We are a small tax preparataion business, registered with the IRS. On off peak season we focus on creating business plans. We took an ad out but that didin't work too well. Most of our clients come from craigslist and local flyer distribution. Does anyone have any suggestions on inexspensive ways to get new clients.
jrtaxation- Have you considered partnering with another business in your area? One of my favorite examples of "coopetition" is the florist that shares clients with a local wedding planner. Here are a couple articles on the topic of working with other businesses in your area:Forget Competition, It's Time for CoopetitionGoing Beyond Schmooz: How to Embrace Business Networking and Make it Work for You
Any other ideas out there?
I find that LinkedIN is an under-used resource for networking and finding new clients. Most people have a network with Linked, but there are other features of this business social network that can be very useful in connecting with people outside of your network. use the "Groups" feature to join organizations and conversations with people in your industry, and you will find a robust set of discussions going on that will lead to new customers. You have to do the work, though, and provide real value by offering advice to people, and you will find people will be drawn to you.
jrtaxation- Have you considered partnering with another business in your area? One of my favorite examples of "coopetition" is the florist that shares clients with a local wedding planner. Here are a couple articles on the topic of working with other businesses in your area:Forget Competition, It's Time for CoopetitionGoing Beyond Schmooz: How to Embrace Business Networking and Make it Work for You
Any other ideas out there?
You must get out there and NETWORK! Go to small networking events in your area, check meetup.com for local groups. Join LinkedIn and see if there are any local networking groups set up for your area and join and participate in the discussions. Make sure that everyone knows that you do taxes...friends, family, etc. Finally, get a website and start working on some local SEO..make sure you have a google/yahoo local business page, etc.
jrtaxation- Have you considered partnering with another business in your area? One of my favorite examples of "coopetition" is the florist that shares clients with a local wedding planner. Here are a couple articles on the topic of working with other businesses in your area:Forget Competition, It's Time for CoopetitionGoing Beyond Schmooz: How to Embrace Business Networking and Make it Work for You
Any other ideas out there?
Visit start-up blogs and keep posting insiteful comments related to the post and mentioning business plans.
Stephen Morris | Community Moderator | 5/16/2011 - 9:48 am
JimBoom | Performer | 5/16/2011 - 12:33 pm
AbilityBooks | Performer | 5/16/2011 - 12:21 pm
mauto6 | Window Shopper | 5/16/2011 - 11:15 am
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