Tag: tips

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5 Tips for the Minority Business Owner (Jimmy D. Warren II Commentary) | Arkansas Business News

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Minority tiny-business entrepreneurs took a brutal strike in the course of COVID-19. A June research by University of California, Santa Cruz economist Robert Fairlie confirmed that from February to April 2020, 41{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} of Black-owned corporations and 32{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} of Latino-owned enterprises closed.

Minority small corporations hold an vital spot in heritage, modern society and our hearts. They are mother-and-pop dining establishments, neighborhood barbershops, lawn treatment professionals and extra. People profitable enterprises demonstrate what it can take to thrive currently as a minority small-business enterprise operator.

You Are Your Model.
1 of the good Jay-Z lyrics is, “I’m not a businessman I’m a company, gentleman.” It underscores that the businessperson and the enterprise are 1 and the similar. When individuals patronize your small business, they’re buying into your manufacturer.

That’s important in our extremely psychological political and social climate. Our society is dependent on the perception in flexibility of speech. But this constitutional ideal does not come devoid of outcomes. Be conscious that the political stands you make could reap optimistic — and adverse — results for your business enterprise.

Know Your Community.
For a minority business enterprise owner, remaining concerned in your local community is a get-gain, making it possible for you to community and reinvest in your community. Quite a few minority little-business proprietors wrestle since they don’t know how to be concerned or come to feel welcome.

My recommendation: Start out where your enthusiasm is. It can be as simple as an desire in athletics that sales opportunities to a local baseball team sponsorship or donating time at a charity party. Whatever your passion, discover a way to include the spirit of local community into your enterprise

Embrace On the net Internet marketing and a Sturdy Social Media Presence.
Just one significant lesson from the pandemic is the backlink among company survival and a potent on the net presence. As COVID-19 limited in-particular person interactions, lots of smaller-small business entrepreneurs unsuccessful because they couldn’t pivot immediately to e-commerce. And obtaining an on the web presence is even larger than just advertising goods on the internet. It’s about brand name recognition, articles development and shopper engagement. Make this a precedence.

Get Your Cash Ideal.
Kanye West at the time claimed, “La, la, la, la, hold out ’til I get my revenue appropriate.” That’s a crucial aim for compact enterprises, as well. Minority small corporations are typically underserved fiscally and underbanked quite a few entrepreneurs operate their businesses by smartphone apps like Dollars App and Venmo.

There’s a lengthy history of why the minority neighborhood is hesitant about financial institutions, from redlining in the housing industry and even recently, when Bank of America past 12 months agreed to a settlement with the Justice Section above discriminatory techniques.

So I realize the hesitancy of minorities about executing organization with traditional banking companies. But there’s an unparalleled advantage to forming a relationship with a community lender. By interacting with a banker, you can form a romance that could direct to a lengthy-expression business enterprise bond. That bond allows you accessibility to essential financial methods you cannot get any place else.

Be Engaged in the Political Method.
There’s a story that suggests Walt Disney once asked a employee at his vacation resort what advancements would elevate purchaser pleasure. The worker explained, “Better carts.” Disney asked how greater carts could make for a better purchaser knowledge, and the employee explained that by enhancing the aged, really hard-to-go carts, he could clear rooms quicker, bettering consumer fulfillment and staff morale. The tale exhibits that by sharing your thoughts and opinions with influential persons, you can outcome significant adjust. Do not like the way restaurant merchandise are taxed? Have to have the streets in front of your company paved? Understanding the political landscape presents you a straight line to individuals who can enable your business enterprise.

Getting involved in the political approach is usually not a precedence in the minority local community. But by attending town council meetings, local community teams and remaining abreast of ballot initiatives, you can provide a significant voice in the community. And which is just fantastic organization.

 

Jimmy D. Warren II is a group engagement officer with The Conductor, an entrepreneurial assistance group and general public-personal partnership concerning the College of Central Arkansas and Startup Junkie. He’s also a political communication professional.

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49{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} of consumers will shop Small Business Saturday. These tips can help

A signal reading through “Shop Area” with shut restaurants and outlets on Primary Street on April 10, 2020 in Livingston, Montana.

William Campbell | Getty Illustrations or photos

Although Black Friday may possibly be the most important procuring day of the Thanksgiving weekend, about fifty percent of American buyers are envisioned to convert out for Modest Enterprise Saturday.

A study from LendingTree discovered that 49{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} prepare to strike the stores this Saturday, and are believed to invest an average of $305 each.

That’s compared to the $800 to $1,000 that people are anticipated to shell out this season in general, in accordance to Matt Schulz, main credit analyst at LendingTree.

The survey identified 63{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} of consumers say the pandemic strengthened their loyalty to tiny companies. Meanwhile, the very same selection — 63{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} — say they saw a little business in their local community forever near owing to the wellness crisis.

A lot more from Personalized Finance:
Metropolitan areas and states go dozens of new protections for renters
88{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} of Americans are anxious about inflation
Far more than 1 in 3 U.S. grown ups have clinical credit card debt

Holiday break procuring is envisioned to pick up this calendar year compared to final, in accordance to the Nationwide Retail Federation. In a survey, the retail trade affiliation uncovered 58.1 million men and women program to store on Modest Enterprise Saturday.

Continue to, the most purchasers are anticipated to turn out on Black Friday, with 108 million, although Cyber Monday is expected to draw 62.8 million, NRF’s survey uncovered.

“It is really seriously essential for individuals to action up and help their neighbor and help their neighborhood business enterprise to endure, because it actually does matter,” Schulz stated.

“Even just investing a tiny bit of cash there can seriously make a difference for these people,” he stated.

These recommendations can aid you support your area corporations:

  • Shop tiny companies online. Though most Modest Business Saturday consumers are envisioned to make their purchases in individual, you can also help modest company homeowners by searching on the internet or on websites like Etsy.
  • Get reward cards. You can also reward buys for area location expert services by way of reward playing cards.
  • Agenda weekly takeout meals. Acquiring a “Takeout Tuesday” or “Takeout Thursday” can assist your nearby places to eat. “Even just a $25, $30 lunch purchase for a spouse and children completed continuously by a ton of folks can make a difference,” Schulz claimed.
  • Resist the temptation to go over spending plan. “As fantastic as it can come to feel to assist a compact organization, you don’t require to overspend to in which you happen to be generating points complicated on by yourself,” Schulz stated.
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BBB tips on avoiding scams this holiday season

With the surge in holiday shopping, scammers are looking for an easy target. It’s why the Better Business Bureau is offering tips on how to avoid becoming a victim.

Steve Bernace, the BBB’s president and CEO, isn’t talking about the crowds at the mall – or the pop ads online. Bernace is, however, talking about shopping and thieves who are scoring their own deals.

“This is my 34th year at the Better Business Bureau. I have never seen it so bad right now,” Bernace said. “They are coming at them with everything at people. Every day, there’s a new twist to a different scam. That’s why consumers need to be educated.”

Scammers know there’s a pent-up demand emerging from the pandemic.

The National Retail Federation predicts holiday sales could grow as much as 10.5{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} to $850 billion over last year. A big chunk of that, purchased online, which is convenient but poses risks.

Online fraud was the number one complaint to the Better Business Bureau in 2020.

If you want to protect yourself, look closely at the URL. But, here’s a big ‘don’t,’ says Bernace.

“Don’t follow a link. Go directly to the site itself. Go through Google, don’t follow a link. It’s really zero trust with those links,” Bernace said. “A lot of the scams are on Facebook and other social media sites where those ads pop up because they watch you, they’re big brother, they know what you’re looking at.”

Bernace says a “do” is to look for the online retailer’s information before making a purchase.

“Make sure they have a phone number or a physical address, that they answer the phone because, as I mentioned, you can’t tell if it’s a scam website or a real website,” Bernace said.

Sometimes, a big clue can be a price consumers know is too good to be true in their hearts. But, of course, that goes for all kinds of shopping.

“Obviously, know the price of the product you’re going to buy. Everybody has these doorbuster sales, whether online or offline, because guess what? In the next week, at the Better Business Bureau, we get consumers who say it wasn’t a doorbuster, the cheapest I could have gotten it.” Bernace said.

To avoid overpaying or getting something you didn’t want, Bernace says, prepare.

“Do the education upfront. Know the prices, track the prices,” Bernace said. “Don’t just go to a store and see doorbusters and believe them without having some research, because those doorbusters are to get you into the store and, ‘guess what? Oh, we don’t have that anymore, but we have a whole selection,’ so that’s where consumers fall into a trap.”

And if you’re at a loss, you can try this trusted website: BBB.org.

“It’s so simple. There’s so much information out there,” Bernace said. “Check with the Better Business Bureau. We can find businesses you can trust on our site and you can find the bad actors as well.”

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Pandemic Survival Tips for Small Business Owners

The pandemic has stretched out longer than anyone anticipated and affected a significant number of small businesses nationwide. On average, at least 600,000 businesses close every year, but a recent study from the Federal Reserve reported approximately 130,000 more businesses had closed their doors for good last year than in previous years. The bulk of these were personal care services, such as beauty salons, barbershops, etc.

If you are a small business owner facing continued hardship these days, here are a few ways your business can survive the pandemic and move forward to a brighter future.

Employee “Fireside Chat”

Your employees need reassurance right now. They are afraid and anxious for themselves, their families and, of course, their source of income. The last thing these employees want is a business owner in panic mode. You, as the employer, certainly want some reassurance from them as well — that they will remain loyal and hardworking and keep the business moving strong.

If you have a premium Zoom account, there’s a lot to be said for camaraderie at this point. A weekly get-together on a virtual chat can do wonders for morale and help make your employees feel special. This is an excellent opportunity to get to know the people working for you a little better, talk about new ideas for the company, or highlight important events. While you could certainly treat it like a business meeting if you like, try to keep things light. These people want to know you have their backs, but they also want to know you care. Keeping your employees abreast of things and complimenting them in public to others are effective ways to keep them engaged in your business. Even having a spirited webcam contest, such as “best room design,” can help people feel less nervous and stressed and more hopeful that things will be alright.

Provide for the Future

One of the most important things a business should create is a plan. Whether you look two, five or even 10 years down the road, it is nice to have a blueprint for your business’ future. The pandemic has undoubtedly made it more critical than ever to have an emergency or contingency plan. Too many companies just didn’t plan for one and went under. Maybe your small business was not too severely affected by the loss of work or customers, and that’s great. But if you’re facing hardships now, there are still a few things you can do for future growth. First, create a flexible schedule for your employees and include optional hours for remote work. Second, provide on-site employees with full anti-viral and other safeguard protections. Finally, consider your materials list. Check to make sure materials or products you use are still abundant and stockpiled to avoid shortages. Little things like this will help your business stay more robust in the long run.

Maintain Your Social Media Profiles

Whether you tweet on Twitter or post on Facebook, your social media presence needs to be as strong as ever. With the pandemic still creating lockdowns, quarantines and closures of various facilities or offices, the way you present your business online becomes more important. Consider periodic entries that let your followers know things like a new product or service coming up. Maybe you can do a “check-in” to let them know how things are going, or pass along a hot tip or exciting story. It is vital to keep connected, not just with your customers but with your employees as well. The pandemic has limited how the whole world can meet and greet. With a vibrant online presence, your business can still reach its primary audience.

Keep Your Customers Close

During the pandemic, your instinct might be to take a break and not bother your customers too much, which is the worst thing you can do. You need to reach out more than ever before. Start with emailing your customer list and letting them know that business is still going, although slower. Alert them to some great discounts or sales you can offer, or maybe start a new company newsletter people can subscribe to. The human connection might be limited right now, but the way you connect on a one-to-one basis with your past and present customers makes all the difference. If you show your customers how much they matter to you, you can depend on them for future sales. Answer every email you receive promptly and personally if need be. You may get “unsubscribe” requests, and that’s fine. You want people who will support your business, and a subscription service is a great way to tell who will stick around for the long-term.

The pandemic is testing millions of small businesses around the world right now. The best way to stay successful is to have proper survival strategies in place to stay afloat during even the darkest times.

The best of luck to you all.

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Tips to Help Businesses Improve Marketing Beyond Small Business Saturday

NEW YORK, Nov. 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — iStock, a leading ecommerce platform providing premium visual content to SMBs, SMEs, creatives and students everywhere, today unveiled tips to help businesses enhance their marketing strategies and campaigns beyond Small Business Saturday, creating lasting connections with customers year-round.

According to Visual GPS, an iStock research initiative, 92{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} of people say that small businesses are necessary for the health of the economy. Even with the convenience and ease of buying from big box or chain stores, almost half of people (46{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550}) will go out of their way to support local and small businesses. In fact, almost 8 out of 10 people (79{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550}) said they would rather buy from local and small businesses as a way of supporting their community.

To find more local and small business-inspired visuals, visit https://www.istockphoto.com.

“It’s evident that small businesses are essential to people’s everyday lives, especially as we head into the holiday season with consumer spending power at its highest during Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday,” said Yara Ohashi, Head of Digital Marketing for the Americas, iStock. “Our Visual GPS research shows that people want to, and will, support local and small businesses. This is an opportunity for businesses to engage with these customers in an authentic, relatable way through the visuals they choose in their marketing and communications year-round.”

Below, iStock reveals a few actionable tips to help businesses of all sizes connect with customers more effectively and authentically during Small Business Saturday and beyond:

Be Relatable: Authentic representation is key, including how people’s different cultures and lifestyles are depicted within your marketing. Having insight into the customers you’re trying to reach and using visuals which appeal specifically to that audience can make all the difference. People now expect more accurate representation of themselves and the world they see around them from the companies and businesses they interact with. This shift in consumer behavior is greatly impacting ROIs, with iStock research showing that 74{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} of men and 67{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} of women would prefer to buy from brands representing authentic people like themselves.

Use Video, Video and More Video!: As a way to further engage customers during this time, video has become key to integrating into businesses of all sizes’ marketing strategies. In fact, video is a strong influence for people shopping local, with almost a third saying it’s how they select small businesses to shop or do business with. To create professional-quality videos that are affordable and simple to make, iStock created has created a new free, quick and easy video maker that doesn’t require any previous design or editing experience. The iStock Video Editor can help any small business or entrepreneur bring their visual storytelling to life—whether that’s for announcing a sale, promoting an event, or adding stories to Facebook or Instagram.

Demonstrate Sustainable Practices: According to iStock research, as a way to show support and commitment to protecting the planet and creating a sustainable environment, almost a quarter of people (21{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550}) are shopping smaller, local companies and brands over global ones. Show how your business and services can support them in their mission by using visuals in your marketing which show the small steps they can take – whether that be showing reusable items, sustainable travel (bikes or e-scooters) or the repair and reuse of clothing and other items.

Embrace Technology and Connection: The use of technology in our everyday lives has only accelerated due to the pandemic, especially when it comes to online shopping. iStock’s Visual GPS research says that 60{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} of people feel empowered by all the technology available to them, with over half (63{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550}) saying they use mobile phones more now as a way to transact and pay for things than ever before. This is an opportunity for local and small businesses take a hybrid approach to how they visualize shopping local now and into 2022. Using visual content—imagery, video and illustration—that tailors to a variety of customers, whether they want to shop in-store or online, is important in illustrating our current realities and appealing to a broader range of customers during this time.

SOURCE press.gettyimages.com

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Three Tips For Business Leaders Navigating A New Normal

CIC Delivery Leader at IBM – ROW 

The raging pandemic is showing signs of ebbing in some countries but in others, it continues to peak. The world is opening up within small windows. So, in the current situation, how should projects be handled and delivered? This is my second article along similar lines but with more insight into current events and the best ways forward.

Online classes, meetings, conferences and webinars are still ruling the roost. There are bountiful features now available in online meeting applications that help make it more secure, reliable, safe, fast and economical. Travel is slowly starting up again, but some companies may still be wary of traveling, noting the time and costs involved. 

Big IT companies are opening up their offices for senior and leadership employees once or twice a week to gauge the readiness and preparedness of coming back to the office for their entire staff. Precautions like proof of vaccination, face masks, social distancing and a sanitized environment are being carried out. Still, the threat of infection lingers on and is preventing any fast decision to return fully to office. The operating models of many IT companies have changed and a new working model is in place. This has been mostly successful and the impact on the business and operations due to Covid-19 has been very minimal. Some of these changes in the operating model are bound to stay forever now.

From the employees’ viewpoint, they have become accustomed to working remotely, and not necessarily from home. Many would prefer to continue this same way rather than maneuver in the dense traffic and eat meals out. I see a mindset already in place for many employees to continue working remotely as much as possible. Many people have benefited from less stress and better habits in absence of a commute and long days at an office. This can have a rippling effect on multiple professions who are dependent on business from this segment of workers.

It must be noted, many of the retail, telecom, energy, construction, travel and hospitality companies are struggling to survive and many of them have already closed. There is an eagerness as well as a hunger to bounce back to get more business. On the contrary, food delivery vendors as well as big retailers like Amazon and Flipkart have come out with innovative ways to deliver goods and services.

The entertainment industry which had taken a major hit is bouncing back with innovations. Leaders like Netflix and Amazon Prime are grabbing this space and creating new business models to survive. But it is yet to be seen how successful these are over a period of time. Some industries and activities after this pandemic are never to return. Some will return in a new form, and some are waiting for the pandemic to get overlying low.

There are a few instances I would like to highlight below which have chartered new territories in working remotely. A news report coming from the PWC company has stated that 40,000 of its U.S. workforce are asked to permanently work remotely and never to return to the office. This new policy will impact professionals across client services, including consultants, auditors and tax professionals. The firm claims the move is the first among professional services firms to offer a permanent work-from-anywhere policy moving forward.

Another startup company in India, “Slice,” has offered a unique proposition to aspiring job seekers. They are offering a three-day work week with 80{ac23b82de22bd478cde2a3afa9e55fd5f696f5668b46466ac4c8be2ee1b69550} of the current payout. The remaining days are available to them to follow their passions and other activities.

For business leaders continuing to plan amid uncertainty, there are a number of measures to consider in planning for the future. I and my team have undertaken many of them in response to the many changes brought on by the pandemic.

Flexible Working Options

One potential solution is to make remote work optional. This allows freedom, especially for those who cannot come into the office for medical or other reasons. You can also consider a partially remote setup. For example, employees can come into the office on three alternating days during the week with the rest of the time spent working from home. This would work for departments like operations, sales, HR and some projects which require strict access controls to be in place. The third option is complete remote work. Extend the fully remote option to employees whose presence is not required in the office. There are many projects that do not need a physical presence in the office to execute the work.

Modified Benefits Plan For Employees

Consider updating your benefits plan to include a wider range of services. This could include reimbursement of internet, mobile phone, power back-up equipment, and more.

Employee Connection

It can also be helpful to renew efforts to foster employee connection. This could look like a remote work lunch session. I have used this for many of my meetings. Employees prepare their own food or it is ordered online and delivered to each home.

Virtual birthday/milestone achievement sessions with a surprise gift delivered home is another way to keep up connections.

I and my team have implemented many of the above policies and have seen lower attrition levels, higher motivation from employees, and a generally happier state of mind from the team.

Is there an end of this dark tunnel of pandemic anywhere in sight? There seems to be, but it’s impossible to know for sure. Another variant or some other global threat is always a possibility. Times are changing and so are the demands. It is not very far away when I can confidently say “Work will not matter enough.”

Forbes Business Development Council is an invitation-only community for sales and biz dev executives. Do I qualify?