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You are always selling more than one thing Whatever product or service you sell, you are always selling more than one thing. Unfortunately too many businesses, in determining the price for a product or service see only one item. Selling a soft drink? Has it been sitting on a shelf? Or is it icy cold and ready to drink? Those are two very different products. There should be two prices. Your business is lawn maintenance; too many people give a quote by simply looking at the size of the area to be maintained. However, in a residential situation, would most people want their grass cut on a Monday or a Friday? Again, two different services and the opportunity for two prices. When determining the price of a product or service, the cost is irrelevant. The question is, "How much will the customer pay?" And in getting to the answer, you have to notice all that you are selling and what the customer wants to buy.
Article of the Month - Pretty as a picture One of the best potential advantages a business has comes with the visual appeal as a customer walks into the business. Does your business peak their curiosity so that a customer wants to walk through the entire business to see all that you have to offer? We have some ideas to share so that your business is pretty as a picture.
Who is visiting Small Business Converations this month? - Chris Ramey Chris Ramey was a very interesting interview when he was last on Small Business Conversations. With this visit we are going to look at pandemic selling and the changes in customer loyalty. Watch your email for the invitation to attend the live program on a Thursday evening this month.
Book of the Month - Brandscaping by Andrew M. Davis During the pandemic did you notice the number, and types of businesses that struggled more because of the products or services they offered? In the interviews we participated in, we suggested businesses finding ways to partner so that both businesses could continue to serve their customers. Partnering could also bring new customers to your business. And that is why we selected Brandscaping by Andrew M. Davis as the book for January 2021. You will read about some great ways you can reach customers by way of a partnership.
Internet Tool for Your Business - What is your debt to net worth ratio? One of the most important measurements of your business is the debt to net worth ratio. It compares how much net worth (equity) you have in the business to the amount of debt you have. If you are borrowing money, the lender is definitely going to be looking at this ratio as they decide if they are going to loan money and what the interest rate will be. It is also a number you will want to know to help you see that as you borrow money you are also increasing the value (money) you have in the business.
Staff Incentive for Your Business - Recognizing essential People who are "essential"; as the pandemic has continued, how many times have you seen or heard of people being essential? If you are on Facebook you have likely seen postings of recognition of all kinds of jobs being essential. Your staff is essential to your business. Are you recognizing them for their effort? Recognition is appreciated and can do a lot to remove stress from the workplace. We want to recognize A Carrot A Day by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, whose book provides the basis for each month's incentive idea.
What's coming up that you can promote? - Give your existing and potential customers a reason to celebrate. We collect information from National Day Calendar and share certain events that we know you could include as a part of your promotional efforts. We are adding this new feature to help you create events for several reasons. Your customers will enjoy a fun connection with your business. You can easily use social media to promote the event. You will get the benefit of your event getting a tie in to events that local and national media promote. Our favorite example is that of chocolate pie. Yes, there is a chocolate pie day. If you are a grocery store or restaurant, it is a natural to tell your customers of the event and invite them to do business with you. Other businesses could do a joint effort with the restaurant or grocery store. Putting these together can be quick and easy, but should be planned in advance. As an example, as this is January 1, we suggest your looking at what you can do in March. Some of our favorite March events are:
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FEBRUARY 2025
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With over 25 years of frontline experience Tom Shay is America's leading Small Business Management Expert. He's a "Must Have" for your next event.
Small Business
Hopefully there are few small businesses that are operating with handwritten documents. Whether you have a point of sale (POS) system; Curstomer relationship management (CRM) system; or anything digital that helps you better operate your business, there remains a question.
Are you using everything that you bought? That is the focus of the February Small Business Advisory.
Small Business
As small business ownerss we are sure to disagree on many aspects of business management and ownership. However there are two items that I will always insist on.
The first item for you as manager and owner of a business, you must inderstand financial information. You cannot leave it to an accountant. The second item is you have to invest in educating your staff regarding their responsibilities within your business.
Most every small business has inventory. It may be inventory used as a part of your services. It may be inventory for items used in your business. The article of the month shares ideas of how you should control the inventory. This is important because you do not want to run out of the necessary inventory, and you do not want too much of your money sitting in more inventory than you need.
You cannot beat your competition unless you know what they are doing. The February book of the month is, The Everything Store, written by Brad Stone and Jeff Bezos.
