By J.L. on October 6, 2008
If you’ve never really done much advertising and relied mostly on networking and word-of-mouth, how can you figure out where to start?
The first thing you must do is calculate your minimum and maximum allowable ad budgets:
* Step 1: Take 10 percent and 12 percent of your projected annual gross sales and multiply each by the markup made on your average transaction. In this first step, it’s important to remember that we’re talking about gross markup here, not margin. Markup is gross profit above cost, expressed as a percentage of cost. Margin is [...]
Posted in Advertising | Tagged marketing strategy, promote, sales success, strategy, target market
By J.L. on September 8, 2008
Want to spend your day getting things done instead of putting out fires? Here are some ways to do just that.
Technology
Streamlining your business technology can make life less of a headache for everyone. Entrepreneurs often “don’t realize they can make things easier,” says Kevin McElligott, founder of iTech Developers, a Nevada City, California, technology consulting firm [...]
Posted in Management | Tagged small business, strategy, tax
By J.L. on August 18, 2008
When you only have a few employees and a few customers, it’s easy to stay on top of things. As you add more customers and and employees, it gets quite a bit harder. You actually create the potential for growth at the same time you’re creating the potential for disaster.
Creating a customer service policy and sticking to it can make it easier on you. Take these steps to help you [...]
Posted in Sales | Tagged customer service, customer service policy, internet business, internet sales, marketing strategy, online business, online sales, small business, strategy, target market
By J.L. on July 7, 2008
Too often, overnight success can quickly become a company’s worst nightmare. A small business that lacks the capital, staff or infrastructure to handle a big order or nationwide publicity can promptly get crushed when …
Posted in Management | Tagged capital, inventory, small business, strategy, tax
By J.L. on May 19, 2008
Most business signs are invisible and utterly useless. They’re well-proportioned, carefully balanced, tastefully drawn and perfectly color-coordinated. In other words, utterly predictable and effectively invisible.
Posted in Advertising | Tagged marketing strategy, sales success, strategy, target market
By J.L. on April 7, 2008
How many times have you tried so hard to match the skills of a candidate to the demands of the open position that the most important characteristics of a person have been relegated to lesser importance or forgotten entirely?
Posted in Start-Ups | Tagged competition, customer service, government, internet business, sales success, small business, strategy
By J.L. on March 10, 2008
Your website isn’t getting any traffic. What’s worse is you’re not generating any sales. Plus, without traffic, you can’t test the key components of your sales process. In other words, you’re in a pickle.
Posted in Internet | Tagged e-commerce, internet business, internet sales, marketing strategy, online business, online sales, promote, strategy, target market, web design, websites
By J.L. on February 12, 2008
Not all ads are created equal. Just because a certain pitch worked for one business, doesn’t mean it’ll work for yours. How to choose?
Posted in Advertising | Tagged marketing strategy, sales success, small business, strategy
By J.L. on January 28, 2008
It’s not enough to build a business worth a fortune; you have to make sure you have an exit strategy, a way to get the money back out. For entrepreneurs who like to plan ahead and for those of you who don’t but should, here are …
Posted in Management | Tagged capital, small business, strategy, tax