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How to Give Your Business the Edge

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Competition in the world of business comes as part of the territory. It’s rare that a monopoly is achieved without years of hard work and dedication. Sometimes the struggles of keeping yourself above the water can make it feel as if you aren’t making enough progress or keeping up with your peers. A great way to combat this sense is to rethink your approach and flip your ideas until they start working for you. The most successful businesses offer something unique to their customers, whether that’s a personalized delivery system or even just a user-friendly website. To sharpen your approach and give your business an edge over the competition, take a look at these helpful tips.

One: Know Your Strengths and Play to Them

Even when you find yourself and your business somewhat flailing amidst the sea of rising competition, you can still identify strengths in your business that maybe haven’t been taken full advantage of yet. It can sometimes take a small crisis of confidence for you to see clearly. Don’t panic and instead re-examine the areas of your business that work well. Complicated strategies can easily run away from your grasp so do everything you can to simplify it without compromising quality or efficacy. Once you’ve managed to pinpoint the staples of your plan, take time to enhance each of these and give them the attention they deserve. For example, if you are a predominantly online business, concentrate on your website and how to drive traffic to it rather than focusing on comparatively minor aspects such as employee uniforms or physical storefronts. By doing this, you will save time, energy and money by increasing the effectiveness of your already determined strengths rather than trying fruitlessly to improve upon areas which do nothing to contribute to your success.

Two: Be Specific and Make Your Business Needed

An enticing yet dangerous route for some business owners is to seize upon their success and instantly attempt to capitalize on it without consideration or planning. Just because you have recently seen unexpected profits doesn’t mean your business is suddenly capable of expanding to new territories or taking on unrelated challenges. If you find yourself doing well in one area, it can be tempting to replicate that strategy elsewhere and expect the same results. Avoid falling into this trap by taking this success for what it is – fleeting. To maintain a positive trajectory, you mustn’t be complacent. Focus on what is bringing your business success and keep it going, don’t swerve into uncharted areas in the hopes of finding similar rewards. Of course, business is about risk-taking, but impulsively reacting to success is a recipe for disaster. A better way of taking advantage of these bursts of success is to concentrate your business around them and discover your niche. Don’t try to be everything to everyone as this will stretch your resources too thin and confuse your brand. Instead, work your way to the top of your niche and offer something your competitors don’t.

Three: Delegate and Outsource

A more detailed method of playing to your strengths is to take charge of them while allowing the business’ weaker areas to be captained by other people. Pride can get in the way of appropriately outsourcing but finding the right professionals to take on some of your workloads can make or break a business. It’s understandably difficult to allow a stranger to take control over an aspect of your business, especially when it’s a part you haven’t been confident in yourself. However, locating the best people for the job takes a weight off your shoulders and allows you to focus on the areas which make your business unique. A common fear when it comes to outsourcing is that the work will be either slapdash or a basic template. When business revolves around being unique and standing out from the competition, it can be disheartening to see similarities between your work and someone else’s, clearly showing that you’ve both reached out to the same external professionals. There are, of course, many companies you can outsource elements of your workload to who understand that your business is striving for individuality. These are the people who can offer new marketing ideas, slicker websites, and better operations. Don’t be afraid to enlist the help of these kinds of companies as their input could be exactly what elevates your business above the rest.

Four: Look the Part

It’s sad but true – people are superficial creatures. The history of advertising has led to some of the most captivating marketing campaigns that could pass for works of art. This is why your business can’t afford to offer quality services or products simply, but you should also appeal visually. It’s surprising how effective a mere facelift can be for a business as it rarely changes anything deeper about the product or the strategy. However, by putting aside some time and effort to concentrate on making your brand appealing, you will start to see excellent results. Two identical businesses can achieve vastly different profits all because one has attractive, well thought out branding and the other does not. It applies to everything from your website’s appearance and user experience to your logo. Consistency is key when it comes to your brand as it has the capacity to reach further than the business itself. For example, the Coca-Cola logo has been printed on clothing and become a statement entirely separate from the original business of cola drinks. A well-constructed brand image can change the path of your business drastically.

Gaining the edge over your business competitors can seem like a daunting challenge at first. When faced with the threat of failure or seeming too similar to others in your field, it can be incredibly disheartening. To overcome these obstacles and make your business shine you should examine the strengths already present in your business plan and product. Focus on what makes your business different while allowing external professionals to share the load. Top it off with a strong, consistent brand identity and your business is refreshed, sleek, and most importantly, has the edge.

How To Save Money When Marketing Your Business

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There are many things which can cause concern to small business owners, and budgeting is one of them. It can often be the case that a business owner creates a well thought out and sensible budget for marketing, for example, but due to a variety of factors including a volatile economy, the money set aside for marketing needs using elsewhere. If this happens, it can cause a problem because your marketing will stop, and you won’t have any new customers, meaning you lose even more money. It is a better idea to simply save money when marketing rather than cut your marketing budget altogether. Here are some ideas how.

Use Free Platforms

If you can get your marketing done for free (at least in part) then your marketing budget can remain untouched. One of the best ways to advertise for free is to use social media. Creating business accounts in Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and others is free, and although you can boost and promote your posts by paying, if you include relevant, interesting information that potential customers can share easily, then you shouldn’t have to. It’s not just about social media though; why not offer to write a guest post on someone’s blog? You can write something detailed that is useful and place yourself as an expert in your field. You could also sponsor a local sports team. It costs nothing but will put your business details in front of many people at one time.

Simplify Things

If you keep things as simple as possible, your marketing dollars will stretch much further. You can waste a lot of money enhancing and upgrading your advertising, but if it isn’t needed, and if you can bring people to you without it, then don’t spend any more than you need to for the basics. For example, you can buy website packages that include dozens of pages, but before you do this, ask yourself if you need all of those pages, or if a website that has five pages would work for you. If that’s the case, you can buy the cheaper package. If more pages become necessary, you can upgrade later. The same goes for print advertising; you could pay much more for a bigger ad, or one in color, but is it required? Do your research first to get your answer, and only pay for what you need.

Use Inbound Marketing

Inbound leads work out at 62 percent cheaper than traditional marketing methods, and in business that is far too big a percentage to ignore. Inbound marketing is about creating content that brings customers to you, rather than creating advertising that sets out to pull in the customers. If they come ‘of their own free will’ they are already much more likely to spend money with you. This is because there is a feeling that you’re not trying too hard, you’re not ‘pushy’. Inbound marketing can take place in the form of blogging using proper SEO techniques and social media posts. You could even create webinars and workshops. These are all forms of inbound marketing.

Ask For Advice

Asking for advice is a great way to save money when you are marketing your business. If you ask the people, who have already ‘been there and done that’ then you will be able to hear about the mistakes they made, and stop yourself from making them. You will also be able to find out about marketing hacks and shortcuts that really work. Getting it right the first time is an invaluable way to keep your marketing budget looking healthy. Of course, it’s best if this advice is free – if you have to sign up for costly training or seminars to get it, then you may wish to look elsewhere. It all depends on how much value you can place on getting your marketing exactly right.

Do It Yourself

When it comes to saving money, doing things yourself, rather than paying out for someone else to do it, can save a lot of money. However, it’s only a cost-saving exercise if you are able actually to carry out the work well. If you are not confident then hire someone in; it’s better to pay for an expert than try to do it yourself and then have to call that expert after anyway. It will depend to some extent how long the job will take, and how much money it will cost you in time away from the business doing other things to work out whether it will really be a way to cut costs. Sometimes it is just better to pay for expert help.

One Thing At A Time

It can be easy to pay more than you need to if you’re not focusing on one thing at a time. Market research is essential as you will be able to determine who your target audience is, and how best to reach them. It might be through social media, perhaps print advertising, or you might even want to consider TV or radio spots. Once you know what is going to work best for you, you can then focus on that campaign rather than spending a lot of money in many different places when only one or two of them will actually bring you anything in return. It is also a good idea because it means you will gain more experience in the medium you have chosen, so the advertising that you do there will become better and more efficient over time.

Don’t Change

Something that can cost many thousands of dollars and that isn’t required is change. Change is good when it is necessary, but if you have an advertising campaign that is working, that is bringing in customers and revenue, why change it? It costs money to change it, to change the design, to change where and how the advert is used. So keep on using the same ad until new customers are no longer finding it attractive. This is when you need to change, not when it is all still working.

4 Tips for Managing a New Law Firm

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Managing a recently founded law firm can be quite the challenge, especially for an attorney who is also trying to juggle their own cases while also ensuring smooth operation for the firm as a whole. Playing multiple roles as both “the guy in charge” and someone who deals directly with clients can have you feeling overwhelmed at times, particularly if you haven’t yet established a routine workflow. Fortunately, managing a firm is much like running any other kind of business, so if you have a solid of understanding of basic principles like budgeting, accounting, and account management, you should be able to make things work with a minimal amount of stress. With that said, here are four tips for managing a law firm more successfully during its initial stages:

1. Utilize Consultancy Services

While going it alone is possible, you’ll be in a much more optimal position if you have the guidance of someone who is experienced in the field of law firm management. Thus, enlisting the assistance of a law consultant such as Law Biz is an ideal initial step to take just to make sure you have some experience in your corner before going forward. Such consultancy services will not only help you manage the firm more effectively, they can also help the firm’s attorneys operate more proficiently and professionally on an individual basis.

2. Market to a Targeted Audience

Of course, client solicitation is something every new law firm has to strongly consider in order to expedite the process of building a steady workload for all of the firm’s attorneys. Each firm should specialize in one or more areas of law to allow for a more targeted approach to marketing and promotion. For example, a firm with plenty of collective experience in representing medical lawsuits would want to gear their advertisements towards such clients for a more effective approach than simply promoting general law services.

3. Encourage Client Referrals

Word of mouth is one of the biggest assets for any new firm, as getting the business off the ground and building momentum will depend largely on the recommendations and reviews of your existing clients. Aside from offering commendable service, it’s also good to offer incentives for referrals. For example, some new firms will offer discounted legal fees or even commissions to clients who are willing to refer their friends and family in applicable situations.

4. Create an Optimized Billing System

Billing is one of the most difficult aspects of operations for new law firm managers because you’ll inevitably have to become familiar with some sort of software-based billing system. Avoiding billing mistakes and creating a consistent and predefined procedure for handling billing processes will ensure that your firm is being paid properly while also simplifying ongoing accounting practices.

Hiring the Right People Is Paramount

In closing, all of the above steps won’t help if you’ve brought the wrong staff members on board, to begin with. Furthermore, having to later terminate employees and/or change the line-up of the attorneys in your firm can present an unpleasant stumbling block that could be entirely avoided if you had hired the right team from the start.

How to Run a Successful Business from Home

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When most people imagine the inner workings of a successful business, they usually picture tall office buildings, huge open spaces filled with desks and water coolers, and hundreds of employees buzzing around like bees. Of course, thanks to digital technology there is nothing in the way of creating a business from scratch in your very own home. The difference between running it successfully and letting it become just another failed homemade startup is the level of care and dedication put into it. Here are some helpful tips for you to grow your business from your own home.

One: Outsource Some of Your Workload

When starting your own business, it can feel almost as if it’s your child and you are the only person responsible for it. The sense of ownership can be a blessing and a curse, both encouraging you to do your best while keeping you from letting other people assist. If you work from home because you prefer solitary activities, you will still need the help of others if you want your business to shine. Outsourcing is a great way of getting professional assistance for tasks you either don’t want to do or don’t have the particular skills for. If you need to get yourself seen, enlist those in the know – for more information, take a look at PR marketer. These are the kinds of companies that can make the difference between a functional home business and a successful one. There’s no need to pile all the work on yourself. Delegate cleverly and use your newfound time to focus on more important tasks.

Two: Concentrate

Sometimes the reason people choose to run their business from home is due to financial reasons such as the cost of an office space. Some people even work best when they’re alone with their thoughts. However, your home is full of distractions that can cause you to take your eye off the ball and miss some crucial business opportunities. To avoid falling into this common trap, dedicate a space in your home specifically for your work. Limit the distractions that can enter this space such as food, pets, television, and even loved ones. If you give yourself a set time and place for work, your family will respect that you are busy and leave you to it. Not only will your business improve, you’ll also become more self-disciplined.

Three: Don’t Isolate Yourself

It can be tempting to hole yourself away and work without lifting your head, especially when you feel like you’re onto a great idea or a major breakthrough. Even the most introverted businesspeople can benefit from interacting with others, so take the time to pause from your indoor life and network. It’s important to meet people with similar interests who can potentially help or offer advice in the future. The upside of an office environment that you miss out on when working at home is that you learn from the mistakes of others. Venture out occasionally to do some reconnaissance – your business will thank you for it.

Tips For Making Your Business Strategy A Reality

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Creating a business plan takes a lot of time and hard work. Don’t let your efforts go to waste by failing to come up with an approach for executing on your strategy. It’s an entire process that takes careful monitoring and a willingess to recognize when what you’re doing isn’t working.

As the leader of the company, you have to stay patient and understand the best way to go about making your plan a reality. While it’s a lot of pressure on you, how you handle the implementation process of your strategy will depend on if it’s successful or not. Get excited about it because once you figure out how to elevate your company, you’ll have a lot to celebrate.

Get Input as you Create it

It’s too little too late to ask your other colleagues and leadership team what they think of your business strategy after it’s already done. Get their advice and buy in early, before you try to execute on the plan. You not only want to make sure you’ve covered all of the necessary points, but you want high-level people in your company to have your back and offer their support. They’re going to be instrumental in helping you make your business strategy a reality.

Set Realistic Goals & Include Details

Set achievable goals you know are within reach with extra work on your team’s part. For example, if you want to improve business communications with your customers, then find a unique means of communicating with them. While emails are okay for some businesses, moving into business texting can prove more effective and efficient. Not only do customers nowadays prefer texts over phone calls, but it’s also a quick means of booking appointments, canceling meetings or sending a complaint or positive review. For more information on business texting, contact Text Better.

Select Priorities

Your business strategy is going to be long and in depth. Don’t let that stop you from taking control and understanding what this means for you and your team. There’s going to be a lot of work to get done and not enough resources or time to do it. Be smart and prioritize your goals and projects, so you’re focusing on completing what’s most important first. It’s not a good idea to throw your entire plan at your leadership team and expect it all to get done when it’s not humanly possible. Approach it from an organized standpoint, and explain exactly where you want everyone to be focused initially. Put some of the other objectives on the backburner or save them for next year.

Assign Leaders to Specific Objectives

Your business plan isn’t going to go very far if it’s all on your shoulders. You need people to help you out and take ownership of the goals you’ve documented. Play to people’s strengths and assign the responsibilities based on who’s good at particular tasks. Make sure each goal has a leader matched with it and that they’re aware of what’s expected of them. Delegating the work will free up some of your time and allow your business strategy to take off in the right direction.

Track Progress

Don’t propose your business strategy, assign leaders and then forget about it. You need to have consistent follow up and tracking of progress if you want it to be successful. Have regular meetings with your leadership team, document comments, questions and the current status for each goal. Use your discussions as a time to draw your attention to any red flags or see where you may be excelling and will need another goal to replace the current one. This part of the process is all about open dialogue and holding each person accountable for their role.

Be Open to Changes

Your plan isn’t going to work if all you wrote is set in stone. You have to be willing to flex and open to changes others are proposing along the way. It’s nothing personal; it’s business, and if you don’t want to hear it, you risk the proposed strategy falling apart. Remain levelheaded and remind yourself that when you’re writing the business strategy that it could change in the future. Of course, you’ll want reasons why a particular aspect isn’t working or needs to be changed. Always look for the evidence before you perform corrections or make additions.

Communicate to the Entire Company

Although there may be details only appropriate for your eyes, you should plan on sharing the gist of the business strategy with the entire company. This will help your employees better understand how their efforts contribute to the bigger picture. They won’t be agitated when they receive what feels like a random assignment because they’ll know it has to do with the direction the company’s heading. Hold a meeting to dive into the strategy and answer any questions your staff members have.

Listen & Observe

If you want to experience success and make your vision a reality then you have to always be listening and observing. Hear what other people have to say, use their feedback to improve what you’re already doing and monitor progress closely. Your job is never done; it’s continuous and requires your involvement and leadership on a regular basis. Instead of always doing the talking, sit back and take in what ideas are being tossed at you and if you think you can use them. Read between the lines and pick up on what would have been missed opportunities without your attention to detail.

Believe you can bring your goals to life and you’re halfway there. Focus on the details and executing on what needs to get done first. It’s important to have the support of the other leaders in your company if you want to see your strategy become a reality. Continue to work hard and piggyback off of what goes right so that you can do more of that in the future. Remember that it takes a team effort and solid leader if you want to achieve success.