This Week In Small Business: Market, motivate, measure and keep moving forward!
Middle-class economics, marketing and wrestling with the continuing roll-out of Obamacare were topics of conversations last week. These stories will give small business owners and managers the background they need to stay ahead of the curve. Marketing Finally people are realizing that online advertising isn’t about page views. Far more important is how long visitors stay on your pages. Here’s the big story and strategies. And I think Matt Heinz’ essay after writing 2,000 blog posts gives another perspective and practical advice. Seth Godin offers some principles on marketing in the “connection” economy that could be crucial for future success. But if you need something with more “firepower,” check out these military tactics that matter to marketing, or maybe growth hacking would fit your business model better. B2B marketers – and others – should soak up these three very practical mobile marketing tips. Need some inspiration for your content marketing? Document some customer success stories. And for the bigger picture, read what Co-Founder & VP of Marketing at E2M Solutsions, Pratik Dholakiya, has to say about 12 content/search engine marketing trends; they’re insightful. Is it time to move your online advertising away from Google and see what Bing, Yahoo and others can do? Google may have reached its saturation point. Other big changes are in store for marketers as well, with tech leading the way. Leadership, management and productivity Are you motivating and measuring you support teams in ways that give them incentives to provide better service? Here are some examples of what some companies are doing. And on the personal side, consider asking yourself these 10 productivity questions each morning. If your sights are set on becoming a real influencer in the social media, carefully study this analysis of PR and branding influencer tweets. Don’t make any simple legal mistakes in your small business that can set you up for trouble down the road. Here are three common legal faux pas. Reading shelf: Best books and magazines for small business professionals and best ebooks for startups. On the practical side, here are 12 online tools that will help your business in a variety of areas. January 28 was Data Privacy Day. More important than baking a cake is checking out some of the resources available at StaySafeOnline.org. Winning Small-Business Loans in 5 Easy Steps: If you have good credit and a sound plan, you could be eligible for a small-business loan. However, John Mullins may have a better idea: Start your business with your customers’ cash and forget about the loans. And finally, although they’re a long shot, here are five grants to consider from major corporations. From a tidy desk, to efficient daily planning, this methodical approach to organization could help clear your mind to focus on your success. Starting and running your own business can be scary. Be ready to deal with these five fears that virtually every owner experiences. On the other side of the coin, be sure to acknowledge, share and celebrate your triumphs. Inspiration Fresh, brilliant ideas are today’s most valuable commodity. Here are eight proven ways to get your creative juices flowing. Lisa Seacat DeLuca is just 32, a mother of twins and the most prolific female inventor at IBM. Don’t miss her insights on innovation. If you need an idea for a small...
read morePay Hikes, Bonuses or Added Perks: Which are Best For Your Business?
A colleague used to work for a major corporation where the two founders – who started the company in their garage – were still at the helm. In the early days they gave all their employees Thanksgiving turkeys. They continued the tradition even when they employed several thousand people. It was seen as a pleasant perk and also a connection to the roots of the company. Another business “tradition” is the Christmas bonus or in the more secular parlance, the year-end bonus. No matter what you call it, the day they’re handed out is certainly a popular event at many businesses. Whether or not you awarded year-end bonuses last year, take a little time now to consider the bigger compensation picture at your company so you can make the best financial and motivational decisions throughout the year. Don’t Limit Your Choices Think about merit increases, cost of living increases, bonuses, added time off and other perks, such as health club memberships, when you decide how to reward and motivate your employees and do what is best for your business. The trend has certainly been toward bonuses in place of across-the-board pay increases. They allow employers to react better to the natural ups and downs in business. This has become especially important in recent years because the business and economic climates have been, at best, “unsettled.” There are indications that some employees prefer an annual raise to a bonus, but if you decide to go that route, you’re missing out on some significant advantages that are offered by the bonus. Benefits of Bonuses First, it is easier to make your best employees truly feel rewarded at bonus time. When yearly pay increases are in the 1-3 percent range, frankly they all feel small, even if you’re attempting to “reward” your best folks with 3 percent compared to an average pay raise of 1.5 percent. A hefty bonus check at the end of the year can make your best employees feel appreciated. On the other hand, when you have a rough year, everyone senses that and loyal employees are apt to “understand” when bonuses are small or take a year’s hiatus. Increasing paid time off is another way to reward employees. In businesses with a fair number of employees, a few more vacation days dispersed among the departments doesn’t result in a major out-of-pocket expense. And while what I’m about to say sounds cynical, believe me it’s not, it’s just a fact: Many employees don’t use their vacation days anyway. It’s a good idea, by the way, to put a cap on how many vacation days an employee can accrue. Also, encourage your team members to take the time off they have coming to them. Poll Your Employees Finally, talk to your workforce about what they’d like to see: a general increase, bigger bonuses, more time off, or other benefits. Getting involved in a wellness program, perhaps including a gym membership or an occasional visit by a professional trainer, might help you with your health insurance rates. And as you review what your employees prefer, see all of the possibilities not just in the context of how well your business performed financially last year, but also in light of which strategy will best motivate your workers and help you grow in the upcoming...
read moreCan Your Small Business Change the Culture? Here’s One That’s Trying
In many ways, culture is when a group of people share the same habits. When you are raised within a certain culture, you don’t recognize those habits until you’re dumped into a culture that practices a different set of habits. Today’s question is: Can one small business change the culture? Owners of Bar Marco in Pittsburgh are eliminating tipping at their restaurant. Instead, they are starting their employees at $35,000 a year for a 40-44 hour work week and giving health benefits and 500 shares of stock in the business. In the restaurant, all of those moves could be considered “countercultural.” We are so accustomed to tipping in the United States that we think it’s just part of eating in a restaurant. However, there are plenty of countries where a service charge is added to the bill. For locals in those countries, having to calculate a tip in a US restaurant seems odd. The value of no tipping But will the Bar Marco plan fly with customers? Co-founder Bobby Fry admits that some prices will go up to cover the higher wages and that brings part of the problem into focus. When new and existing customers compare restaurants and look at prices, will the value of a no-tipping policy at Bar Marco offset some higher prices? I need to add that Fry told the local media that higher prices will be accompanied by higher quality food, or what he calls a more “complex” menu. The restaurant is also expanding service in its popular Wine Room – an intimate setting that that only seats 10 – as a way to boost revenue. Will patrons notice the higher prices and react negatively? It seems to be our nature to internalize prices before other charges are added on. That’s why airlines put up such a fuss when the government moved to make them include fees when they post their fares. Higher up-front prices discourage buying. The personal power of tipping The no-tipping policy also takes away some of the perceived power restaurant patrons believe they wield. Many enjoy the monetary “pat on the back” they can give by leaving a generous tip. I suppose some also like using a smaller tip as a way to say, “Treat customers better!” The democracy of that system will be lost. If you have spent time in countries where a standard service charge is added to restaurant bills, would you say the service is better, worse or about the same? That would be an interesting survey to conduct. One group that probably doesn’t mind the new policy at Bar Marco is the restaurant’s competitors. They may see the higher prices as a kind of price-point unilateral disarmament. Further, if Bar Marco’s venture into the untested world of no-tipping in US restaurants proves successful, there is nothing stopping them from following suit. And while I would probably give slight odds that the policy will not make it in the long haul, I think it’s a great example of a small business willing to try something new for the growth of the business and the well being of its employees. Succeed or fail, the owners of Bar Marco recognize the value of their team and also understand that giving them a stake in the business will motivate many...
read moreHow To Find Your Ideal Startup
An acquaintance used to teach seniors in high school. He would ask them what kinds of careers they wanted to pursue. About half the boys would say that they wanted to get into the video game industry. Certainly there is money to be made in video games. But even this huge industry isn’t big enough to support half the boys that graduate from high school each year. We need to dig more deeply to come up with sound business ideas. If you’re looking to start a new business this year, here are some practical guidelines to help you find your idea and polish it a bit. These are perhaps the best and most basic ways to found a successful business. Start with: What you love, What you’re good at, A problem you see, or A dire need for money. Frankly, successful businesses have started at each of these four “entry points,” but if your idea checks off two, three, or even four of these, your probability for success increases. Fortunately, numbers one and two often coincide with one another, so those are good places to start. Services that inform We’re in an information-providing and service-providing economy, so most new businesses have one or both of those attributes. Therefore, you need discover how your skill or passion fits into those kinds of business models. Here’s one approach that has worked for many entrepreneurs. Say you’re a successful blogger or handicraft seller on the Internet. When you get to the point where it’s difficult to grow, you can begin to teach others how to do what you have done. You could put together a course or hire out your services. Or perhaps you’re passionate about extreme sports. You could put together tours to places around the world where like-minded extreme sports enthusiasts can enjoy their craziness together. On a smaller scale you can start a website and newsletter on extreme sports and then accept advertising and develop affiliate relationships with interested companies. What are you an expert at? In his book “The $100 Startup,” Chris Guillebeau relates the story about an executive who became an expert in awards travel. He got so good his colleagues started to ask him for help. This eventually morphed into a business where he is able to charge big fees for putting together great itineraries on award travel credits. This man learned to solve a problem for himself and found that others were willing to pay him to solve their similar problems. Don’t think that you have to create a product to solve a problem; you can create a service that solves problems for people. Is there any pet peeve or inconvenience in your life for which you have discovered a “fix”? The fourth item on my list can be the most important. If you truly need some money, you will be motivated. This almost guarantees that you’ll put in sufficient effort to give your business its best chance at success. The idea that necessity is the mother of invention originates with Plato. Need is a motivator and source of inspiration. If you have a great need, you will probably fully consider the other three points on my list as well as my advice here and come up with a winning formula for your business. Be...
read moreWill Your Office Pool Score a Touchdown or Will You Get Called for a Penalty?
Those office football pool signup sheets that get circulated may be one of the earliest forms of workplace social media. We post our guesses and look at what spaces all of our friends have claimed. And along with being a way to bring people together in a shared experience, workplace football betting pools have another common trait with modern social media: They can be terrible for office productivity. Is this even legal? That’s one of the issues we need to sort out as SuperBowl Sunday looms large on the horizon. Other major issues are the legality of workplace betting and your responsibility when things go wrong – and they can go wrong in a variety of ways. The legality of informal office pools is murky in most states. In some states they are clearly illegal, including Hawaii, Wisconsin, Florida, and Illinois. In virtually all others, there are strict gambling laws, so it depends how gambling is defined. In any case, no owner or member of management should become involved in employee pools. That not only puts you at risk for violating your state’s gambling laws, it exposes you to other kinds of problematic employment practices. For example, employees may feel pressure to participate if an authority figure is in charge. The buck stops here As the boss there are many other good reasons to discourage or prohibit pools. Perhaps the biggest of these is that any problem will ultimately land on your desk – and the list of potential problems is great. Consider these possible employee complaints: Why does Joe get time away from his station to run around and sign people up for his pool? Ed said he would pay up on Friday, and now he says he still short! I put the money in my locker, but it’s gone now! I got left out of the pool, again! The variations are almost endless. Whenever there is a fairly substantial sum of money on the table, almost anything (bad) can happen. Further, as I said at the top, productivity usually suffers when there is office betting going on. But it’s undeniable that when everyone is a good sport and no one’s toes gets stepped on, these sport pools can help promote your esprit de corps. While you need to avoid management involvement with any informal pool, you can organize activities around major sporting events like the SuperBowl that your employees will enjoy. Wearing team colors or having a random drawing can add a little spark to the work day. Air Brady If you have the time and space, how about your own “skills” competition? Set up a tire in the parking lot and have a passing accuracy competition. Or for those who don’t have good throwing arms and to honor the New England Patriots this year, pass around a football and have employees guess how much it’s under inflated! Sorry. I couldn’t help...
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