Morne Patterson - Key Small Business Tips for Success
Small business tips for starting your own business can put
you on the path to financial success.
Here are key small business tips and questions to consider:
1. Why do you want to start a small business? Starting your
own business requires commitment. So don't proceed to do so unless you are
prepared for long hours, often frustrating, while you are establishing your
business. For many, enduring this is well worth the potential of financial
security.
2. Will you market a product or service? A service business
is one where you offer your expertise to clients. For a product business, you
will need to offer a tangible product. Typically, a product business is more
expensive to launch than a service business.
3. Do you have a simplified business plan? The thought of
writing a business plan is intimidating to most aspiring entrepreneurs.
However, it is possible to write a one-page plan that tells the what, who, how
and where of your business. You should keep it simple. You can add details as
you go. Just get it started.
4. Who is your customer? Describe your target customer in as
much detail as possible. Know their needs and wants. Know how you can provide a
solution to their problem. This profile will help you create a targeted
marketing message and save you time and money in reaching prospects.
5. What is your pricing? Pricing is an art and a science.
You need to cover your costs and generate a reasonable profit. Doing research
to see what your competitors are charging can help.
6. Are you watching your costs? Many entrepreneurs tend to
underestimate how long it will take for their small business to turn a profit.
Don't burden your business with too many costs too quickly. To keep costs to a
minimum, hire interns and outsource or barter for services.
7. What's your plan for getting customers? One of the secrets
to business success is spending 85% of your time doing things that will lead to
sales and 15% of your time doing everything else. You'll need a marketing plan.
How do you plan on attracting prospects and converting them to paying
customers? Design your advertising to generate sales. Your advertising should
always include an offer and an easy way for prospects to respond.
8. Are you using social media? More and more businesses are
moving to social media because their prospects are on social media. Only about
25% of small businesses are using social media to build their business. So,
creating a presence on social media will give you an edge. This typically means
building a fan page on Facebook. There are many resources you can use to build
a fan page.
Here are some small business tips to attract more customers
online:
1. Be sure to add local content targeted for your specific
area.
2. Make sure prospects can find you online and offline.
3. Be very clear about what your business offers.
4. Participate on social media consistently.
5. Watch what your competitors are doing. See what is
working and what is not working.
These small business tips require you to be consistent. It
takes persistence to establish a social media presence.
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