How to Improve Your Small Business in 2018

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Pepper Rutland How To Improve Your Small Business in 2018Starting a small business is difficult for anyone to do. Small business owners have to do a lot of the work themselves, and this can be very taxing on an individual. With all of the different changes taking place in the economy, small business owners need to be prepared to act quickly in order to gain market share.

 

There are many areas that small business owners can concentrate on in order to improve both sales and profits. Here, I’ve highlighted a few of these areas.

 

Invest in Marketing

 

A marketing plan is critical to growing a company over a long period of time. There are numerous business owners who feel like they do not have time to develop a marketing plan and rely too heavily on word of mouth and social media posting. While both are key elements to a strong brand presence,  this is the wrong approach to take in order to develop a company. Instead, small business owners should decide what marketing tactics will resonate with customers the most.

 

With all of the different marketing options today, the entire process can feel overwhelming. It is important to have a strong online presence for any business. The vast majority of customers search for a product or service online before making a purchase decision.

 

Hire Quality Employees

 

One of the most important aspects of running a successful company is hiring the right workers. There are numerous small business owners who rush through the hiring process. This is not a good plan for growth over a long period of time. One wrong hire can be extremely costly to any business owner. Business owners should spend an adequate amount of time getting to know each potential job candidate. Over time, this is the best way to make a great hiring decision.

 

Develop a Financing Plan

 

Of course, many small business owners want to grow their company in 2018. A lack of capital, however, often prevents them from personally investing in their business. Borrowing money is not necessarily a bad thing if it will help increase sales and profits. It is important to have a plan to pay the loan down as fast as possible. Some business owners get into financial trouble because they attempt to borrow too much money at one time, and don’t have a viable plan in place to spend it wisely, or pay it back in a timely fashion.

 

The economy is starting to show signs of strength in various areas. Now is a great time for business owners to implement changes for the new year. With the right strategy, a business can increase both sales and profits.

A New, Old Trend: The Business Card Is Back

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Business cards can play a very important part in any professional’s career. A chance meeting with the CEO of a company you admire or a new connection at a young professional’s mixer, the business card once served as a reminder of your encounter. Soon, however, the business card started becoming so common and overused that they started to pile up like drink coasters at a cocktail party. In the digital wave, they were pushed aside for an exchange of numbers and information on smartphones or a connection on Facebook or LinkedIn. The business card seemed like a thing of the past.

 

Thanks to an awakening of new designs, the power of the business card has been reignited. Clever shapes, more valuable messaging, and a lesson in branding is helping the business card make it’s comeback. If you ever ditched a business card before, you’ll think twice about doing it again after seeing (and, in some cases, experiencing) these new design trends.

 

New Materials

The cardstock you use on your business card can make or break it’s effectiveness. If a card is too flimsy, the person receiving your card might think you’re a reflection of the card’s strength. And there are tons of different choices of cardstock to pick from, making any choice possibly overwhelming. To avoid cardstock confusion, some professionals made the move to different materials such as wood, metal, plastic, and even transparent materials.

 

This reinvention of the material in which a business card is made with has revolutionized the industry, especially amongst young professionals who are looking to make important connections and a lasting impression on potential employers against a strong millennial class of competition. By introducing new materials, they body’s sense of touch becomes involved in the card presenter’s first impression, giving it an even stronger, and cooler looking, message.

 

Shapeshifters

Another way to change your view of business cards is to change the way you view a business card. Try making your rectangular card read vertically instead of horizontally, or, just tip the card on it’s side to make it a portrait shape rather than landscape.

 

Where this trend really becomes interesting is when die-cuts and special shapes are introduced. New designs offer square and circular shaped business cards, as well as cards with cutouts. Some cards even go as far as being foldable for convenience and to fit more information, or to be used as a pop-up element to give excitement to your brand. If you really want to go all out, you can design your cards to have arms and legs, as seen on CompanyFolders.com.

 

Valuing Yourself

The last trend that is important to note has to do with your own self confidence. A business card should reflect who you are, as well as give a glimpse into the work you can provide. It’s the connection between your meeting and an interview. Even if you’re not with a company, you should make yourself a business card and give yourself a brand. What symbols and colors represent you? What does a powerful business card feel like to you? Take these questions into consideration before designing your card to make the best choices in representing yourself.

How To Land A Promotion

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I should preface this by saying there are no shortcuts when trying to get promoted. You absolutely cannot expect to put in half the effort and yield all of the desired results. In fact, in order to stand out from the crowd and make a name for yourself, often times you have to go above and beyond what is required of you within your normal day-to-day job description. So what exactly can you do to make the right impression and land that big promotion? The tips below can give you the guidance you need to find the success you’ve been hoping for.

 

Don’t say you want to be a leader; just be a leader.

Depending on your current role and the nature of your work, there are many different ways as to how to you can establish yourself as a true leader within your company. If you’re already in a managing role, going the extra mile to ensure quality of work will certainly help your chances for a promotion. Educate and reach out to those around you – be someone that other employees can go to over small issues or if they need a question answered. If you’re not in a position of management just yet, you can still apply both of these strategies as they will show that can handle the requirements of a role larger than the one you currently have.

 

Think of the team goals, and not of your own.

It can be difficult to not have a “me, me, me” mentality when thinking about your own goals. Thinking of what you want is not a bad thing, however, it can become a bad thing if it’s not applied to the greater good of the company’s overall goals. As stated in a Forbes article on the topic, “…it is impossible to do all the right things for all the wrong reasons.” You have to know how your strengths fit into the larger goal of the company. When approaching the subject of a promotion, position your pitch towards how you want to help the company succeed, and not what you personally deserve as a hard worker.

 

Be willing to ask for what you want, and show the proof as to why you deserve it.

Opportunities are sometimes hard to come by. If you’re in a particularly small or large company, you might have to create your own. This means that you both have to ask for a promotion, and you have to keep records at all times of what you consider your best work. You can’t always wait for your boss to notice your talents and recognize the projects you’ve had a hand in. And by gathering your top work and examples of leadership, you’ve done your boss’ job for them. This may seem like a scary and rather bold prospect, however, even if there are no opportunities available or your company doesn’t have the resources to carve out a new position to showcase you at that time, you’ve now established yourself as someone who wants a bigger piece of the pie. When the time comes, your boss will already have your portfolio on hand and the impression that you have what it takes to be a go-getter.

Small Business Challenges in 2017

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Part of the new American dream is staying small in business while dreaming of big success. While small businesses across the country are thriving, there are some concerns that keep owners up at night. It’s not always easy being a small business in a big market, and there are some who are feeling crippled by the challenges they face on a daily and annual basis. Here, we’ll take a look at some of the top challenges small business are faced with in 2017.

 

Remote Work

Advancements in technology have been very kind to the business world, especially for remote employees. With a slew of applications that can connect businesses, employees, and clients, more and more people are looking to work remotely instead of relocating for new opportunities. While this is a great option for employee retention and attraction, small businesses will need to be equipped to handle this practice. Small businesses will also need to lay out an entirely new list of rules to ensure that this privilege is not abused.

 

Healthcare

The debate rages on with healthcare. For being such a high priority for Americans, unfortunately there are clear losers while the government decides what healthcare will look like for years to come. Small businesses happen to be one of those areas that are getting caught in the cross-fire. Rising costs and uncertainty in policy have made this a top concern for small business owners. According to an article seen on bizjournals.com in early December of 2016, 52 percent of small business owners rank the “cost of health insurance” as a critical problem.

 

Retaining Customers

Every marketplace is starting to become a crowded one, with innovative strategies helping to take businesses further. This makes it easy for small businesses to get lost in the noise. Holding on to key customers and ensuring that they remain a profitable one continues to be a challenge for small businesses. While there are plenty of challenges in attracting new customers, it is important to focus on maintaining your customer base and ensuring they feel like a priority.

 

Stamina

Being a small business owner takes a lot of work. Not only are there challenges to face within the business (see list above), but there are many challenges that face the owner themselves. Being understaffed can cause owners to double the amount of work they should be doing, which can lead to long hours and one tired owner. Maintaining the energy to take on each day with success in mind can take a toll if areas within the business are not being supported as they should be. Hiring an assistant might set a business back a pretty penny but will help owners keep their cool and help them do what they do best: lead.

Lessons for Your Business from Pokemon Go

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Pokemon Go in actionPeople walking around on their phones with their heads down is not alarming. Afterall, in the age of technology, the complete disassociation with the outside world is commonplace from the dinner to table to the office (sometimes unfortunately). Yet, you may have noticed some recent changes in our culture that is consumed by tech. People aren’t just walking around on their phones, they’re talking about them with others, congregating in parks, showing up at random buildings, and driving around their neighborhoods with a purpose: catching Pokemon via this year’s hottest mobile game, Pokemon Go.

If you’re unfamiliar with the game and the story behind it, let me explain it briefly. Pokemon Go is an augmented reality game which uses phone cameras and GPS location data to catch digital creatures (Pokemon), and is based on a nearly 20 year old video game franchise of the same name. Now, less than a month after its launch, the game boasts some 10 million daily players at its lowest estimate, and the number of those doing so is growing. But how did a game that had seemingly past its prime attract such a mass, loyal customer base? Experts from Entrepreneur to Forbes have provide insight.

  1. Leverage Existing Platforms
    Instead of creating the wheel entirely, Niantic (the creators of Pokemon Go) brought their idea to users through an object they already own. With millions of people already in possession of a smartphone, the company lowered barriers related to adoption, allowing users to follow their normal behavioral patterns. In other words, go where customers are and seek to integrate into their lives rather than alter it.

  2. Social Media, Local Marketing and Mobile Integration:
    This strategy, known in the marketing and tech world as SoLoMo, has been one of the largest reasons for the success of Pokemon Go. Niantic has integrated social media with the real world unlike any other game or company, with remarkable success not only for themselves, but for small businesses. Indeed, the popularity of the company has resulted in increased traffic to local businesses and subsequent revenue. Entrepreneur Magazine encourages businesses to do the same through tools like checkins to get customers to engage your business on and offline.

Furthermore, Tech.co shares some very practical examples of how businesses can use Pokemon Go as a marketing tool in addition to learning from it. Some of their advice includes getting on the action by adopting some of the language and themes of Pokemon, which can pay off for your business, turning players into customers. Advertising your business as a stop (if it is one), for those who may not be playing at the time. It requires a bit of effort, but such an acquisition is invaluable, whether the game continues to dominate or not.