Business Archives - Page 78 of 139

Small Business Owners: Plan to Hit Your Profit Targets

To make a Profit, the business needs to focus, not on breaking even, not on survival, but on business profitability – literally, the ‘ability’ of the business to aim at and produce a specific dollar amount of profit as a percentage of projected gross income. Only when this is the clear business target is it possible to build a business that can deliver profit to the owner year after year. Only then can that business truly become an ongoing, revenue-producing asset for the owner. How is this done? How can a business become a profitable asset? Show me the Money! Most small businesses are inherently profitable. Depending on the business, a reliable profit of 10% to 30% of total annual sales already exists as the potential, ongoing profit return on investment of the company. But where is this Profit? Why is it so hard to see, let alone produce?

As a small business consultant for a major consulting practice, I was continually amazed at the number of small-to-medium sized companies operating with a ledger notebook and aluminum box for cash. I was stunned that the computer was used only for internet email, customer letters and office decoration. The accounting software (QuickBooks or Peachtree) was on the computer for tax purposes used by the accountant at tax time. As a consultant I was able to help the small business owners realize the most effective way to run a profitable business was to plan to be profitable. By getting the owner to understand that expenses and sales should be planned towards a goal and events controlled in such a manner as to yield the profit target. By not monitoring the profit and loss statement, the business events control the owners, and management cannot drive process and procedures toward profits. The accounting software packages were then set up to view each product by profit and loss statements on a monthly and annual basis. This allowed the small business owner the ability to react quickly to any deviations from its budgeted plans (cash falling through the cracks). The organization learns from the feedback it gets by comparing budgeted goals to actual results(revenue decreasing). Communication increased throughout the organization about employee expectations towards profitable goals.

Owners, when was the last time you updated your business plan, which is probably on your bookshelf where you placed it since you initially developed it. Now, don’t get bogged down in the document, just dust it off and use a red pen to ask your self the following questions:

Profit Planning: Budget vs. Business Plan

Has the management team updated the business plan to reflect current/future market industry ‘realities’?

Does my management team understand the ‘market intricacies’ of each product they sell and service in the business unit they oversee?

Does my management team understand the ‘customer’ product needs and wants they sell and service in the business unit they oversee?

Have you developed a profit and loss statement for each product? What are your sales revenue, direct costs, and overhead expenses for each product?

Have you benchmarked your Gross Profit margin against industry standards? Is it high or low?

How are your products sales trending? Quarterly? Is product cost percentage lowering as you sell more volume of products? If not, can workflow be streamlined.

Is my business making money? Do I have a simple profitable business model in place for every product?

Have you identified your bestselling product lines vs. your worst selling products? Select which product will grow your business?

Have your management team created action plans to meet planned product profit specific objectives and goals in target areas?

Employees/Operational Readiness

What is the current morale of the employees? Who will champion the ‘Profit Program’ that they can believe in?

What are the current ‘roadblocks’ to lowering cost and increasing throughput of products? Why?

What are the training needs of my employees to achieve profit goals? How will training improve business or morale?

Do the employees know what’s expected of them? How will they be held accountable for performance?

How will they be rewarded? Plan to give Incentives, increase Profit-Sharing, surprise Bonuses, spontaneous Intangibles?

Have your managers and supervisors set specific production objectives and goals in target areas?

Are my employees cross trained in key (growth products) production areas? Why not?

Do I have financial measurements scorecard posted in work area? Do I have relevant workflow processes posted in work area?

Do we have the best technology solution in place to reach profit goals?

Customers

Has my customer base changed?

Has my product/service offering changed?

How often/how many new customers have I obtained in the last year?

What product do my customers need to solve their problem? What services can we offer to provide convenience or can we lower product cost?

Are there any solutions outside the industry that will ‘wow’ the customer? Is the marketing strategy relevant to customer wants?

What is the company reputation to the customer? If low, how can we improve reputation and brand image to the market?

Do I know who my best customers are? What do they really want?

Do I have more/fewer customers? Why did they leave?

Who are the current ‘bad customers/clients’? Money Owed? Should I keep them or sell them?

Competitors

Do I have new competitors? Who?

Do I have more/fewer competitors? Why?

What are the current competitive threats to my business?

How are my competitors resolving the customer problem? Who?

What industry has the best innovative solution to address my customers need? Why? Applicable?

What technology is a competitive threat to my bestselling product?

Evaluate answers against the strengths and weaknesses of your business capability. Formulate your strategy according to the opportunity available in the marketplace. The game is to make money for the long term, not to see how many widgets you can ‘hide’ at the end of the month or play financial engineering games with the books.

Price Points

It is never a good idea to cut your price, even in tough economic times. If you do cut your prices, only do it for a limited time encouraging customers to “act now.” This should be a last resort effort.. The temptation to cut your price in tough times is great. Ask your management team ‘If we cut prices, how will you get the prices up when the tough times are over?’ Stay on the message. Your value doesn’t diminish in tough times. Why should your price go down? Businesses should focus more on customer satisfaction. By focusing on delivering more than you promise, you are putting the customer first. It reinforces their decision to buy.

Business Partners

Look for businesses that you can partner with to cross-promote your products and services while sharing the costs. For example, a laundry mat offers free detergent with each washer load and the free detergent is paid for by both the owner of the laundry mat and the supplier of the detergent. The price was not reduced, but there is a unique incentive for the customer with a specific start and end date, which will get the customer to “act now.”

Plan to profit with sales this year. Explore new markets, new prospects and new products and pitches. This year, the three Ps of marketing your business are: prospects, products and pitches. All three may need to change a bit to get you to a profitable year.

You can do it. Surround yourself with mentors who you can talk to plan for success. It’s amazing the difference it makes just talking through your ideas. Think of planning as preparing yourself for success with a clear profit picture in mind.

New Markets

As you review your business plan, ask yourself where else you can sell your product or service. Go back to those customers who have not bought from you in a while. Have a compelling reason for them to buy from you now, such as improved service, different products or greater customer satisfaction just to name a few. Does it make sense to enter new geographic markets? Have any competitors in that market left or ‘retrenched, waiting for better times’?

Update Your Offerings

After reviewing your business plan is it necessary to change or update your product or service offering? Will product or service changes or additions allow you to sell more to your existing customers? An “update” here could mean a redesign of your web site, starting a blog, joining a social network. Essentially any way you can expand your reach to potential customers. The reason newspapers across the country are closing is due to lack of readership. People are moving to the internet for their news and information… and to find your business!

Improve Your Pitch

Thoroughly understand your product and service and why someone should buy it from you. Use written testimonials from some of your satisfied customers.

• Tell your story in five minutes or less.

• Practice to perfect your pitch “before” the sales call.

• Listen well. Ask questions & really listen to the client’s needs and concerns.

The bottom line is practice makes perfect. Be a dedicated practitioner in client connection. You are the owner. Your time, care and connection in the sales process will bring results. In these times, you can be tenacious & focus on seeking out new opportunities which will pay huge dividends when the economy turns around.

Our nation is experiencing a recession and has been in a prolonged serious economic downturn in the past decade. According to Tom Reilly, MissouriBusiness.Net, “Seventy percent of today’s CEOs have never led a company in or out of a recession and 60 percent of today’s salespeople have never sold in tough times”.

On every championship team, great coaches must receive accurate information in order to adjust their strategy to win the game. To be a truly great small company you must operate from a core value of honesty toward strategy and profitability. Remember the old management adage ‘If it doesn’t get measured, it doesn’t get done’ and ‘Lost Opportunity’ (bad decisions) can close your business. Planning profitability is a proven business method that allows your business to measure whether its succeeding or failing, not smooth talking inexperienced senior executives, presenting the latest management theory of the month to the board.

Remember, Enron, WorldCom, George S. May International, Arthur Anderson and Tyco.

7 Steps to Creating a Successful Small Business Marketing Plan

Small business marketing is all about determining the needs of your target market and then providing solutions to meet those needs.

These 7 steps are aimed at entrepreneurs starting a small business and those who want to create a successful small business marketing plan for an existing business.

Most small business promotions focus on how great their products and services are. Instead, you should educate your target market consistently and start building a relationship that will establish your credibility and trust. It is important to develop a marketing mindset. “Think Marketing” your products and services all of the time. It is very important to consistently market your products and services. Don’t fall into the trap of stop and go marketing. Some small business owners only market when sales are down.

You can’t have a successful small business without having a successful small business marketing plan. Effective small business marketing is the way to growth and profits

If you’re a small business owner or you want to know how to start a small business in the future, this simple 7-step plan will help you understand your business and your target market.

How to Start a Small Business Marketing Plan: 7 Steps

Begin the process by answering these questions:

1) Who — Who specifically is your target market? Who is your ideal client? What research can you do to find out more about your target market?

2) What — What products and services do your ideal clients want and need? What does your product and service do for your ideal client? What problems does your product solve for your customer? What are the solutions that your ideal client is looking for? What is your area of specialty that will differentiate you in the marketplace? What are the industry trends? What type of message will your ideal client likely respond to? What are you ultimately selling? For example: Are you selling eye glasses or are you selling vision? What is your unique mix of products and services? What is your pricing strategy?

3) Where — Where is your ideal client? Where is your customer located geographically? Where will you position yourself so they can easily find you? Where are the best places to get your marketing message to them? Will you speak to groups, hold seminars, or write a blog, newsletters or articles?

4) When — How frequently does your target market need to hear your marketing message? When are they most likely to buy your products and services?

5) Why — Why are you in business? Why do customers or clients buy from you? Why should they choose your product or service over your competition?

6) How — How does your customer buy your product or service? How are you going to reach potential buyers for your services and products? How will you communicate your marketing message? How will you provide customers or clients with the information they need to make their buying decision?

7) Marketing Mindset – Practice mastering a Marketing Mindset and you will be on the path to a profitable small business.

With these 7 steps, you can take action towards starting a small business marketing plan that targets new customers. “Marketing is about testing and evaluating your return on investment. But it’s primarily about helping people get what they want.” Master these small business marketing steps and you will be on the path to more profit and success as a business owner.

4 Innovative Trade Show Booth Design Ideas

There are a host of factors that contribute to attracting and converting leads at marketing events. Proper preparation, a sound business plan and well-trained staffers can certainly go a long way to ensuring success, but the small space carved out on the floor for each business always represents the best opportunity to make an impression. Conceptualizing and implementing trade show booth design ideas that will draw attention, retain interest and ultimately convert qualified leads to paying customers is a responsibility that should not be taken lightly. Modern display designs can be customized to fit any need, but it’s up to you and your marketing team to ensure that they’re used to their fullest advantage. Here are just a few options to consider.

Full Display Branding

While any reputable designer will have plenty of “standard” shapes and layouts to choose from when considering trade show booth design ideas, there is also the option of a fully customized design. The trade show display itself is a (sometimes literally) huge opportunity to advertise a brand. Rather than square banners, tie the shape of advertisements into a branding strategy to make them stand out by constructing them in a shape that is relevant to your product. Create kiosks and tables that resemble a product or represent a service. Modern construction techniques allow for nearly any shape, enabling the opportunity to construct a large version of a product to serve as the setting for event marketing efforts. What better way for an industrial fastener provider to distinguish themselves on the show floor than by telling attendees to look for them inside the giant bolt.

Office Space Included

Despite all the noise and distraction on the show floor, many major business decisions can be made during marketing events. Consider incorporating a more private meeting space as one of your trade show booth design ideas. Create a miniature boardroom, separate from the main selling floor, to retreat to with qualified leads to discuss details of working together. Not only will such a space provide more privacy, but it demonstrates forethought in your commitment to the business at hand.

Integrated Technology

Advancements in technology have made their way onto the show floor in the form of screens and displays of every type. While setting up an iPad to display product details or a video is a good place to start, there are countless other options for using modern tech trends to your advantage. Social media integration is one of the easiest and most cost effective ways to increase visibility. You might incorporate screens that display a Twitter or Facebook feed, or track a desired hashtag. The ease of live webcasting means you’ll have the ability to broadcast your event presence and engage even those who can’t attend. When considering trade show booth design ideas, think about how QR codes might be tied into an overall branding strategy to link together all of your marketing materials from literature, to business cards and even the attire, name tags or badges employees wear. There’s truly no end to the possibilities modern social trends play in a successful plan.

Trade Show Booth Design Ideas That Can Be Changed On The Fly

Avoiding stagnation is a key to success in any business, and the same applies to advertising materials. While it’s certainly a good idea to update any overall marketing strategy regularly, consider utilizing fixtures that allow you to change the look of a booth even during the show. Manufacturers are constantly updating their product lines to include products that are easier to assemble and simple to change. Retractable bannerstands that can be easily swapped mean that a display might look completely different from one day to the next. Innovative inflatable fixtures allow for entire booths to be rearranged or swapped out with little effort, and at the push of a button. Keeping things fresh will ensure that potential clients aren’t put off by stale designs or out-of-date information.

Advantages Of A Good Business Plan

Planning is a vital ingredient in the success of any business. Developing a business plan is not just a requirement, but a basic necessity for building one’s business nowadays. It is an honest truth that every business needs a plan, starting from large corporations to entrepreneurs. Developing a business plan will help one build a framework that would push his business to his actual destination. The business plan helps one develop work guidelines, map out strategies, understand one’s target market, measure performance, monitor progress, make future plans and raise additional capital either for expansion or to boost operations.

Quite often, the thought on the mind of most business owners or investors is failure. The only way to overcome this failure is to address the common reasons why businesses fail up front. Presently, the world is facing though economic challenges, global economic meltdown, high cost of commodities, high rate of foreclosure and difficulties in obtaining credit from banks, stiff competition, complicated tax laws and high operational costs, etc.. All these challenges faced by businesses today, even make it more challenging for start-up businesses to survive. In today’s world, both small and large-scale businesses have come to realize the need to evaluate their business potentials and formulate strategies for the future.

However, inadequate planning has been the reason so many businesses fail, and the rate at which they fail is overwhelming. It is usually believed that most businesses fail in their first year of operation and among those that fail, 80% of them do not have a well researched plan. It has been observed that business failure is not only connected with small businesses alone which I chose not mention here, go down too. Though the rate of failure is highly significant in small businesses, and it is the main reason why a good business plan is needed. Probably for raising additional cash and to provide potential investors and lenders with the information required to make investment decisions. This makes developing a business plan extremely important. One’s business plan has to stand out and his projection has to be firm due to higher competition in attracting funding for his business. Investors no longer risk their money on businesses that do not prove to have great potentials for them.

A business plan is like a road map, it shows one the route to take, the pitfalls to avoid in order to reach his destination, For instance, if one decides to travel by road from one place to another, he would first need a road map that shows him the route to take. He will need to determine the distance and how much gas his car will need to take him to his destination. Moreover, he will need to calculate how much the journey will cost him, if he intends to raise money, if he’s borrowing, how he intends to refund the money. Putting all this into consideration, he now has a traveling plan that will take him to his destination. In the same vein, that’s what a business plan provides one with, the strategies, the route, and a road map to success.

Incidentally, the idea of working with a business plan is for one to keep focus on his set goals. Statistics has it that many businesses fail due to inadequate planning. If one doesn’t know where he’s heading to, any route seems to be the right one. Most people make great mistakes by jumping into business without adequate preparation and planning. A good business plan helps one maintain focus on his goals and execute the strategies that the plan assisted him in creating. Just like a road, one’s business plan has to be consulted to make maintain his focus and not running business in a layman’s way.

Working with a business plan, it will prevent one from entering unfamiliar territory. The plan becomes a working map for him and his organization. I t spells out the things to do and things not to do, the functions and how everyone and every department should operate. It helps one become more efficient, reduce waste and redundancy, channeling one’s resources to rightful place and being a guide to the successful running of his business.

As a performance tool, it measures the progression of goals in one’s business by tracking, monitoring, as well as evaluating, and can also be used as checkpoints in measuring performance. The world today, is so dynamic that what applied today might not apply tomorrow, and as a result of this dynamism, a good business plan needs to be setup in order to protect one against risks associated with business.

In addition to a performance tool, perfect business plan should contain other necessary tools in its system, which really make it a perfect plan. It must have a human resource tool, a marketing and strategy tool, financial tool, communication tool, and most importantly, an investor’s guide. A well-defined business plan attracts others to be part of the vision. It has to have a well-defined goal and objective that will set the stage to bring others into the business. It should inspire teamwork and creativity among its people and ensures everyone understands the goals and objectives.

However, a good business plan defines one’s target market, the class of people he intends to sell his products to, how to reach them, promote his products, in addition, defines one’s market mix- people, place, product and price. People- this defines the people involved in the promotion one’s goods and services. Product- this defines what one’s goods and services are. Place- defines the location which also includes the means of delivering the goods and services. Price- defines how much one’s products and services are worth in the market which will enable him analyze and evaluate his return on investment (ROI). A marketing and strategy tool defines one’s business strength, his weakness, his opportunities and threats. It plots a graph that helps one reduce cost while maximizing profit.

A financial tool in a good business plan enables one understand his business financial position, develops his budget and determine how his finances will be allocated. It also calculates one’s return on return on investment, analyzes his income statement, cash-flow, balance sheet, break-even point i.e. the analysis that tells one how much sales needed in order to cover expenses, which gives the basis for pricing his products and services, and at the same time calculates how much that is needed to finance one’s business which helps in making his financial needs clear.

A good business plan communicates one’s ideas to people, communicates his mission, objectives, management approach, responsibilities and demonstrates how one’s strategy will increase profitability and performance, identifying his audience without overreacting his aims and objectives of his business plan. A business communicates in two ways- Internal communication and External communication. Internal communication includes communication of corporate vision, shared value, strategies, guiding principles and employee motivation. External communication includes branding, customer relation, marketing, advertising, media and public relations etc..

A good business plan is used to attract funding from investors. Most investors will look at a business plan as a decision-making tool. There are certain things investors look out for in a business. These include one’s management team, every investor will want to know a business owner’s managerial skills, passion, and his dedication to his business. A comprehensive description of how one’s products or services should be discharged, his customer base, his market and financial analysis. A business plan should have a realistic financial forecast. Every investor will always like to see his business associate’s return of investment, cash-flow and break-even analysis. Hence, a well prepared business plan is the key to attracting investors.

Secrets to Starting a Successful Internet Business

Most people are under the impression that they need so much funds to build a successful online business but this is not the case rather there are certain sterling qualities required of such a person to get involved in this business and succeed.

Apart from the time to be committed to the business you will need determination alongside great ideas with which to fire the business into life. Although the beginning might be treacherous you will need to devote full time to the business and the end will definitely justify the means.

Try to find what you are best at and work so passionately on it till it brings you to your promised land. This means taking up your interests or favorite past times and turning those ideas into a business concept.

If for instance you are good at writing try working on setting up a blog and alternatively if it is selling you are good at, get involved in affiliate marketing. Knowledge is powerful so you will need to go into research and try to find useful resources from the internet which will help your quest in setting up a successful online business.

You will also be expected to sign up for news letters on your areas of interest so that you are always kept abreast of current trends in your field of interest and this will definitely help your business growth because by keeping up with such information it will make you adapt to favorable and unfavorable conditions in the market which if you were ignorant of could affect your business negatively.

In acquiring knowledge you must be ready and determined to use it in the market place because without venturing you are not sure of making any gains. Online business involves risk and you must be ready to take that plunge into the unknown in order to achieve the known and be celebrated for it.

Having acquired knowledge in the quest of setting your business goals you will need to transmit what you have learned through your relationship with your prospective clients and if you are not able to communicate effectively with them you will not get any feedback which means no business.

So you have to hone your communications skills so that your clients will get your message and understand your business thrust the moment they are accessing your communication channels.

Considering the nature of online business where you do not have to meet physically or personally with your clients there is the need to transmit your message and intentions clearly without any room for equivocation.

More so, by keeping abreast of current trends in your business circle it will do you good to share this information with other and by so doing you will be respected and reckoned with in your field. You need to understand that when you are starting up your business you need to devote time to running it full time but with time and growth pressure will ease up.

In spite of pressure also make sure that you keep your business organized by ensuring that all important content are readily available for use when the need arises.

Prevent These Business Mistakes With the Right Global Markets Reports

Information, is the most important term in business – it’s what you need to stay ahead. Using the global markets reports related to your business, you can assimilate all your resources and use them effectively.

Business experience might not be enough to propel your brand into the market, or a new one at that. Data also needs to be utilized in a way that it creates a constant flow of solutions. It&rsquo’s important to gain a better understanding of your buyer, competitor and market – or what it really takes to stay competitive. Without the right ideas, answers and information at your disposal, you could find yourself facing these issues:

Maintaining over-optimistic strategies:

Most entrepreneurs start out with and noble idea of where they want to take their brand and often get carried away. Exemplary planning, without adequate research to support it, could destroy your business entirely. This is because, in addition to developing a really good business idea, you have tested out its viability – preferably before you set up your business.

Research will help you to understand the level of customer expectations or type of needs they have. It identifies the right product testing tools you should be using and ways to factor in the feedback or results of these preliminary tests.

Avoiding collaborating over business ideas:

A business idea cannot come into play overnight. You have to invest the right amount of efforts in sharing it with partners, colleagues and even customers. This is where you will find the suggestions or opinions necessary, to improve on your idea or find new ones altogether.

That being said, it’s important to share your prototype or idea with trustworthy people. You also need to understand how to protect your ideas from being stolen or being used in unscrupulous ways.

Not understanding your customers or market:

The biggest danger of overlooking research is that you end up selling your product in the wrong markets. You wouldn’t even know how strong your competition is, leading to the untimely failure of your product.

To prevent this, you can use research reports to gain access to data on government laws, social norms for developing your own business networks. You can even get an understanding of the sector you are in to discover prevalent purchasing trends.

Bad or inadequate financial planning:

Business capital is important too. The reluctance to prepare yourself with the right amount of it and have contingency plans ready could lead to a lot of problems. It might even prevent you from taking an idea forward, even if happens to be a very viable one.

Capital is what will help your brand to survive and shows that your business has a future. This is one part of your business plan that will appeal to investors, should you choose to look for any. Research report data is what you can use to structure your financial objectives. It identifies damaging situations that could lead to a negative result such as inflation rates, political instability and ways to resolve them.

Bring Your Idea Alive

Business Idea

Virtually every business has started from an idea that has been put into practice by the actions of the individual. In this day and age with globalization and the digital world that we live in that business idea needs to be researched thoroughly to ensure that it has a good chance of it being a success.

Business Research

Once the idea seems feasible then the business research should start. The first mistake to make is to rush into that business without having a clear plan in place to launch the business.

On line Research

Find out what the international trends are and research the products and services that you have in mind through the internet. There are lots of ways of doing this and the first is to research companies that are doing a similar business. Establish what services they provide, what their delivery and payment terms are. How you can fit your idea into that and ways of offering something unique to give you the edge over your competitors.

The best way to find what the trends are is to join social media sites and establish if your business idea is trending through the various sites. Social media sites that use photos, and incorporate web sites is a sure way to conduct the business idea research because not only do you see what the trends are but how the different companies present and brand themselves.

If it is an idea that will not be used on line but a service or products within the a town or community one can still use the internet to confirm if the idea is a good one by seeing what response one will get through forums, social media and even blog. Search for companies within the idea that you might have on the social media sites as most of the modern companies advertise through social media as well. What makes this an effective way is that one can see how many followers there are for a particular company in that niche.

Research from other sources

Most countries have Institutions and resources in place for new entrepreneur to do their market research such as business schools, libraries and in some cases Universities. A good place to do research is at trade shows and see what is on display and how the public are receiving all the different new ideas being launched in the market. Reading business magazines because most industries have magazines that are used for advertising purposes.

Establishing the Business Plan

Once the research has been completed then the business plan can be done. By now one will have a very good idea what the competitors are offering and how the new venture can offer it’s products within that niche. Establishing the niche market is important as one does not want to waste time and finances on a market that would not respond positively to the particular idea.

The business plan at this stage will move into what is required to get the idea alive and start launching it. How much funds would be required to start the business and how quickly one would start seeing return on investment. These are important because if a startup is looking for funds the cash flow requirements are essential to operate daily.

The new venture will also need a clear plan in the business plan how the products or services will be launched. Either through advertising on the web, flyers, radio or TV. The startup will need to plan for a period of slow growth because most businesses take time and a lot of hard work to get to the stage where it is self-sustainable.

Be prepared

It is also important to be prepared for unforeseen stumbling blocks. If the startup thinks that after the research the plan is not going successful there should be contingency plans. Some people will scrap the idea completely but that is not necessarily the answer. In all businesses there needs to be changes of plan at times but as long as these risks have been thought through they can be managed and still present a successful solution.

Startups and Entrepreneur

As a startup the most daunting thing now that you have a good idea how you would like to launch it is to find the finance to put it all in place. As a startup the chances that you have enough cash to get the business operating is slim and therefore one needs to find an investor.

Investors are in this day and age easy but at the same time more difficult because of the many angel investors out there. The angel investors will probably find the startup first but if that happens be sure to do the due diligence of that particular investor. There would be nothing worse than getting your idea launched and then the investor is unable to support your project at a later stage. Do all the necessary PR and brand promotion even before you launch you idea.

To get an investor interested you not only need a sound business plan but also why the particular products or service will be successful. Make sure that you have a good pitch to sell the idea should you happen to come across someone who would like to invest in your idea.

To establish a good relationship with an investor requires good communication. Communicate with the investor straight away because they are important to your business and would be unwise to put them on hold or ignore their emails. This would create trust between you and your investor. Honesty is also very important because the investor would like to know exactly what results are being achieved and what problems the startup or entrepreneur are having. This is not necessarily a bad thing especially for startups because most investors will have experience with business and could give good advice on how to solve problems.

As a start up or entrepreneur there are opportunities out there for unique ideas and investors are available to help you get them off the ground and with good research and business plan you could have a successful business.

10 Ideas for Marketing Your Business With Facebook Advertising

Facebook is considered as the most popular social media network today. Its popularity remains to spread out with a need in internet marketing where aggressive and ingenious company owners and online marketers are deploying Facebook marketing to reach more target market as web traffic to their sites.

A more extension to Facebook marketing is Facebook marketing that is growing popular where certain online marketing is targeted at specific niche Facebook audiences that would benefit the brand and company operations. Facebook marketing consists of flexible characteristics that no online marketer or company owner might manage to avoid today.

Facebook marketing consists of the capability to recognize particular target market, track and determine the efficiency of picked advertisements, customize advertisements in reaction to altering market patterns and customer habits. For the ideal outcomes, online marketers and entrepreneur who take part in Facebook Marketing should use the following 10 impactful pointers.

Ideas # 1– Have a Clear Objective

Every effective company needs a clear objective that might be attained to inspire the online marketer or entrepreneur. A basic objective might be set for little and brand-new companies while larger market gamers would have more difficult objectives. The set objective would most likely consist of more web traffic to be produced and greater sales that would increase company bottom lines by means of Facebook marketing.

A clear objective would assist online marketers or entrepreneur end up being more focused to expend their energy, expense and time carefully to enjoy ideal outcomes at the end of the marketing project. When engaging Facebook marketing if adequate resources and know-how are readily available, it might be possible for a company to have more than one easy objective.

Idea # 2– Identify Specific Niche Markets

Web online marketers still have to determine their favored geographical places to promote their brand and items quickly, although the world is their oyster through contemporary innovations today. New or small companies ought to recognize a regional market that is more workable prior to broadening beyond their horizons as they get acquainted with Facebook Marketing.

As Web online marketers end up being more skilled with the characteristics of Facebook marketing, there is no border to hold them back in getting in touch with international and regional customers on the Web for ideal results.

Unique internet marketing projects might be prepared with Facebook marketing to accommodate the numerous customer requirements and altering habits around the world.

Idea # 3– Personalized Advertisements for Target Market

Web companies need extremely particular audiences to be a hit. This would need a personalized advertisement that deals with a certain group that would broaden the marketplace presence of the brand and items promoted. When the social network gathers appropriate user info to assist online marketers specify the targeted audience for every online advertisement prepared and executed, this is not hard on Facebook marketing.

A great deal of appropriate and intriguing customer info might be collected as part of a reliable search making use of customers’ age, gender, occupation and interest. A mix of these requirements might limit certain target audience that would surge up the advertisement success.

Ideas # 4– Accommodate Existing Clients

One possible mistake of Facebook online marketers is a tendency to disregard the existing in their desperation to look for brand-new prospective leads. Online marketers must not forget that without the existing clients, their company might not be where it is today. Existing clients ought to be valued at all times with appropriate advertisements and unique offers that would make them devoted consumers for life.

There is excellent marketing power with existing consumers who might be the brand’s informal ambassadors from their complete satisfaction with the brand or company. More possible leads might come through from existing clients’ contacts that would churn greater sales for business.

Idea # 5– Realistic Budget Plan

Facebook marketing is vibrant with a spending plan that is scalable; for this reason, little or brand-new online companies might set a smaller sized practical budget plan to turn on Facebook advertisement marketing on a smaller sized scale till more revenues are created to allow a larger scope of marketing on the Web.

Larger business with a larger spending plan might choose more vibrant marketing advertisements that might extend a number of platforms and channels for a larger direct exposure of the brand and company to delight in larger returns. Advertisements might be run constantly or occasionally depending upon the set spending plan to create the wanted results.

Idea # 6– Appealing Images Added in Advertisements

Images in advertisements have the tendency to appeal more to audiences, pertinent and particularly appealing photos that would produce more interest and interest to trigger greater reactions. Online marketers might explore various kinds of images on numerous advertisements to track their efficiency prior to using the effective choices more often in future online advertisement marketing ventures.

Idea # 7– Engage Facebook Advertisement Manager

No much better device than the Facebook Advertisement Manager must be used to assemble the vital metrics on advertisement reactions for a precise report on the project’s efficiency. Online marketers would have the ability to make more educated marketing choices with the pertinent info at hand to prevent restarting marketing errors.

This would enhance the success rates of Facebook Advertisements with the device supervisor showing truths about the advertising campaign, which enables instant modifications to the advertisements or alter the course of the marketing advocate higher efficiency.

Idea # 8– Conversion Tracking Advantages

The application of Conversion Tracking controls suitable JavaScript codes composed on business site to track web visitors’ actions and reactions. Such info is returned to Facebook where collation happens to supply an online marketer precise info about customer habits and gather essential marketing info that would enhance internet marketing ventures.

Idea # 9– Enhancing Facebook Posts

Increasing a Facebook post forms another element of Facebook marketing where the post is positioned greater in the advertisement receivers’ News Feed area to enhance the opportunities of being seen. Any variety of posts might be improved to enhance online direct exposure.

Idea # 10– Add “Call to Action” Option

Every efficient marketing project has to close with a ‘call to action’ which might close a sale where possible. This is the very best ending line for a marketing project despite how vibrant the marketing method might be. A call to action amounts to “Constantly get a sale”.

Restaurant Consultants For Industry Insights

As the food industry is increasingly relying on the evolving dining trends of people, restaurant owners need to move ahead with more strategic and insightful approach for business continuity and growth. This will help them to respond according to the changing market conditions. Insightful steps for managing restaurant business operations will dramatically influence the business revenue and growth in the niche. Taking insightful, measurable steps for business expansion or recalibration or setting up a new business need extra efforts and business intelligence approaches. One of the best ways to take responsive, sensible actions is to consult with a restaurant consultant.

Restaurant consultants will adjust your restaurant management hierarchy and streamline its operations so that your business can safely perform better and sail beyond the expectations. Today, more and more restaurant owners are relying on these consultants in order to lower their total cost of ownership as well as evolve as per the demanding market. Consultants not only provide information on financial planning and risk analysis, but also render prudent insights into outsourcing, market & competitor analysis, business diagnostics and performance measurement, which is essential for business owners.

Sometimes, it becomes difficult to gather complete industry information to take business-critical decisions. Therefore, consulting with a restaurant consultant is the best option. With the help of experienced consulting professionals, you can easily define your new objectives and set new standards to achieve them. They will essentially help you in developing risk-free and growth-oriented business plans that will help your business to flourish in the transforming food industry. They will highlight every minute factor that plays a greater part in business management, such as level of competition, climate of the region, food industry trends, and market trends.

Consultants deeply analyze the business plan and redesign it according to needs. They help in aligning the operations and revitalizing the disaster recovery plans. It will help you in minimizing the complexities and improving the business flexibility. If needed, consultants rewrite the restaurant business plans for effectively conceptualizing initiatives. It includes long-term development moves, predicative analysis, and exit strategies. In order to drive greater success for your business, business experts focus on marketing strategies, which often includes tactical marketing, online marketing, website design, local store marketing, and much more.

Therefore, if you want to enhance revenues of your restaurant business, then you need to consult with restaurant consultants that can offer consulting in all aspects of restaurant operations, development and management. They will help in implementing cutting-edge management solutions that will deliver value to your business.

Catering Business Information – An Ideal Venture for You

Do you want to earn extra income? Then start a catering business now. Creating a catering business might not be too hard but it is definitely risky. Venturing in this kind of business needs your skills to capture the taste of countless people and discovering the fine art of preparing food. Like any other types of business, of course where you invest your hard earned money, you hope to make the business grow. It is indeed necessary that you got to be prepared and wise from the very beginning of the business venture. You cannot just go through the business venture lacking any preparations and knowledge of being a caterer.

There are some things that need to be considered in opening a catering business so that it will succeed in the long run. Besides hiring a caterer, you must device a business plan to be your guide. It would be better to put into writing the ideas which are playing in your mind the moment you think of opening a catering business. This business plan must include goals classified into short term and long term and also the activities and plans that you want to carry out.

The business plan must also have manpower, investment needed as the marketing initiatives. This will be your reference and guide in making your catering business successful. Whatever plans you have for the business, it would be of help if you include the feasibility and profitability of your plans. The initial cost should be taken into consideration before putting up the catering business. The costs include salaries for the chef and first few employees; cost for the utensils and the industrialized kitchen you will work with. The next thing to focus is the definite regulations and rules of the local health department.

It is important to check the local health department and check the regulations that apply to you. You might need to check out laws governing your business and might need to get permits. This might save you from any problems that may occur later on. It might be of help if you will hire an expert to manage legal matters. Aside from the business plan, marketing strategy is a must for the business. You must know how to capture the taste of the potential customers with no spending lavishly on the ingredients. It is also to think of ways on how to reach the target market. In addition, you have to make a way in keeping a good business relationship with them.

Word of mouth is one of the best ways to market and promote your catering business. Therefore, you have to make it a point to make a goof impression on every customer that comes to your business. Another thing to promote your business is through networking. Never miscalculate the power of having connections. Other people go for charity and volunteer works or organize fund raising events. Clients will come to your business and there is a possibility that they will be your regular customers. Printed coupons and flyers can also be effective in promoting your catering business. In the opening, discount can be given to the first few customers so they can become loyal customers.

In opening a catering business, one must be ready for all the risks since all business ventures come with risks so make sure to be well-prepared when starting your business. Being ready and prepared increase your opportunity of creating a profitable business. Business people know that it’s hard to gain potential customers but it is even harder to keep the loyal customers to continue and stay to support you. However, these risks can turn into something profitable as long as you have expert and friendly caterer and the business plan and marketing strategy are prepared well.