SB Entrepreneur

Employee Training: 3 Helpful Hints for Small Businesses When you're running a small business, your approach to employee training may end up being "learn as you go." It's tough to break away from the day-to-day operations and make the time to properly train and acclimate a new staff member to your company, but without this guidance, your employees might get lost in the shuffle. . "In small companies, it's really important for employees to know [what they're doing]," said Robin... Jarvis, principal of HR solutions provider R.L. Jarvis & Associates. "If you want to keep your new hires, you have to make them feel the way you feel about your company. [Training] is more than basic blocking and tackling. It's also explaining what the company is doing and why you want them to be a part of it." . Even if you don't have a formal employee training program, you should still have some procedures in place to help new staff members feel welcome and get the most out of their time at your company. Hiring experts and business executives shared some advice for small business owners on training your employees well from their very first day on the job. . Utilize your current employees . When you have just three or four employees, it's not that hard to be involved in each staff member's training. But once your business begins to grow, you may find that you no longer have the time to supervise new hires directly in addition to managing the company. While you should spend some time getting to know your staff, don't be afraid to delegate some of the smaller training elements to trusted existing employees.... #digitalmarketing #seo #entrepreneurship #smallbusiness #socialmediamarketing #santabarbara #marketingdigital #businessplan #searchenginemarketing #socialmedia #marketingstrategy #businesswoman #businessowner #onlinemarketing #influencemarketing #entrepreneur #entrepreneurlife #internetmarketing #businessgrowth #smallbusinessowner #facebookads #inboundmarketing #businesscoach #businessman #businessconsultant #entrepreneurmindset #entrepreurship #marketing #business #blogging

5 Tips for Creating a Great Business Marketing Plan Smart small business owners know the importance of a business plan, which outlines your company's course for success. One critical portion of that plan is your marketing strategy. . Because this strategy is buried in the larger business plan, you may not give marketing the attention it deserves. However, an in-depth layout of your marketing strategy can reveal opportunities from a new audience or potential product line, pi...tfalls in pricing, competition reaction, and potential reach. After all, you don't want to miss out on the profits you could be making with an effective marketing plan. . A marketing plan describes who your customers are, where they get information and how you expect to reach them. Here are a few important things to keep in mind as you create your plan. 1. Know your niche. . Before you can write a marketing plan, you need to find and understand your niche the specific demographic you're targeting, said online business and marketing strategist Amber Dee. For example, if your business sells 30-minute meals, then those who work traditional 9-to-5 jobs are likely in your market. Study that group of individuals to understand their struggles and learn how your business can solve the problem, Dee said. Research your target market by asking those within it. . 2. Develop clear insight into why a potential customer would use your business. . Figure out the core need that your product or service will meet, said Robert J. Thomas, a marketing professor at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. Is it to help your customers get through the day more.... #digitalmarketing #seo #entrepreneurship #smallbusiness #socialmediamarketing #santabarbara #marketingdigital #businessplan #searchenginemarketing #socialmedia #marketingstrategy #businesswoman #businessowner #onlinemarketing #influencemarketing #entrepreneur #entrepreneurlife #internetmarketing #businessgrowth #smallbusinessowner #facebookads #inboundmarketing #businesscoach #businessman #businessconsultant #entrepreneurmindset #entrepreurship #marketing #business #blogging

Income, Defines Success for Millennial Entrepreneurs Young business owners don't define success by how much money they make. Instead, 79 percent of millennial small business owners measure the success of their business on whether they have a flexible work environment and a healthy balance between their personal and professional worlds, found a study from Xero. . Additionally, 67 percent of those surveyed said being able to maintain a schedule that allows them to travel and pu...rsue personal interests is the second most important benchmark of a successful business. . Being in charge of their careers is why most young entrepreneurs wanted to become business owners. More than half of millennials surveyed said being their own boss was one of the biggest motivators for starting their own business. . "During the financial crisis, it quickly became clear that even the most dedicated of employees could be disposed of, and this has carried over into the way millennials view the corporate world today," the study's authors wrote. "Rather than working at a job for 20 or more years doing something they have no real passion for, more millennials are choosing to take the road less traveled." . Overall, many young business owners are upbeat about their prospects for the future. The study found that nearly half of those surveyed are cautiously optimistic about their company's growth. . There are several factors fueling their optimism. Nearly 60 percent of the millennial small business owners surveyed have a loyal customer base and 57 percent report increased revenue. In addition, 31 percent said their profits are on the rise. #digitalmarketing #seo #entrepreneurship #smallbusiness #socialmediamarketing #santabarbara #marketingdigital #businessplan #searchenginemarketing #socialmedia #marketingstrategy #businesswoman #businessowner #onlinemarketing #influencemarketing #entrepreneur #entrepreneurlife #internetmarketing #businessgrowth #smallbusinessowner #facebookads #inboundmarketing #businesscoach #businessman #businessconsultant #entrepreneurmindset #entrepreurship #marketing #business #blogging

Three C's of Driving Sales: Connect, Convince, Collaborate No matter how well you market your products or services, or how much attention your brand receives, you won't reap the benefits if you aren't generating sales. You might persuade consumers to check out your products or services, but how are you locking in the deal? Are they following through with transactions, or are your items just sitting in their cart for weeks on end? . In sales, there is a big difference between ...finishing first and second. First-place finishers make the sale and pocket the money, while second-place finishers leave empty-handed. . To understand the characteristics that distinguish sales winners from the rest of the pack, Mike Schultz and John Doerr, of the sales training and consulting firm RAIN Group, studied more than 700 business-to-business purchases made by buyers responsible for $3.1 billion in purchasing power for their recently published book, "Insight Selling: Surprising Research on What Sales Winners Do Differently" (Wiley, 2014). . "What we learned from these buyers is that winners sell radically differently than second-place finishers," Schultz told Business News Daily. "We also found that winners exhibit a specific combination of behaviors to achieve better outcomes than other sellers." . Schultz, co-president of the RAIN Group and sales expert, said in their research they discovered that the way winners sell can be characterized by specific behaviors at three different levels. The authors outlined each level and explained how sales professionals can incorporate these behaviors into their current strategies. . Level 1: Connect . According to Schultz and Doerr, winners connect the dots... #digitalmarketing #seo #entrepreneurship #smallbusiness #socialmediamarketing #santabarbara #marketingdigital #businessplan #searchenginemarketing #socialmedia #marketingstrategy #businesswoman #businessowner #onlinemarketing #influencemarketing #entrepreneur #entrepreneurlife #internetmarketing #businessgrowth #smallbusinessowner #facebookads #inboundmarketing #businesscoach #businessman #businessconsultant #entrepreneurmindset #entrepreurship #marketing #business #blogging

4 Crucial Twitter Marketing Tactics To Drive Engagement All small businesses should have some sort of social media presence. The key is deciding what social media platforms are right for your business, and how to use the platforms to best market your products and services. . While Twitter isn't the best social media platform for all businesses, for those that use it, it can be a powerful marketing and customer service tool. Business News Daily talked to small business owners... and social media experts about how small businesses can market their brands on Twitter. Here are four tips. . 1. Use Twitter lists. . Twitter moves fast, and it's easy to get lost in a sea of tweets. Twitter lists can help you cut through the chatter and ensure you see the tweets from people you want. You can create lists and isolate groups of people based on things such as industry or relationship. . "By gathering users together, you can filter tweets based on your current business task," said John Matyasovsky, digital marketing specialist at Add Positions. "If your goal for the week is to reach out to more influencers, you can either create a list of influencers whom you'd like to target or subscribe to an existing one." . The key to a successful Twitter strategy is engagement and quick conversations. You can't engage with users if you don't see their content. Twitter lists make it easier to see the content you want to interact with. . Jason Myers, senior account executive at The Content Factory, recommends using Twitter lists to engage and build relationships with journalists. . "Most journalists are active on Twitter, and many regularly use it to find sources to quote in their articles," he said.. #digitalmarketing #seo #entrepreneurship #smallbusiness #socialmediamarketing #santabarbara #marketingdigital #businessplan #searchenginemarketing #socialmedia #marketingstrategy #businesswoman #businessowner #onlinemarketing #influencemarketing #entrepreneur #entrepreneurlife #internetmarketing #businessgrowth #smallbusinessowner #facebookads #inboundmarketing #businesscoach #businessman #businessconsultant #entrepreneurmindset #entrepreurship #marketing #business #blogging

Social Media Marketing For Your Small Business Your small business needs to be on social media. If you aren’t, you’re missing out on cheap and effective marketing tools. With almost 70 percent of Americans on social media, your social media campaigns can reach a lot of people. . "Social media provides targeting capability, as well as reach and scale, at a lower cost than almost all other marketing channels," said Abdul Muhammad, chief digital officer and partner at rbb Commu...nications, said in a previous Business News Daily interview. "People are on social media all day, every day brands must go where the people are." . However, not every social media platform is a good fit for every business. You should invest your time and skills in the platforms where you're most likely to reach and engage with your target audience. . To pick the best social media network for your business, learn about the top channels and how to use them for business. Here are the basics you should know about the most popular social media platforms... #digitalmarketing #seo #entrepreneurship #smallbusiness #socialmediamarketing #santabarbara #marketingdigital #businessplan #searchenginemarketing #socialmedia #marketingstrategy #businesswoman #businessowner #onlinemarketing #localsearch #entrepreneur #entrepreneurlife #entrepreneurquotes #businessgrowth #smallbusinessowner #facebookads #adwords #businesscoach #businessman #businessconsultant #entrepreneurmindset #entrepreurship #marketing #business #blogging

3 Genius Ideas To Reach New Customers in Different Markets When you go into business, you have a particular audience in mind to market your products or services to. However, your initial target market might shift as your business evolves and that's OK. . For instance, many female fashion brands now offer clothing for men, and food joints now offer vegan or gluten-free options. You too can expand your business and reach new consumers in other markets with the right marketing... strategy. Here's how to do it. . 1. Research your market. . Before you get started, you'll want to understand the ins and outs of the market you're entering. There are two groups you should focus on when conducting your research: consumers and your competition. . Consumers . Consumers are the precise demographic you serve or plan to serve. In other words, they're the people you want to please. If you don't know your potential customers, you won't be able to recruit or retain them. . "Since you're going after new customers in a different market, you want to be sure that you've done thorough research on your target audience and the market before you develop your marketing campaigns," said Courtenay Worcester, director of marketing at GetResponse. "To do this, invest the time to really understand the market and buyer behavior specific to [that market]." . From there, you can develop new marketing strategies that are highly personalized and customized to the needs of that new audience, added Worcester. . "Armed with the knowledge of how that audience thinks, feels and behaves when it comes to making purchasing decisions, you can develop tailored marketing campaigns that attract and convert them," she said. . Some of this... #digitalmarketing #seo #entrepreneurship #smallbusiness #socialmediamarketing #santabarbara #marketingdigital #businessplan #searchenginemarketing #socialmedia #marketingstrategy #businesswoman #businessowner #onlinemarketing #localsearch #entrepreneur #entrepreneurlife #entrepreneurquotes #businessgrowth #smallbusinessowner #facebookads #adwords #businesscoach #businessman #businessconsultant #entrepreneurmindset #entrepreurship #marketing #business #blogging

What Makes Entrepreneurs So Different From Everyone Else? Most simply defined, an entrepreneur is a person who identifies a need and starts a business to fill that void. But this basic definition provides little insight into the specific character traits and attributes that make a person thrive as an entrepreneur. . Before quitting your day job to pursue that idea that's been brewing in the back of your mind, consider if you have the necessary constitution to make it as an en...trepreneur. Here's what 20 company founders and business leaders told Business News Daily about what they think makes a truly successful entrepreneur. . 1. "Entrepreneurship is at the core of the American dream. It's about blazing new trails, about believing in yourself, your mission and inspiring others to join you in the journey. What sets [entrepreneurs] apart is the will, courage and sometimes recklessness to actually do it." Derek Hutson, CEO of Datical . 2. "Entrepreneurship is the persistent progression towards an innovative solution to a key problem. It's theconstant hunger for making things better and the idea that you are never satisfied with how things are." Debbie Roxarzade, founder and CEO of Rachel's Kitchen . 3. "At its core, [entrepreneurship] is a mindset a way of thinking and acting. It is about imagining new ways to solve problems and create value. Fundamentally, entrepreneurship is about ... the ability to recognize [and] methodically analyze [an] opportunity, and ultimately, to capture [its] value." Bruce Bachenheimer, clinical professor of management and executive director of theEntrepreneurship Lab at Pace University... #digitalmarketing #seo #entrepreneurship #smallbusiness #socialmediamarketing #santabarbara #marketingdigital #businessplan #searchenginemarketing #socialmedia #marketingstrategy #businesswoman #businessowner #onlinemarketing #localsearch #entrepreneur #entrepreneurlife #businessgrowth #smallbusinessowner #smm #businesscoach #businessman #businessconsultant #entrepreneurmindset #entrepreurship #marketing #business #blogging #followback #smm See more

10 Technologies Entrepreneurs Can't Live Without What technologies can't you live without, and what tech do you need to be an entrepreneur? We talked to 10 entrepreneurs to find out what tools they rely on to run their businesses from day to day. . Slack... . "It's a much more efficient way to communicate within the organization than email. No complicated threads or long back-and-forths. Slack makes it quick and easy. It makes business communications as easy as personal communications. [It has] a lot of powerful community tools to help organize the discussions and ideas." Sydney Liu, co-founder and CEO of Commaful . G Suite . "Our company couldn't live without Google's G Suite. The tools provided in the suite allow our team members to easily share documents with one another and work on projects together, even from halfway across the world. Google Hangouts allows us to manage face-to-face communications with one another, just as productively as if we were in the office together. We can even put together presentations in the G Suite and screen-share them during conference calls with our clients. We've managed without G Suite in the past, but we certainly will never make that mistake again." Matt Collins, financial educator and owner of Loans Now . Trello . "When you're a freelancer, there's always a bunch of moving parts. My favorite app to use for keeping track of my to-dos and client work is Trello. It's like a digital whiteboard. I can easily reorganize things and, most importantly, I can see a calendar of my due dates. Since I started using Trello, nothing gets lost or forgotten." Shauna Armitage, freelance writer, founder and chief marketing strategist of... #digitalmarketing #seo #entrepreneurship #smallbusiness #socialmediamarketing #santabarbara #marketingdigital #businessplan #searchenginemarketing #socialmedia #marketingstrategy #businesswoman #businessowner #onlinemarketing #influencemarketing #entrepreneur #entrepreneurlife #internetmarketing #businessgrowth #smallbusinessowner #facebookads #inboundmarketing #businesscoach #businessman #businessconsultant #entrepreneurmindset #entrepreurship #marketing #business #blogging See more

4 Millennial Myths You Shouldn't Buy Into . Millennials, the misunderstood teens and young adults of yesterday, are growing up and establishing themselves in the working world. According to Pew Research Center, millennials currently make up the largest generational group in the workforce, so it's no surprise managers are working hard to understand this significant portion of their teams. . Millennial workplace expert Lindsey Pollak told us that millennials are questioning al...most everything about work. They often want the same things as most working professionals, like flexible schedules, better managers and career mobility but they're more willing than older generations to leave a job if they're not getting those things. . Because of this prevailing attitude, some employers may still believe a few persistent negative stereotypes about millennials: . They are entitled and narcissistic. Millennials have a reputation for expecting the world without working hard to get it, said Charu Sharma, founder of Go Against the Flow, a movement to inspire women to be entrepreneurs. . "I think it stems from a few sources," Sharma said. "We grew up with the internet, in a time when people are more connected than the human race has ever been. We've traveled more than previous generations. From our perspective, our reach-for-the-stars ambition is more resourceful than entitled, but it's not always interpreted that way." . They'd rather text you. Millennials do love their smartphones and are extremely well-versed in many different forms of digital communication. However, in a survey of millennials by Bentley University in Massachusetts, more than half... #digitalmarketing #seo #entrepreneurship #smallbusiness #socialmediamarketing #santabarbara #marketingdigital #businessplan #searchenginemarketing #socialmedia #marketingstrategy #businesswoman #businessowner #onlinemarketing #influencemarketing #entrepreneur #entrepreneurlife #internetmarketing #businessgrowth #smallbusinessowner #facebookads #inboundmarketing #businesscoach #businessman #businessconsultant #entrepreneurmindset #entrepreurship #marketing #business #blogging See more

Family and Friends Are Critical For Entrepreneurial Success Small business owners need a lot of support to succeed, whether it's financial, operational or emotional. One of the most important sources of that support for many entrepreneurs is their network of friends and family members. . Bank of America's Small Business Owner Report, based on a semiannual survey of 1,000 small business owners across the country, found that more than half (53 percent) of the respondents rely o...n family to serve important business roles, like advisers, employees, investors and partners. Additionally, 38 percent of the entrepreneurs surveyed have received a financial gift or loan from family and/or friends at some point to fund their business, and 35 percent said that friends and family help them the most with running their business. . "We know small business owners are inherent self-starters making significant personal sacrifices on behalf of their businesses, but what's fascinating is this dimension of family, friends and community that they see as core to their success," Sharon Miller, head of small business at Bank of America, said in a statement. . According to the report, here's how small business owners view the support they receive from their personal connections. . Most small business owners who borrow from family or friends feel grateful. Sixty-six percent of entrepreneurs who used funding from family and/or friends to help with their business said that they feel grateful for that support or appreciate it. Respondents reported other emotions related to borrowing from friends and family, including anxiety or pressure to pay it back... #digitalmarketing #seo #entrepreneurship #smallbusiness #socialmediamarketing #santabarbara #marketingdigital #businessplan #searchenginemarketing #socialmedia #marketingstrategy #businesswoman #businessowner #onlinemarketing #influencemarketing #entrepreneur #entrepreneurlife #internetmarketing #businessgrowth #smallbusinessowner #facebookads #inboundmarketing #businesscoach #businessman #businessconsultant #entrepreneurmindset #entrepreurship #marketing #business #blogging

5 Surefire Ideas To Create a Great Marketing Plan Smart small business owners know the importance of a business plan, which outlines your company's course for success. One critical portion of that plan is your marketing strategy. . Because this strategy is buried in the larger business plan, you may not give marketing the attention it deserves. However, an in-depth layout of your marketing strategy can reveal opportunities from a new audience or potential product line, pitfa...lls in pricing, competition reaction, and potential reach. After all, you don't want to miss out on the profits you could be making with an effective marketing plan. . A marketing plan describes who your customers are, where they get information and how you expect to reach them. Here are a few important things to keep in mind as you create your plan. 1. Know your niche. . Before you can write a marketing plan, you need to find and understand your niche the specific demographic you're targeting, said online business and marketing strategist Amber Dee. For example, if your business sells 30-minute meals, then those who work traditional 9-to-5 jobs are likely in your market. Study that group of individuals to understand their struggles and learn how your business can solve the problem, Dee said. Research your target market by asking those within it. . 2. Develop clear insight into why a potential customer would use your business. . Figure out the core need that your product or service will meet, said Robert J. Thomas, a marketing professor at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. Is it to help your customers get through the day more.... #digitalmarketing #seo #entrepreneurship #smallbusiness #socialmediamarketing #santabarbara #marketingdigital #businessplan #searchenginemarketing #socialmedia #marketingstrategy #businesswoman #businessowner #onlinemarketing #influencemarketing #entrepreneur #entrepreneurlife #internetmarketing #businessgrowth #smallbusinessowner #facebookads #inboundmarketing #businesscoach #businessman #businessconsultant #entrepreneurmindset #entrepreurship #marketing #business #blogging