Author: Pamela Swift

Categories
Operations

Preparing for Your Business’s Expansion

Article Contributed by Finnegan Pierson

Many entrepreneurs aren’t satisfied with only being the head of a local small business. For many business owners, their true dream is to oversee a rapid expansion of their company into a national or even international brand. However, actually performing such an expansion successfully isn’t easy. It can be a very complex and risky process. With that in mind, you should take all the precautions possible before launching a significant expansion of your company. Here are some tips that can help you prepare.

Set Goals that Are Actually Attainable

Before you launch an expansion, you must first set down specific goals so you can focus on laying the groundwork towards achieving those goals. However, unlike your lofty aspirations for your company, these goals must actually be something that can be feasibly accomplished.

Launching four new locations for your chain restaurant is one such goal. Alternatively, it may be adding ten new distributors for your fashion products or increasing revenue by $1 million. Overall, you need to know where you’re going, and it has to be something realistic. Keep in mind that the largest companies didn’t expand to that size over night. According to Walmart, it took the retail giant five years to expand to 24 stores.

Plan for Sustainability

Even if your goals are achievable with your current resources, they may not be sustainable. Keep in mind that even the big corporations often fail at expansions. As Harvard Business Review reported, Target’s expansion into the market in Canada failed spectacularly.

Determining sustainability isn’t a simple task. It requires significant number crunching. Factors you have to consider include your current infrastructure, your workforce, your suppliers, you distribution pipelines, your management personnel, your financial capital and more. You also have to examine your ratio of debt to equity. Whether or not you can sustain the growth you want with what you have needs to be determined by taking all these factors into account.

Consider Financing Options

An expansion of course needs to be funded. If you have enough funds in reserve to invest into such an expansion, you may be on firm ground. In other cases, you may have to borrow to allow the expansion to be realized. Beyond traditional lenders like banks you may want to consider other options. For example, you could implement marketplace lending. This is a form of peer to peer lending in which individual investors lend funds to borrowers directly. These kinds of transactions have become popular as of late and are mostly transacted through online lending platforms.

Whatever kind of lending you implement, make sure you have a solid plan for paying back the borrowed funds. If you borrow more than your forecasted revenues, you may find yourself in bankruptcy court. According to Fundivo, the number of outstanding loans to small businesses has surpassed 23 million.

Prepare Your Employees

To make an expansion happen, you need your personnel and workforce to on board with your plan. Certain employees may need to be shifted to other locations to oversee new branches. Make sure you alert the employees you have in mind of the need to move well in advance so they can make the proper adjustments with their families to prepare. It can cost up to $97,166 to relocate a single employee.

You may also need to institute new training programs to train employees on how to handle the expansion. Recruitment efforts will also of course have to be made to facilitate your company’s growth. Do the research to determine exactly how many new positions you will need to fill. Some may be full time. However, others may be part time positions or even temporary third party contractor work to complete the expansion.

Overall, you are likely to experience some growing pains as your company moves along with its expansion plans. However, if you have done the proper planning to prepare for the growth in question, you should be able to successfully exit the transition as a larger and more profitable company.

Categories
Starting Up

7 Important Things You Must Obey In Order to Run a Successful Cleaning Business

Article Contributed by Ian Pearson

According to a study conduct by Scott-Macon, the cleaning and janitorial industry is expected to grow at a rapid pace by 2020, and as a result, the market sector will surpass $60 billion in 2017. There are more than 800,000 cleaning services companies operating in the U.S. alone, and this number is expected to grow 1.7% on an annual basis. Taking all of this into consideration, it is evident the cleaning industry is highly competitive. For this reason, we have listed 7 most essential aspects of running a cleaning business you should cover in order to stay ahead of everyone else on the market and ensure your business achieves stellar success.

1. Define what differentiates you from the competitors

In this jam-packed marketplace, it is essential to highlight unique characteristics of your business to ensure it stands out from the crowd. When choosing cleaning services, customers will want to know what you can offer that others cannot.

First step is to assess your main competitors: determine what their unique sales proposal is, not only regarding the message they are sending, but also their actions. Is there anything they haven’t already covered? Are there services they have overlooked? Take into consideration flexible cleaning schedule, offering services in the evening and on the weekends, including more eco-friendly cleaning products, and similar.

Furthermore, it’s good to incorporate yourself into one niche, instead of offering everything to everyone, scattering your resources. Pick one market to serve, focus on excelling at it, thus building consistency in the services you provide.

2. Take your business online

Setting up a business website for your cleaning company might seem like a trivial advice, but since almost 50% of SMBs still don’t have a website, we believe it is essential to emphasise the importance of this business aspect.

When establishing an online presence, you should not stop at designing a responsive website. Consider writing a blog and publishing valuable content and current industry news, sending out newsletters providing cleaning tips, ultimately establishing yourself as a field expert. You should also provide information about your team with their bios and images, as well as pictures of your work as a proof of the quality, like SBHI Office Cleaning Sydney experts did.

3. Put the focus on the customer every step of the marketing process

With many companies getting so involved in running their business seamlessly, they often forget to take a step back and define a marketing strategy that could boost their business efforts.

First off, define your company’s buying cycle, as you are likely to have customers at every stage of it. From raising awareness of your business, through discovery and the stage where they attempt to learn more about it, to referral status, when you provide satisfactory services and they recommend you to others.

4. Go through the back door

Over the years, door-to-door sales proved to be a highly effective strategy for both commercial and residential cleaning services. Sometimes, this will mean literally, other times you will sit behind the desk making phone calls. However, cold calls are not the only way of expanding your customer base. We recommend contacting real estate agents and homebuilders, as well as investing time and money into building mailing lists in order to send direct marketing pieces to higher income residents on a monthly basis.

5. Never stop networking

Especially when your cleaning business is still in a development stage, it is of prime importance to join local communities, networking groups and/or local Chamber of Commerce. In their regular meetings, you will get the opportunity to share information about your business, as well as to get to people who may be in need of your services. We advise you to offer a special discount to the first month’s billing to a person who gave you a lead that ultimately became a sale.

6. Remember that employees are your top priority

A happy employee is an integral part of a successful cleaning business, as it is the quality of their work that affects the customer satisfaction. Invest in their continual education, treat them with respect and make sure you offer them bonuses and incentives.

 7. Invest in Customer Service

Almost 60% of Americans claim they would try a new company for a better service experience – that is more than half of your customers. A quality customer service can help build strong and long-lasting relationships with your customers. Although the quality of your work is extremely important, you cannot stop at that; even if your performance is satisfactory, upon finishing the job, we recommend following up on your customers to ensure everything is still in good order.

One final tip: remember there are times when you should not take the job you are offered. If you realise you cannot earn profit or that the work is for any reason undesirable, it is better to turn it down. Focusing your and your employees’ time on a more lucrative work will prove to be a smart decision in the long run.

Categories
Branding

Rebranding Your Business – Top Things to Consider

Article Contributed by Jane Bolto

As your business evolves it may become necessary to consider rebranding to ensure that it stays in line with the values it represents. And while rebranding can be fraught with obstacles, in the end, it could lead to more success and an increased customer base. Here are some of the things that you need to consider when rebranding your business.

Define Your Niche

There are many companies that fail during rebranding because they do not define their niche properly. This tends to happen when a business makes itself to look the same as every other company in the market. It is going to be difficult to gain customers if they cannot distinguish your company from its competitors. Therefore, it is important to be specific when rebranding your business.

Hire a Consultant

There are multiple complexities in rebranding a business and sometimes it can be nice to have the help of a seasoned professional. If you are unsure as to the steps that you should take in redefining your brand, getting advice from someone who has experience in rebranding can save you a lot of trouble down the road. At the very least, an opinion from an independent source will help prevent any bias during the rebranding process.

Don’t Overthink It

Many times, the most successful brands are those that do not overthink the aspects of rebranding. A logo may be used to symbolize the ideologies behind a brand, but this does not mean that there has to be some complex inner meaning to it. Instead, go at it with a more relaxed attitude, and the simplicity of the results may lead to a more successful rebranding.

Utilize Social Media

If a business is going to grow in the technology-based world we live today, it must utilize the power of social media. In doing this it is important to note the effect the rebranding will have on the social media presence of the business. When rebranding, it is important to remember that your logo might be attached to every post that is made, so you always want to make sure that it is simple enough to be easily shareable.

Check the Legal Aspects

The last thing you want to encounter when rebranding is legal issues. After all, it can cost a considerable amount of money to rebrand a business, and to add legal fees to the list of expenses might be too much to overcome. It is for this reason that it is imperative to make sure that the rebranding does not involve any trademarked material or slogans that have already been taken.

Keep Employees in the Know

The is no doubt that employees are vital for a business to function properly, and they too need to be privy to any details about the rebranding. This does not mean that they must know every detail and step of the rebranding phase, but they should be informed on the generalities. Not only with this prepare them for the change, it will also help to show them that they are valued.

In Summary

Whether your brand has hit a bump in the road and needs a fresh start, or you simply want to change the scope of your target market, rebranding is sometimes necessary. And while the rebranding process can be a bit nerve-racking, if you take the proper steps, you can help to ensure the that the transition is as seamless as possible. When rebranding, always consider the statement you are trying to make and be careful not to overthink it. Remember these tips and the rebranding of your business will be a success.

About the Author

With a background in Marketing, Jane Bolto currently works as a Content Specialist at Nybizdb.com. Always willing to share her passion for new marketing strategies.

Categories
Sales & Marketing

5 Effective Signage Tips To Promote Your Business

Article Contributed by Christina White

In this fast-paced tech-oriented world, more and more people are focusing their advertising efforts towards online and mobile marketing practices. This is perfectly understandable; as more than half of all internet traffic is now coming from a mobile device. However, when it comes to grabbing the people attention, it may be sometimes better to use an old-fashioned, well-thought-out graphic sign. And the design that goes into making a sign can have a substantial influence on the number of new customers your company could potentially acquire. That said, here are 5 signage tips you can use to help better promote your business.

1.      Keep it legible and visible

You’ve probably already heard the old “less is more” saying. It is an integral part of sign design process, as keeping the message clear and short makes the sign easier to see and read its content with a single glance.  Although signs come in many different shapes and sizes, choosing the appropriate one becomes fairly important once you realize that not every sign size is appropriate for every viewing distance. This is why you have to consider the location where your sign will be placed and remove any obstacles that might interfere with the sign’s visibility.

Another factor to consider when it comes to visibility is clutter. A good sign has to communicate the message concisely and efficiently. Overstuffing your sign with too much text not only makes it harder for people to read it from a distance but also moves the reader’s attention away from the message you’re trying to convey. Marketers tend to fill up any blank space on a sign in order to get the most out of their investment. What they don’t realize is that this “blank space” around words and graphics is equally important for conveying the message as the text itself.

2.      Choose the right color scheme

The right color scheme is crucial for any well-designed sign. Not only does it grab the reader’s attention, it can also be used to convey the brand’s identity. Think Coca-Cola red or Starbucks green for example. Trademark recognition has more to do with the choice of color than the actual logo representing it. Avoid using background colors which make reading the message difficult. Choose a color which contrasts well with other colors, such as black on white or black on yellow. This allows for an easier reading experience, even when viewed from a distance.

3.      Add contrast for better readability

It’s not the color scheme that determines the sign’s readability. Sure, it does play a great part, but if you wish to increase the readability, you have to think about the contrast. Most signs these days’ place graphics and text in the foreground, with the background being filled with a single, continuous color. This creates a contrast between the background and the foreground, allowing the reader to focus on the content more quickly and with ease. The bigger the contrast, the easier it is to view the text from a distance.

4.      Find the right font type

The best fonts are the ones that are clean and easy to read. And there’s a big misconception that as capital letters are “bigger” than the lower case ones, they are easier for reading from a certain distance. This is simply not true, as capital letters produce quite the opposite effect then, let’s say, using both capital and lower case letters. As nothing is ever written using only capital letters, it’s only natural to keep the text as “normal” as possible.

You can, however, use bold, italic and extended text, in order to shift the focus towards a specific part of the message. Finally, avoid using extremely small fonts for the contact information and if you insist on using two different fonts in the same design, make sure that they complement each other and make the message really stand out.

5.      Don’t forget to illuminate you sign

Whether you’re using a banner, poster, billboard or even corflute sign, don’t forget to check if they are properly illuminated, especially during the nighttime. A well-placed light source can be used to accent the sign and draw the reader’s eyes towards it. Not only does it result in a controlled and in turn, more attractive visual, but illumination increases the chance of your sign remaining effective even beyond the regular business hours.

No matter how good you make the sign look, it’s basically a pretty, but empty shell without good copywriting. The message you’re trying to convey is a direct representation of your brand and business, so make sure to write a compelling and engaging message. If you don’t have the necessary writing skills, then hiring a professional writer might be your best choice. Fortunately, they are easy to find online and usually don’t cost that much. The same can be said about graphic designers, but their services tend to be a tad more expensive when compared to hiring a writer. Never go for the cheapest option, but at the same time avoid spending your entire marketing budget on a single sign.

About the Author

Christina White is a marketing consultant from Sydney. She’s been working with different companies for 6 years now. When taking a break from making new marketing slogans, you can find her hiking with her furry four legged companion or just sharing positivity among her friends.

Categories
Planning & Management

Business Insight: 3 Things That Are Hurting Your Productivity

Article Contributed by Hannah Whittenly

Every business owner knows that not being productive hurts the entire company. When there isn’t productivity, there are some serious consequences—loss of money, lack of quality, and even the downfall of the company. That is why it’s important for every CEO and manager in the business world to check themselves and their productivity every now and then and make improvements for the betterment of the company. To help you do that, here are three things that you need to watch out for.

Bad Management

Some people might think a good manager is someone who takes command, but being a leader encompasses much more. A good manager is a coach, an empowering figure, and a person who knows how to spotlight an employee’s strengths. In essence, a leader is a people manager.

The problem is that the idea of being a boss can corrupt the person in charge. This could be signaled by many signs such as a leader who enjoys scolding employees rather than dealing with issues constructively. A bad leader seeks to blame rather than take responsibility. This person may hurt productivity and should be replaced. When hiring leaders, hire the ones who will stand up for their teams, are positive individuals, and have great communication skills.

Disorganization

Clutter is a big problem in some companies. You may not think so, but clutter can actually distract the brain, or it could make some people feel hostile about the environment. Both of these issues can hurt your overall productivity. The best thing that you can do is organize some of the clutter in your office. The best method to go about doing this is to get bins, like those that Quantum Storage has, and start making sure that everything has its place. You may even want to label every bin so that things don’t accidentally get put in the wrong place.

Not Considering Health

You might think the health of your employees is not your concern, but the truth is that it benefits you to make sure that your employees are as healthy as possible. A study shows that employees that eat five or more servings of vegetables and fruit a day are 25 percent more likely to be productive. Employees who are given the opportunity to exercise three times a week for at least 30 minutes are likely to be 15 percent more productive as well.

The problem is that most company’s expect their employees to engage in these healthy habits on their own time. Your employees spend a lot of their time with you, so it might be a good idea to promote health wellness in your office. Offer healthy snacks instead of processed foods. Try to get your employees a membership at a local gym or introduce an exercise break at work.

Productivity is not a simple thing to achieve. The first step is to recognize that you are responsible for it just as much as your employees are, so you are definitely heading down the right path.