All posts tagged advice

Take Your Small Business With You On Summer Vacation

By | May 14, 2013 | Micro Business Issues, Micro Business Tips, Small Business Marketing 101, Tips | No comments

This post is written by Megan Totka, Chief Editor for ChamberofCommerce.com. She writes on small business news and small business tips and resources. ChamberofCommerce.com helps small businesses grow their business on the web and helps them find their local Chamber of Commerce.

As the weather heats up, the time for summer vacations draws near. It is estimated that nearly half the American population, or 140,000,000 people, will travel this summer.

If you own a small business, you need a vacation just as much as traditional employees but may not feel comfortable totally unplugging and disappearing for the length of your time off. After all, there is really no one who can completely fill in for you during the time you are away from your office, store or computer. There are some ways to find a happy medium, however, and still enjoy your summer plans to the fullest.

Here are some easy ways to make the most of your vacation, and keep your business going strong, this summer. Read more…

5 Quick Tips to Avoid Burnout

By | May 13, 2013 | Micro Business Insight, Micro Business Issues, Micro Business Tips, Tips | 1 Comment

This post is written by Robbie Vogel, a writer/editor with Vistaprint. Robbie has worked for microbusinesses in both PR and advertising.

The life of a small business owner is not a walk in the park. It’s normal to feel overwhelmed, highly stressed, and mentally and physically exhausted at times. However, when these feelings combine with a general helplessness and a desire to simply give up, you might be perilously close to a burnout.

The differences between being stressed out and being burned out are subtle. According to Help Guide, stress is characterized by over engagement and produces urgency and hyperactivity. Everyone knows these feelings, when it seems that the day is too short and the to-do list is too long. Burnout, on the other hand, is characterized by disengagement and a loss of motivation. So if that passion that used to get you out of bed in the morning is nowhere to be found, use these five quick tips to prevent burnouts. Read more…

Tips Thursday: Seasonal Demand in Small Business

By | May 31, 2012 | Micro Business Tips Thursday | No comments

Since we celebrated Memorial Day on Monday and kicked off summer, the team started discussing how micro businesses experience seasonal demand and how they account for it. For this edition of Micro Business Tips Thursday, we asked our Facebook community if their business relied on seasonal demand. Our favorite response came from Roger Taylor.

Roger says, “Some of our business is seasonal, we cater to the hikers and campers in the spring and summer, in the fall we cater to the hunters. We have been able to bring in more products for year round sale, however, everything we hand make for the most part is spring, summer, and fall. This has forced us to diversify our products for the late fall and winter months. So far it has been successful.”

What do YOU think? Do you diversify your products based on seasonal demand? Tell us in the comments section.

How To Set Smart Goals for Your Small Business

By | February 1, 2012 | How To, Micro Business Insight, Micro Business Tips, Small Business Tips | 2 Comments
We have all heard the excuses for not setting goals, mainly people don’t see the value in taking the time to really  think about what they want to accomplish in the short-term and how that will affect  their long-term success.  As a small business owner, it is important to set goals as they serve as a guide in making decisions.

The excuses for not setting goals range from I’m too busy,  I know what I need to do, I have been doing it this way and it works or I don’t set goals because I am afraid I won’t reach them.  Here are 7 reasons  why goals are useful and worth creating:

  1. Contribute to the success of the company
  2. Set specific expectations
  3. Create clear measurable performance standards
  4. Self-motivate
  5. Focus on what is important

    We asked our Facebook Fans what their top business goal is for 2012, here is a word cloud of what they said.

  6. Boost job and personal satisfaction
  7. Help to prioritize efficiently

Goal setting might appeal to common sense, but sense in goal-setting isn’t very common. When setting goals make sure they are SMART goals, Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound.

Specific: Goals must be clear and specific. Goals should say exactly what is expected, when and how much. When goals are specific, progress can be monitored.

Measurable: If goals are not measurable, then it is not possible to monitor progress toward successful completion. Milestones are important and should be recognized.

Achievable: Goals must be realistic and attainable, a little stretch is okay but a common mistake is setting goals too high, those types of goals are easy to ignore.

Relevant: Goals must be an important tool in the grand scheme of reaching your vision.

Time-bound: Goals must have starting points, ending points and fixed durations. Commitment to deadlines helps to focus your efforts on completion of the goal on or before the due date.

We’d love to hear why you set goals in the comments.

Additional resources for goal setting

Set Goals, WikiHow

SMART Goal Setting: A Surefire Way To Achieve Your Goals, Goal Setting Guide

 

Not your grandma’s embroidery

By | January 9, 2012 | Marketing, Micro Business Tips, Offline Marketing | 2 Comments

Bored with your traditional printed t-shirts, hoodies and hats? Looking for a way to refresh the look and feel of your company’s uniforms? Have you considered having your logo embroidered on polo shirts, hats and uniforms?  If not, you should, because embroidery has never been easier to do.

The idea of embroidery might make you think of your grandmother tediously cross -stitching a flower onto a tablecloth or a pin cushion peppered with a variety of needles, but today there are many reasons why embroidered items are good for your business. To demand attention, small business owners can create custom apparel that has a professional look and feel.

In the past, small business owners that wanted a professional look and feel with their apparel products by utilizing embroidery struggled with high costs and long set up times. Now anyone can upload a custom image and have it stitched into a high quality garment quickly and for less.

A few things to look for as you evaluate your embroidery options:

  • Online tools to design and order embroidered apparel products without having to pay set up or minimum purchase fees
  • The ability to fully upload an image or logo online and have it automatically render into a fully stitched pattern
  • Fast turnaround times
  • High quality threads and fade-resistant fabric

Embroidered polo shirts, hats and hoodies are also great for gifts and giveaways. When a customer receives a personally embroidered gift it has a significant perceived value because of the high quality look and feel of the item. Next time you are looking for a way to stand out in the crowd, look professional with embroidered hats, polo shirts and jackets.

What would you have embroidered? Tell us in the comment section.

Tax tips for your micro business

By | December 12, 2011 | Micro Business Tips | 1 Comment

As 2011 comes to a close and we look ahead to a new year, it’s time to start thinking about tax season and preparing to either file your own taxes or hire an outside vendor to assist you. If this is your first year filing taxes as a micro business owner, the process can appear daunting.

However you decide to prepare your taxes this season, here are a few tips to help save you time (and more importantly, money!)

Did you become an entrepreneur in 2011? If you started your micro business in 2011, you may be eligible to deduct some of the money you invested to get your business off the ground. Start-up expenses such as advertising, utilities, office supplies, and repairs can be deducted as current business expenses, but not before you have physically opened your business up. There is a catch though… your micro business needs to be losing money. If you are profitable from the get-go (not a horrible situation to be in!), you may not be eligible for this deduction. 

Did you hire friends or family members?  Micro business owners who hire their children (or any child under the age of 18) can deduct their wages as a business expense. To do this properly you should write up a job description, cut them a company check every pay period, and fill out and file a W-2 form. As a reminder, children can earn up to $5,700 tax free during the calendar year.

Does your business require you to drive? If your micro business demands that you drive to different locations for business-related appointments, you can deduct some of those costs on your taxes. To help easily keep track (and file accordingly), be sure to keep a notebook in your vehicle to record the date, mileage, tolls, parking costs and the purpose of your trip. At the end of the year, you have two choices. You can total the mileage and add in the tolls and parking to calculate your deduction. Once you have your mileage total, multiply it by the current amount for deduction. Your other choice is to measure your business usage against your personal driving and deduct that portion of your auto-related expenses. You can also factor in car payments expenses. Be sure to include your payments if you are leasing a vehicle, or if you bought an automobile, factor in the interest on your loan and depreciation on your vehicle.

Other helpful reminders when preparing your tax returns include:

  • Be reasonable with the deductions you take. Don’t stretch everything you bought in 2011 as a business expense. The more you pile on, the more likely you’ll be asked to prove your deductions during an audit by the IRS.
  • Keep an (updated) filing system. Getting ready for tax season can be bearable and less time consuming when your information is properly filed away. If you haven’t done this in the past, vow to make 2012 the year you create, and maintain, a filing system that helps you keep track of important tax documents. To ensure you don’t fall behind during the year, create time at the end of each month to review paperwork and reorganize as needed.
  • Review your tax return yourself. Even if you had your return prepared by a professional, make sure you understand what’s on your tax return. Ask questions where you are unsure and be confident with the materials prior to signing and submitting. While you don’t need to be a tax expert (that’s why you hired someone), you should have a basic idea of what your provider is doing.

How do you prepare for the upcoming tax season? Any advice you’d share with entrepreneurs going through the process for the first time?

How To: Get your micro business on Google+

By | December 7, 2011 | How To | 2 Comments

Over the past few months, you may have heard a lot about Google’s new social networking site Google+, which is set to take on the powerhouse social site Facebook. While you may be hesitant to create another social networking platform that will require you to monitor and engage with, Google+ does offer some unique capabilities. Google+ features  include more control over what information you share with Circles, connecting with customers using Hangouts, and because Google+ runs on the powerful Google search network, the platform can help give your business more SEO value.

To help you get your Google+ business page up, follow these few instructions:

1.)   Visit Create a Google+ Page to get started (NOTE: You will need a personal Google account to get started). Select the category that best describes your micro business (“Local Business or Place,” “Product or Brand,” or “Company, Institute or Organization” will likely be your best options). If you don’t feel your micro business fits in any of the given categories, you can simply select “Other” where you can enter your page name and website. You will not be required to provide any additional narrowing information of category selection.

2.)   Continue through each step filling in all relevant information to your business. You will also be prompted to add a business logo. PRO TIP: Keep your information consistent with your website, Facebook page and other marketing materials to keep that clean, uniformed look.

3.)   Once you’ve created your Google+ business page, you’ll be prompted to add additional information to your page to help give visitors a better idea of what your business provides.

4.)   Similar to the five photos you can have on your Facebook page, you’ll be prompted to fill in your photostrip. These five photos will be displayed underneath your page’s name and tagline. Be sure you add photos that best represent your micro business. Images of your product or your service in action will likely work best.

5.)   That’s it! You’ve created a Google+ page for your micro business that will give your customers another way to connect with you, as well as another location for potential customers to find you within Google search results.

So I’ve created a Google+ business page, now what?  You’re probably curious what benefit a Google+ business page has over your existing Facebook business page. One advantage utilized by brands of all sizes is that you can follow your customers back and organize them into different Circles. So you could create a Circle for your loyal/VIP customers to share special deals and other, a Circle for all customers to share general news and promotions. You could even make a Circle for your employees as a way to share news, trends, etc. without others seeing. The ability to create new Circles gives you unlimited possibilities of organization and communication options!

Outside of that, continue to update your Google+ page with content as you would with Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms.

Still need assistance? Feel free to check out these helpful Google Learn More videos.

MBR: When a negative can be a positive

By | December 2, 2011 | Micro Business Roundup | No comments

Happy Friday all! We hope you had a great week back after the Thanksgiving holiday last week (we’re still working through the turkey leftovers). There certainly is a lot going on within the small, micro business space as many businesses are ramping up for their busiest sales stretch of the year. While you were likely planning your holiday marketing strategy this week, we came across a series of small business articles we thought you may be interested in as you close up for the week. Issues from how negative commentary can be a positive for your business to the importance of building relationships are covered in this weeks roundup. We hope you have a safe and relaxing weekend!

Why Negativity Can Be Good for your Business Blog – Did you know that negative commentary can actually be a positive for your blog? Think about it from the consumer side, do you really want to see perfect reviews and feedback at every turn? Wouldn’t you feel better at least knowing there are some possible hiccups to be wary of? This recent Entrepreneur.com article takes a deeper look at why negativity is not always a bad thing, and how you handle those situations can help build stronger ties with your customers.

7 Blogs and Newsletters That Can Help You Sell a Business – For many of you, your micro business is your life and the thought of selling it has never crossed your mind. For others, usually called serial entrepreneurs, selling a business is the name of the game. For those interested in selling off their business, the New York Times has put together a list of seven websites that can help you make it a smoother process. Whether you are interested in selling or not, it may be a helpful article to bookmark on your computer.

Boston Beer Co.’s Jim Koch on Self Reliance – As many of you know, we like to share interesting entrepreneur stories that we come across. Entrepreneur.com this week featured the founder of the Boston Beer Company, Jim Koch, who left the financial world to follow his dream of owning his own brewery. Among a variety of intresting points made, we were drawn to Koch’s thoughts on competition. He states, “As a craft brewer in America, after 27 years we’ve (the craft beer industry) finally gotten to 1 percent market share, so my competition is not craft brewers because we’re all going to succeed or fail together.” It’s an interesting concept that micro businesses can take into their own thinking. A group of small business owners bound together are more effective to the overall good of the small business economy than competition among each other.

Why We’re Afraid to Talk Pricing – It’s an on-going issue that businesses of all sizes deal with on a day to day basis: pricing. No matter how well you market your product or service, or how efficiently you are at selling your business proposition to a potential customer, a few numbers ultimately can make or break your sale. In this SmallBizTrends.com piece, the author looks at different reasons why a business won’t provide those scary numbers and how your business can help get away from this phobia.

It’s Always Been About the Relationships – As many entrepreneurs can attest to, building a business starts with the relationships you form. What’s going to make your business stand out from the bigger box stores who will likely be able to win the price game. As this DuctTapeMarketing.com article notes, social media can be an effective tools towards building relationships with many potential customers while flexing your knowledge within your businesses industry.

Getting Noticed this Holiday Season

By | December 1, 2011 | Micro Business Tips Thursday | No comments

In the spirit of the calendar turning pages into December and the holiday’s fast approaching, we were curious to find out how micro business owners were going to cut through the holiday “noise” and help keep their business top of mind. Between Black Friday, Small Business Saturday,  and Cyber Monday among a variety of holiday sales, micro businesses can sometimes be lost in the shuffle. So for this week’s edition of Micro Business Tips Thursday, we asked the Vistaprint Facebook community: How do you keep on top of mind for customers over the holiday season?

While our response rate was low (we’ll chalk it up to busy holiday shoppers), we received a few great responses. However, we were drawn to the feedback provided by Clifton Castleman, who stated:

“A great way to stay on the minds of your customers is to not only advertise your business/products, but also do something that gives back to the community. Sponsor a charitable event or sponsor a food drive; something that puts your brand out there in a positive light!”

Click here to see all of this week’s responses.

Great idea Clifton! We love the idea of volunteering and fund raising to help build awareness for a micro business. Not only does it give back to those in need, but as Clifton mentioned, it places your micro business in a positive light.

So what tips would you offer to help keep your micro business top of mind during the busy holiday season? We’d love to keep the conversation going by hearing your answers below! And be sure to check back next Thursday for another edition of the Micro Business Tip Thursday!

What makes a successful entrepreneur?

By | November 17, 2011 | Micro Business Tips Thursday | No comments

Keeping with our Thursday tradition, earlier today we asked our micro business owners for their advice on a business issue. Given we’ve been discussing entrepreneurial issues, we wanted to find out what entrepreneurs thought made them a success, as in, what traits they found most beneficial. So for this week’s edition of Micro Business Tips Thursday, we asked the Vistaprint Facebook community: Do you consider yourself a successful entrepreneur? If yes, what traits would you say have helped guide your success?

While we received a handful of great responses, we were really drawn to Janet Zaras‘s answer. 

“Never stop moving forward. Appreciate what you have, but always keep looking for more. Keep learning new things to make your business better and never stop looking for more clients. Take care of the clients you have and treat them how you would like to be treated.”

Click here to see all of this week’s responses.

So what traits do you think makes you a strong entrepreneur? We’d love to keep the conversation going by hearing your answers below!

While we will be off next Thursday celebrating Thanksgiving with family and friends, be sure to check back in two weeks for your next chance to be featured on this blog.

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