Spring Showers Bring Big Sales!!

Excerpted from Entrepreneur.com (Word on the Street - Kim T. Gordon).

Each spring, fair weather brings a new crop of outdoor events to compete for your company's marketing dollars. Community fairs, street festivals, parades, outdoor concerts, races and other sporting events all present enticing opportunities for sponsorships that can shine a spotlight on your business--if you know how to avoid getting lost in the crowd. Follow these four rules for choosing the most productive sponsorships.

Reach your target audience in sufficient numbers
Your first step in evaluating a potential sponsorship is to look at the projected attendees. Go beyond the attendance numbers and request a demographic breakdown, even if it's only an informal one. If just a small percentage of attendees fit the profile of your customers, you may be wasting your marketing dollars.

For example, a high-end interior design firm that had newly relocated to the trendy, upscale retail area of Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, took a small booth in the annual holiday street festival that drew thousands of visitors to the area. But because the vast majority of festival goers were not qualified prospects (highly affluent homeowners), the design firm not only wasted staff time and marketing materials, but also damaged its fledgling efforts at positioning by appearing to target a mass audience.

Choose events that match your marketing goals
That interior design firm would have gotten better results by sponsoring an event such as a professional tennis tournament. The event's high-end image and affluent attendees would have matched the company's goal of positioning itself as a top choice for prospects with $100,000-plus design budgets.

Suppose you owned a children's clothing store. An outdoor carnival would be an excellent sponsorship opportunity because you could engage parents and kids in child-friendly activities--from face painting to games--that would advance your goal of building goodwill, positive word-of-mouth and name recognition for your store.

Select events that generate maximum visibility
Don't get lost in the crowd. Rather than spreading your budget thin by taking minor sponsorships in half a dozen outdoor events, maximize your impact with just one or two events in which your company can play prominent roles.

As a major event sponsor, for example, you might be allowed to hang a large banner at the entrance to the event or speak at the podium. You might also have your company promoted in the event program, get your logo on the event website and have your information included in press releases.

Look for events with media potential
One of the most significant benefits of event sponsorship is positive press coverage. Mount your own campaign to reach the press before, during and after the event. Start by creating a press list and extending invitations to print and broadcast media. You can create articles for placement in local print media and schedule pre-event interviews. And negotiate with the event organizers to be included in their promotional releases.

During events such as festivals and races, have local TV crews and newspaper photographers turn out to shoot coverage. Also, take your own fun photos and distribute them to local newspapers with a short press release or article. That will spread your story even further, ensuring maximum return on your marketing dollars.

Contact marketing expert Kim T. Gordon, author of Maximum Marketing, Minimum Dollars: The Top 50 Ways to Grow Your Small Business, at smallbusinessnow.com. Her new e-book, Big Marketing Ideas for Small Budgets, is available exclusively from Entrepreneur at smallbizbooks.com.

What Type of Home-Based Biz Owner Are You?

Home-Biz Owner - Know Thyself!!!!

The article below has been excerpted from The Home Office From Hell Cure by Jeffrey A. Landers, available from Entrepreneur Press.

Before you can begin to cure your ailing business and become a thriving entrepreneur, you must know who you really are and what you really want.

Are You a Growth Maven?

Growth Mavens are fiercely ambitious. They do not think small.

The Growth Maven starts her business in her home office to keep expenses low but is champing at the bit to raise the company to new heights. Her dream is to grow from a single-person company to a multi-employee company and maybe even larger.

She isn't looking to settle down in her second-bedroom office and stay for any length of time. She is a visionary, and she has one eye on the future. She knows she has to take plenty of risks--there will be times when her cash flow is crunched because she is expanding more rapidly than the profits are coming in--but she knows that the uncomfortable cycle of growth will be worth it when her company is gaining attention and picking up customers.

She knows there is no limit to the amount of money she can make, and she is dedicated to innovating her products and services. But she has to get out of her house first. She has to take the first step.

Does this sound familiar? If you are a Growth Maven, you have to take the first steps to building your empire--you'll need to move to your first “real” office and bring on some staff. But you want to manage it so that the big leap doesn't drain your time, money and resources. You want to set yourself up for growth and long-term success. You want customers to know your name and what you stand for. You want to develop a reputation and have a consistent stream of dialogue running between you and your customers.

It isn't easy, but if you are a Growth Maven, you can make it happen. This is your time to harness your inner maverick and make your vision a reality. Say good-bye to your Home Office From Hell, Growth Mavens. You're off to build an empire!

Or a Lifestyle Guru?

The Lifestyle Guru made the dream happen the first day that he didn't go into the office.

His dream was to leave the soulless corporation behind and be his own boss. He hates the commute, the suit and tie, the cubicle, the office politics, and the crazy, overbearing bosses. He wants more--not to feel like he is just pushing paper until 6 o'clock. He wants to feel a sense of contribution and pride in his work. And he wants to do it his way.

He is psyched to be his own boss, have a flexible schedule and decide for himself when to work and when to take time off. He wants to wear pajamas to work and knock off at 3 p.m. for a few hours so he can catch his kid's soccer match. He doesn't mind clearing out his e-mail inbox after his wife and kids are in bed. Sometimes he works on the weekends; sometimes he doesn't.

He knows there is a limit to the amount of money he can make, but he is bringing in a comfortable six-figure income and has more leisure time to spend with his family and friends. When it works, it all feels pretty good.

If you are aspiring to be a Lifestyle Guru, you'll want to do a few things--increase your productivity, stay competitive, get better clients and continue to make more money--all without compromising your lifestyle choices. Whew! Sounds like a tall order, right?

No way. The Lifestyle Gurus who are doing it successfully have a plan for making it work. They make themselves look big even when they're small. They outsource the things that both drain their time and aren't revenue-producing. And they get their customers' attention.

They aren't wasting away in their basement offices, hoping they'll get that next assignment. They are out there. They have a reputation for being professional, organized and on the ball. They are constantly sending that message in everything they do.

It isn't a cakewalk, but if you are an aspiring Lifestyle Guru, you can make it happen. This is your time to harness your inner maverick and make your vision a reality.

So Lifestyle Gurus, get ready to eliminate the "From Hell" from your Home Office. You have a life to start living!

Figure out who you really are and what kind of entrepreneur you want to be. Are you a Growth Maven or a Lifestyle Guru?

You probably have some idea whether you are a Growth Maven or a Lifestyle Guru, but if you are sitting on the fence and not sure in which direction you'd like to go, then this quiz should help you figure that out.

The Quiz

1. When you fantasize about your successful business, what scenario appeals to you the most?
A. More than $500,000 a year in compensation, many employees, a nice office space buzzing with activity, and the knowledge that you are building a well-known regional or national company and brand.
B. A steady low six-figure income, great clients (that you can pick and choose) with challenging and reputation-building projects, and a casual and relaxed environment with plenty of extra time for leisure, home responsibilities and family.

2. When you think about the perfect workday, which description is more in line with your way of thinking?
A. A cup of Starbucks coffee to get you going, in the office by 8 a.m., eat lunch at a fancy restaurant with prospective clients, high-powered afternoon meetings with investment bankers and members of the media, a strategic planning session with your senior staff, complete employee reviews until 7:30 p.m., meet with colleagues for networking and drinks, get home by 11 p.m.
B. Up at 8 a.m., get kids off to school, at your desk in the spare bedroom working in your sweats until noon, grab a cold burrito from the fridge, conference call with clients while throwing a load into the washer, pick kids up at school at 3 p.m., coach soccer, finish new client proposal, and send invoices. Spouse and kids home at 7:30 for dinner, check e-mail, do 12 little things that need to get done, call Singapore, in bed by 11 p.m.

3. What is your definition of professional success?
A. Building a major business with a legacy, respect of colleagues, financial independence, opportunities to use your position and wealth to make a difference in the world.
B. Independence, challenging and creative work, time with family and friends, a secure and consistent living, service in the community.

4. I am more comfortable in a working environment that is _________.
A. Formal. I prefer designated spaces for employees, clear boundaries between staff and management, a conference room for meetings, a receptionist to greet guests, and a clear beginning and end to the workday.
B. Informal. I prefer to multitask, moving between personal and professional obligations as they come up. I like to work in my pajamas or sweats (except when going out to meet clients). I prefer a workday schedule that corresponds to the needs of my family and my clients, even if that means working at odd hours in the middle of the night or on weekends.

5. What do you think (hope) your business will be like in 10 years?
A. My company, its brand, and its products will be recognized as a leader regionally/nationally/internationally, have many employees, be positioned for consistent future growth and be constantly innovating in new directions.
B. I will have a steady, but not overwhelming, stream of challenging work and an impressive reputation. I will make more than a comfortable living and have plenty of free time to be with family and friends.

Growth Mavens to the Right; Lifestyle Gurus to the Left
You probably have a pretty good idea now which way you want to take your business. If you answered "A" to at least three of these questions, you are definitely a Growth Maven. If you answered "B" to at least three out of the five, then you are a Lifestyle Guru.

Jeffrey A. Landers is a serial entrepreneur who has founded five companies and has advised small businesses for more than three decades. His company, Home Office Success Inc., has helped thousands of home based businesses become more professional, more productive and more profitable. His book The Home Office From Hell Cure is available from Entrepreneur Press.

Setting Up Your Biz Online

Even if you run a brick and mortar store, it's probably in your best interest jump on the e-commerce bandwagon.

Read below for Entrepreneur Magazine's reasons why venturing online is such a fabulous idea.

Not so long ago if you wanted to check when a movie was playing, you'd consult your local newspaper. If you wanted to find someone to remodel your bathroom, you'd open the yellow pages.

But for an increasing number of consumers, those habits are as dated as a pair of faded bell bottoms.

"Today, consumers across all age brackets use the Internet and, particularly for computer-savvy users, the Internet is the first place they'll turn for information about a vendor," says Sadie Peterson, president of SDMarCom Inc., a San Diego-based marketing firm that specializes in working with small businesses.

"The Internet offers an opportunity to introduce yourself to consumers exactly when they are searching for your business—by appearing in the major search engines," Peterson notes. "For niche businesses, the Web presents an opportunity to reach the nationwide or global community, where geographic limitations might otherwise force you out of business."

Nicci Blanke, who started a dance studio in southeast Michigan, is a believer. Her Viva! Dance Center site, created with Microsoft Office Live Small Business, had more than 1,000 hits in its first month.

"Everybody has the Web now," Blanke says. "And I think keeping up with technology is just like keeping up with dance steps. People appreciate that and our Web site allows us to do that."

A Web site can be as much about customer service as it is about selling products and services. Blanke says she has limited office hours, but uses the site to stay connected her young dancers' parents. "The Web site allows us to be available to them 24 hours a day, seven days a week," she says. She posts paperwork, maps to dance competitions, even pictures.

Looking like a serious business
Paul Gryfakis, who runs Parking Padding Solutions out of his Chicago home, thinks a professional Web presence helps potential customers take his business seriously. "Having a Web site does give me some credibility," he says. "I'm not just somebody on the phone or sending you a mailer about my product."

When people go to his Web site, which was also created with Office Live Small Business, they can see pictures of his product, they can see specs, they can learn about the ordering process and they can find out how to get in touch with him.

For Gryfakis, that Web site is the core of his business since products are shipped directly from his supplier to his customers. "I don't have a storefront. I don't need a storefront," he says. "I just need my Web presence."

Clearly there are numerous reasons why even the smallest of businesses can benefit from a Web presence, but here are five key considerations:

Visibility: With more and more consumers logging onto the Web to research products and services, if they are going to find your business, your business needs to be on the Web.

Reach: With a Web site, you are no longer limited to a customer base that is in physical proximity to your shop. Your place of business may be in Boston, but your customers can be in Bangkok.

Customer service: When customers can log onto your Web site and easily find the information they want—when they want it—their satisfaction increases.

Competition: A professional looking Web site can level the playing field for smaller companies trying to compete against larger enterprises. It’s also a way to stay in the game; even if people can’t find you on the Web chances are they can find your competitors.

Credibility: When you can point customers, partners, even potential employees or investors to a Web site, it tells them you are a serious business.

Getting on the Web quickly
At one time having a Web site would have been out of reach for many small businesses, with the cost of hiring programmers, designers and writers and paying for hosting services and the time commitment involved in keeping the site updated.

But the time and expense once associated with having a Web site has been replaced with template-driven software services that make it a quick and relatively painless process to build a Web site.

Microsoft introduced Office Live Small Business specifically to meet the needs of small businesses eager for a Web presence but without the resources and skills to build one from scratch. Utilizing easy-to-use tools and a wide variety of pre-designed page templates, small business owners and managers with absolutely no technical or design skills are now able to create professional looking Web sites with minimal effort. And with the Office Live Small Business service—which includes a domain name, hosting, company-branded e-mail accounts, and project and contact mangement services—you can get started online for free.

Another concern that makes some small businesses reluctant to make the move to the Web is the need to put up a site with lots of different pages. But a Web site today can be a work in progress. At the very least you can start out with a "business card" Web site that contains very basic information about your company:

Name
Logo
Location
Contact information
Brief description of products or services
As time and inspiration permit, you can expand the site.

There are plenty of compelling reasons why small businesses today should have a Web presence. But with the advent of free, easy-to-use services, it's difficult to come up with a reason not to.

Steps for Opening a Business with your Spouse/Significant Other

Thinking of going into business with your significant other? Read these tips from Debra Neiman before taking the next step!!!!

Give yourselves a timetable to startup. You might be tempted to give notice tomorrow morning, but it's much wiser to lay out a timetable over the coming months with specific tasks, goals and objectives.

Study the viability of your business model. Talk about worst-case scenarios. Bring in trusted advisors to ask tough questions about what you're planning to do and the viability of your idea. Convincing each other you'll make it work isn't enough. You need to understand the marketplace you're walking into and the roles each of you will fill. Perhaps you will notice gaps in skill sets that will necessitate additional staff.

Draft a business plan. Even if you don't anticipate the need to seek outside financing, it is always a good idea to formalize your ideas with a business plan. Include profit and loss projections, so that you have a benchmark for evaluating your progress at a given point in time. Factor in both best- and worst-case scenarios, which could help with decisions down the road.

Determine which business structure makes sense. Depending on the nature of the business, you may wish to incorporate. However, incorporating is a bit more complicated than running a business as a sole proprietorship. Consult with an accountant and attorney who specialize in business startups to determine which structure makes sense for you. Your financial planner can help here as well.

Understand how your tax situation will change. Depending on which business structure you choose, you may need to plan for income taxes, self-employment taxes and payroll taxes. You want to make sure you have reserves set aside for these liabilities. Again, your tax professional can help you get a handle on this.

Set a spending plan for your business and personal life. A financial planner can help you establish a spending plan for supporting your business as well as your life at home. Since startups have unpredictable cash inflows, you will want to establish adequate emergency funds--both business and personal--to carry you through the startup phase.

Make sure your legal documents are in order. If you haven't had your estate planning documents updated in a while or don't have them at all, this is a great time to have them drafted. Don't forget to tell your attorney about your new business venture, which should be factored into the equation.

Plan for your kids in the business. There may be good opportunities to employ children for work commensurate with their skills.

Get your insurance in order. Before leaving your current employer, figure out the cost of insurance you'll need to incur for the entire family, including health, life, home, business, disability and, if you're over 50, long-term care coverage. These expenses may be enough to encourage one of you to stay at your old job, at least for a while to keep those benefits going while the other devotes more time to the startup.

Have an exit plan if you break up. It may be hard to imagine now, but a breakup of your relationship with no financial plan for the business can be devastating. Whether you're married or living together, a successful business is an important source of wealth. So you should have a contingency plan in the event that one of you potentially wants to buy the business or be bought out. This legal agreement would include provisions to safeguard capital investments and non-cash contributions.

Set boundaries. Couples who live and work together need to assess whether they want to keep their work and personal lives separate. Some people are comfortable discussing their personal lives at work, while others make it clear that during working hours, they are at work and won't discuss personal matters. While there is no right or wrong here, you have to do what's right for you.

Excerpted from Entrepreneur.com.

Tips for Turning Shoppers into Buyers

Brad Sugars' 6 Tips for Turning Shoppers into Buyers - Excerpted from Entrepreneur.com.

There's nothing more painful for a new business owner than seeing a shopper walk in the door and walk out empty-handed.

1. Stress your unique selling proposition. Figure out what makes you different from the competition and deliver that message loud and clear. For example, one wedding/event facility touted the credentials of a new head chef they had hired from the best restaurant in town, pushing its conversion rate from 60 to 73 percent.


2. Identify bottlenecks in your sales process. Analyze the steps required to get customers to buy from you and determine your weak spots. Let's say you're in the deck building business. To make a sale, you need to schedule an appointment, show photos of your work, take measurements, propose a design, price the job, provide references and so on. Do you need new photos for your portfolio? Does your proposal package need sprucing up? Are you failing to make follow-up phone calls? Fix the flaws, and sales will follow.


3. Use the magic question for telephone inquiries. Never let a caller get away with simply asking for price information. Train your staff to say, "Thanks for your call. So that I can be of the biggest help to you, can I ask you a couple of questions?" This opens the door to engaging the customer. One tire retailer I know doubled his business by adopting this technique and coaching salespeople to ask about callers' driving patterns, typical number of passengers and preference for low-priced versus longer-lasting tires.


4. Outlaw "Can I help you?" on the retail floor. Inevitably, the customer will answer "No thanks, I'm just looking" and end the conversation. Instead, instruct salespeople to ask, "Hi, have you been in our store before?" If they say no, the answer should be "Let me show you around." If they say yes, the response should be, "Welcome back, let me show you a couple of new things we just got in." That way, you don't give them an opportunity to say they want to be left alone.


5. Rewrite your sales script. A lot of what goes wrong in selling can be traced to sending the wrong message. Consider the home security firm whose telemarketers introduced themselves by saying, "We heard there have been break-ins in your neighborhood, and we'd like to talk to you about installing a security system." After a business coach determined that approach was a turnoff and changed the script, the firm's conversion rates doubled overall and quadrupled for the strongest team members.


6. Adjust your sales pitch to the customer. It sounds basic, but most people don't do it. Train your sales team to ask questions to flesh out the customer's needs and to cater to different buying styles. One method called DISC divides the public into dominant, influencer, stability and compliance buyers. This applies to sales scripts as well as face-to-face selling. One jewelry store boosted its conversion rate from 26 to 65 percent by using role-playing and other training methods to help the staff adapt to different customer scenarios.

Remember, marketing can help make the phone ring or bring people in the door, but you can't win the war unless you turn a high percentage of your "live" prospects into paying customers. Give your sales team the right tools, and you'll have a lot fewer shoppers getting away.

Brad Sugars is Entrepreneur.com's Startup Basics columnist and the writer of 14 business books including The Business Coach, Instant Cashflow, Successful Franchising and Billionaire in Training.

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Reminder - Entrepreneur Magazine & American Express Women in Charge Conference

If you're looking for business growth and marketing tips for 2008, don't forget to register for Entrepreneur Magazine's Women in Charge Conference.

Entrepreneur and American Express have teamed up to present the Women in Charge Conference on Tuesday, January 29, 2008 in Miami Beach, Florida. [Miami beach in winter - You can't do better than that]!!!!

You will get the opportunity to:
(1) Learn internet marketing secrets for success
(2) Learn low-cost marketing strategies
(3) Learn how how to build stronger personal and professional networks
(4) Learn how to play the money game and start earning what you deserve
(5) Pitch your business to Entrepreneur's editors, and
(6) Learn the latest trends for 2008.

You will also celebrate the the OPEN from American Express® and Entrepreneur magazine 2007 Woman of the Year. You'll get a chance to meet her and learn from her success. Last but not least, you will hear from Entrepreneur experts such as Rosalind Resnick, Catherine Seda and Kim T. Gordon, who will guide you through all 6 opportunities (and much more) listed above!!!!

Click here to register!!!

Ready to Launch and Grow Your Business???

Register now for Entrepreneur Magazine's Women in Charge Conference.

Entrepreneur and American Express have teamed up to present the Women in Charge Conference on Tuesday, January 29, 2008 in Miami Beach, Florida. [Miami beach in winter - You can't do better than that]!!!!

You will get the opportunity to:
(1) Learn internet marketing secrets for success
(2) Learn low-cost marketing strategies
(3) Learn how how to build stronger personal and professional networks
(4) Learn how to play the money game and start earning what you deserve
(5) Pitch your business to Entrepreneur's editors, and
(6) Learn the latest trends for 2008.

You will also celebrate the the OPEN from American Express® and Entrepreneur magazine 2007 Woman of the Year. You'll get a chance to meet her and learn from her success. Last but not least, you will hear from Entrepreneur experts such as Rosalind Resnick, Catherine Seda and Kim T. Gordon, who will guide you through all 6 opportunities (and much more) listed above!!!!

Click here to register!!!

IdeaBlob

Check out ideablob where entrepreneurs and small business owners can share and grow their business ideas.

All you have to do is post a good business idea to ideablob, and based on votes from the IdeaBlob online community(which includes other innovators as well as friends, family, colleagues, associates, teachers and mentors), one idea every month will win $10,000.

Go ahead and blob your idea. You could be $10,000 closer to achieving your business dreams.

Good luck!!