Happy New Year!

The new year is a great time to look back on what you’ve accomplished as a business. Did your business grow, or has it remained the same? Growth is an important part of any business, so if there hasn’t been any, you need to look back at what has worked and what hasn’t.

Do you run specials, advertising and sales? Go through your reports and evaluate what made a difference, and what ended up being a waste of money or time.

Did you hire new employees? How have they progressed, and what training do you have for them? Would it help your business to advance their training. Weigh the benefits with the cost.

Did you have more expenses than you needed to? Tighten the belt and look at your spending habits with a fine tooth comb.

Did customers respond especially well to one type of offer? Grow on your strengths and build your business.

Have you advanced your own knowledge base, or learned a new program. It never hurts to expand your knowledge. Always keep learning. If you can, take a management class, a business owners seminar, or attend a trade show in your industry for fresh ideas.

Where will your business take you in 2008? You’re the one steering, so be sure you have a map in advance, so you’ll know exactly where you’re going.

How clean is your restroom? It seems almost like a silly question to ask when you’re worrying about your business, but a clean restroom speaks for your business as well. If this is one corner of the business you’ve neglected, maybe it’s time to clean that area up. If you don’t want to do it yourself, hire someone to handle the job.

• Are your trash cans overflowing?
• Is there water all over the sink?
• Are the toilets clean?
• Is there enough toilet paper and paper towels?
• Are the mirrors clean?

Let me show you by telling you about some of the big stores. Kohl’s by me has a nice bathroom, Borders on the other hand, while the design is nice, the trash bin is overflowing, along with the areas around the sinks being wet. Ulta has a nice bathroom, while a Rite Aid’s bathroom rarely stocks their toilet paper.

Wait a minute, how do I remember details like this, and why am I sharing it here? People notice, and if you’re a business, people are noticing your restroom as well. I’ve come out of a bathroom and leaned over to the other person in my shopping party and gone, “They have a nice, clean bathroom”, and others have said it to me as well.  People notice, and people talk about pretty much everything, including your restroom.

How clean is your public restroom?

Viral marketing is a term that’s come into play with the internet. It started as targeted marketing, and has gone on to spread like an art form. Viral marketing can be done in multiple ways, and the internet is just waiting for the next big thing!

Here are some different methods that you may find useful:
1.    E-mail: It a great way to spread the word on your product or service. With a mailing list, you have a targeted audience. If something is hot, that email is guaranteed to get forwarded and passed around like a hotcake!

2.    Newsletters: These are an excellent opportunity to spread information and useful tips. Drive people to your website and offer them more of what they’re looking for. Again, top notch information will be shared.

3.    Blogging: Do you have a great e-book to share? Maybe you’ve got a new product that you want to create buzz for. Blogging is an excellent tool, because search engines love the updated information that’s relevant on a topic. Start creating buzz on your product or service, and get it talked about. People are always ready to spread a great idea, and bloggers will spread your word, product or information as fast as you can snap your fingers!

4.   Videos: In an age of YouTube, many companies are vying for a piece of the busy video market. A great video will spread like wildfire. All those views of a fun, cool, or helpful video will send targeted traffic right to your site!

These are just a few ideas to help you get started. Do you have another idea you’d like to share? Feel free to leave a comment and pass the information on to others!

[tags] viral, viral marketing, marketing, videos, email, blogging, newsletters [/tags]

It’s time for this small business blog for beginners to put up our “Closed” sign for a few days. I’m going to lock the door and spend some time with my family. I’ll be back in a few days with more small business ideas, tips and resources. Let the world be still, and peace and love be felt by those around you.

If you’re a small business, at what point during the holidays do you close?

Remember happy employees make good employees, and that means allowing them to spend time with their families during special holidays. See you in a few days!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Blogging is a great marketing tool for your business. While you may all ready have a webpage in tact, a blog shows customers your voice Whether you add tips, information or use it to start a conversation with clients, it’s something that will make a difference in your business.

What’s unique about blogging is the ability for customers to leave comments and thoughts after your articles or tips. It can start a conversation, and can help you identify needs of clients. Maybe a customer will read an article, and ask a question you hadn’t thought of before. It’s a two way street, and communication is always good. Of course, if you’re only looking to offer information without commentary, it’s easy to turn comments off.

What’s special about blogs is that search engines love them. They are updated regularly, they’re fresh, and relevant content. That means you can rank higher in the search engines that by just using Search Engine Optimization techniques. The combination of the two will have you on the fast track to better search engine rankings.

Blogging is simple. With the right software the work is done for you. (I love Wordpress) I can sign in, write a post and press publish, and in a few seconds, you can see what I’ve written. It’s simplified the publishing process. When you learn more about blogging, you’ll want to learn about plug-ins as well, as many can do extra work for you!

Once you’ve decided you’ll have a blog, the next step is deciding what you want that blog to e about. What kind of information do you want to share with your clients and customers. They are a great place to share reviews, comments, new product releases, as well as helpful hints.

Blogging is easy. Once you’re set up, you’ll be able to find your way around in no time. It’s like having a blank piece of paper. Get your words out there, and be heard. When you blog about your relevant topic, you can build credibility and become an authority in your field. People will value your information if it’s helpful. This is a great way to reach out to future customers.

[tags]small business, blogging, blog, business blog, business blogging, marketing tool[/tags]

Are you thinking of starting your own business? Coming up with an idea can be difficult at times. Truly, if you’re passionate about something, follow that passion, and you’ll find the best small business ideas for yourself. If you’re still struggling, here’s a list of 27 Small Business Ideas to help you start brainstorming.

1. catering
2. fitness apparel
3. costume jewelry
4. gourmet tea or coffee
5. computer repair
6. landscaping
7. wedding planner
8. tax services
9. real estate appraisal
10. auto repair
11. grocery delivery
12. cosmetics
13. book dealer (classic, rare)
14. extermination
15. bake shop
16. mobile pet groomer
17. tutor
18. errand runner
19. mobile car wash
20. parking lot line painter
21. music lessons
22. interior designer
23. web site designer
24. DJ
25. gourmet baskets
26. junk removal
27. exercise equipment

Maybe one of these 27 Small Business Ideas will be for you, maybe not. It’s just a jump board for you to start triggering your own ideas! Want to add to the list? Leave a comment and tell us your small business ideas.

If you’re an online business, have you tried advertising off-line in traditional channels?

If you’re an non-internet based business, have you tried advertising online?

It’s often thinking outside of our element that can bring in a new customer base. If you’ve only ever advertised through newspapers or radio ads, maybe it’s time to reach out to internet advertising.

When it comes to advertising, it’s often the people who think outside of the box, who are able to generate creative success. Getting your name and brand out there might be by creating buzz on local blogs, or running an advertising in other local avenues like forums, sponsoring something relevant in your field, or using a webpage if you don’t all ready.

On the other hand, when it comes to online businesses, sometimes by reaching off-line, you’ll draw people who may not have known you were there. It’s easy to do all your advertising online, when you’re used to the world of SEO and competitive niche advertising. If you have a store or service that would help people, they won’t know you exist if you don’t tell them!

If you have an auto business, try taking out ad space in the auto section of a newspaper, or in a magazine that is specific to that topic. If you are an online flower business, look at other means of getting the word across. One company became familiar to me based on radio ads. I didn’t know they existed online, even though I’m online for the majority of my work day. They got my attention off-line and earned brand recognition along with a new customer.

Where can you find new clients?

Blogger and Podcaster, a digital and print magazine for those mentioned, obviously bloggers and podcasters brought us their first issue in April. I’ve been reviewing the magazine monthly, detailing page by page my thoughts. While I’ve enjoyed the process, at this point you’re either reading it or you’re not. You can pick up a free subscription by either following the link on my sidebar or going directly to their site. You can click on the picture above to be taken there as well.

I wanted to bring light to this new medium, because let’s face it, there’s not a lot aimed directly at us, the bloggers and podcasters, unless of course it’s blogs or podcasts! It’s an excellent magazine that offers tips, tricks, interviews and other pieces of information. At this point, I’ll just be reading the magazine for my own pleasure, and not detailing it as I go. I hope that in the past, it helped you decide it was worth your time to get your own subscription.

It’s free digitally, and worth your time to read it.

If you’d like to read previous reviews, you can see them here:

November

October

September

August

July

June Part 1, Part 2

April

When your customer is away from your business, how do you make sure you stay in their mind? Simple things like a friend asking for a recommendation, you want your company to be the one that they remember! Dropping a little postcard in the mail time to time with your logo and specials or a quick note is one way to stay in your client’s minds, but do it too often, and you may acquire junk mail status that people are tired of seeing.

One simple way to keep your customers up to date on specials, or give them useful information is to have an opt-in list for an email newsletter. That way, your client will decide whether they want to be contacted, and your contact with them remains fresh.

When choosing to write a newsletter, you can include fun facts, useful tips and information such as benefits of having certain services. For example, if you’re a heating and cooling company, you may want to add in energy saving tips, or explain how keeping your units serviced can save money and maintain the life of the equipment your customer runs.

When choosing a company for a newsletter, there are many different services available. You can see a full list of email marketing companies here.

Two companies that are at the top of my list for small businesses are Constant Contact and Zookoda.  Check them out today, and get your opt-in list started! I’ve used Constant Contact with a company I worked with, and we had great results with it. I loved the ease of use as well. Zookoda comes at a great price- free! It’s an excellent choice for bloggers and internet marketers! You may also want to check out iContact, which gets high ratings.

No matter what company you choose, DO choose to stay in touch with your customers!

Let’s face it, the web it full of pictures. In fact, the right picture can really draw the eye of a visitor into your site. The problem becomes figuring out which pictures are important.

• Do they have relevance to what you’re discussing?
• Do they showcase your products?
• Do they add clutter and slow your site’s performance down?
• Do they represent your image?

When we look at graphics on a personal site, there’s much more space for personal preference, along with off-topic ideas. On a business site, it’s important that things stay on topic, along with adding relevance. Let’s face it, if you’re talking about auto mechanics, but you’re showing us pictures of a mountain side with goats, it’s not going to help the cause. If you were showing a vehicle broken down on the side of a mountain road, to get the point across that a particular type of maintenance is important, you’re now headed in the right direction.

People take notice of graphics, and they certainly are the eye candy of the web. The important part of your image and branding, is making good use of them. If you’re a company that sells products, rather than services, than highlighting your products should be of great importance to you. Showcasing them in an attractive manner will help you draw the consumer’s eye.

If you’re a company who provides a service, you may want your logo or image to be branded into someone, so to speak. If you’re imagine is a butterfly with your name, you may want to use smaller butterfly images that are similar as small icons on talking points. You’re indirectly leaving your image in site, without constantly pushing your logo.

Original work can be memorable, so if you can afford to create an original logo with artwork, it’s something people will remember.