To stay in business, people need to buy your products and/or services. That statement should come as no surprise. Yet routinely, I encounter business owners who have not made any attempt to categorize potential clients in terms of their desire and need to buy. Not doing so means you may be missing your best opportunities….
Starting a business is a risky endeavor. But knowing does not stop many small-business owners. Every day owners open the doors to their business. Some end up satisfied with the results but many others decide, at some point, to close the doors. The reasons for such closures are often not a secret. Talk with any…
First impressions are so important to your business!!! If you are a regular reader of this blog, you have read about the importance of first impressions. Those first impressions may be of the outside of your store and your sign. It also covers what people see as they enter the door and how you act…
While today’s business owners need to market online, they shouldn’t ignore traditional marketing methods. The reality is that an effective marketing campaign uses the tool that best reaches the target market. For many businesses owners, especially those in rural communities, that tool continues to be one of the traditional marketing venues. An example of such…
One of the challenges of a business is developing your team of employees. Previous posts have discussed how to find and hire new employees (Hiring New Employees, Time to Hire, and Employees are Your Foundation are three examples). The difficult part though is getting everyone to work together and focused on the end goal. Business…
It’s independence day. And for small business owners, independence also means doing your own thing. Enjoy the day and your business. Now on to grilling and the fireworks.
Did you ever have a really good idea only to see someone else jump on it first? Well, this blog post is representative of that. I came up with the idea last week and as I got ready to write this blog appeared in my email, “This Place is Perfect.” So my options are to…
There are several common thoughts on the key elements to a successful business. Two of those most often mentioned are to build the business around a need or to build your business around your passion. While there are examples of both elements working, realistically, a combination of the two provide the strongest launching pad. Passion…
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