How To Market Your Business On The Cheap

Marketing Your Business Cheap

As an entrepreneur, you are under the gun to succeed because you have put not only your reputation, but your financial future on the line. As a result, you need to find a way to reach customers without spending too much. You don’t have the marketing budget of Coca-Cola, so don’t try to market like them. You need to find a way to market yourself a at low cost, so you can maximize your profits. Getting the most customers, for the lowest amount, is the goal you should set for yourself. So, what do you need to do to market yourself to your customers?

• Provide excellent service and encourage word-of-mouth advertising. When you do this, you are using the best form of advertising, which is word-of-mouth. People trust their friends and family and if those people tell them that you do great work or sell excellent products, that can mean more than a $2 million Super Bowl commercial. Offer your customers deals on future purchases for the business they bring in from their friends and family and always be there for your customers with great service. 
• Forget about newspaper advertising and television advertising, it is too expensive and it doesn’t always work that well. Instead, advertise with promotional gifts. This way you are giving your customers something they can use and wear, while they advertise your company. It works like this, your customer buys something and you give them a free t-shirt with your company name on it. They wear that shirt when they are out and they are a walking billboard for you. People see your company name and logo and the more they see it, the greater the brand awareness is. 
• Go out and find your customers. You don’t need to wait for your customers to come to you, so why not go to them? Bring brochures about your business and go door-to-door if you have to. That shows your customers you are willing to do the leg work for their business and that will earn you respect, which is vitally important. 
• Find ways to out-do your competitors through sponsorship. Show your customers that you care about the people in the community by sponsoring charitable events and offering money or your services to help. You can provide money to churches, charities, schools, animal shelters and community events. That not only gets your name out there, but the more people see it, the more they will recognize you and that will help you make more money from your customers.

Marketing yourself and your business is not always cheap or easy, but by using these methods you can save money and gain customers. You want to get loyal customers because a loyal customer can be worth as many as 10 non-loyal customer. Even if the loyal customer does not spend as much each visit, they will keep coming back and keep recommending your business to others. So market your company properly, get loyal customers and move into the future with your business.
First Published: EntrepreneurJourney.com Published on: Oct 30, 2010

The Best Small Business Ideas

Top Small Business Ideas and Tips

When you decide to start a small business, you need to determine what idea is going to work the best for you. There are often many ideas to choose from, but the world is changing and the entrepreneur has to change with it. So, in the 21st century, what ideas for a small business are the best? You have to consider how easy it is to start up, and how much it costs. So, here are some of the best businesses to start up as an entrepreneur

1. Yoga Instructor: You don’t need a studio, you can go directly to your clients and all you need is a yoga certification to start this job, making it very cheap to start.
2. Tutoring: If you are skilled in something, then being a tutor is a very cheap business to start. All you need are the books for what you are teaching and a few flyers put up around schools. At that point, you will have everything you need to start this business.
3. Consulting: If you are an expert in a particular sector, then you may want to start a business working as a consultant. You will help businesses and individuals do better in their industry by using your own knowledge to help them.
4. Medical/Legal Transcribing: If you can type fast, have the right equipment and can do a training course, then this is a good business to start because of its low cost and high demand.
5. Web Design: The internet has been around for 15 years, and yet there are still millions of people who need websites to add to the billions already online. If you can make a good web site and have the skills for it, then this is a good job for you. It will allow you to do business from home, while making a lot of money.
6. Photography: If you have a good camera, know how to use it and love to take pictures, then photography may be a good business for yourself. As a photographer, you would take pictures of families, birthdays, weddings, funerals and more. You will also be able to sell pictures online, while editing photos and selling them at everything from sporting matches to school events.
7. Interior Design: If you know how to make things look good and like to do interior design in your own home, then you may want to consider doing it in another person’s home. It is a good business that is easy to start up, cheap to run and highly in demand.
8. Personal Shopper: Do you love to shop and want to spend someone else’s money? Then you can shop for people who are too busy to shop for themselves. This is a good business that is fun, cheap and easy to start up.

As an entrepreneur, you need to find a business that is going to work for you but is going to be cheap to start up. The right business, at the right price, in the right market, can make you a lot of money.
First Published: Published on: Oct 24, 2010 EntrepreneurJourney.com

The Small Business Administration (SBA)

How The Small Business Administration Helps Entrepreneurs

In the United States, one of the most popular and widely used organizations for entrepreneurs is the Small Business Administration. This administration exists for the sole purpose of helping people start their own small business by offering resources and financial assistance to entrepreneurs.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) has the mission to maintain and strengthen the nation’s economy by enabling the establishment and viability of small businesses and by assisting in the economic recovery of communities after disasters. While the SBA does not make loans directly to small businesses, they do help to educate and prepare an entrepreneur to apply for a loan through a financial institution. In addition, they will also serve as the guarantor for the loan with the bank. The administration will also help get government contracts for small businesses following natural disasters.

Since its creation, the SBA has directly or indirectly helped over 20 million businesses get off the ground, and in 2008 alone they had a loan portfolio of 219,000 loans, worth more than $84 billion, making them the largest single financial backer of business in the entire country.

The SBA was created in 1953 through the passing of the Small Business Act by congress. It was created to aid, counsel, assist and protect small business concerns. It was also stipulated that the SBA would provide fair proportion of government contracts and sales of surplus property to small businesses. Sadly, while the Small Business Administration has proven to be essential for millions of businesses, it has been nearly dismantled several times in its existence. In 1996, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives planned to end the agency but it survived and had a record budget in 2000. Four years later, the Bush Administration tried to end the loan program of the BA but was not able to, so the budget was cut and certain expenditures were frozen.

The SBA has several programs in place, with the most visible programs being the loan programs. Many believe that SBA loan programs are for those with bad credit who cannot get bank loans and need the SBA to effectively co-sign, but this is not the case. The primary uses of the loan programs are to make loans easier to pay, with less interest. Typically, the most common use of the SBA loan is for commercial mortgages on buildings that small businesses would like to build, or to move into.

The loan programs that the SBA helps to finance include:

1. Loan Guarantee Program: The 7(a) Loan Guarantee Program is designed to help a small business owner start and expand their business. It does this by making money available to the small business through the bank, or non-bank lending institutions. This is the most popular loan program administered through the Small Business Administration.
2. 504-Fixed Asset Financing Program: This program provides funding for the purchase and construction of real estate, or the purchase of machinery for a business. With this program, the lender will provide half the financing, while a Certified Development Company will provide 40 per cent of the financing through a SBA-guaranteed debenture. The last 10 per cent of the financing is provided by the applicant and due to the high amount of capital that is needed, this type of loan is much harder to get and aggressive vetting of any property purchased is done.
3. MicroLoan Program: This is a loan program that is provided through non-profit, microloan intermediaries to small businesses who have less than perfect credit. These loans are only up to $35,000 and can have a term length of no longer than eight years in total.
4. Economic Development Program: This program offers free counseling and low-cost financial training to small businesses.
5. 8(a) Businesses Development Program: This program offers assistance to the development of a small business that is owned/operated by someone who is classified as socially and economically disadvantaged. This typically means women and minorities.
6. Disaster Loan Program: Homeowners can receive long-term and low-interest loans to rebuild or repair a damaged property to pre-disaster conditions. The SBA will determine the cost of repairing or rebuilding the property structure, the ability of the applicant to repay the loan and whether or not the applicant can get credit elsewhere.

The SBA loan industry can be split up into three categories, which are:

1. The largest banks in the United States, which is typically the Bank of America and Wells Fargo, generate most of the SBA loans. These banks use computer systems that make the process much quicker to allow people to get loans through the SBA that they would not have been able to receive elsewhere.
2. SBA loans are used quite often by banks of all sizes to finance the purchase or construction of business owner-occupied real estate. Banks will offer loans through the SBA only for this purpose and only for properties and business owners that the bank would have found too risky to give money to on credit without the backing of the Small Business Administration. These often include gas stations, car washes and motels.
3. SBA loans are used to allow a person to buy a business. Commercial lenders will get a referral fee to business brokers who help someone buy or sell a business and for this reason, the funds for this typically come from smaller banks and finance companies that operate for this purpose specifically.

The Small Business Administration exists to help people start or continue to operate their business. In tough economic climates, the SBA can be one of the most beneficial and highly sought after organizations in the country for entrepreneurs. Anyone in the United States who is thinking about starting a business should seriously look to the Small Business Administration for assistance.

First Published: EntrepreneurJourney.com Oct 16, 2010

What Business Location Is Right For You?

Selecting a Business Location

There are many different locations you can have for your business, and choosing the right one will go a long way in determining how successful your business will be. Your location has to suit you and your business, while at the same time not costing you too much. So, what type of location is going to be best for you? Here is a list of different business location types, and what they can offer you.

1. Retail: If you are selling retail products, then allowing customers to reach you is of paramount importance. You can have your retail location in a wide variety of places including a mall (enclosed or strip), shopping centre, shopping district or multi-use facilities. You can reach many customers this way without having to advertise, but the rent can be quite high.
2. Home: If you can, a home-based business location is the best. Not only do you not have to pay rent for the location, but also you can write off part of your rent/mortgage because you are using a portion of your home for your business. You can use a spare bedroom, garage, kitchen table, attic or anywhere that suits you in your home. The only problem is that the growth of your business is limited at times, and you will have to manage your home life with your business life.
3. Commercial: If retail is not enough, a commercial location may be the best. You get office space, parking and more in business parks and office buildings. You can be downtown, on the outskirts of town, or in a suburban area. One of the great things about a commercial space is it looks very professional with a place for a receptionist, offices for employees and more. The only downside is that it can be very expensive and that can cut into your bottom line when you are just starting out.
4. Mobile: Rather than have a fixed location, you can work directly out of your vehicle, going to your customers rather than having your customers come to you. You can write off part of your car payment and the gas, while not paying any rent for your business location. It is a great option if you are just starting out and can work in a mobile environment.
5. Industrial: If you have a business in an industrial sector, then having industrial space is very important. You typically will get large spaces, yards and more, which allows you to showcase what you are selling, or to serve as a distribution centre if that is what your business is in. The type of industry you are in will determine if you are in a light, medium, or heavy industrial area of the city.

Location, location, location is what they say about business and if you don’t choose the right location, you may not have a successful business. That is why you must do what you can to choose the right business location type.

First Published: EntrepreneurJourney.com Sep 6, 2010

Tips To Make Your Home Office Successful

Home Office Tips

As an entrepreneur, you are taking your future into your own hands and making yourself successful. Of course, being successful is not as easy as one would think. There is a great amount of things that need to be done to make it happen and it begins when you start out in a home office with no employees. So, what are some tips to make yourself successful in your home office?

1. One of the most important things to do is to separate your home office from the rest of the house. This does not mean you have to be in a shed outside the house, but it does mean that your work stays within your office at all times. You do not want your work moving into the living room, kitchen or anywhere else in the home. Keep your work space separate by keeping your work there. This will help you work more because you will feel as though you are actually going to work when you get in your home office.
2. Establishing hours for work is very important. The great thing about working from home is that you can set your own hours. If you work better from 5 p.m. to midnight, work those hours. If you want more typical work hours, then work 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Just make sure that your work hours are set and you stick with them. You can even take time for lunch and breaks so that it feels like you are working.
3. Going into your home office in pajamas can feel good but it will give your brain trouble as it tries to figure out if you should be working or relaxing. Keep things professional in your home office by keeping the phone off, keeping from browsing the internet and dressing in a casual manner that would be good for an office.
4. Decorate your office in any way that makes you feel comfortable. You need to be professional with your décor, but at least you can put up things to make you smile throughout the day. Also try and choose an office that has good lighting because this will help you enjoy your day more and help you feel as though you are in a happy place when you work. The happier you are the better work you will do and the more you will get done. Having a comfortable chair, soft music and nice pictures can help. Another thing that can help is having a lot of space in your office. You don’t work in a cubicle anymore, so why feel like you are at home?
5. Set up a phone line for your business. You do not want your family answering business calls with “Hello?” You should be answering the phone with “Good morning, <company name>, How May I Help You?” This is professional and it will impress clients who call you. You also won’t have to compete with family members for the phone line, which is very important.
   First Published: EntrepreneurJourney.com Apr 11, 2010