Archive for June, 2009
Smart Hiring Advice for Small Business Owners
One of the common challenges for small business owners is hiring the right employees. Since the employee base of a small business is often very small, all team members need to be competent and knowledgeable. So how do you find the right people? At Entrepreneur.com, Burton Goldfield has some smart hiring tips in his article, “Find the Right Person in 6 Steps.” Goldfield notes a few things that I find especially relevant for small business owners:
- Don’t rush your decision. Hiring the wrong employee is more costly to your business than waiting for the perfect candidate.
- Clearly state the abilities you’re looking for. If your small business needs someone who can handle multiple roles, make that very apparent when composing the job description.
- Ask your trusted peers for recommendations and references. Those around you are very likely to know someone who is perfect for your business.
To read Goldfield’s full article, visit http://www.entrepreneur.com/humanresources/humanresourceburtongoldfield/article202432.html. For more advice on putting together a strong staff for your small business, visit MySolutionSpot™.
2 comments June 30, 2009
Reminder: Holiday Retail Webcast is Tomorrow
Tomorrow is the “Online Holiday Retail 2009: Tips, Tactics, and Timelines” webcast. This event, which starts at 1pm EDT, will help online retailers start planning their strategy for the 2009 holiday season. For more information and to register for this webcast, visit http://searchmarketingnow.com/webcasts/wc090625.
Add comment June 24, 2009
Take Our Startup Challenges Poll
At MySolutionSpot™, we know that starting a small business can be a long, difficult process. We’d like to know what your biggest startup challenge was. Did you have difficulty finding the time to work on your business plan, or was your biggest issue coming up with the money needed to open your small business? Head over to MySolutionSpot.com to take our new small business poll, “Hardest Small Business Startup Challenge,” and cast your vote.
Stay tuned for the results!
2 comments June 24, 2009
Health Tips for SMB Owners
Americans, in general, lead very busy, fast-paced lifestyles. This is especially true for SMB owners, who often have to take care of a family in addition to running their small business. People in the business world are more prone to stress and exhaustion, both of which can increase health risks like high blood pressure, obesity, illness, and so forth. Taking care of your health is just as crucial to your business’s success as marketing, customer service, and other business procedures are. The better your physical and mental health, the better decisions you’ll make for your business.
Over at GrowSmartBusiness.com, the blogging team recently posted some tips on maintaining both your physical and mental health while running a small business. There are also ideas on how to inspire your employees to invest in their health. Check out “Staying Healthy While Running a Small Business” for advice on how to keep you, your employees, and your business healthy. To view this blog post, visit http://growsmartbusiness.com/2009/06/staying-healthy-while-running-a-small-business/ .
1 comment June 18, 2009
Have You Set a Good Anchor?
While reading this article earlier today, I started reflecting on my own experience with “anchors” and their power of persuasion. In the short time I’ve owned my home (a little over a year), I’ve had a fence put up around my back yard and new windows installed throughout the house. For each project, I had multiple companies give me price estimates. I gave the same “this is what I want” spiel to each company, and each installer used the same measurements. Some of the companies used the same products—exact same windows, exact same fence parts—yet there was a huge difference between the highest estimate and the lowest. In the end, for both the windows and the fence, I decided to go with one of the companies in the middle of the pricing spectrum.
I bypassed the company that gave the highest estimate (for obvious reasons), and even though I wanted to save money, I skipped over the company with the lowest offer. Why? The anchor got to me. With the mid-priced estimates, I felt like I would be getting a better deal than if I went with the high-priced installers. Regarding the companies that offered lower prices, I was concerned that they wouldn’t do as good of a job as the others, or they wouldn’t be able to offer continued care should I need it. The mid-priced estimates proved to be the anchor by which I judged the rest of the estimates.
Mental anchors do exist, as Damon Gudaitis notes in the above article, and small businesses need to be aware of this. Check out Gudaitis’ article, and then take a look at your business: Are your prices too high, causing customers to feel as if they’d be paying too much? Or are they too low, giving your business a vibe of “low price, low quality”? By becoming aware of your anchor, you can readjust it so that it better reflects your business and the quality of its offerings.
4 comments June 17, 2009
Upcoming Webcast: Tips for the 2009 Holiday Season
It may only be June, but it’s not too soon to start preparing your business for the upcoming holiday season. Customers have changed their shopping habits over the past year, so retailers need to modify their holiday business strategies as well. On Thursday, June 25, at 1pm EDT, Search Marketing Now and Performics are teaming up to host “Online Holiday Retail 2009: Tips, Tactics, and Timelines for Success.” Speakers Eli Goodman and Matt Miller will offer tips and suggestions for setting up your business’s 2009 holiday retail plan. With the economy still struggling, it’s a good idea to start planning your approach to the holidays now.
To register for this webcast, visit http://searchmarketingnow.com/webcasts/wc090625.
Add comment June 10, 2009
Is Your Business Website Trustworthy?
Lisa Barone recently posted another great article over at SmallBizTrends.com that discusses the importance of having a trustworthy business website. In “9 Essential Trust Indicators For Your SMB Site,” Barone gives tips on what to do, and what to avoid, when setting up your business site. As an SMB owner, you need to prove that your business is just as trustworthy as your larger counterparts. Some people can be leery of small businesses since they don’t have established reputations like larger corporations; however, by presenting your business as a smaller, more personal, and easier-to-work-with company that’s jut as trustworthy and professional as a large business, you can easily compete with the big boys.
The key to an honest, trustworthy site is openness and ease-of-use. Your customers should be able to find exactly what they’re looking for in a few obvious steps—nobody likes to spend time hunting through a website to find what they need. By providing all of your business’s information (business hours, contact info, company story, return policies, FAQs, etc.), you’re letting your customer know that you have nothing to hide. And consider choosing clean and simple over busy and flashy when it comes to colors, graphics, and other design elements—the “fancy stuff” can be distracting.
Visit http://smallbiztrends.com/2009/06/site-trust-indicators.html to view Lisa Barone’s article, and then think about how you can apply her advice to your SMb website. Also check out MySolutionSpot™ for more tips on how to improve your business website.
Add comment June 5, 2009
Interview With Bob London: Gain Valuable Marketing Tips
Marketing can be a tricky area for small businesses: A lot of small biz owners haven’t been through any formal training, making marketing a learn-as-you-go process. If you need some marketing advice—and let’s face it, most of us do—check out this interview with Bob London. Bob is the mastermind behind London, Ink, a firm that helps businesses set up successful marketing campaigns. Shashi from GrowSmartBusiness.com recently caught up with Bob at a networking event, and lucky for us, he took the opportunity to capture some of Bob’s business advice on video.
To watch the full interview with Bob London and gain great marketing insight, visit http://growsmartbusiness.com/2009/06/great-marketing-tips-from-bob-london-of-london-ink/.
1 comment June 1, 2009
