business plan for small businesses

The Ultimate Guide to Creating a Winning Business Plan for Small Businesses

“Failing to plan is planning to fail.” This saying by Benjamin Franklin couldn’t be more relevant for small business owners. As per the Small Business Administration (SBA), approximately 50% of small businesses do not make it past the five-year milestone. What is one factor that can significantly enhance your chances of success? An expertly prepared business strategy. If you’re a new company seeking financial support or an existing small business hoping to improve your approach, a well-developed business plan guides your path toward expansion. It is more than just a piece of paper – it serves as a mechanism to …

how do Google adwords work

2022 Marketing Trends: Top 10 Eye Openers

Curious about which 2022 marketing trends will win the day?  Read on! We’ll cover: The rise of smart devices Visual search The Great Resignation Online competition The Creator Economy Privacy concerns Video trends Social media community AI and text-to-speech The founder for lead generation We all knew COVID would have a lasting impact on digital marketing, but over the past year, we have begun to realize its significance.  The pandemic accelerated the move to digital for not only searching and transacting but for learning, entertainment, and socializing.  Consumers looked for more things they could DIY, including products and services they …

Does Your Online Marketing Feel Like Throwing Darts?

Remember the carnival game where you had three darts to throw at a wall full of balloons to win the giant stuffed panda?  Most of the darts would hit the wall, or skim by the balloon, and if you did manage to pop a balloon it would typically be for a rather unexciting small plastic whistle and definitely NOT the giant stuffed panda.  The problem with this game is that you don’t know where the panda prize card is pinned, and you may not have the greatest aim.  But you know it’s there somewhere so you just keep on paying …

Recipe For “Brand Chocolate”: How To Be Irresistible

How do some brands seem to have that irresistible quality that creates a loyal following of happy clients who talk about them and refer others?  How do some brands seem to be found while others disappear? To explain, I like to use the analogy of a chocolate shop.  The chocolatier’s dilemma is that she has this amazing ingredient to work with that so many people will enjoy once they experience it but there are other chocolate shops on her block, so many ways she could prepare her chocolate, and so many different customers she could serve.  So how does she …

5 Key Digital Marketing Best Practices for 2016

I’m often asked the question “what’s the next big thing in digital marketing?”. The truth is that the next big thing isn’t one thing at all, it’s everything. As consumers we are overwhelmed with data. We reach for our smart phones as soon as we wake up in the morning to check email and our favorite news, weather and social media channels. We use Waze to get to our appointments more quickly, use our online apps to help us perform our jobs, order lunch using GrubHub, use GoToMeeting so we can still meet while we’re mobile, search product reviews and …

Digital Marketing Trends for 2016

This year has shown us that any doubts we may have had regarding the dominance of mobile is over. Mobile is clearly where it’s at. That said, as I have often advised, behind every digital campaign is real people who are seeking information, education and entertainment. Responding to real people requires that your brand be authentic to who you are. Data analytics may be cool but it represents the behaviors of actual people so if we remember to speak to those people with our content in a way that responds to their needs, then we are more likely to make …

business processes

Do Your Business Processes Make You Sink or Swim?

How did you spend your day yesterday? Did you spend time developing business processes for how you can grow your business? Did you call 10 prospects who might be a good fit for your services? Did you invest time in coaching your successor to allow you to grow into your next exciting venture? No? If you’re like most small business owners, your day was spent delivering the services that make money for your company, fighting fires, answering emails, trying to make it through your “to do” list and then mindlessly scrolling through Facebook or Linked In reading updates when your …