Category: Starting Up

Article Contributed by Pamela Ramos

Being is business isn’t easy. If it was, everyone would own a business. The truth is that owning your own business is incredibly difficult – long hours, little or no pay in the beginning, and there’s no one there to tell you to go home, go on a vacation, or to pick up the slack when you’re not feeling well.

Marketing drives your business forward. It makes more of an impact on your bottom line than just about anything else. Sadly, it’s also where a lot of entrepreneurs make a lot of mistakes. Here’s how to learn from others and make money at the same time.

You’re Overdoing Social Media

Don’t overdo it on social media. You’ve heard it before. You’ll probably hear it again, “everyone’s on Facebook. You have to engage people to sell them.” It’s a half-truth. While it’s possible to sell on Facebook, it’s probably not going to happen on your company’s fan page. It’s going to happen through the Facebook ads.

People tend to come to Facebook because they want to socialize. Some people come to Facebook because they want to share ideas – here’s where you can snag sales. Selling to consumers and businesses isn’t so difficult when your message is on-point. Use the ad system to discover untapped markets. Market to them, and you’ll soon forget about posting 20 messages per day to your fan page.

LinkedIn is another great place to be – except you shouldn’t be wasting your time in the discussion forums or asking or answering questions. You should be using LinkedIn’s ad system to generate leads – especially if you’re marketing to businesses. That site is full of high-powered CEOs and small business owners.

You’ve Got The “Good Enough” Mentality

It’s easy to get into a rut. You have a few ads that are performing well. The leads are coming in. All of the sudden you start to think that you’re invincible. That’s when you develop the “good enough” mentality. You’ve got enough leads and sales to keep you busy during the day, but at night you secretly wonder if you’re missing out on something. Here’s a hint: you are.

Most entrepreneurs forget to scale up their operation when things start getting good. Instead of hiring help, replicating themselves, and creating a business system that operates without them, they dig in and do more of the same work that got them to where they are now.

That’s a problem, because one person can only do so much work. At some point, you’re filled to capacity. You either grow or stagnate. Don’t make the mistake of thinking things are “good enough.” That’s a sure sign that, like Rome, you’re ready to fall.

You’re Making Excuses

Why haven’t you set up your Google Adwords account yet? Is it because Google is too expensive for you? Fine. Why not Facebook then? LinkedIn? There’s an ad network out there for you. Why don’t you get crackin’ on it?

Don’t find comfort in lame old excuses like “we’re in a recession,” “the government makes it impossible to do business,” or, “customers are tightening their belt.” Look at it this way. Even with a 10 or 15 percent unemployment rate, 80 to 85 percent of the country is still working. Even if only 50 percent of people are buying something, that’s still over 100,000 million people.

Out of that, do you think you could find 1 million people who might fall into your target market? 500,000 people? Would 50,000 customers make you rich?

Thinking Any marketing Is Good Marketing

Just because you have to market doesn’t mean you should try anything and everything under the sun. Direct marketing and direct response are the oldest, and only, type of marketing that produces results. Stick to that.

About the Author

Pamela Ramos is a marketing consultant. Her articles predominantly appear on marketing websites. To see what Yodle has done for Companies, visit the link and learn more.

Article Contributed by Victor McNamara 

When somebody starts a business it is nothing but natural that the person would want his business to prosper and succeed. Who would wish for his business to go down the drain and hope that his money and effort be wasted? Not a single sane person would want to be in this kind of situation. When starting up a business, everything is conceptualized and thought of seriously to make sure that mistakes can either be avoided if not minimized. The risks in this kind of venture are too many but if you do not try it out, you also would not know if you are cut out for this field. Nothing in this world is secure but if you play your cards well, you might end up at the top.

What Are the Things That Can Influence the Success of Small Business?

Wanting to succeed is not enough to make sure you reach the top. Determination can help to motivate you but you need to make sure you also do some actions that can greatly influence the success of your business no matter how small it is.

1.      Create a Strategic Business Plan

Similar to how you create a house to live in where you create a plan on where you place the bedrooms and the rest, you also plan on how you are going to run your business. Strategic plans will give you a chance to monitor the growth and the rest of the business process. These plans will allow you to have backup plans in case you need to add more supplies or add more manpower or even resolutions in cases wherein you need to add more funds. This will provide you with planned options in cases which are more likely to happen in the future.

2.      Choose Your Products or Services

People may look for affordable products or services but quality is what most people want. Also, make sure that you provide your customers with choices to choose from. Prices are the greatest affecting factor therefore you must make sure your prices can drive your customers in your business but not sacrificing your revenue.

3.      Manage Your Capital Well

Small businesses are not like corporations that has a huge amount of capital. Mostly, these businesses start with a small amount which is intended for the entire operation. Always keep in mind that your money is limited and that expenses for the business will be taken from it. Make sure you track all the expenses starting from what you purchased for the store, the products that you have the advertising and wages for your people and the rest of your payables such as electricity and telephone bills. It would be wise if you don’t purchase too many stocks without finding out first which ones are getting good responses from your clientele.

4.      Spend for advertising and Marketing

You may think that your business is just a small one but if your aim is to succeed then you need to let your neighborhood know what your business is all about. If your clientele is for teenagers aging 10 years old above, then it would be helpful if you spend for radio promotions such as going to local radio stations.

5.      Focus

When you try everything and you get carried away with the responses you’ll be getting, more likely than not, you will be losing focus. Make sure that you follow your plan and remain that way to avoid more mistakes. There may be some risk that needs to be taken along the way but make sure you minimize on those.

Believe in What You Can

When you invest money and effort it is impossible that you will not feel fear. As you meet challenges along the way believe that you will be succeeding in the future. There are a lot of people who made it big even if they started from scratch. These are people who were armed with determination and careful planning. You can start your own vending business if you like. Just make sure you are ready for it so you won’t waste anything.

Author Bio:

Victor McNamara works at Vending World. Vending World is a leading distributor of used vending machines. They have been selling vending machines since 1968 and can fill almost all of your general vending machine needs.

 

Article Contributed by Patrick Del Rosario

When you’re just starting out, one of the biggest pieces of advice you will receive is to create a business plan. Your business plan will guide your new venture. With a business plan, you will be on track for success, right? After all, you have a plan in place so what could go wrong?

While it is a good idea to have a plan, many entrepreneurs find that their plan is not as effective as they thought. Ideas go off course, better opportunities arise, and some tasks simply require more time and focus than first thought. Without following the original plan, the risk of failure seems greater. It becomes easier to get distracted and business goals continue to be pushed back each month.

What went wrong?

Here are the top business plan mistakes entrepreneurs make that inhibits their ability to grow and thrive.

• Your business plan lacked detail – Businesses are multi-faceted and without acknowledging each detail of the company, you could leave out critical aspects for your business growth. Each business plan must outline details about the products or services you will deliver, customer demographics, how the business will operate, marketing plans, sales goals, competitive analysis and the team in place to bring it all to fruition. In addition, you should have financial projections that will help you determine if you are on track with your efforts or if you need to step it up. Without these details, you leave out a big piece of the puzzle causing you to increase your risk of setback, or worse, failure.
• Your business plan is vague – Although you may have the essential sections listed above, each of these sections must be written with laser sharp clarity. The details provided in these sections will provide a framework for how your business is run. This will make it clear for any new investors or team members that may come on board. With more detail, you can show clearly on paper what you expect, your timeline for success and data to support your plan.
• You did not do your research – While you may draft the perfect looking business plan, your ideas may not be as realistic. By nature, your business plan will be filled with assumptions, since no one can predict the future. However, these assumptions must be backed with data that shows how you arrived at the assumption that a plan or strategy would work and why you chose a specific direction to take your new venture. Without this, you may steer your new business off in the wrong direction. Before you realize you have misjudged your potential, it may be too late.
• You do not prepare with alternative plans – Starting a new business is inherently risky. No one knows that better than an entrepreneur. So having a plan in place to mitigate risk and know how to overcome blunders when they occur is crucial. Your business plan should contain a variety of approaches so that you can test and determine over the course of time the best approaches for your model. When you take risk into consideration while drafting your plan, you can better prepare yourself for struggles or challenges that you will undoubtedly meet along the way.
• You ignore the competition completely – For an entrepreneur to start a new endeavor, you must see a need in the marketplace. Even if there is an unmet need, you will still have competition on some level. In order for you to create your competitive advantage, you must acknowledge this competition and clearly define how you will differentiate yourself from the others in your niche. Without doing so, you risk your market not being able to see your competitive advantage and not buying what you have to sell.

Starting a business is tough. Without a solid business plan in place and a clear roadmap of how you plan to accomplish your goals, you may be left in the dark. Worse yet, you may manage your business to failure. Creating a strong plan can help you stay on course and watch your ideas, goals and dreams come to fruition.

About the Author

Patrick Del Rosario is a blogger from Mayple Marketing Blog. Mayple matches businesses to digital marketing professionals that meet their unique needs, and ensures they are performing optimally, at all time. When not working, Patrick  loves to do event photography. He also runs an event and photography business in the Phillippines. He loves to travel around the world with his wife and son

 

As a start up entrepreneur it’s natural to want to make your new enterprise look as big and as successful as possible. This is because we live in a time when corporations and big companies seem powerful and more trustworthy. Times are changing, though, and it really is in your best interests to maintain your independent status for as long as possible.

The easiest way to do this is to conserve space. Working in a smaller space is cheaper and helps you maintain your “indie street cred,” particularly in cities like New York, Seattle or Chicago where property costs – even to renters and leasers – is astronomical. To save as much money as possible, try one of the following options:

1. Work from home, but employ a virtual office to upgrade your professionalism. Working out of your garage endears you to your buyers and clients and makes you look dedicated and innovative. Google, Microsoft and Apple are all companies that started in someone’s garage. Virtual office space, though gives you a professional mailing address for your business and access to meeting and conference spaces when you need them.

2. Buy cube or office space in a coworking space or loft (such as Guild in Chicago). These spaces look, on the surface, like any other cubicle or professional environment. The main difference, though, is that each cube and office belongs to an entirely different business. These spaces are available for much less than traditional office space but give you the same benefits that come from working in an office: professional mailing address, meeting spaces, break rooms and “coworkers” that you can talk to and bounce ideas off of.

If you truly require office space to call your own – you’ll want to economize on space to save money. Don’t splurge for an expansive loft when the smaller single office with receptionist area will do the job just fine. Remember: save money now so you don’t have as much to make up for in your profits later. And, thanks to the affordable rate of Chicago storage units (and units in other cities) you don’t have to worry about cluttering up your office with extra supplies or files that you only need access to every few months.

There are, of course, other ways to reduce your overhead. Using Skype or Google Voice and forwarding the calls to your cell phone instead of buying an entirely new phone plan is one suggestion. You can also buy office supplies in bulk from a discount outlet or install “green” technology to reduce your energy costs. Also, working with freelancers and independent contractors so that you only pay for the work that is actually done (as opposed to an employee who might spend all day playing games on Facebook) is one of the best options.

People are more sympathetic to startups and indie businesses and you will be more attractive to investors if you don’t try to pretend to be bigger than you are. Pretending to be bigger than you are costs a lot of money – money that you may or may not recoup.

Article contributed by Jenna Smith

The beginning stages of starting and planning a business can be exciting. This is where you begin to dream up future possibilities and map out a clear path ahead in order to ensure your new company’s success in the marketplace. Start-up companies needing to house massive amounts of inventory, however, may stumble into some complications. On top of getting all the right licenses and legalities out of the way, you need to find a warehouse that allows you to efficiently manage inventory without going broke in the process. With a well-planned space, you can work alongside your warehouse manager to improve your bottom line. Let’s take a look at some of the logistics involved in setting up a great warehouse space.

Design and plan

Assuming you and your team have hit the pavement and found that magical warehouse facility, it’s time to hit the drawing board pretty hard. The first step in setting up any warehouse space is drawing up the perfect floor plan. Odds are your building’s lease is based on raw square footage. When you come up with a master list of what your warehouse needs to function, ensure you’re maximizing every inch of the warehouse space. This will give your designers ample information to help them along their way to customizing your workspace.

Get your needs in order

After you’ve drawn up a dynamic floor plan, figure out what you’ll need to effectively manage inventory in this new space, including proper shelving, hand trucks, machinery to move pallets around, and power supplies to keep your industrial equipment running at peak performance. Plan wisely and make sure you differentiate between needs and wants, such as purchasing an electric forklift before you can actually benefit from its purchase.

Safety considerations

Having effective safety measures in place are not just a good idea, they are required by law. This is especially true if you’re running an industrial warehouse where forklifts and other types of heavy machinery are involved. Observe the safety regulations required by your city, state and/or local region. Ensure the building itself is up to code for the type of inventory you are managing.

Setting up office space

Every warehouse facility should have a dedicated office space to handle the administrative tasks of running the facility and keeping detailed records of all inbound and outbound inventory. You and your team should have planned-out space for an office build-out in the beginning stages of the facility’s development. In general, the office space should be kept away from the rest of the warehouse so records, permits and other paperwork can be easily accessed and managed without distraction or disruption.

It’s important to remember that setting up and maintaining a quality warehouse space is an ongoing process. Get a basic plan in place and execute it promptly and precisely. As long as the initial plan is put together well, any changes that need to be made will most likely be easier to implement.