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As a veteran, you never really leave the service of our country. I know – I’m a veteran, too. Once you are no longer actively serving, however, becoming a government contractor is a great way to serve the government community in a different capacity. In fact, there can be great advantages in being a small veteran-owned business selling to the government. The key to success is to make sure you have all the pieces in place before you start selling yourself as a veteran-owned business. In other words, you may get the government’...
I received an email from somebody asking me how to calculate TAM, which is “total addressable market,” (don’t feel bad if you didn’t know the acronym, because I didn’t either; I had to look it up). I’ve always called that simply “potential market.” As far as I’m concerned, these are the same thing. I’m going to call it potential market here, in this post. Regardless of what term you use, understand that these numbers are stories, possibilities, and hopes, not facts. They’re...
These days, its all about staying in touch with the customer. And one thing you should be doing in those interactions is surveying customers to find out how they feel about your product or service, your marketing, and your business overall. Customer surveys have probably been around as long as businesses have, but the-ve never been easier to do. Today, you have a raft of options for getting the scoop on what your customers really think. Here are just some of the ways to solicit customer feedback: Social media: If you have a Facebook,...
It's that time again -- the tax season -- when individual and business tax returns must be prepared. This year is particularly challenging because of new legislation and the expiration of old provisions. Here are some important changes for small business owners to note on this yea-s return. Expired provisions Certain business-related deductions, credits, and other beneficial tax rules expired at the end of 2009 and have not been extended for 2010. These include: The five-year recovery period for depreciating farming business machinery...
Last month I was asked to sit down with another Adviso;s client to review their holiday marketing collateral and make suggestions to improve the design. On first glance there were several key changes that could be made to improve the design as well as the probability of getting the desired result of more holiday business. But predominately the element needing change that stuck out most was the one that was missin- the customer! Like most small business owners we advise, this client was passionate about his product. So passionate that i-s all...
Obviously, if you're going to invest in a business of your own, you'll want to make some money, right? But, is that all you're focused on? Will only making money do it for you? Most of the prospective franchise owners that I've consulted with don't even want to make lots of money! Are you surprised? Now, I'm not saying that these folks don't tell me things like, 'Joel, of course I'd be fine making a lot of money.' or, 'I'm certainly not going to turn down $200,000 a year in profits from my franchise...
Government contracting so often gets a bad wrap. I;s too hard to land a contract, awarded contracts are unfair, government is uncooperative, or industry is uncooperative. -ve heard all these and many, many more. It has become almost chic to insult the contracting process. There are certainly things within government contracting that need to be fixed. This is nothing new. But, instead of focusing on those, I would like instead to talk about someone trying to make the process better- what h's doing, and how it will help small businesses....
The holidays are such a wonderful time of year. Most everyone is in a festive, friendly mood. Yet, despite the fun and gaiety, it is also an extremely stressful time, particularly for women business owners. It's a proven fact, the majority of all domestic responsibilities fall on women throughout the year. We are the social planners, organizers, decorators, chefs, car service providers, community volunteers, care-givers and overall general managers of our homes and families. And all of this comes on top of our normal 60-hour work...
Out in the real world, in small business and entrepreneurship where growth comes more as a result of hard work and following through than because of broad strategies, it's too easy to lose site of the big picture and instead focus on the driving route and never ending details. My suggestion for 2011 is: step back for a bit, take a look at the big picture, and focus on growing smarter, not harder. The illustration here shows the basic wisdom of the Ansoff Matrix Model, developed at Harvard a couple of generations ago, yet still worth...
The years end is a great time to revisit your marketing plan and see how effective it has been in the last year and what you can change going forward. With the economy showing signs of recovery, a marketing checkup is a smart tool to help you position your business for growth in the coming year. Her-s what to evaluate. Your marketing plan. To begin, take a look at your current marketing plan. What are the elements of your marketing mix? What are you doing and how often? How much is it costing you, in both money and time? (Today many...
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by BillGormley, Former Guest Blogger on Wednesday, May 11, 2011 - 10:15