Small Business
Is Small Business Ownership the Great Equalizer?
I recently posted on a study we did comparing the demographic and motivational differences between traditional small business owners and high growth-entrepreneurs.
Another part of that study looked at the competitiveness and success differences between different types of small business.
Our focus was to better understand how women and minority owned small businesses compared with small businesses owned by white men. We also looked at how education correlated with small business success.
The analysis was based on data from the Small Business Success Index(SBSI) produced bythe University of Maryland and Network Solutions.
The SBSI data comes from a survey of existing small businesses with relatively long operating histories.
10 Roadblocks To Running A Successful Small Business
There are certain behaviors that an entrepreneur must avoid in order to be successful in his/her small business venture and these are:
1. Not following a well thought-out and documented business plan which has goals, measurable objectives and assigned responsibilities complete with deadlines.
2. Putting off for tomorrow activities that can be handled today.
3. Waiting until your product/service is perfect before launching it.
4. Neglecting to identify and understand your target market.
5. Not having a well-defined marketing message crafted for your target customers in language they understand and are comfortable with.
6. Having customers who do not believe in or trust in you.
7.
4 Post-Doomsday Tips To Clean Up Your Small Business
Now that doomsday came and went and the earth continues to spin and the world keeps on turning and the rapture is over, you can relax and get back to running your business. Here are 4 post-doomsday tips to make sure that your business is still performing optimally.
Your Business Problem
Make sure that your business problem still exists. Brush up on your expertise in the area and make sure that the solution you are offering is still relevant.
You Target Customer
Are the people affected by this business problem still the same as you originally thought? Do you still understand their pain? Resize this target market of favorite customers you’re going after to see whether it has changed? <
Yes, Email Can Really (Still!) Help You Grow Your Small Business
The economy seems to be picking up for most small businesses. I hope that means your business is doing well.
I dont know how much you pay attention to connecting with your customers using email, but if you arent you are missing a really good opportunity to build a long lasting relationship and to grow your business.
Email has been a mainstay for a long time now and is still one of the best ways to connect to those who know and love what you have to offer.
But there are plenty of people who still make tons of mistakes (and miss a lot of opportunities) when connecting with customers using email. Specifically, if you have a blog or create regular content for your website, you have many chances to really grow and connect with them.
Are you taking advantage of all those opportunities?
I know I wasnt.
The 4 Biggest Mistakes A Small Business Makes
Some entrepreneurs and business owners think that having a great product and understanding how to run a business are the most important factors to small business success. Bear with me a moment while I differ with you. It doesnt matter how good you are or how good your product is, if you dont correct the following mistakes youll not see the success you crave.
1. Not understanding who your favorite customer is.
Your favorite customer should be the one who represents the largest life time value to your business, This is the customer who buys the most and keeps coming back because he/she is very satisfied. If you can get the majority of your customers to look like this one you are on the right road.
2.
Small Business Marketing – How Do People See Your Company
Small business marketing, sigh. In the past it was easy, take out a yellow page ad and you were done. Well times they have changed and small business marketing is now a million moving parts that all have to be working together to make a whole campaign.
In this day of always on internet (remember when you had to log in and out and only got 1 hour a day), consumers are researching your company or product extensively before they are willing to give you their hard earned money. They are checking to see if you have good reviews on Yelp, seeing what your Facebook page looks like and if you talk there. Some like Twitter and tweet you first to see if you are a real person.
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