Business Marketing 101 – Sell The Sizzle Not The Steak!
or in other words “Your Customers Don’t Care!” If you have been around anyone vaguely interested in marketing, you have probably heard the saying “Sell the Sizzle NOT the Steak”. Another form of this expression is “Sell the Benefits NOT the Features”. Or perhaps you have heard it put like this, “Sell People What They…
The Power of a Small Business
According to the Quarterly Census of Employment & Wages at the beginning of 2011, in Missouri (where I live) small businesses that have less than 50 employees, makes up 94% of all businesses in the state. I suspect that those numbers are similar throughout the nation although I have not verified that. In any case,…
Do You Really Need a Business Plan?
Starting a simple small business is very much like a roller-coaster ride. It has many ups and downs, twists and turns and sometimes heart pounding excitement. It is definitely thrilling and scary at the same time. In the midst of hundreds of things to do for a new start-up, one can get lost in unnecessary…
Understanding The Difference Between Profit Margin and Markup
Many people have a problem with accountants’ jargon and often get confused between the terms “profit margin” and “markup” which are often bandied about freely or used interchangeably. Although these two terms are used to express different things, they are also, in fact, two different ways of analyzing the cost and profit of a product…
Writing A Simple One Page Business Plan For Startup Success
Starting a small business can be one of the most rewarding and fulfilling things that you ever do, or it can turn into a huge nightmare if you let it. You greatly increase your chances of success by having a simple one page business plan created as your starting point. There is an old saying…
3 of the 20 MUST Know Laws to Building a Successful Small Business
1. Find a Need & Fill It! (Blah, Blah, Blah!)You have heard this a million times before, but it is the core, the root, the foundation of any business. Business is about serving people’s needs. The more people you help, the greater you are rewarded. It is not about doing what you love. Although if…
Small Businesses and Customer Relations
I have been told that I am an overly sensitive and emotional person. This is a trait in which I fully believe I inherited from my grandmother. In some cases it has been a hindrance, especially when it comes to running a simple small business. I am a people-pleaser and my feelings can be hurt…
Want to Know One of the Biggest Business Success Secrets? – Systems!
I own and have owned many businesses in my life. Some were failures, but many were successes. After thirty years of diligently practicing this game we call business, patterns begin to emerge. When looking back, it is easy to see what I did right and what things I did that were downright stupid. I can…
Are You a Business Owner on a Tread Mill?
Running to catch up, but never quite getting there. As small business owners, we all know what it is like to lie in bed at night or get up early in the morning to add to our list of all the projects that we want or feel we need to accomplish that day. If you…
Can Your Business Survive the Economic Slump & High Gas Prices?
For a Clue as to How to Weather the Storm, Look at Those Who Have Almost every business feels it when the economy takes a down turn and we all hear the little voice that says, “what if ?” But taking a cue from those companies that have sailed through the Tsunamis, not just once…
