Month: August 2013

Categories
Business Ideas

4 Business Ideas for Grads and Students

4 Business Ideas for Grads and Students

College is not just a time to take classes related to your major, you can fill your life and your resume with valuable experiences. Those who start their own businesses in college will graduate with more life experience. The American job market has also become extremely competitive, leaving many new graduates with the option of working for themselves.

Even if your business venture fails, or does not grow into a million dollar idea, working for yourself has several advantages that make it worth the adventure. You’ll learn more about how business works, how to save money properly, how to advertise yourself and develop valuable experience along the way.

Painting Business

College Works Painting is designed to teach college students how to manage a painting business. It’s more complex than you might think. Students are taught how to prime a room for painting, how to order supplies and manage work flows like an apprenticeship. Jobs take them all over their cities to commercial buildings and individual homes.

Students are taught to work independently, using their basic skills to open their own painting business. This business usually doesn’t need a permit, so there are fewer administrative costs and a lower bar for entry. Acquiring business will  be the key to your success, and that requires some clever advertising.

Visit the contractor’s area of your local hardware store and talk with some of the workers there to get some work. Build a website for yourself and show you know about painting by blogging interior design and painting tips. Find a business address and phone number that you can operate from, and put that data on your website.

Also, start a Google Places page, which is like a signal to the search engine that you operate in your town. The advantage is that may secure more local business from contractors doing searches within your town.

Mobile Car Detailing

Mobile car detailing is popular amongst office complexes, where a team of workers can rake in a decent day’s wage by washing and detailing cars for executives. Build a following on Twitter and use it to let your audience know where you will be each day.

You should also contact business owners in your area and ask permission to post flyers advertising your services. Post these flyers on the restrooms of these buildings, and in public spaces like the lobby. Just be careful that you follow any building restrictions for ads so that your advertisements don’t get thrown out.

Cut costs by renting equipment like the portable washer. You should keep receipts for the materials you order as well, they are deductions for the cost of doing business and you can save money by factoring those into your taxes.

Courier Service

Couriers have interesting professions because the only cost is fuel and a phone line for the business. You’ll need a general knowledge of your area, and a few drivers that have relatively open availability. With a few friends, you can work out your school schedules so some of you cover pickups when others are in class or at another job.

Google Voice works well for this kind of work, as you can set up call forwarding to any phone. Buy a good GPS unit, or use a state of the art smartphone. You’ll need to know how to get to your destination as quickly as possible if you want to stay competitive.

Blogging

Blog about your interests, with your friends stepping in to relieve some of the writing burden. If you or your friends feel you can’t write well, try video blogging or content aggregation. Gathering news for your audience and keeping your eyes on topics that others don’t have time to can have financial rewards. A bit of amateur journalism is easier to do with the Web, and you can create original content by spending only a bit of research time.

Article contributed by Jenna Smith

Categories
Sales & Marketing

Could Your Confidential Waste Policy Be Used As A Marketing Tool?

 

paper-waste

In today’s digital age, there are many new facets of conducting business that we never had to worry about in the past. A couple of the most important things that both consumers and companies need to worry about are identity theft and fraud. Nowadays, it is easier than ever from criminals to get ahold of sensitive information and then use that data to cause a major headache for the person whose identity has been stolen.

 

As a business owner, preventing private information from leaking out should be one of you highest priorities. This data could be transaction records, personal data for your clients or even proprietary information regarding your company. By having a solid confidential waste policy in effect, you can ensure that all of your business’ data is safe. Not only does this protect your company from a legal standpoint, but it can also be used as a powerful way to promote your business.

 

What Exactly Is A Confidential Waste Policy?

 

Your company’s confidential waste policy is the protocol you have in place to destroy documents and other data sources which contain information that should not be seen by unapproved eyes. There are a number of things which should be kept confidential, including:

 

  • Accounting Records
  • Strategic Business Documents
  • Client Data
  • Customers’ Personal Information
  • Credit Card and Bank Account Records
  • Medical Records

 

All of these types of data can be very detrimental to your company and to your clients if they were released into the wrong hands. Because of this, your confidential waste policy should not only include how to safely store and secure this information, but also how to destroy it. Confidential waste can by shredded or disintegrated by document shredding and storage services specializing in making sure that the destroy data is not recoverable.

 

Many business owners opt to have confidential data destroyed on-site, a method which allows then to witness the destruction with the shredding services bringing their portable equipment to the company’s location. Off-site destruction is also a secure option and provides your company with a certificate of destruction and chain-of-possession of your documents all of the way from your hands to their destruction.

 

Using Your Confidential Waste Policy To Promote Your Business

 

With the threat of identity theft and fraud so prevalent, many consumers hold a company’s confidential waste policy in very high regards. If you’re aiming to attract new customers, then promoting your company’s rock-solid policy may be an efficient way to do so. Faced with multiple options, many careful customers will choose the option which is the most secure with their personal information. This is exceptionally important for smaller companies who may not quite have the public support of their larger counterparts.

 

A few of the things that you need to make sure to mention to clients about your confidential waste policy are:

 

  • How long you keep your client’s data.
  • What method you use to destroy it.
  • How the data is secured until it is destroyed.
  • Your company’s proven track record of data security.
  • Secure transport methods for your documents such as an armored car or chain-of-possession documentation.

 

With the world’s digital, global marketplace, secure information is constantly being transferred around and left in the care of businesses all over the world. By ensuring consumers that their identity is safe with you, your company can use your confidential waste policy to reaffirm customers. The security associated with your confidential documents can not only keep your customers safe, but also act as a source to bring in new clients.

About The Author

Leilah Osher writes for www.ironmountain.co.uk and apart of writing about confidential waste and document storage she works as a business consultant for a wide range of different firms. In addition, she contributes articles to a number of business blogs around the internet, including GetEntrepreneurial.com

Categories
Operations

5 Storage Tips Every Entrepreneur Should Know

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Article Contributed by Drew Davies

One of the defining features of the modern entrepreneur is a nimble and questioning mind. Without an innovative sense of time and place it’s hard to imagine, let alone put into practise, all the separate strands that go into building a successful business.

Before you can fly, you need to get your feet grounded in the basics, and for most entrepreneurs that means finding office space and storage for stock or business necessities.

Setting Up the Home Office

Easy internet and email communications, inbound marketing via social media or blog networks, and the professional capabilities of home office equipment, all streamline daily operations. But to get the best from all that technology, an exclusive business area in the home is of prime importance.

If it means putting some domestic furniture into self storage, do so. You could put the dining table into storage to make way for a good-sized desk or, if that’s a step too far, consider the possibility of clearing space by storing individual items. Packing up favourite novels or coffee table books, for instance, frees up book shelves for document files or reference books.

Choose your spot in the house and adapt it to accommodate everything you need for business purposes. Nothing wastes time or scatters concentration more than wandering from room to room to complete basic tasks.

Organise Stock Storage

Without careful control, stock storage can quickly turn into a nightmare. If you have a range of items for sale, you soon realise the need to store logically and systematically.

For many small business owners, offsite self storage presents an ideal solution to an overcrowded house or garage. There is only so much spare space in any domestic household, and for the entrepreneur with one eye on expansion possibilities, the likelihood is that home storage space gets rapidly outgrown.

Self storage, being both secure and convenient, has further advantages, one of which answers the expansion conundrum: many storage companies offer flexible terms, allowing renters to move into larger or smaller spaces without fuss or long notice periods.

Multitask to Maximise Space

Wherever you choose to store items, either for sale or for daily business needs, make sure you’ve also got space to work. That area under the stairs might get everything out of sight, but if you’re forever fetching and carrying to pack items for postage, it’s not an efficient storage solution.

Ideally, retailers will store, pack and dispatch all from the same area, and service providers or information product creators will have printing, computing or telephony equipment and peripherals conveniently located where they work.

Keep Stock or Tools Visible

Small stock items or tools of the trade need to be visible for easy, on the fly stock takes or the quick location and retrieval of work-related equipment.

Choose transparent plastic boxes over standard cardboard ones, open shelving over closed-in cupboards, and favour flat, sturdy lids if you’re stacking boxes on top of each other.

Share a Space

If you can, team up with other entrepreneurs in your area to share storage or office space. If you’re worried about stock getting muddled, having a large enough space to clearly demarcate your respective areas could still work out cheaper than renting separate storage rooms.

Rented office space is often underused, and could be let out instead of wasted. Make use of cloud storage to electronically take care of paper records then sell or store space-hogging filing cabinets. Installing and renting out a desk in the freed-up space will do a freelancer a favour as well as cutting your rental charges – but do check the terms of your lease before going ahead.

Getting to grips with storage issues and office space from the outset, and choosing options that offer flexibility, clears the way for future business growth. You can then spend more time working creatively instead of putting out the helmet fires that are caused by confusion.

About The Author

Drew writes for Big Yellow Self Storage, which has 76 purpose-built self-storage sites across the UK. For more information see their business storage section or blog.

 

Categories
Starting Up

The Right Things To Do Before Starting Your Business

start-up-business-grants1

Setting up a business isn’t as glamorous as some may believe. Yes, it’s exciting, but also frightening at the same time.

There is a massive tendency amongst start-ups to want to start as soon as possible. However, it’s imperative that you prepare properly in order to avoid mistakes that could cost you an arm and a leg. Seeing a problem and correcting it in the early stages is better and cheaper than doing so when your business is already up and running.

The steps below will help you ensure that you lay down the proper groundwork before starting your business – and that you take the right steps forward.

1. Test your business idea

People are constantly coming up with business ideas, and it can be quite a challenge deciding which business ideas are good and which are not.

Therefore, talk to as many individuals as you can about your idea. Don’t limit it to just ordinary people; talk to business experts. Speak to those that have chosen the same path as you, so that your situation is relatable.

When listening to these respected people, it will be in your best interest to not debate with them too much, but rather listen to their advice. Absorb as much as you can in order for you to draw up your own conclusions.

2. Check all legal requirements

No matter which country you choose to live in, governments will always impose certain regulations and tax compliance issues on small businesses.

As an entrepreneur, it’s your responsibility to find out what the requirements are. You need to determine the most appropriate way in which to handle it – depending on your business’s company structure, revenue and tax implications.

3. Do your market research

As obvious as this step is, you need to pay close attention to it, and place a great amount of your focus on it.

Market research is of paramount importance. There are three major aspects to consider and concentrate on: your target audience, market size and competitors.

Research the history of your specific market and find out as much as you can about it. For instance, have there been companies that have attempted your business idea in the past? Have they failed at it? This could be a warning sign and one should investigate this so that you do not make the same mistake.

4. Study your target audience

Over and above doing market research, studying your target audience is vital and therefore a separate task to your ordinary market research. As the business owner, you need to have a clear understanding of your target market and know exactly who they are and what they expect.

By studying your target audience in this way, you will be able to determine what prices please them, what they need, and why. And by understanding this, you will be able to create and develop products and services that will satisfy them.

Marketing your business to your respective target consumers will therefore be easier; you will have a better understanding of how to reach out to them.

5.  Build a great team

Building a business by yourself is difficult and you will require support. You will need support with regards to marketing and promotion, creating the product or service, and if you have a big task at hand, you may need some extra support in other areas of the business as well.

In order to achieve the best results, team members must be dedicated, hardworking, honest and experienced.  They must be willing to put in the extra time and they should all be in sync with each other in order to work together successfully and efficiently.

6. Understand the money-making process

You need to understand the amount of work and transactions needed in order for your business to reach its financial goals. This is key. If you go into business with flawed expectations, you might find yourself in a sticky situation.

Understand your finances from the beginning and make yourself aware of all the nitty-gritty. Doing this will cost you less time and money in the long run should you have misjudged something from the beginning. It will also lead you to change your strategy – something you do not want to be doing at a late stage of your business.

7. Have fun

Before planning and going ahead with everything, make sure that your business is something you want to continue doing for a long time – because if your business idea is successful, you will be doing it for a long time.

Make sure that it gives you the enjoyment to persevere through difficult times. The more passionate you are, the stronger you will be as an entrepreneur and the more successful you and your business will become.

About the Author

This article was provided by Sable Group. The Sable Group manages financial, immigration and legal needs. To find out more about the services Sable Group offers, please visit the website at www.sable-group.com

Categories
Branding

How Toy Story Used Merchandise to Build Their Brand

Toy_Story

If there was an example of ultimate brand loyalty, it’s Toy Story. Whether or not the writers of this Disney Pixar cult classic wrote a story about toys with the intention of one day transforming playgrounds forever more is unbeknown, but one thing is sure, it was clever. The overall result is loyal customers and a huge brand.

So how exactly did they use merchandise to build their brand?

The first thing that Toy Story got right was that their audience was always number one when it came to merchandising. Generally speaking, Disney already has a fantastic understanding of their target audience so all they had to do was to tap into their audience’s feelings. Having said that, there are hundreds of Disney films, so why has Toy Story become one of the most successful of Disney’s franchises?

The film is about toys…

Plain and simple, children love toys and the decision to make a film about toys is fantastic for two reasons. Firstly, the sole premise of toys coming alive once you leave the room taps into every child’s imagination. The story is set from the toy’s perspective so that it enables the viewer to gain an imaginary insight into the life of toys.  

Secondly, from a marketing point of view, making a film based around toys also means that children are able to purchase the toys after they’ve seen the film and create their own stories at home and with their friends. Very clever brand-building indeed – so much so that the official merchandise offers everything you can imagine from the characters to branded stickers available at Stay Sourced to home décor and clothing to take brand loyalty to the next level.

A variety of different characters including a spaceman, a cowboy, a damsel in distress and a loveable dog mean Toy Story have opened themselves up to more choice of characters for their audience to relate to.

Woody vs. Buzz

By creating rival characters children are able to pick their favourite character (and the dress-up suit to match, the Disney website even has a drop-down option of ‘Pick your favourite character’ for the official merchandise – nice touch). 

It’s a good film

There have already been 3 successful films delivered by Disney for the Toy Story franchise which has led to loyal brand ambassadors eagerly awaiting rumoured fourth and fifth instalments. This might be a basic point but customers who enjoy the film will help build the brand voluntarily and use the merchandise to be advocates of the film rather than merely producing branded material with the hopes of people buying into it. 

The result?

With clever and loveable character choices, a firm understanding of what the target audience is interested in and great products, the Toy Story franchise has become one of the biggest and most successful Disney brands. Aside from merchandising, Toy Story is everywhere from theme park rides to being plastered onto every thinkable item that a child could own, there’s no shortage of smart promotional ideas, available at Stay Sourced.

Consideration was provided for the editing and publising of this article.