Many people look at an online directory when in need of a particular service. These directories are submission-based online services. They are also called citations or citation sites. Over 90% of consumers use a search engine to shop locally but these directories are not just an online version of the phone book.
Apps Every Small Business Owner Should Know About
There are, literally, thousands of productivity, communication, and organizational apps available to help small business owners streamline daily tasks. These mobile apps can help your business run more smoothly and allow you to operate with a 24/7 mentality. The right combination of apps and tools can help you make your business processes more efficient, saving you time and money.
Branding is Key to Small Business Success
What You Need to Know About Business Growth
We work with people at all stages of business. Some come to us with brand new, exciting ideas for a product or service and are trying to create a new brand and a strategy to penetrate the market and stand out from the crowd. Others have been in business for decades and are doing a lot of things right, but have fallen into a pattern that could use a little jump start. Whether you are a well-established business, a startup or somewhere in between there is universal desire to grow and make your company successful.
Don't Let Startup Anxiety Get the Best of You
Starting a new business can seem like a daunting task. We get it. Having started our own businesses and helped our clients do the same we understand that there is a lot involved in doing so. For the serial entrepreneurs out there, they know what that looks like. While they may be diving into a new industry or different sort of product, they have some experience in what goes into starting and growing businesses.
The Process of Effective Marketing
One of the biggest hurdles to truly understanding effective marketing is understanding that marketing is an ongoing process and not one singular effort. This is hard for many of our clients to understand because they have just spent money on something like a website and all they want is for floods of people to start finding it and purchasing from them or reaching out about their services. Just slapping up a visually appealing website, building out a Yelp page, or creating a few social profiles in not going to instantly propel your business into success and instant notoriety. It is tempting when the economy is down and money gets tight to scale way back and marketing is often one of the first things to take a hit.
Five Areas to Think About When Starting a Business
More than 28 million small businesses exist in the U.S. which is 99.7% of all U.S. businesses. The idea of being self-employed is often portrayed as glamorous and financially rewarding. Unfortunately, many businesses struggle or fail at the out-set and only two-thirds of businesses with employees survive more than 2 years. There is no magic formula for starting a business. Understanding the risks and time associated with opening and maintaining a business is essential. You need more than money.
Time Management Apps for Small Businesses
Running your own business requires you to focus on multiple tasks all day, every day. You must constantly plan and prioritize your projects and to-dos based on importance and urgency. In opposition to this reality, your most valued commodity as a small business owner is time. So, if you find yourself wondering whether or not there are some effective and efficient time saving apps available, the answer is a resounding, “Yes.” Time management apps can maximize your time making you more efficient and productive. They help you avoid distractions by allowing you to stay focused on job-related goals, thereby increasing your productivity.
Tips for Developing Your Business Plan
The Internet is saturated with tips and guides on what to include in a business plan: business concept; goals, strategies, actions; products and services; market analysis and your competitive advantage; your proposed personnel team; and, of course a financing plan. If you are overly concerned about format there is also a plethora of resources that will guide you from the executive summary to the appendices that showcase the research and data supporting your plan. It is important to utilize these resources because you certainly want a complete plan, but what separates the okay business plans from the great plans?