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Category Archives: Small Business
8 Strategies for Pricing Your Products
As a small business owner, you know how difficult it can be to determine appropriate prices for your goods and services. Ask too much and you’ll turn customers off to your business. Ask too little and you’ll be shortchanging yourself. The key to pricing all lies within the psychology of the consumer. Here are 8 strategies for playing into consumer psychology and coming out on top of the pricing game.
Promoting Satisfaction. If you haven’t done this yourself then you probably at least know someone who has…joining a gym that offers a one-time fee, going for the first few months, and then quitting only a few months after joining, even after paying for a full year! When consumers pay for a service regularly, say once a month, they perceive that service as having more value than a service they pay for only once. And when they perceive that it has value, they will continue to use it. Keep your… Continue reading
Posted in Marketing, Small Business, Uncategorized
Tagged Marketing, pricing, Small Business
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5 Steps to Starting Your Business, Even When the Money’s Not There
Let’s face it, there are very few things more attractive than being your own boss. In fact, thousands of entrepreneurs start their own businesses each year. They don’t have some magic formula for success, however. They simply make the conscious decision to turn that business idea into a reality. What about you? Are you ready to take the first steps towards being your own boss? If you’re like most first-time entrepreneurs, your primary concern is probably money…or lack thereof. But even if you don’t have the funds ready right now, there are still some steps you can take toward starting your own business.
Journal. Jot down any and every idea you have about your business, whether it seems huge and significant or minor and meaningless. Carry your journal with you everywhere you go…in the car, to the store, to your current job. Not only can you keep track of the great ideas you’ve already though of, but… Continue reading
Posted in entrepreneurs advice, Small Business
Tagged entrepreneurs, entrpreneurship, Small Business, start up
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5 Small Business Trends You Should Know About
If your products and services are available to consumers online, then there are some very clear ways to take advantage of the latest internet business trends. Take note of these 5 latest trends and let them work for you.
Fall in Love With Google. Even consumers looking for local companies with whom to do business search online first. In fact, eMarketer reports that 6 of 10 people looking for local businesses began their search online. This means that you need to learn how to optimize your website so that your business will get top Google rankings. If you need to learn more about search engine optimization, contact an internet marketing expert or SEO professional. The bottom line is that if you’re not taking advantage of the business that Google can bring you, you’re simply not realizing your full potential.
Another thing to consider is that if a potential customer is already interested in your company, he or she will likely search for your company on Google. Thus your website may be one of the first impressions a potential customer gets of your business. This means that you need… Continue reading
5 Keys to Successful Business Blogging
One of the most difficult things to learn as a small business owner using the internet for inbound marketing is how to create good content. Business blog content has to walk the fine line between being the same old advertising spiel and still being useful for marketing purposes. Here are 5 ways to ensure that your business blog will enhance your business.
Optimize Your Content. Every post you write needs to be optimized. That’s right…every post. Start off by determining how successful your content is. How many people read your post and how long did they stay on your page? How did they get to your post? Did they comment on it? Use this data as you create future posts. It can help you… Continue reading
9 Keys to Motivating Your Employees
If you’re a business owner, you know that one of the most difficult aspects of your job is finding and retaining good employees. After all, your business is only going to be successful if you have high-quality people working for you. Here are 9 keys to motivating your employees.
Make the Job Meaningful. Your employees won’t be satisfied unless they feel that the work they’re doing is meaningful. They need to feel like they add value to the company. Not only does the… Continue reading
5 Ideas for Dealing with the Credit Crisis
If you’re a small business owner, you’re all too aware of the current economic crisis and how it’s affecting small businesses all over the country. The most profound effect of the economic crisis is in the availability of credit. The news is grim, but it doesn’t have to paralyze your business.
Here are 5 ways to deal with the credit crisis and its effect on your small business.
Diversify Your Borrowing. Big banks have really gotten themselves into a quandary with messy mortgages, but local banks have primarily remained outside of the mortgage disaster. Try visiting community banks to find out what they have to offer you. Many local banks are highly interested in lending to companies that keep money within the community. Peer-to-peer borrowing is another option that you might consider, and is attractive to private lenders for the same reason that community banks are interested in lending to businesses who will keep… Continue reading
14 Olympic Lessons
You would’ve had to have been living under a rock not to notice the beauty and the pageantry of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. This particular Olympics was more widely covered by the media than any of the past Olympic Games, and there was plenty of scandal to boot. But what does that have to do with you, you ask? The Games offer a great model to small business owners and are full of examples that you can put to work right away.
Discipline. None of those Olympians could have done what they did without disciplined training regimens. They woke up each morning and recommitted themselves to doing whatever it took to make themselves better athletes.
Consistency. Olympians stand out from other athletes by virtue of…
The 7 Biggest Entrepreneurial Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
The world of entrepreneurship is full of potholes and wrong turns. You may work for months and months only to find out that you need to scrap your original idea and try something else. You may follow a particular protocol for years before you realize that there’s a more efficient way to run your business. Much of this trial-and-error experience is to be expected when you’re starting your own business, and you can learn a great deal from your mistakes. But be sure to learn from other people’s mistakes, too. Here are 7 to avoid.
1. Working In Your Business Rather than on Your Business. Every business consists of little tasks that must be done to make the whole operation run smoothly. There is always work to be done. But your job as the owner of your own business is to… Continue reading
Posted in entrepreneurs advice, Management, Small Business
Tagged entrepreneurs, entrpreneurship, Small Business
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5 Free Ways to Build Your Brand
If you own a small business, you may have already given up on the notion of branding yourself. After all, that’s something that only big companies with big budgets can afford, right? Not so fast. Here are 5 ways to brand yourself for free, and maybe even make a little bit of money in the process:
1. Develop for Display. If you can create visual brand that stands out from the crowd and looks hip and edgy, you can actually get people to pay you for the privilege of displaying it. Extreme sports companies like surfing, skating, and snowboarding companies have been doing this for years. The challenge is… Continue reading
Posted in Marketing, Small Business
Tagged branding, Business, Marketing, Small Business, small business tips
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15 Ways to Stay Focused With Effective Time Management
Let’s face it, there’s a lot going on out there. Our economy is on the fritz and every news story tells us that one more multimillion dollar company needs a government bailout. Foreclosures are happening right and left. We have troops in harm’s way, and Christmas is only a few short weeks away. And that’s just the big picture! We haven’t even mentioned your business and all the things that you need to keep up with on a daily basis. Here are 15 ways to keep yourself focused amid all the distraction. See what works for you!
1. Plan for Each Day. Take a few minutes every evening and plan the following day. Outline 3-5 things that you want to accomplish and stick to it.
2. Plan for Each Week. Take a few minutes on… Continue reading
Posted in Management, Small Business
Tagged entrepreneur, Management, planning, Small Business, time management
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