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It seems somewhat contradictory, but the more technologically savvy buyers become (and the less time they spend visiting stores or talking to services providers on the phone) the more they want a personal, emotionally gratifying experience with businesses.
Entrepreneurs must find ways to not only appeal to customers’ desire for quality products or services, but also to their hearts.
In a Harvard Business Review article by consumer intelligence experts Alan Zorfass and Daniel Leemon, “Our research across hundreds of brands in dozens of categories shows that the most effective way to maximize customer value is to move beyond mere customer satisfaction and connect with customers at an emotional level.”
What does this mean for you? Instead of just transactions, your business must make memorable interactions. To gain a competitive edge and win customer loyalty, you must make an emotional connection with buyers. Continue reading
Finding and adding a business partner to an existing company is about more than going into business with a friend or family member. How you add a partner typically hinges on your business entity. Depending on how you incorporated your business, entrepreneurs will need to conduct a bit of due diligence in order to properly bring on a business partner.
The first year of operations is a critical time for any small business, with decisions made about market focus, finding financing and hiring a team that will have a significant impact on the business’s success or failure in the future.
This latest installment of the Megaphone of Main Street is the fourth in a data report series that presents a snapshot of the current American small business landscape. This particular report delves into the world of startup entrepreneurship, sourcing both qualitative and quantitative data directly from a diverse group of roughly 1,000 startup small business owners across the nation. Continue reading
Starting a business with a cause offers much satisfaction as you work to make lives better for others. To launch a nonprofit corporation, it requires taking many of the same steps a for-profit corporation or LLC does, but there are differences, too. Nonprofits must comply with some requirements that don’t affect other businesses.
So, where do you begin?
A nonprofit may be created a nonprofit for charitable, educational or certain other purposes—as long as they don’t directly benefit the owner. Nonprofits (if approved by the federal government) operate tax-free, and they can accept donations and apply for grants.
While a nonprofit business can make profits, surpluses must be used toward fulfilling the organization’s objectives—such as buying computer software to run the business more efficiently or investing in resources that deliver value to those that it serves. Continue reading
Yes, you can learn a lot about starting and growing your own business right here in Kitsap County. Kitsap BE$T is an extraordinary resource for entrepreneurs.
by Kelly Deis of SoundPoint Consulting
Retiring from your own business isn’t as simple as calling HR and telling them you are ready to go. How exactly does one leave their own business for the good life? Here are a few options.
You started your business 10, 20 or even 30 years ago. It has been good to you. You’ve built it from infancy, fed it, grew it and, in turn it has provided you a comfortable lifestyle.
But, you’re done, or you want to be done. You are ready for the good life that retirement promises. But there is only one catch – there is no playbook for retiring from your own business.
As a business owner, there are several options available to exit your business. Here are a few…
Just about anyone can get into social media marketing with a smartphone and little to no extra cost. But as you keep doing it, you’ll want to find ways to make it more efficient, especially as a business owner.
Fortunately, there are plenty of tools available online to make social media marketing easier and less tedious. A lot of the best tools have paywalls, which is not ideal for small business owners looking to up their game.
