What Can A Small Business Coach Do For You?
November 23, 2009
A small business coach can not only bring new business ideas to your business, but many business owners find other benefits as well. A recent survey indicated that business owners found that coaches were very valuable 70% of the time and valuable 28.5% of the time. The survey was conducted by Amy Watson, a principle, with PROfusion Public Relations.
Other statistics show that 84.8% of those surveyed felt that the main role of a business coach was to be a sounding board while 78.1% felt that the main role was as a motivator. My clients frequently tell me that I keep them focused and moving forward. For more than 20 years, as a small business coach, I have found the biggest issue for many owners is time management. Finding enough time to manage their business.
While this may not be new business ideas, most business owners do not know how to organize their business so that they can delegate with predictability. This means getting someone else to perform tasks with a certain amount of success. If you can’t delegate, you will always be stuck doing it all yourself. That’s an absolute trap for many small business owners.
How do you spend your time on a daily basis? Do you find yourself doing day to day tasks that could easily be delegated? Do you feel that you need to do everything? If you’re in that mindset, you have a job, not a business. If you’re going to change, you may need to get the help of a small business coach.
You can start by requesting a FREE Business Assessment here now <=.
Learn New Business Ideas From Your Small Business Coach!
November 21, 2009
Every business owner needs new business ideas from time to time. Whether it is how to get new business leads for new customers or just learning more effective ways to control their business, every business owner can benefit from a small business coach. Lets face it, you can get stale after a number of years and you need to be able to think outside the box.
I have been a small business coach for more than 20 years. My average client has been in business for more than 25 years and yet they recognize the need for new business ideas. They certainly understand their business, but most are not as good at the management of their business as they are at the technical side of their business. I invite you to view a video that gives a good overview of why a small business coach can help you.
In today’s economy there are fewer buyers, but a large number of businesses competing for those buyers. As a small business owner you can probably use a few new business ideas on how to attract more buyers. Do you have an effective business marketing plan to get your fair share of what consumers that are out there? Small business marketing has changed because consumers and business owners are doing their research differently today. Are you ahead of the curve or behind it?
A small business coach is the best person to help you think outside the box and navigate through these tough economic times. Don’t be penny wise and pound foolish. Check out this video <=.
Why Does A Small Business Need A Website Marketing Strategy?
November 17, 2009
A website marketing strategy will help put a small business ahead of the curve for marketing in today’s economy. A website can be cheap advertising compared to radio advertising, direct mail advertising or any form of print advertising. Let’s face it, there is a shift in the way consumers and business owners look for products and services.
You may have been in business for several years and have been marketing your business in traditional ways. You probably used newspaper advertising, radio or television advertising, conventions or trade shows, yellow pages or simply word of mouth. Well those ways aren’t working as well as more and more people have found the ease of using the internet to find a local small business.
A website marketing strategy is a way to put your small business in front of your buyers in a way that makes them want to contact you. It’s different than most print advertising methods because, if done right, you begin to build a relationship with your potential buyers. If your website isn’t designed right, it’s just spinning your wheels with little or no benefit.
Everyone knows that we are in a recession and there are fewer buyers. That doesn’t mean there aren’t any buyers, just fewer of them. Your website marketing strategy should be to capture your share of people looking for your product or service. You do this with a well designed website that is marketing oriented and has a call to action. Sadly more than 90% or websites on the internet are failing in this area. Don’t be one of the also ran.
To learn more about how you website is performing, go here to get a FREE Website Analysis <=.
Learn To Market Your Business In Today’s Economy!
November 16, 2009
Marketing your small business is more important today than ever. Let’s face it, there are fewer buyers for your products and services and there is stiff competition for the few buyers there are. So what do you do in this situation? The answer is to think outside the box and embrace new technology.
Consumers today are going to the internet more and more to find what they’re looking for. Yellow pages are becoming less and less important and yellow page advertising can be very expensive. It’s not unusual for a business owner to spend thousands of dollars each year in advertising cost. Are you getting your money’s worth? You need to find out if you don’t already track your results.
Having a web site on the internet is proving to be a much more effective method of advertising for several reasons:
- It’s cheaper than any print advertising
- You can show much more about your company on the internet.
- You can include videos and audios that you can’t do with print advertising.
- More consumers are looking to the internet to do their research and find local businesses.
Is your website doing the job you intended when you had it built? It’s a sad fact that 90 of websites do not do the job. If you aren’t getting new customers with your website, you may want to take a second look at how it was designed. Too often a company will let their IT person or some family member build their website. It they don’t know marketing they’re the wrong person to build it.
You can check your website for performance by requesting a FREE Website Analysis here now <=.
How Can A Small Business Control Advertising Costs?
November 15, 2009
Small business owners need to control advertising costs while still attracting buyers. This may seem like a contradiction, but it is possible to accomplish both goals. The first thing you need to do is to evaluate your advertising costs that you currently have.
Look at what you are currently spending. As a small business owner you need to fully understand your advertising costs and what your return on investment is. Are you spending money on radio advertising, newspaper advertising or magazine advertising? All print advertising can be very expensive with a questionable return on investment. Yellow pages aren’t nearly as effective as they used to be.
Advertising commercials on radio or television can be effective, but also very expensive. Unfortunately many small business owners will cut their advertising costs when the economy slows down, but that may be the wrong thing to do. You certainly want to control your costs, but don’t shoot yourself in the foot by cutting your life line to new business.
There is a shift in effective advertising today and that shift is from print advertising to internet advertising. The secret is to have a functional website that will help you bring new customers in the door. While your website isn’t exactly free internet advertising, it is certainly cheaper than other mediums.
The important key is to have a website that is an effective marketing tool. The sad truth is that most websites are just an extension of a small business brochure. If your website isn’t bringing in new business, why do you have it. I can tell you from my experience that about 90% of the websites I look at are useless when it comes to bringing in new business for my small business owners. If you want to control your advertising costs, you must learn how to make your website work for you.
For more information on how your website can be improved, click here <=
How Can A Website Marketing Strategy Help Bring In New Business?
November 9, 2009
A website marketing strategy can be very instrumental in attracting new business to your small business. The problem is that most business owners have no strategy when they build their website or they let their son, daughter, etc build it for them.
Not having a website marketing strategy from the beginning is a formula for disaster when it comes to successful website marketing. Most small business owners put up a website without much thought to marketing. They just feel they need one and it doesn’t matter who designs it. That’s a major mistake.
You should first ask yourself a few questions about why you want a website:
- Why do you want a website?
- Who is your target audience?
- What will your website be used for?
- Will you sell products or services?
- Do you just want to provide information?
These are just a handful of question to answer before starting any successful website marketing design. There are actually about 40 questions to ask before beginning. You also want to be sure that whoever designs your website understands marketing and not just website language.
Your website should be used to develop relationships with your visitors along with marketing to them. It takes about 7 visits to a website before people will want to do business with you so your website design should be both attractive and functional. Actually functional is more important than attractive.
Your website should have a call to action so that you capture your visitors name and e mail address. It should have good and fresh content so that your visitors will have a reason to return. It has been proven that 90% of people who leave a website never return so give them a reason to return by offering fresh valuable content.
For more information on the subject of successful website marketing and a FREE Website Analysis of your website, you can learn more here<=.
How Can You Get More Business In This Economy?
November 6, 2009
Most business owners are just trying to hang on until the economy improves. That kind of thinking will keep you stuck pretty much where you are today. I agree that the economy has made things more difficult, but the smart business owners are looking for alternative ways to keep moving forward.
You can focus on the problem or look for a solution. It’s true that there aren’t as many consumers spending money today, but there are still buyers. You can complain that you have to work harder today to get business in the door or you can look for new ways to get business in the door. It’s your choice.
It’s no secret that the economy has changed the playing field, but with every adversity lies an opportunity. It’s time to look beyond the obvious and look for new methods to get new business in the door. A new approach will not only serve you today, but in the future as well.
No one knows for sure when things will turn around. There are so many predictions coming from Washington that you don’t know what to believe. Both parties put their spin on what they want to portray, so who knows what to believe.
There is one thing I can tell you for sure. If you think outside the box and look for new methods to market, you’ll be ahead of the game. One thing that every small business owner should do is get a website that is functional, not just pretty. That is rapidly becoming the best marketing tool you can have. and it is relatively cheap compared to print advertising.
How Small Business Coaching Can Help You Market Your Business!
November 5, 2009
Small business coaching can bring a lot of tools and expertise to a small business. Many times business owners are reluctant to bring in a coach or consultant because they aren’t sure what to expect. It’s also difficult for a business owner to believe that anyone from the outside of their business can help them.
In reality, the fact that a small business coach is from the outside is a plus. Why? Because they won’t be emotionally involved in the business. I often tell my clients that I need to tell them what they need to hear, not what they want to hear. So by looking at their business with a different, objective pair of eyes, I can help them see things they aren’t able to see. They’re too close to the forest to see the trees.
One of the biggest things that most small businesses need today is more business. Let’s face it, the recession has reduced the number of consumers ready to spend money. That fact has permeated the business community in every area. If you’ve never had to market your business before, you’d better get on board and learn to market now.
One of the least expensive and effective marketing tools today is the internet. Having a functional website is essential. Functional is the key word. Too often I see small business websites that look good, but aren’t functional. That means having a “call to action.” Offering something that will cause a visitor to give you their name and e mail address. Having a website that holds their attention and gets them to come back again.
If you have a website and would like an objective analysis of it, you can request a FREE Website Analysis here now <=.
How Can Business Coaching For Contractors Help Any Small Business?
November 3, 2009
Business coaching can help any business that is looking for alternatives and fresh ideas. Small business owners often get stuck and aren’t sure what to do to get their business moving forward again. So how does business coaching impact business results?
A business coaching approach starts with a business needs analysis so that the business coach can evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of any business. It’s been my experience that the analysis is a good way to see a small business from an objective point of view.
An owner is often surprised by what can be learned about a small business in such a short period of time. The reason a business coach can learn so much is because we know what to look for and where problems may exist. It is from there that we are able to help the small business owners learn where the root causes of their problems are. By finding the root cause for a problem, we can fix those and get rid of the symptoms.
For example, many owners are struggling with cash flow issues. The problem is that cash flow problems can be caused by a number of issues:
- Products or services priced too low
- Collection problems
- Overhead too high
These are just a few of the problems that can cause cash flow problems. A business coach is trained to get to the bottom of any weakness and focus on the root cause. By fixing the root cause we can fix it so that the symptom goes away.
You can learn more by requesting a FREE Business Assessment here now <=.
How Business Coaching For Contractors Helps Build Success!
November 2, 2009
Business coaching for contractors has always been an important resource, but in today’s economy it is essential. Trying to do business the same way you did it a few years ago is a formula for disaster. There are fewer projects, but the same amount of competition bidding for those fewer projects. Trying to be low bidder means struggling to protect your margins.
Contractors need to learn to market for the first time for many of them. A few years ago there were enough projects so that all you had to do was submit bids and hope you got enough contracts to keep you going. Today, with fewer projects available, you have to learn to market your business. I can tell you from experience that it is difficult for most contractors to do.
With fewer projects and lower bids a contractor has to be careful to protect their profit margins. Productivity and accountability are both very important. Making sure that projects are managed tightly and that everyone is on the same page.
A business needs analysis for contractors will help identify weak spots in a contractors business and give the owner the tools to improve. An analysis will identify marketing weaknesses; weaknesses in financial controls; weaknesses in productivity and the bidding process. Making sure you are job costing correctly is very important as well.
If you’d like to get an idea where you stand and where you might be able to improve, request a FREE Business Assessment here now <=