In order to begin building any type of wealth, business owners need to understand one simple task at which most parents in America are already proficient — how to cut costs. Most households often utilize coupons, cut down on unnecessary expenses and find alternative ways of doing things that are just as effective for half the cost.
It is hard to make any real money if too much time and effort is being thrown into useless or unprofitable products or actions, so it might be time to take note of what some homemakers have known for decades.
1.Find cheaper raw materials or goods that offer the same quality. There may be cheaper alternatives for web hosts or some of the packaging used for certain products. The old adage of “A penny saved is a penny earned” definitely applies here.
2.Streamline the process of producing your final product and delivering it to customers. Henry Ford understood the value of a straightforward manufacturing process and ultimately revolutionized the car manufacturing industry.
3.Spend a little money to make a lot more. Invest in equipment that will last and require little maintenance or down time.
Every last penny counts in the world of online startups, and with time, those pinched pennies can amount to significantly more than most business owners might realize.
1.Contact your customers. Where else is there a better trove of information about what customers actually want or need? If the level of response is low, try adding incentives, like a discount for filling out a survey.
3.Step out of the office. Sure, most founders and CEOs spend the early days of a business with an active hand in almost every position, but, with time and success, it is often necessary to hire employees to handle certain tasks. Try getting back into the field for a day or so to get a real feel for what is needed.
Excitement and motivation might be easy to come by in the first few weeks of a startup, but action can easily be replaced by procrastination, and business can begin to suffer. Sure, there might be a few tasks that need to be accomplished, but those can be addressed in the future, right? By the time most people remember to take care of those “few tasks,” they can become the proverbial 10-page paper written the night before it is due.
up the necessary folders and then assign each type of email a label to make sure that they are filtered accordingly.
Reply now: You may not always remember to respond back at a later time to an important email. Use time wisely and reply to all necessary emails as soon as possible after reading them.
If you are a business owner and not networking, you are neglecting to use one of the most powerful marketing tools at your disposal. Marketing campaigns can involve millions of dollars and take months to complete, but some of the most effective strategies can be as simple and as inexpensive as shaking a hand and engaging someone in conversation. Networking is the act of exchanging information between two parties. In the business world, networking can include attending parties or events, meeting new people and talking about your business at every opportunity. These connections, even if they are made casually over lunch or in line at the grocery store, can be a powerful tool used to leverage new growth and expand your client base. While there is no set of standards or rules entitled “How to Network,” it is beneficial to remember the following when meeting new people:
Be genuine
People are perceptive and can tell, quite easily, when a person is simply after a profit or looking to only benefit themselves. Networking requires speaking with many people, and it is vital to be genuinely interested in the other party. Feigned interest or inattentiveness will be a turn-off and will certainly not benefit your business. Instead, seek out connections with businesses and people who are not directly connected with your warm market. These relationships can lead to referrals–one of the many payoffs of networking. If you have not been networking and do not know where to begin, start small. Stop by a small business luncheon, visit your local chamber of commerce and visit with businesses with which you may be able to partner in the future. Even friends and neighbors can play a role in the success of your business if they are excited about your product and willing to give a word-of-mouth referral. Networking is FREE, so step outside the four walls of your office, shake a few hands and start to build new relationships.
the following tips:
Invest in the community. Small business owners will find significant benefit in wisely investing in their local community. Setting up a booth at a community event, sponsoring a charity run or partnering with other local businesses can be inexpensive ventures that may attract positive attention from local patrons.
Success in the small business world does not, thankfully, depend on having a huge marketing budget. However, it is important to use money, time and other resources wisely in order to maximize impact and spur new growth. At Virtue Marketing, we can work with any budget and will develop a plan that keeps your business and brand front and center. Our goal is to help you develop new, exciting and inexpensive ways to engage customers.
There is nothing wrong with selling directly to customers through a website, and, indeed, many customers enjoy being able to navigate directly to what they want, but that does not mean that other options are less valid. For instance, consider offering a discount for certain blog readers, making a particular product temporarily available on a high-traffic website or even ask a blogger to review a product for free and then share his or her thoughts with readers.
Stop putting off the things you do not want to do.
Speaking of that to-do list…
Make sure that “you” are on that list.
Ignore the phone every once in a while.
Get out of the office.