• Solid Plan with a Clear Simple Vision- Think of the impact you would like your business to have in the world. Think big! You may never reach your vision but the vision itself is so grand that your team gets excited about it. Then back up and look at what would have to happen to get there. Create a solid plan with realistic short and long term goals.
• Focus on Profitability vs. Revenue - While revenue is important, high revenue doesn’t add value if your expenses are just as high. What can you do to create more profit? Possibly develop various streams of income. What expenses could be reduced or eliminated? How can you operate more efficiently? Think profit.
• Work “in” and “on” your business - Sometimes we get so caught up in daily tasks “in” our business we forget to step back to take a wider look from the outside. Seeing it through a customer’s eyes. Noticing how it fits into the community. Preparing the future of the company. On the other hand, we can get so comfortable working “on” our business we forget to step in to talk with customers and experience what the employees face on a daily basis.
• Automate and Create Systems - What do you need to automate? What system can you put in place that would free up your time or make you more money? What tasks need to be eliminated, systematized, or delegated. What system would help your employees be more effective and provide the best service? Finally, is there a system that needs to be upgraded? Automation and systems help your business be consistent and efficient.
• Consistent Marketing Plan - Marketing expert Jay Conrad Levinson of Guerilla Marketing has said that “I hate to admit this, but mediocre marketing with commitment works better than brilliant marketing without commitment.” It is important to have a marketing plan in place that is consistently and persistently being carried out on a daily basis….not just when you need more customers.
• Increase Value to Your Customers - Give more than your customers ask for, more than they expect. There are 3 convenience stores by my neighborhood. The first one built I visited regularly and was satisfied. Nothing unique! The second I visited less than a handful of times and had to wait every time to get checked out so haven’t been back in years. Every time I get gas at the third store I am greeted over the intercom with a friendly “Hi, how are you today?”. When we go inside they are friendly and always provide my kids with a free lollipop. They even added a Post Office inside. Who do you think gets my money on a regular basis and with very little effort or money on their part? The one that gives more than I expect. What added value can you provide that will increase your “Wow” factor?
• Innovate - React to the customer’s needs before they know they need it. Instead of selling what you want, sell what the customer needs. How do you know what they need? Take time to talk to them. At a minimum talk to your best customers and learn from each one you’ve lost. Find out what they would like and what their challenges are. Stay current on market trends in your industry.
• Leadership vs. Management - Empower your staff to manage themselves. Do you really want to spend your time problem solving? Train them well. Make sure they know the vision of the company and they are on board because there is a personal win in place for them. The personal win gives the employee motivation to cooperate as part of the team.
• Well Oiled Machine vs. Chaos- Is each section of your business operating efficiently while working together towards the common goal? Or are the members of your team expending time and energy daily putting out fires. What change can you make to shift your business out of crisis/ problem-solving to operating with ease?
• Develop YOU! – Take a minute to hold your breath. As you hold your breath think about what you really want. See what happens. Unless you are uniquely talented you probably had trouble thinking about what you want, because your needs were not being met. When you take care of yourself… feel strong, healthy, happy, and have time and space in your life…you can focus on what you want and attract more to your business.

Take one step at a time and build a strong, solid business. Along the way build lots of reserves… time, money, space, revenue sources, future products, etc. and begin filling the gap to your potential.

Building a network using current contacts - If your new business is in the industry in which you were previously employed, you probably already know key players and customers whose opinions you respect. Talk to them, and then ask whether you can call periodically to get their reactions to your progress.

Building a network from scratch - If you are entering a sector that’s new to you, try to talk to people who can provide you with market intelligence, contacts and ongoing feedback, including: People in similar businesses and Potential clients. Join industry associations, and attend conferences and events, that provide networking opportunities.

Professional advisers - Getting advice from professionals early in your business start-up process can help you avoid common pitfalls and get up and running that much faster. It doesn’t have to be expensive; a small business adviser will give advice for free, and first consultations are often free for other professionals as well.

If you don’t have a banker, lawyer, accountant or management consultant, ask friends and business colleagues for referrals. Look for the right “fit” with the professionals you speak with to ensure they are knowledgeable about your industry and small business.

• Search Engine Marketing
• Direct Communications
• Brand Building
• Competitive Differentiation
• Relational Marketing
• Exploit the Niches
• Media & Public Relations
• Position the business as an Expert
• Reputation Management
• Low cost

But, always keep in mind that blogs suggested here is the blog that is regularly filled with quality content. A blog with no content is just a template and will do nothing for the business.

Inexpensive Setup – To integrate a blog into the page of your site costs little, especially since someone within your organization can usually do it. Even outsourcing the task will cost only a couple hundred dollars. A blog could become one of the most powerful marketing weapons you have in your arsenal and the money you spend might just pay a salesperson for one day’s work.

Easy Access – Anyone who has an Internet connection can access your company right at their fingertips. You may also have the option to restrict your website to certain users for security purposes. A blog gives the business the ability to inform your customers of any changes, new products, latest offers and much more. This, in turn, can lead to direct sales. Captivated and compelling content can provide growing list of market leads.

Search Engine Friendly – Search engine optimization is a particularly beneficial form of online marketing. It can be used to gain search engine traffic for given keywords or search terms. Your blog offers the opportunity to promote your website for hundreds or even thousands of different keywords. Search engines particularly like promoting blogs because they offer a large amount of content that is updated and added to on a regular basis.

Global exposure. Having a website will bring your business to the global audience. This means a website will place your company on the Internet where billions of users online can access

Brand Awareness – The more a customer hears the name of your company the greater the chance of remembering it. It takes, on average, around seven items of direct communication between you and your customers to make a sale. A blog with hundreds of posts gives you the opportunity to mention the company name and ensure that your readers think of you next time they’re looking for a particular product or service.

In short, having a website allows customers and potential customers to get an overall feel for the business. It also gives them the opportunity to compare products and services with having to spend a lot of time on the phone or get off their work.

There are more benefits of having a website including cost-efficient 24/7 advertising, increased sales and revenue, increased market size, global exposure, easy access and marketing edge. From that it is clearly recognized that having a website can do good for any business of any size.

To start, it is important to get a reliable hosting service. However, web hosting doesn’t have to be expensive. With the competition these days there are lots of cheap web hosting available in the market. The choices range from shared hosting plans, plans for resellers, VPS plans, and even dedicated servers for big corporations with huge budget.

Nowadays, most people no longer have the luxury of time and patience to spend getting information to purchase a product or service. The simple fact that clients and customers are using the web more often having a website will give the business huge advantage over their competition.

• Start by self-analysis. You might begin your career quest by completing a self-analysis inventory. Make a detailed list of your interests, skills, accomplishments, experience, goals, and values. Figure out your uniqueness from the other candidate and effectively communicate it to prospective employer.
• Search for jobs you would enjoy. Try to talk to people or conduct research in various careers local companies within those fields. Learn about different businesses that interest you and aim for those with job vacancies.
• Networking can greatly help. You can start with your classmates, family, relatives, neighbors, friends, professors and local business people. Be sure to keep a file with the names, addresses, and phone numbers of contacts – where they work, the person who recommends them to you, and the relationship between the source person and the contact.
• Check the web more often. You will find details about finding jobs on different websites. Many of these sites can help you write a jaw dropping resume as well as help you search for jobs that meet your interest and skills. There are even job search engine site where a vacancies from different industries are listed just like customer service job search.
• Prepare a good cover letter and resume. Once you already know what you want to do and where you want to work, you need to make a good resume and cover letter. It is a good way to catch the prospective employer’s attention with a brief and concise cover letter that clearly spells out how your qualifications match the job requirements.
• Develop interviewing skills. Interviewers will be checking your appearance, attitude, verbal ability and motivation. So, hone this skill to get the job you want.
• Make some follow-up. Write a thank-you note after interviews, even if you think they didn’t go well. You have a chance to make a lasting impression with a follow-up note. Show your interest by calling periodically or sending e-mail letting the company know you are still interested.

• Decide what you want.
• Write it down on a piece of paper (and put an ad in the newspaper.)
• Imagine what it would look like when it arrives.
• Decide where you are going to put it when it arrives.
• Imagine what it will feel like when you touch it.
• Imagine how excited you will be and what your friends and family will say when they see your manifestation.
• Start celebrating the completion even before it arrives.
• Go into gratitude as if you already have this dream accomplished.

After which comes the need for proper legal documentation. The franchisor will need a franchise contract to protect them from different issues. Basically, there are literally hundreds of different business issues that must be address in a good franchise agreement. And the decisions that they come up dictates the franchisor’s success.

Then, franchisor must develop a highly developed operations manual. This manual must contain not only the systems to be used, but also the checklists, policies, procedures, and tactics that will allow these systems to be uniformly enforced.

Lastly, franchisor must learn how to market and sell franchises. They must learn how to attract the prospective buyer and know the necessary materials that will help them make a sale. It also needs to be educated in proper sales, disclosure and compliance technique.

• Achieving a target return on investment or profit. Ultimately, the goal of any business of whatever industry is to make a profit by providing goods and services to others.
• Building traffic. Establishments often advertise certain products at or below cost to attract people to the store. The objective is to make profits by following the short-run objective of building customer base.
• Achieving greater market share. Some businesses are using price incentives (quality) to gain market share in their industry.
• Increasing sales. Sometimes a firm will lower prices to increase sales. This move could hurt profit margin in the short run, but will enable the company to become more financially secure in the long run. The prices could again be raised after sometime.
• Creating an image. Certain products are priced high to give them an image of exclusivity and status.
• Furthering social objectives. Some companies intend to set low price so that people with less money can afford the product.

Note: Short-run objectives differ from long-run objectives. Both should be understood at the beginning and put into the strategic marketing plan. Pricing decisions should be influenced by other marketing decisions regarding product design, packaging, branding, distribution, and promotion since all of those are interrelated.