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The Friendliest States And Cities To Small Businesses

September 8, 2015 by Zack Duncan Leave a Comment

Small businesses make up the backbone of our country. They exist in every single state in America, though not ever single state is friendly to these entrepreneurs. But that isn’t the case for every city and state. Thumbtack recently released the data from their fourth annual Small Business Friendliness Survey, which ranks which states and cities are the friendliest to small businesses.

Ranking in at the number one most friendliest city to small businesses is Manchester, New Hampshire, according to the small business owners who operate there. To add even more praise to the state, New Hampshire also ranked as the number two most friendliest state to small businesses, just behind Texas.

What’s interesting is the fact that the rest of America’s Northeast was considered the most unfriendliest grouping of states in the entire country, according to the survey. Utah and Colorado join Texas and New Hampshire as being very friendly to small businesses whereas California, Connecticut, and Illinois joined the Northeast states, all receiving a score of “F”.

Chief Economist of Thumbtack Jon Lieber stated that whether a city or state is friendly or not to small businesses comes from a plethora of primary considerations. “What most influences a business owner’s perception is the presence of training programs, as well as events that allow networking,” Lieber added.

In terms of training, this usually refers how easy it is for small businesses to obtain online information that regards rules and regulations that pertain to how small businesses must operate in that city or state. “Websites matter,” Lieber says. So basically what he’s saying is that entrepreneurs and small business owners do not want stress or hassle when it comes to gathering information on how to properly file things like local taxes. In addition to that, opportunities to network are also important. This is due mainly because of the isolation felt by many of the small businesses currently operating in the United States.

One more factor that determines whether or not a state or city is friendly to small businesses is determining whether or not a city or state is the ease of regulatory compliance. A key compliance issue for small businesses was licensing. Cities and states that require certain professionals to obtain a license did not automatically make them unfriendly. However, if the licensing was not carefully monitored then there is the liability of increasing perceived unfriendliness. Licensed professionals do not really like it when an unlicensed competitor gains a competitive advantage.

Thumbtack is an online service that connects local small businesses with customers. These businesses can range from anything like plumbers and house painters to therapists, physical trainers and more. Small businesses are able to compete for customers that are interested in their services through the use of a bidding system. As for the Friendliness survey, nearly 18,000 U.S.-based small business owners participated by providing their rating of both their state and their city governments on a wide array of factors. Over a dozen different metrics were used by Thumbtack to evaluate states and cities against each other.

So, if you’re thinking of starting a small business where you live I would advise you to take a look at Thumbtack’s survey to determine how easy or hard it is going to be for you to get your startup off the ground where you live.

Content originally published here

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Top 5 Ways To Lose A Customer

August 14, 2015 by admin Leave a Comment

In the business world, there are too many things that can go wrong. You might as well not make things worse on yourself by not treating your customers the right way. It is really easy to be turned off as a customer, especially when there are a thousand other companies that do the same thing as you, but are a lot cooler about it. Here are my 5 favorite things that you could be doing to lose customers… So read them and stop doing them.

1. Having Inaccurate Data

As a company, customers are the most important thing for you. Without them, you actually have nothing. You can’t just call yourself a business and make money, people have to believe in you and your product. What happens when you don’t treat your customers right? Nothing. And Nothing is bad.

Your customers should always feel important. If you reach out to them with an email or something and get something simple like their name wrong, that is pretty offensive. Not only that, but it can make them feel like you don’t care enough about your company to even get simple things right. If you can’t get a name right, then how are they supposed to believe in your product or service? What about that are you going to mess up too?

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In order to run a successful business, you have to make sure every single customer feels important. Not only that, but you yourself have to know that they actually are important.

2. Not Maintaining A Relationship

Once you get done making your deal with your customer, that shouldn’t be the last you hear from them. It also shouldn’t be the last they hear from you. A lot of companies fail because of thinking that way. If you maintain a positive relationship with every new customer, that means you will always be on their mind to some extent. It is also way more likely that they will return to you for their future needs. This does, however, bring me to my next point…

3. Being Annoying

Yes, it’s important to maintain a relationship with your customers and clients. BUT… You don’t want to be the type of company who is constantly calling and trying to shove yourself down people’s throats. You can’t force people to spend money, and it’s really annoying to them to feel like they are being pressured. Nothing is wrong with giving them a little nudge in the right direction, but when that nudge becomes a push, they are going to avoid doing business with you at all.

Different age groups also prefer to be contacted and followed up with in different ways, so make sure you do a little bit of research first. It’s not hard to Google these things and find tons of studies on them. Younger customers prefer to get emails. They check them regularly and they go straight to their smartphones. Older customers probably hardly ever check their email, so sending them is just a waste of time. Instead, try sending out letters through snail mail.

4. Ignoring Them On Social Media

If you are a company, you either have a social media presence, or you’re going out of business soon. You need to either accept your client’s friend requests, follow them back, or whatever it may be that you do on that specific website. Most customers expect a response within an hour, and none of them really has any sympathy for a delayed response, even if it is a night or a weekend.

It would be silly not to do these things anyway. Social media gives you the best of everything. You get free marketing, you can always keep people updated on the latest news from your company, and you can gather very valuable information from anyone you are connected with on any social media site. Don’t be a fool, get the most out of it that you can.

5. Not Listening

It is not hard to see what people think about you, your products, your services, or anything about your company. People post online about pretty much everything. You’ll be able to see what people like, what they don’t like, anything. You can also use the internet to give surveys and gather analytics. Not listening to what your customers have to say is ridiculous. Not using negative survey feedback to your advantage is ridiculous. Instead of looking at negative comments and bad experiences as a negative thing in general that you should ignore… use it as a positive thing and give the people what they want. Your business should be alive (growing, changing, evolving) all the time. There is nothing wrong with a little bit of constructive criticism. At the end of the day, it just means more business.

Customers are the life force of any business and it is crucial that you keep these customers happy. These 5 things are surefire ways to lose valuable customers, which will certainly mean the downfall of your company. So, needless to say, avoid these things AT ALL COSTS!

Content originally published here

Sharing this story on social media? Use these hashtags! #HowToLoseCustomers #CustomerSatisfaction #SmartBusiness

Small Business Owners Have Smartphone Addiction

August 3, 2015 by Zack Duncan Leave a Comment

Small businesses may not be the only ones marketing via mobile or fighting with how programmatic advertising works, they still need mobile to do business. Small business owners, or SBOs, seem to literally have their smartphones attached to their hips.

About 80.5% of U.S. SBOs use their mobile devices for business at least once a day, sometimes even more, according to the latest research from Manta. Almost 25.3% of those SBOs use their smartphone once an hour, 11% use them between 3 to 5 times a day, and 17.3% us their mobile devices almost 10 times a day!

eMarketer says that nearly 80% of SBOs use their mobile devices while at work right in front of their own desktops. They say that 48% of respondents claim the main reasoning for doing this is to check personal messages. Another 25% said that their email actually comes in faster on their mobile devices.

With other statistics, only 12% actually admitted to being addicted and 8% multiscreened because they claimed to prefer using their mobiles over their PCs. Finally, 7% said they were frequently distracted by their social media or gaming app alerts that came through on their mobile devices.

A good reason for why SBOs use their phones for business is to schedule appointments and communicate with customers. 55% claimed this as being why they use their phones.

Nearly 3 in 10 people used their phones for notes and to-do lists, along with monitoring their social media and participation. A quarter of people use theirs to conduct business related banking, eMarketer says. As well as saying that inventory management and expense were a lot less common, as were drafting large documents and presentations, and accounting.

Along with this, Manta’s research indicated that SBOs are frequent app users. Almost half of SBOs use mobile apps for business between 2 and 3 times daily.

It’s clear to see how important mobile devices are to small business owners. With such high percentages of SBOs on their phones constantly, mobile is quickly becoming a key facet of small business.

Content originally published here

Small Biz Dev Hackathon 2015

July 30, 2015 by Zack Duncan Leave a Comment

Small Biz Dev Hackathon Can Help Grow Your SMB At the Small Biz Dev Hackathon, attendees will be using their technical and design skills to come up with new ways to help small business grow to new heights. Business owners and business experts will be together discussing different obstacles and barriers that are universal throughout the industry, and developers will get a chance to show off their skills and problem-solving abilities to come up with solutions. Winners of the Hackathon will not only change the business world forever but will receive seed money and be entered into AngelHack’s HACKcelerator program.

There are many different problems that small business owners may face, and it is the attendees job to solve at least one of these problems that will be presented at the event. Problems could include anything from financing, finding new customers, managing cash flow, or anything like that.

The solution should be simple and broad enough that any business big or small should be able to take advantage of it. There will be guidance from small business owners and small business experts the whole time to ensure attendees get on the right track and stay on it in order to achieve the best possible results.

The judging criteria will be based on a range of different things. Simplicity is number one. There are 5 point’s to be had in this category. To get the full 5 points, judges will determine if the application is simple to use and if the team can explain it in three sentences or less.

Creativity is next, also worth 5 points. Judges will decide how creative the team was in developing the idea, and how challenging the solution was to come up with.

Impact and design will also be worth 5 points each. How will the teams solution impact the industry? Is it valuable? Is the design and interface attractive looking?

First place winning teams will win up to $3500 in money and be entered into the AngelHack HACKcelerator program. This is nothing to sneeze at! If you are interested in this sort of thing and think you have what it takes, this is not only a great opportunity, but it will also probably be a fantastic time. You’ll have a chance to be surrounded by like-minded people and probably learn a million things that will stick with you for the rest of your life. The information you could obtain will last forever.

The Pre-Capital One Hackathon session is a virtual session hosted via WebEx on July 29, 2015 from 6:30 pm PST to 8:30 pm PDT at Dignita (for San Francisco event) and on Aug 5th, 2015 from 6:30 pm EST to 8:30 pm EST at 1776 (for Washington, DC event). You can register for the event here.

2015 Small Business Expo – Los Angeles

July 23, 2015 by Zack Duncan Leave a Comment

Whether you’re in the startup phase or a long-established company, the Small Business Expo has the right resources for you. They’re the nation’s largest business-to-business expo, and they’ve made it their mission to help small business owners and entrepreneurs achieve their business dreams. Their free, one-day expo offers invaluable insights and exclusive networking opportunities with a wide range of business-critical workshops, seminars, and presentations from top industry experts. If you’re looking to drive your business forward and take the next step to success, join them this year at their Los Angeles expo location for this can’t miss event!

-Develop business leads &new customers!
-Network with peers in your industry!
-Shop for new innovative products and & services!
-Gain invaluable industry insights

Why Should You Attend?

Every year, over 50,000 small business professionals and entrepreneurs across the country attend Small Business Expo to take their business to the next level. Join us in learning from the best and the brightest in the industry as you network with like-minded business professionals and learn strategies to advance your business.

WHERE:

California Market Center
9th St A727
Los Angeles, CA 90079

WHEN:

November 5th, 2015 from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM

Are you looking attend this year’s event and searching for hotels in the Los Angeles area? The Small Business Expo site has a list of travel accommodations, including parking options for the event. The site does offer discounts as well!

If you’re looking to register for this year’s event, registration is still FREE for the Los Angeles location!

8 Must Haves For Your Startup

July 21, 2015 by Zack Duncan Leave a Comment

Must-Have Startup Investments A lot of entrepreneurs think that bootstrapping is the most efficient way to start a new company. It gives you a freedom you wouldn’t have if you needed to report all your expenses to venture capitalists or angel investors. Although, some expenses, even costly expenses, are important. Take a look at some of these expenses that are worth the investment.

1. Free Stuff!
Let’s be honest here, who doesn’t like free stuff? But honestly, giving away free stuff, like company t-shirts, will help generate money and business. It can help get people talking about your business, grow brand recognition and may even get noticed by larger companies.

2. Customer Service
Good customer service is very valuable. Marketing Metrics did a survey that reported almost 200 marketing managers revealed that 71% found customer satisfaction to be a major metric in managing businesses. Customer service and satisfaction is a high leading indicator that increases the lifetime value of a purchaser, reduces customer churn rates, helps customer loyalty and improves word of mouth as a major differentiator of your company. Spending a little extra on good customer service will by far pay off in the end.

3. Technical Support
Even if tech is your “thing” or not, it still may be a good idea to outsource some or all of your in-house technological needs. You could keep what you’re good at and outsource the technology you need to run on its own, so you can focus on other important things within your company. Spending hours on server maintenance and working on making your website could be better invested in core competencies. It is essential to business success for your technology to run smoothly. So spending money for great technical support will be easier on you and your business.

4. Powerful Software for Data Analytics
From the very start, you should spend money on robust data analytics software. You can’t improve what you don’t measure and you can’t measure unless you test. Analytics helps you understand what isn’t working when it should be. For data-driven business owners, you need to analyze numbers from a bunch of different sources so you can create an informed viewpoint. Having a powerful data analytics software can help you do all of this.

5. Market Research
Over 100 entrepreneurs that have failed startups took a survey that showed 42% attributed their failure to a lack of need for their product. So never assume you know your targeted customers and what they need. Market research can be expensive and time consuming, but coming out with a product or service to an untested market can be even more expensive and time consuming. Just spend the money from the start to really find out what the right targeted customers and their needs.

6. An Accountant
It can be a pain to know exactly how much money you need to keep aside for your taxes or quit confusing to identify all your valid tax reductions. Get a good accountant so you aren’t throwing money away or risking any issues with the IRS. Most accountants will meet with you by the hour to give advice on your documentation and deductions, then each year they complete and file your taxes, they’ll charge you a fee. It’s not rocket science, it’s just worth it.

7. Financial Advice
It’s very important to pay for good, secure financial advice unless you plan on opening a financial planning business. To save yourself from a rocky road of issues and stress, try getting a tax attorney to set up your books and help show you what should be tracked to help secure your future funding. Never underestimate the need for a long-term financial plan to help your company succeed.

8. Legal Advice
No matter how expensive lawyers can be, good legal advice is essential for startups. Just locate a lawyer who specializes in the business you are starting and pay for the right advice you will need to keep your business afloat. Statistics gather by VentureBeat in 2011, show the new Silicon Valley startups spent on average of $80,000 alone on legal advice. Good legal advice may be a bit expensive, but making a legal mistake can cost way more in court fees and could very well put your company in bankruptcy.

Starting a new business can be quite the exciting adventure. Many founders in the beginning stages of their company’s growth, go to bootstrapping. Don’t just rely on that, spend money on where it matters. These expenses are well worth the investment.

Content originally published here

The 2015 Boston Small Business Expo At A Glance!

July 13, 2015 by mluciano Leave a Comment

small business growth Whether you’re in the startup phase or a long-established company, the Small Business Expo has the right resources for you. They’re the nation’s largest business-to-business expo, and they’ve made it their mission to help small business owners and entrepreneurs achieve their business dreams. Their free, one-day expo offers invaluable insights and exclusive networking opportunities with a wide range of business-critical workshops, seminars, and presentations from top industry experts. If you’re looking to drive your business forward and take the next step to success, join them this year at their Boston expo location for this can’t miss event!

Develop business leads &new customers!
Network with peers in your industry!
Shop for new innovative products and & services!
Gain invaluable industry insights!

Are you looking for a display or monitor rental for the 2015 Boston Small Business Expo?

Why Should You Attend?

WHERE:

Hynes Convention Center | Halls A & B
900 Boylston Street
Boston, MA 02115

WHEN:

Thursday, October 8, 2015, from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM (PDT)

Are you looking attend this year’s event and searching for hotels in the Boston area? The Small Business Expo site has a list of travel accommodations, including parking options for the event. The site does offer discounts as well!

If you’re looking to register for this year’s event, registration is still FREE for the Boston location!

This content was originally published here.

*Rentacomputer.com is not affiliated with or in any way authorized by the 2015 Boston Small Business Expo. Rentacomputer.com is an independent nationwide technology rental provider and this information in no way implies affiliation to the event or venue described above.

Dallas Business Journal’s Best Places to Work Awards 2015

June 1, 2015 by Zack Duncan Leave a Comment

The 13th annual Best Place to Work Awards is a super high energy event thrown by the Dallas Business Journal on Thursday June 25th 2015. The event kicks off at 11:00 AM at the Fairmont Hotel in Dallas and lasts until 2:00 in the afternoon. This year’s theme has to do with super heroes, and they ask that you wear your favorite super hero colors. There will even be an award for the company who brings the most spirit to the show, so you might as well go all out with the super hero thing.

The event agenda goes like this:

11:00am – 11:30am – Registration & networking
11:30am – 11:45am – Ballroom doors open, seating
11:45am – 11:55am – Opening remarks by Tracy Merzi, Publisher of the DBJ
11:55am – 12:15pm – Break for lunch service
12:15pm – 1:15pm – Best Places to Work Awards Presentation (official rankings announced!)
1:15pm – 1:30pm – Post-awards celebrations and networking

When you register for the event, you get to network with lots of different people, including executives from different companies who have created what are considered to be some of the best working environments ever. The whole event is basically to celebrate these companies in a huge way, so you get free noise makers when you get there, and even a free three course lunch. It is going to be about business, but there is going to be a ton of fun to be had. More so than your average business event.

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Registration is now open and there are two different ticket options available. The first is the Table Sponsor. According to the event, “Make out like Batman or Superman with a Table for 10 with premium reserved seating, 1/4 page full color ad in special section, company recognition on signage, on stage and in post-event thank you ad. Also includes 1 year subscription to the Dallas Business Journal.” The other ticket is the Single Standard Ticket, which basically just gets you in the door. The Table Sponsor Ticket will run you $4,500 per ticket with the single standard ticket costing $140 ($126 if you’re a DBJ subscriber).

The event takes place Thursday, June 25, 2015 from 11:00am to 2:00pm at the Fairmont Hotel Dallas located at 1717 N Akard St. Dallas TX 75201 with suggested dress including business casual or super hero gear.

Content originally published here

Be Unique! Make Your Business Stand Out with These Tips!

May 12, 2015 by Zack Duncan Leave a Comment

It’s always been hard to make your business stand out from the rest. In this day and age, it’s even harder. You need to play on and exploit the strengths of your business in order to come out on top. Here are some different things you can do to really help yourself stand out in the sea of small businesses today.

Create Content That People Will Care About

One of the main points to creating content is to get people interested. If you can get people interested in the content you are putting out, then chances are you will be able to get those same people interested in what your company is actually offering. Make sure that your content stands out, and it is something that people will actually be interested in.

Go Green!

This environment is the only one we have so, naturally, it’s important that we take care of it as best as we can. What was once a new business method, “Going Green” has become a staple of the modern business. Going green may not set you apart from business in general, but it could very well set you apart from business that you are in direct competition with. Customers love knowing that the businesses they support are supporting things like recycling and conservation so this should be a main focus for your business.

Understand The Context Of Your Content

You have to be aware of the context of your content. This means that if you are gearing your content to a certain demographic… You have to put it in a context that makes sense for that demographic. Speak the way your fan base speaks. Once you understand that, it’s easy.

Think About Your Website Before You Make Changes

When you redesign your website, make sure it looks clean and streamlined. Nothing is better than a clean, simple, well designed website that is easy to navigate. If people can’t find what they want in just a few seconds, they will take their business somewhere else. It should also be easy on the eyes.

Use The About Page To Get People Interested

Everyone always visits the about page first. So this is where you really want to put a lot of effort. You should use this page to sell yourself the best way possible and show your potential new clients what makes you special.

Use Images To Your Advantage

Image based marketing has become a way bigger deal in the last few years. People like to look at interesting things. Make sure you are catching someone’s eye and getting your point across at the same time.

Keep Your Message Consistent

Make sure you are keeping your content simple enough to understand, while still making it interesting. With so many businesses out there using the same tactics, one of the best things you can do is deliver a constant message and keep your goal in mind with all of the content you put out.

In today’s rapidly growing business world competition is stiff and there are always new companies sprouting up that have the potential to take customers away from you. The most important thing for your business is to stand out among all the others. Make sure people see your business and only your business. Follow these tips and you will be well on your way to having a truly unique, stand-out business model.

Content originally published here

Get Ready Indiana! The 2015 Indiana Small Business Expo Is Right Around The Corner!

May 7, 2015 by mluciano Leave a Comment

Hey all of you small businesses out there in Indiana! The best possible convention that you could attend is coming up fast! The Indiana Small Business Expo! It’s THE convention for any small business in the Indiana area!

The Indiana Small Business Expo was developed with one purpose in mind, to unite the small business world needs into a one-stop for success. In uniting Small Business into one forum, it allows the greatest opportunity for success and profitability. Many needs of Small Business throughout the State of Indiana have not been met. By providing services and resources for small business needs it allows access to a vast amount of information necessary for small business growth.

This convention aims to be your one-stop-shop for your small business’s success.

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You’ll be networking with 100’s of attendees, as well as being able to come and go as you please. Each vendor location will have drawings and there will be tons of cash prizes. Perfect for anything your small business might need! Naturally, from networking you’ll be able to gather all the information and resources available from the participating vendors there. There will also be two discussion panels and a business card table where you can go to share and exchange business cards with fellow small business reps.

Here’s a little of what to expect from the panels! Experts in business will speak individually, followed by a Q & A session. You will have the opportunity to hear success secrets, and ask questions to face your challenges successfully. It’s all about networking to grow your business and increase your revenue.

WHERE:
The Caribbean Cove Hotel & Conference Center
3850 DePauw Boulevard | Indianapolis, IN | 46268
317-872-9790

WHEN:
September 15th, 2015

Doors Open at 2:00

EXHIBIT HALL OPEN FROM 2:00 PM TO 7:00 PM

RSVP at NO charge online for exhibit hall or pay $10 admission at the door.

Content originally published HERE.