Tag Archives: Don

Increase Your Home Business Sales

The top home business leads are best given by fellow work at homers and advertising on content based sites. Networking is the key to increasing your customer base and forums like Wahm.com can help you either boost your existing clientele, or create one from scratch. Blogs can help you in indirect ways as well, raising the consumers awareness from a different point of view.

There are thousands of people who refer to themselves as ‘WAHM’s or WAHD’s,’ simply put they are the Work-at-home-moms / dads and while a lot of businesses write them off as small-time, it’s quite the contrary. They swap ideas, fresh job leads, suggestions for business sales, the works, and they do this on forums. Wahm.com and freelancemom.com are communities of business entrepreneurs, independent contractors, employees working from home, and those looking to break into the businesses. It’s always best to include forums such as these because although they are all wanting opportunities, the fact remains everyone still has needs and your business could easily be the one to fill the gap.

The average consumer confesses they found a great deal while actually searching for something else. For example, your Sunday paper says Walgreens has your favorite razor on sale, however, on your way there, you notice the local gas station is having a 2-hour only sale $.10/gallon off of gas. You weren’t looking for this deal, but it popped out at you, so you of course you took advantage of this and now you have just found a deal you didn’t intend on getting. This is an example of how a wise business would use forums of home-based workers and businesses to fund their own home business.

Content based blogs and sites vying for a cause are all opportunities for your advertising needs. Imagine an article titled “Child deaths caused by toys: Harmful affects of lead paint and the manufacturers who create them.” This article is a hot topic and would definitely attract a lot of readers, especially moms. Now, say your business is selling ‘Discover Toys.’ On this article you would advertise “Lead Free Toys, improvement motor skills and mental awareness, the natural way.” Or assume your business is selling dresses. You would place an ad stating “Stain Resistant, No-Iron, Floral Dresses.”

The point is, you need to think outside the normal parameters of advertising. Don’t assume you can only advertise on like minded sites. You must recognize the Pro’s in placing ads on completely opposite sites as well. Find the blogs that coincide with your business and then find it’s exact opposite, and after that, find those which match the unseen elements of your business. Know your business and understand there are never any limits.

Marketing Your Grand Opening Ceremony

Starting a business is an exciting adventure and one of the highlights of this adventure is the grand opening ceremony. This ceremony is much more about establishing relationships with people in your community than just celebrating that you’ve opened for business by cutting through a ribbon with a pair of ribbon cutting scissors. Businesses employ various tactics to try and win people over, including offering free samples of their products to prospective customers on opening day or pampering them with food and what not to leave a long-lasting impression in their minds. This is all fine and dandy, but before you start trying to lure in potential customers, you need to worry about actually getting people to your grand opening ceremony.

In the past, the extent of marketing this sort of event demanded didn’t extend beyond word-of-mouth advertising and print advertising in the form of flyers. While this is an effective and cost-oriented approach, you’re missing out on a large number of guests by not exploring other advertising mediums. For instance, the online advertising market has taken off in recent years. The technology has become so advanced that advertisers can target customers from within their own locale. Such targeted advertising is exactly what your event needs. However, you need to walk before you can run, so let’s focus on the basics. Set aside all other tasks, such as searching for where to rent grand opening ceremony scissors aside until your marketing efforts are fully underway.

Flyers can be extremely helpful in attracting guests to your grand opening, but at the same time can be a detriment to your business. Part of the problem lies in the fact that business owners consider flyers to be a supplemental form of advertising, when in fact they can be the cornerstone of your marketing campaign if used effectively. Thus, they aren’t particularly concerned with design quality and whatnot. Don’t fall victim to this sort of mindset. A poorly designed flyer that uses plain text as opposed to your company logo and features images from a clipart gallery can be very off-putting. Invest some money to have a professional firm design the thing, and print it in color and on some glossy paper to demand some attention. You can post these flyers around the neighborhood and talk to existing business owners to have them put up in their own establishments.

If you repeat this process for at least a few weeks, you are bound to spur some word-of-mouth advertising about your neighborhood. You should recruit some friends and family members from the get-go to start spreading word about your opening.

When it comes to online advertising, call your local newspaper and ask about what sort of advertising rates they charge. You already know exactly where their website traffic is coming from, so you can’t go wrong by posting an ad or two on their site. Again, make sure you secure the services of a designer to avoid giving your ads a cheap feel.

10 Awesome Tips to Improve Your Project Management Skills

It doesn’t matter how large or small your project is, if you want a successful outcome, the best way to do it is to be a good project manager. It is predicted that less than half of all large scale projects fail, and that many projects wind up with cost overruns by the time they are completed. One way to avoid this happening with your project is to be a good project manager. To be a good project manager requires that you keep your managerial skills honed. Here are 10 awesome tips to improve your project management skills.

Create an outline of your project

An outline should include a basic description of the project, why the project is necessary, who the project manager is, and all resources that will be used to complete the project. All team members should receive a copy of the outline.

Create a plan

The plan should include schedules, projects costs, resources to be used, possible risks that may arise, and have all supporting documentation, if applicable. It should also include a plan for how all elements of the project will be handled.

Get organized

The project should be mapped out by tasks, who will be responsible for said tasks, the resources to be used, when the tasks should be completed, and who should be informed when the tasks are completed.

Develop a risk assessment

What may go wrong? When may it occur? How will it affect the project? What can be done to avoid it? Come up with an alternative approach in case the risk turns out to be real, and possibly put the whole project in jeopardy.

Communicate

Communicate with your team members at every stage of the project whether things are going well or not. Be proactive, and get involved with your team members. Listen to them, and interact with them. This will ensure that all team players are on the same page.

Be in aware

Know what’s going on with your team members with regard to their productivity, and concerns, and address any issues that arise.

Be in control

Oversee each task, and compensate when issues arise.

Build up your team

Motivate your team along the way. Recognize their achievements and reward them. Provide positive feedback. Recognize their strengths, and challenge their weaknesses.

Finalize the project

Review all aspects of the project, and ensure that each one has been completed to the specifics of the project plan before calling the project a success. File all documentation relevant to the project for future reference should the need arise.

Celebrate

Don’t forget to celebrate the successful outcome of the project! A lot of time, energy and dedication went into making the project a success. Have a team celebration such as a group luncheon, or a night out. Make sure every team member knows that you appreciate their contributions to the project.

As a blogger Trudi Buck writes about how to pursue a Master`s in Project Management.