Ladies: Join us to Learn About Financing For Your Business |  |
- Ladies: Join us to Learn About Financing For Your Business
- Will the Coffee Bean Shortage Cause You to Raise Prices?
- 5 Tips to Building an Employee Referral Program
- 5 Franchises That Will Help You Think Spring
- Do You Have Creative Confidence?
| Ladies: Join us to Learn About Financing For Your Business Posted: 03 Mar 2014 12:30 AM PST This Thursday, March 6, 2014, we will be holding a complimentary webinar about financing your business. The focus will be on women business owners, but men are invited, too. Will you join us? The event coincides with Biz2Credit.com releasing its second annual report analyzing women’s small business financing and growth challenges. Last year’s report compared loan approval rates of male-owned and female-owned companies. It found that credit scores, cost structures and other factors hindered women entrepreneurs in their attempts to secure financing. Topics will include:
Yours truly (Anita Campbell, Publisher of Small Business Trends), will be hosting and moderating the event. Panelists include:
Details for how to attend the webinar:
The post Ladies: Join us to Learn About Financing For Your Business appeared first on Small Business Trends.      |
| Will the Coffee Bean Shortage Cause You to Raise Prices? Posted: 02 Mar 2014 03:00 PM PST Coffee prices are on the rise thanks to unseasonably dry weather in Brazil, the world's largest coffee producing country. The coffee bean shortage hasn't had a major impact on businesses and consumers just yet. But experts say a price increase may be coming. And small cafes and roasters are likely to feel the impact more than large suppliers. That’s according to Gregg Shefler, Vice President of Coffee Direct in Frenchtown, New Jersey. In a phone interview with Small Business Trends on the coffee bean shortage, Shefler explained:
The chart above shows the changes in coffee prices over the past year, with the largest spike appearing at the beginning of February. And Shefler agrees that the price spikes could have an impact on small businesses. But he cautioned against premature panicking.
However, he added that with a coffee bean shortage the smaller the business, the less time they usually have to wait. Buying coffee from another part of the world not impacted by droughts isn't a viable cost cutting measure. Since Brazil produces such a large amount of the world's coffee, even a small coffee bean shortage there is enough to spur demand for coffee elsewhere, driving up those prices as well. Shefler explained:
The key question for small roasters and cafes will be whether to raise prices or take some other cost cutting measure. Coffee prices: Shutterstock The post Will the Coffee Bean Shortage Cause You to Raise Prices? appeared first on Small Business Trends.     |
| 5 Tips to Building an Employee Referral Program Posted: 02 Mar 2014 12:00 PM PST As a business owner, your employees are your most important customers. Without engaged, passionate staffers, a business will struggle to succeed. Therefore, it is vitally important to attract only the best when it comes to talent. Any efforts you put in to assemble an effective team will pay off in returning customers later on. The best way to build a stable of rock star employees is with a strategic employee referral program, or ERP. Below are a few things to consider when building your initiative. Building an Employee Referral ProgramOffer a Juicy IncentiveBy participating in a referral program, your employees are basically recruiting for you. Make this effort worth the time by offering incentives. Money is always appreciated (maybe $500 for an entry-level hire that stays at least six months; $1,000 for a senior-level hire). If you are low on funds, consider offering paid days off, free lunches or even work-related rewards visible to other employees. For example, if the referrer has long complained about feeling uncomfortable in his or her desk chair, spring for a new one of the Herman Miller variety. Not only will your referring employee feel pampered, but the daily presence of the swanky chair will entice other employees to bring their best talent forward, too. Another idea is to offer raffle prizes. Maybe compile the names of all referring employees and pull out one name per quarter. Offer that person a huge prize (maybe a trip to Vegas, if your budget allows) and watch as you receive an influx of referrals the following quarter. Build a Sense of UrgencyIf more than 50 percent of your business happens around the holidays, convey to your best employees a sense of urgency in connecting with seasonal hires and offer an incentive with an expiration date. Make it Easy to ReferThe easier it is for an employee to refer, the more referrals you're going to get. Forget written referral forms. Instead, create an email address specific to referrals to help you keep track of them. Take Every Referral SeriouslyIt's easy to empathize with the employee who refers his or her best friend only to never hear back about the status of the application. Don't do this to your employees. Regardless if you hire the candidate or not, take every referral seriously and, at the very least, follow-up with your employee on why you did or did not feel that the referral was a good fit for the company. Promote Your ERPMake it fun. Pass out t-shirts with your company logo and "We’re hiring!" printed on the back. Host an ERP launch party in your office, or better yet, in a local bar and tell your employees to invite their friends (ahem, future candidates). Hang posters on the walls of your office that promote the program. Now watch the referrals roll in. Introduction Photo via Shutterstock The post 5 Tips to Building an Employee Referral Program appeared first on Small Business Trends.     |
| 5 Franchises That Will Help You Think Spring Posted: 02 Mar 2014 09:00 AM PST I'm really not sure if people that live in places like Florida or Arizona get as excited about Spring as those of us in the Northern climates do. Maybe you can enlighten me. In Cleveland, we take Spring very seriously. We've had months of dark, gloomy days. It can be pretty depressing. As a matter of fact, I'm getting depressed writing this short paragraph. I need some sunlight. Let's take a look at 5 Spring season franchises that will help you (and me) think Spring. 5 Spring Season FranchisesSpring-Green Lawn CareSpring-Green, a Plainfield, Illinois franchisor, has been delivering both traditional and organic lawn and tree care services; fertilization, weed and disease control to residential and commercial accounts since 1977. This is a seasonal business where franchisees work really hard from December (where they are focused on marketing) until September-October, when their crews are finishing up with fall fertilization. Spring-Green advantages:
Lots of homeowners use lawn care services these days. Green lawns and healthy-looking shrubbery can enhance a home's value. But there's another benefit that a company like Spring-Green adds. According to Project Evergreen, grass areas quickly affect people’s moods by creating feelings of serenity, privacy, thoughtfulness or happiness, and its yearly cycles of growth and color change lift human spirits. America's Swimming Pool CompanyStewart Vernon of Macon, Georgia started ASP in 2001. Since then, ASP has grown to 124 franchise locations in 13 states. ASP franchisees-along with their teams of trained professionals, provide residential and commercial properties with swimming pool solutions in over 200 cities throughout the country. Services include weekly pool cleaning for homeowners, daily chemical checks for commercial properties such as apartments and country clubs, or complete renovations of existing swimming pools. Every franchisee in every protected area offers residential and commercial customers everything they need to maintain clean, safe swimming pools. The total investment for an American Swimming Pool franchise ranges from $48,850 – $89,960, depending on the territory size which is based on the number of swimming pools in the area. Kona IceWhen the weather warms up, large groups of people gather for events like local, city and county fairs, sporting events, music festivals and more. Kona Ice franchisees serve up cups of shaved ice "as soft and fine as snow" to eager customers and then have them head on over to Kona Ice's patented FLAVORWAVE dispensers where they can add any one of several delicious flavors to complete their frozen creations. In addition to trucks, Kona Ice franchisees can purchase secondary products. Some venues aren't very large, sometimes a smaller space is needed. That's why Kona Ice offers mini-trucks, trailers, kiosks and even a stand-alone "Flavor Island," so franchisees can bring their frozen desserts and fun anywhere. The investment for a Kona Ice franchise, including a truck, is $99,800. KIDCAM CampsSummer camps, good ones, provide children with a myriad of activities and adventures all summer long. If you've been searching for an opportunity that's seasonal, and fun, KIDCAM could be worth a look. Founded in 1974 by Jim Stubbs, an educator, "the KIDCAM franchise model is built around a mission and goal to promote children's physical, social and educational well-being in a safe, fun-filled camp environment." Franchisees operate a KIDCAM day camp for boys and girls that offer numerous activities, both on KIDCAM camp sites and during off-site field trips to zoos, aquariums, basketball clinics and more. Franchisees are not required to own an actual campground. Instead, franchisees lease schools, playgrounds or country club facilities where they set up the KIDCAM program. The total investment is $30,000 and franchisees receive access to Kidcam’s software, on-going training and support. Camps can be owner-operated or manager-run businesses. Golf Etc.Golf is a $25 Billion industry, and although it's a year-round sport in some locales, spring is really the time when golfers of all ages bring their golf clubs out of hibernation. One way to cash in on this growing sport is to provide the products and services that today's golfers want-and in some cases, need. Franchisees of Golf Etc. offer golfers an alternative to "big box" sporting goods retailers. Franchising since 1995, Golf Etc. stores provide performance golf club fittings, professional repair and club/swing evaluations using a personalized approach along with proprietary software. Golf Etc. stores also offer pro-line equipment, bags, balls, and footwear, along with clothing and accessories. The Golf Etc. retail franchise program offers the following:
The total investment for a Golf Etc. franchise ranges from $325K – $451K. I hope the Spring season franchises mentioned above will not only help you think Spring, but will open your mind to all of the possibilities that exist if you're looking to buy a franchise this year. Lawncare Photo via Shutterstock The post 5 Franchises That Will Help You Think Spring appeared first on Small Business Trends.     |
| Do You Have Creative Confidence? Posted: 02 Mar 2014 06:00 AM PST
For the purposes of this conversation, let's also agree that creativity goes way beyond the arts. There are opportunities for creativity for every skill, talent and personality style. Now that we have that out of the way, you're ready to take on my book review of Tom and David Kelley's Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All . I received a review copy of this book months and months ago and I have to admit that while the subject matter is definitely something I'm interested in, it took me a while to actually pick it up and get into it. It was the new year and the launch of several new projects that inspired me to pick up Creative Confidence. I'm sure you know what I mean – we business owners have so much to do and so little time to get it all done. Then there are the constant fires to put out and client or customer issues to resolve. All of these leave very little time for the kind of open and relaxed mindedness required to think creatively and actually come up with something that inspires you and your team (oh, and makes money too!). Creativity is a Mindset – Something You Can Choose and PracticeCreative Confidence doesn't try to teach you creativity, nor does it blather on about other creative people and leave you feeling inadequate. Instead, the authors point out that creativity is a mindset – a choice that you make, a way to look at the world. Once you've decided to look at the world as a more distant observer, rather than jumping to conclusions or judgments, creative ideas will start popping up for you. To that end, the stories and examples that the authors, Tom Kelley (@TomKelley74) and David Kelley offer are of regular people — just like you — who were practiced enough to step away from the details of the situation and suddenly see what was right in front of them. There's Doug Diets, a regular guy who designs MRI machines for GE. He noticed how frightened patients were (especially children) when it came time to go "into" the MRI and designed a fun pirate ship version of the machine so that kids would feel more comfortable. The key to getting the most out of this book is understanding that creativity is how you choose to be and how you choose to look at the world. In another example, the authors talk about "gaming" and how it's completely acceptable to fail and "die" in a video game because you know it's not real. And by repeatedly failing, you ultimately learn how to play the game and move forward. What if you were able to bring that same fearlessness to your every day life and business? What are all the different opportunities that you have to fail safely? Yes, You Can Have Fun Making Money and Making a DifferenceEach chapter in the book is filled with inspiration stories and how-to tips that you can use to help you on your way to living a more creative and rewarding life. As I read through each one, I noticed my little voice saying things like, "Oh yeah, sure…easy for you to say" but then I realized how deeply I was rooted in being busy, in doing what had to be done, in taking myself entirely too seriously and that this kind of thinking was actually sabotaging everything I was trying to accomplish. That's when I started reading the book differently. I started and taking a little extra time with the how-to sections and ideas that the authors recommended in each chapter – just to see how it would work. And guess what? I started having FUN! First, I played with stick figures (page 60) and started drawing out a day in the life of my customers. I can't begin to describe how powerful and fun an experience that was. By simply using simple shapes like circles, squares, triangles and blobs I got closer to experiencing what my customers experienced and how I could help them. Then I took that one step further and started playing with Storyboarding (page 138) to help me succinctly explain a new product and service that I was planning on launching. Finally, I played with a team exercise called 30 circles (page 219) and had a blast working out my brain by seeing how many of the 30 circles I could fill in with recognizable objects. Who Will Get the Most From this Book?Marketers, copywriters, designers – anyone who has to be creative on-demand should have a copy of this book close at hand. There is a lot of content in the book with exercises mixed in, so you'll have to read through the book and mark the exercises that you will want to come back to. Small business owners will love the book as a sort of meditative guide or personal respite from the overwhelming insanity of constantly doing. When you find yourself freaking out – grab this book and pick an exercise to play with around your challenge. You just may come up with the next money-maker. Coaches and consultants will love the many exercises and team activities that you can use with your clients to get them un-stuck. Creative Confidence is a beautiful, high-end book printed on high quality paper with gorgeous graphics. This isn't a cheap book by any means, so don't be surprised by the price tag. But it's a book that you can place on your coffee table or in your office for easy reference. One more quick tip for digital readers. If you've got a black and white Kindle, I wouldn't recommend downloading this book that way. It's entirely too beautiful and may be hard to read. I can't say for sure because I have a hard copy, but based on what I've seen with graphics on older Kindles, I wouldn't recommend it. But if you're going to read it on a color digital reader like an iPad or Kindle Fire, then by all means, go for it. It's definitely a book you want to have with you while you're traveling or if you want to run a quick exercise with a team. The last thing I have to say for Creative Confidence is that I'm a fan. If you decide to read it, you'll definitely see the world through new eyes and have more fun being creative – especially if you don't think you are. The post Do You Have Creative Confidence? appeared first on Small Business Trends.     |
Let's not even get into the nature vs. nurture conversation around creativity. Why does it have to be one or the other? It can be both.| You are subscribed to email updates from Small Business Trends To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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