The more narrowly you can define your target market, the better. Whether it’s urban moms with children under age 5 or senior executives of midsized consumer product manufacturing companies, focusing on a specific niche will help you market to their particular needs. Do market research to uncover the most profitable potential target markets for your startup.
Do you dream of being your own boss? If you want to start a business, but aren’t quite ready to give up your job and its accompanying security, salary and benefits, don’t worry; you don’t have to. Working full time doesn’t have to mean giving up on your entrepreneurial dreams. In fact, starting a business while working full time is a great way to test the waters of entrepreneurship and gradually grow your startup into a full-time business.
Consumers today are increasingly bombarded with information.
yet have less and less time to process it. That’s why every small business needs a brand—a fundamental message or impression about its products or services that punches through the clutter and anchors itself in the customer’s memory.
Customer service is one of the most important ways a small business can distinguish itself from competitors. You have the unique opportunity to connect directly with your customers, furnish the products or services that meet their needs, help them with problems, and follow up after the sale. This generates more than just sales; it also creates relationships that will not only keep those customers coming back, but also lead to referrals and new business
Efficiency is the key to maximizing small business profitability, productivity, and potential. But in devoting so much attention to processes and people, however, small business owners often neglect to optimize their most important asset—themselves.
When SCORE 87 Flagler & Volusia began, Bonanza ruled the television ratings, Frank Sinatra owned the radio waves with “Strangers in the Night,” America was pushing for the return of her troops from Vietnam and college head coach Steve Spurrier was the Heisman Trophy winner. That year was 1965.
Determine whether your idea is really a good business plan.
What problem does it solve? “Be very honest with yourself in the business idea you come up with,” Williams says. If your passion doesn’t translate into a viable business, maybe you’re better off pursuing it as a hobby or volunteer.
The baby boomer generation is redefining retirement. While their parents may have looked forward to golf in their golden years, many people heading toward retirement today are thinking about work instead.
For small business owners this is particularly important when it comes to thanking customers for their business. Without their support, few enterprises would last very long.
A Flower Cottage, Inc., in Port Orange, receives SCORE’s Volusia | Flagler “Lewis Goodman Start-up Business Award” for new Entrepreneurs 2013. Steve and Sherri Wronski, owners of A Flower Cottage since 2013,
