4 Topics All Entrepreneurs Should Study for Business Success
Whether you're a new entrepreneur keen to launch your first home-based business, or someone who has been operating a venture for a while, it's important to hone your skills in multiple areas if you want to give your organization the best chance of success. After all, most business owners have to juggle a lot of tasks and be a “jack of all trades” (particularly in the early days), so it's essential to master a variety of key skills.
If you want to achieve the best possible results for your organization over the coming months and years, read on for four of the vital topics that all successful entrepreneurs should study for long-term success.
1. Leadership
One of the first things you should consider learning about if you want to be a business person is leadership - that is, the ability to influence, motivate, and lead the people within an organization towards a common purpose.
It always pays to enroll in a business management and leadership degree so that you can really delve deep into the qualities and skills that this requires, but at the very least you should read some books or blogs on how to effectively lead a venture to success.
While there are numerous elements involved in good leadership, typically you will need to learn things like how to:
Articulate direction in measureable goals
Delegate tasks and organize workers
Use creativity to make best possible use of limited resources, see things others might miss, and convince other people of an idea's potential
Coordinate employees with various expertise and personalities
2. Finance
It may not be a topic that many entrepreneurs find fun, but understanding the fundamentals of finance can really help you to find success in business. Study finance and you will learn skills which will make it easier to see where your business is currently at and how to grow it, or what plans you need to put in place to make a yet-to-launch venture financially feasible.
You will also become comfortable reading and understanding helpful reports. These include things like balance sheets, profit and loss statements, sales and profit projections, and the like.
You'll find that the more comfortable you can become with all the numbers involved in running a business, the more easily you will be able to make the many important short-term and long-term decisions which are necessary as a leader. You will see more clearly how to cut costs, increase efficiency, and bring more revenue in every month.
3. Branding
Don't forget too that being successful in business often comes down to how well you understand branding. This isn't just about branding your venture (which is incredibly important in its own right), but also about how you present yourself to the world. Your personal brand as an entrepreneur can affect a lot of areas.
For example, if you present the right kind of image you will more easily attract customers, investors and employees, and you will help your business to become known as one that's reliable, trustworthy, and credible. Showcasing your expertise as part of your personal branding also helps you (and your business by default) to be seen as an expert in your industry. This in turn grows your brand awareness and helps all of your marketing efforts.
Take the time to sit down and think about what it is specifically that you and your firm can offer customers that others can't. Then, when you're clear on your unique selling proposition (USP), you can go about demonstrating your expertise. Look for ways to demonstrate the benefits your company's products or services can provide, and the problems that can be solved by them.
4. Sales
Of course, business success can never really happen unless you, as the leader of the venture, have a proper understanding of the sales process. While you might hire team members or contractors to handle most of the daily task of interacting with clients to generate new sales, it's also vital for you to be clear about how to best sell yourself and your company to everyone you engage with.
As an entrepreneur, you will need to pitch your business and its products or services to potential investors, customers and job candidates, as well as negotiate with vendors, explain your wares to journalists, and more. As a result, sales will repeatedly be a large part of your working life.
While there are many elements of sales you should learn, one of the key things to remember is that it's best to focus on helping people to find solutions to their problems, and to understand what is motivating them. This knowledge will help you see how to present the right options or information each time.
Important Reasons Why Every Small Business Should Optimise Their Website
SEO is something you may have heard of but don't know why it's required. If this is the case, read on. Below are some of the main reasons why every business website owner should optimise their website.
It's vital to be visible on the internet and Search Engine Optimisation is one of the best ways to do this. This has never been as important as it is now because huge numbers of shoppers and potential customers use a wide range of devices and search engines to find the products and services they need. With a good SEO strategy in place, your website will appear in more search results and appear higher too. The higher your page is, the more people will visit it and interact with your brand.
Increases Email Subscribers
Every website owner should be building a subscriber list of current and potential customers. However, you need to be sending people who are interested in your business to opt in forms that capture website visitors' contact details, such as their name and email address. An optimised website that includes an efficient sales funnel is extremely powerful and has the potential to lead to more paying customers who you can regularly contact through email.
Increase the Number of Shoppers and Customers Who Visit Your Website
The goal of most business website owners is to attract as many shoppers and potential customers as possible. The more optimised content and backlinks your website has, the more people it will attract.
SEO Reduces the Cost of Paid Advertising
The cost of online advertising is a key concern for most businesses. Search Engine Optimisation can help to reduce many advertising costs. For example, if you use paid traffic techniques like Google AdWords or Facebook ads, you will have to pay for impressions or any time someone clicks on one of your ads. When your webpages are high in the search engines due to SEO, there is no such charge.
Attracts More Targeted Visitors
A website that has a lot of website visitors, is not necessarily a profitable website. Focusing on optimising your website for specific buying keywords is the best approach if you want to attract more targeted website visitors who may go on to buy your product or service.
It's Easy to Measure Your Results
Many marketing strategies are difficult to quantify and evaluate. This is not the case with SEO. If you have a website analytics system installed on your website, you can easily view how successful your optimisation efforts are. These analytics systems display the different sources of website traffic and give a website owner a clearer idea about the areas of a website that need to be improved and modified to attract more shoppers and potential customers.
The internet is one of the most important tools small businesses have at their disposal. However, small business owners don't always leverage the power of the internet through an optimised website. Changing this approach will lead to all of the benefits mentioned above, resulting in more business leads, email subscribers and paying customers.
Buying an Already Established Business- Beneficial or Not?
Venturing into the business world with a name that already has a reputation sounds like a great boon. While such a situation has blessings to offer, it can also have drawbacks. Before purchasing a business that is already established, consider both sides so that you can make an informed and effective decision.
Less Preparation
Choosing a current business for sale likely means that you'll have less work to do when you first move in. Since the business is in your field, some of the equipment might already exist in the building, and the layout may work well for your production and distribution needs. The less time you have to spend setting up and picking out new pieces of equipment, the more quickly
you can start interacting with customers and generating sales.
Formed Reputation
When you open up a business in a new community, you are already competing with the other companies in the area. If you have a great deal of direct competition, then the process is even more difficult. Establishing yourself in a business that already has a good reputation is often smoother. People who already liked the business will come in to see what you are offering, and individuals who disagreed with the previous owners may give it another chance.
Confidence in Location
Knowing why the business closed is important and helpful, especially if the
location played a role. On the other hand, perhaps the previous owners have decided to retire, and they had many successful years of business in this location. Instead of going into the venture afraid of the area, you can have a sense l of confidence that this spot is the right one for that type of business. Confidence is the key when starting a business, and this extra boost can lead you down the path
of success.
More Money
Since you have fewer renovations and repairs to do, you may find that this business actually costs more to purchase. Remember, you are dealing with business owners who know the value of their products and services. Therefore, you may need to make an offer that is much
closer to the listed price than you would if you were buying a spot that needed a great deal of repairs.
Negative Reputation
While a business with a great reputation can help you, one with a negative reputation can cause problems. Some people in the company might not recognize that the business has undergone ownership changes; therefore, they retain their opinions of the previous company. In the midst of setting up your new business, you are also fighting against the perceptions that people have of your company. You want to make
sure that you let people know that new owners have come in.
Filling in Gap
You might have purchased a spot where a despised business once stood in the community. On the other hand, people may have loved the company and gone there as often as they possibly could. While that does mean you'll likely have customers who are interested in your products and services, it also means that you have to provide the same quality. Otherwise, you may find that customers do not believe in your products or services. They may conclude that the old ownership was better and find a new place to spend their funds.
One right answer does not exist to this inquiry. Instead, you need to consider the property you're interested in and what is right for you. Navigating through the various options from BPA Brokers helps you grow more familiar with the market and what your best choice is out there.
Based on results of May 2016 Alignable- GoDaddy U.S. Small Business Survey
By Alignable's Dan Slagen and GoDaddy's Andrea Rowland
Copyright 2016 Go Daddy Operating Company, LLC. All rights reserved.
To better understand the challenges small business owners face with regards to doing business online, we ask them - at events worldwide, through GoDaddy's award-winning customer care team, even at the counter of our favorite local coffeehouse when there's nobody in line behind us. We also listen to what they say in various surveys, like the poll that inspired this white paper.
In a joint effort between GoDaddy and Alignable, we surveyed more than 100,000 small business owners to learn more about their web-based pain points. The findings highlight the unique perspective of small business when it comes to the online aspects of running their businesses.
“Enterprise businesses learned long ago that the internet was by far the most effective way to reach customers - globally or locally. With the meteoric rise of the mobile web, that lesson has only become more important.” ~ GoDaddy CEO Blake Irving
Today, only about 50 percent of small businesses make it to the five-year mark, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. We want to improve the odds by helping small businesses harness the power of the web to easily start, confidently grow, and successfully run their own ventures. That starts with understanding common barriers to building a successful business online, and offering solutions to help overcome those obstacles. Here are five big roadblocks, with supporting survey data, and practical fixes.
“Only a fraction of small business owners are truly satisfied with their current website and mobile experience. The need for trusted advice and support that's concise and actionable for business owners is surging.” ~ Alignable CEO Eric Groves
I don't know how to start building a website.
Should I make my own website with a templated website builder such as Wix or GoDaddy Website Builder or a content management system like WordPress? Should I hire a professional web designer? What are my options, and how much is it going to cost?
Our survey respondents are split almost 50-50 between DIY (do it yourself) and DIFM (do it for me) website building solutions. Twenty-six percent used a template-based site builder, and 23 percent turned to a CMS like WordPress to build their own websites. Fifty-one percent of small business owners chose to hire a professional web designer. Overwhelmingly, SMBs found 45 percent of these web professionals through a word-of-mouth referral.
“[Word-of-mouth] has always been the leading driver of business for small and local businesses. However, that doesn't mean you can ignore having a website and making sure it's optimized. The reason: these days, when someone wants something, remembers a place a friend recommended, the first thing they do is whip out their smartphone or get on the computer and look up the site to learn more and/or get directions. If you don't show up in search, or if you don't have a website, or the site doesn't tell people what they need to know, you lose that business.” ~ Alignable member, Janet Attard, CEO of Business Know-How
Only 9 percent of our survey respondents are completely satisfied with their website.
Why? Many small business owners don't have the time to properly maintain a website and lack the knowledge and resources to create the most optimal website for their particular business. That's why more than half of SMBs turn to professional designers to do the heavy lifting.
“If you really want to get the best out of your web designer – or any contracted professional – you need to treat that person like a business partner. A trusted, valued, critically important business partner.” ~ Website designer and GoDaddy customer Lisa Stambaugh, owner of Collective Discovery
Moreover, many times, we find that small business owners have unrealistic expectations about how much traffic their website can generate without an investment of time and, in many cases, money. Another poll illustrates that 42 percent of small business owners get less than 250 monthly visitors to their website. You're not alone!
Solution
Take a strategic approach to choosing the right website designer for your business. Consider these five main factors when deciding whether or not to build your own website or to hire a professional:
Cost: It will cost in the ballpark of $50 to $100 per year to build your site using a templated site builder or hosted WordPress product. You're looking at an initial design fee of between $500 and $3,000 for a professionally designed website. GoDaddy's Website Design Service is among the most competitively priced.
Customization: Do you want a completely unique web design or need advanced features that require add-ons like databases? DIFM might be the way to go.
Time: How much time do you have to devote to building and maintaining your website?You can build an effective site using a templated site builder in less than a day and a slightly more customized WordPress site in a few days - if you're motivated. Then you'll want to commit a few hours per week to maintain and improve it. If you can't commit the time, hire a pro.
Difficulty: Templated site builders are ideal for beginners; WordPress sites are suitable for intermediate users; and more customized sites require greater skill. Be honest about your ability level when you're deciding who should build the kind of site you need.
Customer service: If you think you might need help or have questions (and if you're not a web pro, you probably will), choose a website building solution that offers quality customer service that is available 24/7.
Do your homework to discover which website vendor best aligns with your business's needs (see the results of another Alignable survey which ranked GoDaddy as No. 1 for customer service and Squarespace as tops for site builder ease-of-use).
I'm overwhelmed by what it takes to make a website successful.
Small business owners need to keep their ear to the ground for many things when it comes it to their website. Is it fast? Is it mobile-friendly? Does it have a contact form? Is the content updated frequently enough? Is it optimized for search engines? The list of must-haves and to- dos can seem overwhelming.
“A website is no longer an investment that needs to be made every 3 to 5 years. It is a marketing tool that constantly needs to be refreshed, upgraded, and renewed. Even for small businesses, if you don't have a mobile friendly website that you yourself can update, then you need to think about upgrading.” ~ Alignable member Aaron Giagnocavo, project manager at CME Websites
According to our survey results, 47 percent of small business owners' biggest complaint about their website is that it doesn't show up in search engines. That's likely because the vast majority of entrepreneurs seem to take a “build it and forget it” approach to websites. Seventy-four percent of the small business owners we surveyed update the content on their website or blog two times or less per month.
Solution
Prioritize three factors that will drive more traffic to your website: search engine optimization (SEO), valuable content creation, and a design that is optimized for mobile visitors. Take the time to understand SEO then schedule about three to five hours to start optimizing your website (with an ongoing commitment to review it monthly). To start:
If you can't commit to doing your own SEO, turn to a reputable provider like GoDaddy SEO Services.
Providing website content that's valuable to visitors will also attract search engines. In fact, relevant content is the cornerstone of SEO strategy. Figure out what matters to your target customers and how your product or service meets their needs. Then create related, search- optimized website copy, images, video and other content. It's also important to make sure your website is optimized for mobile users - especially since Google has started ranking mobile-friendly sites higher in search results.
Many small businesses fail to capitalize on this fundamental element of a strong online presence. Your domain is your business's nameplate on the web, so it's important to choose a domain name that represents your business and is easy to remember. In many cases it's a good idea to register more than one domain name.
“Your domain name is the foundation of your website.” ~ Sven Alwerud, CEO of Jelly Skateboards and GoDaddy customer
However, 49 percent of small business owners in our survey said they only have one domain name for their business(es), while 40 percent registered between two and five domains. Only 11 percent of survey respondents secured six or more domains for their business - demonstrating a proactive approach to promoting and protecting their brand online.
Solution
It's best to start at the start when it comes to securing the perfect domain name. Consider domain name availability when you're brainstorming names for your business. If you're already up and running, look at registering industry- and geo-specific secondary domains that you can point to your website.
Let's say you own a coffee shop in the Bronx, Jane's Cafe. You were hoping to snag janescafe.com, but it was already registered to someone else. So you panicked and registered janescafeinthebronxny.com. It represents what you do and where you do it, but it's long. Really long. Look at some better domain options:
janes.coffee
janesespresso.cafe
janescoffee.house
janescoffee.menu
janescafe.online
janescafe.nyc
janescafe.review
Bottom line: Don't discount your domain. It's your business address on the web. If you have any doubts, ask Jeb Bush what happens when you don't take a strategic approach to buying a domain - jebbush.com redirected to Donald Trump's campaign website!
Nearly 70 percent of all U.S. internet users prefer communications with businesses via email, according to Salesforce Marketing Cloud's “2015 State of Marketing Report.”
Yet more than half of the business owners we surveyed use a free email account such as Gmail or Yahoo! for business. To many customers, that generic email address translates to “not a serious business.” What's more, using generic email instead of domain-based email for business means missing a branding opportunity every time you hit send.
“Offering customers special limited-time offers via business-class email campaigns “has increased our online sales to more than double in some of our past promotions.” ~ Brad Indoe, founder of Urban Raccoon Snack Bars and GoDaddy customer
Solution
Graduate from generic email to show you mean business. For less than $5 a month you can have a professional email address that matches your business's domain name. Add an email signup form to your website and use that business-class email address to send sales- generating email campaigns to subscribers.
I don't know the best way to sell products online.
Many small business owners not only struggle with their website presence, but are unsure if and how they should start selling their products and services online. With U.S. ecommerce sales showing no signs of slowing - tallying more than $304 billion in 2014, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce - the “if” might be the easiest problem to solve.
“The biggest challenge that I had this year was the fact that my shop just went online. It's a big change when we're trying to keep up with the inventory we're sending across the country, but it's awesome that we're reaching so many new people.” – Alignable memeber Jaye Oman, owner of Jo Karen Lingerie
Fifty-two percent of the small business owners we surveyed do not sell their products or services on the web, seeming to prefer brick-and-mortar retail. Thirty-one percent of our survey respondents have a dedicated ecommerce site, while 15 percent sell on marketplace platforms such as Amazon and Etsy (either in addition to or in lieu of a dedicated ecommerce site).
Solution
Adopt a multi-channel ecommerce strategy. Launch your own online store for complete control of your ecommerce presence, and use marketplaces like Etsy and Amazon to sell featured products and drive traffic back to your dedicated store.
This type of website requires a few more specialized parts than a standard website, including:
A shopping cart: This tool will let you display product images and descriptions. Look for a cart option that includes important features like shipping options and inventory tracking.
Payment processing: While you can use a third-party service like PayPal to collect payments, establishing your own merchant account to accept credit card payments will give your business more credibility. Merchant accounts let you accept payments from major credit, debit and gift cards on your site - so your customers don't have to leave your online store to pay for their goods.
SSL: The first thing most savvy customers look for when they make a purchase online is an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate. SSL certificates are digital certificates that encrypt the information your customers send when they purchase products or complete forms on your website. Visual indicators of an SSL can include a padlock icon in the browser, https:// before the website address, and a green address bar.
A few popular and easy-to-use ecommerce website building including GoDaddy Online Store (which has built-in payment processing), Shopify and BigCommerce. If you want to add ecommerce functionality to your WordPress website, try a plugin like WooCommerce.
The world's largest domain name registrar, GoDaddy was born to give people an easy, affordable way to get their ideas online. Today, we have more than 14 million customers around the world, but our goal is much the same. We're here to help people easily start, confidently grow and successfully run their own ventures. Learn more at www.godaddy.com.
With over 600,000 connections and growing, Alignable is where local businesses generate trusted referrals. Active in over 8,000 communities, business owners have the opportunity to connect, message, co-promote, and generate new business through word-of-mouth marketing. Unlike traditional social networks where users connect with hundreds or thousands of people, Alignable members build a personalized core network of industry peers who align with their goals, needs and target customer base. Since trust is what drives the local business community, Alignable members also benefit from a variety of daily discussions and active Q&A forums, exclusively consisting of fellow business owners. Alignable is available on both desktop and mobile app.
Owner of Multiple Businesses Shares Entrepreneurial Expertise/Success
As someone who has been self-employed since the age of 23, Bella Bambino founder Rebecca Barlow has run into every bottleneck and inefficiency you could possibly imagine. Along the way, she's learned a few major lessons: One, she's learned that there's no magic potion to increase the need to more productive – instead, it's something she's had to figure out over the years. Second, she's learned that sometimes, it's a matter of waiting it out when it's become difficult to be productive and get things done. However, when she hasn't had the luxury of waiting it out, she's learned some crucial tips to maximize productivity:
1:Delegate! If you have staff working for you, take a good look at each person's strengths and weaknesses and delegate accordingly. You can't do everything on your own – there are no self-made millionaires – only team made. If you don't yet have a team of staff working for you, look into outsourcing as much as you possibly can. There are very low cost ways to get things done. Virtual assistants are awesome! You can also outsource mundane but important tasks, like bookkeeping, and things that will free you up to be creative and focus on building your business, rather than working in your business. For me personally, nothing ruins my productivity more then having to stop and run to the grocery store or do accounting – those are things I outsource on a daily basis.
2: Stop checking email first! We're all guilty of opening up the email first thing in the morning, or right when we get to our desk. Most of the time, emails aren't time sensitive and can wait until later. Tackle the most important tasks of your day first thing in the morning and get it out-of-the-way! Then, you will have all the time you want for emails and social media!
3: Two-minute rule! This is something I read about a while ago and it really works. If something takes less than two minutes, do it now! You'll be surprised at how many tasks take under two minutes, and you will clear a lot from your to-do list very quickly if you follow this rule.
4: Exercise! In order to be at maximum productivity, you must take care of yourself first. Ideally, you should exercise in the morning and spend a little time in prayer or meditation and focus on how you want the day to go. Tony Robbins calls this “priming.” Take some time for yourself every morning before you start working to set the tone for your day – you'll be surprised at how much more productive you are when you put yourself first!
5: Set the tone! Whether you're working from home or an office, make sure to have a dedicated space for creativity and workflow. I like to light a candle, and put some background music on. Lately, I've been using binary beats for focus. Hop onto Pandora or Spotify, and find something that makes you feel motivated and focused. Play it in the background so it's not distracting – just background noise to help you focus. Often time, I will set a timer for an hour and play music or binary beats in the background. When the hours over and the timer rings, I take a break and I'm usually shocked at how much I've accomplished.
These are just a few of the things that have worked for me over the years. I still have my unproductive moments, but utilizing the steps really does help pull me back into a productive mode!
About Rebecca Barlow
Rebecca Barlow founded Bella Bambino Nannies in 2002. As a former nanny and working mother of 4, Rebecca understands the challenges you face when seeking in home childcare for your precious little ones. Recently, Rebecca has joined forces with Amy Bonnett, Amy brings with her several years of recruiting and staffing experience and a wealth of knowledge in the industry. As a mother herself, Amy is sympathetic to the needs of the parents she works with. Together, Rebecca and Amy have joined forces to create a domestic staffing company that is unparalleled in the industry. With Rebecca and Amy at the helm, Bella Bambino Nannies has grown and flourished into a fully staffed nationwide service that is known for its attention to detail and personalized customer service.
Founded in Liverpool, UK in 2009, Murals Wallpaper has quickly become one of the leading companies in bespoke wallpaper printing and has become a specialist in wallpaper murals.
Founder Richard Wilde thinks that their unique business model has been the key to their success. He says, “Our digital printing techniques allow us to produce an unlimited range of wallpaper and flooring designs and our 100% bespoke production means that any design concept can be brought to life. Like oversized desktop printers, pretty much anything can be printed on to our wallpaper and vinyl flooring. From patterns to textures to photos. If you can think it, we can print it.”
All of Murals Wallpaper's products are made to order, meaning that they only print the products that sell. This low-risk model allows them to explore new design concepts with minimal risk to the business. By working digitally, a product idea can be designed and featured on the website within a day. This strategy makes it possible to stay on trend and allows for rapid reaction to marketing and PR opportunities.
What began as a bedroom business exploring t-shirt printing has become a company of 10 people, which is rapidly expanding year on year. The company has set up new brands Murawall (a wallpaper brand that will focus on a more high-end customer) and Murafloor, which takes their digital printing techniques and applies them to vinyl flooring.
In celebration of 150 years of Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland, Murals Wallpaper launched a new wallpaper. The classy composition has been designed in house by remastering archived images of John Tenniel's original 1865 illustrations. Bringing Lewis Carroll's iconic story to life, the wallpaper print makes for a wonderfully sophisticated feature in the home, ideal for a child's bedroom or playroom and will no doubt take one's imagination down the rabbit hole.
Alice has been joined by a few more famous literary characters with Murals Wallpapers' second print from the collection; The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Designed in a similar fashion, the in-house team dug through hundreds of archives before eventually finding scans of the Denslow-illustrated version from 1900.
The last print in the 'Classic Literature Collection' captures a number of Charles Dickens' most favoured characters from the likes of Oliver Twist, The Pickwick Papers and the Old Curiosity Shop.
The company aims to be the world's leading digital wallpaper company by 2020.
One question often asked by online shop owners is how to increase their sales. Follow these tips to increase your traffic and convert more online orders.
1. Start With Your Stats
Using a package likeGoogle Analytics, go through your web stats in detail. Look at stats like Bounce Rate, Social Acquisition, and Behavior. Set up a Goal Funnel to view the sales process and work out if there are any problem areas. For example, if shoppers are abandoning their shopping carts at the delivery page, this is useful information.
If you're not familiar with Google Analytics, make it your friend.Learn how to use itand how to analyze the data. It will provide you with valuable information.
Ensure you are aware of all of your stock. This is particularly important if you sell through multiple channels. There's no point in investing time and money in obtaining sales, only to realize you can't fulfill orders. Consider investing in astock control software solution. This will help you keep track of all products, and it can connect to the warehouse and accounting.
3. Streamline Delivery
Are you using the most cost-effective and streamlined delivery services? A big bugbear for shoppers is getting to the checkout and realizing that delivery costs are too expensive. Look for ways to keep costs to a minimum. Offer customers a range of options. If secure delivery is expensive, then provide a cheaper option as well.
Check out your competition. Do they offer faster, quicker shipping? Make sure you can compete. Otherwise, users will click away and go elsewhere.
Ensure your online shop software allows you to capture abandoned shopping baskets. This will enable you to email customers and ask if there is a problem. You will find that a lot of shoppers will continue with the process. Others may provide valuable feedback as to why they abandoned their basket.
5. Appeal To Different Shoppers
Online shoppers can be divided into three general types. Trackers are shoppers who know exactly what they're looking for. They may have seen an advert or received a recommendation. When they come to your website, they are likely to use your search box to find the product. Ensure your search facility is accessible on each page. Check how the search results are displayed. Make sure they include an image and a clear summary of the product.
Explorers will have a vague idea of what they are looking for. They may need a dress for a specific occasion or a gift for a friend. These shoppers will use the navigation menus. Make they are as intuitive as possible. Reduce the number of clicks it takes to arrive at the product pages. If you stock a significant number of products, then provide filtering. This will enable shoppers to reduce options to fit their criteria.
Browsers may not have any idea about what they're looking for. They are just browsing. Pull them in with banners and promotions. Grab their attention and persuade them to navigate further into the site.
These are just a few ways you can convert more sales. Monitor all changes you make to determine what works well for you. This will help with future updates.
Getting started in the events industry demands many things – hard work, confidence and an attention to detail that sets you apart from the crowd. These skills develop with time and experience in the white heat of an unfolding event – but there are simpler and smarter ways to raise your game, grow your skillset and create a solid framework for your successful events career. Take a look at our top tips to harness that ambition and make progress fast.
Attend and learn
Don't resent learning. Regardless of your level of practical experience, you should embrace the possibility of expanding your horizons – the learning should never stop. The best way to learn about events and best practice is, naturally, to make the time to attend as many events as you can. Across different sectors and specialisms – public or private, charity or conference – there's an awful lot to learn from seeing an events team working flat out to create something special. There are many hidden costs and challenges involved in event planning, and seeing professionals tackle these problems around you is hugely beneficial.
It's also worth keeping an eye on industry events – talks, seminars, meetups, conferences and the like. They vary in size, scale and subject, but coming together with other event professionals can help to meet influencers and demystify the pitfalls of the industry.
Talk, talk, talk
Running an event demands effective communication, but there are so many gadgets and gizmos saturating the events industry right now, it's hard to know where to start – and easy to overlook the fundamentals that you need to get right. Face-to-face meetings at both the planning and execution stage can be faster and more effective than wordy emails. Clean and easy project management software like Basecamp can be a revelation, while old classics like walkie-talkies are a flexible and all-purpose comms essential, often neglected in the rush towards Whatsapp and pocket-sized digital alternatives. From the start of the project, set yourself out from the crowd with clarity and confidence – be succinct, cover every base and keep an open door for questions.
Lead together
Whether you're just starting out, or leading an event for the first time, it's vital to understand the strengths and capacity of your team. If you're part of the team, behave like it – support colleagues wholeheartedly, and grab every opportunity that's practical to prove yourself and learn new skills. When your chance comes, set the tone from the start – plan thoroughly, communicate constantly and work closely with the people around you to create something amazing. Effective teamwork not only ensures success but will help you to build lasting relationships that will help you to progress.
The value of strategy
Every event begins with intricate and thoughtful planning, but guaranteeing clear boundaries of success from day 1 means that planning will pay off with an event that achieves results for your client or business. Simon Sinek's celebrated book 'Start With Why' outlines the critical value of understanding the cause and reason behind every decision we make. Strategy starts with understanding what needs to be achieved, and events is no different – keeping this clear in the thinking of you and your team throughout the project will ensure an effective event.
Make a change, or keep going
Don't be afraid of change – it's how we learn and grow as professionals, and the events industry is no different. With every new experience and challenge, there's nothing wrong with analysing what you're learning and making the decision to move on – if your work isn't taking you where you want to go, change direction. The opportunities available to you in the future are defined by the work that you do now – so make sure you're working on events for clients that one day will help you get where you want to go.
Nearly 1 in 3 Small Businesses Don't Have Websites
As many large retailers struggle with competition from e-commerce, in the small business sector even having a website is not yet a foregone conclusion, according to the May 2016 SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard®.
Nearly 1 in 3 (28%) of small business owners reported not having a company website for their business. For those that do have a website:
• 52% hired a firm (creative agency/web development company) to build the site for them.
• 20% hired a freelance designer/web developer.
• 17% built the site themselves with the help of a service such as Squarespace, Wix, Duda, Weebly, etc.
• 11% had a web background and built the website completely on their own.
Only 26% reported having an e-commerce component to their site, where they are selling products and services directly to customers. A significant number (42%) said the web really isn't that important to their business, while roughly a quarter of small business owners feel they could use help with website design, functionality and content.
It's gotten to the point where it's easy to build yourself a website, but to build one that really functions well for your business and represents your brand is still a challenge. That's why you're seeing the majority still paying professionals to do it for them. Setting up an e-commerce site, with all of the technical items that have to be handled correctly, that can be a costly, complicated endeavor for a small business owner. The old fashioned approach to sales – building relationships, making calls, pounding the pavement – is still very much in play.
About SurePayroll
SurePayroll is the trusted provider of easy online payroll services to small businesses nationwide. Whether a business has 1, 10, or 100 employees, SurePayroll delivers peace of mind by combining innovative, industry-leading technology and personalized support from an award-winning, U.S.-based customer care team. SurePayroll also provides private-label and co-branded services for accountants and banking partners as well as offering efficient online solutions for managing 401(k) plans, health insurance, workers' compensation, employee screening and more. SurePayroll is a wholly owned subsidiary of Paychex. For more information, please visit www.SurePayroll.com. Follow us on Twitter – Circle us on Google+ – Connect with us on LinkedIn – Like us on Facebook.
About Paychex
Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYX) is a leading provider of integrated human capital management solutions for payroll, HR, retirement, and insurance services. By combining its innovative software-as-a-service technology and mobility platform with dedicated, personal service, Paychex empowers small- and medium-sized business owners to focus on the growth and management of their business. Backed by more than 40 years of industry expertise, Paychex serves approximately 590,000 payroll clients across 100 locations and pays one out of every 15 American private sector employees. Learn more about Paychex by visiting www.paychex.com, and stay connected on Twitter and LinkedIn.
This Startup Wants to Prevent the Next Alabama Water Crisis
“Don't drink the water!” That's the warning that thousands of Americans have received. Our tap water was once promoted as the safest in the world, but the mounting evidence – including revelations of contamination, improper filtering and poor waste management – shows otherwise.
Now 100,000 Alabama residents are being told that their water is not safe to drink, thanks to the hazardous chemicals (PFOA and PFOS) found in their tap water supply. Consumers are told that they should not drink the water until a temporary filter is installed in September. Even then, how can anyone be certain that the water is safe!?
MyDx, Inc. (OTCQB: MYDX) wants to change that. The company has developed the first handheld chemical analyzer for consumers to measure what they eat, drink and inhale. Its next product, AquaDx, will ship in the comings weeks to ensure that consumers are safe before taking a sip. The device can be pre-ordered now by calling 818-280-6800. For more information, please visit www.cdxlife.com/aqua-sensor/.
MyDx's groundbreaking product is a critical first step not only for consumers but for regulators, municipals, corporations and others who want to know that the water is safe to consume. It could prevent a housing crisis as realtors, homebuilders and school officials use it to prove that their water supply is clean – and take quick action if it is not. The need for MyDx carries over to business travelers hopping from hotel to hotel, as testing the water could become as essential as checking for bed bugs under the sheets.
The Alabama water crisis is a reminder of the many hazards that surround us, but MyDx is here to make sure the world is a safer, cleaner place.
“Positioning” has been an important concept in marketing since it was first discussed more than 30 years ago. Today we think more in terms of branding, but the general concept is the same: how to set your company apart and gain the larger audience. It's more important in today's digital world than ever. Here are basic strategies to help your site stand out:
Provide real benefits
It's not really about product or branding. It's about how your customers benefit by buying from you. You have to be able to convey the real value of your product beyond mere pricing. The benefits must be unique to your site to enhance the value and maximize the impact. It isn't enough to fill your site with promises that your warranty is better than anybody else's. The perceived value must be enough to convert visitors to customers. This is harder to do today; for instance every new feature Amazon comes up with, other sites tend to follow. Try reviewing or posting user feedback with some heart-warming or unusual benefits from using your product. Dig deep for an angle or a niche market waiting to be discovered. For instance there are hundreds of book sellers, but BookPool chose to focus on technical books, and now they're known as a preferred source for that specific book niche.
Sell more than products
Most ecommerce sites struggle to find factors that set them apart from competitors selling similar products. In order to do that, you have to understand your customers and invite feedback to find out what it is they really want. If you really think it's just the product, why should they buy it from you? Offer the consumer more than just a product. What really appeals to them may be a money-back guarantee, natural ingredients, rush shipping, or unexpected discounts. When you understand what customers really want, supply it. A good example is Nature's Remedies, a single product company, carved out a distinct online presence by selling organic pet shampoos made with luxury ingredients such as teak, avocado, and coconut oils. You can buy dog shampoo anywhere, but these shampoos appeal to dog owners who want something special for their beloved furry companions.
Establish a community
Use your brand to stimulate a user community around your product or services. Apple has been very successful at this. Social media is a good place to start; often you can tap into existing social groups that are already interested in topics related to your product. Social giants like Facebook and Twitter allow you to structure marketing campaigns and track market analytics such as demographics and purchase histories. Establishing industry blogs can portray your brand as authoritative in the field. Post and tweet changes, updates, and special offers. Make your sites interactive with quizzes, storylines, video, forums, and more to encourage user participation and interest. Offer exclusive deals and other perks to “favored” customers to create a buzz. Don't be afraid to exploit trends related to your product or service.
Creative services
Part of interaction and branding is to provide extra features that improve the customer experience, particularly if yours are more attractive, original, and useful than features on competitor sites. Look for the most colorful but easy-to-use ecommerce solutions. Site searches, navigation menus, and other helpful features should be as unique and attractive as possible without negatively impacting performance or conflicting with overall design. Look for helpful 3rd party security features or service apps your customers will appreciate. For instance, FedEx shipping and tracking is very useful and therefore very appealing: (http://www.fedex.com/us/ecommerce/). Great services, along with great products, boost sales.
There are many different things that have to be understood when referring to professional web design. Many business owners think that everything is simple but that is not actually the case. It is really important to focus on those elements that are the best for the overall benefit of the company. When looking at the small businesses we have problems because of a limited amount of money available for investments.
Improving the presence of a small business on the internet is really important in the modern business environment. You want to be sure that professional web design becomes reality and that you know as much as possible about the process. The most important factors to consider are the ones that will be mentioned below.
Business Requirements
When you plan to create a new site for your business, you want to offer a really detailed description. A common mistake is not really saying much about what you want. The designer will be confused and will not understand the requirements of the business. You want to always eliminate this possibility by offering highly detailed descriptions of individual business needs.
Web Design
Every single business owner out there wants to have a website with a great design but what does that actually mean? In most cases this means that more creativity and more effort have to be put into the work that is done. You can easily plan a site but transforming that plan into reality is something that takes a lot of time. Businesses or people will have to discuss with the professionals in order to be sure that requirements are understood. Agreements have to appear before final approvals. Proofs are needed and it is really rare to be faced with great choices without proper communication about web design.
Website Development
Many believe that web design is the same thing as web development. This is completely incorrect. In reality there are various differences between the two. Whenever focusing on website development it is vital that you focus on some factors that are not actually connected with how the site looks like. You are interested in how it operates and the elements that are not seen with your eyes.
As an example, professional website development needs to consider modern SEO practices. Having a site that looks great and that does not have a proper optimization structure is surely going to lead towards huge problems.
Brand Identity
The last thing that should be highlighted is that the design of a small business website has to include proper branding elements. That is something that many tend to forget. Small companies cannot establish themselves as great opportunities for clients without a good branding campaign being used.
On the whole, branding is the one part of creating sites for small businesses that many do not understand. You want to be patient and make sure that there is a proper communication channel that is established with the professional web designer. This is what will help in creating something that is perfect.
How Small Businesses Benefit from Working with a Vendor Partner
During the early days of most small businesses, technology is relatively easy to manage. In fact, many small home businesses actually begin with consumer computers, printers, and basic networking equipment.
However, as your business grows, it will become increasingly clear that the laptop you bought at the office supply store a few years ago is no longer enough for managing everything that you need and want to do. You need more sophisticated equipment that is powerful, secure, and able to grow with your business. But where do you even start? How do you know what you need? How can you be sure you're getting exactly what you need?
That's where a vendor partner comes in. More than just a distributor or reseller of equipment, a vendor partner is just that: A partner who can help you take your business where you want it to go.
What a Vendor Partner Can Do
A true vendor partner is much more than an order taker. Whether you need a complete communications solution (like the longtime gold-standard Cisco Business Edition) or more powerful servers to handle your growing website traffic, a vendor partner will work with you to determine your specific needs and develop a solution that works for you.
More specifically, when you work with a partner, you benefit from:
Expertise
A partner will understand the technology, and not only help you determine your company's specific needs, but also help you get the most from it. Most partners maintain the most current certifications for their specific products, and offer assistance to your team in getting certified yourselves, so you can maximize the capabilities of your technology investment. From planning to implementation, a partner makes sure that you have the right solutions the first time.
Added Services
When something goes wrong on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m., who can you call for help? Many vendor partners offer additional value added services, including on-call support and maintenance.
Reduced Costs
A partner will look for cost efficiencies and help small businesses make the most of their budgets. Not to mention, most have relationships with manufacturers that allow them to offer better deals and discounts to their business partners, saving you money over going it alone.
Improved Scalability
One of a partner's most important roles is to help your business determine what it need, both today and in the future. A partner will look beyond your immediate needs and develop technology solutions that are easily scalable to allow for future growth without a complete overhaul. Because vendor partners have unparalleled insight into their industry, as well as in-depth knowledge of industry trends, they can help you prepare for the business of tomorrow, not just where you are today.
Choosing the Right Vendor Partner
Given the importance of working with the right vendor partner, how do you find the organization that can best help your business grow and meet its goals? There are a few important factors to consider.
Specialization
Not all vendor partners work with small businesses, so it's best to choose a partner that has expertise and experience working with SMEs and with other companies in your sector, to ensure that the recommended solutions are appropriate for your company.
In addition, ask questions about the vendor's particular technological specializations. Some companies are experts in communication, while others may specialize in mobile solutions, cloud computing, security, or other networking concerns. That's not to say they cannot help you, but keep in mind that a channel partner that has places a strong emphasis on cloud computing, for example, is most likely going to provide solutions that are heavily weighted in that area.
Cost
While cost shouldn't be your primary concern, since you generally get what you pay for when it comes to technology, you want to choose a partner who will offer solutions that fit your budget, and share your concerns about containing costs. Again, this is where a partner that specializes in small businesses is a significant benefit to your company.
Additional Services
What is included in the Service Level Agreement? Will you receive the support you need to manage the solutions being suggested?
Communication
Finally, it's important to consider communication and customer service when choosing a reseller partner. You want to know that you can communicate with each other to solve problems and develop solutions, and that the vendor will be there when you need them.
As a savvy business owner, you may have definite ideas about how you want to manage your company's technology needs, and enough knowledge to get started. However, if you are expanding your business and need more technological insight - and more powerful tools - then a vendor partner can be your best friend and a valued part of your business.
2. Finance
4. Sales
