Lessons Learned 75 Big Marketing Ideas for Small Marketing Budgets Don’t have a six-figure marketing budget like the “big boys” to throw around? Worry not my friends you can still go big without breaking the bank. Here are 75 big marketing ideas you can begin implementing today to grow your business regardless of the size of your marketing budget. Many of these can be done with little to no money, and will cost you nothing more than a bit of your time. 1) Get Active on Twitter It takes just a few minutes to make a contribution to Twitter and making this a part of your daily business routine is a steady way to build up a network of followers interested in your area of industry. 2) Start a Blog This needn’t be an everyday thing but posting to a blog a couple of times a week is a way to keep in touch with your customers and to convey more about your business and the market in which you operate to your potential clients. 3) Blog Commenting Contribute to the conversations on blogs by bloggers in the same niche in which you operate. 4) Forum Discussions 8). Get one…
Everything I need to know about startups, I learned from a crime boss The door opened and into the room walked the most dangerous person I’ve ever met. He reached towards his belt and slowly pulled out his .45 caliber handgun, raised it and paused to evaluate my expression. “No disrespect, but it’s been pressing into my hip all day.” This person, let’s call him Kobayashi (I’m a Usual Suspects fan), is one of the most interesting people I’ve ever met. But Kobayashi ran an unusual business. Everything I need to know about startups, I learned from Kobayashi. Don’t sell rocks when you can sell mountains Kobayashi didn’t work with small packages. As founders and early stage employees, we go to great lengths to mitigate risk. Building a profitable small-market company is difficult and carries a high risk of failure. Thinking small increases our risk. [Notes: “Large vs. small” is a different debate than “bootstrapped vs venture-backed”, though the two are often conflated. Cut out the middleman Interesting things happen when we cut out the middleman. Be a badass
46 Ways To Start A Business With No Money Most people who want to start their own business don’t have a ton of money laying around and it’s probably one the most common questions I get emailed about: How can I get started without a lot of cash? Well I’ve put together a list below of the best ideas I’ve heard and personally used. I hope you find it useful! The three basic strategies to starting a business without much money are: Delay the normal “business starting” activities like incorporating, hiring, renting office or retail space, etc until AFTER your business has started earning money. This is known as bootstrapping.Doing everything yourself and spending your personal time instead of hiring an expert. Start With The Easy Stuff: Eliminate Expenses Don’t rent an office! Legal Stuff and Incorporating Make a website for your business Getting a Logo Don’t hire a fancy graphic designer. Accepting Credit Cards Starting a service business where you consult, coach, teach, etc Creating Info Products Before investing in a retail location…
12 Social Media Marketing Platforms for Ecommerce Marketers Ecommerce business owners understand that Internet marketing has to span all the communication channels their customers use, and today this includes all the social channels where you maintain business profiles. According to a report by Econsultancy, companies have moved from experimenting with social media marketing to more focused activities that are more likely to integrate with other marketing channels and across business functions. When looking for a social media marketing platform, you want software that will help you manage social media publishing across multiple channels (such as Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, YouTube and others), and tools to schedule campaigns and monitor any response to your messages. Here are 12 social media marketing management tools and platforms that can help you manage and track online social marketing efforts. 12 Social Media Marketing Platforms 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Searching for schools ... 100% complete
Leading From The Front Lines I’ve never been a soldier in the military. But, as a student of history, I have learned important lessons in business from military leaders who have inspired their troops to victory. The leaders who were most successful in battle are also those who earned the admiration and loyalty of their troops. In business, as in war, the best leaders are those who lead from the front lines--who commit themselves fully to the mission of the company, and work alongside team members toward the common goal. Here are three ways I see this analogy played out in today’s business world: Walk the Walk “A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. There are many business leaders who don’t fully understand the responsibility that comes along with leadership. In business, it’s just as important to embody the values and character you want to see in your team. Get in the Trenches Take All Responsibility; Give All Credit
How To Care For Introverts and Extroverts | Miss Centsible While my earlier comments were definitely high on the shock value scale, I still feel it is grossly stereotypical to classify people this way. Extraversion is flat-out a survival skill in US society. It’s a simple truism that ALL people need some alone time, and ALL people can sometimes focus, and other times get overwhelmed. I could have taken the characteristics described here and put them into an article on ADD/ADHD and it would have rung true. Yes, it’s good to be sensitive to a person’s characteristics, but it’s NOT helping anyone to encourage them to never leave their comfort zones. Whoever told me to “try and educate myself” ought to see the diplomas hanging on my wall, in (you guessed it) Psychology. I daresay I have JUST as many Introvert characteristics as anyone else here — I just don’t let them stop me from stepping into being a leader (Not talking about a boss or a commander here.) What I meant by being “coddled” is “shielded from life’s lessons.”
The truths of entrepreneurship Pinocchio. Wikipedia image Ashkan Karbasfrooshan, founder and CEO of WatchMojo, recently wrote a guest post on TechCrunch about the Lies Entrepreneurs Tell. In the article he makes the point that entrepreneurs are “always in sell mode, but that doesn’t mean they need to be BS-artists.” Common lies include: “I have no regrets;” “If I had to do it again, I wouldn’t do it any differently;” “It’s not personal, it’s business;” “We’re not raising money;” “We’re not looking to sell;” and “I’m your biggest fan.” Ashkan has an interesting point. This may be due to a few factors: We actually believe the words we are saying. Regardless, I agree with Ashkan. Build For Value Nick Hughes We are seeing a comeback in tech IPOs and this can have a negative side effect on the business world: young founders dream of (and build) new startups mainly for the ultimate payday. Making certain decisions to maximize revenue and profits to the detriment of users can be traced back to this unfortunate thinking.
La majorité des entrepreneurs ont l'intention d'investir Argent La majorité de propriétaires de petites et moyennes entreprises (PME) investiront dans leur entreprise au cours des 12 prochains mois et un entrepreneur sur cinq entend investir plus de 500 000$, selon un sondage de la Banque de développement du Canada (BDC). De fait, 56% des entrepreneurs ont l'intention d'investir au sein de leur entreprise, en machinerie, ressources humaines, fonds de roulement ou technologies de l'information et des communications. Ils investiront également dans la création de nouveaux produits, le développement de nouveaux marchés et l'augmentation de la capacité de production. Un peu plus de la moitié (52%) prévoient investir 100 000$ ou moins. BDC indique que les montants prévus par les entrepreneurs québécois sont un peu moins élevés que la moyenne canadienne. Plus d'un entrepreneur sur cinq entend investir plus de 500 000$, et 16% d'entre eux souhaitent réaliser un investissement de plus d'un million de dollars.
What is Branding and How Important is it to Your Marketing Strategy? The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines a brand as a "name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers. Therefore it makes sense to understand that branding is not about getting your target market to choose you over the competition, but it is about getting your prospects to see you as the only one that provides a solution to their problem. The objectives that a good brand will achieve include: Delivers the message clearlyConfirms your credibilityConnects your target prospects emotionallyMotivates the buyerConcretes User Loyalty To succeed in branding you must understand the needs and wants of your customers and prospects. Your brand resides within the hearts and minds of customers, clients, and prospects. A strong brand is invaluable as the battle for customers intensifies day by day.