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With over 25 years of frontline experience Tom Shay is America's leading small business management expert. He's a "Must Have" for your next event.

This month: Job Applications, Small Business Saturday and The Small Business Book
 
e-retailer logo
October 2016
Volume 17 Issue 11
Small Business Saturday

The tradition continues; Small Business Saturday which is the day after Black Friday, will be November 26. Created by American Express, this event has a lot of recognition among customers. There are a lot of tools for your business being provided by American Express that can help you tell everyone that you are a small business and the many benefits for their doing business with a local small business.

With so much excitement surrounding this event and so much free press supporting the event, it makes sense that every business should participate.

Understandably, many small businesses refuse to accept the American Express card. However, I can share from experience that accepting this card brings new customers as well as more customers that spend more money in your business.

Consider the increased rate you pay for American Express transactions, over Visa, Master Card and Discover, as a small investment in building your business.
Solving Problems and Making Sales

What is one of the key advantages that your business has over the competition? It is the ability to solve a problem or concern that your customer has. That is what this month's article is about. While competing on price is often a big component of conversations, our focus needs to be selling the problem we can solve instead of selling the product.

This article can give you some ideas.
Article of the Month
The Small Business Book - 10 Ways to Improve Your Small Business

Those of you who participated, or listened afterward to our September e-retailer conversation program, got to hear some great ideas from our guest, Dave Fellman.

We discussed two of the books he has written. His most recent book is our suggestion for this month. In addition to it physically being a small book, the title is, "The Small Business Book - 10 Ways to Improve Your Small Business."

This is an easy and quick read; you will finish the book in one evening. And the ideas you will get will cause the time spent to be a very wise investment.
What do you use for a job application?
Our business was one, like many, that has used a job application form that is bought in an office supply store. The form is printed front and back of a single piece of paper and for many of the questions does not have enough space for a person to answer.

The questions that are asked do not give you a good insight to the individual applying for the job. We created our own. This month, we share with you, a version of our job application. We invite you to take a look at this PDF and see how you can take some ideas from our experience to enhance the job application you can create for your business.

You will find it with the link below which will take you to the page on our website that has the staff education material.
Staff Incentive for Your Business

The word is "empower". It means to give someone the authority to make a decision without an outside influence. Maybe you sell products or services, lead a group of volunteers, or have another situation in which someone may need your decision or authority.

The unfortunate tradition of small business is that these people bring the situation to you in expectation that you will give the instructions of what they are to do. The amazing part of this story is that we are often making decisions that have a small value with regard to money.

Think about the people you trust with equipment or keys to a business; if they wanted to steal from you, would it be easy that they could steal? Yet, we trust them to not do that.

That trust, and their loyalty, should be rewarded. How about your letting them make some of the decisions? It could be a small amount. As an example in a store in which a customer brings something back; what if you told your staff that they can make the decision with regard to return or exchange up to $20 cost. Maybe your number is higher; you have to decide.

Now that is an incentive!
Profits Plus |tomshay@profitsplus.org | (727) 823-7205 | www.profitsplus.org

 

 

 

 

 

MAY 2024
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Small Business

AdvisorieS

The May Small Business Advisory is titled "Planning for a successful accountant" and is appropriate for many with the April 15 tax deadline having passed.

 

Did you work with your accountant? Or, did you just give them a bunch of papers and wait to receive a completed tax return?

 

Successfully working with an accountant requires a partnership. This month's Small Business Advisory gives suggestions of how to make this happen in 2024.

Small Business

News

Top Story

We see that many small business owners have too much of a focus on the "top line" of their income statement.

 

Increasing revenue is great, but it is not a cure all for any challenges your business is facing. And sometimes, incresing revenue can create a challenge.

Article of the Month

Who is your customer? Some small businesses have no focus. Their customer is whoever calls or walks in the door.

 

And some small businesses have determined which customers, in sufficient numbers, they should spend their efforts to attract.

 

The article of the month shares an old Southern rhyming couplet about business; "The bertter you niche, the more you get rich."


Book of the Month

Lean Startup by Eric Reis is our suggested book for May.

 

As the title suggests, the reader of the book would be someone that is starting their business. However, we see more value than just that.

 

Perhaps you have been in business for many years. We think this book could give insight to items, and methods, that a small business owner should think about with their business today.
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BOOK US

With over 25 years of frontline experience Tom Shay is America's leading Small Business Management Expert. He's a "Must Have" for your next event.

Small Business

Advisories

The May Small Business Advisory is titled "Planning for a successful accountant" and is appropriate for many with the April 15 tax deadline having passed.

 

Did you work with your accountant? Or, did you just give them a bunch of papers and wait to receive a completed tax return?

 

Successfully working with an accountant requires a partnership. This month's Small Business Advisory gives suggestions of how to make this happen in 2024.

Small Business

News

 

Top Story

We see that many small business owners have too much of a focus on the "top line" of their income statement.

 

Increasing revenue is great, but it is not a cure all for any challenges your business is facing. And sometimes, incresing revenue can create a challenge.


Article of the Month

Who is your customer? Some small businesses have no focus. Their customer is whoever calls or walks in the door.

 

And some small businesses have determined which customers, in sufficient numbers, they should spend their efforts to attract.

 

The article of the month shares an old Southern rhyming couplet about business; "The bertter you niche, the more you get rich."


Book of the Month

Lean Startup by Eric Reis is our suggested book for May.

 

As the title suggests, the reader of the book would be someone that is starting their business. However, we see more value than just that.

 

Perhaps you have been in business for many years. We think this book could give insight to items, and methods, that a small business owner should think about with their business today.

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Tom Shay
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(727)823-7205