Do you have a business Idea?

Are you looking to launch a business or just having trouble figuring out your target market? Having an idea about who your target market is and also understanding that you may not gain success with just those customers can help you to reshape your focus.

 

Use this article as a springboard, to obtain pointers on how to identify your potential target market as well as visit your local SBDC for assistance. Give us a call or stop by to talk to one of our consultants.

 

We are here to help.

Apps for Entrepreneurs

Do you have a smart phone and are always wondering what apps you should get? With the use of a smartphone, technology has made it easier to be more and more productive while on the go.

Here's a list of 10 mobile apps that can help you save time and get things done when you are out of the office.

Slow and steady wins the race

We really are beginning to see signs of improvement in job creation, even though not at the rates that would make everyone happy. But information like this gives us good reason to feel that we're on the right track and that when it all resolves, we will have been stronger than ever for having fought the odds with quiet resolve.


Click here to read this article and to see which are the top 5 cities with higher job creation.    

What If I Get A Bad Review on Social Media?

Most small business owners go out of their way to serve their customers and have happy, loyal customers as a result.  But there are some people who'll never be happy regardless of what you to do to accommodate their needs.  Appeasing them can be a chore.  We all know that word-of-mouth helps our businesses grow, so it also follows that bad word-of-mouth spreading quickly through social media can have a very negative effect.

For this reason, several of our clients have been hesitant to get involved with social media or even have a blog lest they become the target of a disgruntled, difficult customer.  Having seen how some people can blast a business mercilessly, even when not warranted, they aren't sure they're up for the hassle.  Well, that's really not the best way to handle that issue.  After all, following that logic, you might never unlock the front door of store in the morning for fear of  someone coming in who'll go out and spread unwarranted negative remarks about you or your store. Assuming you know that you've done everything you can to insure customer satisfaction, there's really nothing you can do to someone who just refuses to be satisfied.

That being said, just go forward and develop your social media presence ... create and keep your blog updated with all the news about sales dates, new products, interesting relevant information, etc.  Participate in this amazing means of being found and joining in . . . and reap the benefit of having new people discover your business and become your customers/clients.  Do your best for your customers.  Stand by your products, treat customers well, treat them fairly, and smile sincerely when waiting on them (even over the telephone -- you CAN hear a person smile) ..... it's hard to be angry with someone who's smiling while trying to resolve a problem. Most people will respond in kind. 

In the event a cantankerous customer decides to grill you over the flames of your own blog or Facebook page, be calm.  You'll have other good customers who'll come to your defense if you're truly serving your clientele well.  And there are ways to let the rest of the world see how well you DO treat people, who maybe don't even deserve it.  I could sit down here and go over all the many ways to handle a social media heckler, but I don't have to .... our friends at the SBA posted an article that I think says it very well.  Click here to learn 7 Tips for Dealing with Criticism of Your Business 



Marketing tips..We can help.

Visit our marketing helps page on our website to get some basic and timeless marketing tips, and also watch a video on marketing a service business vs a product-based business.

Click here to go directly to our website.

Are you a manager? Do your employees trust you?

An effective manager is one who gains the respect of others through performance and by building relationships among their employees based on credibility, trust and respect. However, this is not an easy task to achieve. Learn 5 things that effective managers do to earn thrust quickly. Click here to read this interesting article.

For Women Entrepreneurs...Take a look.

Women Entrepreneurs need to recognize the value of their time. “You can have it all as long as you don’t do it all”. This is a great video to help the woman-owned business to continue their development and surpass their own limitations.