In what industries do professionalism and punctuality become the biggest differentiator? small business |
- In what industries do professionalism and punctuality become the biggest differentiator?
- How do you balance rewarding seniority vs. experience when hiring a new employee?
- How to handle customer complaints?
- Inventory Software
- How to grow your business smart?
- Should I use WhatsApp Business for answering clients from US / Canada?
- Neighbor is a major suburban courthouse how to entice?
- Ideas to build company culture and improve morale?
- LeadPages Review – Cost and Application
- Any Tips for small online business ?
- Payroll, Bookkeeping, Tax compliance and Accounting
- Backlit signage & store front signage. Whose done. What do we need to know.
- How much is average for an animated FB ad?
- Software for my restaurant
- Where does Walmart get its merchandise from
- First Year LLC Accountant
- Friend and I started a social media marketing company, am I wasting my time? Any advice no matter how harsh is appreciated. TLDR at bottom.
- What is a good education source for a white label agency ?
- Help brainstorming market segments
- Robust scheduler/product/marketing all in one?
- Help with GoogleMyBusiness.
- Full time vs part time
- Anyone Here Know how to build a business plan to succeed?
- How to grow a 3D Printing Business Successfully Online?
| In what industries do professionalism and punctuality become the biggest differentiator? Posted: 29 Jan 2022 06:21 PM PST I used to work with a guy who had been doing sales for ~15 years and accumulated some monster accounts. He was around 40, and could've easily coasted into retirement. He started helping out a friends pool company on the side but eventually with left because there was a lot more money to be had with his buddy. I told him I was surprised to hear he was leaving the company but he made a comment to the effect of "you have no idea how easy it is for me to close deals (for the pool company) simply by showing up on times, being well dressed, and carrying myself well" I understand that there was a lot more that went into him closing business than those the things, but I can easily see how those three things helped him significantly. I'm curious what other industries might be similar in that professionalism, honesty, integrity, etc will pretty instantaneously set you apart from a majority of your competition? [link] [comments] |
| How do you balance rewarding seniority vs. experience when hiring a new employee? Posted: 30 Jan 2022 07:43 AM PST For those of you that work in skilled trades (plumbing, HVAC, electrician, etc.), say you are hiring an employee that has similar experience to that of your lead technicians, do you hire them as a lead technician out the door, or do you require a certain level of seniority with your company to be elevated to that position? If you do hire them as a lead technician, do you pay them differently than other leads who have been with you for longer? What are some changes that come with elevating someone to lead tech or rewarding them for sticking with your company? I run a plumbing company, and I usually require someone to be with us for at least a year or so before I elevate them to lead tech. My standards for lead tech might be different than the last company they worked with, I like to see that they can follow our standards, handle complex projects themselves, and give them time to work extensively with the rest of the team so they can vouch for their skills on the field. I also just don't like the idea of hiring someone as lead tech, then them not working out or leaving within a few months because sometimes that just happens with new employees, I think it cheapens the title of a lead technician. Regarding rewards or changes to employees that stick with us, I usually allow someone to earn hourly + commissions after a year and cap them to just an hourly wage before that. This tends to work out because new employees are often hesitant to take commissions due to bad experiences (a common story is that they worked with Roto Rooter or similar and were pressured to upsell services), but once they learn they can earn significant more earning commissions, they always request it. I think this comes with a boost to productivity, as well. Not necessarily looking for advice on what to change, my employees seem very happy with our system. What works for your company? [link] [comments] |
| How to handle customer complaints? Posted: 30 Jan 2022 10:25 AM PST As incredible as it sounds, we just received our first complaint email after 8 years in business - trying to figure out the best response. We run a chocolate factory and charge $15/person for a tour. The group sizes are kept small so it's a pretty intimate experience, with people being able to ask lots of questions and we hand out lots of samples. Literally everyone who's ever done our tour says how much they love it and how reasonable the price is for the experience (a competitor charges $35/person for a shorter experience and doesn't feature everything we do). The complaint from this customer was that our samples were too small, and why didn't I (the owner) personally come out and greet them? They finished the email by saying they did us a favor by emailing us rather than "posting on Yelp for all to see." Like, is that a threat? It left me with a weird vibe. As it's literally our first complaint, I'd like some advice on how to respond. I was thinking a quick "thank you for taking the tour and for your feedback!" and that's it. How do you all respond to customer complaints? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 30 Jan 2022 11:04 AM PST Hello Folks, any advice on what software to use for the following uses case. I have a product that is made of different parts, some 3D printed and some hardware (such as screws, magnets). This software should be able to tell me how many items I need to print and what colour, how many screws I need etc to complete one full product, from the inventory I have in stock. [link] [comments] |
| How to grow your business smart? Posted: 30 Jan 2022 05:47 AM PST Me and two other my friends own a small software development company. We have a steady revenue and during the past 10 years the business kept growing. We now have a team of 12 people and a solid portfolio. We haven't invested much money into advertisement, google search and we don't have a team of sales. All clients were found by members of our team - original founders. We now started asking ourselves a question: where could we be if we spent money on such things? What would you recommend to try when it comes to increasing your sales/ bringing more customers? [link] [comments] |
| Should I use WhatsApp Business for answering clients from US / Canada? Posted: 30 Jan 2022 07:06 AM PST TL;DR: US Clients wanna call me, but I'm in Brazil. Hi there guys, I thank you for being part of this community. I'm a small service provider from Brazil that just left Fiverr. Now I'll have my own website and harness customers myself. I'll be using SEO, PPC ads and reaching people over LinkedIn. Here in Brazil almost every small business uses WhatsApp to get reached by customers. We can use it to text, send audios and make free calls. But my clients are mostly from the US and Canada and I don't know if it is a thing there, at least as far as businesses go. Do you guys think it's a better decision to use WhatsApp Business as the main channel? Or it would be wiser if I just used normal phone calls and messaging? Or do you guys see another option? Obs.: International phone calls and SMS in Brazil is super expensive that's why I thought about using an app for it. Obs 2: I'd love to use Google Voice to solve all this but its not available in Brazil right now. Thanks for all the insights. Lago [link] [comments] |
| Neighbor is a major suburban courthouse how to entice? Posted: 30 Jan 2022 11:44 AM PST Hi everyone I am opening up a bakery in a suburb outside of Chicago. Our biggest neighbor is a courthouse with probably 1000-1500 employees. So my bakery will be offering homemade sandwiches. Fruit smoothies and boba tea and coffee drinks. What is one way of targeting the courthouse employees. How do you approach them. I don't know anybody that works inside the building. But I was thinking about paying a visit to the clerk's office. Open to ideas. Thanks!! [link] [comments] |
| Ideas to build company culture and improve morale? Posted: 30 Jan 2022 10:35 AM PST We've got a small company, 15-20 employees. Before COVID we had a great vibe, but things kind of fell apart. Lack of interesting / dynamic projects, lack of office and field cohesion, lost a couple good people, etc. Things are picking back up now, but it just doesn't feel the same. What are some good ideas to improve company culture and overall morale? We started doing a monthly all-staff breakfast but that's already been met with rolling eyes and disinterest. TIA! [link] [comments] |
| LeadPages Review – Cost and Application Posted: 30 Jan 2022 01:01 PM PST Leadpages' usability, templates, and advanced features are unmatched by any landing page creator. With virtually zero experience, you can create great landing pages. But before you start your free trial (14 days for free), there are some essential things you need to know. https://cleveraffiliatesuccess.com/leadpages-review-cost-and-application/ [link] [comments] |
| Any Tips for small online business ? Posted: 30 Jan 2022 12:39 PM PST We created our website with Square for convenience and ease of use for both customers and us. However, I felt it was extremely rushed since she gave me a 2 week time period to create the website and add everything to it; also there was little to no advertising, announcing the arrival of the online business. there are many things that i have yet to know/ research to make the website better. We had to shut down the website after 4 days for maintenance and to fix some settings since the few customers that ordered items were not getting charged taxes, or shipping and handling. After doing a bit of research I understand now that there are things like shipping carriers, tax rates, shipping weight, shipping distance shipping package, labels, etc. but its still very confusing to me since I believe with all this i may have to increase the price of items to cover the shipping expenses. Thats where I'm confused i would not know how much to increase the item pricing nor what would be a reasonable price. Most items are around $10 for bracelets/necklaces and around $30-$40 for singing bowls. She was also trying to sell crystals at $1 but that would not work out because the customer would basically be paying $7-$14 for shipping and handling for a $1 crystal. We basically have everything to start the online business but what is setting us back is the lack of advertising, and knowledge of how shipping would be done/packaging/ item pricing , and what would be best way to ship items out. We have watched various youtube videos however we're still confused. I have to told her to hold off on the online website to better advertise and for us to get a better understanding of how online businesses work, and also because we are currently busy in college as well, she a volleyball coach and its traveling season, and i am completing my bachelors this semester. Any tips/recommendations would be extremely appreciated ! :) [link] [comments] |
| Payroll, Bookkeeping, Tax compliance and Accounting Posted: 30 Jan 2022 12:28 PM PST Hi All, I'm curious what everyone does to manage their accounting. Do you use a bookkeeper year around? or do it yourself using software and then have it reviewed periodically? A separate payroll provider as well? Or also software and have a CPA do the tax planning and compliance? If you could state what type of business you own and how you manage your entire accounting process - I'd be very grateful. Thanks! [link] [comments] |
| Backlit signage & store front signage. Whose done. What do we need to know. Posted: 30 Jan 2022 11:57 AM PST Couple months back we were literally in the sub sourcing bankruptcy. Here I am sourcing signage for a brick and mortar advice as the new year brought in some fairly miraculous financing & debt restructure. That being said. Wondering what some of the best options are or if anyone whose been down this road can share the do's and don'ts [link] [comments] |
| How much is average for an animated FB ad? Posted: 30 Jan 2022 07:40 AM PST I'm trying to hire someone on upwork to create a "features and benefits" ad with a still pic of our product and then the features and benefits will animate. Most people want to charge between 250-400$ for one ad. It seems like a lot to me. Is that the going rate? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 30 Jan 2022 10:53 AM PST Hi, We are currently using Clover at my restaurant but I really don't like it. Their support team sucks and their software has crashed a couple times so far. I was told to not run away from "tech" as a restaurant owner so we have decided to add more tech. I got a PM from someone at Smartirest yesterday, they apparently have a limited time deal, everything is free for restaurants, only diners pay a 0.99% fee(I would only pay the payment processing fee). Their package includes a TV + tablet and unlimited qr codes for $0. I'm interested in their contactless ordering and the feature that shows the food in 3D. It's a newly established company and I wasn't able to find many reviews online. Is there any restaurant owner here who has used their product before? I want to make sure it is worth paying the clover cancelation fee. They are also willing to take care of creating my digital menu. Everything looks legit but IDK. And they told me there is not long term contract, I can cancel whenever I want. It is called "smartirest". I really appreciate your help. Thank you **EDIT: Thank you. I decided to accept the smartirest offer. I'll update this post in two months. 🤞 [link] [comments] |
| Where does Walmart get its merchandise from Posted: 30 Jan 2022 10:49 AM PST If I were to start a big box store like Walmart, where do I start? How much do I have to raise? Where do I find products to sell? [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 30 Jan 2022 10:45 AM PST Hello all, started an llc late last year in the state of WI as (sole owner) so this will be my first year filing taxes for more than just my yearly W2. Im looking for input on things to look for in an accountant for a first year llc with little (read zero) revenue. I understand completely that you get what you pay for in a quality accountant, but I also understand that a good accountant can easily cost $3k+ to file taxes. I don't know if in my instance the benefit will outweigh the cost having had no income from my llc, but I could be completely wrong on that note so I'm turning to you all for input. I'm interested in everyone's thoughts in terms of what to look for, what to expect, etc. Thanks all in advance [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 30 Jan 2022 09:15 AM PST Hi, Hope this is the right place. So my friend and I started a social media marketing company that services small business owners. The problem is I come from finance and he comes from social media (He grew his instagram following a lot over 7 years) and there seems to be a lot of misunderstandings between us. When we are talking about services to offer he doesn't seem interested in developing ads on social media platforms for clients. He seems to strictly be interested in posting for them in order to help their "brand awareness". I may be wrong, and please tell me if I am, but I told him that ANY business owner worth his salt is going to ask for how, quantitatively, this will improve their bottom line. In sales practice sessions, my partner focuses on "Brand awareness" alone. A casual review of the competition shows that Ad management is a HUGE part of this business with very few offering"brand awareness and follower increases" as the only selling points. I get the sense that my partner only knows one way of validating his experience and is closed off to avenues that aren't in line with it. ie; he's good at Instagram, so therefore that's scaleable for anyone. This might be true, but ROI doesn't seem to be taken into consideration at all. My partner may have a decent Instagram following, but it doesn't appear to have had any material impact on his own income. So, I keep worrying that this is an incredible waste of time. I just can't understand how ANY small business owner would shell out 1k-2k a month for a couple of hundred followers over time. I sure as hell wouldn't. Of course, I could be completely wrong. I hope I am. He additionally runs $100 a month mentoring sessions for a couple of clients. This is where he audits their social media performance and gives advice for growth. That also seems like a waste of time and an incredibly poor sell. Again, I hope I am wrong as I've invested a couple of grand in start-up costs. In order to get a better understanding of his thinking, I've asked him "What books, websites, etc are you reading that helps inform your overall social strategy?" His answer is "I keep up to date with a lot of things, I watch a lot of Gary V." I've asked this question several times over the last year or so and the answer is always the same. When I've asked this question of most other professionals I interact with they usually provide definitive answers like "I'm getting this guidance from yields found on Morning Star , the Wall Street Journal just wrote an excellent article about x,yz". So, I looked up Gary V and maybe I'm mistaken but this guy is just a hustle culture/self improvement "guru". This worried me. So, am I wasting my time? I should add that I have a couple of other revenue producing ventures that he is NOT involved in that I could be spending more time on improving. TLDR: My friend and I started a social media business. He doesn't believe we need to include ad management in our list of services, instead he wants to focus on follower growth and brand awareness as the value offered. I don't think that's competitive at all. Would love any advice, no matter how harsh. [link] [comments] |
| What is a good education source for a white label agency ? Posted: 30 Jan 2022 09:15 AM PST I came across through Iman Ghadzi , or Alex Berman.. Do you guys have any other programs ? Educations ? Ideas ? Appreciate every single feedback and advice.. Thanks in advance [link] [comments] |
| Help brainstorming market segments Posted: 30 Jan 2022 07:41 AM PST I'm working on a side project of starting a Data Studio agency where I make dashboards for clients. There are two approaches I can take: work larger projects with an hourly consulting rate (avg client would pay about $1k/month), or make smaller more templatized dashboards at a much cheaper price ($50-100/month) for a greater amount of clients. I'm interested in option two as I see it as a more scalable model. My background is exclusively working with local governments. They'd be an ideal target for this option for two main reasons: they frequently use very similar data sources and processes, and bulk agreements can be made through state municipal organizations. However, the problem is going after municipalities would be a direct conflict with my current job, which I would like to keep. Where I need help is figuring out a market sector with similar characteristics. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks! [link] [comments] |
| Robust scheduler/product/marketing all in one? Posted: 30 Jan 2022 07:30 AM PST I'm a business of one and I offer online appointments, in person appointments, packages, and classes. I do all of this on acuity and I use mailerlite for newsletter promotions. I'm finding that acuity is missing a huge hole in functionality that is a super big problem. It does not have global limits across all calendars. So if I have in person appointments available 3 times a week, and also online appointments 5 days a week, I had to create two separate calendars to manage that. But I only see up to 4 hours of meetings a day. The problem is that each calendar has its own daily limit but you cannot make a global limit for both. This is a HUGE problem for me. So I'm looking for a new system. Not free, not calendly or any free mind. Ideally, I'm looking for a robust scheduler/newsletter/online class/product all in one, does this even exist? Not using Stripe. Thanks [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 29 Jan 2022 11:20 PM PST I tried asking in GMB & SEO communities, but couldn't find help. So asking it here.. I'm a Marketer - with experience in FB, IG Paid Promotions - Website Designing - E-commerce and all. But one aspect I didn't explore much is GoogleMyBusiness- Now, I know some basic work to get started with - with GoogleMyBusiness. Here they are: ▫️Add Name, Description (being within GMB policies) ▫️Add relevant Keywords & Location [have to work on that] ▫️Create a Website and connect it with GoogleMyBusiness ▫️Create a One-Page Website with GoogleMyBusiness itself as well. ▫️Add Phone Numbers, Emails and other contact info. ▫️Connect and set it up with Webmaster - work on Website speed. ▫️Add Photos/Videos to GMB - regularly update it. ▫️Encourage customers to give us Google Ratings. ▫️Answer Questions and FAQs you get on your Google Page. Regularly. ▫️Try to connect Local Directory Profiles (JustDial, Practo, etc) connected to website and GMB. Please correct me if I'm not looking in the right direction. Also, please suggest the key pointers I've missed. My BIG QUESTION is - all these pointers I've mentioned above seems basic. Our competition will be doing the same too - as they should. But how to make sure that we get to the Top Result? Am I missing something here? What extra steps can we go to make sure we're the top results when someone search for the service we offer. Consider me newbie, as I'm in this field. Any and every suggestion is welcome. Thank you so much. [link] [comments] |
| Posted: 29 Jan 2022 11:09 PM PST For entry level hourly jobs, do yall offer more for full-time vs part time? Out of the ~20 or so people I have, only about 5 are full time. I need to hire another 10 people and seems like most people I find only want to work 15-25 hours per week. Which is fine, it's better than nothing, but those same people are also the ones most likely to call out at a higher frequency as well. Was thinking of trying to attract more full-timers by offering an extra $1-2/hr specifically for them. The part-timers mainly come on board due to the flexible schedule, so they won't work more regardless, and it doesn't make sense for me to turn them away either simply because they can't work a full week. [link] [comments] |
| Anyone Here Know how to build a business plan to succeed? Posted: 29 Jan 2022 04:03 PM PST I bake the most amazing tasting cookies. I'm not into making the best looking bakes but the best tasting specialty cookies. I feel overwhelmed so much I cried just trying to figure out a plan. It seems too hard to do alone. I know I need help but have no clue where to start, turn how to build a fail proof plan, how to make sure I can cover overhead etc. if you can help me with professional advice Please help. [link] [comments] |
| How to grow a 3D Printing Business Successfully Online? Posted: 29 Jan 2022 08:18 PM PST Melbourne based small business sole trader, I'm thinking of specialising my business to provide replacement/spares for computer parts, household items like drawer handles/knobs, umbrella stands, phone holders and the like but having a hard time working out where to advertise? Not much in the way of backing so pretty much using whatever I make from sales to keep going. Had some success via reddit [link] [comments] |
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