Business Tips 17
FREE WAYS TO ADVERTISE YOUR BUSINESS
No matter what business you are building, you need to advertise it. Even big companies that already have a name in the market advertise on a regular basis to keep the public aware about the latest products available to them. When you switch on any channel, you are bombarded with ads that promote products. Websites, video sites like youtube, billboards, etc. all have advertisements that make an attempt to sell a product. These can be costly, but large companies feel that it is worth it, if it is ultimately going to lead to larger sales. Here are some smart and free ways to advertise a product you are putting on sale or even to create some buzz about your business:
You: The first and most important way to advertise your company is through YOU. You are the one who has started the firm, you have developed the mission statement and only truly know where your company is headed. Basically, you are the brand ambassador of your own company. The way you behave, market and promote yourself will ultimately lead to advertising your company. Some of the greatest entrepreneurs have their own image stamped on everyone’s brain that make people want to own the product sold. Take an example of Dr. Dre. He is a remarkable figure in the music industry and because of him, the Dr. Dre Beats are being sold faster than they can be manufactured. You should be what you sell.
Employees: These are the people that work for you and you may never know the places they go and the people they meet who can become potential customers. Encourage your employees to market your brand either directly or discreetly by the way you treat them. Google has been voted countless times as a company that is the Best Place To Work. Because of the goodwill from employees, outsiders automatically want to be patrons of such an awesome business.
Customers: Surely you have heard of Net Promoter Score (NPS) that many companies are starting to take on to determine what is the level of goodwill out there. NPS is basically a graph that determines how likely customers are going to promote the brand that they themselves endorse. Obviously brands know what they are doing by adopting this process. It is through customers that potential patrons are recruited. You an definitely recall at least one time when a friend gushed about a new product they tried and then you went out and purchased it yourself because of the good feedback.
Self-Promotion: Instead of paying huge fees to advertising companies to come up with a good promotion, why don’t you promote your brand and products yourself? There are so many social sites that you can take advantage of for free. Make short Youtube videos or ask people to share your posts on sites like Facebook and Twitter. With the network built through other people, your brand can reach further circles without you having to spend a penny.
Events: Another way that you can promote your brand is through events. It will do two things: advertise your product and create goodwill within and without the society. Go to your local church or school and hold a charitable fest where maybe you can give away your products in the form of prizes or goodies. Remember to attach a sticker or tag to remind people of your company and have banners set up during the event. People never forget a giving spirit, so if you hold an event for an orphanage or animal shelter, patrons will get magnetized towards your philanthropic nature.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are dozens of ways in which you can advertise for little or nothing. There have been businesses that have thrived simply by word of mouth. No advertising. No PR. No payment made to make a brand known. The fact of the matter is that if you have a product that will benefit others and is priced right, your sales will increase by and by.
Any other ways you know of to advertise your business? Maybe a personal story you want to share? Comment below!
MAKING YOUR BUSINESS STAND OUT WITHIN 15 SECONDS
This is a fast-paced age. More and more people are suffering from short attention spans and can get easily distracted with new information constantly being thrown in their direction. You need to promote yourself in 5 second videos or less than 140 characters. In short, you need to be short. Here are some tips on how to make your business stand out in less than 15 seconds, because that is exactly the time it takes for someone to get their first impression of you post which they will undoubtedly be distracted by someone else trying to market their product.
LOGO TO REMEMBER: The one thing that literally symbolizes your business is the logo for your company. It needs to be something that stands out so that even after browsing through it and moving on to something else, the image stays in their heads. You may need to put in some funds to get a graphic designer to come up with something unique or you may be able to create something yourself. Either way, this is an investment that would pay huge dividends if advertised the right way.
UNIQUE BRAND NAME: Why do you think some brands stick out more than others? True, Virgin offers products and services like no other company, but the very fact it is named “Virgin”, people stop for a minute and take a look. No one is saying you need to be controversial or whatever, but think of a unique (and short) brand name that sums up what you have to offer. People like saying weird things out loud, so make your company a home name so people can use it and sound cool. That right there is advertising through word of mouth.
IMAGING: Social media sites like Instagram are used by millions because the only thing being shown on it are pictures. Compared to words, images attract more attention. You see, lettering mostly happens in black and white and after sometime people get bored of going through words. But a colorful image will have someone stop and take a look. One of the best ways that you can make your business stand out is by using images.
CONTENT: Twitter seems to have started the 140 characters or less craze that just encouraged ADHD. Many brands have a short and simple tagline that people have started using in their personal conversations. McDonald’s started saying: I’m lovin’ it and that became an expression being used all over the world. You can brainstorm and come up with content that will stay in people’s minds long after they are done browsing your product.
SHORT VIDEOS: In the 1950s and 1960s, advertisements stretched on to a minute or more. These days, the length of ads has reduced to 30 seconds or less. In case you don’t want your potential customer to “Skip Ad”, you would need to portray your message in a concise and effective manner. Instagram has videos that go on for only 15 seconds, and yet brands are successfully advertising on there. You can easily do the same.
Look for inspiration from tried and tested brands and how they are able to keep up to advertising gimmicks of the new age. You can also be innovative and bring something unique to the advertising table. Remember that potential customers are being bombarded constantly with unlimited advertising and promotions. Depending on what product you sell, try being as unique as you can in as little time as you can. Timing is key because you may never know when your customer is going to be enticed by another product just by their effective marketing strategies.
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INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES FROM BUSINESS OWNERS
You are not the first one. There are millions of people gone before you who have lit the way and guided us with their mistakes as well as their wisdom. Here are a number of greats in the business circle who have pearls to share with us that we can learn from:
“If you’re not a risk-taker, you should get the hell out of business.” – Ray Kroc, Founder of McDonald’s
“Always deliver more than expected.” – Larry Page, Co-founder of Google
“I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.” – Steve Jobs, Co-founder of Apple
“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” – Walt Disney, Co-founder of The Walt Disney Company
“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” – Bill Gates, Co-founder of Microsoft
“Entrepreneurship is neither a science nor an art. It is a practice.” – Peter Drucker, Management Consultant
“Don’t try to be original, just try to be good.” – Paul Rand, Graphic Designer
“You have everything you need to build something far bigger than yourself.” – Seth Godin, Entrepreneur and Author
“As a start-up CEO, I slept like a baby. I woke up every 2 hours and cried.” – Ben Horowitz, Co-founder Opsware
“If you’re going to be thinking anything, you might as well think big.” – Donald Trump
“Entrepreneurs are willing to work 80 hours a week to avoid working 40 hours a week.” – Lori Greiner, Shark Tank
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COMMON CONTRACTS IN BUSINESS
You may have just started your business and are so excited about taking things ahead. One of the main responsibilities of owning your own venture is that you need every activity you work through to be legally documented and if possible, signed on a contract. Here are some of the common legal documents that you would need to make a part of your business to keep it legitimate:
Partnership Agreement: If you have a partner working with you and contributing in some way toward your business, you need to make sure that there is a properly written and signed legal contract between two or more partners. In the contract, you need to specifically mention to what length each partner is chipping in, what is the capital input ratio and what percentage of the total profits and loss each partner will be taking home. Yes, today everything may seem fine and things may be going smoothly, but tomorrow you may never know what legalities might take place and it will be at that vital moment that you would need to bring forth the great Partnership Agreement for all the technicalities to be placed forth in black and white.
Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA): This is another important legal document that needs to be signed with every person that has access to your business information. Maybe you have come up with awesome software that could revolutionize your field or maybe you have a product or service that you know is going to make a difference in the world. Anyone beside you that in the knowledge of this vital information needs to legally state that they will not share it with anyone else or use it for any purpose apart from benefitting your enterprise. Without this important declaration, you cannot do anything to anyone who has leaked out your surprise to the world, at least not legally!
Contractual Agreements: You may have heard about this term from celebrities who enter into these agreements for a certain number of years and promise to do a certain amount of work. The same holds true for a corporate business that is run by you. In it you need to clearly note the duration of the work, what type of activity is being done and for how long and for what amount. The reason you need to do this is because you are busy running your business and you seriously cannot afford to have someone sue you or leave their work half completed. This legal document will bind them and obligate them to finish what they started and do it on time.
As per the business you run, there would be many other legal contracts that you might have to enter into. You might think you are running a small enterprise and nothing could go wrong. But if you grow exponentially later, you do not want to face legal issues just because you didn’t sign an official document about the work you are doing. Be smart and sign on the dotted line!
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SECRETS OF SUCCESS IN BUSINESS
Learn From Your Mistakes: There is not a single successful businessman out there who never made mistakes. Maybe there was a market trend they were following and did not see a bend in the road, or it was a failed venture that never took flight. One of the most successful entrepreneurs out there is Richard Branson. If you follow the Virgin brand closely, you will see as many start-ups that worked were also start-ups that nose-dived. But you never hear Mr. Branson cribbing about it. Taking it with a shrug and good humor, he looks ahead to the next potential business opportunity. True, he has the finances to afford a minor slip-up, but it is more about the never-can-die attitude that gets successful businessmen going.
Prioritize: This is a super important “secret” of successful people in the biz. As an entrepreneur you will be inundated with emails, calls, meetings, updates, news and what-have-you. There will be individuals taking your time all the time and you will feel it is your responsibility to answer to every disturbance. This is absolutely false. Your concentration should be on one thing at a time. You’re here because you want to build your venture. Anything else that doesn’t fit into that description has got to go. Start every morning by setting a timetable and figuring out how your day will be spent and then stick to that.
Keep Researching: Another success secret is all about knowing your market. No business has ever prospered by staying stagnant. You need to make sure that you learn from your peers, read magazines, research trends and stay abreast with the latest news. Markets are changing on a daily basis, so start your day by reading the newspaper and coming up with a plan. You will find that as your business starts to take on wings, you will need to customize your vision for what suits your enterprise the best at this moment.
Hire The Best: Bill Gates famously said: “I will always choose a lazy person to do a difficult job…because he will find an easy way to do it!” The best part about owning your own business is that you get to hire whoever you want to work for you. ALL successful business people surround themselves with those they work well with and who have the same wavelength for thinking up ideas and strategies. This is key because firstly, you spend so many hours with them and you want to gel well with your colleagues and secondly, they are the catalysts who will improve on your ideas as well as come up with brain sparks to boost your business. You need allies in business and if you can hire them, you are sorted!
Have Fun: Do not think that just because you are running business means that you need to sit in front of your computer or at meetings all of the time. Thank God the age of the BlackBerry has passed! All successful entrepreneurs make the time to relax because this helps them rejuvenate and come back with brand new eyes. Tycoons like Richard Branson take it a step ahead by working from their place of vacation, but if you are not able to do that, at least plan a holiday over the weekend. A change of scene always helps with refreshing your brain. Encourage your employees to take days off as well as they will come back with renewed energy to help you run your enterprise.
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TIPS FOR SMALL ENTERPRISES TO MAKE THEIR MARK
If you are a person who has is thinking of, or just launched, a start-up, you may be looking all over for inspiration about how to get your business working and move ahead in the game. Here are a few tips for small enterprises that should get you going:
- Networking: At this stage of starting-up, you might have limited finances and clients, which is faced by almost all budding companies. What you can take advantage of, however, is the popular phase of social networking sites. There is a food truck that does the rounds in New York and the only mode of advertising is through micro-blogging site, Twitter. They let their customers know what’s on the menu, have live tweets about their current location and entice people with their mouth-watering delicacies to keep them on the edge. All major social media sites are free and accessed by millions of users, so take advantage and market your brand as much as you can through this avenue.
- Keep Positive: Rome was not built in a day, but through it all stayed put and till today stands strong. Have a little hope. You might be excited about your venture and expect that others would feel the same, but true success doesn’t necessarily happen over a week, so don’t feel dejected if the world isn’t yet buzzing about your enterprise. Keep the faith and work hard, grabbing at valid opportunities whenever they arise. With a good attitude and a positive mindset, you and your company will soon start going places!
- Build Loyal Customers: As a start-up, you won’t have a line of customers outside your location in the beginning. But as soon as you get patrons, do not let go of them. They are your walking advertisers, and if treated well they will return to your business and bring other potential customers along with them. You can come up with offers like providing a free service, discount coupons, referral offers, etc. Anyone loves a bargain and if you show that you are generous, people will automatically be attracted to you.
- Find Opportunities: As a start-up or small enterprise, your resources would be limited. Even the big guns in the game sometimes find it a problem to get what they want and have to search real hard for it. This is the time that you take any opportunity that will benefit your company. Even if you are given the opportunity to work for free, if that means that your enterprise is going to get promoted, then take a grab at it!
If you want any more tips and resources about your start-up, you can visit smallbiztrends.com for more information.
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HOW TO CREATE A KICKASS WORK CULTURE
One of the main assets that your company could have are your employees. Without them, how would you manage to run it? You could argue that you started up as a one-man show. However, if you are planning to expand in any way, you need people to help you out. Whether you have just one person or rows of human workforce doing stuff, this article is for you.
Employees are not paid slaves. You have put in a lot of your personal resources to train them and make them valuable for your company. When they came in, they were like molten clay that you have molded to perfection. Intricate details of your start-up were shared with them so that they can get going on helping you prosper in leaps and bounds. Also, you might be spending hours with them on a daily basis, so they are like family. Letting or seeing them go will not only cause a certain amount of personal heartache, but professionally, you will have to start from scratch teaching the new recruit the ropes of the business.
One of the best tried and tested methods of retaining employees in your firm is to create a work environment that they will enjoy being at and will find hard to leave. Better yet, they might even refer another professional who could add human resource value to your enterprise. And wouldn’t you one day be so thrilled to hear that your company is in the coveted list of Forbes’ “The Best Places To Work” list? Here are a few ways that you can create a kickass work culture for your employees:
- Build A Great Management Team: For any company, the core management team is the most important to eventually trickle down information to the rest of the work clan. They are also the executives that would be the closest employees who interact (hopefully) on a daily basis. They lead their respective teams and departments on your behalf. You need to therefore, surround yourself with people of like-minded nature as you. They will be your hands that extend to their subordinates.
- Be A Role Model: Right from childhood we have always had that role model that we wanted to emulate. For your company, you can be that mentor that your employees look to for inspiration. Whether you are the relaxed kind or even if you are the serious, professional type, what your workers absorb from your behavior will ultimately reflect on them as well. Be the best person you can be, and rest assured, they will be their best selves as well.
- Take Time Off: Weekday working can get monotonous for employees who start getting used to the daily grind. To get their minds off it, hold an out-of-site conference or chill session for them to unwind. This could be a great opportunity for you to personally interact and get to know those who you know by face in the workplace. Also, if there are any concerns that they have been scared to share with you during office hours, they will be able to do so now.
- Communicate: Not everyone is great with telepathy. If you have something on your mind, speak it out. When employees see that you are easy to approach and open to understanding them, they will be more laid-back in general and work will go on smoothly. You do not want a dictator type of environment, so why give out the vibe that it is one?
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