Some marketing tools are good. Others are great. Typically a great marketing tool is having others talking about your business. Not paid ads but your own brand ambassadors telling your story. What makes it effective? It is part of our nature to trust other people. That is why reviews on your home page or posted…
Practically all of the guest blogs I write for Small Business Survival focus on tips to enhance the management or operational aspects of your business. This post, however, goes down a new road. I would love your thoughts on what you consider acceptable ratings, both as a consumer and as a business owner, when viewing customer…
Customers like doing business with people they know. As a small-business owner, you can use that to your advantage. Some advantages can include knowing your customers by name. You can learn what products and services they want. If customers have a problem, “talking to the boss” to get an immediate solution is easy for them….
As you probably know, if you are going into business, the odds your business will be around in five years are not good. But they aren’t as bad as you may think, either. Approximately one-third of businesses close within two years. At the five-year mark, about one-half of all businesses have closed. We don’t approach…
Well, here we are at the end of one year and the beginning of another. Welcome, 2016! For many people, this is the day we make resolutions for the upcoming year. Often these hopes are for something in our personal life. Do you also take time to make resolutions for managing your business? And for…
People starting a business plan on being successful. Achieving success, though, is much easier said than done. When starting, one of the first tasks facing the business owner is letting people know you exist. Your story can be one good element to use in this phase. Stories are engaging. People can relate to stories. Stories…
Nov. 28 is Small Business Saturday. Small Business Saturday began in 2010. It was created to encourage people to do some of their holiday shopping at local, small businesses. Every year, the event has grown. You will see and hear advertising for it. Social media will be full of posts and tweets encouraging people to…
Many entrepreneurs see working at home as a great way to combine their work and personal life. Not only can they save money because they’re not paying rent for an office or manufacturing space, but the idea of flexible schedules and blending their work and personal life is appealing. Home-based businesses remain today an important…
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