Positioning in Small Business Marketing

Staying Sane For Small Business Owners

by: Mike Chen

Your lunchtime thoughts are comprised of brilliant marketing strategies and anxiety over bill payments. You’re the CEO, human resources director, janitor, and administrative assistant all wrapped up into one. You open the doors at dawn and lockup when it’s time to wrap up for the day.

Welcome to the world of small business ownership. Lovely, isn’t it?

Of course, the rewards of small business ownership are quite high. Your focus determines your reality and your success, you never have to answer to an angry boss, and (for most owners) you get to work in an industry of your choice. There’s an obvious trade-off with the long hours, multiple responsibilities, and occasional panic attacks of “how am I going to get this done?”

Not to worry. You’re not alone. In fact, almost all small business owners face the same issues you do. And many have survived and lived on to tell the tale (in small business seminars, in fact!), so don’t get discouraged. Here are several easy tips to get your business head out of the clouds.

Become an expert at time management: If you went to college, chances are you learned how to balance midterm studying, paper writing, socializing, and plain old partying into a somewhat successful formula. Dust off those time management skills, because they’ll get your small business running in an efficient fashion. A great way to do this is to use the tools that come with modern office software. Any sort of email program that features a calendar, such as Outlook, will allow you to track appointments, follow-up emails/phone calls, and important dates. It will also allow you to create daily to-do lists while maintaining an organized list of your contacts. You can also use spreadsheet software, such as Excel, to keep track of the progress of multiple tasks, calculate and crunch numbers, and store tables upon tables of information. Get this software, load it on to your office computer or laptop and use it religiously. It will organize your life and allow you to attend to the important things for your business.

Contracts are good things: Here’s a hint – if you’re not an expert at something, don’t do it yourself. Your budgets are stretched and your time and sanity are running low. How about a hired hand? From virtual administrative assistants to business planners to copywriters, hiring out help on a contract basis can free you from the logistics of running a business and allow you to stay focused on what your business really does. Obviously, hiring a professional costs money, but it also means a separate set of eyes specializing in something that you’re not the most adept at. The process could even pay for itself. If the quality of work these contract professionals bring in generate revenue by allowing you to work harder at what you do best.

Seize every opportunity: When you’re a small business, you’ve got to get creative with your marketing. Fortunately, every single moment and action presents itself as a time to sell your business. Writing an email? Then attach your business description to your signature and casually mention your business. Going to the library? Bring some flyers and tack them on the bulletin board. Going to get office supplies? Ask the supply store manager how you can place your business cards on the counter. Every scenario grants you the opportunity to reach another person. And even if its just one person, that someone can tell a friend, who may tell two friends, and so on. Word-of-mouth and grass-roots marketing can be a powerful tool, and it’s cheap – so use it!

Keep your chin up: It might be a cliché, but it’s true – the best way to have run a successful business is to stay positive. Keeping a positive mindset affects you, the ones you work with, and your customers. No one likes to work when they’re down in the dumps. But if you’re chipper, motivated, and ready to go, you’ll inspire yourself and the ones around you. It may sound trite, but it’s the truth. Maintain a positive attitude and work hard and the results will present themselves!

While running a small business is consuming and exhausting, don’t forget that you also need to stay mentally and physically healthy. These tricks will help you run your business more efficiently, but it doesn’t excuse you from running yourself into the ground. Remember to find an outlet for the physical and emotional stress that come with running a small business. You’ll feel refreshed and energized and ready to work hard and efficiently – and that means more business and more profits!

Copyright © 2005 by Mike Chen. Author grants permission to reprint this article as long as the complete Bio and author’s information including website and contact information remains intact. If you would like to receive additional articles, contact Mike Chen
at info@mikechenwriting.com.

About the author:
For more information on the topics covered in this article, please visit http://www.mikechenwriting.com/resources.html

About the author: Mike Chen is a San Francisco Bay Area-based freelance writer and consultant with diverse experience in copywriting, technical writing, and journalism. His articles on business, music, and sports have been regularly published for years and he is the author of 6 Methods For Marketing Your Small Business Online (available at http://www.virtualwordpublishing.com).His writing portfolio can be viewed at http://www.mikechenwriting.com.Email info@mikechenwriting.com for questions, comments, or copywriting estimates.

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Business Laws: What you Need to Know

by: Matt Bacak

There are a myriad of things you must think about when opening any type of business whether it is a small business or a large corporation and one of those is how business law may affect you. Failure to pay attention to business and corporate law can land you in a world of trouble-both legal and financial. The good news is that you do not necessarily need to be a graduate of a fancy business law college or have a business law major to brush up on the basic ideas of small business law and corporate business law.
If you’ve paid attention to the headlines lately, you probably know that employment law for business is one of the number one areas where you can get into trouble if you aren’t up on all the employment laws and regulations. There are numerous laws that govern the employment of both regular employees and contract employees. Just for a broad overview, take a look at all the employment business laws you must meet:
· Civil Rights Act of 1966.
· The Equal Pay Act of 1963
· Americans with Disabilities Act
· The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986
· The Age Discrimination in Employment Act
· The Equal Employment Opportunity Act
· The Bankruptcy Act
· The Occupational Safety and Health Act
· FMLA, the Family Medical Leave Act
· Employee Polygraph Protection Act Labor Law
· FLSA, the Fair Labor Standards Act
And that’s not even counting the various state employment business laws that might apply to your business! If you aren’t sure of whether you are meeting all the regulations, it’s a good idea to get a checkup for your HR department.
Do you happen to work in the international arena? If you have anything at all to do with international business, then you should be aware of the many ways in which international business law can affect you, your business and your bottom line. At a minimum, you need to make sure that you meet general international business laws, specialized export laws, import laws and any laws of the foreign country in which your business operates.
And what about the business law scene at home? Were you aware that in addition to Federal business law and international business law, you are probably required to meet State business law regulations? Do you know whether you need a business permit or license? Failure to obtain one can result in the shutdown of your business and hefty fines and penalties. This is just one of the ways that state business law, such as California business law, can affect the health of your business if you aren’t careful to stay on top of things.
Finally, what about Internet and online business laws? Were you even aware that there was such a thing? The Internet has exploded so much in the last decade that the government has found it necessary to institute Internet compliance laws. If you operate a website of any kind and do not meet the compliance regulations, that site could be shut down and you could face criminal prosecution and hefty fines.
Of course, no one should ever attempt to navigate the complexities of any type of business law alone and the best course of action is to always seek the qualified professional advice of a business law firm, but hopefully these tips will help you to understand a little bit more about business law requirements.
Summary: When operating a business, regardless of whether it is a small business or a large corporation, you need to be on top of business law compliance. Even if you hire a business law firm, it’s still a good idea to understand what regulations you must meet.

About the author:
Matt Bacak became “##1 Best Selling Author” in just a few short hours. Recent Entrepreneur Magazine’s e-Biz radio show host is turning Authors, Speakers, and Experts into Overnight Success Stories. Discover The Secrets http://promotingtips.com

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A Unique, But Limited, Opportunity

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As I write this, the group has only 89 open seats — if you are at all interested in this type of guidance make sure you act quickly. 

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