How do you get started with a marketing plan for a small business?   First, know your audience or “target market” and understand their needs.Second, position yourself to meet those needs with a solution-oriented marketing plan.Decide on how you’ll connect to customers and begin developing your brand.    What is the best way to learn your audience or “target market”? You must conduct market research: both primary and secondary research.Primary… Read More »Develop Marketing Plan Small Business

When I started my first company, I made a vow to myself that no one would be able to “outwork” me.  I believed that if I put more time into my business than my competition, it would make me successful.  I became the worst workaholic you could imagine.  I would actually leave church on Sunday–and then head into the office.  I worked 7 days a week and I created that… Read More »Small Business Most Important Thing

 What are some of the challenges women face as small business owners? They face all of the same challenges as men who own businesses, plus some additional ones, including challenges related to getting their businesses funded and finding mentors and role models. As a journalist on women’s entrepreneurship, I have often heard from female business owners, “I didn’t know there were women out there just like me.” What are some… Read More »How to Become a Successful Woman Entrepreneur

  What’s the difference between a vision and a dream in business? I’ve heard it said that a vision is a dream with a deadline. A dream is all about creating a mental picture that stretches the boundaries of your imagination for what you believe is possible. A (business) vision brings clarity, specificity, and direction to the dream.  Where do you find inspiration to dream big in business? Faith in… Read More »Dream BIG Small Business

What Is Brand Design? Many people think that Brand Design is just about designing a logo and marketing materials. That’s a part of it, but not the whole story. Brand Design means that you first create the Brand of your company: the story that you want to tell about your company.Then, you design your graphics and the visuals for your company to tell your company’s story to your best potential… Read More »Brand Design Start-Up Businesses

Is cold calling dead? No. Many businesses still use it. However, it is losing its effectiveness. Cold calling relies on interruption. Today, people have access to info when they need it, so are less likely to put up with cold calling. People are far less likely to trust someone based on a cold call, and trust is very important. What is the difference between cold and warm calling? Warm calling… Read More »Cold Calling DEAD

The answer is a resounding YES!  If you are starting a business, your business venture should be something in which you have experience or professional training. The only exception to this rule is if you buy into a franchise, but it is especially true if you take over an existing business.  Sometimes there are people working in the business who can help provide institutional information about the business, but you… Read More »Need to Know Your Business

feeling of rushing from one thing to the next. Starting a business can make you feel that way, particularly if you did not take enough time to plan from the beginning. It does feel chaotic at times. You might need to deal with customer requests, follow-up from networking events, there’s ongoing employee issues and responding to that last minute request for proposal, all in the same day. When you start a business without… Read More »4 P’s of Small Business Success

Q: What is a living business plan and how do you use it? A living business plan is a focusing tool to guide you as grow business.  Business owners must actively use a business plan on quarterly or bi-annual basis to check progress, tweak goals, identify changes, and celebrate business growth. Q: How important is it to have mission & vision statements? Vision gives you the big goal you are… Read More »Power up Business Plan

Marketing spending is an organization’s total expenditure on marketing activities. This typically includes advertising and non-price promotion. It sometimes includes sales force spending and may also include price promotions. In a survey of nearly 200 senior marketing managers, 52 percent responded that they found the “marketing spending” metric very useful.To predict how selling costs change with sales, a firm must distinguish between fixed selling costs and variable selling costs. Recognizing… Read More »Marketing spending