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5 Tips to Resurrect Your Business

When times are slow for your home-based business, chances are you won't have the luxury of waiting and seeing if things improve. You'll need to take steps quickly to get back on track.
Source: http://www.creativepublic.com/business_slowdowns.php

These suggestions will help you get business back to normal:
1) Add Products And Services
During slow times, your very instinct might be to cut corners, but in the case of your catalog of products and services this could spell disaster. Instead, you want to select additions carefully based on the needs and desires of your clients.

2) Step Up Customer Service
Hopefully, you already provide good service and support to your customers, and you are probably already aware of how critical this is to your business's success. But when times get rough, customer service is even more crucial and you need to go beyond the call of duty to convince clients that their business is important to you.

3) Market More
Business is slow; budgets are tight. So what usually gets trimmed first? Marketing. Do you know what the results are? Disaster!
When you conduct marketing, you are not selling yourself to generate business today or even tomorrow. Marketing is an investment in your business's future. In fact, research has shown that most marketing efforts don't pay off for at least six months.


4) Keep A Positive Attitude
Times are hard. Your nerves are on edge. You're feeling the pressure. When a past client calls to ask how things are going, do you tell them the truth and hope they take pity on you? Do you wallow in a self-defeating attitude? NO!
If you want to get through the hard times, you have to keep in mind two things:
A) No one is going to do business with a failing company and
B) Hard times are only temporary.


5) Branch Out
When things are slow with your business, you can take the opportunity to do all those things you always wanted to do but never had the time for.
Why not write some articles or an e-book related to your business, then sell them or publish them to earn more money and to further establish your credibility.

See Related articles:
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2012/01/new-customer-service-for-2012.html
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2011/11/give-them-more-of-you-how-to-build.html
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2011/10/fall-feeling-average-lacking-longevity.html
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2011/04/its-b2b-not-b2u-how-to-build-real.html
http://uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com/2010/11/part-1a-better-way-to-turning-hobby.html

Give Them More of You: How to Build Business Relationships on Social Networks

  As small business entreprenuers people won't buy our products and / or services until they have bought us.  So, don't be afarid to give those who are friends and / or followers on social networks an opportunity to see who you are. Give them more of you and they will give you their business.  Here are five tips on how to give them more of you.

1. Try uploading a funny, interesting, creative or weird video that reflects your personality and / or interest. Be sure to give these videos as second thought if someone may view them as offensive.

2. Try expressing an opinion about an issue or current event.

3. Try commenting on friends and / or followers post.  On Facebook sharing and on Twitter retweeting (RT) are great ways to interact with friends and / or followers.

4. Try creating a personal banner that has your picture on it and company logo @ pixlr.com, this service is FREE.  This will not only promote your business but give friends and / or followers a face to put with the company.

5. Try chatting, IM'ing, @Mentioning your friends and / or followers about general topics to build a relationship.  This is a useful method because it helps you stay away from sending information into someone inbox and be accused of spamming.

See related articles:
http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1730465015674633225#editor/target=post;postID=4811211814260402282
http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1730465015674633225#editor/target=post;postID=1036983918022186459
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F.A.L.L. Feeling Average Lacking Longevity

Should You Turn Your Hobby Into a Business?
 5 questions to answer before you make the leap from hobbyist to full-time entrepreneur
Posted by Asheesh Advani | May 10, 2004

URL: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/70640

Q: I am considering whether to take the plunge and make a business out of one of my hobbies. How do I know if I have what it takes to be a full-time entrepreneur?

A: There is obviously no aptitude test that can tell you if you are suited to entrepreneurship. However, after you've evaluated the feasibility of turning your hobby into a business, it is worth asking yourself a few questions to determine if you have the characteristics of an entrepreneur.

1. How committed are you? Successful entrepreneurs are committed to their businesses. This is simple to understand, but difficult to put in practice. Are you the type of person who has many hobbies and likes to dabble without commitment? Would you be easily distracted by the next business idea that strikes your fancy? When faced with a task, successful entrepreneurs are generally committed to excel and will not waver when the going gets tough.

2. Is your glass half full or half empty? Not all optimistic people are entrepreneurs, but almost all entrepreneurs are optimistic people. From the owner of the local florist to the founder of a Fortune 500 company, the common thread that runs through the fabric of entrepreneurship is the ability to see a positive opportunity in an otherwise challenging situation. Without confident optimism, it is very difficult to motivate employees, persevere in downtimes and keep your business growing.

3. Do you like to make decisions? Very few of us enjoy making decisions. Decisions mean commitment. Bad decisions lead to problems and can mean losing the respect of one's peers. Owning a business-particularly an undercapitalized startup-is all about making decisions with limited market research and imperfect information. Should you locate the business in your home or incur the costs of a separate office? Should you hire a marketing consultant or a full-time salesperson? How should you price your new products? What should be your first target market for your products? One of the main differences between having a hobby and having a business is the need to make real decisions with financial implications. Will you enjoy it?

4. Do you have the money to make it happen? Once you've written a business plan and established that your hobby can indeed be a sustainable business, the next step is to finance its execution. Unless you thrive on adversity, don't quit your day job until you know that you have sufficient money to fund your business plan. Getting financing is not easy and requires personal sacrifice-whether it involves borrowing from your family's savings, your relatives and friends, credit cards or professional investors. If things don't work out exactly as mapped out in your business plan, will you be able to support a contingency plan to ensure that the business survives? If you don't have the money from your personal network, will you be willing to sacrifice ownership and control to outside investors?

5. Do you like to sell? When I interview candidates for a position at my company, I ask them how they feel about selling. Some of them inevitably shift in their seats and give a half-hearted answer that they do not mind selling when they are asked to do so. Other candidates brighten up and persuade me that selling is a natural part of any job-even if they have never had a sales job. As an entrepreneur, you work in sales. You will have to sell your products, sell your vision for the company and sell yourself. And you will have to do this every day, multiple times. And you will enjoy it-that is, if you are suited to be an entrepreneur.

If you answered yes to most of the questions listed above, you are ready to shift from hobbyist to business owner. If you answered no to most of these questions, and you still want to turn your hobby into a full-time business endeavor, you may want to consider getting a business partner to help you make your plan a reality
www.uniquicnetworking.blogspot.com

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