Small Business Checklist Summary

December 28, 2009 2 Comments

We have a list of 10 checklist items that every Small Business needs to think about. While we did create a more detailed version of each, we are going to put them all in this post for easy access and readability. This is for anyone looking to start a business in the new year or for anyone that has just started a business and wants more information on how to keep it going. Below is our Small Business Checklist. Click each item for the full article.

Small Business Checklist Item #1 – Business Name

Choose a business name that suits what you want to do and plan to do in the future. Many entrepreneurs try to pick a name that they like, but sometimes it does not encompass what your company is going to do. A word of advice that many people do not think about is that you should not have a company name that has your name in it. The main reason for this is because if you ever have a chance to sell the business, there is less likelyhood that someone will purchase your business because of the name. Business Investors and purchasers want a name that can keep people interested and is memorable. Using your name is an easy way to create a company name, but not the most effective in the long run.

Small Business Checklist Item #2 – Research

We need to expand a little further on the Business name from yesterday. Please make sure that after you pick a business name, make sure you have the right to use it in your state. You can usually check this out with your Secretary of State website. Once you verify that you can get it, go to the register of deeds and fill out a DBA form to secure the name and then do it with the Secretary of State (depending on your business form, which we will discuss a little later)

Small Business Checklist Item #3 – Business Structure

Ok, so you have done your research and realize that your business idea is a viable one. Now you need to look into how you want to structure your business. There are 4 basic structures to choose from with variations within each structure. The main thing that you need to think about are covered with the following points.

Small Business Checklist Item #4 – Business Plan

This is a step that many small businesses forget to do. While a business plan is not really required to run your business, it is a very helpful tool. If you do not know what a business plan is, it is simply a written format of how you want to run the business and what the business stands for, as well as the mission of the company. These can take time to create, but they will help you in the future to keep your company on track with your original goals.

Small Business Checklist Item #5 – Proper Forms and IDs

We know that it can be exciting to start up a new company and get selling or have your ideas become reality. The one thing that we ask is that you make sure that you have all the proper forms and certificates in order to sell properly. Each state require a certain set of forms in order to be a legal business, most require business license and sales tax ID’s.

Small Business Checklist Item #6 – Take Inventory or Dropship

We are asked about this more times than we can count. Please note that this tip is really only dealing with companies that sell online, not really traditional retailers with brick and mortar stores. This is an important discussion because it lays the foundation to how success you can be either online. We will go through some quick pros and cons of each, so you can make a little more informed decision.

Small Business Checklist Item #7 – Insurance

To insure or Not to Insure? This is a good question, but the answer is simple……Get insurance! There are many of you out there that have not taken the time to look into good business insurance for whatever company you run. This is a very important part of business to protect your investment. We will not go into detail about all the insurance types out there for businesses, but we will show you some points to think about.

Small Business Checklist Item #8 – Calculate Profit Margins

This is a simple task to accomplish, but we have spoken to many people that have started a business that never really looked into creating prices for their products or services that gave them a positive net margin. We are sure that many of you have probably done this as your started your business, so this tip is really for those thinking about starting one or just starting one. Please take the time to properly calculate your profit margins on your products or services.

Small Business Checklist Item #9 – Employees

If your company is at the stage where it needs to hire employees, you better take this stage very seriously. You are going to be trusting people with the company that you build from the ground up, so you need to make sure that you take the proper steps in hiring the right individuals.

Small Business Checklist Item #10 – Social Media

As the internet ages and online marketing gets harder, companies need to now think about using social media as a marketing medium. If your company is not using social media as a way to attract new customers, then you really need to think about starting. Social Media outlets include blogs, twitter, facebook, you tube, and more. These are great venues to build your brand online.

There are No Guarantees with SEO!

December 9, 2009 0 Comments

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization is becoming a large part of many company marketing strategies. This is the known practice of tweaking your website to better rank on the search engines for given keywords. The issue is that many companies do not know how to do it properly or in the correct manner that will not get them in trouble with the big 3 engines. Many companies outsource their SEO to firms that handle small parts of the SEO plan or all depending on the needs. With the large increase of SEO services on the internet, many people are trying to get their piece of the pie. With this happening, we want to warn you of some potential issues that can arise.

There are many great companies out there that provide their service and get results for their clients, but they are usually masked by the bad companies that do not thing, but take your money. These are the companies that you have to be careful of. Here are a few tips that can keep your marketing budget safe and get you results at the same time.

How long has the business been in business? This is an important factor because most reputable companies have been in business and have experience in the field of SEO. Not everyone can do SEO, but many say that can.
Does the company have a portfolio? – A portfolio is an important tool for any SEO company to have because it shows proof of what they have accomplished. Most reputable companies will furnish their portfolio for you upon request. These usually contain websites or keywords that they have worked on and what they have done to turn it around.
Do they offer a Guarantee? This seems to be a trend in the SEO world, but seems only to be done by shady companies. No One can offer you a guarantee for results. This is not how SEO works. If a company that your are looking at provides you a guarantee like you will be on page 1 within a month, just turn around and leave. They cannot offer this guarantee without the knowledge that they are doing something shady. Most people or companies that offer guarantees end up getting your website banned or in trouble somehow with the search engines.
Do they have an office and contact information? With all the new start-up SEO companies out there, it is wise to look just for companies that have offices and contact information beyond an email address. Most companies that have a real business address have invested the time and money into providing a real service to their customers.
What are their time frames for results? If anyone is telling you that you should see results within a week, they are probably not doing the SEO in the right manner, more like Black Hat SEO. This can be very bad for your website. Most companies should tell you that it will take months to see good results depending on the project. Go in with realistic goals and you should realistic results.

With these simple and easy to remember tips, you can make sure that your are not taken by a shady SEO company. Not only will you lose money, but you can hurt your website’s current rankings. Take the time to properly vet the companies that you are interested in. Making a decision on the fly will never be good for you or your company. SEO is a constant process that never stops, so don’t expect outlandish results within an unmanageable time frame. Most reputable SEO companies should tell you that you can start to see good results within the first 12 months. Good luck to everyone looking for a good SEO company to help them succeed online.

Small Business Checklist Item # 10 – Social Media

December 2, 2009 0 Comments

As the internet ages and online marketing gets harder, companies need to now think about using social media as a marketing medium. If your company is not using social media as a way to attract new customers, then you really need to think about starting. Social Media outlets include blogs, twitter, facebook, you tube, and more. These are great venues to build your brand online.

One of the most important things about online marketing is building your brand and keeping your brand awareness with your customers. The easiest way to do so is with social media. Not only good to build brand awareness, but you can also use it to solve any customer service issues or any negative feedback that you might find online. It makes it easy to stop negative feedback when it starts, so it gives you a better reason to fight negative comments.

Twitter is an easy way to tell your customers what you are doing right when you are doing it along with giving your followers deals that no one else can get. You can also use twitter to answer customer questions and provide information about your business and products.

Facebook is also a good way to build your brand and keep your customers up to date with what you are doing and what products/services you are now carrying. It is easy to setup an account and build your own company page.

Not every business can use You Tube, but if you sell products and you can provide video reviews of these products, then youtube is a great venue to be at. Anyone can sign up and post videos, so provide your customers a great way to see who you are and what information you can give them.

Creating your own company blog is a great way to voice your opinion about your industry and to let customers know what you are doing in your company. They are easy to setup and can be a very good asset when trying to convince customers to do business with you. Most hosting platforms include wordpress, which is one or the most popular blogging platforms.

No matter which social media outlet you choose, or all of them (this is preferred), you can keep your brand well protected and keep your customers happy as well. Many companies are creating positions in their marketing teams that is for people to runt their twitter, youtube, facebook, etc accounts to make sure that they are looking good in the eyes of their customers. Social media is not going away anytime soon, so make sure your company is utilizing it.

Small Business Checklist Item # 9 – Employees

November 18, 2009 0 Comments

If your company is at the stage where it needs to hire employees, you better take this stage very seriously. You are going to be trusting people with the company that you build from the ground up, so you need to make sure that you take the proper steps in hiring the right individuals.

First, you should probably think to see if you actually will need full time employees or just part time. If you only need part time, then think about a staffing agency as they already do the background checks on individuals and they have a pretty extensive talent pool to look at. You can also skip the hiring of employees and just outsource the work that needs to be done to freelancers. There are sites like Elance.com and GetaFreelancer.com that can help you choose someone or another company to do work for you when you need it. This is a very popular method to use because you can choose where you want to your freelancer to be from and what skills they possess along with what you pay them. If gives you all the options and the power to choose the right freelancer to meet your needs.

If you are going to hire a full time employee, then you need to make sure that you have all the proper forms and documentation that enables you to hire individuals. You want to make sure that if you have a technology or service that you make sure your employee signs something that doesn’t allow them to copy or compete with you once they leave your company for x amount of time. This is a standard practice because the employee will know the inner workings of your company when they leave. There have been many companies burned out there that did not provide this documentation to the new employee. You have to think about benefits, pay, insurance, time off, sick leave, and all the things that go into hiring a full time employee.

We suggest that if you do not need a full time employee, but just need someone to pick up that slack, that you just hire a free lancer, or maybe even get an intern from a local college. A lot of times, they get college credit and you don’t have to pay them, so it is good all around for you and the intern. Please make your choices wisely because this can affect your company in many ways.

Going Green can be a great Marketing Addition

November 16, 2009 1 Comment

We have all probably seen the “green” bags around our local grocery stores and big box retailers in order to push the going green scene. This is catching on a lot around the country and around the world as we try to rid ourselves of using and disposing of so many plastic bags. Before, there was real no “incentive” to use these green bags unless you wanted to make the change yourself. Most of the bags cost money, around $1 each, so many people just didn’t want to get them as they were an added expense. Well, there have been a few changes that might help you make the change.

Large retailers like Target and CVS now have programs that will pay you to use the reusable green bags. Target will give you 5 cents for every bag that you use, so make sure you pick some up soon enough for your holiday purchasing. Now this might not sound like alot, but if you shop at Target a lot, then you will surely pay for the bag and more. CVS has a loyalty program that gives you a tag to scan and for every 4 tag scans, you get $1 in loyalty money, which you can use at your discretion at CVS. Lowe’s foods also has a program that will give you their new reward points for every plastic bag that you reuse or for every green bag that you use.

These programs will most likely catch on with other large retailers as many small ones are starting to already do this. These type of programs are a great way to show that you not only care about the environment, but also about giving your customers a way to save in this tough economic time. Learn a few things from these retailers and try to come up with a way to get your company “Green” in some way. It can pay off in the end.

iMark Interactive