Are Tradeshows Worth the Investment?

It's a safe bet that no matter what type of industry you're in there will be at least one tradeshow that will be applicable for your business. The question then becomes do you attend as a "visitor" or a "vendor"?

Obviously, being a visitor will be less costly and still give you the opportunity to network but it might not be a productive as being a vendor with a booth. Would that kind of investment be worth the effort? Here are some tips to help you focus on determining if your tradeshow sales efforts will provide a viable return on your investment.

The first step is to factor in all of your costs and expenses. These would include:

Floor space costs: What will you be charged by the organizers for booth space?

Exhibit costs: If this is your first time at a trade show you'll be building a booth from scratch. How much that will cost depends on the size and design elements.

Labour costs: When you bring your booth to the tradeshow there may be union workers standing by to assemble it or you may require your own staff for set up/take down.

Marketing: You need to advertise in trade magazines and the tradeshow catalog to let visitors know where your booth will be, as well as having marketing collateral at your booth.

Giveaways: What will you give away at your booth? Every visitor should leave with something that has your company logo, web address and contact info.

Booth hosts: Will you and your employees be manning the booth or will you have to hire local hosts? Or both?

Travel and entertaining: It's going to cost you something to get to the tradeshow, plus added costs for accommodations and food. You'll also want to include money for entertaining: drinks and meals for potential clients.

Contingency: On top of all those costs add another 15% to 25% to your budget as a contingency line item in case of extra expenses, which there will always be!

Set Your Goals

Now that you know what your hard costs are, what are your goals for the trade show? Do you need to land a certain amount of new clients? Are you setting up pre-orders for products? If this is a consumer show and you'll be selling your product directly out of your booth, then you should have targets for each day. Whatever those numbers are, you have to be realistic. It might be hard to gauge if this is a new type of trade show, but if you're setting up a booth at something like Comic Con in San Diego then you know you're going to have a lot of foot traffic!

Once you have those goals set, make sure your booth staff is aware of those and check in every hour to make sure they're hitting those goals. If not, you might need to ramp up the promotions and get your staff out on the floor.

There are no guarantees with a tradeshow. However, if you've attended as a visitor in the past then you know what works and what doesn't. Put those principles to the test in your own campaign.

Growing a Company from the Startup Phase

Congratulations! You've got your startup running and things appear to be going smoothly. It took a lot of planning and hard work but it finally all came together.

Now what?

There will come a time in the life of every business when you should take it to the next level of success. Is it time to declare you are no longer an official startup but a fully-fledged business? Are you ready to make that leap? Here are some insightful tips to help you manage the next phase of your business growth:

Expanding your staff with smarter people.

Just because it's your business doesn't mean you always have to be the smartest guy in the room. In fact, you would do your company a great service by seeking out future employees who you consider to actually be smarter than you. This is a sign of confidence and strength where you're putting the needs of the company ahead of your own ego. That's a good thing!

Don't rest on success.

Hopefully, you've had a good quarter or two in terms of profits. Take a moment to celebrate and then get back to work. Resting on your laurels won't help your business move forward. You should have the same sense of urgency now as you did in the first week of your operation when you were struggling to make it a success.

Look for the repeat business.

The most profitable businesses have customers coming back time and again. By creating a loyal customer base you are setting yourself up for long-term success. Yes, you need to add to that base but you need to spend just as much effort keeping previous customers satisfied. Don't hesitate to reach out to them by offering incentives for purchases or asking for feedback. Make them feel appreciated and they'll always come back for more business.

Be a hero.

Customers appreciate when you go the extra mile to help them. If you tell a customer an order will be ready in a week, try to have it ready in half that time. You'll come out looking like a hero and they'll be back for more business. And yes, it's okay to pad an estimated delivery time because in the long run that can help you if something goes wrong.

Keep an eye on your prices.

There is a sense with every start up that they are the "David" going after the "Goliath" of their competition. They can bring down that giant by offering deep discounts to attract customers but you have to be mindful of the long game. At some point, you'll want to get your profit margins up. That can only happen when you increase prices and cut operating costs. When that happens you've really entered the big leagues. 

What to Know When You Apply to Work for a Startup

Working with a new startup could mean that every day is "Casual Friday" but that shouldn't be your only motivating factor for employment. In many ways, getting in on the ground floor of a new business can be an exciting and incredibly beneficial learning experience. However, before you apply for work at a startup you'll need to be aware of certain factors which could influence your decision:

Flexibility is a must.

Have you heard of the proverbial "well-oiled machine"? That's a business which is functioning at peak efficiency. If there are snafus, they are quickly dealt with by management. With a start up you might not get any of that. Even simple things like office assignments could change from day to day. When all goes according to plan things should fall into a productive routine but it might take a few months to establish order. You just have to hunker down and go with the flow. If you're someone who is easily frustrated by office upheaval than a startup might not be the right fit for you.

You're a team player now.

Every successful company is built on collaboration between employees and management. That is especially true in the initial phase of a startup business. Although you might have been hired for a particular skill set, often you'll be called upon to pitch in at other areas throughout the company. Yes, this might mean running out for the lunch orders, answering phones or unpacking office supplies in those early weeks. Establishing yourself as a strong leader and team player in the early stages of a startup will help secure your position down the line. 

Don't get comfortable with the perks.

Part of the learning curve with a startup is in understanding the right way to spend the company's money. At first the bosses might be happy to provide free lunches or happy hour drinks all picked up on the company tab. However, as business settles in, upper management will start paying closer attention to that bottom line. As a result all those perks might fade away. Enjoy them while you can and remember that's not why you joined the company.

There will always be risk.

Even if you're working with an entrepreneur with a proven track record of success there is no guarantee that success will follow them into this new venture. You need to go into a startup aware of all the risks. For every success story there are literally dozens, if not hundreds, of startup failure stories. If you're okay with accepting that risk then go for it.

How to Forecast Revenues for a Company Launch

One of the first things a MBA major learns is the importance of a well-crafted business plan. A key component of that plan is forecasting revenues. This is essential if you're going to be looking for investors in advance of a company launch. Those investors will want to know how and when their money will be coming back to them. Here are the steps to follow to forecast revenues for a company launch:

Step 1: Determine Your Operating Costs

What will it cost to keep your business open? Factor in everything from rent, insurance, salaries, office supplies, marketing, manufacturing (if applicable) and miscellaneous expenses. Those will be your operating costs. You'll then have a profit margin on every item you sell. That accumulated margin needs to be deducted from those operating costs.

Step 2: Create a Customer Profile

Who are you selling to? By creating a customer profile you'll be able to anticipate shifting trends in your business. You'll also know where to target your marketing campaigns. The majority of laundry detergent is sold to the moms who do the shopping and the advertising reflects that. There is a business adage that goes, "20% of your customers account for 80% of your sales." That's why you really have to understand who you're selling to in order to make an accurate forecast. You'll be depending on those profiles to be accurate.

Step 3: Determine the Reach of Your Campaign

If you're opening a neighborhood storefront then you should know what to expect in terms of foot traffic or customers traveling to your store. However, with an online business your reach could truly be global. How will you know how far that reach can go in order to make an accurate prediction? This might come down to a matter of marketing penetration. For instance, if you're going to advertise on Facebook then you'll be able to know what type of click through rate to expect. You can build a forecast utilizing that information.

Step 4: Size Up the Competitive Landscape

Chances are that whatever business you're starting up, somebody has already beaten you to the punch. That's a good thing because you can learn a lot by studying your competition. If you can find out what type of sales they achieved you should be able to make comparable forecasts.

Step 5: Add it Up

Now that you have all of those numbers you're ready to make a forecast. The best approach is to provide conservative and logical forecasts backed by data. Being conservative means erring on the side of caution and embracing the "worst case scenario" when it comes to sales.   

Top 5 SEO Myths That Need to Be Broken

As you enter into the e-commerce space, you're going to be learning all about driving traffic to your website. One of the first (and most important) concepts you should learn is about Search Engine Optimization or SEO. Simply put, the goal of SEO is to increase the rankings of your website when a specific search term or phrase is entered. Depending on the topic this can be a crowded field.

For instance, Google "locksmith" and your hometown. What you're sure to come up with are dozens of pages of locksmiths businesses. If your business is among those ranking on the first page you stand a much better chance of garnering that new customer. Along with understanding SEO you'll also run across some SEO myths.

You would follow these myths at your own peril because they might end up preventing traffic to your site as opposed to increasing traffic.

Here are the top 5 SEO myths that need to be broken.

You only have to optimize your site once.

Wrong. You might get lucky with your first wave of comprehensive SEO content and achieve that number one ranking but you won't be there for long. All of your competitors will be working on their own SEO strategies which can knock you off the top ranking at any time. This means you've got to consistently improve your SEO on a regular basis. Look at it this way: Would you only have one "special sale" for your business to attract customers? Of course not! The same can be said for SEO.

Links to social bookmarks aren't considered SEO.

Actually they are. Adding social networking bookmarks to your content are becoming an important and viable component to a comprehensive SEO strategy. Based on the findings of recent surveys, close to 14% of a website's ranking power can originate from sites like Facebook, Twitter or Google Plus. In other words, fire up those accounts and make sure they're part of your website.

You should always be posting content.

Yes and no. The myth is that without new content your site won't be picked up by search engines. The key issue is one of relevancy. Your content needs to be relevant for the search. If it is content for the sake of content then you're defeating the purpose. Making content relevant is at the heart of successful SEO and that will be determined by many factors both on your web pages and off those pages.

Forget title tags and meta tags; they don't work.

That would be a big mistake. This is where those on/off page factors come into play. A common mistake by webmasters is to title home pages as "home" as opposed to the keyword in title tags. Going back to the locksmith example, you shouldn't tag your landing page as "home" but "locksmith in Austin" (or wherever). Focus on a 160-character meta description of your content that will include a relevant keyword phrase and you'll come out a winner.

You can't have enough backlinks.

Yes you can. Backlinks link other websites to your site. It's a way of expanding the potential for traffic. However, once again it comes down to a matter of relevancy. You want to establish your website as a place of authority that means you want quality backlinks and not general spam. Linking to news stories and videos work but you'll have to occasionally go back and make sure those links aren't broken. 

Pricing Mistakes that can Slow Down Sales

Pricing your product is just as important as your marketing plan. In fact, without the right price you could see all of your hard efforts of your marketing collapse around you. Not only can solid pricing turn your account books from red to black, but it can also help engender strong customer loyalty.

You should know what it costs to make what you're selling and get it to your customer. How you determine the price on top of those hard costs could be the make or break of your business.

Here are some common pricing mistakes that can slow down your sales or even bring them to a screeching halt!

Pricing without a strategy.

Your pricing strategy should always support your company’s marketing and operational goals. If you’re holding a discount promotion on a product at below cost, make sure that you can upsell your customer so you make a profit down the road. Likewise, price raises can only work if the customer feels that they are getting a lot of value from your company. A good pricing strategy should allow your products to be sold, with long-term profitability goals in mind and also being competitive. 

De-valuing your service or product.

Underselling is just as bad as overselling when it comes to pricing. You might know down to the penny what an object costs to manufacture and deliver but what about all the other costs associated with selling that product? What does it cost for you to hire a staff, rent a space and market that product? Those line items should all be factored into your price point. Remember you're hoping for volume sales to amortize all of those overhead costs.

Chasing your competitors.

If you're constantly matching your prices to your closest competitors you could be doing a disservice to your business. Unless you're aware of the same overhead and manufacture costs your competitor is applying to their products, their pricing is meaningless. Yes, you should keep an eye on the competition and make appropriate adjustments but don't let that be the total basis for your pricing structure. This issue also comes into play if your slash a price to beat a competitor. In the short run you might get a decent sales bump but those figures could be misleading if those customers won't be coming back for repeat business because they're out looking for the next cheap bargain. Always think of the long game.

Drastic price drops.

Yes, everyone wants to pay a fair price for a product or service. However, if you find yourself dramatically dropping your price for a particular customer they might think they were paying too much for that product to begin with. You don't want to alienate your customers with your drastic pricing policy.

How to Make Mistakes Intelligently

In the world of business, a mistake is usually a risk that didn't turn out so well. On the other end, if you take a risk and it pays off you'll be considered a bold visionary. A compelling argument can be made that you'll learn more from your mistakes than your successes. In entrepreneurship, making mistakes is a better way to grow than just doing things safely all the time. Here's why making mistakes can benefit your business:

Getting over the fear factor.

Starting up a new business is filled with a long list of "known unknowns." Will you turn a profit? Will you be able to expand? Will your employees embrace your leadership style? Those types of questions are important to ask from a planning perspective but they should become fear based. You're going to make mistakes. Hopefully, they won't be debilitating from your business but worrying about what could go wrong might just stop you from effectively moving forward. Let go of the fear and embrace the mistake when it happens.

We learn more from failure.

You might not remember when you took your first steps but it's a safe bet you took plenty of falls as well. Did you give up? Of course not! You figured out how to balance yourself and what coordination means. Same thing when it came to learning how to ride a bike. A mistake shouldn't be looked upon as a failure but as a lesson. What went wrong and how can you avoid that in the future? Understanding the answer to that question is going to improve your business by leaps and bounds.

Mistakes make us smarter.

You're simply going to have to learn by doing. When a mistake happens you'll be learning more about your business and probably from a different perspective. This would apply to everything from filing your tax forms to shipping orders around the world. Always think of mistakes as your "learning curve" and you can't go wrong.

Big mistakes can lead to big business.

This comes back to the issue of risk taking. If you're truly striving for a huge success in your business then you're going to have to take a huge risk. As it happens, you might also be making a huge mistake. You can't let a mistake cause you to crumble. Look at the biography of any successful entrepreneur and you're sure to find a history of "striking out" before they hit it out of the ballpark.

Mistakes make for a better manager.

We've all had those moments when we've been smarter than our bosses. When you become the boss you want to get out in front of the occasional mistakes that will be made. Don't make finding someone to blame the primary focus. You really have to figure out "why" something went wrong. Was it a breakdown in communication? Was it not having the right information? Ultimately, a business' mistake will be your own. Accept responsibility and move on. Your staff will respect you for your strong leadership.  

When to Act Without a Business Plan

Runners line up at the starting line of a race waiting for that starter pistol to go off. If they start too soon it throws all the runners off. Hesitate after the starter pistol is fired and you could lose the lead.

Now apply this analogy to making a business decision.

Are you waiting too long after the "starter pistol" goes off or did you start running before it was time? The most effective business boss is someone who is decisive and gets the ball rolling by acting quickly rather than waiting for everything to line up perfectly.

Being decisive is not about being reckless. All of your decisions should be well informed.

When is it a good time to act in starting your business?

Renting Space

Every business needs a work space even if you're just starting out working from home. When your business takes off and you're ready to expand you'll need more space. If you are investing in a franchise business than location is key. You need to put together a list of requirements to make your business a success.

How many parking spaces will you need for staff and customers? Is foot traffic important to your business? Do you foresee expanding in the near future? How much space can you effectively use? What is your budget for renting space?

Once you have definitive answers and you find a space don't waste time; sign the lease.

It might need some cosmetic improvements or better air conditioning but if a majority of your requirements are meant secure the space before it gets away from you.

Hiring Staff

If you are interviewing for a staff position and have 12 applicants, interview all twelve applicants. Maybe the first person to come through your office is the one you'll ultimately hire but you deserve to hear from everyone.

Once you've completed all interviews, make that offer. Just because you've found the perfect match for your company doesn't mean some other business isn't interested in the same person. After all, if they are the best they will be in demand.

On the plus side, we're living in an age where instant communication can happen any time of the day or night through texts and e-mails. You should have all of those contact information for any applicant.

Marketing Campaigns

Your marketing strategy will be crucial to determining the success of your business. You should be presented with many options along with a clear understanding of the potential return on your investment. After you’re presented with the plans it's vital to put them into action ASAP.

You don't want to waste time mulling over plans when there are sales to be made and customers to attract. 

The Best Business Opportunities For 2013

When it comes to starting up a new business there are two basic categories: Those you can get rolling right away or those that need years and expertise to build. For instance, starting up a biotech type of company will require a lot of investment and plenty of PhDs. On the other hand investing in a franchise could be as simple as coming up with the down payment for the business. Looking towards the coming year, here are the top 5 business opportunities for 2013. And yes, these could all be considered "quick start" companies.

Transportation for the Elderly

There is no escaping the fact that the baby boomer generation has grown up and are all heading into retirement. As the population ages, there will be an increased need to provide senior care. This type of specialized care will come in many forms but one thing is for certain; all of those seniors will need a safe and dependable way to get where they need to go. Folks of a certain age or infirmity may no longer be able to drive or take public transportation. An affordable door-to-door driving service can hold a lot of appeal to these seniors and their families. You might have the opportunity to buy into an existing business or start out with a couple of vans, certified drivers and insurance. Either way this is a business opportunity that is destined to expand in the coming years.

Bike Repair and Rental

As folks become more environmentally aware, they will be looking for eco-friendly ways to conduct their daily routines. One way would be to take an alternative method of transportation such as riding a bike. Many cities are helping support these endeavor by providing bike-parking zones. A business that can rent bikes would also be attracted especially in areas where there are tourists. Making simple bike repairs is also a lot easier to learn than fixing a car. This is also a perfect community business which can build a strong customer base in a neighborhood.

General Contractor

If you like working with your hands then you might be quite adept at fixing things. As the economy shows signs of improvements folks will be in the mood for a home makeover. Whether it's a new kitchen or bathroom or converting a garage into a spare bedroom there will be workers to supervise, permits to obtain and materials to purchase. This is the type of business that requires a bit more hustle but you won't be confined to an office.

Home Health Care

Like transportation for seniors, there is also a need for in-home care for the elderly. Being able to provide that kind of service with a staff of certified employees would be of a great benefit to the community. It would also provide decent job security because the demand will always be there. This is also another area where you could receive support from the government in terms of payments and guidelines.

Pet Care

Pet care is a multi-billion dollar industry. Dog and cat owners alike will think nothing of pampering their four-legged friends. A business that offers daily care such as dog walks or cat feeding will bring peace of mind to the owners of those companions. This is a low overhead business as most of the work will be done on location. All you really need to focus on is marketing, bookkeeping and staffing. 

How to Build Trust in Online Marketing

Although the online community can truly have a global reach, businesses depend on more direct contact with their potential customers. To achieve that connection online companies strive to build trust but that often proves difficult without any direct face-to-face communication.

Can you really trust someone that you can't look in the eye? As it turns out you can and hundreds of e-commerce sites have achieved a strong bond of trust from their customers. How can you build up your company's credibility and make your customers feel safe when they shop?

Consider these important tips:

Post a Privacy Policy

You won't be able to conduct any business online without gathering personal information from your customers. That doesn't mean their information can't be kept secure. Making your customers aware of your security enhancements can give them an added peace of mind about doing business on your website. Additionally, you should assure your customers that their information won't be sold to a third party or used for other promotions without their permission. This keeps them in control of their personal data and builds up the trust.

Pick a Reliable Payment Processor

Chances are that by the time a customer reaches your online store they will have already been accustomed to shopping online. That's a good thing because you want smart shoppers. To help support this you should be dealing with a reliable payment processor such as PayPal, Moneris or others. Not only are these processors extremely user friendly but they also provide various consumer protections like tracking payments and chargebacks. This is something customers truly appreciate.

Put Testimonials to Work for You

If there is one thing the Internet has taught us is that everyone likes to share their opinions. You can put positive reviews to work for your company by making them available on your website. Invite customers who have had a positive experience to post a review in exchange for a future benefit or coupon. When a new customer reads these types of reviews they'll have a sense that your business is indeed reputable and trustworthy.

Be Visible on Social Media

Every business is based in a community. Being highly visible on Facebook, blogging and forums helps build credibility with your prospective customers. They appreciate that you’re trying to reach out to them and that they can communicate with your business representatives.  Develop a relationship with your customers and create a community that revolves around your company’s brand, products or values.

 Be Real

You have a lot of faith in your product or services as you should. However, that doesn't mean those things you're offering "will forever change a person's life" or "revolutionize their very existence." Customers are leery of the hard sell. On the other hand,finding a way to use humor in your marketing campaigns can generate good feelings. When in doubt always go for the smile.