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Article of the Month |
Some great reading material
Our article of the month for May is the story of how we created the newsletter we had in our business.
As you read the article, let me invite you to pay close attention to the details of how we did it.
The reason for this is we did a lot of experimentation to get our newsletter to work. The article leaves out all of the many mistakes we made, but gives attention to what our newsletter became to produce the great results we got.
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Book of the Month |
I Love You More Than My Dog
by Jeanne Bliss
OK; neat title that invites you to take a look at the book.
After having done so, there is a part of me that is reluctant to make this the book of the month.
The reason for this is the businesses described in the book do some very different things to relate to their customers. My experience has been that when the examples are shown to a group of businesses there is often a reluctance to accept the example.
The comment is, 'of course they can do that because they are a bigger business than me'.
Even when the example is from the same small business industry, I often see the reluctance to accept.
What if you took one small idea from the book and gave it a try? Sometimes you learn from what works as well as from what does not work.
Click on Book Referralto see a list of books that would make great reading for any small business owner.
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Contact Us |
Profits Plus
P.O. Box 128
Dardanelle, AR
72834 USA
(727) 823-7205 Voice
(727) 898-3179 Fax
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May 12-16 is Small Business Week
Whether you sell products or services, every small business can always use reasons to 'celebrate' their business to their customers.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) brings the Small Business Week for May 12 to 16. While I must say that it does appear the Small Business Administration is not doing much to promote it, that should not stop you.
You could promote this by telling the local media about it and what you are doing to participate.
You could send postcards or emails to your customers. These are but two quick and easy ways to call the attention of your customers to your business.
In communicating with your customers there is a component I think is very important. Explain to your customers the many benefits of doing business with a small business. Tell them how they can have more interaction and that there is really someone who is going to be there to listen to them.
My concern, and dislike, are the causes related to small business and shop local that want to tell people how and why they should help save a small business.
Experience says trying to put a guilt trip on a customer is not going to do anything to entice the customer to do business with you.
To that extent, allow me to invite you to read a second article from the Profits Plus website this month. The article is entitled, "Are you a 'my'?"
The focus of the article is to remind you of how you refer to 'my mechanic', 'my dentist', 'my computer guy'. The 'my' is a compliment. The question is to ask if your customers refer to you as a 'my'.
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While we are on the topic of SBA, here at Profits Plus we have our own version. However our SBA is the Small Business Advisory.
This is a monthly no-charge service we provide to organizations within the trade. Each month we send a short article (the advisory) which is intended to be a part of the organization's website or newsletter.
Let us invite you to pass this information to the appropriate individual for your group so they can sign up for the Profits Plus Small Business Advisory.
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The guest for the April e-ret@iler conversation was Jill Kline of the Wyoming Small Business Development Center (SBDC).
Our intent was was to provide an introduction to you and share as much as we could in an hour about all the services available to you by the SBDC in your area.
Jill was a great guest who was kind to invest her own time to visit with all of us.
The May e-ret@iler conversation brings back our most frequent guest, Mike McCormick, CPA, also known as The Cincy Tax Coach.
Speaking with Mike, he said to tell everyone to send in your questions and he will welcome the opportunity to share his insight.
We did discuss three items we want to talk with Mike about. The first is the book Mike wrote that I have often spoken about. This book is about the options you have with regard to the legal entity of your business.
The second item is Mike's new book. And the third is why you should have a meeting at this time of the year with your accountant to talk about what you are going to do as compared to talking with the accountant in January or February to discuss what happened.
Most all of the e-ret@iler conversations from the past five years are recorded and archived on the Profits Plus website. Help yourself to the free downloads.
| Internet Tip of The Month |
The return on assets calculator
Take a look at your balance sheet. The top half represents the assets of your business. While you may want to look through the details, pay attention to the line that represents the total assets.
What if you were to take the total of that dollar amount and invest it in something else other than your business? What would be the rate of return you would expect that amount to earn?
Now ask that question about the assets in your business. What is the return on assets in your business? This free calculator on the Profits Plus website will answer that question for you.
More importantly, as you enter the numbers you should consider 'playing' with the numbers to see how changing them will increase or decrease your return on investment. This will show you what aspects of business, as you work on them, will affect your business.
Return on assets calculator
| The Power Promoting Idea of the Month |
The days for the parents
Mother's Day is only a couple of weeks away while Father's Day is another five weeks later.
How about doing something for these two groups of customers that will cause the media to pay attention to your business?
You could hold a drawing with winners getting breakfast delivered to them on their respective days. For the moms, how about working with a local day spa to give away some services?
For the dads, you could do something with a local sporting goods store. Arranging something with a local restaurant is always a winner.
The key to making this successful is that you do something very different and that you partner with other local businesses.
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