Almost Half of U.S. Declared Drought Disaster Area: Small Business Loans Available |  |
- Almost Half of U.S. Declared Drought Disaster Area: Small Business Loans Available
- Indiegogo Offers Crowdfunding With Fewer Regulations
- 6 Ways to Stand Out Using Your Differentiators
- Start Out Selling Your Services: The First 5 Days
- Your Small Business Should Hire A Dedicated Social Media Expert
- Microsoft Introduces New Outlook
| Almost Half of U.S. Declared Drought Disaster Area: Small Business Loans Available Posted: 02 Aug 2012 01:00 PM PDT This summer, the U.S. has faced its worst drought in over 50 years. Farmers and other small businesses that depend on the weather, are facing financial hardships because of it. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) declared drought disaster areas in nearly half of the nation's counties last week (see July 23, 2012 USDA map below).
This means that agriculture businesses and other drought-affected businesses in those 1,430 counties, which reach across 32 states, can apply for financial assistance from either the USDA or the U.S. Small Business Administration, depending on the type of business: Agricultural businesses – The USDA’s declaration makes low interest loans available to farmers and ranchers in drought-affected areas. Non-agricultural businesses – The SBA announced that it will offer financial assistance in the form of disaster loans to certain businesses that need help because of the lack of rainfall. The SBA announcement noted that it’s not always obvious which businesses are eligible for assistance:
Through the SBA’s disaster assistance program, affected small businesses and private non-profits are eligible to apply for up to $2 million in SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans, which are working capital loans to help cover operating expenses such as rent and monthly overhead that would have been paid if the drought had not occurred. The SBA loans include 4% interest for businesses and 3% interest for non-profits, with terms up to 30 years. In addition, USDA Secretary Vilsack announced taking other steps to assist farmers and ranchers, including opening up conservation areas for haying and grazing by livestock. Small businesses can visit the USDA's drought assistance section of its website to see maps showing which counties have been declared disasters. Or contact SBA's disaster assistance Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov to find out if their county has been declared a drought disaster area. Companies that fit the requirements for disaster loans can apply for assistance using SBA's Electronic Loan Application.
From Small Business Trends |
| Indiegogo Offers Crowdfunding With Fewer Regulations Posted: 02 Aug 2012 11:00 AM PDT Crowd-sourced fundraising sites have taken off in recent years, helping individuals and startups raise money for new projects or ideas. But on many of these sites, users need to create a goal amount and a deadline, and also face an arbitrary application process to even be considered by investors. In most cases, if the goal is not reached by the deadline, the user doesn't receive any of the money they raised.
But now a new crowdfunding site, Indiegogo, offers a different type of crowdfunding platform where anyone can sign up, and users can keep all the money raised even if it doesn't match up with their original goal. Indiegogo is an online tool that anyone can use to help fund almost any type of project. To set up a campaign, users need only to tell people about their project and what their money will go toward. They can also offer added perks to potential investors to help persuade them to help their cause. Tech startup EnergyBuddy first started using Indiegogo because it needed a way to fund its first production order up-front. After the product, a gadget that helps families and businesses monitor energy use, was turned down by Kickstarter for unknown reasons, the company signed up with Indiegogo. CEO, Kevin Strong, says they've been very happy with the results:
Indiegogo began in 2008 to help independent filmmakers fund their projects, and then it expanded and started serving all other industries in 2009. Those interested in raising money through Indiegogo can sign up and begin a campaign immediately. All you need to start a crowdfunding campaign is a valid bank account. There is no fee or application process, though Indiegogo charges a percentage of your earnings once your campaign is completed. From Small Business Trends |
| 6 Ways to Stand Out Using Your Differentiators Posted: 02 Aug 2012 11:00 AM PDT Where do you shop for most of your goods and services? No doubt you have several options.
You can purchase goods from larger retailers, buy or consume food from chain stores and restaurants, or patronize local small businesses. Very often, you have the luxury of choosing any and all of these. Take, for example, the pet store market. Many towns now feature large national chains at one end of town and smaller, independently owned pet stores at the other. With so much choice, commoditization and budget-driven buying behavior, how can this small business owner stand out? For many consumers, even in a budget-conscious economy, the answer lies in the customer experience. Small businesses are in a unique position to create valuable customer experiences. Their products and services are often niche and business operations are agile and unconstrained by big business rules and processes. When was the last time you called a small business and got put through to an automated call center? These seemingly small things come together to create a hugely competitive value proposition. Here are some things you can do to focus your sales, marketing and operational efforts to create a unique customer experience and capitalize on your small business value: 1. Understand Your Differentiators To deliver a unique and memorable customer experience, it is key to understand what differentiates you from your competition and to frame your marketing around these differentiators. Even if you're selling a service in a highly competitive space, there is always something that should differentiate your business. Take, for example, the saturated home painting business. How can you differentiate yourself from the other contractors in your community? Yes, price is important, but what else have you got to offer? Do you supervise all projects? Can you guarantee a start and finish date? Do you have customer testimonials that explain how you've gone above and beyond to help customers? Your value-add is starting to emerge – and this can differentiate you. Talk to your employees – what are they hearing from customers about why they do business with you? Don't be afraid to solicit feedback from your customers too – if anyone knows what your differentiators are, it's your customers! Freelancers and independent contractors can also use differentiators in this way – think about ways you can make yourself indispensable to your client's team and critical to their success. Above all, be an advocate for your differentiators in everything you do. 2. Be True to Your Values Your core business values drive such things as your work ethic, your interaction with and commitment to your customers and employees, and, of course, your dedication to delivering fine products and services. These values are important because they embody how you do business and what your customer comes to expect of you. 3. Be Your Own Brand Advocate How you advocate on behalf of your business is a critical part of being a successful small business owner. Your brand isn't just your logo or store frontage, it represents how you fold your differentiators and values into everything you do – how you deliver your products and services, how you conduct operations, your relationships with suppliers, what community marketing efforts you take part in, etc. Don't ignore all these elements that come into play to create your customer experience. 4. Don't Forget Your Employees It's not enough that you advocate for your business, it helps if your employees are equally invested and actively extending and reinforcing your brand message and core values. Every time anyone in your business communicates with a prospect or customer, it counts. Conduct regular training sessions, appoint a trainer or have new employees shadow you. Set employee performance goals that align with your business objectives and values. For example, if one of your business differentiators is reliability and agility, think of goals that reward individuals who are always one step ahead of customer expectations or deliverables. 6. Evangelize! Last but not least, be sure to roll all of the above into your marketing messages. Develop customer testimonials, craft succinct statements that explain not just who you are but why you're different and what customers can expect from you. How are you creating a unique experience for your customers? Stand Out From The Crowd Photo via Shutterstock From Small Business Trends |
| Start Out Selling Your Services: The First 5 Days Posted: 02 Aug 2012 08:00 AM PDT How many times have you sat down at your desk in the morning and wondered: what’s next? Where will I find clients? Now, that I have my own business, how am I going to persuade people to buy?
Once the long process of starting a business is over, your idea is ready for the big world. You have all the paperwork done, equipment delivered and hundreds of other things are done. You are left with one thing only – having to find work. And that’s where the scary realization comes in. How the hell are you going to do that since you are only starting out? Perhaps you have started doing some marketing, sent some emails around, put up a big sign outside your office or shop. Maybe you put up an ad in the paper, listing on Gumtree or other website. Maybe you also joined your local Chamber of Commerce to make new contacts, great. The problem is, none of it is going to bring you immediate work. For that to happen, you need to go out and find your first clients yourself. But you don’t know how. With that in mind I decided to write a short, step by step guide to start out selling your services. In todays post I will discuss the first five days, or a working week if you prefer to look at it this way. You will learn more about your company and start researching your potential clients. Each day contains a set of practical actions you need to complete in order to start selling. Each of those actions can be completed in 30 minutes or less so you don’t have to worry that it will take your entire day. Ready? Pull up your sleeves, put down the coffee and get to work. Start Out Selling Your Services: The First 5 DaysDay 1: An epic day, today you are starting to sell your services. Before you start winning new work you need to define yourself, your business and what you will be selling. I expect that you have researched your business idea and identified the market you would like to service as well as developed your unique selling proposition. If not, I would recommend you do that first before you continue with this plan. On the first day I want you to write down the exact description of your business. Make a list of all services you provide, the benefits for your potential clients, your unique selling proposition and also what makes you different from your competition. Note: This is a crucial step, today you define for yourself who you are, what is your business and how are you are going to present yourself in the eyes of your prospects. Day 2: Discover whom you are targeting with your offer. On the previous day we looked at you, what you do and what benefits you offer to your potential clients. Today we are going to look at whom you will be approaching with your services or products. Write down a description of your target audience, the market, you have identified, industry or people with a need for your services or products. There is no need to have actual names or businesses in mind yet. What we need today is a description of whom you will be targeting. For example, if you provide copywriting services you may want to target design studios, marketing people, people involved in advertising campaigns and so on. A yoga teacher may decide to target blue collar workers in the business district of her town. Day 3: Now that you know whom you want to be working with, it’s time to go deeper and look for actual prospects. Make a list of 30-50 (the more the better) companies or your target audience members that you would like to work with. If your target audience is designers, open up your local business directory and list all design studios in your region or in your country or any geographic location you decided to work in. Make sure that they match the target audience description you made yesterday. Once you have your list, organize it from the most important prospect to the least. When doing this, take into consideration the following:
Day 4: The next step is to begin finding out more about the companies you listed the day before. Pick 5 companies from the bottom of your list and try to find out as much information as possible about them. What you are looking for is:
Day 5: Continue researching prospects. Pick another 5 companies from your list and research them in the same way as you did yesterday. Pay special attention to things you may have in common with the contact person in the company. Whether they have been using services or products similar to yours in the past and their opinion. Also, check out their employees' twitter accounts for any complaints on them. Remember that you should pick companies from the bottom of your list. The reason for that is that it is better to start with companies that have the smallest impact in your industry. You are still learning sales and possibly also how to run a business in general so it is easier to make mistakes if you don't talk to the major players in your niche. Smaller companies are more understanding and willing to overlook errors typically made by a sales novice. And there you have it. The set of actions for your first week of selling. Coming soon, I will show you how to start approaching your prospects to set appointments.
From Small Business Trends |
| Your Small Business Should Hire A Dedicated Social Media Expert Posted: 02 Aug 2012 05:00 AM PDT On July 1, 2012 on this very site, Matthew Bellows talked about the importance of e-mail as a tool for converting warm sales leads. He noted that while social media is important, it is ultimately e-mail that will drive sales.
For sales, e-mail may remain the most critical wrench in your business toolbox, but your specialized tools for social media can reach a different crowd entirely. Many of your customers lean heavily on their mobile devices and their electronics to keep them connected to the world, and are increasingly savvy about sales messaging. They don’t want to be sold to so much as they want to be talked to, to have someone carry on a conversation that just so happens to be about your business philosophy and products. Because this requires a different worldview than your usual sales or marketing team member has been trained to have, your company should have a dedicated social media expert. The Ideal ExpertIt’s becoming increasingly trendy to staff your social media guru spot with someone young. That’s wise to a point — the younger generations have grown up with social media and are very comfortable navigating it — but it should not be a mortal lock. Instead, look for a deep understanding. Your expert-to-be should know the major platforms in and out, have at least a working knowledge of writing, video and webinars/podcasts and be able to grasp how SEO works. If they’re 22 or 40, every candidate and especially every hire should exhibit an active mastery of at least the basics of social media. They also need to have one heck of a work ethic. Social media management is relatively easy to get started with and requires little time per post or update, but that time adds up fast. I would estimate that I spend about 30 hours a week on theBizEngine blog, Twitter feed, Facebookand various other platforms in order to promote our content and have conversations around small business. It’s critically important to do it and I thoroughly enjoy doing so, but it’s not a gig for a part-time employee. Above all, though, you need someone who knows their stuff. The only question is, what if you can’t find someone? Should You Outsource?If you can’t find a candidate who satisfies your requirements, you can outsource the work to a dedicated SEO company. There are so many great companies out there who can really take your social media marketing efforts to the next level. In essence, all you will need to do is consult with these companies, keep abreast of the work they are doing on your behalf and be sure that everything is up to brand standards. The question here is cost. Chances are good that you will pay at least as much per year for a quality social media firm as you would for an employee, and those who enjoy being in total control of what comes out of their company might not find that to be a palatable option. If you don’t want to have someone in-house and you have the revenue to make it a reality, though, outsourcing can be an excellent choice. Either way, I believe a social media expert can make an enormous difference for your business. With their ability to reach wide swaths of people quickly and easily and a chance to make a lasting impact on customers past, present and future, they are essential. Just make sure you hire a great one. Does your business have a dedicated social media expert? Social Media Photo via Shutterstock From Small Business Trends |
| Microsoft Introduces New Outlook Posted: 02 Aug 2012 02:30 AM PDT Email just got a whole new look with Microsoft’s new Outlook. The company provides a fresh perspective on its popular email platform and the role of email in business communications. The e-mail application you use for business definitely makes a difference, especially in terms of usability. Here are some details on the new platform’s features and other important news on e-mail for business today. At the Speed of BusinessWindows 8 is great. Microsoft has upgraded many of our favorite business features for Windows 8, including cloud services for Windows 8 and Windows Phone, new apps, new updates to SkyDrive, and the new Windows Office. But the software giant is also re-imagining e-mail with some interesting results. Outlook Blog Should I stay or should I go? Though the old version of Hotmail will remain available, users can upgrade to the new preview version of Outlook starting now. You can either rename your existing hotmail account as a new @outlook.com account or just add a new alias to your existing account. The Verge Hotmail not so hot. While you can elect to keep your same-old same-old hotmail account, be aware that Microsoft is gradually phasing out the Hotmail brand . It’s hard to leave something familiar behind, but the new Outlook represents the future and the platform Microsoft will be supporting. GeekWire Thanks a million. If you want to get a sense of how users are already responding to the new Outlook, just take a look at the amazing response. According to this report, the new platform saw an impressive one million signups within just six hours of launch. Hopefully the new e-mail product will live up to all it promises. The Next Web An E-mail EvolutionThe kids are alright. As talk of email upgrades abounds, it’s a good time to think about the power e-mail still has as a marketing tool, even among groups thought of as being beyond its reach. For example, a recent survey shows a large number of young people in high school or college still prefer e-mail and mobile communication to social media sites like Facebook. Smallbiz Technology Long live email. If you’ve heard email marketing is on the decline, well, think again. The practice is alive and well, despite the rise of social media and mobile communications. So, if your business’s email campaigns are failing, it could be because you’re not properly targeting customers who want the products and services you offer. Clickz The check is in the mail. Email that is. Data suggests that not only is email outperforming social media in terms of sales conversions, but that by 2016 businesses will be spending an estimated $2.5 billion on email marketing alone. Marketing Pilgrim From Small Business Trends |
It’s a good point, and thus a worthwhile read for any marketer or salesperson operating in the world of business today. It does not, however, change the fact that social media is a vitally important piece of your strategy.| You are subscribed to email updates from Small Business News, Tips, Advice - Small Business Trends To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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