Bill Byrd
Sweet Success Online
Make Ready Disaster Preparation for Your Small Business
Sep 25th
Disaster happens when you least expect it.
What should you do?
Have the following records kept separate for disaster time.
How to prepare the business back to normal quickly plumber, electrician, carpenter, etc.
Locate customer list.
Locate inventory data.
Locate financial data.
Personnel file.
Vendors list.
computer data – where is your server, can you login off site?
Can employees work from home?
Always update your disaster plan.
Disaster prep web site: www.ready.gov/business
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Repeat Business – How?
Sep 22nd
The least expensive way to increase sales.
How do you build on existing customers?
With social media lot’s can be done with little expense only time.
Send out a monthly email newsletter.
Staying in touch keeps your name in front of them.
Your name comes up first when they need a service or for a friend.
Send useful industry information don’t talk about your business.
Other ways sending cards for the holidays, birthdays, even telephone calls work.
It shows you are thinking about them.
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Hot Checks – Protecting Your Company
Sep 18th
Staying in business – everyone wants to-
Not paying close attention to the details can put you out of business.
Old saying ‘difference between a good company and a great company is attention to the details’
Locking your doors when leaving for the evening. Shake 3 times
Securing your computers
Hot checks
Places to work on hot checks:
Economic Crimes Unit
Hot Check Division
DA’s Office here in Fort Worth 817.884.1603
File a Law Suit
in Small Claims Court
$50.00 at JP Court
Find one close to your business
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How important is Attitude in Business
Sep 8th
Starts from the top
In the morning/treating employees/customers
Old saying kids don’t hear what you say they do what you do.
Might ask yourself is serving others selling? Good thot you carry all day to help your attitude.
Is attitude more important than your past? Yes can’t change the past but you can change your attitude right now.
More Important than money, failure, success, what you wear, etc
glass half full or half empty.
It can make a company great.
We have a choice.
Attitude you can change some things you can’t, how you look at it you can change and it will change your whole company.
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Selling – Who am I Talking to?
Aug 7th
Some thots from article in Dallas Business Journal by Maura Fleming
Do you ask yourself when first starting to talk to a prospective person – ‘who am I talking to?’
Yes because it depends how you present your presentation depending on the type of person they are.
Assertive risk takers verses quiet non risk takers have to be presented in different ways. We talk about how.
How important is credibility in a sales presentation. It is everything without creditability a sale will probably not be made. We talk about why.
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Can you be Successful in your new Business? YES!
Jul 28th
Timing
God’s Laws
Habits
No doubt
Goals are obtainable
Stay focused
Don’t give up
Know you are responsible
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As a Small Business Owner How Do I protect My Business From Security Threats?
Jul 5th
If you have a startup company you probably haven’t even taken time to think about – you mean somebody might be trying to steal my ideas and methods of operation. Yes it is so easy for those out there with a heart that isn’t pure to do such a thing.
Article in Entrepreneur Magazine April 2011 written by Dan O’Shea who interviewed Jeff Horne who owns Webroot titled ‘Feet on the ground, head in the cloud’.
The article suggested the following:
You need Anti-virus and malware software.
Change your password or passwords frequently.
Use a firewall software to isolate your business computer.
Update all this work with the Cloud. The cloud is an automated updating service that updates your security from a remote server.
Lastly he said proceed with caution and always use protection.
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Manufacturing America Needs It
Jul 1st
To create more jobs getting everyone working across all sectors – small towns, large towns, lower wages, middle wages, and other wage brackets – giving entrepreneurs the incentive to start manufacturing plants we need less tax.
There was an article in the Wall Street Journal 6 June 2011 by Nick Schultz titled ‘Great Again’.
The article talked about how difficult it has become to start capital intensive enterprises.
American now has the highest corporate tax rate in the world with the exception of Japan.
Banks would rather lend money to China and let them do the manufacturing and not our own companies. What has happened to our lenders? Where is there heart in helping young entrepreneurs to expand in American?
Washington keeps talking about needing more jobs but refuse to lower the tax rate so we can become great again. They (public sector) government workers receive the highest pay and better benefits then the private sector. Why should they lower taxes? We need less taxes and less government. Please vote out anyone who votes for more taxes and greater government. This concerns me very much. We may lose our incentive to new start ups and new manufacturing. We want to put America back to work. Washington is not helping you can help by not voting for anyone wanting more tax and larger government.
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Need a Web Site now need to know SEO what’s next?
Jun 21st
Lots of information about web sites and enhancing with SEO information. But what is right especially if I am on a limited budget?
Let’s look at SEO that is optimizing your web site.
How often do you put new information (content) on your site?
What, I had it designed paid for it and I thought I was finished! No!
Everyday look at your site to see how you can update your site, such as, pictures, blogs, newsletters, and other vehicles.
Looking at and designing the blogs, pictures, and newsletters for your customers and then for potential customers.
Analysis – look at other sites in your field, what are they doing different or the same, look for phrases, words on how it drives people to a site.
Use Google Analytics
Are you driving customers away from your site or attracting them to your site?
Ask yourself who are your customers, young people or baby boomers, the color you chose might be bright a great for young people but too bright for the boomers.
Font size can be different and small for young people but not too small for the baby boomers.
Again Google analytics can help you understand key words, how many pages they turn before leaving your site, etc.
Too Much Information – Know your customer – not for everyone.
Getting from the first click, the journey, make it easy.
Always update. Check your competitors.
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Do you need new products in your store? Yes!
Jun 14th
Creating excitement in your store is very important. Mundane will drive customers away. So how do you do it? One way is with new products or a new product.
You want new customers. So first of all are you talking to new customers. You may have to go get them outside of your four walls. So, what do you say. Well having a new product to talk about is always a plus. Read below:
Talk to at least 5 new customers a week about your new product.
Get use to hearing the new saying or the ring in your ear by saying it over and over.
Give out samples. Take them with you and even in your store make sure all your customers receive a sample. Cheapest advertising you can do.
Hang a ceiling danglers. Not very expensive catches the eye and creates newness and excitement in your store. The dangler talks about the new product.
You might say I am not creative, you don’t have to be, take two products and make one package out of it. Say an entree and a dessert to take home.
If you are in the food business already have many recipes develop a cook book over time. Wow, in print a cookbook your customers can have in their homes seeing your name on it.
Just a few ways to create excitement and newness in your shop without a lot of expense. Very important to periodically have something new.
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