Corporate Buzzwords vs Small Business Buzzwords

Corporate Buzzwords
One of the benefits of being a small business owner, is that you get to avoid some of the most commonly used corporate buzzwords during the course your work day. For example:

• Thirty Thousand Foot View: The big picture.
• At the End of the Day: The final result.
• Game changer: Do something different.
• Value-add: If we spend money or change processes, something good needs to happen.

"At the end of the day, we need to look at this from a thirty thousand foot view to see if this new product will be a game changer and give us a real value-add for our customers."


Small Business Buzzwords
The realm of buzzwords could go on and on. In fact, they do go on and on. One thing that I have noticed over the last couple of years is that some of the corporate jargon has slipped in to the small business world. They are simpler words, but they are on their way to becoming as annoying. For example:

• Opportunity: Give me the chance to sell you something.
• Partner: Actually sell you something and maybe vice-versa.
• Resources: Money, assets, time.
• Leverage: Take those resources and use them.

"I would like to meet with you to see if we had the opportunity to partner together and leverage our resources."


I'm not saying that you shouldn't massage the English language once in a while, especially if you need to be tactful or even creative. Just be aware that the person or audience you are addressing is probably aware of possible, hidden meanings. If you want to sell someone something, don't be afraid to tell them how it will make their life easier, especially if it will. You don't have to bowl them over, but please don't try to trick them into thinking you are just having a cup of coffee either. That will kill a potential "partnership" and "opportunity".

To learn more about buzzwords, check out these websites:

http://www.businessbuzzwordbingo.com/bbbingo.html
http://therussler.tripod.com/ling/corporate_buzzwords.html
http://www.buzzwhack.com/buzzcomp/indac.htm

The TSBDC offers free and confidential one-on-one counseling for existing and start up small businesses. To register for go to www.tsbdc.org.Other contact information - Phone (615) 230-4780 www.volstate.edu/tsbdcThe Tennessee Small Business Development Center Network is funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration and local community donors.

Marketing: 3 Things a Day

One of my favorite quotes from author John Maxwell is "The whole idea of motivation is a trap. Forget motivation. Just do it. Exercise, lose weight, test your blood sugar, or whatever. Do it without motivation. And then, guess what. After you start doing the thing, that’s when the motivation comes and makes it easy for you to keep on doing it. "

The reason I find it appropriate for marketing is because so many small business owners are looking for some type of encouragement to get them out the door and sell their product or service. Don't worry about the motivation. Just get out there and do something! Once you start doing it on a regular basis, it will become habit, and then the motivation will come.

To get started write down at least three marketing activities that you can do every day to attract the potential customer. Use a calendar, your PDA/cell phone, or a string on your finger if necessary to remember to do these three things, but the key is to do them! I would suggest thinking about who your best type of customer is and implement marketing actions to get that same type of customer again. If you are completely befuddled as to what to do, then try any of the following activities:

* Knock on doors, call, email, or send direct mail to prospective customers.

* Attend at least two networking events per week.

* Do a press release.

* Give away free samples or give away your product or service on a trial basis.

* Call existing clients and ask for more work or referrals.

* Put a magnet on your car.

* Partner with another business, in a different industry that has similar customers, and send each other referrals.

* Offer to do any type of speech or seminar on a specific topic (not a sales pitch) for free.

The TSBDC offers free and confidential one-on-one counseling for existing and start up small businesses. To register for go to www.tsbdc.org.Other contact information - Phone (615) 230-4780 www.volstate.edu/tsbdcThe Tennessee Small Business Development Center Network is funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration and local community donors.

Focus Group Study

Once you have identified who your target market is, you can then develop a focus group study. Focus groups provide tremendous opportunities to evaluate your products, services, or even new ideas. Basically, focus groups are interviews, of 6-10 people at the same time in the same group. You can get a great deal of information during a focus group study. You can perform a focus group study in five steps.
1. Prepare for the Focus Group Study – Invite people to the focus group that belong to your target market. It is usually very helpful to provide an incentive for them to spend an hour or longer of their time, such as discounts or a free meal.
2. Develop Questions – Create five or six questions that will facilitate a discussion on the topic you want to cover with your target market. Make sure that you can quantify the results and that you don’t just have a bunch of open-ended answers.
3. Plan the Session – Have a clear agenda, refreshments, clear ground rules (don’t let one person dominate the study), and have it at a time that is suitable for those involved.
4. Facilitate the Session – Introduce everyone, make sure everyone is on the same page regarding the agenda, get even participation, and make sure to take plenty of notes.
5. Evaluate the Results – It is important to tally the results and to not let your “gut” react to things you heard. Then create a plan to make changes to your business according to the results of the session.
If you would like a Focus Group Study template, simply email me and I will be happy to send you one.

The TSBDC offers free and confidential one-on-one counseling for existing and start up small businesses. To register for go to www.tsbdc.org.Other contact information - Phone (615) 230-4780 www.volstate.edu/tsbdcThe Tennessee Small Business Development Center Network is funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration and local community donors.

Small Business Resources in the News

News Channel 5 just did a story about small business resources available in the Middle Tennessee area that featured the Vol State Tennessee Small Business Development Center and Perkins Drugs in Gallatin, TN.

http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=11006203

Customer Loyalty Program

We have all heard the statistics on how much easier it is to keep a customer than it is to create a new customer. Well here are some steps for creating a customer loyalty program that will allow you to keep your customers and create new repeat customers.

1. Track every possible customer. Get the names, phone numbers addresses, and especially email addresses of the customers you deal with on a regular basis. There are several good contact management programs available, such as Microsoft Outlook, that many folks have already. Then ask them to join your customer loyalty program and make the program available at every point-of-sale.
2. Give your repeat customers special offers not available to the general public. Either give them a discount, special buying terms, or something for free (even if it is something small).
3. Let your repeat customers get the first shot at new products and/or services. This will make them feel special and it will allow you to test the product or service before offering it to the general public.
4. Tell them thank you! This doesn't cost anything! Simply send them an email or if you really want to get into this, pick up the phone or write a personal letter. Actually hand write it the letter. Nobody does that anymore and people love it.
5. Be creative when deciding how create loyalty. Nobody knows your customers better than you. Also, don't be afraid to ask them what they want. Makes life easier.
6. Lastly, do not make the rules for joining your program difficult. If there are too many rules to joining, the reward system could end up being more trouble than it is worth.

The TSBDC offers free and confidential one-on-one counseling for existing and start up small businesses. To register for go to www.tsbdc.org.Other contact information - Phone (615) 230-4780 www.volstate.edu/tsbdcThe Tennessee Small Business Development Center Network is funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration and local community donors.

Small Business Grants....

Or as I like to call them unicorns. Small business grants have always been a hot topic, especially now. As stimulus money is being distributed, we wonder, what about me? Then guess what? We see these friendly folks on tv (usually on late at night) telling us about all of this "free" money being made available to you! You want it, right? Well of course you do! After all it's really your money to begin with. All you have to do, is send them $30-$300 to get the ball rolling. Oh by the way, do not ever, ever, ever, ever, ever give someone money up-front for something that is supposed to be FREE.



In reality getting a small business grant to start or expand your business isn't very likely. This is why I make the comparison to unicorns. See, if we had to draw a picture of a unicorn, most of us could do it. If you thought long and hard about it, I'll bet you could even think of a friend (albeit a childhood friend) that claims to have once seen a unicorn. But when it gets right down to it, you have never actually come face-to-face with a unicorn. The same goes with a small business grant. Sure they may be out there somewhere, but the only ones that I have come across are for non-profits, educational institutions, government projects, and even for workforce development training, but not to start or expand a small business. That doesn't mean they don't exist, but trying to locate one might be as worthwhile as trying to find a horse with a horn sticking out of his head.


You may be better served to learn more about the updated SBA lending programs that are part of the 2009 Recovery Act, http://sba.gov/recovery/index.html, or sit down with your local TSBDC counselor, SCORE counselor, CPA, banker, or anyone else that can review your financials and help you find the light at the end of the tunnel.

The TSBDC offers free and confidential one-on-one counseling for existing and start up small businesses. To register for go to www.tsbdc.org.Other contact information - Phone (615) 230-4780 www.volstate.edu/tsbdcThe Tennessee Small Business Development Center Network is funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration and local community donors.

Do your own cash flow projection

One of the recurring issues that I see from clients is the “I seem to be making money, but don’t have any money” scenario. This is not uncommon. One of the biggest issues small businesses face is managing their cash flow. To many entrepreneurs, it is also one of the more intimidating aspects of a business. Cash flow is different than just looking at a profit and loss statement. Cash flow statements show money coming in the business and money going out of the business, in real time. The best way to find out where your money is going is to put together a cash flow projection.
Below is a link to our Business Tools. One of the tools is a financial worksheet that you can use to create a cash flow projection. Simply fill out the yellow fields in the “income statement” tab and it will auto calculate the cash flow projection. If you need any help in doing this, give me a call or email.
http://www.volstate.edu/tsbdc/tools.html

The TSBDC offers free and confidential one-on-one counseling for existing and start up small businesses. To register for go to www.tsbdc.org.Other contact information - Phone (615) 230-4780 www.volstate.edu/tsbdcThe Tennessee Small Business Development Center Network is funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration and local community donors.

Consider using automatic drafts or credit card transactions

Instead of carrying an accounts receivable, you may want to consider using automatic drafts from the customer’s bank account or use automatic credit card transactions. You can set up payments on a certain date or on a recurring basis. You will incur some costs to get this set up and may even incur costs each time the transaction occurs, however, it may be well worth it in the long run.

Let's take a Day Care for example.

(pwease don't kick us out, we're wittle)

If you have a few customers who are consistently late, you could have serious cash flow issues. The insurance, lease, and payroll won’t wait for these delinquent customers to pay you and you feel like the bad guy each time you have to remind your customer that Little Johnny’s and Little Susie's care isn’t free. If you set up an automatic draft out of the customer’s account for each Monday, you could solve that collections issue. You can make it mandatory for all new customers and slowly implement it for your existing customer base.

The TSBDC offers free and confidential one-on-one counseling for existing and start up small businesses. To register for go to www.tsbdc.org.
Other contact information - Phone (615) 230-4780 www.volstate.edu/tsbdc
The Tennessee Small Business Development Center Network is funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration and local community donors.