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Business Insurance 101
By Edward Tillman
Below is a coverage decoder when you purchase insurance for your business.
- Property Coverage: Protects your owned buildings, business property, and inventory.
- General Liability: Protects against liability claims for bodily injury and property damage arising out of your premises, operations, products, and completed operations; and advertising/personal injury liability.
- Auto: Protects against liability and property damage claims arising out of the use of your vehicles. Coverage can be purchased against damage to the insured’s own vehicle.
- Workers Compensation: Protects your employee (or the employee’s family) due to a job-related injury (including death) resulting from an accident or occupational disease. It is required in N.C. when you have three or more employees.
- Cyber Liability: Protects against a variety of both liability and property losses that may result when your business engages in various electronic activities on or through the Internet.
Learn more about Edward Tillman of The Tillman Agency at thetillmanagency.net.
Write Clearly and Simply
By Deborah Bosley
Every single piece of written information that comes from your company either improves your image or distracts from it. To keep your brand fresh and relevant, be sure all your written information is easy for people to understand and use. That means eliminating jargon, making action easy to find, editing out extra words, and being helpful and friendly. Nothing is more frustrating than having your potential customers not understand the information you’re sharing with them. Easy-to-read and easy-to-use information increases trust, improves the bottom line, decreases call-ins, and generates new customers.
Deborah Bosley is owner and principal of The Plain Language Group. Learn more at theplainlanguagegroup.com.
The Remote Workforce
By April Simpkins
Many organizations utilize this business strategy for a number of reasons including saving money on office space and offering work/life balance. There are, however, some very critical points to consider with this business model.
- How will you provide tech support if the employee’s computer malfunctions?
- Remote workers are still covered by worker’s compensation policies. How will you address safety and injuries?
- To what lengths will the company go to safeguard confidential information?
- How does this impact paid time off?
There are a myriad of issues to think through when establishing a work-from-home model that is fair to both the organization and the employee. Those issues include managing performance, establishing trust, and setting clear expectations of work time and work load. The success of this model depends on expectations and guidelines that are transparent.
Learn more about April Simpkins of HRS&S Consulting at hrssUSA.com.
Buff up Your Networking Skills
By Asaad Malak
Connect Others. Do you know a business that needs a position filled? Also know someone looking for extra work? Connect the two! The company will have the help it needs, the individual will have the work he or she wants, and you’ll be known as a valuable networking resource.
Follow Up. Let the people you connect with know that you value meeting them. Send a follow-up email to let the other person know you appreciate his or her time.
Treat Connections Like People. It’s great when you find someone whose knowledge can give your business an edge, but remember to acknowledge business contacts as people rather than assets. Provide contacts with assistance when needed. It’s a chance to prove you are a reliable connection and that you care about businesses other than your own.
Asaad Malak is the owner of Malak Jewelers. Learn more at malakjewelers.com.
Find an Accountability Partner
By Nicole Ayers
My neighbor has a career in a similar field, and we meet once a month to check in. If not for our monthly meetings, my business would still be an idea. Every month I choose a couple of items that I need to complete—website update, digital portfolio creation, new headshot—and I tell C. She often has great suggestions for how I can accomplish my tasks. The next month I report back on my progress. Being your own boss is tough, especially when the tasks are hard, boring, or time-consuming. I’m much more motivated when I know that I have to “report” back to my partner. And at those meetings where nothing has gone right, she lets me wallow and then kicks my hiney into shape. Having an accountability partner is one of the best business decisions I ever made.
Learn more about Nicole Ayers of Ayers Edits at ayersedits.com.
Tend Your Bridges
By Lee Bierer
Everyone is a potential client or at least knows one. Take care of these relationships—or bridges—that might lead to new business. You might get referrals from babysitters, supermarket cashiers, hairdressers, wait staff at restaurants, and people in your Zumba class! Even if someone chooses not to hire you, always answer any questions and make sure they know that you’re always happy to take their calls. Sometimes people who don’t hire you may still recommend you to their friends and colleagues for whom you’re a better fit. It pays to be pleasant and helpful!
Lee Bierer is the president of College Admission Strategies. Learn more at collegeadmissionsstrategies.com.
Profit-Size to Optimize Income
By Sherre’ L. DeMao
Too many business owners stop at their P&Ls to assess profitability. Real aha moments happen when you look beyond.
Profit-size your offerings. Look beyond which products or services gain you profit by margin or volume in sale. Also prioritize each offering based on least labor intensive; most distinctive; internal expertise and competency; ease in delivery/turnaround; adaptable and scalable; internal efficiencies within operations; compliments additional income streams; and growing market demand.
Profit-size your market segments. Knowing which types of customers are more profitable will help you promote offerings more effectively. Compare different segments based on most profitable services used; least saturated by competition; least labor intensive to serve; seeks multiple offerings/capabilities; values service/support; high likelihood of repeat or referrals; growing sector; and attracted to core competency and expertise.
Sherre’ L. DeMao is the CEO and strategy maestro of SLD Unlimited Biz Growth Inc. Learn more at sldunlimited.com.
Scale your Sales Efforts
By William McKee
Feeling like there’s not enough time in the day to do sales for your business? Consider the following ideas to scale your sales efforts.
Save time by using a CRM to track conversations with prospects and clients, making them easier and faster to retrieve.
Checkout Sidekick (www.getsidekick.com), a free app from HubSpot. It alerts you when emails are opened and read so you can time your calls when you’re already top of mind.
Virtualize your sales process: add content to your website that addresses common sales questions or objections; add sales offers to your website that provide value to prospective customers; and create standard email replies with links to blog articles.
Prioritize your day by establishing your sales funnel and knowing where each prospect is in the sales process.
William McKee is a founding partner of Knowmad, a digital inbound marketing agency. Learn more at knowmad.com.
Do More of What You Want
By Ellen Yale
If you turn down business that does not fit your idea of fun, you will make space for people you really want to work with and work you truly want to do. The trick is to listen to your gut to figure out exactly what is the right fit for you. Think about what makes you lose track of time. If you think, “Wow! I can’t believe I get to do this today,” then you are on to something. Do the work that makes you shine. Do the work that gives you energy instead of sucking the lifeblood out of you. And trust yourself. When you are in your zone of genius, you will attract the people and the work that make your heart sing.
Learn more about Ellen Yale at ellenyalecoaching.com.
FIDO Improving Your Bottom Line
By Suzanne Phillips
Want to increase your productivity and improve your health? Get a dog!
- Dogs in the workplace prompt breaks, which optimizes productivity.
- Dog owners get more exercise than non-dog owners.
- Owning a dog has been linked to lower blood pressure, better heart health, and even stronger bones.
- Interacting with dogs lowers the production of cortisol and increases the production of serotonin. This lowers stress levels preventing the negative effects of chronic stress, which include cognitive impairment, lowered immunity, and blood sugar imbalances.
- Dogs are a common bond to help start conversations and create relationships.
Dog owners are less likely to suffer from depression. The responsibility of caring for a dog makes owners feel needed.
A dog just may be the furry Rx you need for success.
Learn more about Suzanne Phillips of Charlotte Dog Runner at charlottedogrunner.com.
Great App for Staying Organized
By Karin Solomonson
Download Errands To-Do List by Yoctoville from your mobile app store. As the name suggests, it’s a simple way to keep track of those errands you have to run, so you can have shopping lists and plan the most efficient way to get it all done. I started using this app for keeping track of to-dos that I usually had on a sticky note, but now I use it for so much more. You can create multiple task categories like “to call,” “financial,” “home,” “work,” “discuss with hubby,” and “discuss with kiddos.” If you think about it, a lot of your “to-dos” actually need different things done before the task is really completed. By changing categories, you can manage all of your to-dos without constantly re-creating a list.
Learn more about Karin Solomonson of mundo99 at mundo99.com.
FIVE Senses of Brand Building
By Camine Pappas
You walk into the lobby and everything looks great, but there’s just something off. The scent of a very overly-sweet candle makes your eyes water.
After reaching the front entrance to a new boutique, you find that the door sticks. Hmmm. It looks great on the outside, but if the door is warped, what else is wrong?
You’d order dessert, except the air conditioning is making you shiver. Gone!
These examples represent the unvoiced complaints common among those who decide NOT to buy and illustrate how the overlooked area of “sensory balance” can sabotage your brand. Gathering information about your product is not only visual, it is also deeply emotional. All five senses work together to help you to either stand out or disappear.
Mastering the art of sensory branding is sure to help you leverage your success!
Learn more about Camine Pappas of C and Company at c-and-company.com.
Prepare to Recruit
By Deanna Arnold
Recruiting a new employee can be a daunting and time-consuming task for a small business, but it is one of the most crucial. Here are a few tips to ease the pain and help save time and money.
- Do a little prep work in the beginning and have a written job description so that you, and the candidate, know what the responsibilities are.
- Create a list of interview questions that are designed to solicit the information you need.
- Use the same questions for each candidate.
- Use your current employees as a source of referrals and offer them an incentive for referrals.
- Use your network and social media sites to target the right candidate. The day of big job board postings are gone.
- Don’t wait until you need to hire someone to start looking for someone.
Start with a plan, use your resources, and be prepared!
Learn more about Deanna Arnold of Employers Advantage LLC at employersadvantagellc.com.
Prioritize Your Digital Marketing
By Dawn Kole
Business-to-business digital marketing has historically been a bit slower in adopting all things Internet. However, a new sense of urgency is taking hold. What should the priorities be for a comprehensive business-to-business digital marketing plan?
Get your message out there on:
- Google, Yahoo, Bing
- Industry-specific trade organizations
- Industry-specific educational organizations and schools
- Any site that publishes content that attracts your customers
- Bloggers, conference sites, certification sites, community sites, directories
- Your best customers’ sites
- Your best business partners’ sites
- Your best vendors’ sites
- Business ranking sites, e.g., BBB, Forbes, etc.
- Award sites
Don’t get complacent—the digital world is constantly changing. A good review every six months by an outside consultant will keep you focused on the right things at the right time. Follow this and you will be well on your way to mastering your digital presence—and beating your competition.
Learn more about Dawn Kole of Digital DNA Marketing at digitaldnamarketing.com.
Google Your Business
By Heather Johnson
Google your business. Make sure your business listings are all up to date with the correct information. Think about how much business you could be losing out on with a wrong contact number out there!
Heather Johnson is the founder of The Creative Stack. Learn more at thecreativestack.com.
Get Your Email In the Cloud
By Kevin Caldwell
Lots of people are still using old email protocols (anything with a POP3 protocol) where things are not syncing up between their devices. With cloud-based services, mail, calendar, and contacts all sync up beautifully. When you modify it on one device, the changes show up on another. It helps so much in day-to-day productivity. Consider converting to a cloud-based system like Microsoft 365 or Google Business Apps.
Learn more about Kevin Caldwell of RU Seeing Red Tech Solutions, your anger-free tech provider, at RUseeingRed.com.
Create a Solid Social Media Presence
By Julie Bee
Many small business owners are overwhelmed by social media marketing. With the few actions listed below, they can create a solid social media presence for their companies.
- Use the 90/10 rule. Promote your company only 10 percent of the time on social media. The other 90 percent should be fun, interesting, and relevant to your audience.
- Blog. Content marketing continues to make headlines because it works. Start by writing one blog post per month, and then try one per week. Do this consistently, and you will see an increase in website traffic.
- Engage your existing clients. Businesses often focus on gaining NEW clients from social media, but what about your existing clients? Pay them some attention on social networks, and you’ll forge even stronger relationships with the companies that already do business with you.
Julie Bee is the founder of BeeSmart Social Media. Learn more at beesmartsocialmedia.com.
Before Terminating an Employee
By Rhonda L. Patterson, Esq.
Review your employee handbook to ensure that you’ve adhered to any progressive discipline or termination procedures previously disclosed.
Review the employee’s file to ensure that you’ve documented infractions over the course of employment.
Understand the limits on at-will employment. While employees can generally be fired for any reason or for no reason, they cannot be fired for certain retaliatory or discriminatory reasons.
Consider whether a severance package should be offered to either reward an otherwise exemplary employee or to manage litigation exposure.
Have a plan for the termination “meeting.” It can take place in person, in writing, or by phone. Find the appropriate balance of answering the employee’s questions but not talking yourself into litigation.
Rhonda L. Patterson is the managing attorney at The Patterson Law Office, PLLC. Learn more at thepattersonlawoffice.com.
Strong You = Resilient Business
By Eileen Schlesier
Your business is only as strong as you are resilient. Try these stress elimination strategies.
Mentor a young entrepreneur. The focus you put toward helping an emerging entrepreneur will not only bring you good karma, but will also remind you what made starting your own business so worthwhile. When you look to inspire others, you can recapture your own inspiration.
Identify your theme song. Find a song that means something to you and resonates with your goals. Start off each day playing your song loud and proud. If you feel the need to break into dance, we won’t tell anyone.
Know when it’s time for a break. Time away can give you new perspective, time for recharging, and in extreme cases, time to fall back in love with why you started your business in the first place.
Learn more about Eileen Schlesier of SleeveShirt Consulting at SleeveShirtConsulting.com.
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