Category: business coach

Ideas Small Business Can Use To Up Their Black Friday Sales

Scott AsaiLeave a comment

Collaborative post – may contain affiliate links

If you’re a small business looking to amp up black Friday sales, one of the best things you can do is begin your preparations now. Below, you’ll find a few ideas that will help you. Just don’t leave it too late! 

Begin A Countdown

Start a countdown so that your audience knows exactly how long it is before the sales begin. This will build momentum and help them to get as excited as you are about it. 

Start Your Sales Early

Why not start your sales a day or two early? This will make people take notice and you’ll likely make more money this way. 

Host An Event

If you have a physical store, why not host an event? Create a buzz around the event with your marketing and make everybody want to show up. Freebies always go down well! 

Create A Gift Guide 

A gift guide will make people start thinking about Christmas. By creating a gift guide using your own products, you’ll encourage people to prepare for the festive period. 

Make Sure You’re Mobile Ready 

Being mobile ready is imperative – get this in place well before the sales begin. As you’ll see on the Infographic below, many of the sales made during these sales are on mobile. If your business isn’t mobile ready, then you’re definitely missing out. Carefully go through the infographic and you’ll likely find other things you need to have in place to make the most of the sales.

 


credit to Skup

Five Ways To Improve Supplier Relationships

Scott Asai1 Comment

Collaborative post – may contain affiliate links

It doesn’t matter who you are talking to, good relationships in business are key to success. You can have as many clients and supplier relationships as anyone else, but if you’re not managing these relationships correctly, you’re more likely to find that problems arise later on. 

Having strong relationships with your suppliers doesn’t happen overnight. It takes a lot of work and time together to build something worth having, and any company stands to benefit from these secure relationships. It pays off to put in the time and effort to build meaningful and worthy relationships with your suppliers, and it’s important to stick with it every step of the way.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at five ways you can improve those supplier relationships.

Excellent Communication

Establishing the relationship between two companies isn’t always easy but with the right communication, you can make it work. You may think this is easy, but it’s difficult to master when you are new to business. There are ways to communicate effectively and respectfully, whether you are going to your supplier for cardboard boxes or butterfly valves. Understanding how to work with them is vital to your success, and you can open up the relationship to be more beneficial to you both when you communicate well.

Set Efficient Goals

You want something from your supplier, and they want something from you. The key is knowing what each other want and sticking to it. Having mutual respect comes from knowing what to expect from one another, so lay down those goals early on and you won’t be disappointed.

Be Financially Punctual

It doesn’t help your business if your clients are late paying you for your service, so as you can imagine, it doesn’t help your supplier if you are late paying yours. If you absolutely must be late with your payments, then you absolutely must tell your supplier that the payment is coming late. It’s respectful to let them know. It’s even better to not be late in the first place!

Be Positive

You are human, and your supplier is human, too. Instead of placing blame, always give each other room for mistakes. They happen and the best thing to do is to move past them with positivity and not blame. If something is your fault, own it and move on – and they’ll do the same.

Always Review

There is always room for a cheaper option, a better option or just plain new pastures when it comes to supplier relationships. One of the most effective ways to avoid being complacent is to ensure that you are keeping up with reviewing your relationships. Review these against your budget and your expectations, and let yourself explore what else is out there. It doesn’t mean you have to leave a trusted supplier, it just means that you’re open to the things that will benefit you and your business.

Relationships are important for success: don’t take them for granted.

 

How to Get Your Company’s Message Across

Scott Asai1 Comment

Collaborative post – may contain affiliate links

You’ll have put a lot of thought into the development of your business. You’ll have ideas, things you want to achieve, knowledge about how you can help to improve the lives of your customers, and so on. In many ways, that’s the fun part. The difficult bit is putting them into practice, and getting other people to listen to your message. In a crowded marketplace where people are bombarded with advertisements every day, this can be a challenge. Below, we take a look at a few ways you can achieve this goal.

What is Your Message? 

First thing’s first: you need to define what your message actually is. It’s all good and well having a vague feeling about what your company stands for, but let’s not forget: your customers don’t have access to your mind. You’ll need to transform that message into words that make sense to someone who has never heard about your business before. What is obvious to you won’t be obvious to anyone else. Put your message into the simplest form possible. How would you explain it to a five year old can be a good starting point. 

Clear Branding

Of course, when it comes to receiving a message, words will only take you so far. In any case, most people’s first interaction with a new company lasts only a second or two. So you don’t have much time to work with. One way to ensure your message has an impact is to focus on your branding. These are the symbols, colors, and slogans that differentiate your company from other companies. It works on a repetitive nature — your branding will mean little during the first time a person sees it, but will grow increasingly impactful the more they see it. If you don’t know how to brand your business, look at working with an outside expert. 

Accessible Content

If you want new customers to listen to your message, then you should put it into a format that they like. Text on a webpage is fine, but it’s not how everyone prefers to consume their information. So one of the best ways to deliver your message is to investigate how people are receiving information. For example, video is huge at the moment, and thus it’s worthwhile working with a video production agency to create this type of content for you. Ebooks, short blog posts, and infographics are also excellent ways of transmitting your message, too. These mediums will help bring in a whole new audience for your business, too.

Another important but often forgotten aspect of content accessible is the creation of a content service platform (CSP). Essentially, as John Yokley PTFS founder explains, a CSP is an agile, cloud-based method of content management that enables your business to access, collaborate on, and share content. More often than not, different teams end up creating duplicate content pieces because there’s no common platform that makes existing content accessible to all. This can ensure your audience can consume the latest, most accurate content at all times.

In-Depth Website

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a digital or real-life company: a huge chunk of consumers visit the website of a company they’re considering giving their business to. So make sure that what they’ll find there is useful. You only have limited amounts of space on, say, a Facebook advertisement. But on your website, space is unlimited — it’s here where you can go into depth, and really outline everything that a customer would want to know about your company.

The Aspects Of Your Company That Determine Modern-Day Success

Scott Asai2 Comments

Collaborative post – may contain affiliate links

It’s hard to compete with other businesses in the modern economy. The marketplace is so crowded because entrepreneurs have more opportunities than ever before to build their own companies from scratch and enter the industry. How does a business stand out in such a busy marketplace? Consumers have more options than ever before, but that means they don’t have the time to assess every single option which is available to them. So, you have to make sure that your brand is more noticeable than the others. It’s all about maintaining relevance in a fast-paced world. These are the aspects of your company that determine modern-day success.

Branding.

You need to build your brand if you want your company to be successful in the modern age. Branding is essential to making your business stand out in a crowded industry. Otherwise, consumers would struggle to differentiate between different companies. After all, you and your rivals probably sell very similar products or services. So, you need to create an identity for your company that is unique. Your business needs to turn heads, and a powerful brand statement can help with that. Perhaps you could run your company in an environmentally friendly way, for example. This would show your target market that you care about the planet, and that would help you to connect with people. There has to be a relatable side to your brand.

Digital strategies.

In the digital era of today, your business needs some effective digital strategies. For starters, you should focus on your online marketing campaign. You need to create professional and engaging content so your company’s website shows up on search engines at the top of result pages. As was explained in the introduction, consumers have so many options in the modern world that they don’t have the time to weigh up all of their options. They’re going to opt for one of the businesses they find first, so you need to learn about SEO to ensure that your site shows up on the first page of search results related to your industry. Additionally, you could consider creating a mobile application to make your business more digitally accessible. You might want to get help from experts who offer app design services. They could help you to develop a well-designed application that gains new customers for your company and makes your business much more successful.

Reputation.

Obviously, a company’s reputation has always been important in the world of business. Yet, as mentioned earlier in the article, the expectations of modern brands have changed. People expect more of modern businesses. High-quality goods are essential, of course, but your competitors offer the same thing. And if you have competitors with better reputations than you, then consumers will feel that it’s safer for them to choose one of those businesses. Your company needs a good reputation if it is going to stand out.

You should rely on your existing client base to help you achieve this. Consumers listen to a company’s happy customers more than they listen to the company itself. You’re more likely to listen to a customer who says “this business is the best” than a business saying “we’re the best”, after all. So, you need to focus on your current customers. They can make your company look more appealing to the market. You could encourage them to spread the word by giving them rewards for doing so. Maybe you could enter people in a prize draw if they share a particular post of yours on social media. They’ll have the opportunity to win something, and you’ll receive help with your marketing.

Getting Your Solopreneur Work-Life Balance Just Right

Scott Asai1 Comment

Collaborative post – may contain affiliate links

So many of us dream of working alone. We’ve worked for the man, we’ve faced massive commutes and long hours. We’ve had jobs that leave little time for a social life, that mean that we have to work weekends and holidays, and our relationships and health have suffered for work. We imagine that working for ourselves will be completely different. 

We think that we’ll work when we want to, when it suits our lifestyles. And that we’ll always take time off work when something important, or fun comes up, that we want to do instead. We know that we’ll work shorter hours, take more time for ourselves, and get a lot more rest. That our stress levels will be low, our relationships will flourish, we’ll be healthy and happy, and that our previously elusive work-life balance will be perfect. 

This is rarely the case. Most solopreneurs find that they become workaholics. They can’t stop. They never take full-days off, they always put work first, telling themselves that it’s ok because they love what they do, and they can’t go ten minutes without checking work emails or updating social media plages. Many solopreneurs are terribly stressed out, and their work has spilled into their lives, leaving no balance at all. Here are some tips to help you to claw that balance back.

Stop Being Solo

Sometimes, the only way to get back a little time for ourselves is to accept that we can’t do it all alone and ask for help. This applies to most areas of life, not just businesses. But, that doesn’t mean that you have to hire staff to work side by side with you, which isn’t always possible if you work from home. You could outsource your IT Solutions, or hire a freelance VA to help with admin and social media. You can still feel like you work solo, without having to do all of the work. 

Make the Most of Flexibility

One of the reasons that you went solo was probably a search for more flexibility. You have it now if you want it. There’s no one making you work, but you. Remind yourself of this when you need to. 

Write Down Your Priorities

What are your priorities? Why did you start working alone? What did you most want from the arrangement? Did you want to spend more time with your family? Or spend time with friends? Would you like to exercise more? Or spend more time outside? It’s all too easy to forget our priorities in life when we’re so busy, so write yours down and leave them somewhere that you can see. 

Write Things Down

Writing things down has another benefit. Writing to-do lists can help you to manage your time more effectively, making it easier to stick to a schedule, clock off when your list is completed (don’t keep adding to it!), and take entire days off. 

Make Plans for Life

Sometimes we need firm plans in place to give ourselves permission to take time off work. Make plans with friends, and make bookings so that you are less likely to cancel.

It’s Time Your Business Embraced Outsourcing

Scott Asai1 Comment

Collaborative post – may contain affiliate links

The idea of letting someone else get their hands on your business can be seriously scary. When you’ve put your heart and soul into something, the last thing you want is for someone to come along and mess it up. But collaboration is one of the most important elements of business (as well as life.) Not only that but if you try to take on every single element of a running a business by yourself, then you’re going to run out of energy very quickly. The best solution to this is to find the aspects of your business that you don’t have either the time or the expertise for and outsource them. This way the job gets done by professionals, leaving you free to focus on other important aspects of your business. Here are a few parts of your business that you can afford to let someone else deal with.

IT

Not everyone’s a computer wizard. There’s no shame in that. We all have technology around us at all times, but very few of us have a really solid idea of how it all actually works. This is even more pronounced in the world of business. Companies use more advanced and specific technology. This requires equally advanced and specific knowledge to be able to maintain. Cloud solutions, network monitoring, security. These things can be incredibly complex and can’t be dealt with half-heartedly. The best thing you can do is to outsource your IT needs.

SEO

SEO isn’t as simple as it used to be. Once upon a time you could put a decent amount of keywords onto your website, and that was that. But now things have gotten a lot more complicated. Search engines blacklist sites that do that in favor of well-integrated SO. It’s a good idea to look into an SEO service that can use their know-how to create the most effective and well-integrated content possible for your website.

Accounting

Your money is at the heart of your business. None of the other elements could even function without it. So the last thing you want is to leave your finances as an afterthought. This is especially true if you’re not much of an expert with money in the first place. Mistakes in your accounting can not only affect your finances but can put your company into serious legal trouble. The best thing you can do is to hire an accountant to focus entirely on that side of your business. That way it leaves you free to focus on the side of the business you’re most useful without having to worry about whether your books are all in order. 

Obviously, there’s a great deal of your business that you’ll want to handle yourself. It is your business after all! But by being able to let go of a couple of things here and there, you can make sure that your business continues to run as smoothly and efficiently as possible.

Smart Ways to Advertise to the Public

Scott Asai1 Comment

Collaborative post – may contain affiliate links

It’s in the best interest of your company to reach as many people as possible. While you’ll be doing a lot to advertise your business on the web, it’s important that you don’t overlook marketing your products and services in “the real world,” too, even if you’re an exclusively online organization (the people walking the streets also use the internet, let’s remember). And the good news is that there are plenty of smart ways you can advertise to people in your area, using innovative and creative campaigns. We take a look at a few methods below.

Guerilla Marketing

If you’re a young and innovative startup that’s intent on disrupting the game, then why not look at developing some street cred by engaging in a guerilla marketing tactics? There are plenty of ways you can do it — you can leave stickers in bars, hang posters on walls, or even hire a spray painter to create a custom piece. Of course, you’ll have to make sure that whatever you’re doing is legal, but if you’re more of an alternative company, then this could be the right way to go. More traditional companies should look elsewhere.

Driving Around

You’re going to spend a lot of time in your vehicle for both business and personal reasons. And just think: how many people do you think you drive past every day? While most people don’t look up at all the cars that pass them by, they do pay attention to the vehicles that seem to have something a bit different about them. Consider wrapping your car with your branding, and you’ll have an eye-catching vehicle that promotes your brand. If you’re located in a smallish area, then people will eventually recognize the car — and pay attention to the name on the side, too.

At Your Space

Your offices or worksite may fundamentally be a place for you to work, and not generally open to the public, but it doesn’t always have to be this way. One effective way to gain interest in your business is to host events at your premises. This could be a social event (wine and music), a market stall, or business event — the type will depend on what your company does/what the space is suitable for. For maximum impact, you’ll want to subtly convey the message of your company by incorporating wall graphics and displays, and showcasing your products and services. You’ll have a fun event that will push your business forward, and also gain the interest of potential new customers.

Pop-Up Street Stalls

Finally, look at taking your company directly to the streets, if it’s appropriate. If you’ve done your market research correctly, then you’ll have a pretty solid idea of who it is you’re targeting. Set up a stall in an area that’s heavily populated by people who fall within that demographic, and showcase your company. To get the most interest, it’s best that you have something to offer to passersby, such as a free sample or trial of your product.

Ensuring A Better Visual Impact Than Any Competing Business

Scott AsaiLeave a comment

Collaborative post – may contain affiliate links

What, would you say, are the most important measures you can use to dispel competition, or get on top? Providing a better value service to customers? Offering a cheaper product? Answering the phone more quickly? Sure, but that only truly benefits when a customer has taken the time to understand your business and what it offers in the first place.

We can often forget that there are a million little persuasions that take place in the mind of someone looking to utilize a business, some too subtle to even mention, continuously considered by psychologists in the corporate space. However, we are absolutely certain that one of these persuasions, perhaps chief among them, is your visual potential.

Offering an impressive visual output is easy in today’s modern, minimal-typeface, social-media led environment. But it is possible to achieve. And not only that, taking steps to override your competition in this category can help you gain a stronger footing, and perhaps even dominate the marketing space. After all, this is the first battlefield you need to take in order to gain a foothold and progress.

Let’s consider how you do that:

Hire Excellent Production Companies

A brilliant and proven production company can not only help you translate your best marketing writing to the screen, but they can do so in a manner that attracts an audience, provides an emotional response, and encourages engagement. Those are three essential steps to having your marketing remembered. Think of the last video advertisements you can remember. Some might be from last week, some might be from five years ago. Odds are they made you laugh, feel elated, or as if you needed to  check something out due to how cool it seemed. Taking this step can help you refine your marketing speak outside of the stuffy boardroom and apply it to something much more productive.

Update Your Graphic Design

Make sure you’re on top of any graphic design trends necessary to be seen as present and modern. For example, what does your phone app look like on modern smartphones? Is it low-resolution, or overly complex? Could you find a better logo that fits within the app image requirements of the App or Google Play Store? How might this translate to the rest of your branding? Asking these questions will be essential in 2019.

Non-Offensive Advertising

Think of how people view advertising more often these days. Social media timelines, ads before YouTube videos, and a range of other convenient options. Ensure that your ad is not annoying in this space. That it doesn’t dive out at your viewer with aggression, loud noises or blinding colors. Instead, try to use something clever to show said user how they may benefit from letting your ad play out, or by clicking on it. Try and gauge that reaction immediately. If you can do this, your non-offensive advertising will work in the right way from the very first time.

With these tips, you’re sure to offer a better visual marketing output.

Moving Your Business from One Place to Another

Scott Asai2 Comments

Collaborative post – may contain affiliate links

If you’re operating a business on a brick and mortar basis, you’re going to have to put a whole lot of focus on making sure your business can grow and expand. Increasing competition from the realm of Ecommerce means that you’re going to have to be increasingly savvy with your decision making and sometimes that means having to shift your company from one place to another more lucrative spot that holds more potential for increased sales. This, of course, can be a difficult process. But here are a few areas you might want to focus on, as well as some tips and tricks to make it easier and a greater success!

Consider Location

Location is often the main reason for people moving their small business. When you first start out your journey, you probably have a limited budget and consequently are likely to have your business in a low cost spot that potentially has limited footfall. But by now, you should be well aware that footfall can have a huge impact on your profits. A higher passing footfall means giving your brand greater exposure to the public. The more people who pass by generally means there will be more people passing through your doors, purchasing goods, and generating profit.

Consider Size

Another reason you might be considering a move is because your business is expanding, you’re taking on more staff, and you’re going to need more room to house everyone. Always consider getting somewhere slightly bigger than you need. Your small five-person size property simply isn’t going to cut it after a few months or years. Give yourself room to expand even further, as this will reduce the number of times you have to move.

Making Moving Simple

Have a Cross Over Period 

It’s sensible to have a cross over period for the move. You don’t want to have to move the entire store or office in a single day. Reduce pressure by having a week or even a month when you have your current commercial property, as well as access to your new one. This will allow you to take a gradual and phased approach.

Hire a Van

So many small business owners think they can move their entire business in their own car. But there’s often furniture and pieces of equipment that would have to be stacked in a car in a dangerous way to get it from A to B. So, use van hire that will give you a vehicle big enough for the job.

Consider Employees

Before moving your company, consider how this will impact employees. Some will already be commuting a long distance to get to work and may not be able to travel any further if you happen to move further away from their home. Weigh up the pros and cons of recruitment and decide whether you’d rather maintain the employees you have.

These are just a few areas you should take into consideration when it comes to moving your small business. Take them seriously and everything should go pretty smoothly!

Working With A Fit-Out Contractor

Scott AsaiLeave a comment

Collaborative post – may contain affiliate links

Fit-out contractors are available to help you get your project over the finishing line. However, you cannot simply hand the baton over to them and expect them to get onto it. This needs to be a collaborative effort, as you need to ensure the company is fully aware of the client’s wants. 

Fit-out contractors are, of course, experts in making interior spaces suitable for the occupation. Levitch Design is a great example. They will know exactly how to ‘fit out’ a space so that it is fit for purpose. 

Take hotels for example. No two hotels are the same, and you play a critical role in ensuring the fit-out company is fully aware of the clients wants. This includes a list of all their requirements in terms of the furniture they require, but it also means conveying the feel and look they want the hotel to have. The fit-out contractor will need to consider the hotel brand with every decision and purchase they make, and they will need to ensure the hotel provides the type of experience the client intends it to. 

You are responsible for ensuring this is effectively communicated with the contractors working on the project. You will also need to have some frank discussions regarding factors such as space utilization, energy-saving, and budget. Make sure you are on the same page before any work is undertaken. Frequent communication and collaboration is a must. 

Fit Out Partner Checklist

Fit-out contractors may be something that you require for your project. If so, you will need to choose with care. Get it wrong, and it can be a nightmare of project disruption and escalating budgets. Get it right, and you will ensure that the project runs smoothly, with no budget over-runs.

There is a lot to consider when searching for fit-out contractors. Firstly, their reputation must be taken into account. Have they provided you with references? Do they have a solid track record in your sector? Have they managed projects of a similar size? You should also find out who owns the company, whether it is part of a nationally recognized organization, if they work all over the UK, their experience, and whether there are case studies you can take a look at. 

Next, you need to assess their financial stability and your risk. Will they promise to deliver a project, snag-free with no delays on a fixed date? Will it be on budget? Do they have evidence of a healthy balance sheet? Do they have a formal process for feedback for every project? You also need to discover whether they have the funds that are required for your project to be completed and if they have the buying power that is required for negotiation in terms of furniture, materials and alike on your behalf. Do they offer a JCT ‘design and build’ contract? 

Finally, you need to determine what services are included, and you must evaluate their credentials? Can they provide you with any credentials concerning the environment? What quality management and health & safety certifications do they have?