Owning a small business often means wearing every possible hat available, from marketer to sales clerk and inventory manager to HR professional. Learn from the experiences of the small business owners who are NFIB members as well as the best experts for each industry. Below you will find small business tips for everything from taxes and regulation to promotion and networking.
You often have just one quick shot to attract potential customers, so it’s important to nail crucial company visuals like logos, websites and storefronts. Kim Steen owns Intown Tumbling and Yoga for Kids!, offering exercise classes for children in an old church building in Atlanta. Because she didn’t have a large budget when she started the business, Steen relied on the...
The pros and cons of creating and leveraging your personal brand to build business We’ve all seen them: High-profile business owners who are front and center of seemingly every ad or promotion they do, personally urging you to buy their products or services. Some do it well, while others appear unprofessional at best. Is it important (or even appropriate) to put yourself...
Before executing an agreement, ensure you have the right fit and get professional expertise Licensing is not exactly money for nothing, but it’s close. By leasing out your name, image and ideas to an established partner, it’s possible for your business to set up a reliable revenue stream that requires little care and feeding. What can a business license? A successful and...
Cost and Quality Are Key. “There are lots of factors that go into [menu] pricing and it’s unreasonable to think a small restaurant owner, especially a new one, is going to get it perfect on the first try,” says Scott Tyburski, founder of SoftCafe, a Cabin John, Maryland-based maker of menu software for the restaurant and food service industries. The advice shared...
Everyone knows there are two ways to beef up the bottom line. You can make more money—and let’s assume you are trying to do that every day—or you can cut expenses. Small business owners may think they’re already running a lean machine. They watch expenses every day. But there are always place to trim, always some other way to hold expenses...
Ensure any “free sample” is relevant to your business, numbers-driven and carefully targeted. They’re just boxes, but to Ed McMasters they represent future business. That’s why he gives them away for free. At Flottman Co., a marketing firm that prints custom cartons, among other things, McMasters may show up at trade shows with free samples of folding cartons and related products. It’s...
When customers are unhappy, respond quickly, communicate frequently, and keep calm. Whatever a business sells or does, it’s probably not the only game in town. If customers are unhappy, they can easily take their trade elsewhere—and they very well might. In one survey by the Better Business Bureau serving Chicago and Northern Illinois, researchers found 30% of unhappy customers will simply not...
Learn the ins and outs of using a digital format to get your business plan in front of potential investors Brevity is the watchword of the business plan. Investors don’t dawdle over the details, at least not on the first read. But there’s an exception: A picture still is worth a thousand words. While shorter is better, you can score with...
Successful restaurants make the most of their people, personality, and resources You’ve heard the statistic: 90%of all restaurants fail. And while starting any business has its risks, new research finds that well-known figure rather inflated and over-dramatized. Approximately 60% of all restaurants fail, according to a 2012 study performed by researchers at Cornell University. So what helps keep the other 40%...
Get out of your booth and connect with attendees to get the most out of your next exhibit As an author and representative of Dark Quest Books for 10-plus years, Danielle Ackley-McPhail attends eight to 15 trade shows a year. Her motto? Be prepared. “Pack a utility kit to help you—or your fellow exhibitors—with unexpected issues. The kit should include duct tape...
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