Get Past Procrastination and Into Client Attraction: My 5 Steps to Getting Things Done
Have you ever looked at your to-do list and just wanted to run away? Sometimes, procrastination gets the best of us self-employed people. It seems that everything is priority and we tend to put some things on the back burner. The thing is, if the items on your to-do list have to do with marketing and Client Attraction, then you don’t want to ignore them (if you do, you may not have clients in 6 months).
Procrastination creeps its ugly head in my business every now and then. Personally, I think it’s more overwhelm than procrastination and the list can be so overwhelming that I tend to go in avoidance/denial mode, preferring to just not deal with it. (Has that ever happened to you too?)
How To Cut Expenses And Manage Your Business
If you own a small business, you should know that often times it can be the little things, rather than the large expenses, that can eat away at your budget. But many times, small business owners will try and increase their profits by looking around at what larger expenses they can cut.
If you are looking to save some cash in your business, why not pay attention to our “small time” cost cutter ideas. You’ll find that if you add them up, they may just save you more than a penny!
Do’s and Don’ts of Launching a Small Business Website
Launching a small business website can seem like an enormous task ,although it does require some research, if done right it might be just the marketing tool your business needs. The road to a website is filled with website designers, website developers and graphic designers. This in itself is very confusing. A website designer is someone who produces the design. A website developer is someone who creates more of the program side to your websites rather than the actual design. Nowadays most website designers are also developers. A graphic designer is the person who makes the images at the top of web pages, the buttons, and menus on a website. The whole process should not be so difficult and full of surprises. Therefore the 6 Do’s and Don’ts should be a great start to help you launch your small business website.
Don’t concentrate on images and how pretty your site will be. Remember that your sites’ purpose is to answer your customers questions and inform your customers of what you have to offer, such as services and products. Don’t use too many images because if your site is so “new age” a lot of people will not be able to navigate and find their way around it therefore they will get frustrated and not stay on your site and that would defeat the sites purpose.
Are You Making These Mistakes In Your Business?
You’ve probably heard the statistic that 95% of small businesses fail in the first five years. That’s not a very encouraging number! Although being part of the 5% that succeed is not easy, it’s definitely possible. What it takes is a lot of common sense, some marketing and sales skills and the ability to learn from the mistakes of others.
To get you started on the road to success, here are three of the biggest mistakes small businesses make and some tips to help you avoid them:
Choosing a Truck Wash Location in Nevada, Case Study
There are several well-known truck washes in the Great State of Nevada. Truckers need to get their truck washes as they travel West into California after coming off the mountains thru the weather, which dirties their trucks. There are two truck washes in Reno and two in Las Vegas, another strategically placed in Fernley to catch traffic coming from Las Vegas to Reno and on I-80 before the traffic. When picking locations from truck washes you must consider many factors and look for well-traveled crossroads, which are heavy on the truck traffic.
The other day I got a call from a gentleman wishing to put in a truck was in Northern NV. Where would you put a truck wash? Well it would need to be on I-80 for sure but there are only a few areas, which have labor supply. So which city? There is Winnamucca which has a highway going North into Boise Area and thru the desert to post Cascade OR. Then there is also Battle Creek nicknamed the armpit of the world. And there is Windover at the border after the Great Salt Lake. How about Elko, strong population base, labor and even its own market, well they are all good for truck wash and I-80 thru Northern Nevada is highly traveled. If you have been to Windover and the Bonneville Salt Flats you will see that would not be a bad choice at all and I actually made a comment that it would be a good place for a wash indeed.
Your Business Will Benefit from a SWOT Analysis
You don’t have to be running a multinational company to benefit from a SWOT analysis. No matter what size your enterprise, you will take a benefit from running a quick SWOT check.
For those who don’t know, a SWOT analysis covers your STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, OPPORTUNITIES, and THREATS.
If You Want Business - Be Consistent
Why does consistency in the message have
an effect on how the business relationship is formed?
Your message to others needs to be consistent. You need to define your expertise and develop your elevator pitch. Do not go to events and change what you do just because the person you are talking to needs something just outside your sandbox. Remember that they are at a networking meeting as well. If you tell one person something and another person something else, they may talk about you and then wonder what you really do. This is not the picture you want painted of yourself. You are the one that needs to focus; define what you do and keep that message consistent. Even as you develop your pitch, you must try to avoid generalizations. If I say “I am a Management Consultant”, people will not think me an expert in anything, as my title says I am a generalist with no specific focus.
Politics, Environmental Rules, and Mobile Car Washes
During the California Recall Election, I was very interested. Without getting into the political scene at all; my entire company, The Car Wash Guys, and all our staff and franchisees were closely watching The California Recall and Election. Why you say? Why would a National Car Wash Franchising Company care much? Well we have some friends of past days who were very much involved there. See some of these articles and find out how we were assisted in our early company years by Mr. Tom McClintock (Rep) of California who was running a very close third in the election with the fastest moving up numbers in the polls. We all wondered would it be The Terminator just like in the movies? Arnold Schwarznegger, who promises to terminate bureaucracy or will it be Mr. Tom McClintock? We did not believe that California will choose more of the same regime or elect Mr. Bustamonte. Tom McClintock’s assistance to our company when we were the smallest of small businesses helped us from bureaucracy and un-ethical competition. To this day he continues his ideals and does not waiver on issues.
On March 6, 1991, Tom McClintock wrote a letter to the Regional Water Quality Control Board in CA to help save the Car Wash Guys when a group competing car washes which had complained about our company to a local city government and tried to put us out of business. We were better than them and the customers were showing their support as they voted with their dollars. One of the members of the local competing Car Wash Groups was also on the board of directors of the International Car Wash Association. Even back then we were tough in the market place, as the customers loved us and the competition hated us. Thus we were caught up in the system and learned a whole lot about politics.
Start Your Own Phone Answering Service
A phone answering service business is probably one of the easiest service businesses that you can start. It does not involve a lot of risk, has a low start-up cost and does not require any special expertise. What is really needed is a pleasant voice, good telephone manners, tactful answering strategies and of course, a passion to mind your own business.
Estimated start-up costs and financing sources:
The start-up costs for this business are relatively low. All you need when you first start out is a phone and a phone line for each of your clients. This will probably cost you around $200 per phone line with phone rentals of less than $50 a month. Even if you prefer to purchase your own physical phone, each of them will cost less than a $100, which is fairly cheap to start a business with. You can also name each phone with the name of the company that you are representing.
Small Business Opportunity
Nowadays, it is getting more difficult to land a good job — one that pays well and will allow you to bring home a reasonable amount even after tax deductions. This is one of the main reasons why people would rather put up their own business rather than have to go to work for a company.
There are several businesses one could venture into that do not require much capital and investment. These small businesses include setting up a repair shop for cars or appliances, a franchise for burger stands, a day care center, tutorial center, a computer shop, pet grooming salon and a retail store. The list goes on.