small business, Self improvement, working at home, mental health, cooking, hobbies, gardening, wellness, health, fitness, motherhood and raising families

DID YOU EVEN KNOW THERE ARE DIFFERENT TYPES OF ADVERTISING?

Most small businesses have tight marketing budget and need to get a quick and immediate response to their advertising.

For this reason small business marketing has to be well thought out and planned so that you  do not waste your advertising dollars. 

You need to:

• tell the customer who you are
• where you are
• what you sell (your USP)
• the product that you have on sale, the benefit of owning the product, how long for (limit the sale time) and the price – in that order

For example:

"Bonny Togs will help your baby grow without the restriction of tight clothing, will expand as they learn to crawl around, and protect their sensitive skin from carpet rash.  Our new range has hit the stores right now and for the week 20 – 27 March we are specialling them at: Buy One, get the second one at 1/2 price!  That's right!  Just one week only, so don't miss out!  Visit us at 15 Baby Street, Bloomingtown before the 27th March."

 Keep your advertising short, customer orientated, and make sure you have a call to action.

 Most advertising these days where a product is being specialled has a limited time factor.  Otherwise people just get used to the discount and don't rush to purchase.

FINANCING A NEW SMALL BUSINESS CAN BE A BIT OF A TASK

There is no doubt that borrowing money has been easier in the past.  Banks have got much more severe with their lending policies and more than ever before you need to be totally prepared to go and ask a bank for some money for a small business.

Having a business plan prepared, backed up with a marketing plan is a must if you are expecting a bank to take you  seriously when asking for money for a small business.

Not only that, it will be great for you too because by going through the process of setting up a business plan you will understand your business a whole lot better and this will help you as you set up your business and run it in the first few months.  In saying that, a business plan should always be kept up to date and every six months or so it is a good idea to work on it and bring it up to date.  Information changes all the time and you don't want to be caught out working with outdated information.

Bank managers need to be assured that you know what you are doing and that you understand the whole concept of any business that you are contemplating starting. 

Whether it is a home based business or a business in leased premises, you need to have all your data listed.

IF YOU ARE A PERSON OF MANY TALENTS YOU MAY HAVE TO TRY SEVERAL SMALL BUSINESSES BEFORE YOU DECIDE ON THE RIGHT ONE 

When I started working at home years ago, I tried several things.  I made money at each, but I could see that my skills were not really in those businesses I was doing. 

It wasn't til I bought an internet business and started writing as a career that I really found something I loved.  My failing there was not analysing how good I was at what I was attempting to do, and sometimes even consciously ignoring the actual thing that eventually made me give up the business.

One of the most memorable was a party plan giftware business.  I had to carry some heavy boxes, and I knew from the outset that my back was not that good, and in the end I had to stop because of it.    I saw this as a failure in that I ignored the fact of a bad back, but it took me one step closer to finding something that I did like, because party plan had always been something I had wanted to try.  The business itself was running along nicely, but knowing how sore I was going to be at the end of each day changed my attitude and I did not like it as much in the end.

The process of elimination may be the way you will have to find out what you really like doing.

THE WORD FAILURE IS ONE THAT CONJURES UP ALL SORTS OF NASTY THOUGHTS!The reality is that if we never failed it would mean you were 100% perfect in everything you do, or you have not tried to do anything.My hubby has a saying that, "even his mistakes are perfect!"My comment of course is, "that must make you perfect all the time!"When you start a home based business it is a given fact that you are going to make mistakes.  If you understand this from the start, then you can look at your mistakes as part of your learning curve to success.

Everyone has different talents and will fail at certain things that others may find extremely easy, but that is OK, just make sure that you do not let your mistakes get you down.

I know, depending on the size of the mistake that can be easier said than done.  Some people make mistakes work noting, like losing $1M, and others only $1, but each is a learning curve nevertheless.

Analyse your mistake, learn from it, and move on.

Sometimes we forget how good we are at certain things, and let the negative take over.  Always remind yourself how good you are.

IN PLANNING YOUR MARKETING CAMPAIGNS OBSERVE WHAT YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE BUYING 

  Make sure that your sale items have been purchased at reduced prices.  Plan months ahead and you can get the best buys.  By searching for good prices, your suppliers should recognise that are doing aggressive marketing and you may find they will get behind your promotions.  This can be a huge benefit for you to have a supplier helping you get good stock at good prices to promote.  

Marketing is a game.  Understand the essence of these 2 questions.

Truly, that is right.  Marketing is a game and it is one that all small business owners need to master if they want to run a successful business.   A marketing campaign has to be one of the most important jobs a small business owner needs to do successfully and consistently. 

BEFORE YOU COMMIT to any advertising make sure you know what you are going to advertise. 

Work that out FIRST, then work out how you are going to get the announcement out there. Not the other way around. 

Once you have made the ‘WHAT” decision you can then work out HOW you are going to market and WHO you are going to advertise with.  There are lots of cheap ways to advertise. One of the very best ways to help you with your advertising costs is to LEARN and USE the phrase “I will get back to you”.  Advertising agents hate it, but it will save you being committed to something on the spur of the moment then regretting it.  THERE WILL ALWAYS BE ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY, ESPECIALLY IN THIS CLIMATE.

This year is going to be a year when anyone in any sort of business at all is going to have to be very marketing savvy. You will learn marketing skills this year that will carry you through the year and from which you will benefit from for many years to come. 

FIRST AND FOREMOST – don’t be suckered into any paid advertising until you are 100% ready.  You are better off to miss ‘a good’ deal than do some irrelevant marketing.  There will be more marketing deals being offered to you this year than ever before, so don’t feel obliged, and most of all -

DON’T FEEL YOU HAVE MISSED THE BOAT. 

THERE WILL BE ANOTHER ONE!

Take time out and plan your marketing for the next 3 months. Normally you should work on a year, but the way the market is at the moment it is best to only make definite plans for no more than 3 months. 

Sure, have a rough guideline for the rest of the year, but define the next 3 months.

Changing times have made many people rethink their income earning position, either because they are forced into doing so by being put off, or they are insecure in their job.

Either way, setting up a home based business need to be planned. 

A consideration at the top of the list, if you are going to start a new home based business, is to work out how soon you need to see an income from what you do.

If you are looking to start an internet business for example, it could take quite a few months before you have learnt the skills to succeed and build a presence on the web, but if you are going to making a product, all you will need to do is have an outlet where you can sell it.  Taking these two examples, both have the potential to become very good businesses in time, but the latter is more like to have a return in the short term.

The other very important consideration in the first stage, is to assess what it is going to cost you to get a work at home business up and running.  Some people have been fortunate in that they have been made redundant and have left with a little nest egg which will help them over the intitial phase.  But do look at this carefully and assess your situation.  Be realistic, leave the pipe dreams for marketing your business.