How to Run Your Small Business Effectively

September 2nd, 2010 by karleigh

Business effectiveness is an ongoing process, as is your development as a manager. Just like your business, you have to learn and grow every day with your company and employees.

To be an effective manager, you have to have confidence, motivation, and be willing to keep an open mind to advice and lessons learned by other leaders in similar industries.

Here are the Top Ten Tips to Running Your Small Business Effectively:

  1. Stay alert: Be aware of all of your accounts – keep track of everything going in AND out… Be sure to pay your accounts on time as well.
  2. Do one thing at a time. Make sure you are fully involved when you need to be and give everything and everyone their own time.
  3. Respect your employees. Don’t just look at your employees as  “useful tools” for you; ask yourself how you can make them a more effective and productive person. You don’t just have to be a “boss”, you can also be a mentor.
  4. Monitor your business performance bi-weekly. Doing spot checks can help avoid bigger issues.
  5. Stay motivated! If you aren’t motivated, no one else around you will be motivated. Find your passion for the business again.
  6. Get involved with peer groups. Being a leader or small business manager can often be an isolating and unrewarding position. Talking with other leaders and managers can be an effective problem-solving tool.
  7. Make customer service a priority . Your customers are a big key to your business’ success so keep them happy.
  8. Don’t become complacent. Always try and generate new business and look for opportunity.
  9. Have clear goals and don’t forget them.
  10. Take responsibility for yourself and encourage your employees to do the same. In your smaller company, accountability will encourage everyone to do their best…

Online Marketing: The New Path to Success

July 19th, 2010 by karleigh

When we think of the term “Marketing” we tend to think of TV, radio and print ads. Unfortunately, visions of big dollar signs are frequent when putting a traditional marketing plan into action as well.  Fortunately, the term “Online Marketing” has become a popular alternative and a complimentary strategy as well. Online Marketing refers to any and all promotion and advertising done via email and internet, which helps direct people to your product or service.

There are many different types of online marketing: contextual ads, search engine ads, banner ads, social networking, interstitial ads, email marketing , and the list goes on. Online marketing started out with a few bumps: the old pop-up ads and spam emails that used to plague people are a thing of the past with built-in pop-up blockers on every browser, and spam blockers.

Luckily, we have advanced to a new age in online marketing where old meets new; we still target our key demographic, but now we target them electronically in their homes, cars, movie theatres (basically wherever they have internet access) in a more cost-effective manner, with a larger payback.

Here are the main benefits of online marketing:

  1. More Targeted : Online marketing is much more flexible when it comes to your target audience; where you want your ads placed, and who you want to look at your ads.
  2. Cost Effective : Many types of online marketing are free (Facebook, YouTube, Twitter), and many are Pay-Per-Click (PPC); you don’t pay unless someone clicks on your ad and visits your site. You’ve already won half the battle!
  3. Immediate Accountability : Online marketing is easier to plan, implement and measure. It is almost priceless to be able to directly measure which ads are attracting your customers.
  4. Faster Results : The moment you decide to use online marketing, you can implement it and start attracting more traffic to your website, product and/or service.

Gone are the days of big bucks for little return in the marketing world. Online marketing can offer so much more to businesses with a really profitable payback. In our current economy, bang-for-your-buck is where it’s at.

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