I came across this website with a great survey. Now, the website is for attorneys, and the survey is for attorneys, but if you change the words "your firm" or "your practice" to "your small business" it works just the same. Give it a try. It opened my eyes to things about my business that I want to change. Maybe it will do the same for you.
David Coffman has an interesting article on why you need a business planning system instead of a business plan. Essentially, he argues that a small business must be nimble and quick to change. He believes that a planning system allows you to be nimble, whereas a business plan may not allow you to change.
I understand his point. You must change as conditions warrant. But, for some businesses, change will not occur very quickly. The practice of law, for example, does not change very quickly. I can see change coming 6 months or a year in advance and still change faster than my competition. A business plan still provides me focus, allows me to keep track of where I am, and allows me to compare where I am to where I want to be.
I think that you should have a business plan, and a business planning system. By having both, you will know where you are, where you want to be, and you will be prepared to change, should the need arise.
A what? A webinar. A webinar is a seminar that you put on through the internet. Most businesses that use webinars use them to market their product or put on a sales presentation. Its a great use of technology to sell your product. But, there are other uses to webinars as well.
Here are 7 things you can do with a webinar besides selling:
Webinars are, like blogs and podcasts, a way to use technology to help your small business grow. If you are using a webinar, blog or podcast, I would love to hear from you!
Remember, this blog is not designed to give legal advice. Add a new one: its not designed to give tax advice either. Check with a CPA for any tax advice. However, with that said, here are 5 year end tax tips:
These tips may put a few extra dollars in your pocket at the end of the year.
The SBA and Junior Achievement have created a website called Mind Your Own Business. (Thanks to the Small Business CEO for this link.)
This website walks you through 5 steps of owning, successfully, your own business. Its got some great information. If you are thinking of starting a business, or if you are looking to refresh your business, definitely give it a read.
One of the first things you have to do when you decide to open your own business is to develop a name. You need something for people to call your business, right?
About.com has an article with some tips for naming your business. Among them:
Now for the fun part. Here are some actual business names that violate this list:
Naming your business is an important task. These tips will get you started.
If you sell a service or product (and most of us do), you need to maximize your ability to sell your product. You may have a sales force. You may sell it yourself. You may rely on the internet to sell.
But, there is one way that any of these methods can have increased sales. Testimonials. Testimonials do a few things for your business. First, they give your customers a concrete example of how your product or service helped someone else. Second, they give customers confidence in you and your product. Third, testimonials do not cost you anything.
Read more about testimonials and how they can help you here.
There used to be a television show called "Bowling for Dollars." According to a BusinessWeek article, you can now Blog for Dollars. Small businesses, especially in the tech and marketing areas, need to have blogs to get business.
Blogging has a lot of possibilities. Some blogs take advertisements. Some blogs just tell you about a businesses services. Some blogs just provide information. Determine what you want to do with your blog and getting blogging. It might be a new source of revenue for your small business.
For some retailers, a shopping center or a mall is the perfect location. Nordstom makes most of its money in shopping centers. Other businesses have a goal of being able to lease space in a shopping center. But, unlike "strip malls", a shopping center usually is more difficult to get into.
Entrepeneur.com has a great article on how to get into a shopping center. This is not for start ups, and not for the faint of heart. You are looking at investing a lot of money. Further, the shopping centers usually want someone with an established track record.
John Wallace of LocalCenters, a developer here in Sacramento, has talked with me before about his requirements for new tenants. You must have a business plan. You have to be able to show that you can succeed.
But for those who are established and looking to grow, this is a viable option.
Why do a lot of small businesses, especially in the early years, fail? According to a recent Business Week article, it has to do with the ego of the small business owner.
People new to starting their own business need to learn to ask for help. They also need to know when to let a professional management team come in. There are some small businesses that will never get to that point - and the owner may be happy. But, if you have dreams of being the next Google, this article will give you some tips on how to make sure you get there!
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