GROWING YOUR SMALL BUSINESS As any small business owner will attest, launching a start-up business is no easy feat. You’ve worked hard to get your business off the ground and generate a steady revenue stream. Perhaps you’ve made it through the first two or three years and are ready to focus on expanding or growing your business. Here are seven tips for moving your small business to the next level.
#1: BUILD A WEBSITE If you don’t have a website—wait, you don’t have a website? Create one. Now. Regardless of the size of your business—whether you’re a oneperson dog walking service or a plumbing operation 10 employees strong, you need a website where customers can find additional information about your products or services. Build a free site on your own, or hire an expert.
#2: USE SOCIAL MEDIA TO YOUR ADVANTAGE Create social media pages that help distinguish your business from the rest and prompt readers to “like” and “share” your information. Social media is an excellent medium to promote specials, sales, and discounts, and can help you generate return customers. Here are some tips for building a social media presence for your small business.
#3: SET UP AN HR DEPARTMENT A human resources professional can be an invaluable resource once you’re ready to start hiring additional staff. An HR pro can: • •
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Create a staffing plan, including establishing new job titles and descriptions. Develop a system of recruiting employees, including the utilization of recruiting software. Process payroll, and track employee timecards and time off requests. Administer health plans and other employee benefits. Mediate interpersonal conflicts, and handle complaints. Handle employee resignations and terminations.
#4: CONSIDER FRANCHISING Consumers today have embraced the franchise model. Offering your business as a franchise opportunity can help you expand outside of your immediate area or region. When done right, franchising can help business owners grow through brand promotion while creating jobs and helping others achieve success. Read more about franchising here.
#5: FORM ALLIANCES WITH OTHER BUSINESSES Aligning yourself with another business can be an effective strategy for expanding or growing your business quickly. Any company that has something you need and needs something from you can become a potential ally.
Just make sure you follow some basic rules for forming business alliances that flourish.
#6: TAP INTO ADDITIONAL MARKETS A common mistake business owners make is focusing exclusively on a single market. Consider the following: •
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Who is currently buying your product or service? Why are they buying it—what need are you satisfying among this group? What other groups might benefit from your product or service?
A dry-cleaning business might consider adding tailoring and shoe repair services to attract additional clientele, for example.
#7: PATENT OR TRADEMARK YOUR PRODUCT/SERVICE Patenting or trademarking your product can help establish your brand, assure your customers of the quality of your product, and reduce the likelihood that your product will be copied. If anyone infringes on your intellectual property rights, you may be able to sue them. Read more about patents and trademarks here.
Recruiterbox is the developer of advanced recruiting software to help companies efficiently track job applicants. The intuitive, easy-to-use software helps recruiters manage dozens or even hundreds of resumes and interviews per week. Created by Aplopio Technology, Inc., the Recruiterbox system was designed with busy hiring managers in mind. To learn more about the company’s innovative software, visit recruiterbox.com.
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http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/best-website-build-websitesfree/ http://www.business2community.com/social-media/13-tips-build-socialmedia-presence-01052908 http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnrampton/2014/09/29/25-ways-togrow-your-social-media-presence/ http://www.inc.com/magazine/20100601/how-to-build-businessalliances.html http://www.uspto.gov/inventors/patents.jsp