Free Publicity is easy as pie
I recently (as of 4 months ago) started writing media releases without any prior experience writing anything media related. It was not by choice that this event occurred. When my ‘boss’ asked me to write a release about an up coming seminar I was terrified of what was involved. I searched the internet for templates and examples, I read every article in as many newspapers as I could get my hands on, I purchased publicity books , like Public relations Kit for Dummies , from the bookstore, and then put my pencil to the paper (quite literally) and pumped out my first release. Guess what? It got picked up! And so did my third, and eighth, and so on.
What worked was building a relationship with the media I was attempting to contact. A proper introduction email, a well written media release, a courtesy call, and a thank you email all helped get me published. The thrill of your first successful release truly outweighs the ongoing writers block and spell check after spell check you succumb to in order to produce a piece of art.
I learned that each person has their own distinctive writing style and each publicity campaign its own unique features. That being said, it is important to overview your entire publicity objectives before you get started. According to David Carriere, you can publicize just about anything by following these 7 steps:
1. Start brainstorming
2. Distill your message down to a concentrated reduction
3. Select a spokesperson
4. Create Press Materials
5. Map out the strategy
6. Execute your plans
7. Allow your success to propel you forward.
If you want to read a quick to-the-point book, go get David’s Book Publicity: 7 Steps to Publicize Just About Anything. It helps
Million $ Market Niche
…what entrepreneurs need to know to succeed
Before creating a brochure, before developing a brand, before designing a website…a small business owner must know who they are creating, developing and designing for. Entrepreneurs must know their target market.
Instinctively, a small business owner should have a good sense of their market. But there’s danger new owners must address. Too narrow a market focus and the business may not meet its sales projections. And too broad a focus and the business risks losing impact on its customer base.
When defining a target market, a new small business owner must identify the niche they can supply better than anybody else, know exactly who their potential clients are, and pursue only those customers offering the greatest profitability.
To identify a niche, a business owner must start by knowing what they do well and who will pay them for it. Defining the customer group can be easy by collecting data such as age, gender, purchasing habits, and group associations. Make sure the proposed new target market is worth the while. Does the proposed niche have money to spend? Can they pay the price?
“New small business owners simply do not have the time, money, or resources to try to sell to everybody. Marketing becomes so much easier once entrepreneurs know exactly who they are trying to reach,” comments Roger Pierce, Small Business Expert and BizLaunch Co-founder. “Business owners will have an easier time talking to them, understanding their desires, and fulfilling their needs if they have a full understanding of their ideal customer”.
Know your niche and know it well, than prepare for increased sales.
Your Company Vision: The Road Map to Success
There’s a well defined road map to unlock business success that is often defined by the owner. Persistence, enthusiasm, and valour, the characteristics of an entrepreneur, play an integral part in the growth of a small business. These characteristics also need to be carved into the company’s vision.
The detailed development of a company vision is vital in the early stages of growth. It should be a clear reflection of the owner’s dreams and hopes for the business. When developing the company vision, keep in mind how success will be measured, what the business will look like: home-based or e-commerce, what the business will become, and the exit strategy, i.e. to sell it, leave it to family, or turn it into a franchise.
Understanding theses things will help the entrepreneur develop a business to be proud of. This is important because, while financial success is a great motivator, it is rarely enough to sustain the owner through the challenges of building a business. After all, there are many ways to make a buck.
“Without a vision, you will likely invest time and resources in places that don’t produce results,” comments Roger Pierce, Small Business Expert and Co-Founder of BizLaunch. “With a vision of a business you are proud of will carry you through slow times, show in the quality of your product or service, inspire employees, and motivate customers.”
BizLaunch, Canada’s leading small business training company, is offering free seminars for new entrepreneurs who want to learn more about this subject. Held in STAPLES Business Depot stores throughout the county, the next How to Grow Your Business STAPLES BizLaunch Seminar is on June 19th in ST. Johns, NFLD, 34 Stavanger Drive. The seminar runs from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Small business owners interested in attending the event may register online at www.staples.ca/bizLaunch
Small Business Bookkeeping: Be meticulous
If you ever entered my father’s office you would notice his meticulous way of organizing everything. Every folder is properly labelled, every note has a date, and even his work out agenda is categorized. He knows when something has been moved or used. You would think he is anal retentive. And perhaps so, but he knows where everything is and rarely loses a single piece of paper. This obsession to minor detail keeps him on track, organized, and on time, just like a small business owner’s paperwork should be.
A recent article written by Roger Pierce, co-founder of BizLaunch, explains the importance of keeping great books. He says that every small business needs to do this in order to know how the business is doing, what is going wrong, and where to focus attention. It can be easy. Keep all receipts, including invoices, bank statements, and deposit slips. Find a reliable bookkeeper who understands your business. Hire an accountant to help you with your taxes. And update your filing system to include proper labels for every folder. Do all this from the beginning to avoid wasting time collecting and filing papers.
Think like my father and organize your business’s financial records meticulously. It will help you keep tabs on your company.
Sidebar: My father vacuums his shop floor. His friends feel compelled to remove their shoes when dropping in to say hi. But he never loses a hammer or nail.
Small Business Report Card
A business report card is a document compiled by the business managers or experts to assess the company performance of strategic activities. Completing a report will allow a business to measure their progress over time and continuously improve their results and their business. The managers will also learn how to compare their company to high-growth companies, what to start and stop doing, what activities the business needs to continue doing, and any specific actions required to attain the strategic goals.
Balanced measures of firm performance are based on:
1. Financial perspectives – How the company looks to investors
• Cash flow
• Sales growth
• Market share
• ROE
2. Customer perspective – How the company looks to customers
• Time
• Quality
• Cost
• Performance
3. Internal and Operational perspective
• Business processes
• Market leadership competencies
4. Innovation and learning perspective
• Ability to innovate
• Launch new products
• Value for customers
• Penetration of new and emerging markets
Completing a report card is not necessary, but will help you understand your company’s growth potential. You can hire professionals to get this service done, FreshBooks, or you can do it yourself. Depending on your budget and time constraints, it still pays to outsource this function. Remember, the report card is completed to help assist managers and advisor’s in the decision process and is not necessarily a pure indication of the company’s position in the market place.
Serial Entrepreneur
What is a serial Entrepreneur?
According to Wikipedia, it is an entrepreneur who starts a number of new businesses after having already started and exited a previous business venture. They are the Mavericks of the world. Serial, the term referring to sequential, recurring, and succeeding, and the term entrepreneur, together defines a broad range of on going attempts to create a business. Is this good or bad? Good if you are Richard Branson and have multi-million dollar companies, bad if you have failed numerous times in creating businesses. Many, who proudly call themselves serial entrepreneurs, flatter each other by their self pronounced title; yet have failed so miserably at developing a successful business.
My warning: look out for those ‘serial entrepreneurs’ whose businesses are unrecognized, have failed over and over again, or owe too much money.
What to look for: Happy employees, satisfied customers, and cash flow.
Renée Warren's Blog 