A challenge many small business owners face, is the inability to see the future. Most business owner do not have a crystal ball and the talent to see the future. The issue is that the business owners can be so absorbed in the day to day business operations that new trends, ideas and competitors can pop up and change the business landscape. The demands on the average business owner are tremendous today, technology and virtual competitors are putting new demands on owners. If you are not taking the time to understand your changing environment, your advertising and internet presence can become your competitors game.
Business owners today are wary of spending extra money on advertising, marketing and branding, because they know they can’t outspend the “huge” chains. You might consider hiring a business coach (either in person or virtually) to help you find new markets and boost efficiency and productivity during the holidays and beyond. There are new products and services designed to help small business succeed, but weeding through them can take more time than you can afford to allocate.
A business coach can help you prepare budgets for last minute holiday adverting, open your business up to new media opportunities. Did you know that you can place ads on social media sites and/or paid placements (Google/Yahoo) for specific dates with a limited budget? How about a year round directory service like Yext? You can have placements all year long (nationally and locally) with a minimal investment.
A business coach can also help you find better options for staffing, including hiring interns for low cost or free help, hiring veterans for tax breaks, open your mind to inventory expansion, organizational software to improve profitability and website redesign for better user experience. With 50% of all web traffic being mobile/tablet based, you have to be able to compete.
How can you best reinvest your profits from holiday sales most efficiently for 2015? Should you have money set aside for a future downturn in the economy? A major repair or renovation? An unforeseen tax bill? How prepared are you for an unexpected expense? Should you reinvest the profits in expanding your business? You have more options than you can think of, and having two heads can be better than one. A professional business coach can help you make the best choices for your business’ future.
For the SMB or entrepreneur that is short on funds going into the new year, there are lenders like Kabbage whose short term business loans can help cover the extra expenses of expansion or the added investment in hiring a coach to grown your business. Kabbage can be set up online in a few minutes, and has no paperwork to file. For more informational resources (including blog posts and over 100 free small business guides) check out the Kabbage website.
As you get ready to turn the page on your calendar, are you ready for the new year? Would having a coach make sense for your business? If you are not sure, than the answer is most likely “Yes” – A business coach can look at every aspect of your business without the emotional attachment you are burdened with. Your coach can help you to plan for your next steps in your business growth process from a detached perspective, looking at your competition’s as well as your own business’ internal structure and make unbiased recommendations. You still have the power to accept, modify or decline the recommendations – but now you have the power of additional knowledge to help you make a better informed decision.