We’ve established the fact that email can be used for more than the simple day to day needs of corresponding with other people. If you are a business owner, you have probably realized that email can be a very powerful tool for marketing purposes. In this post, let us discuss some of the advantages that using email for marketing can bring you and your business. I have already mentioned the biggest advantage in the previous post – lower costs. What else does email marketing have to offer?

Short delivery time
When you conduct transactions via electronic means, the transaction time is usually instantaneous. Same thing goes with email – once you click the send button, you can expect your message to get to the intended recipients almost instantaneously.

Accessibility
Ask the average person how many times he checks his email. Actually, you do not even have to go that far – ask yourself the same question. I am sure that at the very least, you would say “a few times” a day. If this is the case for majority of your customers – existing and potential – then your emails will gain more exposure and customers will find you to be more accessible.

Automation
Certain actions can be done automatically without human intervention. This is a big advantage of email marketing. If you lessen the time that you (or your workers) spend on the less important things, you can free up their time to work on more urgent needs. Naturally, you see this as an advantage, right?

In the next post, let us look at the disadvantages of email marketing.

You might think that I am going crazy. The economic world is rather unstable right now. Who in his right mind would turn his attention to expanding and looking for other opportunities instead of focusing on the problems at hand? Well, let me tell you, in these hard times, there will always be opportunities for those who are alert to them. And you never know, these opportunities may very well be the answer to some of the problems that you face in your small business.

As a matter of fact, other business experts are thinking along the same lines. I recently read an article by Jared Lauber and Joe Orlando of Frank, Rimerman Consulting. It was thought provoking and encouraging at the same time. The conclusion really struck home:

The key to any decision-making process, especially in the assessment of risk, is a continuous and thoughtful assessment of available information. Every business owner must develop a fundamental understanding of the facts surrounding their business. Business owners need to know as much as they can about themselves and the world in which they compete. Similarly, every individual needs to understand their personal income statement and balance sheet. The better prepared a business owner or individual is to embrace change, understand risk, maintain visibility and seek out opportunity, the more likely they can begin the process of putting comfort back into what has become an uncomfortable world.

This simply means that we may have to look outside of our comfort zones and perhaps find a hidden gem that can make our comfort zones ever wider. Brilliant, don’t you think?

I am sure you know that old saying by heart: the only thing constant in this world is change. With what we have been experiencing in the past year or so, I am also sure that many of you have experienced this saying first hand. Change has been happening all over the world in various sectors, and the business sector has not been exempt from that. Your own business might even have had to undergo some major changes as well.

Talking about change, how is your business when it comes to dealing with change? Are you and everyone involved resilient enough to weather any changes that might happen or are you resistant to the possibility? Let me tell you know, even without an impending change in the horizon, it is always important that you ready yourself, your employees, and your business itself to change. At one point or another, it is bound to happen. And when it does, you will only really benefit if you are ready for it.

How do you prepare yourself, your employees, and your business itself for change?

Take a close look at your company culture. Perhaps you are of the traditional kind. Perhaps the culture that has been ingrained in your business is resistant to change. If so, it is time to do something about that. Talk about change on a regular basis. Talk about it in meetings. Talk about it over coffee. The idea is to help your employees open their mind to change and for them to be able to see it as a positive thing.

Here’s to change!

Medium sized businesses have a relatively high budget for gas. This is especially true if the nature of your business requires that your employees travel. Sales, marketing, and other similar activities will require that you move from point A to point B on a regular basis. One way to lessen your gas expense would be to find a supplier that will provide gas for your fleet at a good deal. But what if you are not getting the best deal out of that supplier? How can you save more on gas?

Make sure you have a concrete contract.
Verbal arrangements may work for some but you will always be better off with a contract in black and white. This will protect you when gas prices fluctuate. The important thing is that you get a deal in writing, a deal which will make both parties happy.

Do your homework.
Before signing that contract, make sure that you are not being made to pay more than you should. Look around for other gas suppliers that have similar services to businesses. Compare their rates and ask around for discounts and deals. Get the best deal and sign a contract with that supplier.

Do it yourself.
There is no need to pay someone to do the research for you or to broker the deal for you. While it may save you a little bit of time and effort, it will cost you a considerable amount of money – money that you can use for some other profitable activity. As such, set aside time and do the work yourself and save yourself some money!

Disaster can strike anytime. Even for those who are prepared, problems can occur without a moment’s notice. However, for those who are not prepared, problems can easily go from bad to worse, and worse to a disaster. Here are some tips which can help you prevent disaster before it strikes.

Make copies of documents and store them in a safe place.
There are documents and there are DOCUMENTS. While there are papers which will not kill your business if you lose them, there are certain papers which you simply have to have. For these kinds of documents, make sure you have double copies – triplicates if necessary. Take things one step further and do what every sensible person does: keep the original in a safe place. Now remember that you are not merely keeping them safe from theft. You need to keep your essential documents safe from natural elements. Get a fireproof, waterproof safety deposit box. Better yet, get something which you can move if necessary.

Make sure you have a line of credit.
Now some people are averse to borrowing money. Establishing a line of credit is different from borrowing, though. Just because you do have a line of credit does not mean that you have to use it. Knowing that you have one in case you do need it will not only give you peace of mind, but also real assurance that you have access to cash in case disaster strikes.

Document processes and contacts.
While you and other key personnel at the office may know everything there is to know about the business, there is no telling when/if you may not be around one day. Documenting processes and contact will ensure smooth operations, no matter what.

There are so many things that a small business owner has to remember. While it may be relatively easy to start up a small business and to run it, making the business successful and efficient is another story altogether. Here are some of the most essential tips that a small business owner must bear in mind with regard to how he runs his business.

Walk the talk
Small business owners are much closer to their employees that those who run mega corporations. It does not take a rocket scientist to see this. What some small business owners forget, however, is that their employees follow their lead, down to the smallest detail. Say you like coming in late. Why can’t your employees? You shout and scream at your people at the slightest mistake. Why shouldn’t they as well? The idea is to set a good example by behaving as you would want others to. Never mind that you have a great employee handbook. That might not mean anything unless you show them you follow it as well.

Admit your mistakes
No one is perfect, not even the boss. Your best bet would be to admit it when you slip up and not try to whitewash things. If you opt to go the whitewashing way, guess what your employees would think of you? Guess how much they will respect you?

Deal with honest people
I am talking about your business deals. You may be tempted to sign a business deal that is so lucrative but have you checked on the other party? Are you sure they are above board? Your business deal is only as good as the participating parties. The last thing you want is to be associated with some shady entities.

One of the biggest things that hold people back from starting their own business is the subject of money. This is quite understandable as entering the business arena on your own could be quite a risky thing. However, starting up a small business does not mean that you have to go totally broke. Neither does it mean that you have to have tons of money. Here are some ideas which could help you start your business without going broke.

Don’t leave your job
I had a separate post recently about this point. I just want to emphasize that you can actually start your own small business without totally giving up your regular wages. If you are lucky enough to have a flexible schedule at work, then you might be able to manage working full time while starting up your business. If this is not feasible, you can slowly ease out of your work. You can ask to go part time for a period of time and then completely resign when the time is right.

Find another source of income
If going part time is not an option and you really have to leave your day job, you might want to consider looking for another source of income to sustain you while you wait for your business to take off. One example would be to freelance.

Borrow money
If there really is no other option for you and you cannot wait to start your business, then I suggest that you consider borrowing money. You can do so from people you know or through a financing institution.

At this point, most business owners understand the value of establishing an online presence. More than merely establishing a presence, though, it is rather important that business owners make an impact online. You need to build a strong online presence.

You’ve heard it once, and you will hear it again from me: Content is king. You may have a web site, and you may even have a blog. However, if you cannot offer much to your customers by way of content, there is no reason for them to keep coming back to your site or blog.

Providing fresh, relevant, and well-written content can be easy enough provided that you have enough time to work on your web site. However, as a business owner, you have tons of other things to take care of – core business activities. You might be able to squeeze in some time to write content, but wouldn’t you rather be focusing on those core activities?

This is the most compelling reason to outsource your content, really. The good news is that there are a lot of people who will do the job for you. You simply need to find an SEO copywriting service that can cater to your needs.

Another benefit that you get from an SEO copywriting service is that professionals will be writing your copy. This means that your content will be written especially with people who read online content in mind. More so, having SEO professionals do the job means that your content will be search engine friendly. This will help you greatly in placing well in the SERPs and in gaining more exposure to your sites.

Is your web site/blog not getting the traffic that you want? Maybe it is time to take a look at your content. Maybe it is time to outsource this task and get the results that you want.

Photo via Write to Incite

It is that time of the year again; you know, the time that a lot of people dread. Whether we are talking about personal income tax or business tax, the reaction is usually the same. It is bad enough that we have to shell out money, but the process of figuring out just how much you owe the government can be taxing as well – no pun intended.

So, regarding the taxes for your small business, have you thought of doing the work yourself? After all, it can save you some money if you do not have to pay someone else to do the job, right? More so, you can get a lot of tax prep software which can help you do your taxes yourself.

According to expert Gene Marks, however, tax prep software can be very helpful only up to a certain point. He says that in reality, you would be better off taking on the services of an accountant – a real live one. His rationale? He points out some advantages of this kind of software:

It points out potential deductions, red-flags potential audit items and accurately crunches thorny depreciation calculations, all while incorporating a flurry of pesky tax-law tweaks.

On the other hand, software also has this problem:

Still, as with all computer programs, there’s the old problem of garbage in, garbage out. If the user types an incorrect number (or, more likely, doesn’t fully understand what’s being asked), he ends up inviting more trouble–and expense–than he avoids.

As such, he suggests using software to do your preliminary work and then hiring a good experienced accountant who can help you determine all possible exemptions while at the same time keeping within the limits of the law. This makes sense to me. What do you think?

Accounting is one of the most important activities that you have to engage in when running a small business. For some people, the tasks involved are second nature. They don’t have problems with the numbers and making them bend to their will. For others, accounting is one of the most daunting tasks.

No matter how you view accounting, it has to be done. For small business owners, it can be a bit difficult if accounting isn’t their forte. While large companies can hire teams of accountants to do the job, many small business owners would be better off doing their own accounting. If you are not too keen on accounting, you should get started on trying to learn its ins and outs.

I found a very informative article on the basics of accounting for small businesses over at Small Biz Survival. There are actually a lot of resources which you can find online but I chose this particular article due to its simplicity. It says that first, you have to start with income and expenses:

Income:
Sales Receipts
Fees
Commissions

Expenses:
Supplies
Utilities
Payroll
Taxes

Then you have to look at assets, liability, and equity. This group might be a little more complicated. The idea is to take into account the things that your business owns. These can include vehicles, cash in the bank, money people owe you, and office equipment.

When doing accounting, you take into consideration all of the above to come up with you Chart of Accounts. That’s the outline – if you want to go into the details, I suggest heading over to Small Biz Survival and get started on accounting.