How to Handle 12 Big Issues for Small Businesses

You have permission to publish this article electronicallyor in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines areincluded. A courtesy copy of your publication would beappreciated - send to: diana@ohiohelp.net How to Handle 12 Big Issues for Small BusinessesSome day-to-day work issues can turn into big headaches for smallbusinesses. For example, not having enough help during a busyseason or new promotion can hurt production, sales and customerrelations in the fulfillment of orders and customer service.A quick glance at the following stats reported by the US. SmallBusiness Administration, shows that small businesses are notsmall potatoes in today’s economy. In fact, the number of smallbusinesses multiplied by the number of large problems equals theneed for a lot of solutions.Small firms*:·Total approximately 23 million in the United States, withroughly 75 percent of the firms having no employees.·Represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms.·Employ half of all private sector employees.·Pay 44.3 percent of the total U.S. private payroll.·Generate 60 to 80 percent of net new jobs annually.·Create more than 50 percent of non-farm, private gross-domesticproduct (GDP).·Are employers of 39 percent of high tech workers (such asscientists, engineers, and computer workers).·Made up 97 percent of all identified exporters and produced 29percent of the known export value in FY 2001.* * * * * * * * * * * * * *How can small business handle big issues? OhioHelp.net, anOhio-based company that helps businesses worldwide with theirmarketing, public relations and freelance writing services,shared 12 tips based on their own client projects.1. Need help? Find some great subcontractors & cyber-helpers.Post for help on your favorite forums and freelance biding siteslike Elance.2. Need enhanced product / service lines? Offer larger pricingpackages or specials for larger businesses and clients who haveworked with you previously. And offer introductory pricing andsmaller packages to new clients and smaller businesses.3. Have a guarantee? Forget worrying about “Guarantees” and offerpayment due AFTERWARDS with no-cost trials- -so clients can havethe product and make sure it meets their needs. (Only risk smallportions of the project at a time, though. But it works great foreveryone.)4. Need more business? Keep marketing- offline, especially. Workwith associations in your industry.5. Need help collecting? Keep ongoing collection efforts goingwith a list and don’t be afraid to offer deals. Anyone can getinto a bind once in awhile. And helpful efforts are appreciated.Offering multiple payment options help, too. Be able to acceptcredit cards by fax or phone using a system like ProfitAutohttp://presssuccess.com/AutoPilot with pricing packages for alllevels of business.6. Money flow problems? Pay helpers, media ad billings andsuppliers FIRST. Period. Also let clients know that you pay yourhelpers promptly (like every Friday).7. Are you keeping up with the competition? Keep educatingyourself and your helpers. For example,inexpensive companysubscriptions to an ebookwholesaler http://presssuccess.com/wholesale and the jvAlert Perpetual Learning Serieshttp://www.jvAlert.com/LearningSeries.aspx?id=1805 help to catchup with the latest scoop about what works and what doesn’t workfrom top-level marketers & industry leaders.8. Do you have ongoing campaigns? Send a direct mail campaign onemonth, then call them the next. Continue with a monthly orbimonthly postcard newsletter with calls in between. Keep intouch regularly.9. Need to jumpstart new business, maybe B2B? Submit an executiveresume via ResumeRabbit and ResumeZapper, both listed here:http://movingaheadcommunications.com/partners.html . In theresume, include an active link to get the updated version 24/7.More than a year later, local & non-local companies will stillseek you out with proposals.10. Are you trying new product and service lines? Don’t be afraidto test and try new things. Place small classified ads & reallylisten to what the people want when they call in. Staycompetitive.11. Are your goals too high? Don’t try jumping the gun onincreasing income too rapidly. If your income is very small tostart with, you may get away with doubling it from one month tothe next. But for higher figures, higher $$ can mean increasedexpenses, work load, deadlines, workers coordinating,communications, stress, technical issues, etc…Instead of a shakyfoundation, grow slow and learn to gradually handle more in aprofessional, fun, growing environment. An average, solid growthfigure is much closer to 20% than it is 100%.12. Are you keeping track? Keep progress logs similar to thislisting so that you have a history of issues you’re working on.They say, “History repeats itself” so write out your positiveresults.* Sources: U.S. Bureau of the Census; Advocacy-funded research byJoel Popkin and Company (Research Summary #211); U.S. Departmentof Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey;U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration.***********************************************************