Small Business Online Coach: What No One Tells You About ROI in Small Business Marketing
It's not easy to operate a small business. Therefore, it's important that you know more about ways to boost your marketing ISO. Since small business owners have limited budget, tight profit margins, and fewer resources, it's hard for them to cover their expenses at times. That's why many small business owners take care of multiple aspects of their business to fill in the gap. In this article, we are going to share a few secret tips with you that can help you increase your marketing ROI. Read on.
1) Set Your Goals
First off, make sure you know your goals, which will help you make your marketing more effective. For instance, you can encourage your customers to register to get your newsletters. For the newsletters, you can put together specific marketing materials.
Similarly, if you want to raise your revenue, your marketing material should have a powerful call-to-action. This can help you make more sales.
2) Decide on the Best Channels
To find out the most effective channels, make sure you consider real data. In case you don't know, the marketing channel refers to a method that can help you communicate with your target customers via a certain platform or tool like social media sites or digital advertisements.
It takes time to learn about the right channels that may work for you. However, once you have learned about them, you can focus on them.
3) Optimize Your Integrated Marketing Campaigns
This is a type of cross-platform approach, which can help you offer a seamless experience for your valued consumers. This can make your message consistent and relatable whether your customers watch TV, surf online or read newspapers.
Running an integrated marketing campaign is a great idea as it can help you increase your visibility and improve your message. As a matter of fact, more than 70% customers tend to like the integrated marketing approach.
4) Use Optimized Campaigns
If you want to optimize your campaigns, make sure you use real data. In other words, you can run an optimized campaign on YouTube or Facebook, for instance. However, this won't get you the best results for the efforts you put in.
What you need to do is spend your budget more wisely and create a more impactful message. You can create targeted campaigns to target your specific customers.
5) Try Content Marketing
There are many marketing channels and content marketing is one of them. With the help of content marketing, you can enjoy tremendous benefits over the long haul. As a matter of fact, content marketing plays a great role if you want to rank your site. Moreover, it can also help you get a higher return on investment.
6) Automate Tasks
Digital marketing offers a lot of benefits. For instance, it has a lot of platforms that can help you automate tons of tasks. Given below are a few platforms that you can try out.
WordPress: This platform can help you schedule your blog posts. They will be published on the dates you set.
Facebook: You can schedule as many posts as you want.
MailChimp: With this platform, you can schedule your email marketing campaigns.
By automating various tasks, you can enjoy a lot of benefits. For instance, you can save plenty of time and money.
Deciding to start a business can be one of the most exhilarating decisions you make in your life. We are living in a world wherever everyone wants to make extra money and add to his income. Most people have achieved this by acquiring great business ideas. When one starts up a company, he must be ready to meet competition. It is important to note that you would not need to become rich or popular to succeed in business but have to think smartly. But there are a lot of moving parts and many different elements to consider.
10 basic tips essential to start a business successfully.
Tip 1: Get inspired and Love your idea
Every business begins with an idea you may have imagined of opening your own business for years, or motivation may have hit you suddenly. Nevertheless of the source, the first step of starting your own business is coming up with a business idea. And as important as your idea, you must in love with the idea.
Tip 2: Do Your Research / learn everything about the business
You've recognized your big idea, now it's time to balance it with the reality. Are you truly ready to start a business? Answer the questions below and see what you need to prepare yourself for business. For a small business succeed it must fulfill a need, solve a problem or offer something the market wants.
You can identify this need in many ways by doing research, focus groups, and even trial and error.
As you search the market, some of the questions can be:
• Is there a need for your anticipated services or products?
• Who needs it? (Target Costumers)
• Are there other companies offering similar services or products right now?
• How is the competition?
• Can or how will your business fit into the market?
Tip 3: Make a Business Plan
You need a business plan in order to make your business idea a reality. If you expect to seek monetary support from an investor or financial organization, a formal written business plan is a must.
Even if you don't need monetary support, a simple business plan can give you precision about what you hope to accomplish and how you plan to do it.
In overall, your business plan should summary your business goals and the inspiration behind them, as well as your plan for realization of your goals in terms of marketing and funding.
Tip 4: Planning Finances
Opening a small business doesn't have to involve a lot of money, but it will involve some investment.
There are a number of methods you can fund your small business:
• With Small business grants
• By Financing
• With Small business loans
• Or Angel investors
You can also attempt to get your business off the ground by bootstrapping, using as little capital as necessary to start your business.
Tip 5: Business Structure
Your small business can be an individual ownership, a partnership, a limited liability company (LLC) or a corporation. The business structure you might choose will impact in many factors from your business name, to liability, and how you file your taxes.
You can choose an initial business structure, and with time re-evaluate and change your structure as your business grows and needs to be changed.
Tip 6: The Business Name
The name you choose plays a role in almost every aspect of your business, so you want it to be a good one. Make sure you think through all of the possible consequences as you explore your options and select your business name.
Once you have selected a name, there is the need to check if it's trademarked, currently in use and if stills free you will need to register it. A individual proprietor must register their business name with either their state or county clerk. Corporations, LLC, or limited corporations usually register their business name when the creation paperwork is filed.
These days you need to have a website, so please don't forget to register your domain name once you have selected your business name. The best domains and more valuable online are the ones ending with .com.
Tip 7: Licenses and Permits
There are a range of small business licenses and permits that may apply to your situation, depending on the type of business you are starting and where you are placed. You will need to inquiry what licenses and permits apply to your business during the initial process.
Tip 8: The Business Location
Setting up your place to work is essential for the operation of your business, whether you will have a home office, a shared or private office space, or a retail location. You will need to reflect about your place, equipment, and overall setup, and make sure your business place works for the kind of business you will be doing.
Tip 9: Accounting System
One of the most essential systems for a small business is an accounting system. Your accounting system is essential in order to build and manage your budget, set your charges, conduct business with others, and file your taxes. You can set up your accounting system by your own, or hire an accountant to take away some of the work.
Tip 10: Promote Your Small Business
As soon your business is up and running, you need to start attracting customers. You'll want to initiate with the essentials by writing a single selling offer and building a marketing plan. Explore as many small business marketing ideas as you can so you to choose how to promote your business most successfully. Completed these business start-up actions, you will have all of the most important small business bases protected, and be prepared for small business success.
15 Business Ideas to Generate Extra Income
If you want or need to start a side job because you still need to wait a little bit longer to start your own business, here are 15 suggestions for you.
1. Make money Blogging
If you enjoy writing, find a theme you're passionate about and start a blog dedicated to covering that theme and anything else interesting you enjoy to talk about. All you need is a laptop, some time, and inspiration to consistently write. It can start as a hobby and turn into a business over time. Creating a blog is free, but if you want to look professional it can cost less than $ 12 per month.
2. Buying or selling on eBay
Thanks to internet there are more opportunities to make money than ever to buy and resell products for extra money. There are lots of people buy at a discount and resell them on eBay for profit.
3. Freelance writing
If you're great with words, you might be capable to find some work as an online freelancer. A variety of publications need online content in the form of product, stories, service descriptions, and reports, and if you have the talent and ability, you could easily be the one to create them. Luckily, all you need is a computer and Internet connection to get started. You can start here freelancer.com
4. Social media expert
Now a day almost everyone uses Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, but did you know that many companies are willing to compensate people to support them managing their social media accounts and sometimes you can do it part-time from home. If this appeals you, to find social media jobs you can start by writing companies with a social media presence and visiting sites like Elance.com for opportunities.
5. Proofreading and editing
Do you have strong English skills and outstanding grammar? You may have chances to work as a proof-reader from home. Marketing for this can be hard; seek out those who might actually be able to use your services and advertise directly to them.
6. Virtual assistant
Many companies and individual professionals like having someone who can check and answer their email, organize task lists for them, someone who can update their calendars, and perform other administrative tasks, with minimal communication. The best of being a virtual assistant is that you can offer this service from home with a good Internet connection.
7. Website design
If you know a little bit about web design you can approach small businesses in your community, as they could use a very basic web presence to tell others about their business. These businesses usually don't have a large budget for websites and create a great yet simple website is for you, get a bunch of clients from your local community, create sites for them, and maintains them for a small fee. You can easily get enough businesses to have a nice side business of your own with a low investment.
8. Affiliate marketing
Certain types of online businesses will pay you to promote their products and encourage sales. If you're interested in learning more, check out affiliate marketing programs such as Click-bank, Commission Junction, and these websites are trustworthy and you can earn money by posting their products in your blog, website or Facebook. The secret of online business is all knowing targeting the right public and marketing efficiently. It can be overwhelming with all the information available online as more than 50% of the information is just a waste of time.
9. Become a business or life coach
If you are a good speaker and passionate about the business world and able to inspire and encourage others in a unique way, you could marketing your services as a business or even a life coach. Take your passion and expertise to the next level giving advice and suggest actionable steps people can take to progress their professional and private lives.
10. Start a resume writing service
If you're excellent at writing remarkable resumes that in the end result in people getting the job, contemplate advertising those services. Most of your work will spin around writing, editing, designing, and proofreading, so you will only need few supplies outside of your computer and basic software to get started.
11. App Developer
Web app development is the creation of application programs that reside on remote servers and are delivered to the user's device over the Internet. Now a day you can do apps with software's you don't really need to be a weirdo to do it, you can be an app developer for Facebook for instance and of course you can do it part-time and home based.
12. Business Consultant
If you are high organized and skilled being a good problem solver this job is for you. Companies bring Business Consultant to identify their problems, provide solutions and optimize companies. The only investments are your skills.
13. Data Entry Service
Many companies and online businesses require some type of manual information tracking, creating a vast amount of data entry work. Although there are many work-at-home scams related with data entry work, there are a lot of genuine chances available for genuine data entry businesses. If you are an excellent typist with an eye for detail, a data entry business is a great idea for you.
14. Freelance Writer
If you have the skill to write and inform people in a certain area, you can write small books or guides and sell them online, the biggest books platform is Amazon.com, where you can display your books for free and when they are sold, you will receive a percentage from the selling. Payments are made every month depending on your sales. Investment is only your time to write and imagination.
15. Internet Researcher
The Internet provides a vast amount of information. If you can quickly and efficiently navigate through that wealth of information, and essentially find a needle in a haystack, you can create a very successful business as an Internet researcher. Search for this kind of job online or about a company which is looking for this of service.
I give you only a glimpse what you could do, and these are just a few ideas, but many ideas were left behind.
First of all I advise you to think what you like to do as a hobby or in your free time, why don't you make profit from what you are doing already?
You have the world as your disposal, but for a business to work out the first thing from all things is, it doesn't matter what you intent to do, but you have to love it. If you love what you do it doesn't feel like a job, you will be doing it with joy and this way you will be successful.
There are some side business opportunities that have grown more common in the past few years. And thanks to internet you have much more opportunities, ideas and help to develop your business.
3 Sources Where Your Small Business Can Get A Loan Today - Yes, Even Your Small Business
Now, when we talk about small business loans, we mean just that - small business loans. We are not talking about a $1 million loan to purchase some commercial real estate or $500,000 to buy some investment property. We are not talking about a $3 million credit line just to show capital on a balance sheet. And, we are not talking about a $250,000 equipment loan for a regional construction company.
We are talking about true small business credit - loans under $150,000. Capital amounts that the 22 million small businesses in this country could use at some point in time for working capital, to renovate their location, purchase inventory, marketing, meeting payroll, developing new products or to simply have the capital on hand to acquire and satisfy customers (what business is really about).
But, we have heard ad nauseam that banks are just not lending to small businesses - claiming there is too much risk in smaller firms. So, many small companies are not even applying for credit anymore out of fear of being turned down. And, as a result, we are seeing small businesses not reach for or obtaining their full potential - essentially letting profitable opportunities slip by.
However, just because banks don't see the true value of small companies, that does not mean that others don't - others who are willing to do what they can to fund your business.
The Benefits Of Small Business
There are some 22 million small businesses in the U.S. and they are quite the power house.
According to the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council, small businesses;
Provide two-thirds of all new jobs in the nation.
Contribute almost 50% to our Gross Domestic Product.
Account for 97.8% of all exports. And,
Create 16.5% more innovation than larger firms.
All items that help make America the country that it is.
But, if banks think these firms are too risky, that is OK, because given the entrepreneurial spirit in this country, other financing firms (lenders) are stepping up to cover the small business loans that banks and traditional lenders will not. So now, you don't have to be afraid of being turned down anymore.
3 Sources That Will Fund Your Small Business
1) SBA Loans: Sure, SBA loans have to go through banks - which are not lending. However, banks might not be lending for their own loan portfolios but they are lending under the SBA's programs.
Did you know that over the last three years, the SBA has been growing the number and dollar amount of the under $150,000 loans they back - even given that banks (who originate these products) are not approving them?
From the latest SBA data;
In 2012, the SBA guaranteed 14,520 under $150,000 loans for a total loan amount of over $802 million. In 2014 (two years later), the SBA increase the number of these loans to 16,043 with a total volume of $955 million - with a down year in 2013.
Part of this increase is the fact that the SBA has reduced or waived its fees on these smaller loans. From the SBA's website:
"The SBA determined to eliminate the fees on loans of $150,000 or less after conducting a review of the 7(a) Loan Program. As a result, a small business owner obtaining a $150,000 loan will save more than $2,500."
Bottom line - the SBA is actually doing what it can to fund small businesses in this country - including yours.
Programs to look for:
The 7(a) program offers nearly any business loan under the sun from working capital to commercial real estate.
The CDC/504 program only focuses on real estate and equipment lending. But, if your business needs either one of these under the $150,000 amount - including renovating your location - then by all means as this is a great program.
And, the express program - which is capped at $350,000 - is a great program. Quick and easy access to needed capital.
Now, for some quick benefits of SBA loans. The SBA's guarantee does several things:
By capping interest rates and fees, these products tend to be cheaper in the long-run for the borrower.
Lower down payment requirements - meaning that you can keep more of your own money in your own business.
Long loan terms also allow payments on these facilities to be more affordable. Just image which loan payment would be easier to make on a $100,000 loan at 10% interest. A bank may require the loan to be repaid in 36 months - making the monthly payment $3,227. While the SBA could extend the term to 6 years (72 months) making their monthly payment $1,853. The lower the payment amount, the easier it is to cover with current cash flow, making the overall loan less risky and easier to get approved.
Express programs can significantly speed up funding as some traditional business loans can take months to close while those under the express programs can be funded in the matter of weeks.
If you have been fearful of applying for a SBA loan, knock it off and go apply!
2) Alternative Lending: Alternative loans (non-bank loans) from factoring and business cash advances to revenue based loans have really picked up steam over the last 5 plus years.
These lenders are focused solely on small businesses and as such have created products that allow them to approve more loans to companies that traditional lenders will not touch - by not using old and outdated underwriting standards but by focusing more on technology.
Most alternative lenders - especially the leaders in this space - have seen their loan volumes (thus their approval rates) - increase by 150% or more year after year.
A couple of examples: According to the SBA, their largest lender - Wells Fargo - approved and funded just over $266 million in small business financing last year. However, OnDeck Capital, a leading revenue based lender, nearly doubled that amount over the same period. Further, CAN Capital claims to have funded over $800 million in 2013 - far out pacing even the top 100 SBA lenders combined.
While these loans are high-cost loans, they offer several benefits like approvals when other lenders say "no" as well as quick (in the matter of days) funding.
3) New Players: Peer-to-peer lending is know for its ability to match regular people who have extra money to lend with regular people who need to borrow. These loans are typically personal loans that can be used for nearly any purpose - like starting or growing a small business.
However, just this year, Lending Club - the leader in P2P lending - has begun to offer a true small business loan product where businesses can borrower anywhere from $15,000 to $100,000 at low rates. And, their approval and funding is not based on some standard cookie cutter formula that most businesses just do not meet but comes from regular people who listen to your story and decide for themselves the merit of your financing request.
Conclusion
Capital for your business is still available.
Don't always believe what you hear. Sure, small business lending is tight - when compared to the hey days of the mid-2000s. But, that does not mean that you still cannot get the funding your small business needs to start, grow and succeed.
To truly know if your company is qualified for business loan all you have to do is one thing - and that is to apply. But, if you don't apply, you will never know for sure and then all you can do is reflect on how far your business COULD have gone.
Settle Your Small Business Taxes With a Peer-To-Peer Loan
Like the saying goes, "The only things certain in life are death and taxes." Unfortunately, small businesses know this saying all too well.
Unlike employees who look forward to their refund every April, small businesses loath the approaching spring, knowing they will have to pay Uncle Sam its share of their profits. Each year, small businesses struggling to turn a profit in an increasingly competitive business environment must pay taxes in order to keep their doors open.
With dwindling profit margins and tightened lending restrictions, however, many small business owners find themselves between a rock and a hard place when it comes time to pay the tax man. Although a business may have steady sales and revenue or thousands of dollars in inventory, banks and traditional lending institutions simply aren't handing out small business loans like they were in year's past, leaving small business owners with few funding options to pay their tax bill.
Thankfully, peer-to-peer lending, or social lending, has solved this growing dilemma. These modern social lending marketplaces have connected millions of borrowers with individual investors. Borrowers receive low-interest, fixed-rate loans that can be paid off in two to five years, while investors are able to benefit from decent returns in an economy with sinking bond and savings rates.
Thus, it's a win-win situation for both small business owners in need of immediate funding and investors looking to make a small profit while helping others.
From Desperation to Exultation: One Man's Venture into Peer-to-Peer Lending
John Mitchell is an Ohio-based small business owner who found himself in such a predicament just last year. As the owner of the only hardware store in a small town, John's store flourished the first few years it was open.
After getting his inventory levels, pricing models, and management just right, he decided to expand his business by opening a second location in a neighboring town. John sunk all of his profits into opening his new store, which meant he was short on funds come tax time. However, knowing the success of his business, he thought he would simply get a small loan from the bank that housed his accounts and provided him with the initial loan he used to launch his business four years earlier.
Unfortunately, he witnessed first-hand the effect the recession has had on lending regulations as the banker he's known for years denied his loan application. If he couldn't get a loan there, where could he?
On the brink of despair, John took to the Internet to research loan options. After digging through forums and trying a few different searches, he ran across peer-to-peer lending. In less than a week after going through the quick and easy application process, he received a personal loan at a low rate for the amount he needed. A week later, John sent a check for the full amount to the IRS, and less than eight months later, he was able to pay off the loan with the profits from his new store!
If you are a small business owner who has found yourself in a similar circumstance, peer-to-peer lending can do the same for you as well, but how does peer-to-peer lending work?
How Peer-to-Peer Lending Works
A breakthrough product or service emerges every generation, and in the early 2000's, the emerging breakthrough was social networking. From helping in the organization of overthrowing political regimes to staying in touch with friends and family members, social networking has had a profound effect on our daily lives. Now, it's changing the small business financing landscape as well.
Peer-to-peer lending is a modern social networking solution for small businesses in search of a way of securing alternative funding. The goal of peer-to-peer lending sites, such as Prosper and Lending Club, is simply to connect individual investors with those in need of funding, and these sites are becoming an increasingly useful tool for small business owners who are unable to secure funding from traditional lenders.
Rather than jumping through endless hoops only to be denied by a bank, small businesses can receive funding via peer-to-peer lending in no time at all by following three simple steps:
Step 1: Create a Profile and Loan Listing
There are a myriad of peer-to-peer lending networks to choose from, so your first step is to research the best ones and create a profile and loan listing on the site you choose. The loan listing is essentially a cost-free ad that indicates the amount of money you need and your desired interest rate.
Step 2: Let the Bidding Process Begin
After your listing goes live, investors have the opportunity to begin bidding on your listing, providing you with the interest rate and loan amount they are willing to offer you. A major advantage of this bidding process is the fact that it can intensify as more and more lenders begin competing for your business.
When this happens, interest rates will begin dropping, potentially allowing you to obtain a much lower interest rate than you expected. It's important to note, however, that your credit score, income, and debt-to-income ratio plays a role in the lending decision process.
Step 3: Funding and Paying Back the Loan
Another benefit of borrowing from peer-to-peer lenders is that you can accept several bids to receive your requested loan amount. For instance, if you ask for $10,000 in your loan listing to pay your business taxes, you can acquire the amount from collecting $2,000 from five different borrowers.
This makes it much easier for borrowers to receive the money they need. However, instead of making five separate payments, you would only make one payment, because the peer-to-peer lending site is responsible for dispersing the money to lenders until loans are repaid in full. They simply charge a small fee for this service.
With increased lending regulations, banks are tightening their purse strings more than ever before, making it much more difficult for small businesses to receive the funding they need to expand their business or even pay their taxes. Thankfully, peer-to-peer lending has proven to be a worthy competitor in the small business lending marketplace. If you are a small business owner and find yourself unable to pay your taxes as April approaches, or backed taxes for that matter, a peer-to-peer loan is an ideal option.
The need for a viable way of borrowing money to pay small business taxes is very important to many business owners today, including the author. The small business owners in search of a reasonable financial solution for effectively meeting their tax debt obligations should take a hard look at peer-to-peer loans as a cost-effective way to resolve this pressing debt issue. Readers interested in learning more about P2P lending and how it can help confront the complicated issues surrounding small business debt tax can read here [http://diysociallending.com] about the benefits of Peer-to-Peer personal loans.
5 Secrets That Will Thrust Your Small Business Into the Big League
There are 28 million small businesses in the US. The sad reality is that most of them fail within the first few years of operation. The small percentage that survive stay small forever. A select few manage to grow into huge businesses. But why them and not the others? What are the factors that enable unknowns to become household brands? One thing for sure that it takes much more than hard work, luck, and timing. Read on to see if your small business has what it takes to make the leap into the big league?
Systems
Many small business owners' lives are chaotic due to lack of systems. Systems are hard, but they enable small businesses to scale. Systems are not glorious like sales, marketing, or research and development. Some say that systems are boring, after all, it is a back office function. Systems separate struggling small businesses from those that grow by leaps and bounds. Creating systems can be a daunting task, and for many, the prospect of taking on yet another project is out of the question. For some, it is a catch-22 situation. You may say "How do I carve out extra time from my already hectic schedule." The correct way to think of systems is that creating them is an investment in your business.
One of the greatest challenges that small business owners face is that the they are perpetual decision makers. The owner is involved in everything from sales, customer service, research and development, bookkeeping, so an and so forth. Creating systems is the first step toward a business where not every decision is dependent on the entrepreneur. Systems allow people to plug in and go. Systems include operating procedures and manuals that can bring a new team member up to speed in no time. It is what takes small out of small business.
Franchise businesses are often more successful than independently operated ones simply because they are built on systems. The franchisee may be paying a premium in upstart costs compared to an independent business, but it makes sense for many because they don't have to worry about developing systems. Someone already went ahead and created the necessary systems for success. When you buy a franchise you are taking a system that has been proved to work. Does it mean that you have to buy a franchise to succeed? Absolutely not, but you have to think of your own independent business as a franchise. Create procedures for everything. Don't leave anything to guesswork.
Most small businesses do without systems, but it doesn't mean that it's a good idea. While you might get away with it in the beginning the lack of systems will create huge bottle necks down the road. The lack of systems will reduce your profits. Why? Because you and your employees will have to reinvent the wheel day in and day out. systems minimize the element of surprise. With systems in place your team is able to deliver consistent service. Businesses with consistently good service will outperform those with fluctuating quality service.
In addition to making your life easier, systems also increase the value of your business. Buyers want to buy businesses that are built on systems. The presence of systems tell buyers that the business doesn't entirely rely on you. Creating systems help you create a turnkey operation, appealing to buyers. Business systems are assets that enable your company to run without you.
Scalability
Investors love highly scalable companies because they have the potential to multiply revenue with minimal incremental cost. You simply can't substantially grow a business without cracking the scaling code. Some business are built to scale while others are forever destined for small business status. Unfortunately, many professional service providers are not scalable because they rely on personal output. So, if your goal is to build a big company avoid consulting types of businesses. A software company, on the other hand, is a highly scalable business model. Once the software product has been completed it can be sold millions of times with minimal costs. In other words, their increased revenues cost less to deliver than current revenues. What this means is that a scalable business will be able to increase the operating margin as revenue grows.
A highly scalable business requires small variable costs that the company can control. Variable cost changes with the volume of business. Fixed costs do not vary with sales. For example, for a software company fixed costs include the cost of the office location, computers, and furniture. These cannot be quickly added or liquidated. Salaries on the other hand are a variable cost since workers can be hired and fired relatively fast.
Most consulting businesses like marketing agencies are not scalable because they are unable to substantially increase their revenue without greatly increasing their variable costs. Such businesses are considered poor investments.
To build a scalable business you should start with a scalable idea. Scalable businesses have high margins. They require low support and staff expenses. Scalable businesses allow you to work on your business as opposed to working in your business. If you find yourself constantly working in your business your business is either not scalable or not yet ready to scale.
Truly scalable businesses are highly automated. Automation helps you reduce variable costs such as labor. It is at this point when scaling and systems begin to work together. If you truly want to become a market leader or dominate your industry, scalability is the only way to do it without a miracle.
Board of advisors
If your goal is rapid growth, you must have a board that you can rely on for your big audacious goals. The life of an entrepreneur can be a lonely one. Often you feel like you are all alone with all the decisions you have to make. Your board will share some of the burdens of making key decisions and it will tell the outside world that you are systematic about your business, and that you understand that you need to surround yourself with people that are smarter than you. Your board will help you with large strategic goals. It can help with your overall business plan, policy issues, financial questions, strategic partnerships, and more.
Your board shouldn't be utilized to deal with routine tactical challenges. Don't waste the boards time on daily employee issues or what color the chose for your new office. Rather, let your board help you with strategic advice, or by helping you with making introductions to strategic partners and recruiting talent.
Fellow entrepreneurs and business leaders make excellent board members. Before you build your board you should have a clear understanding of what areas you need help with. Ask yourself what skills do you currently lack that you need to take your business to the next level? Is it marketing, intellectual property, or finance? Whatever it is you need help with should influence the ultimate makeup of your board. You could hire a recruiter, but they are expensive. It is best if you perform the search yourself.
Your board is not a group of your closest friends. It is a group of professionals, each with a respective specialty. One might be an IP attorney while another a retired CEO. You are not looking for a group of yes men. If you build a great board, each member will have more experience than you and each will know much more than you. If you feel like the dumbest person in the room, you are on the right track.
Your board of advisors will not join you for the money, but there are costs involved. It is a good idea to compensate your advisors. At least, you should cover their expenses. Do they need to travel to your board meetings? Are there hotel and other expenses? It is also advisable to pay a per meeting fee that might be a few hundreds or a few thousand dollars. In addition to monetary compensation, you could chose to offer stock as payment.
IP (Intellectual Property)
Most small business owners care most about time and money. Some understand that IP is as good as money in the bank. It is considered one of the most important assets of some of the most valuable companies in the world. Even though IP is an intangible asset, it's almost impossible to build a hugely successful business without it. If you are going to dominate your industry or at least be one of its key players, IP is a must. You can often read about huge business acquisition deals structured around IP. Often, IP is the reason companies are bought and sold for huge multiples.
Simply put, IP makes your company more competitive. Without IP you end up competing on price and efficiency, a tough way to build your business. When you compete through IP you often set your own price, a luxury most businesses never experience. Since innovation is the main driver in business, developing IP should be a key objective for all companies that want to enter the big league.
If you are an early stage company wanting to attract investors, your IP might be what closes the deal for you. Investors look at IP with regard to the level of income it may generate through its life. Some companies bet their futures on IP. Richard Thoman, the CEO of Xerox, declared that the "management of IP is how value added is going to be created at Xerox." An excellent example of IP management is IBM; it managed to generate about $1 billion from IP by 1990. IP is the intangible asset that can become your free cash flow.
When IP is properly managed it can prevent your competitors from copying your products or services. You can avoid wasteful investment in R&D. IP is a revenue generating profit machine that makes your company more valuable and competitive, getting you ever so closer to market domination.
Brand
Many small business owners, wrongly believe, that brand building is reserved for giant corporations. But, building your brand should be a key focus from the very early stages of your company's life. Your brand is another intangible asset you can't build a market leading company without. It is your brand that may enable your business one day to avoid competing on price only. It is your brand that may one day help you dominate your market. It is through the power of your brand that you will be able to minimize your new customer acquisition costs.
Successful brands are easily recognizable. Virtually all fortune 500 companies have managed to build a strong brand image. Powerful brands instill certain images in consumers from tradition, to quality, to innovation, to any number of thoughts and feelings. As competition increases, so does the importance of building credible brands.
Brands are not born out of thin air, they are strategically developed. Building your brand is no less important than developing your sales strategy or R&D. The process of building your brand is a never ending job. There is no such thing as a finished brand. Finished brands are for businesses that are finished. You can never think of brand building as a project with a beginning and an end.
While advertising is important it is not advertising that creates your brand. Your brand is a reflection on everything that your company does. Your brand is the quality of your product or service. It is also the way you treat your customers, and even your employees. Your brand is shaped by how the world perceives you.
The value of each brand fluctuates. Your company scores big on your latest product and the value of your brand rises. One of your employees publicly ridicules one of your upset customers and your brand suffers. The good news is that for the most part, you are in charge of your brand's destiny.
Even the worlds greatest brands are not always on an upward trajectory. Strong brands can help your company survive disasters. Recently, the Toyota brand had been plagued by millions of recalls, yet the company managed to come out of it all with an even stronger brand.
It is true that not each small business wants to become an industry leader. But, it's also true that there are no accidental market leaders. Most small businesses are family owned and operated, and there is nothing wrong with that. You can be happy, fulfilled, and wealthy running a small business. But, if your choice is to grow your business into a true market leader you have to build your business on systems. You have to be able to crack the scaling code, so you can dramatically increase your revenue with minimal expenses. You will need trusted advisors that are smarter and more experienced than you. It will be an uphill battle, or perhaps even impossible without proper IP management. Your brand will soften the blow when you are hit with disasters. Of course, there are other factors such as luck and timing that transform small businesses into huge success stories, but the above five make for a good start.
