David Weatherholt invited me on his radio show “Getting Down to Business” to encourage small businesses who are not yet feeling the effects of the weak recovery. I gave some small business marketing tips that require little capital and can have big effects. Right now there are opportunities in advertising, public relations and networking that don’t exist when the economy is booming.
If you’d like to boost your business without blowing the bank, listen or download below:
With news out that the recession is over, many small business owners are left scratching their heads. What was expected to be a joyous event sneaked up on us in June 2009, and many Americans don’t feel like they-or their businesses- are recovering.
So what does it all mean?
It means we have to keep working. We have no one to expect prosperity from except ourselves.
But everyone could use a little inspiration, especially now. Last year, I printed out the following advice from Tom Peters and taped it to my wall. I think it still applies.
Daily Wisdom for Troubled Times
Get up earlier.
Go to bed later.
Work harder.
Finish what you start.
Learn one new thing.
Renew one contact.
Ask, “How can I help you?” at least once.
Make yourself visible.
Be of good cheer.
As I wrote in a recent article on implementing small business marketing strategies, “keeping at it,” is one of the hardest things to do in business. So many distractions and “emergencies” get in the way of fulfilling our well-planned strategies.
In this podcast, I offer several tips for small businesses looking to improve their implementation skills. Listen or download below:
How small business marketing can benefit from this economy
Being naturally optimistic, I always try to turn bad situations into new opportunities. Our still-faltering economy may be dragging down business, but there are ways for small businesses to take advantage of the economic downturn. Here are a few:
Start a business, and start making money. With many businesses unwilling to hire new employees in this uncertain economy, “accidental entrepreneurs” are being born. A USA Today story shows that 25% of workers laid off in the last six months are considering starting a business instead of finding a new job. Businesses still need work done, so they are increasingly turning to outside resources (that has certainly been my experience).
On the flip side of unemployment, if your business is looking to hire, you have great options right now. You need to maximize this opportunity. Make sure not to rush hiring decisions- conduct enough interviews to find the right person for the job who will fit with your culture.
If you have the cash to ramp up your advertising, you can buy more for your buck. For example, one of my clients is in an industry where pay per click (PPC) advertising has completely dried up. Now we can advertise with little competition and a much smaller budget. There may be fewer customers than before, but we are reaching almost all of them.
If this economy is leaving you with too much extra time, put it to good use. Take my small business marketing test to find your weak areas. When your business is booming, it’s hard to find time to plan for the future. If you work on your business strategy now, your business can come back stronger than it’s ever been.
Has your business developed any opportunities as a result of the recession? Please share!
So, you’ve developed a strategy that informs where you want your company to go. You’ve involved your team in developing and planning for this strategy. Together, you’ve made sure this strategy communicates with customers in ways that are meaningful to them and ensures your company is easy to do business with. You’re probably feeling pretty satisfied with your progress. But your work has only just begun.
The most difficult part of any plan is implementation. It’s not because the tasks of implementation are hard. Usually accomplishing these tasks don’t require great skill or superhuman brainpower. The difficulty arises because implementation requires dedication and tenacity. You have to keep at it. Every day.
For many small business entrepreneurs, this process is boring, and implementation is often cut short, displaced by more exciting strategizing and perceived opportunities. But a small business can never reach its potential without completing the initiatives it starts.
Develop easy-to-understand success metrics. Know you’re succeeding (or failing) by establishing milestones along the way to your goal. These milestones should have due dates to create a sense of urgency.
Hold quarterly or monthly check-up meetings. Grade your company’s success on a regular basis with progress reports on your milestones. Make these meetings short and to the point, or everyone will dread them (don’t you hate meetings that drag on and keep you from work?).
Don’t be a roadblock. Often small business owners are the bottleneck in the company’s decision-making process. Decide which decisions you don’t need to make. It will free up your time and speed up your strategy’s success.
Use your team’s strengths. If you find it difficult to stay on track, someone on your team likely has strong implementation skills. Give them authority to check in, set meetings and make sure progress is made.
Micro-managing is the pitfall of too many small businesses. It may be counter-intuitive that you must let go a little for your business to grow. After all, perfection can only be achieved if you manage it, right? If your team has the power to make decisions, won’t they only screw things up?
Wrong. If your team feels empowered, they will think of ideas you never dreamed of.
Your small business will never grow unless you develop a team who share the same business vision and are empowered to make the vision a reality. I’ve seen many small businesses stagnate because their owners weren’t able to communicate, delegate and relinquish authority to their teams. Your team can consist of employees, independent contractors and vendors.
Micro-managing means managing the small stuff. As a small business owner, you should be concerned with things such as the company vision or strategies for the upcoming year. Here are some ways to avoid micro-managing. They may not seem like large infractions, but think of the time wasted that could be put towards valuable business growth activities.
Always think, “Is this the most important thing I could be doing right now?” Management expert Peter Drucker wrote, “Doing the right things is more important than doing things right.”
Unless you own a graphic design firm, don’t ever question a font again. Instead, employ designers who have the freedom to design what your customers want- not what you want.
Don’t spend an hour on the phone with an accounting software vendor when you will never use the software. Let your bookkeeper make these decisions. The same rule applies to any kind of purchase.
If your sales team has a bold new idea to reach customers, let them try it out on a limited scale. Avoid “talking it to death” at all costs.
Father’s Day is on Sunday, and as I reflected for today’s blog post, I realized my dad is the reason I am a successful small business owner today. My dad, Mike Kinslow, has been a small business owner since he was 22. My parents bought a car wash and soon after started a changeable letter sign operation. They opened a custom hot tub store during the infancy of the spa craze. Using his car washing expertise, my dad invented and patented a radical new idea for car washing – a glass car wash building named Lighthouse Carwash. He morphed the business from simply selling products to offering entrepreneurs an entire turnkey business model.
Why I love small business marketing
My dad taught me almost everything I know about small businesses, and he is why I love small business marketing. Over the years, I’ve learned that he is entrepreneurialism personified. Here are some of his traits that I find are common to most small business owners:
My dad has an incredible work ethic. Small business owners know that working hard is the answer to their success. However, one of my dad’s favorite sayings is, “Work smarter, not harder.” He would be the first to chastise anyone for laboring without first thinking about how it could be done more efficiently.
Before making decisions, my dad always considers how it will affect his family and employees. Family values and faith in God are of utmost importance to him, and his generosity knows no bounds. This kind of heart is prevalent with all small business owners. You don’t just want to make money. You want to do the right thing.
My dad has earned his living searching for ways to fix other people’s problems. Relentless pursuit of the next big idea gives him an adrenaline rush. Without this passion, small businesses could never thrive.
If the going got tough, my dad would just work harder. All experienced small business owners know there are lean times at some points in their entrepreneurial lives. The key is to never quit, work harder and keep up that relentless pursuit of the next big idea.
And, yes, my dad even has the tendency to micro-manage in order to ensure perfection. All of you small business owners out there know, deep down, that you have a micro-managing spirit. It’s the sense of pride and attention to detail that has allowed you to become successful in the first place. But be careful. Often it is better to delegate decisions that are outside your area of expertise.
So, I dedicate this Father’s Day post to my dad and small business dads everywhere. (Don’t fret, small business moms. You’ll have a turn next Mother’s Day)
David Weatherholt of “Getting Down to Business” invited me on the show to talk about small business strategy and planning. Usually, small business owners think of themselves as firefighters, spending their days putting out many small fires and neglecting the important work of developing a future strategy.
But making these everyday decisions doesn’t have to be difficult and time-consuming for small businesses. By developing an effective future strategy, the answers to these dilemmas become clear. I use the example of a fictitious company, SunBurst Coffee, and how they use their “picture of success” to facilitate decision-making.
Keeping your small business marketing approach current with your customers
You know that the marketplace changes rapidly, and you have to change your business model with it. But how do you know which changes to make? It’s simple. Ask your customers.
In this small business marketing podcast, I discuss changing business strategy with David Weatherholt and Russell Ball. Russell successfully changed his marketing approach- and company name- to fit the needs of his marketplace. I detail how all small businesses can keep their fingers to the pulse of the marketplace by conducting simple, thorough research with their customers.
Small businesses have a great marketing advantage over large businesses: built in personality. Large companies strive to develop personalities with expensive advertising and PR campaigns– think Apple (I’m a Mac), Wal-Mart (Power to the Savers) and Toyota (the Swagger Wagon family). But if you have a small business, you are the personality (for better or worse).
Why is personality a great small business marketing tool? By showing your personality, you give customers something to be loyal to. Loyalty can’t be bestowed on products or services, but people are loyal to other people and organizations. Loyal customers will buy more from you and rave more to their friends. You just need to show them some personality.
What have you done lately to infuse the best parts of your personality into your small business?
Zoo in a Jungle Marketing is a full-service marketing company for small businesses. We specialize in being "the complete marketing department for small business." Contact Zoo in a Jungle Marketing to help uncage your potential.
Father’s Day is on Sunday, and as I reflected for today’s blog post, I realized my dad is the reason I am a successful small business owner today. My dad, Mike Kinslow, has been a small business owner since he was 22. My parents bought a car wash and soon after started a changeable letter sign operation. They opened a custom hot tub store during the infancy of the spa craze. Using his car washing expertise, my dad invented and patented a radical new idea for car washing – a glass car wash building named 
