Posted by Biz Central USA Marketing Team on January 5, 2010 under Small Biz and Entrepreneurship | Be the First to Comment

It’s a new year and new start for small businesses and entrepreneurs!  If you already have an established business you probably have made the small business resolution to implement new profitable strategies, to finally launch your website or to engage in additional marketing initiatives to make 2010 a year for the record books! If you haven’t yet started your business, there is no better time than now to jump into the small business startup process by getting your business plan written and legally forming your small business!  Which ever category you fall into, there are a few important things to remember: The best success will be achieved through effectively PLANNING and PREPARING for your anticipated initiatives.

Small businesses and entrepreneurs across the U.S. share a similiar goal: to make their dream a success!  Those who achieve thier goal have most likely taken the critical steps in properly planning and preparing for their new initiatives or resolutions.  Those small businesses who have failed, ask themselves: “where did I go wrong?” or “it was a great idea, why didn’t it work?” The problem here is that they skipped those critical planning and preparation steps. 

While there are many things you should be thinking about, we have compiled a list of the Top 5 Things You Should Be Doing to start PLANNING  and PREPARING your small business for success in 2010!

The Top 5 Things You Should Be Doing!

1. Creating or Re-evaluating you Business Plan – Your business plan is the “game plan” for your small business.  It is going to map out previous successes and failures, and guide you through avoiding the same mistakes.  Your business plan is your ultimate plan for success!
2. Start Preparing for Tax Season - Do you have a bookkeeper? With tax season right around the corner, now is the time to get a professional CPA or Bookkeeper to avoid errors in your tax return, heavy fines, a possible audit and set-back to your goals.
3. Create a Quarterly/Monthly Marketing Plan – Many small business owners make the resolution to implement new “cost-effective” marketing strategies in the new year.  While this goal is more than possible, it can go extremely wrong and waste a lot of time and energy if a PLANNED marketing strategy is not put in place.
4. Cross your T’s and dot your I’s – Make sure you have all the loose ends tied up from 2009, including: customer or employee issues, holiday promotion wrap-ups, reporting, financials and anything else that may insufficiently occupy your time in the new year.
5. Keep your Customers Close and your Competitors Closer – i.e. know who your competition is, what moves they make, what promotions they are running and any additional ventures they may be taking on.  Knowing what your competitors are up to will help you prepare for a possible “fork in the road” that could cause a change of plans.

I’m not saying that planning and preparation will eliviate every possible problem that may come in the way of your small businesses succeeding.  It will tho, significantly add to the effectiveness of each new initiative or goal your small business takes on this year.

Are you a small business owner who has experienced failure due to a lack of planning and prepartion?  If so, tell us your story and share a few tips for other small business owners and entrepreneurs!

Posted by Biz Central USA Marketing Team on September 23, 2009 under Small Biz and Entrepreneurship,Small Biz News | Be the First to Comment

It has come to my attention, once again, that numerous small businesses are receiving correspondence from companies misrepresenting themselves as being involved in corporation compliance for the state. Operating under the guise of a government agency, a private business is distributing very official looking documents to the registered agents of small corporations claiming a need to file annual meeting minutes or statements of information in order to remain in compliance with corporation statutes.

Attention folks: Such filing of annual meeting minutes is not an official requirement, and these organizations are not governmental agencies! They are simply hoping that they can trick as many small business owners as possible into believing that they need to do this filing, which of course requires the remittance of a hefty filing fee that is to be made payable to their company. Please be diligent in reading the small print in any mailing that you are not positive is from an official government agency. On the aforementioned mailings there should be a tiny disclaimer somewhere that mentions that they do not represent any government agency. 

Now I’ve heard of this scam before but it had slipped my mind until a client recently phoned to inquire about its legitimacy. After doing some quick research on the web I’ve found that these notices come under the ruse of a variety of agencies, including but not limited to:

• (Enter Your state Here) Corporation Compliance
• Corporation Compliance Recorder
• Minutes and Compliance Affairs
• Compliance Annual Minutes Board

So please, I implore you, if you receive any such mailings requesting annual filings be sure to check for an official state seal, that the notice clearly states it is from the Secretary of State or Division of Corporations in your state. While there are annual filings required of corporations, these filings do not typically require submission of minutes and carry a minimal filing fee. If you have any question as to what annual filings are required for your corporation to remain in compliance don’t hesitate to check with an expert.

If you or someone you know has experienced a scam such as this, tell us about it.  Also, if anyone knows of other small business scams floating around share it.

Posted by Biz Central USA Marketing Team on June 12, 2009 under Small Biz and Entrepreneurship | Be the First to Comment

Despite a struggling economy with high unemployment rates, tight salaries and a crumbling corporate world, a recession is actually a great time to start a small business.  History has shown that recessions can be birthing grounds for some of hardest working, most successful and creative entrepreneurs today.  A recession can teach an entrepreneur a lot about running an effective business that has the potential to do great things in a sprouting economy. Practices such as learning to operate on a budget, investing more time in client satisfaction and take time to trial and error your business model.  The truth is if a business can survive even the toughest of times, that business is most likely to be a forerunner in the best of times.

Operating a business on a budget seems like it should be a common practice in order to be successful.  Unfortunately, many businesses do not keep as close of a watch on their financials as they should.  A recession can force a business owner to closely monitor its spending habits on marketing, advertising, operating costs and other company investments.  In a recession, a business is more likely to search the market for the best deals on software and supplies, the largest ROI advertising opportunities and alternative methods to marketing aside from ‘big name’ publications, television airtime and costly PR campaigns. 

More attention on customer satisfaction and retention is another valuable practice a small business will attain during a recession.  Since a recession leaves many individuals watching their pennies and focusing more on product quality and credibility, it is the perfect time for a company to devote more time to their customer service department.  When the economy recovers a business who has built a solid reputation among their target market will benefit drastically by word of mouth hype, additional spending and returning business. 

A trial and error period is inevitable in any startup business.  This is time that a business learns what works and what doesn’t, and often times this will occur during the first year in operation.  With more focus on company budgeting and customer satisfaction during a recession this is the best time to tweak the business module.  Finding cost-effective ways of marketing and advertising could really work for a business that wants to test its messaging tactics.  If a message fails through a less expensive outlet, it is not quite as painful as if a business were to spend upwards of $20,000 to promote that same message.  Involving customers is another great way to find out what is or is not working for a company.  Implementing customer surveys, free trials, suggestion cards etc., is a proven method to receive feedback on the quality of a product or service, the usability of a website, the effectiveness of an ad or anything else a business can use to improve upon their current module.

What is all comes down to is that starting a business in a recession is probably one of the best decisions you can make.  A recession will toughen up any small business and prepare it for even the most competitive market.

Posted by Biz Central USA Marketing Team on May 26, 2009 under Small Biz and Entrepreneurship | Be the First to Comment

Traditional means of marketing are not dead; in fact, they are still very much alive and proving to be effective. Tactics such as face-to-face networking and word-of-mouth is proof of this. When deciding on what business networking methods you will use, it is important to first, understand how networking can work for you. Second, research what groups are right for you. Third, make a goal for what you want to accomplish.  

Business networking in the form of joining and meeting with trade groups, industry associations, chambers of commerce and similar organizations in person can flat out increase your bottom line. By meeting other professionals in person, on common ground and at a place of mutual interest, you will begin to form relationships among your community. Once you start building relationships and regularity among these groups, members will begin to remember you, your abilities and your expertise. The next time a member needs something in your field; they will remember you and therefore will probably reach out to your small business. In essence, you will form a loyal network of followers who may at some point need your business, refer your business or want to collaborate on a joint goal. Overall, business networking is a great way to reach out to your local community, gain new prospects, learn new methods and in the end increase sales.

The possibilities are endless when it comes to networking and the cost of membership is usually low, but to avoid wasteful spending and time, you must do your research. An easy place to start is to check out your local chamber of commerce. Stop by the city office or attend a meeting to learn a little more about them. By joining the chamber of commerce, you will be able to reach more local businesses and you will have an array of resources available to you. Businesses in the chamber of commerce will vary in industry, sector, demographics and capital, giving you a more versified group to interact with.

Another option is to join an industry related trade group or association. Many trade groups and associations are national, but have local chapters that meet regularly. Trade groups and associations will differ from chambers of commerce in that you will be networking with professionals in your industry, but not necessarily in your sector. The major benefits to becoming a member of a trade group or association is the industry related resources and educational opportunities that will become available to you. Determining what groups, associations, chambers of commerce etc. will require assessing your goals to point you in the right direction.

Defining your goals will help you make the most of your new membership. Is your goal to learn more about the latest industry happenings? Do you want to reach out to your local community? Are you looking to meet other professionals to collaborate with? Whatever your reason to join a group, association, chamber of commerce etc., there should always be a goal involved with it that will directly or indirectly help your business.

Integrating business networking into your marketing initiatives will prove to be a smart decision. You will increase your bottom line by gaining a presence in your community or region, staying educated in industry trends and earning more word-of-mouth recognition among your peers and future consumers.

Posted by Biz Central USA Marketing Team on May 12, 2009 under Small Biz Marketing | Be the First to Comment

Most startup blogs are small, but with time and regular updates your audience can grow. As a small business it is important to start your blog early because this can be one of the most cost effective ways to start marketing your business. As your business grows so will your number of followers and those who become faithful, will appreciate your information and possibly become future consumers.  Not sure how to get started, below are a few tips to get you on your way. 

1. Use other people′s blogs to establish yourself as an expert: Reading and commenting on blogs within your industry niche or close to your niche can help you to establish yourself as an expert. You can offer your own opinions or angles to the entries being posted. When appropriate, you can even offer links to your own blog entries or articles to offer as additional information to the readers. This step is very important because as a new blogger you will learn from others more experienced.
2. Use your blog as a form of communication: Use your company blog as a way for your potential customers to know you. A blog is a great way to express yourself and show off your quality. You want your readers to feel like you are talking to them as a friend, without being too personal.  You can also use the blog to ask questions to your readers in hopes of a reply or comment on your blog. All of this will help to establish an environment where people know they can receive answers to their problems, as well as read fresh, interesting content.
3. Define you topic and stick to it: Now that you have decided to add a company blog to your website decide what your main focus will be a stick to it. For example, if you are in the organic gardening industry stick to topics like; organic gardening 101, dangers of pesticides, USDA regulations etc. Sticking with a niche topic will target the potential consumers that you want. An individual who swears by genetically modified food will be much less likely to become a consumer in the future.
4. Stay current and up to date: Old news is bad news for blogs. This is not to say that you cannot post comments or complete a write-up on something that happened a few days ago, but you can′t post something that happened four months ago and expect people to value it. It is important to stay current with issues and news happening in your industry if you want to build a steady following.
5. Don′t forget about spelling and grammar:  Two benefits of blogging are that they are less formal and you do not need to be a professional writer to have and maintain a blog.  Still, spelling and grammar should be a priority.  Neglecting to spell check and use proper grammar can affect your credibility no matter what your writing experience is or the industry your blog focuses on. 

 It′s not necessary to be a professional author or multi-million dollar company to have a blog.  All you need is opinions, information and insight in your area of expertise.  If you prove to be genuine and knowledgeable your readers will notice and your blog will become one of the most cost effective marketing tools your small business could invest in.

Posted by Biz Central USA Marketing Team on April 28, 2009 under Small Biz and Entrepreneurship | Be the First to Comment

When it comes to small businesses, many companies may have the desire to do right by the planet, but many times they feel they are not capable of doing so because it is far too big of a task.  This couldn′t be further from the truth.  As a small business or even a large corporation, you can actually do big things to help the planet by barely doing anything at all.  Solar water heating, HVAC systems and wind turbines aside, here are a few simple tips to get you started toward a more sustainable business. 

First and foremost, reduce, reuse and recycle are three terms your small business should live by if you are interested in becoming a more eco-friendly organization.

• Reduce: Reducing your amount of waste is a great way of helping the environment. Using a computer and switching from print or direct mailing to email and digital collateral can be a great way of reducing the amount of paper and ink you use.
• Reuse: Instead of throwing things away, why not try to find other ways of utilizing them. For example, the handy note tablets that you write any and everything on. Rather than throwing out the table once all of the front pages are filled, use both sides of the paper.
• Recycle: Many of the materials your company uses everyday are made out of material that can be recycled, but because business waste management services can be so expensive, many companies choose not to use them. If this is the case, try to network with other local businesses and purchase the service in conjunction with them. This way you will be splitting the costs between multiple companies and networking at the same time.

Once your company has the three R′s (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) set in motion, the next step is to make an effort to convert to more environmentally friendly office supplies and practices.   Both large and small supply stores now carry many green, natural and organic products such as recyclable paper, CFL or LED light bulbs, natural base cleaners and low VOC paints, just to name a few.  In addition to purchasing more eco-friendly products, analyze your current practices to see if you are making all efforts possible to reduce harm to the earth.   Turning off lights when no one is in the room, shutting down power strips at the end of the day and refilling ink cartridges instead of buying new ones are a few ways to get started.  Think about these things on a large scale. When purchasing supplies and changing your attitude it may seem insignificant to your company at first, but the effects can be greatly rewarding in the long run.

You have started following the three R”s, converted to eco-friendly office supplies and practices and you feel you are on your way to a more sustainable business.  Finally, for all of the things you simply can”t control, such as daily commute, business traveling, electricity consumption and more, you can offset their carbon footprint.  Services such as Terrapass, Carbon Footprint and Carbon Fund have great tools to calculate your business” carbon emissions.  Once calculated, they will offer you tailored solutions to aide your company in becoming carbon neutral. 

Running a green business is not only good for the environment, but it is also a benefit for your bottom line.  Whether your company”s goal is to become a 100% sustainable business or to moderately practice environmental stewardship, taking action is the first step.  In the end doing your part to save the planet may also be saving your company some real green!

Posted by Biz Central USA Marketing Team on April 16, 2009 under Small Biz and Entrepreneurship,Small Biz Marketing | Be the First to Comment

On Tuesday, I had the pleasure of attending the Hubspot “How to Use Social Media to Attract More Customers″ webinar.  Thousands of social media gurus and newbies flocked together (maybe you were even one of them) to find out new tips and tricks on implementing social media into their company′s Client Relationship Management (CRM).  What was most interesting to me, other than the webinar itself, was the outstanding viral effect of this webinar.  From the planning stage through follow up, Hubspot set the groundwork for continuous promotion of their webinar through the use of Twitter.

From the second you hit the webinar′s landing page you were hit with an opportunity to “Tweet this webinar”, “Share on Facebook”, “Follow us on Twitter”, “Become a Fan” and “Subscribe to our Blog”. Once registered for the webinar, you were again hit with a larger “tweet it!” button, which when you clicked, it automatically opened up your Twitter home page and created a tweet for you!

The day of the webinar, as normal you were invited to listen in and follow the live webinar online, but you were also urged to communicate and ask questions on Twitter during the webinar.  Well, that is exactly what thousands of people did!  In fact, so many people participated in live discussions on Twitter that this webinar just about brought down the Twittersphere.  Comments were 19 minutes behind due to high volume and “#hubspot” became the #1 trending topic on Twitter.  Today when reviewing all of the comments made by Tweeps (the inclusive Twitter term for Peeps using Twitter) I became mentally exhausted after going through over 50 pages of tweets, and still counting. In addition to their massive exposure, Hubspot also engaged in the conversation on Twitter by fielding questions, posting updates on the Twitter status and tweeting a few “tid bits” along the way.

Was their webinar successful? I would say yes, definitely.  Not only did they accomplish the task of finding people to attend their webinar, but they participated in proactive CRM and also got loads and loads of free marketing and PR for their company and the conversations are still going.  If you were on Twitter that day, I think it may have been inevitable to not hear something about Hubspot, they just about brought down Twitter. 

The moral of my story for small businesses is this: It is almost certain, that as a small or startup business you have a very minute amount of funds to work with for marketing and PR purposes, but using outlets like Twitter and Facebook are completely free!  Take advantage of these social mediums to push your message out to the public.  Embed your brand into the minds of the millions of Tweeps, Facebook groups and other social media stalkers-In this case a penny saved could turn into a penny earned!

Posted by Biz Central USA Marketing Team on March 26, 2009 under Small Biz News | Read the First Comment

Yesterday, USA Today published a story regarding unqualified companies abusing the HUBZone Program (Historically Underutilized Business Zone).  This is definitely something you might want to read if you are a small business owner, an entrepreneurial ′newbie′ or anything in between.  In a short re-cap:

• The Government Accountability Office found that 19 companies were improperly awarded nearly $30 million in federal contracts.
• The GAO reported that ″there are likely hundreds and possibly thousands of firms″ in the program that don′t meet its requirements.
• The committee′s chairwoman, Rep. Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y., said she plans to urge the SBA to shut down the program until it can fix the problems.
• In July, the GAO reported that they found that 10 Washington D.C. area businesses were improperly part of the program. One company, for example, listed its office as a small room above a dentist′s office in a low-income area, while investigators found its main office was in the suburb of McLean, Va.
• It was determined that 7 of the 10 companies invested in the July report were ineligible.
• SBA officials told the GAO they are ″reengineering″ the program to make it more efficient and to do a better job of preventing and detecting fraud and abuse.

For qualified small businesses the HUBZone program can be an excellent opportunity to secure government contracts, help to empower communities, create jobs, and attract private investment.  What happens though, when small businesses are taking advantage of this program?

 As a small business owner, how do you feel about the millions of dollars given to these unqualified companies? What steps do you think the SBA can make in improving the HUBZone program and preventing such abuse?

Map of U.S. HUBZones

Read the full GAO report.

Posted by Biz Central USA Marketing Team on March 17, 2009 under Small Biz and Entrepreneurship | Be the First to Comment

Every small business will inevitably go through three stages of a life cycle: start-up, throw-up and grow-up, (As stated by Jay Goltz, in an article on CnnMoney.com).  For those of you who haven′t been there yet, it is the point usually between 6 months to 2 years after your initial start up, where you find that your business is not meeting the expectations first projected.  Mr. Goltz gave a fine example on how stage two can come about very quickly and unexpectedly through faulty accounting.  In addition, I believe there are many other variables that can lead to the throw-up stage.

Each of the variables below can either make or break a small business.  If you have found yourself in the throw-up stage, take a few minutes and ask yourself the following questions:

1) Do you resist changing with the times? Take a look around you-the world is not the same way it was 8 months ago, let alone 10 years ago.  Times change and so do market trends, communication capabilities and business tactics, (to include a few examples:  the explosion of online social networks, SEO, viral marketing and blogging). Traditional methods of doing business are not to be forgotten, but you must learn to integrate these methods with a new laundry list of tactics.

2) Do you practice outstanding, excellent and rewarding customer service? Remember the first rule of thumb- “If you don′t take care of your customers, someone else will!” Too often poor customer service can lead to a grapevine of bad publicity and referrals.  Word of mouth can be one of the strongest influencers when one is making a decision.  Don′t believe me? Check out these stats: 67% of all consumer decisions are primarily influenced by word of mouth (McKinsey/Thompson Lighthouse) and  90% of customers identify word of mouth as the best, most reliable and trustworthy source about ideas and information on products and services (NOP World).

3) What marketing and self-promotional initiatives are you practicing? I understand that most entrepreneurs probably have a tight wallet, but a small budget is no excuse to eliminate marketing and pr from your business structure.  Recently, I spent a lot time on some of the top 50 social tools on the web, including (Facebook, Twitter, Furl, Digg and more).  These sites are no longer just for picture posting of the latest college mixer! Large and small businesses alike, have adapted these tools as a way to gain leads and build presence on the web. Utilizing these tools, will act like a bull horn for your company new, updates, questions, promos and comments.

4) Do you know your competition? What are their strengths and weaknesses? Think back to your high school football team.  Usually every night before a big game the team would review “film” from the opposing team′s recent games.  Your home team would take notes, observe tendencies and learn the competitor′s weakness.  The next night, your home team was prepared and ready to take home a victory! The same goes for business, you cannot compete if you don′t know who your competition is!

However it is that your business found itself in the throw-up stage, don′t forget there is light at the end of the tunnel, but not without a lot of hard work and re-evaluation of your current business structure.  In many cases you will have to start at the core of the problem and work your way through this mess, but in the end you will come out stronger and more confident in the future success of your business!