Build a Better Business - Vyde

Quick Money Management Tips to Build Your Business

It’s no surprise that one of the top stressors for a small business owner is money management. You don’t have to be a CPA or virtual bookkeeper to understand the basics of your company finances and use that knowledge to build your business. Here are a few quick money management tips you can use to grow your business (and your profit!):

Separate personal finances from business finances. Not only does this make tax time easier, it helps you know where you’re at throughout the year as well. More tips on this principle here.
Understand your balance and income sheet. Ben described these numbers in detail in this video.
Set a strict budget and stick to it. The importance of a business budget cannot be overstated. Learn how to plan one in an afternoon.
Create a business savings account. A few benefits of a business savings account include: the ability to earn interest, a stockpile of cash that is useful when tax season comes around, a boost in your credit score, fund protection (Business savings accounts are insured by the federal government up to $250,000), and the simple fact that it’s never a bad idea to have a little money saved for a rainy day.
Be religious about tracking expenses. Every purchase you make exclusively for your business is tax deductible, which means it lowers your taxable income at the end of the year. You’d be surprised at how small expenses add up over time, which is why tracking every single expense is critical to money management. A few ways to track expenses can be found here.
Don’t borrow more than you need. No matter how much profit you think you can turn your business loan into, don’t be tempted to borrow more than necessary. Even if you’re approved for a higher amount, take only what you need to avoid acquiring more debt.
Pay bills early. Rather than waiting until bills are due, pay them as soon as you have the money. You’re less likely to spend money on things you don’t need if you simply don’t have the money in your account.
Set your salary and pay yourself. The easiest cut to make when you’re the boss and funds are tight is to your own salary. However, this can easily backfire. Here are a few tips on determining your salary as a business owner.
Cut costs where you can. From hiring interns to advertising, the ways to cut business costs are endless. Here are 20 ideas to get you started.
Give yourself a financial checkup every year. Schedule an entire day to (or a few hours each quarter) to check the balance on all bank accounts, interest rates on your credit cards, monthly bills, subscription fees, and all other expenses. Write it out and analyze the numbers to determine what you can cut out and how you can maximize your profits.
Outsource the things that use up your time. No money management technique can save you more than simply managing your time well. Since you’re the brains behind your business, you need to focus your efforts on what makes your business the most profitable. If it’s not graphic design, then find a graphic designer. If it’s not SEO, hire someone to do it. Accounting is a great service to outsource because an accountant can save you time and money.

What are your tried and true money management techniques?

How to Attract the Right Talent for Your Company

The size of your budget isn’t the only factor that determines the quality, talent, and caliber of employees your company attracts. There are other ways to find employees who genuinely want to work for you, even if you’re not designing iPhones or promoting Ferraris. Here are a few quick tips on attracting and hiring the top talent in your industry:

Look for people who share your passion. Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, advises: “Stop looking to hire people just because they have extraordinary resumes or impressive academic records. Look for people who share your passion.” A great employee catches your vision and is eager to help you make it come to life.
Know your purpose. If you truly know your purpose and can express it in an understandable, engaging way, people will be more likely to react to it and identify with it. More and more people are seeking job opportunities that provide a purpose and make a difference, not just a high salary.
Boost the company culture. While a day on the job is not all fun and games for most, it doesn’t have to be torture either. Make your business an enjoyable place to work by treating your employees well. Be generous with compliments, flexible when necessary, patient, and kind. Be the boss you’d like to work for. Encourage healthy competition among employees by offering incentives and bonuses, and show your employees that you value health, education, and professional development.
Help potential hires envision their future with you. Most talented and driven individuals realize they have to start somewhere, even if it’s the low man on the totem pole, before they can end up where they want to be. Use the interview to shed light on what the future may look like at your company for the employee, even if the company as a whole isn’t quite there yet.
Offer a great work environment. You don’t have to have massage chairs and pedicures in the break room to offer an enjoyable place to work. A few plants, a clean color pallet, and lots of natural light goes along way in creating a pleasing work environment. Even a simple offering such as free sodas in the fridge or assigned parking spots can help employees feel valued and more engaged at work.
Don’t shy away from the awkward topics in a job posting. State exactly what the potential employee can expect on the job, even if it seems mundane. However, you can still liven up the add by highlighting the fun, interesting ways your company engages with employees and some of the perks they can expect from the job. You may or may not choose to put the compensation in the job listing, but keep in mind that it will obviously come up at some point and you’re probably better off to be upfront about it in order to attract the right talent to begin with.

If you get a few of the right employees on your team and treat them well, word is sure to spread. Become a great employer and you won’t need to offer a six figure salary to have talented individuals beating down the door to work for you.

Planning Your Summer Marketing Efforts Part 3: Cheap Advertising Tips

Now that summer is in full swing and your marketing events are already mapped out, it’s time to execute the plan. Here are a few quick, easy, and CHEAP advertising tips to make your marketing efforts and events amazingly successful this summer.

Gather referrals from happy clients and use them as advertisement on social media and your website. Here are a few ideas on soliciting referrals. Take it a step further by rewarding clients who spread the good news about your business by offering them a future discount or small prize.
Use social media to your advantage. It’s FREE! Of course, you’ll reach a larger audience with paid social media posts, but you can still reach a huge number of people with thoughtful, quality content. Hint: post a picture with your most important social media announcements. A great image increases people’s willingness to read a piece of content by 80%.
Be a comedian. In reference to the tip listed above, skip the stock photos for now and promote your summer business happenings with funny photos of your team. Wear Hawaiian shirts to the office and make a video of everyone sipping snow cones while they work. Be creative and funny and most of all real. (Which is also free, by the way.) Who knows, maybe you’ll even go viral!
Offer a freebie. Freebies don’t even have to cost you money. Have a member of your team design a patriotic printable or summer sign to drive traffic to your website. If you’ve got a little cash to spend on summer marketing, set up a lemonade station in your store or throw in a lei with every order you ship out.
Use a consistent template to announce events. Design a template that incorporates your logo, and then add the dates and locations of your summer events. This will keep clients in the know about what’s going on with your business this summer, and a consistent template will help them know what they’re looking for when they visit your page for information.
Send email blasts before big events. While your announcements on social media may not reach everyone you intend them to, you can be sure that emails will be delivered to who their rightful owner. Craft thoughtful, engaging emails and send them out before each big event with your business this summer.
Good ol’ fashioned flyers. Yep, they still work. Print out a massive amount of flyers with information about your event and send an employee out to hang them up all over town.
Advertise with your customers, not to your customers. Like this video here. It’s hilarious and original, and promotes Lyft without feeling sale-sy at all. Come up with creative ways to make your business fun and involve customers to help spread the word.

What cheap advertising ideas do you have to engage your customers? Share with us, we’d love to hear!

See part 1 and part 2 of our Summertime Marketing Tips Series.

Planning Your Summer Marketing Efforts Part 2: Celebrating Holidays & Events

itius. Altius. Fortius. Faster, higher, stronger – the Olympic motto will be heard often this summer and can be applied to small business marketing, as well as athletic endeavors. Share in the excitement surrounding this summer’s holidays and events to add some inexpensive pizazz to your marketing efforts. Here are few important dates and tips as you plan your summer marketing strategy:

Be Patriotic: Memorial Day 5/30 & Independence Day 7/4. Fly the red, white and blue to celebrate the patriotic days of summer. Did you know that the 4th of July is #4 on the list of holidays most celebrated in the U.S.A? (Right after Christmas, Halloween, and Thanksgiving.) Run promotions and sales of products and services that correspond to these holidays and wish customers a happy holiday on social media as these posts are well-liked and shared.
#Olympics2016. Get ready to cheer August 5-21 – the Summer Olympics are in Rio and it is going to be a party! Carry the red, white and blue theme all summer to support Team USA. Join the #Olympics conversation on social media, cheering for favorites and sharing your own personal stories of Olympic favs and experiences, as well as popular posts. Take your cheering from the couch to your business by supporting local athletes at all levels.
Celebrate Labor Day. This bookend summer holiday is a great place to host a promotion or giveaway. Wrap up your summer marketing with solid Labor Day sales, advertising them well in advance for best results.
Join in local events. There is bound to be lots going on in your area this summer. Whether it is the Warrior Dash fun run, Movies in the Park, Stadium of Fire, Shakespeare on the Beach, or Rooftop Cinema Club, add your small business to the list of supporters by donating goods or tweets, attending, or simply adding your advertising of the activity in your store or site. It is common practice to reach out to event organizers offering a reciprocal social media share – you share their event on social media or in store, they’ll share your site or store details on social media.
Use a variety of marketing strategies. Summer is filled with vacations, family reunions, and get-togethers, so increase the number of times you connect with customers so they don’t miss your special or sale. Email blasts, text message reminders, phone calls – however you connect with customers make sure it has a clear, consistent, and compelling message about the benefits you provide through your products and services. Social media heats up during the summer with everyone posting photos about travels and fun. Keep your brand and message top of mind by posting often – and reposting popular and informative posts. If foot traffic is key to your business, add visual reminders of promotions and deals near the door and register, where customers linger, to grab their attention and promote sales.
Practice. Practice. Practice. Win. Take advice from the athletes – it takes a lot of practice to be an Olympian. Make a plan for the summer, practice a bit every day to improve and expand your marketing efforts. If something is working, do it more often. If something isn’t working, tweak it. It is consistent effort day after day that leads to greatness.

Did you catch our first post on planning your summer marketing efforts. You can read tips on planning the who, what when, and where of summer business events here.

For cheap advertising tips in the summer, visit this post.

Planning Your Summer Marketing Efforts Part 1: Who, What, When, and Where

Even if there’s still blustery spring weather where you’re at, it’s not too early to start planning out the summer for your small business. Marketing can be difficult in the summer as many consumers tend to focus less on business and more on family fun. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t engage your clients in your business during those long hot months. Getting an early start on summer planning helps those promotions and events run smoothly and eases your stress. Use the month of April to quickly map out the who, what, when, and where of your summertime business plans.

Who: Make two lists here. Who #1 is which of your employees is in charge of what summer events and promotions. Let them know what aspects they’ll be managing and what the expectations are. Who #2 is the people you are reaching. Are you planning extra appreciation around your current customers and clients with a summer party? Or are you planning to launch marketing promotions solely to grow your current clientele? Knowing the people involved and the audience behind your summertime marketing efforts is key to success.
What: Don’t overdo it, but set ambitious goals for your company. Make a plan for reaching x amount of employees or $xyz in sales by the end of the summer and plan the “what” to make it happen. It could be digital marketing, like a series of blog posts or email campaigns; on your site, like coupons or summer sales and specials; or physical, like a party, an ice cream social, or a softball tournament. Of course, not all of these events would work for all businesses, so choose what works for you and your clients and roll with it.
When: Keep key summer holidays in mind when planning your events. Something like a digital coupon or email promotion will work better over Memorial Day, Labor Day, or the Fourth of July, but obviously physical parties and in-person events may not attract as much of a crowd during these family-centered holidays. Use the holidays to your advantage, but make sure you do so properly from a marketing perspective. Summertime is busy for everyone, so plan events around what works for your clients and employees who will help you reach your goals, not the other way around. Do some research and post the events on social media/send emails around the time of day that your targeted audience is most interactive.
Where: If you’re holding in-person parties and events this summer, be sure to book your locations early. April and May is a great time to book pavilion, parks, and events centers for events happening in July and August. You’d be surprised at how quickly they fill up.

By getting the larger details of your marketing promotions laid out early, you can save yourself a lot of time and stress down the road. The small details like specific email text, party decorations, and what food to serve can be delegated to employees and worked out in May or June. Maximize those warm fun summer months to grow your business and have some fun with clients and employees.

See part 2 and part 3 of our summertime marketing series for even more great tips.

4 Low-Cost and Low-Risk Ways to Grow Your Team

A few months ago, we polled our Vyde clients about one of their biggest challenges as a small business owner. The results were overwhelmingly similar, with “growing my team” coming in at the top spot. We’ve compiled a few low-cost and low-risk suggestions to help you grow your team.

Start an internship program. There’s nothing better than fresh minds and free labor, is there? It’s what makes interns a great way to grow your team. Contact universities and community colleges (they don’t even need to be local) about setting up an internship program. Most college students need an internship before they graduate, and taking advantage of this opportunity to bring on a potential new employee (but with no obligation) is a win for both parties. Pros are that you don’t have to pay them or hire them long-term, they may bring new ideas to your business and turn into an integral part of your team, and you have the opportunity to help them jump-start their career, even if it’s not with you. Cons are some legwork involved in starting up an internship program, your intern may not be a good fit for your team, and you might have to take extra time out of your day to teach them the ins and outs of daily work at your company.
Hire your family members to work for you. Yes, even your kids. Whether you’re bringing them on as a full-time employee, or simply paying your kids to clean the office building, family members can be an effective way to grow your team. After all, you already know them, you trust them, and you can count on them. Keep in mind that hiring family members can sometimes cause contention and strained relationships though, so be sure to treat it like a business from the very beginning. We outlined some tips for hiring family members in this post from a while back.
Outsource some of your work, rather than bringing on more employees. This sounds a little counter-intuitive in a post about growing your team, but hear me out. Outsourcing some of your work–tasks like graphic design, accounting, small business bookkeeping, copywriting, social media management, etc–can give you time to focus on building a solid team within the office. Freeing up your time allows you more time to train others, interview, and get the right fit. Also, when you outsource these tasks, it’s like a trial run for a potentially permanent job. You only have to pay them for the tasks they do, but if they knock your socks off with their work, you may consider bringing them on as a part-time, full-time, or remote employee. Sites like upwork.com, fiverr.com, and even your local classifieds are a great place to find talented freelancers who are ready to work.
Take the time to hire the right fit, not the quick fit. Going along with number three, hiring the right fit is the best way to grow your team effectively. And, probably, the least expensive. Hiring new employees can cost quite a bit between background checks, drug tests, trainings, certifications, and more. You don’t want to do it more than you have to, so taking your time during the interview process can really help to make sure you get it right. You might consider hiring on a temporary or trial basis and then transitioning the right employee into full-time.

What are your favorite tips on growing your team effectively?

Improve Your Online Presence Part 3: Contact Information & Review Sites

If you’ve been following along on our Build Your Business in 2016 series, you’ve already reviewed your website, and performed a social media audit. Now it’s time to review your contact information and other websites your business may appear on. Keep in mind that all of these sites may not apply to your company (especially if you don’t have a physical address), so just use what works for you to improve your business’ online presence.

Start by searching your company name in a variety of ways. Use a few different search engines, be intuitive about what clients may type in when they’re searching for you, and see what comes up. Make sure you’re easy to reach by customers and that all listings that appear contain correct contact information for your business. Yext will take care of this for you for a fee, or you can do it yourself. If you come across listings that are incorrect, be sure to go into that site and make relevant changes.
Make sure the first 10 pages of a Google search of your company contains correct contact information. Do this for all social media sites and Yellowpages as well.
Next, update your Google+ page, or create one if you don’t already have one. Keep in mind that any photos you upload here will be at the top of Google results when someone searches for your company so they should be professional and well done.
Add your company to Google Maps and Google Local, if these apply to your type of company.
Create a Yelp listing, if you don’t already have one. Your listing should have professional photos and updated contact information, and you should also respond immediately when people post about your company. Give them a quick “thank you” for positive reviews or provide great customer service if they complain about their interaction with your business.
Go through other review sites and update your company information and respond to any reviews left there by customers. A few sites to check are Angie’s List, Better Business Bureau (BBB), Bing Places, Citysearch, Merchant Circle, Trip Advisor, Open Table, Yahoo Local, Yellow Pages, Amazon (customer reviews), and any other review sites where customers and clients may be talking about your company.

Keep your business image sharp by maintaining a professional presence online that is updated and refreshed as things change with your company.

Read the rest of the series here and here.

Improve Your Online Presence Part 2: Perform a Quarterly Social Media Audit

So you’ve reviewed your website and got it looking top-notch? That’s great! The next step in improving your online presence is to perform a quarterly social media audit. Here is a quick checklist for doing that:

Make a list of all social media accounts that your business is part of and plan to update each account. Note any specific edits that you’ve been meaning to fix and haven’t yet.
While you’re doing this, make a list of all usernames and passwords and store them in a safe place. Update your passwords as needed and share them with the correct people in your company.
Make sure all links on your website and newsletter work properly and are directed to the correct account. Only display links of accounts that are actively managed.
Check all contact information: make sure phone numbers, emails, links to websites, and addresses are current on all accounts. Refresh your “about” page(s) and business description as needed.
Update all cover photos with a fresh look and make sure any important information isn’t hidden behind profile pictures. Your cover photos should show the benefits of your product or service, have a call to action, or show happy people with your product or logo. Check out this complete list of social media cover photo sizes before you begin designing.
Create an editorial calendar for your team. It should include a consistent posting schedule for all social media accounts. A good rule of thumb is to update your Facebook page at least once a week, Twitter once a day, Instagram two to three times a week, and Pinterest at least once a week. Ideally, a member of your team could manage all social media accounts and post even more than that. A great resource for scheduling your social media posts from all accounts is Hootsuite.com.
Place a call-to-action on your social media accounts. You can use Facebook to share an “offer” (maybe a free month of your service or a coupon for your followers); post a few quick tweets asking followers to sign up for your newsletter, or include a link in your social media posts that simply directs traffic to your website.
Plan contests, sales, discounts, and giveaways for the year and advertise them through social media. All of these things should be announced and advertised in advance, and then include an extra push on social media while the sale or giveaway is occurring.

Not only do refreshed and well-maintained social media accounts keep your business image looking sharp, they help you engage with your followers, learn about your audience, and interact with current and potential customers on a personal level.

Read the rest of the series here and here.

Improve Your Online Presence Part One: 8 Steps for Reviewing Your Website

Your website is often the first introduction of your small business to potential clients and customers. Keeping it in perfect condition can help boost sales and keep your image looking sharp. Make it a priority to review the functionality and usability of your small business website at the beginning of each year, so you can catch and correct and bugs sooner rather than later.
While doing a complete overhaul and review of your website can sound like a daunting task, taking a systematic approach to the job can simplify things. You can take care of these items yourself, or ask a client, friend, or family member to do the following:

Check all links on the website. Make sure each link directs properly and none are broken or linked incorrectly.
Review all content for spelling and grammatical errors. Small business websites generally contain a lot of information and even the slightest grammatical or spelling error can send the wrong message to clients. Keep your focus on the most important and most visited pages of your site, rather than reviewing old blog posts for grammatical issues.
Update the appearance of your website. Not all small business websites need refreshing, but updating even just the homepage of your site can give it a more modern look and feel as you start the new year. Add current photos, remove outdated features, and keep it simple. Make sure the overall appearance of your website conveys the message you want it to.
Keep your brand at the forefront of your website. Make sure your logo is the focus of at least one page, and place it on other pages within your site as well. Keep colors and design consistent with your brand. Your website should look uniquely yours.
Think functionality. Make sure your site is easy to use. Items should be in their usual places on the website and your navigation bar should be simple and straightforward. Compare your sites with others in your industry to improve functionality.
Refresh testimonials. Clients who are thinking about using your services or purchasing your goods don’t care what Joe Smith said back in 1999. They would rather know what your clients are saying now. Solicit testimonials from current clients via email or social media and keep your published testimonials within the last five or so years. Hint: adding credentials behind your reviewers name is an added bonus and makes your small business look more credible. (ex. “I love this business!” -Joe Smith, CEO at XYZ Hospital)
Social media. If your small business is on social media, those links need to be on your website. Direct clients to your social media accounts for the latest happenings within your business, since they are likely updated more often than your website.
Make your contact information visible on every page. Your business name, address, phone number, and email should be on every page of your website. Keep it readable and easy to find.

Keep in mind that a functional, attractive and error-free website is extremely important, but don’t get so hung up on perfection that you neglect other aspects of your business. You could probably spend all year updating, tweaking, and perfecting your website but 2016 is calling and it’s time to go out and make your small business more profitable than ever!

Read the rest of the series here and here.

Resources

Category: Build a Better Business

Quick Money Management Tips to Build Your Business

Other posts that might interest you

How to Attract the Right Talent for Your Company

Other posts that might interest you

Planning Your Summer Marketing Efforts Part 3: Cheap Advertising Tips

Other posts that might interest you

Planning Your Summer Marketing Efforts Part 2: Celebrating Holidays & Events

Other posts that might interest you

Planning Your Summer Marketing Efforts Part 1: Who, What, When, and Where

Other posts that might interest you

4 Low-Cost and Low-Risk Ways to Grow Your Team

Other posts that might interest you

Improve Your Online Presence Part 3: Contact Information & Review Sites

Other posts that might interest you

Improve Your Online Presence Part 2: Perform a Quarterly Social Media Audit

Other posts that might interest you

Improve Your Online Presence Part One: 8 Steps for Reviewing Your Website

Other posts that might interest you

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