by Courtney Ramirez on February 3, 2012
Have you heard about coworking? For entrepreneurs and solo service professionals, coworking is a great way to emulate the best parts of working in an office while still keeping your flexibility and freedom as an independent business owner. Using a shared office space to cowork with other professionals can bring you more opportunities, cost savings and a legitimate conference space to meet with clients.
Here are five unique benefits that you can get from coworking in a shared office space.
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by Courtney Ramirez on December 19, 2011
Building and maintaining a strong credit profile for your small business can help you get access to funding, therefore important resources. Just like personal credit, your business credit rating is affected by a number of different factors. Understanding these factors and taking the time to monitor and build your credit can help your business grow.
Making Your Business Legitimate
- One of the key components of good business credit is your business structure. If you’ve been working as a sole proprietor or are missing a few key important pieces of paperwork, you need to take steps to appear more “real” and stable. Check to be sure that you have the occupational licenses that you need. Get your phone number listed with directory assistance under your businesses name. This is also a good time to incorporate if you haven’t yet already.
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by Courtney Ramirez on November 15, 2011
In any business, conflicts will arise. Whether these are personal conflicts or other conflicts (supplier issues, etc.), knowing how to deal with them can be difficult, and sometimes, as a way of reaction, entrepreneurs will just brush problems under the rug and ignore them. However, this is probably one of the worst ways you can react. Refusing to deal with a problem doesn’t make it go away.
If you’re dealing with a technical issue - like the aforementioned supplier one - there is likely a solution that you just haven’t seen yet. Have a brainstorming session with others in your shared office space to find solutions. No idea is too crazy! Remove the pressure for people to come up with the perfect idea immediately, as often in brainstorming sessions, one person will suggest something that wouldn’t work - but it might spark an idea in someone else that turns out to be the solution. Be sure to take notes so that you can refer back to your ideas and possible solutions.
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by Courtney Ramirez on October 21, 2011
The recent government cutbacks on all levels - city, state, and federal - would be enough to make any entrepreneur nervous, but they don’t have to make you nervous. As long as you’re willing to stay flexible (which is a given when you use a serviced office or virtual office) and on your toes, you needn’t worry excessively about your business being impacted by government cutbacks. In fact, you can even see this as an opportunity to grow your business.
For example, state employees who lose their job are now available to be hired by private businesses. You won’t have to worry about your business vying to get the attention of talent that may have been enticed by better benefits that many government positions offer. You can hire excellent employees that may not have otherwise been on the market for hiring.
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by Courtney Ramirez on June 2, 2011
You started your business with the highest of hopes. You expected the best. You followed through with your plans – but your results have been a little less than impressive. It’s time to take stock and decide how your business can re-launch to increase your profits and your level of success.
Re-launching your business is a major undertaking, but it can be well worth it. With a re-launch you’ll have the ability to change your position in the market. Your organization will be re-energized with a new direction and you’ll open yourself up to new opportunities.
Approach things the right way by following these four guidelines when re-launching your business:
1. Take stock of your business and the current market landscape.
Your desire to re-tool and re-launch may be focused on one aspect of your business, or you may feel like you need a complete overhaul. It’s important to change only what needs to be changed and avoid throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Taking stock will give you a clear picture of how your business is being limited by its current positioning, offerings, marketing channels, or advertising. Evaluate how your market has changed since you first launched your business. Have buying habits, engagement tactics, or consumer tastes changed significantly? Has your office space changed at all? Does this affect your customers?
2. Don’t avoid the past.
Your business is not new, so you don’t have a clean slate to work from. If you’ve been Continue Reading
by Courtney Ramirez on May 25, 2011
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A successful relationship with your client is a surefire way to be in business now and long into the future. To build and maintain these relationships, you’ve got to take steps to not only deliver excellent customer service but deliver it in such a way that you can distinguish yourself from your competitors.
Here are six ways to optimize for successful client relationships while building your business.
- Understand your role within the relationship.
Your clients are coming to you in order to fulfill a specific need in their businesses (B2B) or in their lives (B2C). Your role is to help them with solutions tailored to their needs – and that is where the primary emphasis should be. To expect your client to send you dozens of referrals and be a partner in growing your business is asking too much. They are hiring you based on your expertise and your position. Make sure you keep their needs as the focal point and not your own needs.
- Seek out the right customers.
It seems counterintuitive, but marketing to anyone at all who would hire your company is Continue Reading
