. Small businesses often have money problems during certain times of the year, but that doesn’t have to stop you from showing employee appreciation, and employee appreciation doesn’t have to be expensive.

Marketing and Advertising for Small Businesses

It’s not easy being a small business owner in the 21st century. Large corporations are present in nearly every small American town, often offering lower deals than a small business owner could even imagine. However, small businesses still have shot — not only of surviving, but a shot at being incredibly successful in this cut-throat world. By utilizing the most recent methods of advertising, such as social media outlets, combined with the tried and true traditional advertising methods, small businesses can cater their marketing plans to suit their needs, their clients and their budgets. This will give them a greater presence in the community, while subsequently growing their small business into a success.

Utilize Social Media
One of the best ways for small businesses to advertise their services and shops right now is to utilize the many benefits of social media. All small businesses should have a Facebook page where they can connect with their customers, offering them insight onto the latest happenings with your business — including sales, promotions and the hot new products you have available or a great new service you are offering. Customers are shown to enjoy connecting with their favorite local businesses online, because it is a quick reminder to them about the latest sales and specials. One of the biggest benefits of social media is that the accounts are free — be it a Facebook or a Twitter account, your small business literally cannot afford not to have a presence in the social media world that is dominating today’s society like nothing else.

Take Advantage of Shop Local Campaigns
While corporate stores and global companies dominate the business world today, there has certainly been a movement by much of the American public to get back to basics and begin shopping local again. In the midst of economic hardship, Americans have learned that the important thing is to keep the local economy moving. Small businesses should take advantage of shop local campaigns, and promote their businesses within those campaigns. Be sure to offer specials and deals on Small Business Saturday — which now takes place every year during the busiest shopping weekend, the weekend following Thanksgiving and the kick-off to the Christmas shopping season. Customers who are interested in finding out more about the local shops in their town will easily be able to find, locate and subsequently shop at your store or utilize your services. It’s a great way to connect with the local people in your town who care about their local economy.

Include Offers in Traditional Ads
While there are plenty of ways to advertise in the digital realm, small businesses today shouldn’t ignore the staying power of traditional advertising methods. Consider taking out advertising space in local newspapers, magazines and other print publications, and in addition, advertise online as well. The best way for small businesses to have successful traditional advertising campaigns is to include offers within the advertisement itself. Draw people into your store with a great deal or special on a product that they can get at a larger store, but not at this great price. This is an easy way to get a response from potential customers, and bring them into your brick and mortar location. Once they are there, they will likely spend some time looking at your other products and services which will most likely bring in even more revenue than you originally anticipated.

Trim Your Ads
While it is important to run advertising and marketing campaigns in local print publications and on local websites, it is not always the size of the advertisement that matters in the end. Often, repetition and the number of times a customer sees your ad is more effective and important when it comes to a successful small business advertising campaign. Instead of purchasing one or two large ads that will only run once, consider purchasing a smaller ad space but having that same advertisement run multiple times. Customers will continue to see your advertisement on a weekly or daily basis, which is more likely to keep you and your business at the forefront of their minds. The more they see the ad, the more likely they will be to stop by and check out that great offer you have been promoting for several weeks.

Network with Other Small Businesses
Another way to have a successful advertising campaign as a small business is to team up with the other small business owners in your area. Consider running a joint deal, or a special sales day on your block, so that customers can get the most out of their time and money when they head to your shop downtown. If you are a florist, consider running a deal with the local bakery — perhaps a Valentine’s Day special where guys can get their special ladies a great treat and a beautiful bouquet for one low price. If there are several local businesses in your area, consider holding a special sales day — perhaps one Saturday a month all the businesses could run a 30 percent off coupon, or hold special sales and deals throughout the day. Customers are more likely to come visit when they can take care of several things at once.

Reward Returning Customers
Your returning customers and regulars are your most valuable asset as a small business. Consider sending them the latest promotions a bit earlier than the rest of the public will receive them, perhaps by starting up an e-mail list. Another way to reward existing customers is to offer promotional cards that reward frequent buyers. If you are a local coffee shop, offer customers a free card where they can buy ten drinks and get the 11th drink free. This will keep them returning in order to reap their rewards, and also benefits them as a regular customer. Regular customers are the ones who will be passing along recommendations for your business by word of mouth, so it is important to take care of them and offer them the excellent customer service that they deserve.

Running a small business might be one of the hardest jobs in the world, but it can also be one of the most rewarding. Business owners need to know how to get the biggest bang for their advertising dollars, and also need to know how to locate their target customers. By utilizing more modern methods of advertising without forgetting the importance of traditional methods, small business owners will be far more likely to have successful advertising campaigns. These campaigns will ensure that they get to continue to do what they love for many years to come.

Successful Marketing for your Online Business

When you are building an online business, use several methods of advertising to successfully market your business to people who are likely to be interested in it. Effective advertising contains content that is relevant, showcases your business’s best products and services, and presents an offer for the potential customer to act on right away. Use a combination of methods to get your name out, get previous customers to return for additional purchases, and convert new leads into customers.

Targeted Advertisements
Rather than focusing your marketing on general advertisements, use the targeted advertising systems on websites like Facebook and Google to reach customers who are most likely to buy your services or products. When you create an advertisement, the system allows you to select some key words or demographic features that will define who sees the advertisements. For example, on Facebook, you can target advertisements to people of a specific age, gender, location, or who have a particular interest listed on their profile. Google’s targeted advertisements are largely based on what a person searches for or what key words are in emails they send or receive. Because these advertisements are significantly more likely than regular ads to be seen by people who are interested, they are an effective way to generate business. People can click right over to your online business and buy something right away if they are interested.

Social Media Presence
Create a profile for your business on each of the major social media outlets. In particular, you should have a Facebook page and a Twitter account. On your Facebook page, post photos and videos to help potential customers get a better feel for what your business offers. Also include special coupons that people can only access if they “Like” your business page. Interact regularly by posting updates on your business page’s wall and responding to comments and questions that other Facebook users post to the wall. Use your Twitter account to distribute quick updates about specials to your followers. If they retweet these updates, their followers will see them as well, which can quickly get out news to people who have never heard of your business before.

Email Newsletters
One of the perks of an online business is that people are always just a few clicks away from buying your products. Draw your business to people’s attention regularly by sending out email newsletters with information about sales, new products or services, and useful information about using your products or services. Build a mailing list for your newsletter by gathering email addresses for past customers, including an area on your website where visitors can sign up for your newsletter and by purchasing leads from reputable sources. In each newsletter, include easy links to purchase featured products or services on your website. If you can get people to click through to your website at some point while reading the newsletter, they are likely to browse and may make a purchase.

Search Engine Optimization
When your website shows up in search results from search engines, this is effectively free advertising to highly interested individuals. Therefore, when building your website, focus some of your attention on search engine optimization. This is the practice of using keyword phrases in your website copy, headers, web addresses and page titles to make it more likely that the pages will show up in search results that use those keywords. Having other websites link to yours also increases its search rankings. If you have no experience in search engine optimization, hire a service to help set up your website to get as much traffic as possible.

Regular Blog Updates
Write a blog on your business’s website and update it regularly with posts that are relevant to the people who make up your primary client base. Rather than writing about your products in a promotional fashion, just write posts that provide valuable information that is of general interest to people who would buy your products or services. Of course, when it comes up naturally, you can mention products and services, but you should focus mainly on writing useful content. This will help your business website to show up more regularly in search results, get links from other blogs and to get return traffic from people who bookmark the blog and read it on a regular basis.

Sponsored Blog Posts
Most people read at least one or two blogs on a regular basis, and they usually trust the opinions of the blogger and are willing to take recommendations from the blogger. Therefore, one highly effective way to market your business is to have a blogger mention it in a post. Contact bloggers who write about topics related to the products and services you sell, or who you expect have readers who would be interested in your product, and ask them to write a sponsored post. This is one in which you provide the blogger with a free product or service, and in return, the blogger reviews it in a post dedicated solely to your business. The blogger also links to your online business so the readers can buy from you if the review gets them interested.

Business Cards
Even though your business is online, you should not neglect regular print-based business cards, which are still a highly effective way to get the word out about your business. In addition to carrying some with you at all time to give to anyone you meet who expresses an interest in your business, you should also give business cards to customers who buy from you. If you sell items that you ship to people, include a business card in each order so the person has a visual reminder of your business to find you again next time. You can even include an extra card so the person has another to pass along to a friend. Business cards can also help encourage word-of-mouth advertising that occurs when you or someone else gives your business card away.

How Content Marketing Defines Your Internet Niche

The Internet is designed to share information. It is used for education, advancing new ideas, expressing personal opinions, enhancing name brand recognition, and promoting the sale of products or services. Article marketing sites, also called article directories, help improve the efficiency of this communication process. They establish a number of dedicated marketing outlets. Each article directory provides a multitude of users with the opportunity to give free information in exchange for valid Internet backlinks.

When successfully applied, content marketing is an effective means for expanding your business outreach. It can attract qualified Internet leads, establish long-term customer communications, and be used to define your precise market niche. Companies and individuals post articles that are specific to a given industry or targeted market niche. When the content of the article successfully:

• Engages the desired reader base your company prospers
• Relays relevant information your name brand identity expands
• Establishes a sense of honest information exchange, you gain a reputation for providing expert advice in a given field.

The math is simple. The Internet provides an abundance of free information. Prospective customers seek advice from trustworthy sources. Successful content marketing enables you to establish yourself and your business as an Internet authority in a given field of expertise. It works just as effectively as display ads or PPC, but the cost of playing is much less expensive.

Content Marketing Enhances the Power of Internet Selling

In a recent thread on how to be successful on the Internet, the author penned an eight-word answer: “Produce great stuff and sell it to people.” These words read slick, but they over simplify a very complex task. Unless you are marketing a self-promoting, self-selling product or service, you must engage in some manner of active product marketing.

Reliable business leads are not always easy to generate. The Internet is bloated with information, misinformation and overstuffed information. The competition comes and goes but it never dies. Internet selling may involve the most competitive arena the marketing world has ever faced.

Content marketing provides a cost-effective solution to the greater demands that Internet selling places on modern businesses.

The Concept Made Real: Using Content Marketing To Increase Your Business Leads and Your Internet Authority

Okay. You are now ready to use article marketing as a means of promoting your website or blog. Every content marketing strategy must be designed to meet two primary goals:

1. Targeted Traffic: Whether it relates to product sales, membership promotions, or content subscribers, you need traffic that will remain on your site, return to your site, and eventually become an income generating client in whatever format you have set as the focus.
2. Relevant Links: Article directories are designed to enable you to generate relevant links to your website. These matters pertain to search engine optimized (SEO) keywords. The purposes for search engine optimizing your content falls under a separate subheading of this document. For now, just remember that content marketing helps develop relevant backlinks to your website or blog.

Knowing the purpose of content posting is only half the battle. You must also understand the principles of how to produce content marketing that actually increases your business leads and your reputation as an Internet authority in a your given field of expertise. Furthermore, you must learn what it takes to bring your posted directory content to the top of the search engines. Here are some questions that will help you get started in the right direction:

• What is your area of expertise, your market niche?
• Who is your target market?
• What should be the primary topic for your articles?
• Is your target market large enough to support multiple subtopics?
• What are the subtopics that you might use for additional articles?
• Who is your primary competition?
• How well are they performing in the content marketing field?
• What is your competition doing right?
• What are they doing wrong?
• Which, if any, of your competitor’s articles are making it into the search engines?
• What keywords are they using?
• What synonyms and acronyms can be used to create the same keyword effect?
• What related keywords are producing desired search results through the inline search engines on various popular article directories?
• How much time are you willing to devote to writing and marketing your content?

The Value of Search Engine Optimized Article Content

Perhaps you know the ins and outs of your business niche better than most people know the details of a well-watched classic movie. You can write about it. You can talk about it. You can express the details in terms that most people don’t even understand. Now realize the insufficiency of knowledge alone.

Content marketing is not about being discovered. It is about pushing your content to the top of the information chain. For this, you must learn to utilize the power of search engine optimized keywords. This is a critical line to success. In order to establish your mark as an Internet authority in any field, Internet users must see and read your materials.

Here are a few basic SEO tips:

• Keyword Research: Start by learning how to identify the keywords or key phrases that specifically define the content of your articles and your website. Measure the competition for those keywords or key phrases. Now pick your battleground with care.
• Keyword Tools: These are the doorways into your keyword research. Many Internet vendors present an array of keyword tools, include detailed “how to use” instructions. Start with the Google Keyword Tool.
• Keyword Strategies: This ties into keyword research. The number of free materials available on the subject of keyword strategies exceeds counting. But if you intend to produce content marketing that works, be sure to read up on keyword strategies.

Content Marketing Increases Your Business Leads and Your Presence as an Internet Authority

The conclusion to this discussion is obvious. The online evidence speaks for itself. Content marketing is a powerful and aggressive means for increasing your business leads and establishing yourself as an Internet expert in your given market niche. Don’t pass up this avenue to success. Even if you must hire a ghostwriter to clean up your content and to distribute your image to the article marketing websites, go for it. Content marketing pays off.

Overcoming Obstacles to Achieve Success

Women are making great strides in the business arena, but they still have a long way to go. More than 40 percent of small business owners are women, according to the business website StartRunGrow.com, and women are hailed for their unique style of leadership. That unique style, however, is not enough to fully overcome overt gender discrimination, false beliefs and stereotypes that still run rampant in the workplace.

In many cases, men still receive higher pay than women for doing the exact same job. Men are also more likely to receive promotions and move up the corporate ladder, especially in firms where false beliefs and stereotypes about women remain engrained.

One false belief is that women do not want to work in the first place. If they do work, there is no way they are as dedicated to their jobs as guys are. This means, of course, women are not willing to do any overtime or relocate.

People often think women’s dedication to their families detracts from women’s dedication to their careers. This means women will always put their families before their jobs – even if the women are single with no children. The topper is that women are too emotional to lead. After all, they do tend to cry at sappy greeting card commercials and chick flicks.

The macho attitude also comes into play when men who hold firm to their stereotypical beliefs are stuck with a female boss. Such a situation actually has the power to make a man feel ashamed that he must answer to a woman in the workplace.

Other pseudo fears men have about women bosses include the woman’s lack of knowledge and confidence in the business arena, a woman’s inability to perform complicated tasks and the fact that they are so hard to please. The latter false belief makes an especially dandy excuse for men who turn in shoddy work. If she’s telling me my work is not right, a man may think, it must mean she’s never satisfied no matter what type of job I’ll do.

Another false belief is that women must act like men in order to successfully lead. This belief was strong in the 1980s and resulted in masculine-styled “power suits” with obnoxiously overstuffed shoulder pads. Women thought they needed to keep up with football scores – or look like a football player – to compete in a man’s world. On the flipside of the issue, if a woman dresses more feminine at work, she can often be labeled a sexpot or worse.

While some of these beliefs are laughable, they still prevail, as does the flack women often receive for being assertive in the workplace. Women are often seen as not being aggressive enough – yet when they exhibit aggressive behavior, they are often labeled a witch, to put it mildly. On the other hand, when women lead in a manner that is nurturing and kind, they are often seen as spineless, weak and incompetent – although great for a chat around the water cooler.

Tips for Overcoming Stereotypes and Achieving Success

Rather than trying to lead “like a man” or “like a woman,” GenderSmart Solutions President Jane Sanders suggests women kick out the set styles altogether and lead with flexibility as each situation merits. She notes that sticking with a single leadership style can perpetuate the stereotypes rather than help eradicate them.

Another major key for overcoming the stereotypes is for women to just be themselves. If a woman is naturally outgoing, her leadership style should reflect that, just as an introspective woman should lead with her natural abilities in mind. Women can do well by not trying to live up what style is expected, but rather by focusing on their strengths and leveraging them to their advantage in the business arena.

Women can also pay attention to the way they interact and communicate in the workplace. Certain behaviors may also be reinforcing the stereotypes without women even realizing it, Sanders notes. These include exhibiting a lack of confidence by seeking validation at every turn as well as adding disclaimers to your work. “This is a good idea, right?” exemplifies the former while “I would have done a better job on this but…” exemplifies the latter.

Other changes women can make include getting rid of constant apologies, taking credit for their work and otherwise making sure their progress in the workplace is known. Providing a boss with regular updates on a project can work well, which is a way to show you are working toward a solution or answer to an issue. Making decisions without the consult of several other people is also a plus, showing a woman’s independence, self-confidence and ability to think for herself.

Women who are succinct, to the point and confident about their work are seen as much stronger and more effective than those that ramble on aimlessly or cower in the face of conflict. When conflict does arise, women can exhibit even more confidence by dealing with directly but also with a touch of empathy, Sanders says. When a woman has center stage she needs to learn how to keep it. She should not tolerate interruptions, although a polite response to “please hold that thought while I continue” works better than an abrupt or curt comment.

Keeping a personal life personal is another must for women. Since the stereotype about family already prevails, keeping talk of them out of the workplace may help diffuse the false beliefs. Women also do well by keeping other personal details private, such as weekend plans, new boyfriends or trouble with the hubby. Any mention of drinking, sex or redecorating the kitchen can and may be used against her.

Trying to talk people out of their stereotypical beliefs generally does not work, notes StartRunGrow.com. Some of those beliefs may be so instilled it would be easier to draw water from a rock. Action always speaks louder than words and women should instead keep a positive attitude and not be afraid to proudly display their strengths. Such action can allow their true talents and value to the workplace shine through.

Hesitate to make sales calls? Rushing to lose money?

Procrastination: the great wealth thief. We’re not talking about reading important journals or writing thank you notes. How many games of solitaire do you play before getting on the phone? How many idiotic emails do you receive? And forward? Time wasters, that great sucking sound you hear coming from your wallet. When you hesitate to make a call, you hurry to lose extra income.

Want to know how expensive a computer game is? Forget the price. Multiply the number of times played by the number of minutes each time and the number of business days. For example, 10 minutes x 2 times x 250 work days = 5000 minutes/year. That’s more than one working day per year.

Are you an average sales person? Above average? That’s 1000 prospect calls per year. If you meet three prospects for a sales interview out of ten calls, that’s 300 sales calls – more than one per day. If you sell one out of three of these prospects, that’s 100 extra sales per year.

What’s your average commission? Let’s use $100 for this example – $10,000 per year to play solitaire. Are you hesitating to make calls, getting “mentally ready”, or just rushing to lose money? And yes, you can make four more prospect calls per day.

When your inner doubts bully your dialing finger, the delay costs you money, commission, prestige, even vacations and prizes. Why do we let this happen?

Rituals mollify our subconscious mind. Do you have a morning routine to ready for work? Professional athletes are notoriously superstitious on game day. Completing the routine assures our brains we’re ready to go.

But has the ritual always been the same? How do we learn these habits? How do we create better habits? Rituals change over time. If you grow a beard, your shaving and grooming habits change. If you shave your head, you alter your showering technique. So, changing goals or styles lead to a change of habit. Intrigued?

Change your morning ritual and make four sales calls to prospects to replace whatever your particular time waster is… crossword puzzle? Origami? Listening to the radio waiting for your favorite song? Delete these routines and replace them with starting your marketing correspondence as early as possible. At the end of the day, you can decide to work later if needed, but you can’t decide to work earlier.

Habits are replaced, not broken. The following rules help you replace time wasting habits with productive ones. Follow these rules and sell time-effectively.

Good Habit #1

Set a time to write and answer personal emails, texts, social networking, and similar activities for the end of the day only, and strictly abide by this schedule. Your social life is important, but not urgent.

When you behave as though social networking is more important than marketing calls, in your mind, it will become more urgent. Prioritize marketing first.

Some psychologists refer to “tomorrow thinking”, as in its best to start this task later. If you consider prospecting calls onerous, you are more likely to hesitate to make that first call. Prospecting gets you closer to a sale. This task is most important.

Decide when to work and how many hours. Stick to this schedule and do not let time wasters creep in.

Good Habit #2

Write notes confirming meetings, e-mail clients, check your calendar and call list, then start calling. Call the entire list. Replace that time wasting behavior with morning organizational tasks. They are easy, non-confrontational, and very useful. This activity can be part of the mental commute to work, personal business to business.

Activity decreases worry and discomfort. Worry depends upon a negative prediction of future events. How well do you predict the future?

Excuses like it may be a bad time to call or suppose I have the wrong name, or number, delay calling. This bad habit is contingency tomorrow thinking. It may be inconvenient to call later too; nobody can predict the optimal time.

Here’s a prediction: if you waste 5000 minutes per year in non-productive, time wasting pursuits, you’ll be $10,000 poorer.

Self deception is a powerful mental tool. Hesitators tend to use the deception to not act; but it is just as powerful in focusing on tasks. Once you have a useful “begin work” ritual, such as opening your email and answering only business related correspondence, or better yet, isolating the two functions using two email servers, your mind will be all business.

Ironically, when you use the end of the day personal correspondence strategy, this will mentally trigger your work to social mental commute. True recreation begins.

Good Habit #3

Do not joke about your slow starts or hesitation in calling prospects.

Joking distances the joker from the severity of the procrastination, unless you find a joke to fit the loss of income punch line,

Admit this hesitation is problematic, and then return to Good Habit #1.

Successful marketing and sales require routinely prospecting for new opportunities. Unfortunately, calling is often the most neglected, delayed, or avoided activity although potentially the most important.

Train your mind to understand and focus on this activity. Think about the cost of playing computer games or doing crossword puzzles when hesitating to begin or complete your call list. And by the way, your prospects and clients deserve your undivided attention.

Don’t rush to lose money.

Finding the Store Front that Fits Your Business

People love to shop stores that are unique and fashionable. So the unspoken challenge is for small business owners to have a store that appeals to and attracts people to their shop. The best place to start with any remodeling project is the store’s front. The store front is the very first thing that people see. Their impression of the place is set within the first 30 seconds of them coming up to the store. It is imperative to have a store front that is inviting and appealing.

Stores that are Visible on the Street

The store front of a business is often set by the real estate that they own or lease. In some case the owner of the property of leasing agent may already have a set standard for all the store fronts. However, they still allow certain freedoms for business owners to choose the right display for them. It is important to design the front display very well so it does not become an embarrassment to the store.

Storefronts give people their first impression of a business. Ideally, they lure people in by providing an image of quality and making them curious about what the store holds. A well designed front display will provide benefits to the store for years to come.

When first starting out with the design process, it is important to know your own limitations. If you are a person who has trouble designing displays, then it might be beneficial to hire a professional to assist in the design process. The designing agent will be able to guide and direct in what colors and styles fit your business the best. Be sure to always check with local codes and laws so you meet all the set standards of building codes and zoning laws. There is nothing worse than to put up a display and have to tear it down because the zoning laws were not followed. So be sure to educate yourself accordingly.

When you have educated yourself on all the regulations, then it is time to start with the design process. There will be many choices for you to choose from as you head down to the road towards completion. It is important to pick a design and stick with that same one. Changing your mind in the middle of project only causes longer delays and higher costs to the store. So it is important to listen to the design agent and stick with your choices.

Store fronts have to fit in with all the surroundings. The colors should attract people and not repel them. For instance, if you own a furniture store, you might want to consider choosing colors that are warm and inviting so people will feel more at home. If your business is within the food industry, it might be a good idea to have colors that fit the mood of your establishment. Colors play an important part of how any display looks to the public.

Another thing to consider is what kind of material the display should be made from. How the store front is positioned will dictate the types of material that are to be used. Stores that face the sun should consider using a material that does not reflect the light so much. Nobody likes to go into a store and get blinded by the sun’s rays. If you are in a position to choose material freely, and then choose a material that will last a long time. Stone and brick are materials that have proven themselves over time. Signs should be made of light weight material that can withstand bad weather and extreme temperature changes.

Store fronts should also appear to be very open. Having large display windows allows people to see what is inside the store and allows light to fill the space. A well lit and open store is always fun to shop in. Large windows allow for people to shop with ease and comfort. They also give the store a demanding presence within the community.

Stores that are Visible on the Internet

The internet has opened up a whole new realm for business owners to sell their merchandise. In the past store owners were limited to customers that lived in the same region that they were located in. In today’s competitive environment they now have the opportunity to show themselves to people all around the world.

In order to take advantage of the ever growing market it is important for a business to have a well designed website. A website allows customers to shop and learn about a particular business without having to live in the same region. So it is important to have a website with an inviting store front that is attraction.

A well designed website will be inviting to everyone that comes across the page. Any business that is serious about marketing their merchandise will create a site that limits the number of third party ads to the buyer can shop with ease. The home page of the site should be inviting and contain content that catches the reader’s attention. The goal of the home page is to give an overview of the site and display the best merchandise available for purchase.

The colors should be well chosen and not be a distraction. Consult with a design host specialist as to what colors work best for online content. Once the colors are chosen make sure to have a format for all the pages. Customers like to see simple but well organized pages to shop from.

The goal of the store front should be to allow the reader to transact business as easy as possible. If a person has to struggle to make a payment they are more likely to cancel the transaction rather than struggle through a tough system. By keeping the design simple and professional you will attract more customers who want to do business with your store.

Tune Your Inner Voice to Success

Garbage In! Garbage Out! Even the most advanced computer does not match the potential of the human mind. Who would treat their mind like an old computer tossed in a pile of rubbish? Every person on the planet has that inner voice that has been referred to as the conscience since the beginning of time. We can be a prisoner of it when we have guilt without forgiveness, sorrow without joy, fear without assurance, and defeat without victory. The list will continue throughout our life as worry without dependence, hate without love, doubt without faith, value without self-worth, and many other elements that can cause our inner voice to keep us from reaching our potential. Without having to go through these hurdles of life, we would not be ready for larger battles that are ahead. When you were a kid, you may have had the challenge of raising a pet. As an adult, you possibly are in the process of raising a family. The inner voice aids us through these life experiences. From the simplest tasks to impossible feats, the inner voice can help us turn those stumbling blocks into stepping stones, when we are willing to take the steps for a better tomorrow.

Think Like Your Child Self

When children are small, they are both trusting and vulnerable. They notice the little things like bright colors, little creatures, pretty flowers, and things that make them smile. They are not afraid to share their feelings and do not let people keep them from asserting themselves. They are very forgiving little people who are very resilient to defeat simple tasks, such as learning to walk. As adults, we are more mature, but some of the simplistic aspects our own childlike approach to life should never change. If you stop being a child, you will stop learning, growing, and reaching.

Know the Reason for the Inner Voice

You only have one mind. Steps to success will be limited by their own volition, or by those whom they have allowed themselves to mimic. The inner voice is designed to act as the conscience. It tells us stealing, murder, child abuse, and other horrific acts are wrong. It acts as our guide when we accomplish great ventures. It acts as a teacher and coach to help others get through their own hurdles, and back on track.

White Balance Your Inner Voice

The white balance effect of a camcorder is when the camera lens is set to a white background so the colors of the shoot will be more true. The inner voice will reflect the image it sees in the back of your mind. If your sense of morality has been altered, your inner voice will be distorted. This is why people who have been addicted to drugs alter their minds to think that what they are doing is okay even when it may hurt others. Likewise, people who think they are failures have been fed the mental drug of defeat. The inner voice can only speak the truth when the mind has been fed the truth. You are not ugly, worthless, or unable to succeed.

Know the Enemies of the Inner Voice

The world has a lying voice that says it cares. It will trap you in places you would not want to be. It will also move out of the way of someone who knows where they are going. Self has a voice that remembers past failures. It can be unforgiving and the cause of defeat. It will be the final decision maker, so handle it with care. Like the conscience that helps us know the difference from right and wrong, there is a voice from the unknown that distorts what is truth. It will send you down the path of defeat. This is the voice that literally brings thoughts into the mind that we never know where they came from. Flee from them.

Feeding our Mind Becomes a Carbon Copy

Your inner voice has a recording device that will replay everything you have ever let enter. Its diet is based upon what you feed it, and the protein that provides the energy to succeed will be based upon the quality of the mental food ingested. Everything you see, feel, and touch adds to the memory in the channel of experience. Tragedy strikes and brings trouble. The birth of a child brings joy. These things become a natural part of life, and the inner voice becomes a product of those life experiences. However, the things we let enter our minds can have a bigger impact by the places we go, the people to whom we listen, and the books we read.

Expect Greatness

No one is born without purpose. Zig Ziglar, a famous motivational speaker, says we have to get rid of the “stinkin’ thinkin’”. Also, he says that you will be like the books you read and the people you listen to in the next five years. Where are you headed? Do not be afraid to change. If you feed it, success will come. It may not be in the form of material wealth or fame. However, it will make a difference in your life and those around you.

Small Business vs Large Business

In the world of business there are differences that a person needs to know about when seeking to start their own business or seeking a place to work. When a person starts up a business they find out right away that there are things that define their business. People seeking the best place to work should realize that a small business can offer things a large corporation cannot offer and a larger business has things a small company cannot offer. So what are the difference between a small business and a large corporation?

Differences of Small versus Large

When people think about the differences between a large and small business environment the first thing that comes to mind is the amount of resources that each one has. Resources can be in the form of money, equipment, real estate space, personnel and community influence. When comparing large and small businesses it is easy to see that a small business may not have as much money as a large corporation. What is often not seen is that a small business can have a much greater impact in the community than a large business. A local office often has its pulse on the community and they begin to form long lasting personal relationships with their customers. A large corporation may have a satellite office in the area but it is often limited to just employees and will not allow the community access to the site. It is for business only and not for shopping.

For the person seeking a great place to work there are things about each type of business that they need to consider. A small business is often limited in career advancement. An office that only employees a few people lacks the promotional ability that a large corporation has. The larger the business becomes the more opportunities there are for moving up the career ladder. On the other side of the issue a small business has more to offer than a large business. A small business tends to have an atmosphere that is more like family. People get to know each other better and they realize that when one of the workers is struggling the whole company struggles. Each one shares in the success and failures of another coworker.

One thing that affects both a small business owner and a person seeking a place to work is the flexibility of a small business over a large corporation. A smaller business has the ability to more mobile than their larger competition. Should there be a need to move a small business can perform the action quickly and without much strain on the employees. A large business has to plan and strategize the entire process from start to finish and they have to hire a moving company to haul all the equipment to the new location. However, a large corporation usually more flexibility when it comes to vacation time. A worker may be given a few weeks per year that they can take for time off. In a small business there usually is not a person to carry on the duties of the employee that is missing. In a large corporation the work load can be distributed to other coworkers and things move forward as normal.

What is Similar of Small Versus Large

One thing that a small business has the same as a large corporation is that both can operate effectively by using best practices. Best practices are plans that are followed so the flow of business operates smoothly. The flow chart for operation may be different in size for each business but the principles are still the same. Both companies will have better customer service and they will find that they will have more sales as a result of following best practice methods.

Another area that small and large businesses have in common is that they seek to hire only the best qualified people. No business great or small wants to hire someone who cannot perform the job duties that are assigned to them. A small business owner will often interview the job seeker personally and a large corporation will have a human resource person screen applicants but they both are seeking the same result; a person who is qualified to fill the vacate position. No business wants to hire a person that will not stop up to plate and deliver their very best.

Small businesses and large corporation have areas that are vastly different and they have a few that are the same. When seeking to start up a business or seeking a place to work a person needs to consider all the differences and similarities between both environments so they can make the best decision for what they are seeking to accomplish.

Maintaining Work/Life Balance

Meeting the constant demands of a fast-paced workplace is challenging for every small business owner. As the person in charge of your company and livelihood, you may feel pressure to work 12- to 16-hour days to manage the many aspects of your business. This high workload inevitably leads to stress and burnout. Taking time to yourself to maintain work/life balance is essential to the success of your business.

The Importance of Maintaining Work/Life Balance

Chronic stress negatively impacts your health and ability to efficiently run your business. Stress is associated with high blood pressure, cardiovascular problems, fatigue, insomnia, irritability, and reduced longevity. Lesser-known side effects of chronic stress include mental fuzziness, poor memory, impaired decision-making abilities, and mental burnout. These cognitive effects of stress directly impact the success of your small business, making work/life balance a priority for any business owner. Achieving work/life balance is the result of reducing the daily demands of your job as well as increasing the time you dedicate to relaxing and recharging.

Get Organized

Staying organized is key to managing the stresses of business ownership. Begin by monitoring both work-related and personal activities for at least one week. Write down the time of day, how much time the activity took, and whether it was a regular appointment or unexpected activity. Carefully assess your schedule, cutting the length of time you spend on unimportant or unhelpful activities and focusing on the ones that matter most.

After analyzing your schedule, make more efficient use of your time by using a calendar or planner to mark deadlines for filing important paperwork, completing projects, or reaching key goals. Rather than scheduling meetings throughout your day or week, try to set aside blocks of time to have multiple back-to-back meetings. This frees up uninterrupted time for you to complete other business tasks without intrusions. Consider using a whiteboard or computer spreadsheet to make lists of things you need to do; sorting them by time sensitivity and importance helps you prioritize your work.

Delegate

In the beginning stages of your business, you were likely involved in every aspect of its organization and operations. As your business grows, it is no longer reasonable to expect yourself to perform every task or oversee all operations. Facilitate better work/life balance by delegating responsibilities. Hire trusted employees to take over the day-to-day operations of the business. Consider recruiting a chief financial officer or chief operations officer to decrease your overall work burden. After hiring these individuals, trust them to effectively perform their jobs without micromanaging their work. Schedule regular meetings with staff to ensure they perform efficient, high-quality work that meets your expectations.

Take a Vacation or Spend Time With Your Family

One of the joys of being a business owner is being your own boss and setting your work schedule. However, owning a business also means that you constantly must worry about the health of your company. Schedule vacation time for yourself several times each year to relax, recharge, and refresh your mind. Whether this is a weekend getaway or a longer vacation, commit to using the time to reduce your stress. Resist the urge to check your work email and refuse to make calls to the office for the duration of your getaway. Instruct your staff members not to contact you unless there is a serious work crisis. In the absence of any real emergency, reading work-related emails simply prevents you from maintaining the work/life balance you need.

Unplug from Technology on a Daily Basis

In addition to taking vacation time throughout the year to restore balance to your life, make it a priority to prevent your business from consuming your waking hours. Smart phones, computers, and other technological advances make it easy to monitor the operations of your business 24 hours per day. However, spending too much time thinking about work prevents you from enjoying the moments you spend with family and friends, reading a book, or spending time outdoors. Commit to turning off your cell phone and computer at a certain time each evening or during all family events to resist the temptation to monitor your work. Making a conscious decision to disengage from technology allows you to appreciate your time away from the office and maintain work/life balance.

Nurture Your Body Through Healthy Living

Because chronic stress has such a devastating effect on your body and mind, it is important to take care of your physical health. To combat high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and chronic fatigue, incorporate physical activity into your routine every day. Aim for 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per day reduce your stress and improve your overall health. If you find it difficult to make time to get to the gym, break your workout into smaller 10-minute segments. Walking, biking, swimming, dancing, gardening, golfing, or jumping rope count as aerobic activities. Also maintain a healthy diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole-grain foods, and lean protein.

Taking care of yourself, scheduling personal time to de-stress, and delegating work responsibilities improves your work/life balance and ensures the success of your business.