Businesses are concerned with making a profit. Very simplified, profit is what you make when your revenue or income exceeds your expenses. When expenses exceed your revenue, you have a loss. These elements are tracked through a profit and loss (or P&L) statement.

Thus there are two ways to make or increase a profit: either bring in more money or spend less. This is often referred to as either top-line or bottom-line growth. Marketing helps you grow your top-line and can be used to manage some bottom-line expenses.

In order to guide your marketing efforts, it is helpful to first establish your goals. Once you set a target for how much you want to make, you can then figure out the steps to take in order to reach your goal.

There are two primary routes to generating revenue. The first is sometimes called Household Penetration. Let’s say you earn $1 each time you sell a widget. The more families who buy your widget, the more you make. The other approach is often called Frequency. Let’s say there are 100 people who buy from you, and they buy once a year. If some of those same 100 people bought from you twice a year, you would increase your revenue without having to find any new customers.

So, when you set your top-line growth goals, decide if you want to increase your household penetration (customer base, membership, readership, reach …), frequency or size of purchase, or both. Do you need to find more new customers or sell more to existing ones?

You can apply these formulas to non-business concerns as well. For instance, in your personal finances, you can increase your income or cut your expenses. With your blog, you might want to focus on finding more new readers or having your existing community read your posts more regularly.

In order to set your goals, you first need to know where you are starting. Collect some data. Determine all your sources of revenue — or readers — or whatever it is that you want to grow. Do some measurement over time. Establish a baseline – how many customers do you have in a year? How often do they buy from you on average? What is the amount that they spend in an average transaction?

See if the 80-20 rule (or some variation) applies; i.e., do 20% of your customers drive 80% of your sales? If so, what do their stats look like? For example, maybe 20% of your customers buy from you 10 times a year and the other 80% buy one time. What do your projections look like if you find new one-time buyers and what do they look like if your 10-time-a-year buyers increase to 12 times a year, or the existing one-time-a-year buyers increase to two times a year?

Play around with the numbers. And if you are just starting out, look at what others are doing and make some estimates of what you could potentially achieve in one month, six months, one year, five years.

Next, list out all your expenses, such as the cost of materials; anything you are paying to employees; what it costs to operate your workspace; fees for services; and so on. Look at which ones are the same no matter how much you sell and which ones vary as sales go up. If you find more readers for your blog, eventually you might have to pay for more bandwidth. If you create aprons that you sell on Etsy, finding a source of lower-cost fabric would reduce your expenses. In both cases, your attorney fees for incorporating or securing a trademark would be the same regardless of how many readers you have or aprons you sell.

Once you’ve gathered this data and made a simple P&L statement,it should be easier to see whether your goal should be to increase household penetration, frequency or both. And once you have your goals in place, you can start to plan how marketing can help you reach them.

Find more blogs by Maria at http://www.blogher.com/haystackprofile/viewprofile/Maria+Niles

2. Authenticity rules – let “you” shine through. The best business advice I’ve been given is to just be myself. Our fears and doubts get in the way of being real, but think about the vendors you buy from and the websites and blogs you read. You’re drawn to them because you connect and relate to the people behind them. As an entrepreneur, sharing your stories and connecting with customers on a more personal level gives you a huge advantage over the bigger brands that dominate your field.

3. Make sure the basics are covered.

• Every online and offline business should have a blog. The blog provides an outlet to showcase your expertise, helps you build buzz and lets the “real you” shine through so that you connect with your customers on a more personal level.
• Set up a Facebook fan page. My first suggestion is to weave some fun and inspiration into it. If your fan page is strictly business, where it’s obvious you’re just trying to sell them something, fans won’t visit often or leave comments. Add a dose of inspiration. For example, share your favorite inspiring quotes, photos or ask fun questions in addition to highlighting your blog posts, latest products or events.
• Newsletters, executed well, are a must for customer retention and driving growth. Pay attention to design, make sure it delivers value, features inspiring photos and shares your latest blog posts. Have fun with it!

It’s key to note that you can’t have too many touch points with your customers. The goal is to reach them in an environment where they feel comfortable interacting with your brand.

4. Ditch your computer. Join a local networking group and attend conferences. Face time is key and truly where the real opportunities and connections happen. Join a local networking group that fits your interests. Make sure it’s a supportive, collaborative environment. Identify inspiring conferences that will take you and your business to the next level! As a past attendee, I know The Woman’s Conference should be top of your list!

5. Take care of you and watch the creativity flow. The best thing you can do for you and your business is tuck yourself into bed early a few nights a week. Your productivity level will soar and the much-needed creative juices will flow!

Misty Gibbs is founder of MyInspirationLounge.com, a one-stop shop for women to explore the best inspiration on the web. Her mission is to empower busy women with the information and inspiration they need to change their life today, in 5-minutes. My Inspiration Lounge and Misty’s tips have been seen in Sunset Magazine, Real Simple, Huffington Post and Extraordinary Women Magazine. Tips on how to thrive are sent out weekly in her newsletter, InspireMail.

Last week, President Obama unveiled the $33 billion Small Business Jobs and Wages Tax Cut program. Under the initiative, small-business owners will get a $5,000 tax credit for every employee they hire this year.

But there are plenty of other reasons why businesses should hire now, like a better talent pool and cheaper labor, said Rhonda Abrams, author of the newly released book, “Hire Your First Employee: The entrepreneur’s guide to finding, choosing and leading great people.”

Investing in a strong work force when times are tough increases the chances consumers will abandon the competition and come to you, she said.

Abrams recommends overcoming hesitation by “starting small.” She said it took 10 years of feeling “overwhelmed” at her first business, a one-person consulting firm, before she ventured to hire her first worker — a part-time employee who worked from her kitchen table.

“It doesn’t have to be a full-time employee. There are other ways of starting,” said Abrams, who now runs the Planning Shop, California-based publishing company that specializes in books on business and entrepreneurship.

Abrams recently spoke with Your Business about how to start hiring now.

Q. Why is it a good time to hire?

A. History has shown that bad economic times present a lot of opportunities for growth. More than half of the Fortune 500 companies started in a recession or a bear market (according to a 2009 study by the Kauffman Foundation). There’s weakened competition. Things are cheaper, including labor and rent. Suppliers are a lot more willing to deal. Customers are more willing to try new things. There’s a lot of great talent out there. A lot of people who never would have considered working for a small business before would be willing to now.

Q. What are some signs you might need to hire?

A. If you can’t get your invoices out in a timely manner, it’s time to get help. You’d be shocked how many small businesses are so busy they can’t send out their bills. If you’re turning away work, it’s time to sit down and say, “Should I be growing?” Or if you need a skill set you don’t have. For example, you’re a great technology person but you’re not great at marketing or business development.

Q. What inspired you to write this book?

A. I remember how difficult it was to hire my first employee. The paperwork, the taxes. The “How am I going to be able to afford this person?” I had a one-person consulting company. It was quite successful, but I found I was running to the post office, doing data input. I was spending time I could have been using for billable hours, or getting new clients, and I was feeling overwhelmed all the time. But it still took me over a decade to make the choice. It was such a big deal.

Q. What about business owners who say they can’t afford to hire right now?

A. Don’t forget you can start small. You can start with an independent contractor or part-time worker to get your feet wet. It often feels like a big step to hire a full-time, permanent employee. With independent contractors, you can use them when you need them, and not use them when you don’t want to.

Q. How can a business determine whether it can afford to hire?

A. We have some financial projection worksheets in the book for them to work out the numbers. It’s an investment in the business, and just like any investment, you should determine the return on investment. You should be able to pencil the projected extra income that will come in because of the extra money you’re spending.

Here’s one example. Let’s say you’re a hairdresser and you’re fully booked, and you’re doing your own bookkeeping, ordering supplies, washing your own towels. There are a couple ways to go about it. One is to hire someone to do all the administrative stuff. That gives you more time to go through more bookings. The other option is to hire an additional hairdresser to bring in more income. You have to run the numbers.

Q. How do you decide between hiring full-time and part-time?

A. One of the first things to do when hiring a person is to list all of the tasks you’d love someone to do, and how many hours a week you think it will take.

It lets you see what things you need, and what might be things for an administrative person, or sales person or bookkeeper. You can see a pattern. Then, be realistic about how many hours that might need.

Q. What benefits and policies should you adopt?

A. It doesn’t need to be overwhelming. When I wrote this book, what struck me was how few things are required by the federal government — not even lunch breaks or holidays. So you get to determine a lot of things. Remember there are benefits of working for a smaller company, like flexible hours.

A lot of people have children, so being flexible is a strong perceived benefit for the employee which doesn’t really cost you anything. You can also be creative. One benefit I have is to give people their birthdays off. We also have a dog-friendly office.

By Leslie Kwoh/The Star-Ledger
February 02, 2010. This interview was edited and condensed for length and clarity. Leslie Kwoh, may be reached at lkwoh@starledger.com or (973) 392-4147.

Register Now!

NAWBO Members – $20

Non-Members – $30

Details:
Zion’s Bank Mezzanine Level,
310 South Main Street,
Salt Lake City.
(801)487-4600.

NAWBO Members: $25

Non-Members:$35 Not a Member? Join now!

NAWBO Members ticket plus business display table: $50

Start Planning for a Worry Free Retirement

Suzanne Dalebout & Lisa Winward

February 17th 11:30-1:00 pm

Zion’s Bank Mezzanine Level, 310 South Main Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84101

Women’s life situations vary and retirement concerns generally weigh heavily upon us. We worry about the rising cost of healthcare, cost of living in general, declining health with aging and outliving our money. The reality behind the worry is that as women we are not more anxious than men, just more realistic about our finances. We feel less prepared because, in general, we are. Whether you are married, single, widowed, a part of an unmarried couple or a small business owner, there are solutions for you.

Each of us has a different definition of financial security. Lisa Winward holds an MBA and CRPC (Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor) certification . Suzanne Dalebout, is an experienced stock broker with Series 7 and 66 licenses, a Masters in Law and undergraduate degree in accounting. Together they will share steps to take now to secure your future.

NAWBO Members – Cost $20

.

Non-Members – Cost $30

• What are the 5 common sense principles that business owners often don’t put into practice
• Learn how the Cycle of Productivity affects your business and the vital step we so often miss
• Discover a key lesson and mindset to carry you forward in 2010
• What pitfalls do most small business owners fall into when trying to achieve their goals
   
   
  About Kimberly Kniveton: 
   
  Results coach, leadership development consultant and change mangement expert Kimberly Kniveton MBA, ACC is owner of Ascent Coaching & Consulting (www.ascentcoach.com) based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Kim has always had keen interest in people and change and that has developed into a passion for supporting small business leaders and teams achieve focus, clarity and most importantly results in what matters most.  With over 18 years of experience, Kim believes that success is acheived through the powerful combination of action and attitude and her clients comment that her fun, positive and engaging personality all contibute to helping others achieve success. Kim graduated with her MBA in 2000,  is a certified coach through the International Coach Federation, is an advanced Emotional Intelligence practitioner and is a licensed facilitator of the Best Year Yet program for individuals and teams.  In her spare time Kim loves to read, ski, and travel the world with her husband and two kids.  
   

The Event

January 20th, 2010
11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
310 South Main Street
Salt Lake City
Mezzanine Level
Education Luncheon

NAWBO Members – Cost $20

.

Non-Members – Cost $30

Register Now
$25 for an individual

or $40 per Couple

Donations and Gifts going towards the Salt Lake City YWCA

Location: NAWBO offices
310 South Main St.
Mezzanine Level of the Zion’s Bank Building

RSVP: required
Lunch is provided

When: 3rd Wednesday of each month 11:30–1pm

NAWBO Members – Cost $20

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Non-Members – Cost $30

Get customers, keep customers, get more customers—that’s the mantra for every growing business. Unfortunately, time is often stretched too thin to establish and cultivate strong relationships with potential and current clients. Online marketing tools can change that.

Online software saves your business time and money. Repetitive tasks can be completed quickly, which means you and your staff can do more work in less time. According to research conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life Project in April 2006, Internet penetration among adults in the United States is the highest ever. If your clients are online anyway, why not use the Web to connect with them?

Get Customers

It doesn’t matter what type of business you own. You can use online marketing tools to help expand your customer base.

• Offer seminars. Let’s say you’re a financial planner. You could offer a seminar explaining retirement options, but sending invitations, coordinating registration, and printing name tags takes a lot of time. Instead, collect e-mail addresses of people who might be interested in your services and send them an invitation using online event registration software. Recipients have an easy way to register, which won’t tie up your phone lines or jam your e-mail address. You can even print name badges electronically.

• Use sweepstakes. How can a car dealer reach customers online? Have a sweepstakes where the winner could receive free oil changes for a year. Banner ads could be used to announce the sweepstakes. This would drive traffic to your Web site and help you build a list of prospects.

Keep Customers

Once you have clients, there are many online marketing strategies that can help you retain them.

• Send surveys. How can you improve your service? Ask your clients! Phone surveys, however, are often irritating. Printed surveys usually have a low response rate, not to mention the expense of printing and mailing. By using an online survey tool, response rates increase and costs are lower. Perhaps the best part of an online survey is the ability to view results from each survey-taker. Online surveys are so inexpensive and fast, you’ll quickly find other uses for them, such as soliciting feedback on a new location you are considering, a new product you are thinking of developing, and so on.

• Send e-newsletters. Thanks to the Internet, you can segment your communication directly to each client’s specific interest. If you own a pet store and you know a certain customer has previously purchased an aquarium and fish, send a newsletter with information about fish and include a discount on a future purchase. Change the newsletter content so it appeals to those who purchase snakes, puppies, or ferrets. This keeps the content specific and relevant for each customer.

Read the rest of this Marketing article…