How to make a 6-figure online passive income from your existing skills, interests and experiences

Online Local Marketing for Small Businesses What is local marketing? Local marketing consists of marketing efforts that are designed specifically to draw in local traffic. Before COVID-19, that meant putting sidewalk signs out front, placing ads in the local paper or with the local radio station, and getting involved with your community so that people would get to know your business through getting to know you. In our current situation, where most of us are quarantined inside of our homes, some of that has changed and some of it hasn’t. Why is local marketing important? Local marketing is important because it drives local traffic to your business. It brings people through the doors — virtual or not. Why is local marketing important  now ? Believe it or not, local marketing may be more important than ever right now. As we’re being pushed apart with social distancing requirements, we are becoming more and more aware of how much we need to come together — at a saf...

Subscribe * indicates required Email Address * First Name Email Format html text Digital marketing  The 2019 novel coronavirus has continued its rapid spread, challenging global health and the economy. The virus transmits through human contact, threatening normative ways of doing business, as face-to-face interactions and hand-to-hand transactions have and continue to be essential components in conducting commerce worldwide, especially in less technologically advanced societies. COVID-19 has made human contact a liability. With it, the labour market has changed almost overnight. While some businesses have quickly adapted to a remote infrastructure, others have been forced to lay off staff, cut salaries, or cease activity completely. A key recommendation worldwide to stem the flow of the virus is to practise social or physical distancing. While we can appreciate the importance of stayi...

How will we plan differently after Covid-19? Negative oil prices, plummeting stock markets, home-schooling young children, shutting down the economy: the Covid-19 pandemic has brought about circumstances we never in our wildest dreams could have imagined – especially when putting our financial plans in place. While even those with the best intentions may have tried to plan for every eventuality, likely, there are not many people who can say they were financially prepared for this crisis. As with many industries, the financial planning arena has changed forever. Here’s how we are likely to do it differently in the future. Enhanced need for emergency funding For many of us, our emergency funds were earmarked for eventualities such as emergency travel, large vet bills or unexpected vehicle repairs, and the industry ballpark has always been to hold between three to six months’ worth of income in an accessible emergency account. Before the Covid-19 crisis, many may have considered t...

Working from home, the great divide: Why coronavirus is a double whammy for older workers Identify the Target Buyers for Your Product Find out all you can about the people who you're targeting It’s a finely honed skill to locate that group of people who are your real buyers. This is the time to put away the manners mom so fretfully ingrained and get down right nosy. The more you know about your buyers the better your bottom line will be. You know, that line that either reads red or black? That says spend or worry. Grow or groan. So pick up your marketing bow and let’s do a little target practice.

 The worst thing a business owner can do is delude himself into thinking that everyone is his buying audience. Might as well shoot straight up into the sky and hope to hit a star with your bow and arrow. That approach won’t work and it simply isn’t true. Every business has a defined audience and every business owner instinctively knows something, some little tiny thing, about hi...

4-Step Guide to Starting a Business Become well-prepared before starting a new enterprise In today’s economy, having your own business means you can’t be laid off, and your future depends on your own hard work—not the whims of a manager or a market that’s struggling. Many people who are self-employed wouldn’t have it any other way, and they enjoy the benefits of making the decisions. If this sounds intriguing to you, here are four steps to take before making the transition. Step 1: Research and Read All You Can Many free resources exist for prospective small business owners to learn about entrepreneurship and the ins and outs of small business. Here are a few to get you started. Internal Revenue Service. The IRS provides invaluable information to properly set up your business. In addition, make sure you register your business with the Secretary of State’s office in the state in which you’ll be doing business. Local library. Your local library has a wide selection of bu...

Do Your Homework Before You Buy a Business Acquiring an existing business may be less of a risk, but there are pitfalls Not everyone wants to start a business from scratch. There is a certain attraction to coming into a business that has a history and has grown over the years. It has a location, a name, the necessary permits, customers and cash flow. Compared to a start-up there is a lower level of risk and a greater chance of getting financing. Get professional advice However, one must do due diligence. You must make sure that there is a history of profitability.       Hire an accountant who specializes in business valuation to analyze the financials to make sure that they are what they say they are.       Hire an attorney who can make sure that there are no legal actions against the business, make sure the sales tax is current. Other risks may include obsolete inventory, uncooperative employees or outdated technology. ...

Subscribe * indicates required Email Address * First Name Email Format html text 5 Mistakes That Can Put You Out of Business With a new business, small details can turn into big problems The challenge of starting a new venture doesn't go away when you open for business.  Here are some common pitfalls, and what you can do to avoid them. Running out of cash In the euphoria of starting a business, it's easy to overlook the gap between making the first sale and banking the money.  Often the wait is too long and many new companies run out of cash.  A cash-flow budget helps you predict highs and lows in time to take corrective action fast. Not knowing your customers
  Changes in your customers' preferences and your competitors' products can leave you in the dust-unless you get to know who your audience really is, what they want now, and will likely want next. Doing it all on your o...

How to Run a Business From Your Home With the right combination, you can run a business from home When you're thinking of starting a business that you can run out of your home, first consider the nature of the business you want to open. Some types of businesses lend themselves to being run out of a home and others do not. Consider whether your home business will disturb your neighbors or have an effect on the character of your neighborhood. Questions to ask Ask the following when thinking about what type of businesses lend themselves to being run out of a home: Does the business require a lot of customer or client visits to your home; for example, tax return preparation or music lessons? Are there ways around this problem — for instance, could you visit the client's location instead? Does the business require a lot of space for such purposes as inventory storage, order processing or performing services — for example, auto repair? Does the business produce ...

Subscribe * indicates required Email Address * First Name Email Format html text Find a Niche for Your Small Business Trying to tackle a wide market is usually too broad of a scope for any but the largest companies to handle. As a smaller business, it's often a better strategy to try to divide potential demand for offerings into manageable market niches. Small operations can then offer specialized goods and services that are attractive to a specific group of prospective buyers. There are undoubtedly some particular products or services that you will be especially suited to provide. Study the market carefully and you will find opportunities. For example, surgical instruments used to be sold in bulk to both small medical practices and large hospitals. One firm realized that the smaller practices often disposed of instruments because they could not afford to sterilize them after each use like ho...

How to Market Your Small Business Marketing strategy makes a business visible and attractive Many people often equate marketing with sales and advertising, which are, of course, important elements of a marketing strategy. There are many marketing tools and tactics that can increase both the visibility and attractiveness of your business to potential customers. And as with your overall business structure and strategy, successful marketing requires careful research, planning and a wise use of resources. Different Steps Can Attract Customers The key is to think of marketing not as a single action but rather a combination of steps designed to identify, attract and retain profitable customers, and to differentiate your business from the competition. It encompasses everything from your company name, logo, and service lines to advertisements, public relations, presence at trade shows, and community involvement. Developed a useful customer email list to send out special advertised o...

8 Ways To Become The Best You Stop saying you’re sorry Do you feel like just about everything is your fault? Believe it or not, this is most likely a result of your daily language. Many people get in the habit of saying “I’m sorry” for things that are out of their control or when they haven’t done anything wrong. If you’re not careful, you may eventually end up apologizing for everything you say or do! Once you stop saying “I’m sorry,” your self-image will seriously improve. Try to find replacement words to get “sorry” out of your vocabulary. For example, if someone offers constructive criticism at work, don’t say “I’m sorry.” Instead, say, “Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Reprioritize whenever possible Here’s a sobering exercise: at the end of today, try to write down everything that caused you stress. You might be surprised how long that list really is! Once you know what is stressing you out on a regular basis, you can remove a lot of that stress by adju...