Strategize

Starting a small business is difficult–so difficult that 66% to over 90% depending on your sources–don’t make it past the first 10 years of business. How can you prevent this from happening to your business?

The first step to anything is to be informed. Here are some of the pitfalls that small businesses run into and what you can do to avoid them. This way, you can ensure the success of your own small business:

You Don’t Offer Your Customers a Unique Product or Service

First, making your business survive starts before you even open your doors. In fact, you need to make sure your business is unique before anything else. You won’t draw in customers otherwise.

For example, there are plenty of places out there that sell coffee so you would need something to set your cafe apart from the rest. Even better, be innovative and start a business that isn’t a flooding the market–something new and exciting.

If you can’t come up with an amazing idea and want to stick to what you know–that’s fine too. Just make sure your work is being done as efficiently as possible, and you’re keeping your customers happy.

You Don’t Know Who You Are or What You’re Up Against

This is a crucial question; who are you as a business? Are you here to provide a good, a service, or both? Who is your target demographic? What’s your business’s story?

All of these questions need to be answered before you can run like a company should. These questions will give your company character and help you to strategize. Having a story, especially, will give your company character that customers can add to what they are buying, personifying your company.

To grow and succeed as a business, you need to know what you’re up against–this means knowing the technology that your competitor is working with. For example, if your competitors have automated its invoicing process, or invested in data recovery software–look into it, and see if it meets your needs for your business. Most likely, it does.

Whether this means an in-depth look for a tech company or just keeping up with the social media marketing, you need to pay attention to your competitors and keep your edge against them so they keep coming back for business.

You Don’t Have Name Recognition

It is important to have name recognition for your business. After all, if your customers can’t name your business, they can’t spread their love for you by word of mouth and they may not even remember you themselves.

A good way to get name recognition is to work with your community. This tip is especially important if you are cultivating a business in a small town.

You can also work with other small businesses in the community. Think about it, you don’t have to just compete with these other businesses, you can build each other up as well. You can also pair up with other organizations in the community to build up your name recognition.

You Don’t Stay Up-To-Date On Marketing

You might not be a full on corporation but you still need to market your services. One of the best ways to stay on top of marketing is to use social media–especially for smaller companies.

Using a platform like Facebook is a good way to keep your audience informed of sales and updates. In addition, many companies use platforms such as Instagram to post pictures of new products they are selling.

Your Expenses are Rising

This is one of the most common problems with small businesses. There are a lot of expenses that go into starting a business and even more fees and costs in maintaining one.

This can be overwhelming, especially if you aren’t properly prepared. Of course, if you can be proactive you should. Balance your budget carefully and have money saved up when you open up your business.

However, sometimes we do get ahead of ourselves and get into debt. Getting yourself out of this as quickly as you can is important–especially so you can avoid filing for bankruptcy. There are ways to survive this, though.

There are agencies that can help you with debt but make sure you’re staying on top of everything. If you have late-paying clients, this is when you want to call them up and cash in. You might even want to try rebalance your budget yourself, or turn to automation for additional help.

You Aren’t Consistent

If there is anything you have to be when you are establishing your business, it’s consistent. You need to establish exactly what your business is and what it offers. This means that you need to keep your marketing on an identical or at least similar track no matter what outlet you are advertising through.

Being consistent means that you aren’t going to confuse your potential customers about why they would come to you. This also means that you should carefully consider your advertisements and make sure they capture exactly what your business is about.

It Takes Some Time

If you’re opening a business with no background or experience in the industry –you’re going to need a lot of help. Don’t be discouraged if it seems like it’s not as good as it should be, it’ll get there if you keep making improvements.

When you open up your business–it’s likely it won’t have as much volume as you originally anticipated. Keep persisting and you will get to a place where your business is succeeding and less likely to fail after a few years.

For a company to be successful, they need to market their business, products, services, and their brand. We all know this, right? But did you know that there’s a major marketing shift right now?

I had the opportunity to talk with Mathew Sweezey, one of the new breed of marketing thought leaders. During our conversation, Mathew explained how and why the marketing environment is changing.

Understanding this will help businesses determine which marketing strategy is best for their customer base and business goals.  

Why Is Marketing Changing So Much Right Now?

Marketing is changing because our environment has changed. 

In the past, businesses with a lot of capitol controlled the media. They relied on advertisements and messages about their service/product. 

Then, we entered the digital age. Still, the approach was the same – telling people why they need to purchase our product or service. 

Nowadays, we’re not only digital, we’re social. This means we can’t approach marketing the way we used to. People don’t simply take a company’s word for it that they need a particular product or that theirs is the best on the market. 

Instead, when people are considering making a purchase, they take to Google or social media to find out more about it. In fact, people are generally ready to make a purchase when they finally contact a company because they’ve already done their research. In the past, they relied on sales people to give them information and help them make a decision. 

How You Can Keep In Step with the Latest Marketing Trends

In this changing environment, how are business owners and marketers supposed to attract customers? 

“The best way to do this is to get onto social media. But once there, you don’t simply want to talk about your company. This is the old way of doing things.” – Matt DiMenno, Laser Focus SEO

Follow the example of companies like Kronos, a software company. They post two types of content on their Facebook page: Corporate blog posts and a series of comics. Guess which posts receive more customer engagement? 

That’s right – it’s the comics. People don’t go onto social media because they want someone to sell them something. Nor do they go there with the specific purpose to read content. 

People go onto social media to escape. When you post things online that are a mix of business, humor, and inspirational, this makes consumers feel like you’re not just trying to sell them something. It makes them feel like you get them. That, in turn, makes them more curious about your brand.

Marketing Will Always Evolve – Make Sure You Keep Up

The latest trends in marketing have taken some people by surprise. Keeping up-to-date on the latest trends is vital, though. 

In doing so, you’ll be able to improve your online visibility when it comes to your target market. And when you give your customers an authentic, personal experience, they’ll be more likely to check out your product/service. 

So, make sure your marketing team approaches their strategies thoughtfully, thinking about what the consumer wants or needs. 

Continually doing this will ensure that your business continues to grow. Do you want to stay on the cusp of the latest marketing trends? Follow Mathew on Twitter and make sure to check out his book Marketing Automation for Dummies.

Have you ever had difficulties in your small business regarding organizing management systems? The answer is probably yes. Lots of small businesses go through management issues because they are not yet established. Mostly, people running small businesses are usually beginners; hence they encounter different kinds of questions.

 

The problems may range from ‘what kind of equipment to purchase’ to ‘what tasks to outsource.’ Outsourcing is not always a good idea for a small business. To solve such matters, it is crucial to consider some of the tools outlined in this article.

 

Management Manual

First, a management manual is the first tool you need. As a newbie in business, a handbook for management systems can be of great help. Such a manual contains all the necessary tools and templates to aid you in organizing your small business enterprise. With this, you can arrange your business policies, procedures, and mechanisms to form the best framework, which can, in turn, facilitate the fulfillment of all the tasks for objectives-achievement. Management manuals can also help you identify the rules and regulations governing the business field you have ventured in, helping you to set appropriate policies.

 

No business thrives without the aid of a management manual and therefore systems must be put in place for every business. No one entered the business field with all the management skills, hence, this is a tool widely used. There are quality management manuals that you can purchase from the market. For example, the ISO 9001 quality management manual is an all-inclusive template with customization instructions that are detailed and integrated.  The entire ISO 9001:2015 is included in this document.

 

With the quality management manual, you can set up a management system for your small business without seeking expert advice. It contains all the ISO standards that will guide you in formulating policies and guidelines for your business. It is also business friendly and specially made for small business enterprises.

 

Beginners are best suited for it because of its clear language with detailed explanations and images. It majorly focuses on efficiency and all its requirements add operational value. You should think of acquiring one for your business.

 

Software Packages

Apart from a quality management manual, your small business needs software packages to help you in performing some tasks. Being a small business, paying for premium packages is another expense altogether. You may consider having free versions for a start before you upgrade to the premium after establishing your business well.

 

Some of the packages you may consider are; antiviruses, project management software, the applicant tracking tool, the Human Resource Management tool, business planning software among others. The Human Resource Management tool is vital in the running of your business. It can help you in activities like making announcements to your employees and managing tasks.

 

Accounting Software Package

Furthermore, an accounting software package is a fundamental necessity. You cannot rely on manual calculations, however small your business is. The software will help you performing calculations, keeping track of what clients owe you, the total number of invoices sent, the number of clients that have paid, among other benefits.

 

Managing your finances should be an integral part of the management system you need to set up for your business. Having a system that performs all tasks well apart from generating profit is good for your business fruition. This is because, apart from customer satisfaction, the primary objective of every business to making a profit. You can find such packages online for a small fee, suitable for your business.

 

Web-Based Tools

Your business also needs Web-based tools that can offer customer care services. Such tools can help in collecting, assigning and tracking communication pertaining to a product or a customer. It is quite frustrating and time-consuming for a customer to buy a product, go home and send you an email asking about how it works.

 

Sometimes you need feedback from the client concerning the working of the product. You may also need to have a live chat or send direct messages that can be indexed and searched, tagged and sorted. Customer care tools can provide all these services to ensure satisfaction and well-being of your customers. You need to consider integrating the tools into the management system of your business.

 

Time Tracking Software

Finally, time is an essential factor in all fields and situations. It is an asset that a business, especially a small one, should manage well. All the activities, projects and processes included in your systems cannot be accomplished without time.

 

For this reason, a time tracking software can help you manage your time well to ensure full utilization. You can track the time spent on a project, calculate project estimates, allocate resources, and calculate fair billing using this software. Search for time tracking apps available in the market and choose the one that suits your business needs.

 

Having gone through this article, your worries as a newbie in the business field should have subsided. You can choose the tools you feel are suitable for the type of your business.

 

Make sure you develop a solid management system with a combination of all these tools. With this, your business will leave the ‘small’ category within an amazingly short span of time.

While discussions about mental health are becoming more commonplace, people remain hesitant to have these discussions with their boss. This is, in part, due to fears of unfair treatment, loss of credibility, and being passed on opportunities and promotions. There are many misconceptions about mental health, especially in relation to one’s work ethic thus, discussions about mental health can help rectify these misconceptions.

Mental health in the United States is common–it is estimated that there are 43.4 million adults currently living with any mental illness–including anxiety, major depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, panic disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.

Specifically, the National Institute of Mental Health estimates that:

• 18% of adults have an anxiety disorder (including post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder)
• 9.5% of adults have depression
• 4% of adults have attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder
• 2.6% of adults have bipolar disorder
• 1% of adults have schizophrenia

Additionally, about 18% of adults in the workforce report having a mental health condition in any given month.

Disclosing Mental Health Information in the Office

While disclosing mental health disorders to a boss or superior is a choice, talking with your boss can help facilitate subsequent conversations about proper accommodations, workload, work-leave and flexible deadlines.

Before talking to your boss, some key points to take into consideration are:

• Asking yourself some hard questions about your capabilities.
  • Are you certain you can effectively do your job with your mental health disorder?
  • Can you continue treatments or medication regimen when working?
    • If no, then consider asking for an accommodation to help improve your job performance.
• Do some research.
  • How does this disorder impact your work ethic at your job?
  • What accommodations do you believe are best suited for you needs?
  • What are your (work-related) stresses and what do you believe will help alleviate them?
• Compile information about your mental health disorder and proper documentation.
  • What information do you believe is useful to disclose to your boss?
  • What is it about your mental health disorder that makes certain job responsibilities difficult?

Next, consider planning out your conversation by preparing your boss about having an important conversation, addressing your concerns specifically, and offering suggestions of what you believe would work best for you. Some key points to remember are:

• Only disclose relevant information about your mental health that will help improve your work productivity and stress levels
• Let your boss know how and when they can support you and think ahead of what resources would be beneficial to you
• Inform your boss by providing them with proper information after you talk with them to help them better understand.

Following, identify specify accommodations such as– flexible work schedules or start times, reduction in noise or other distractions in the work area, working from home or telecommuting, written directions or tasks, regular written or verbal feedback, private space for breaks, or the use of a job coach–that you believe will help you succeed at your job performance.

Some things to keep in mind when requesting an accommodation is:

• To contact your human resources department to inquire into the accommodation request process
• To prepare how to explain which accommodations you believe will help you the best
• To keep all documentation and detailed notes of communication between you and yoru boss
• To negotiate and be flexible when discussing your options

Know Your Rights

While there are fears about discrimination in the workplace after disclosing mental health disorders, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 prohibits discrimination based on mental health. Under the ADA, employees have protections which ensure their right to privacy and to a job accommodations–given this doesn’t cause unforeseen hardship for the employer. Additionally, Social Security Disability can help employees who have mental health disorders seek coverage for mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety.

Managing Stress in the Workplace

While discussing accommodations and other options with your boss is necessary to improve your job productivity and manage your mental health disorder at work, it is also important to do what you can to manage your stress levels. Here are some tips to alleviate stress in the workplace:

• Educate yourself by recognizing the symptoms of your disorder and how to best handle them while at work
• Stay organized by keeping your desk and personal work area clean and by prioritizing your work to avoid missing deadlines and getting stressed out
• Honor the work-life balance by setting boundaries to ensure your work life doesn’t interfere with your home/social life and avoiding bringing work home with you
• Take advantage of employer resources and benefits including an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), if your workplace offers one

Most importantly, treatment–including therapy, medication, and complementary and alternative treatments, is seen as the most helpful to people who have mental health disorders.