Create Small Business Success

Whether you have been in business for ten years or one year, I’m pretty sure at some point or another you have been faced with this exact question. “What’s one more hat?” I’m already doing this, that and the other… I can do this one other thing too! And so your list of things to do keeps growing, yet your hours in the day doesn’t.

You take a look back at your busy day and you stop to ponder and wonder “Can anyone do this job as good as me?” And by this job I mean; answering the phones, bookkeeping, scheduling, working in the field, sales, marketing, accounts payable, accounts receivable,  networking, training new hires, customer correspondence etc…. you get the idea! Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve come to understand that one of the most important things we, as business owners, can do is maintain our current customer base. Every time I come across an exceptionally successful business person I take the time to ask them what their “Key” to success is. I want to know what they continue to do on a regular basis to stay on TOP of their game. Almost every time they say something like; “Jason, if you take care of the clients, the money comes on its own.”

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Sadly, I realize that so many people miss that business lesson in a big way. So often I see and hear about companies taking their current customers for granted and later missing out on repeat business and referrals. Read the rest of this entry »

How many times have you heard a prospect utter those dreaded words “Can you give me a better deal? The other quote I had was cheaper”. Or how about the “What’s your lowest price?” line, that always puts a smile on my face! Or not!

Don't be the low price guy!

In the last few years I guarantee you’ve heard it more times than you care to count or remember. Am I right? Now a day’s everyone is trying to save a buck and cut corners, understandably so, but this can’t be good for everyone’s business. Read the rest of this entry »

It all starts out with good intentions and the desire to not only survive but succeed. In today’s challenging economy many of us do it. We lose sight of our specialty in an effort to please everyone in every way possible. Sometimes, without really realizing what we’re doing, we slowly start adding to our list of services and what we don’t already know how to do we simply learn as we go.

You know who you are… The “I CAN DO IT ALL” company that does just about everything! What we don’t realize is that we end up overwhelmed and overworked because we’re cutting corners. Read the rest of this entry »

Is your marketing campaign failing you these days? Do you feel like you just aren’t getting the response that you’re looking for? Do you feel like something is missing? Are you out of ideas and not sure what to try next?

If you answered yes to any of the above then this blog’s for you!

Did you know that every business has a pain point? If you just answered NO then you might not be tapping into yours. Read the rest of this entry »

Google Maps is a great way to find local businesses and get driving directions to where you want to go. Google Maps is also a great way for your company to get new local business since millions of people search Google Maps every day! If you have a business that caters to local customers in your city, a free listing on Google Maps makes it easy for them to find you.

Whether you’re a large company or a small “Mom and Pop Shop” start thinking locally because that’s where your customers are. If you’re not promoting your business on Google Maps (and Yahoo! Local), now is the time. Read the rest of this entry »

Back in 1984 I had a small business selling golf balls in Longwood Florida. What I would do is go out at night to the golf course with nothing more than a bathing suit and a snorkel. I carried with me only the ambition to rid the lake of any and all golf golf balls and the desire to make a few bucks in the process. This was a great job if you could overlook the occasional water moccasin and the friendly Florida alligator. Ohhh to be 14 again!

Nowadays you couldn’t pay me to swim in those lakes. But what I did back then was take all the golf balls I could find, clean them up, sort them, and put them into egg cartons. I would then sell them for $5.00 per dozen to the passing golfers. Not a bad gig considering I was my own boss at such an early age.

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As business owners we often find ourselves wearing many hats during our daily routine. We might spend some time dealing with a disgruntled employee or discussing our latest accounts receivables with the bookkeeper. Sometimes it’s going over our spending budget or planning next quarter’s sales goals, whatever the case may be we certainly have our hands full.

I know that you at times, much like me, feel overwhelmed and don’t need another thing added to your ever growing “To Do” list. However, I recently learned that I was overlooking a very important part of my business – The Follow Up Phone Call. Read the rest of this entry »

Have you ever had one of “those days”? You know, those dreaded awful days that seem to creep up on you when you least expect them. I’m talking about that day you woke up to a flat tire and didn’t have a spare. How about the day you spilled coffee on your new shirt right as you were walking out the door? how about the day when you decided to be nice and let someone merge into traffic and not only do they not give you the courteous wave back but the person behind them decides to cut you off and sneak in right behind them.

So how can we counter act some of this negative stuff that seems to randomly rain on us in our daily life? Read the rest of this entry »

I don’t know about you, but in the last few years my inbox has been inundated with unwanted and impersonal e-mails that somehow miss my spam box. Sometimes it feels like I spend hours just clicking the delete button instead of working on something productive. Most of these emails lack creativity and excitement as they make an effort to invite me to buy this or try that, others explaining why they’re the best… you name it, my inbox has seen it.

If you have ever done any form of mass mailing e-mail marketing then you most likely already know that the hardest thing to accomplish is to get the recipient to actually open the e-mail, right? Read the rest of this entry »