Sole Props – The Rise of Independent Workers in the US – Infographic

Entrepreneurs, Small Business, Startups

The number of U.S. full and part time independent workers soared over 42 million in 2018. Businesses who find ways to serve and sell to independent workers have a lot to gain.

6 Ways to Sell More to Independent Workers

The number of U.S. full and part time independent workers rose astronomically from 2011 to 2018, going from 16 million to just over 42 million people over the 8 year span, according to MBO Partners State of Independence in America survey. During the same time period, the number of high-earning independents (earning over $100,000 annually) went from 12.5 percent of indies to over 20 percent – more than 3 million workers. By 2023, over half of American workers will have worked as an independent worker at some point during their career.

What is an Independent Worker?

Independent workers are people 21 years old and older who are self-employed as freelancers, contractors, consultants, temporary and on-call workers or who are working on fixed-term employment contracts expected to last less than one year. In addition to adding numbers to their ranks, the study found that independent workers:

Generate more than $1.3 trillion to the economy
Are multi-generational – Full-Time Indies are comprised of 37% Millennials, 28% Gen X and 35% Boomers/Matures
79% are happier working on their own than at a traditional job
Love having the ability to control their own schedules, with 76% of women and 58% of men saying that flexibility was the key reason for choosing the independent route, and 71% of women saying they wanted to control their own schedule
Love being their own boss, with 67% of men and 58% of women citing this as their top reason for choosing independent work
Know no borders – 1 in 5 have customers outside the U.S.

Since the post-recession economic recovery has been described as a jobless recovery, it’s not really surprising that entrepreneurial-minded and professionally ambitious workers turned to independent work as a primary or secondary source of income during recent years. Given the rate at which this segment is expected to continue to grow, businesses who find ways to serve and sell to independent workers have a lot to gain.

6 Ways to Win the Hearts, Minds, and Purchases of US Solopreneurs

Scale Offers and Options

If it were easy, everyone would do it. The truth is, it’s not always easy to scale offers to the size, scope and price a solo-preneur would find affordable and attractive that will also still be profitable for a business to sell; but the long term benefits could be well worth it. As independent workers become small business owners and continue to grow, these early partners – businesses that cared enough to tailor programs to help independent workers – stand to win.

Find Common Ground

Independent workers might not be able to meet you during a 9-5 workday or come to a downtown office location. In fact, meeting at a large corporate site might be intimidating or even be a turn off to independent workers, who might feel like they don’t belong or who don’t want to be part of a big organization.

Meet independents on their own ground, a coffee shop or another neutral site, or connect online (virtual ground) and be prepared to accommodate their schedules.

Invest in Gathering Places

Sponsor events or extend meeting space to local indies who might have difficulty finding locations suitable for customer events. Consider advertising with co-working office spaces. Host solo-preneur networking events and workshops.

All of these entrepreneur-friendly actions position your business to be able to sell to independent workers now, help you establish brand awareness and trust that brings them back to you when they need your services or products at a later time, or help you win with referrals as they tell other small business owners about your presentation or brand.

Give Away Expertise

Providing your expertise as an event speaker, coach or mentor might cost you little more than a few hours each month, but might be invaluable to the independent workers who benefit from your experience and advice. Starting a regular podcast or hosting webinars gives you a low-cost entrepreneur marketing tactic that can generate a wide following and leads among Indies.

Scale this type of give-away by building email contact databases segmented so that you can keep your brand in front of independent workers by providing them advice and content via email on a regular basis.

Support Indies with Online Content

As with any other vertical, starting the conversation with independent workers and educating them along the buying journey is critical. Publish white papers, reports, statistics and apps that can help independent workers and small business owners find – and trust – your business. Dedicate web landing pages and blog articles to topics that are likely to interest and engage indies. Use social media to engage and dialogue with them.

Demonstrate the Long-Term Value of Partnership

One size does not fit all, especially when it comes to independent workers. Although frugality and caution can be found in buyers of any-size organization, it’s even more imperative for independent workers to maximize the return on investment for each and every dollar they invest in improving their business.

You might also like: What Small Business Owners Wish They Knew at the Start-Up

Put the value of your partnership into language and numbers they can understand, and show them how your business works to ensure they get the best results from the services or products they buy from you. Success shouldn’t be measured only by whether your business achieved its goals, but also by the extent to which your business helped its clients achieve theirs.

It is this type of mindset that can help you win the hearts, minds and purchases of independent workers, and it is this type of mindset that will receive the most gratification when your clients leverage your products or services to grow.

Source: https://www.mbopartners.com/state-of-independence/

April 22/0 Comments/by Elizabeth

5 Ideas for Expanding a Business Without Adding Square Feet

Business Financing, Entrepreneurs, Startups

We often think adding a second location or more square feet is the only way to expand, when, in reality, there are many ideas for expanding a business that add revenue – and boost profits – without adding additional overhead in the process.

Expanding a Business – 5 Ways to Boost Revenue Per Square Foot in Your Business

Price per square foot – it’s one of the biggest costs of doing business. Whether you own or lease, for each square foot you pay for, you must be able to generate a minimum amount of revenue per square foot over and above that number, just to break even. To grow, you must be able to get even more profit out of each square foot of your business.

What does each square foot of your business cost? It’s much more than the price per square foot reflected in your lease agreement. The real cost of doing business, for each square foot, includes each and every expense of your business, including supplies, inventory, insurance, taxes, payroll, etc., divided by the number of square feet in your business.

But you can also calculate revenues or profit for each square foot of your business. In fact, it’s important to be aware of these numbers because for your business to be profitable and generate the money you need to grow, profit per square foot must exist, which means you need to know how much revenue per square foot your business must generate to produce a profit.

If a business can’t produce a profit (money left over after expenses and depreciation), it will have a difficult time growing, because most growth strategies require capital. Capital is where we come in. In particular, when it comes to implementing growth strategies, commercial cash advance financing can provide a business with fast access to the money it needs to grow to the next level.

Essentially, business cash advances provide an organization with a lump sum of working capital which is repaid out of future sales. This is one reason that it’s a great option for businesses that want to use a cash advance to finance inventory, equipment, marketing, or other capital expenses that will lead to increased revenue or open up new streams of revenue.

In fact, one of the best parts about being in the business of cash advance financing is hearing about how our clients use their cash advance to grow. While some do use cash advance financing to add a second business location or incorporate adjacent vacant space because they need additional square footage to grow, others add new lines of revenue without incurring as much additional cost, essentially expanding a business without adding physical space.

Growing a Business – 5 Ways to Expand Without Adding Square Feet

New Equipment

In just about every industry, as technology evolves, not only does newer equipment provide you with the ability to enhance a product or service or produce a completely new one, it often does so on a smaller footprint. When the benefits of increased efficiency, productivity and reduced space requirements add up to new or boosted business revenue, it might be smart to upgrade. This is where expanding a business in it’s current location without adding square feet can help.

Likewise, if you have enough space to add new equipment, you may be able to add whole new lines of revenue to your business in the form of new products or services. If your competitors are providing products or services you aren’t, or you would like to provide customers with items they typically purchase right before (or right after) purchasing yours, this might be an area where adding new equipment could give your business revenues a big boost.

The cost of adding new equipment may be well worth the expense, even if you take on a business financing obligation in the process. You also need to consider what the cost of not adding new equipment could be, especially if your competitors are gaining market share because they can serve clients products or services that your business is not equipped to provide.

New Skills and Training

In service-based industries like salons and spas, dental, medical, etc., education and training can be a vehicle for adding new lines of revenue without adding square footage, and sometimes even without a significant investment in equipment or inventory. As with equipment, assessing advantages of competitors or innovations and trends being pursued by industry leaders can provide insights as to what new services might be most successful with your target markets, which can point you in the right direction when it comes to investing in education and training.

In addition, new service revenues often go hand-in-hand with new product sales, especially when services are enhanced by products customers can use at home or in between appointments.

New Inventory

Periodically changing your inventory is smart business. Phasing out slow-movers can allow you to make ways for new items which can re-engage your customer base or allow you to target an expanded market segment and bring new customers in to your business. Phasing out slow-movers can even spark demand. In fact, limiting customer access to certain products or services to specific periods of time during the year might mean you sell more of those items than you would were they available year-round.

New Blood

Bringing in consultants or hiring new staff can help you expand your business. Hiring new employees strategically for specific skills they bring to the table may give you the ability to launch new products or services (or enhance those you already offer). New hires and consultants also help to bring a fresh perspective. They can point out areas of opportunity and help you see your business through “fresh eyes.” As a result, you may be able to identify new markets for your products or services or eliminate inefficiencies or obsolescing items in order to make room for others.

New Identity

While the underlying values that guide your organization may never change, your brand identity will probably change over time. These changes might be small and reflected in tweaks to the logo, brand taglines, marketing campaigns and colors, or they might be big, and be accompanied by a completely new mission statement, vision for growth, and a new logo – possibly even a new name.

Big changes to brand identity might reflect big changes in leadership; however, they might also be necessitated by big changes in the marketplace or business model. Along with a change to consumer perception, this also provides a business owner with an opportunity to remake the business itself, including tweaking or completely changing its menu of goods or services.

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For most businesses, change is an imperative. If you need working capital for expanding a business, we can help. Get access to money you can use to expand your business (whether that means adding square footage or not) using a merchant cash advance.

Start by requesting a totally free, no-risk quote – a merchant cash advance could provide you with the money you need to grow your business within days:

April 17/0 Comments/by Elizabeth

Make Way for Women in Male-Dominated Professions

Entrepreneurs, Finance, Hiring and Recruiting

There have always been women in male-dominated professions, but it’s been the exception, not the rule. Find out where women are making gender barriers disappear.

Key Opportunities and Challenges for Women in Male-Dominated Professions

A century ago women were relegated to a few distinct professional roles, and most were expected to “retire” upon marriage. The list of male-dominated jobs is much shorter now, but there are still some professions where women make up a distinct minority. Askmen.com’s list of Top 10 Male-Dominated Industries run as follows:

Construction
Politics
Math
Sports media
Emergency services
Law enforcement
Chef
Tech
Comedy
Accounting and finance

By contrast, the U.S. Department of Labor’s list of 20 traditionally female-dominated jobs includes medical, educational and beauty industry job titles; the same industries, by the way, where a century ago you would have found most working women employed in.

Forbes.com published an article titled “20 Surprising Jobs Where Women Are Taking Over” noting that not only are there increasing numbers of women in male-dominated professions, but those women come into the workforce having earned three bachelor’s degrees for every two earned by men. In addition, those who are parents are retaining responsibilities of the primary parent. Of the list of male-dominated industries above, accounting and finance, in particular, is an industry where women are taking over, now comprising:

55% of financial managers
59% of budget analysts
63% of insurance underwriters

Does it Benefit Organizations to Hire Women in Male-Dominated Professions?

Several recent studies (including research covered in our article 3 Soft Skills and the Teams that Need Them) pointed out that teams and organizations that have balanced numbers of men and women out-perform those dominated by only one gender. Pointing to “super powers” women have such as intuition, relationship skills, balance, collaboration and empathy, a 2007 Catalyst study even found that Fortune 500 companies who had more female board members significantly outperformed those organizations whose board had few (or no) women.

Challenges Faced by Women in Male-Dominated Professions

Women in male-dominated professions may feel an increased sense of stress and a need to perform as well (or even better) than their male counterparts. Residual discrimination could even make it more difficult for a woman to obtain a job in a male-dominated profession or to move up within an organization into roles with more responsibility or leadership.

Indeed, a study published in the Psychology of Women Quarterly concluded that “manning up” is the best strategy for women who want to get a job in a male-dominated industry, instead of playing up her feminine strengths (Fortune.com). The study evaluated a group of women who were applying for an engineering management job and concluded that those who described themselves with traits traditionally associated with males (independence, focus on achievement, etc.) were viewed as more suitable for the job than those who emphasized traditionally feminine strengths such as warmth, supportiveness or nurturing.

A study cited on medicaldaily.com also notes that women working in male-dominated roles experience higher levels of stress, and even health problems. When working in gender-segregated fields, women who work mostly with men described being subjected to “difficulties such as performance pressures, sexual harassment, a hard time moving up in their company, coworkers doubting their competence, and low levels of support from coworkers.” As a result, over time these women may become more open to a variety of conditions, such as: coronary heart disease, breast cancer, insulin resistance, diabetes, cognitive decline while aging and psychiatric disorders like PTSD and depression.

Organizations that want to attract more women into roles which have been traditionally held by men should consider how they can enable the work-life balance a working mother would prefer as well as the benefits and flexibility that can make them more attractive to women. In addition, they may need to make gender diversity a top priority and invest not only in recruiting but also in training within the organization to overcome stereotypes which could create barriers and stressors for women.

April 4/0 Comments/by Elizabeth

7 Keys to a Successfully Changing a Restaurant Menu

Entrepreneurs, Food Truck Marketing, Restaurant and Retail Marketing

Most restaurants evolve over time and changing a restaurant menu will often be part of the process. Here are seven things you’ll want to do if it’s time to make big changes to your restaurant’s menu.

7 Things to do Before Changing a Restaurant Menu

We recently read an entrepreneurial success story about the restaurant industry on app.com where a restaurant owner said that if there was one thing they would do differently, it would have been to have designed their kitchen differently, because their menu has grown and changed so much in the decade since the restaurant opened.

This is probably true for a lot of restaurant owners. The menu items that inspired your restaurant concept to begin with have probably evolved since you opened, and you’ve probably tested and added many other new food and beverage options over time. Some of these were probably easy to do given your current setup; others, not so much. And there may have even been some things you wanted to try but couldn’t due to facility limitations.

It got us to thinking about what it would take for a restaurant owner who wanted to make major changes to the menu or even – essentially – launch a whole new restaurant concept including a complete change of menu within the confines of their current location and space. From changes to the competitive marketplace, regional consumer demographics, or rules and regulations governing the food service industry, there are many reasons why you might be thinking about changing a restaurant menu. Here are seven things you can do to help ensure the success and growth of your business as you make these changes.

7 Things to Consider When Changing a Restaurant Menu

Facility

Whether you are opening your first restaurant, making tweaks to your menu or changing a restaurant menu completely, there’s no question that your facility’s layout, equipment, kitchen, storage, etc. has the ability to limit your options or even put the kibosh on your plan.

Financing

Whether proposed changes mean you need to make updates and buy equipment in order to add new menu items or your entire facility will need to be remodeled in order to accommodate a complete overhaul of your overall restaurant concept, it’s highly likely that you may need some time of restaurant equipment financing to complete the project.

Our restaurant cash advance financing might be an ideal option for you. It can be used for a wide variety of purposes, even including covering payroll and expenses if your restaurant renovation means that your doors will be closed for a short period of time. Since a restaurant cash advance financing can provide funding in a matter of days (not weeks), you can even consider this restaurant financing tool mid-renovation if need be. It’s a great financing alternative for businesses that expect to add new revenue, as might occur when changing a restaurant menu to add new menu items or renovating in order to attract more people in the local area.

Existing Customer Base

Obviously you don’t want to change your restaurant’s menu only to find that you have lost loyal customers as a result. If retaining people from your existing customer base is important, then it’s also important for you to consult them along the way as you consider making major changes to your menu or facility. Use surveys, hold focus groups and invite some of your most loyal customers to be part of the brainstorming and planning process.

Regional Demographics

If the demographics of consumers in your local area is evolving then it’s going to be important for you to change your restaurant over time as well. Staying on top of census information, trends, and information such as an influx of new residents or major employers entering or leaving your region can all point to areas of opportunity for your restaurant.

Major Players

If you are making major changes to your restaurant menu or completely changing your restaurant’s concept, it would be wise to touch base with influencers who can help to make sure that these changes bring in new customers. Major area employers, city leaders, civic influencers (such as Rotarians, Chamber of Commerce, Clergy, Educators, etc.) and internal VIPs such as board members, investors, vendors, and suppliers could all potentially go on to this list.

Available Talent

One really important thing to consider when changing a restaurant menu is sustainability; in other words, is there enough available food service talent in your local area to staff and run your restaurant under it’s new concept. If your concept is innovative, requires special skills or knowledge, or is unfamiliar to current and/or prospective staff, plan for a longer learning curve and a formal training program.

While the downside might be a more expensive orientation and training program, it’s important to remember that the customer experience is key. The more you invest in ensuring a unique, intriguing, buzz-worthy restaurant experience, the more likely you are to generate public interest, word of mouth referrals and repeat patronage.

Build Up Buzz Marketing

Sometimes how you launch is every bit as important as what you launch. Whether you are just announcing a few new restaurant menu items or you have done a complete restaurant renovation, the direct and email marketing, social media, restaurant website updates and public relations you put to work to let people know about what you are about to do (and/or what you’ve just done) have the power to put customers in seats. This is important not only in terms of validating your decisions (especially if board members or investors have doubts) but is also important for creating buzz, generating referrals, paying off any debt incurred in the process – and of course for the sustainability and success of your business in the future.

You might also like: Prep for Growth – 9 Ideas for Growing a Restaurant

March 19/0 Comments/by Elizabeth

LTO Restaurant Promotions – 6 Reasons to Spark Demand by Limiting Supply

Entrepreneurs, Food Truck Marketing, Restaurant and Retail Marketing

While Supplies Last! 6 Reasons to Offer LTO Restaurant Promotions Create Customer Cravings and Get Them In the Door of your Restaurant, Bar or Coffee Shop

LTO Restaurant Promotions Spark Demand by Limiting Supply

Restaurant chains are on a spending spree when it comes to advertising. In fact, as the economy began to recover from The Great Recession, spending on restaurant advertising rose as much as 5x faster than total U.S. ad spending. In part, this was an effort by chain restaurants to steal market share from competitors using limited-time-only offers. You probably can’t outspend your competitors, but LTO promotions (limited time offers) could help you spark demand among local patrons.

Why do big restaurant chains and coffee shops offer customer favorites like rib-filled sandwiches and pumpkin spice lattes only for a few months every year? Because it works!

And if LTO restaurant promotions work for big restaurants and coffee chains, it can work for your restaurant too. We came up with six ways to create customer cravings that can only be satisfied in your restaurant.

How LTO Restaurant Promotions and Time-Limited Offers Work to Increase Revenue

1. Signature* menu items create new fans and build customer loyalty.

Creating signature menu items – in and of itself – provide you with unique opportunities to promote your restaurant to new market segments. When someone becomes a fan of something they can only get at your restaurant, coffee house or bar, they have to come back to get it.

*Just what is a signature menu item? Just like a person’s handwritten signature, signature restaurant menu items should be unique to your restaurant and outside of the norm of what is available from competitors in your area. It should be something that your establishment can become known for (and none of your competitors can offer, or match).

2. LTO (limited time only) signature menu items create demand.

When your unique menu items are offered only for a limited time, it gives you the ability to boost demand among your loyal customer base as well as individuals who are fans of that signature menu item with a sense of urgency, because that menu item will be going away in the near future. In fact, seasonal menu items may well bring in customers more often than they normally return, and even create a subconscious habit of returning more often to your restaurant, bar or coffee shop in the process.

3. LTO restaurant promotions with signature menu items ignite consumer interest.

Customers will be looking for – and reading – your digital and offline communications with greater interest as they hope to see that their favorite signature menu item is coming back (or which one is coming next)
“Foodies” in your area are always on the lookout for something new to try, time-limited menu options help to satisfy their cravings and give your own customers a reason to try something new
Word of mouth and buzz marketing occurs as customers spread the word to family, friends, co-workers and social networks that they simply “must try” your LTO before it goes away again
LTOs have many of the characteristics of a “publicity stunt,” all on their own, providing you with many opportunities for PR, events and other press-worthy activities

4. LTO signature menu items can help you steal market share.

The word of mouth, publicity and intrigue that accompany your time-limited menu options can bring in new customers – not just regulars – and give you an opportunity to expand the ranks of your repeat customer base by providing them with an exceptional experience.

5. LTO signature menu items can help you make up ground during slow seasons.

We help many restaurants maintain cash flow during slow months or seasonal lulls with restaurant cash advance financing. Offering signature menu items during your slower months or slow season can boost demand and build restaurant traffic, helping to offset periods when you historically experience a slowdown in traffic and lower profits and revenues.

6. LTO restaurant promotions help you guide customer demand and become more profitable.

Guiding customer demand with time-limited options may improve your ability to forecast demand overall, allowing you to better control costs and even save money at the same time you are increasing revenues – making your restaurant more profitable.

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We offer restaurant business loans, advances and equipment financing solutions. Find out more how to use our restaurant cash flow and working capital financing tools to grow your business by requesting a free, no-obligation quote.

Ask about restaurant financing

March 14/0 Comments/by Elizabeth

Smoke vs Fire – 12 Productive Quotes About Getting Work Done

Entrepreneurs, Small Business Owners, Startups

When something’s on fire, the smoke might be the most visible but the flames are the ones getting work done. These twelve productive quotes for business leaders are a motivational reminder that results matter, and hard work always pays off.

Smoke vs Fire – 12 Productive Quotes About Getting the Work Done for Today’s Business Leaders

Productivity is defined as:

the quality, state, or fact of being able to generate, create, enhance, or bring forth goods and services (dictionary.com)
A measure of the efficiency of a person, machine, factory, system, etc., in converting inputs into useful outputs (businessdictionary.com)

Other definitions include phrases like “fertility,” “output per unit,” “effectiveness,” and so on. It’s not about being busy, it’s about getting done what matters. In the workplace, the person who looks the busiest is not always the power behind the progress being made by the organization. As managers, it’s your responsibility to identify and cultivate those employees who demonstrate their value by getting work done.

12 Quotes About Productivity for the Workplace

“The least productive people are usually the ones who are most in favor of holding meetings.” — Thomas Sowell

“Intelligence is the ability to avoid doing work, yet getting the work done.” — Linus Torvalds

“Colleagues are a wonderful thing – but mentors, that’s where the real work gets done.” — Junot Diaz

“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” — Colin Powell

“In the business world, everyone is paid in two coins: cash and experience. Take the experience first; the cash will come later.” — Harold S. Geneen

“A company is only as good as the people it keeps.” — Mary Kay Ash

“I want to put a ding in the universe.” — Steve Jobs

“Just because something doesn’t do what you planned for it to do, doesn’t mean it was useless.” — Thomas A. Edison

“Sales are contingent upon the attitude of the salesman – not the attitude of the prospect.” — W. Clement Stone

“If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.” — Lucius Annaeus Seneca

“Should you find yourself in a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is likely to be more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks.” — Warren Buffett

“Thunder is good, thunder is impressive; but it is lightning that does the work.” — Mark Twain

March 5/0 Comments/by Elizabeth

Selling Company Culture – 65% of Employers Have Difficulty Filling Jobs

Entrepreneurs, Reviews, Small Business Owners

Study says more than 6 in ten employers find it hard to fill open positions. Find out more about the study and get four tips for selling company culture to potential new hires, to make landing top talent easier.

Why Are Employers Having Difficulty Filling Positions?

A new Express Employment Professionals survey conducted in December 2015 found that more than 6 out of ten employers – 65 percent – said they found it somewhat or very difficult to successfully attract the right candidates in order to fill open positions. With a low unemployment rate and increased competition for highly skilled, experienced employees, HR and staffing agencies that want to win the war for talent are going to have to do more than post a position opening or job description.

Staffing Industry Analysts quotes Express’ CEO Bob Funk as saying that while there are still plenty of people who want jobs and some who have stopped looking altogether, that “part of the difficulty has been that the people who want to work may not have the skills that employers need.” For some employers, the answer when it becomes difficult to fill open positions may even be to take a risk on unskilled-but-potentially-capable workers and invest in developing employees on the job.

However, hiring for potential and training the skills needed is not always a viable option for employers. HR and staffing agencies faced with the challenge of finding candidates to fill hard-to-fill position openings can win the war for talent if they understand what candidates are looking for. Selling company culture to new hires can help sway decisions one way or another.

From the benefits offered to leader communication styles, every aspect of company culture can be transformed into an internal marketing tool that makes it easier for a business to attract and retain valuable employees. Now, let’s look closer at four specific aspects of company culture that can be used to make it easier for hiring and staffing managers to successfully fill some of those hard-to-fill position openings.

4 Ideas for Selling Company Culture to Recruits

1. What Job Titles Say About Company Culture

Job titles are important and most have specific connotations and expectations when it comes to a candidate’s perspective. For instance:

A head of department job titled “manager” instead of “director” moves its salary range into a lower level, implies more oversight and less autonomy in decision-making than for true director roles. Likewise, a department “specialist” might actually have the same responsibilities as a department manager, especially in companies with one-man departments, but would have a lower salary range; however, specialist roles like these are often great opportunities for candidates who do not quite have enough experience or training to step into a bona fide managerial role.

In both cases, the company may be communicating that they want to pay less for the same work, may limit a candidate’s ability to propose and enact change, and may have little room for advancement. Conversely, the lower job requirements may make it possible for highly competent but under-experienced candidates to prove themselves on the job and build their own career path.

Use of traditional job titles may lead candidates to believe that the organization has a traditional hierarchy and organizational chart.

Use of non-traditional job titles may lead candidates to believe that the company has a more modern organizational structure, such as a holacracy. However, use of non-traditional job titles can also create doubt in the mind of candidates relative to where the title “fits” in the organizational structure.

Candidates expect companies in creative work or innovative industries to have creative job titles that speak to the position’s practical function or the type of individual they want to fill it. Failure to deliver on this expectation could cause candidates to worry that the corporate culture is not creative-friendly.

2. What a List of Job Duties Communicates to Candidates

If a few words found in a job title can convey that much to potential new hires, what can a whole job description do? Words mean things, and the words chosen to describe a position’s role within the organization may be the only tools the HR or staffing recruiter has to win the talent war: Make them count!

The job duties or position description used in recruiting ads should tell candidates what the employer expects, how they can succeed and what will happen when they do. As with job titles, choosing to use language that is creative, traditional, formal, casual, enthusiastic, vague, specific, boring, etc., tells the prospective new hire just as much about the corporate culture as it does the position opening.

‘Type of work’ is listed as the number one factor U.S. workers consider when making career decisions, so getting the job description to successfully persuade candidates that your organization has the type of work they are looking for is critical.

Instead of following a formula, try writing job descriptions in the voice of a “real person,” describing what needs to be done in the role on an hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and/or quarterly basis. Use what you know about building buyer personas for marketing to build “candidate personas” that describe what your ideal employee type is and describe that person in your job description’s “successful candidate will be” section.

3. Are Opportunities for Advancement on the Horizon?

For U.S. workers in every generation, the opportunities for advancement available within an organization is a top consideration in deciding where to work. Large companies may have no difficulty communicating these types of opportunities to potential new hires; however, they may not be as readily apparent in smaller companies.

Take your “candidate personas” to the next step. Tell candidates what they need to succeed in the role they take, and what will happen if they do. Opportunities for advancement aren’t just about promotions. They can also be reflected in salaries, job titles, autonomy, decision-making, educational and leadership opportunities, succession planning, and more.

4. Why Would Anyone Want to Spend 8 Hours a Day (or More) on Site?

At the end of the day you want your best employees to want to come back again! The intangibles that make your company culture special are the selling points that can be used to help paint a picture for potential new hires about what a day – week – month – or year at the company will look like.

Other employees can be a great resource when you are looking for ways to describe “why” someone should want to work at your company day in and day out. Get testimonials and consider making short videos to use on sites like YouTube and LinkedIn to help get the attention of candidates and sell them on your company culture before they’ve even sent in their resume.

March 5/0 Comments/by Elizabeth

Cinderella’s 7 Leadership Lessons for Today’s Women Business Owners

Entrepreneurs, Small Business Owners, Startups

It may be a tale as old as time but for a chick whose story is several centuries old, Cinderella sure seems to be a role model for women business owners today. Here’s why.

Women business owners looking for a success story need look no further than memories from their own childhood to find a role model worth considering: Cinderella.

Could Cinderella Be the Ideal Mentor for Women Business Owners Today?

While a case could be made for revisiting any of the versions from the somewhat disturbing origin stories from which the modern day version is derived, (“Cendrillon” from Tales of Mother Goose, 1697 by Charles Perrault or the Grimm Brothers’ Aschenputtel, 1812), many of the lessons will be the same as those which can be discovered in its most recent depiction, Disney’s Cinderella released in 2015, directed by industry icon Kenneth Branagh starring Lily James in the title role and the incomparable Kate Blanchett as the “evil stepmother.”

Cinderella’s 7 Leadership Lessons for Women Business Owners

1. Have Courage and Be Kind

There have been entire leadership books written that failed to say what this little gem of leadership advice says so simply: Have courage and be kind. As a recipe for good leadership, it works. Courage is needed to take risks, face challenges and pursue business vision at nearly every point in the life cycle of a business.

Likewise, kindness is a strategy that is vital to the growth of a business, to a healthy organizational culture, to winning over prospects and retaining clients. To have courage and be kind is to take a long term view of nearly any situation, which is nearly always going to be the best approach to take.

2. Never Mind What They Call Me

Shortly after being demoted from “family” status to that of a servant, a bedraggled Ella is mockingly renamed “Cinderella” by her mean stepsisters. When she meets the handsome prince for the first time in the forest and he asks her name, she replies, “Never mind what they call me.”

Her response calls to mind a quote attributed to W.C. Fields that says, “It ain’t what they call you, it’s what you answer to.” Cinderella refuses to accept that she is limited to being what anyone else says she is or what anyone else calls her. Women business owners will face many situations where self-doubt about their abilities can creep in or where people even call their qualifications into question. In those moments, this could be an invaluable leadership lesson to keep in mind.

3. Honor the Past Without Jeopardizing the Future

In the 2015 release of Cinderella, our heroine modifies her mother’s old dress to wear to the ball. Even when her fairy Godmother offers to make her a completely new dress, she requests that the old dress be modified instead. In choosing to honor the past, she honors those who paved the way before her. However, she does not hold onto the past in such a way that it holds her back in the future.

Sometimes the right thing to do is to start over or go in an entirely new direction; however, it’s not always necessary and completely abandoning the past can leave employees, customers and other stakeholders confused. As change within an organization occurs, honoring the past and retaining elements that made a brand or strategy strong might be highly preferable to crafting a completely new solution. Conversely, many organizations become enslaved by the past. When “the way we’ve always done things” means that an organization cannot grow or evolve, it might be time to let it go!

4. Trust Your Own Judgment

Cinderella’s decision to go to the ball flew in the face of her stepmother’s command that she not attend. Sometimes women business owners will be called upon to defy conventional judgment and trust their own, instead. A successful leader’s defining moment often occurs as a results of their willingness to make decisions, take risks, defend their rationale and stand by the results of their actions.

5. Don’t Confuse a Low Position with Low Potential

Cinderella doesn’t allow her name, position or responsibilities to define her. She is faithful in doing the little things that need to be done for the good of everyone in the household, even when they go unnoticed and unappreciated. Her demotion from family member to servant notwithstanding, she does not hesitate when the time comes to take on the responsibilities of helping to run the whole kingdom.

Modeling servant-leadership and taking care of the little things doesn’t stop when you open a business or get promoted to an executive role; in fact, if anything, your responsibility for ensuring that the little things get done – even when no one notices or appreciates it – is that much greater. Women business owners who lead by example are the ones whose organizational culture is infused with these values.

6. Forgive but Don’t Forget to Move Forward

We live in a society where forgiveness is often equated with excusing the behavior of someone else. Cinderella sets a wise example in that she forgives her mother and stepsisters for the abusive way they treated her, but she does not excuse their behavior, nor does she give them the opportunity to continue causing damage in the future.

In some businesses there are employees who are allowed to cause damage in their role as employees, and sometimes even as managers. It’s important to understand that firing this type of employee could be in the best interest not only of other employees and the organization as a whole, but sometimes even for the fired employee themselves. No matter how talented or well-connected, an employee who is damaging your organization from the inside out is going to limit its potential and cause others to leave.

7. Wear the Right Shoes

Marilyn Monroe once said, “With the right shoes, a woman can conquer the world.” Certainly few characters in literature or history are as well-known as Cinderella is for the shoes they wore.

The shoes women business owners have to wear have to get them all the way to the ball and home again. They have to help them land the role of their dreams. These shoes might be crafted in the education she received, advice given to her from mentors, the experience she has gained along the way – or all of the above; and with the right shoes, she just might conquer the world!

February 28/1 Comment/by Elizabeth

Restaurants, Auto Businesses Benefiting from Franchise-Friendly Consumer Spending

Entrepreneurs, Franchising, Startups

Franchise owners who want to capitalize on franchise-friendly consumer spending should take time to analyze their overall business strategy now, in order to get maximum benefit from increased consumer activity. Here are four key areas to consider.

Strong employment and economic numbers mean continued consumer spending beneficial to franchise owners, in particular. Employment strength in key segments including automotive and restaurants could mean continued good news for the economy overall.

4 Questions Can Help Franchise Owners Capitalize on Franchise-Friendly Consumer Spending

Is the Franchise Living Up to the Brand Standard?

Brand awareness could be playing a key role in the shopper’s decision to favor franchise businesses over competitors. This is an ideal time for franchise owners to evaluate their location and ensure that it is fully compliant with brand standards, not only in policies and appearance, but in the intangibles a brand may have come to represent, such as its values and attitude.

Is the Franchise Providing a Better-than-Expected Customer Experience?

Franchise location standards and policies set the stage, but it is still up to franchise leaders to evaluate the customer experience and find ways to make it better – better than the customer expected and better than the customer will experience at competitor’s locations. This could be an ideal time for franchise owners to:

invest in employee development and training relative to customer service
have their stores shopped for independent feedback
shop competitor’s stores to compare the customer experience
empower staff to solve customer problems as quickly as possible
upgrade credit card processing equipment and loyalty marketing software to better-serve local customers

Is the Franchise Contributing to Local Marketing?

Although franchise owners often benefit from brand name recognition, national and regional advertising and other marketing provided by parent organizations, that does not mean there is not more that can be done to help promote their own locations. In fact, supplementing the marketing done by the parent company with the same local marketing tactics that small and independent business owners employ could help a franchisee grow their own locations more quickly.

Is the Franchise Ready to Grow?

A franchise-friendly rise in consumer spending could represent the ideal conditions for a franchise to add additional square footage to its location, increase the number of employees, or expand by opening new stores. If a location is already fairly busy, increased consumer activity might even be difficult for the store to handle, so having a plan for hiring, growth and expansion is critical.

With U.S. shoppers sending signals indicating consumer spending will be adequate not only to sustain but to grow businesses in the months to come, franchise owners have a real opportunity to gain market share. By analyzing the customer experience and planning for future growth, they can quickly position their stores to grow and become more profitable.

Growth in Key Employment Segments Indicate Franchise-Friendly Consumer Spending

According to 2010 data published by the U.S. Census Bureau, just over one in 10 U.S. businesses are franchises. In 2016, franchise employment grew at an average of 0.4%, twice that of small businesses comprised of 1-49 employees which has enjoyed a 0.2% monthly average employment growth. 20,000 of the 205,000 jobs added in January 2016 were in the franchise sector. Among the sixteen sectors reflected in the report, nine showed net gains including:

5% – Gas Stations and Auto Repair
5% – Personal Services
5% – Building Material and Garden Equipment
5% – Manufacturing
4% – Restaurants
3% – Auto Parts and Dealers
2% – Food Retailers
1% – Professional Services
1% – Real Estate

While rental franchise employment growth remained unchanged, five franchise employer segments experienced net job losses; including:

-0.6% – Business Services
-0.4% – Education
-0.3% – Accommodations
-0.2% – Leisure
-0.1% – Other

With growth rates of employment rates for U.S. franchises double those of the private sector, franchise owners should be paying attention to the reasons that might be bringing consumers in to their businesses vs. their non-franchise competitors. Given that one of the advantages franchise owners enjoy is brand name recognition, it may be presumed that shoppers are choosing to spend their money in establishments where they are confident of the customer experience and quality products and services they expect to receive.

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February 28/0 Comments/by Elizabeth

6 Basics of Business Event Planning for First-Time Event Planners

Customer Attraction and Loyalty, Entrepreneurs, Small Business Owners, Startups

If you’ve been asked to plan a company event and don’t know where to start; keep calm and master these six basics of business event planning written especially for first-timers.

Six Basics First-Timers Should Know About Business Event Planning

Virtual events and digital marketing channels haven’t replaced in-person events in the business marketer’s playbook, only enhanced them. According to 35 Statistics Every Event Marketing Should Know (EventFarm.com):

Tradeshows and events are the second most effective tactic in a marketer’s mix, after their company website (Forrester)
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the event industry will grow by 44% from 2010 to 2020
79% of U.S. marketers say they generate sales using event marketing (Statista)
87% of consumers say they purchased a brands products or services after (and as a result of) becoming aware of it at an event (eventmarketing.com)
76% of marketers say their event and experiential marketing initiatives are integrated with their other marketing campaigns. (EventTrack)

With statistics like these, small wonder that the vast majority of marketers say they plan to increase their event budget this year. It’s estimated that brands spend 20-25% of the marketing budget on events and related expenses.

If you’re adding events to the marketing mix for the first time, one thing you will quickly learn is that there are many variables and details that need to be worked out if your event is going to be a success. Here are six musts for business event planning that can help you keep calm and plan events that will deliver a marketing ROI (return on investment).

6 Basics of Business Event Planning for First Timers

1. What do you want to accomplish?

Understanding the objective for the event will play a part in determining nearly every other facet of your event; including:

Where to hold the event – the location (hotel conference or meeting room, convention center, co-working space, restaurant, etc.) that will be conducive to creating the feel or environment you want attendees to have (team structured learning, formal dinners, access to beaches, close to city for dinning or attractions, outdoor team events, etc.).
How many people to invite or how many you want (or need) to attend for an event to be successful
When to hold the event – your event’s timing should validate your agenda and coincide with the environment you are trying to convey and you should keep in mind that it may also affect event costs. Events held during tourist season may be considerably more expensive; however, the benefit of increased attendance could offset the additional costs.

2. How much do you want to spend?

Setting a budget is important for many reasons. Absence of a budget may result in costs getting out of hand or exceeding benefits. Without a budget you may also run the risk of finding you can’t pay for the event you need to help you grow your business.

Smartsheet.com is a great resource where you can find various templates, including event registration forms, planners and budget templates that can help you with event planning. Whether you use a template or not, as you work toward your event and analyze it afterward, your final budget report should have two columns for each line item that reflect estimated costs and actual costs.

Tracking your budget at every step can help you stay on track in terms of resources consumed and will also help you with forecasting for future events. As you’re creating the budget add a line for very detail that is associated with a dollar amount. You can always go back and delete a line item later if it’s not needed. As well with all events, nothing goes according to plan; therefore it’s important to add a line item “emergency fund” which is 10% of the total budget. This will allow you to make a last minute purchase and not be stressed about where the funds are coming from.

3. How will you pay for the event?

Our business cash advances could be an ideal solution for financing marketing events that will help you grow your business more quickly. Ask us for a free, no-obligation event or marketing financing proposal by applying online .

If you planned ahead, you may have money in the budget already designated for your event. In some cases, registration fees will cover or even produce a profit when offset against event expenses, although it is likely that you will have to be prepared to pay most vendors and venues before all registration fees have been collected.

4. What will be on the agenda?

As it relates to business event planning, an agenda is the timeline that says what should be happening at any given time throughout the event. Having two versions of your timeline, a detailed version and an overview will be helpful; some of the people involved in planning and executing the event will need a detailed schedule while the overview schedule will be sufficient for others who are less involved (or who are merely attendees).

The detailed timeline will include: location, dates, and will account for every minute broken down per segment, name of participants within each segment, audio visual needs, audience participation pieces, food, staging, and so on. An overview timeline will still account for all of the event time but will be more general in nature, perhaps including items such as location, dates, segment titles and presenter names, meals, breaks, etc.

Inevitably, during the planning phases of your event, you will go through multiple drafts of both version, right up until the event begins. That’s okay; just make sure all parties involved have access to the most recent or final agendas.

5. Who will have a role to play?

It’s common to have multiple vendors and speakers involved in an event. Having a way to keep track of each group, their emergency contact information, copies of order details and contracts all in one place will make it easier to locate when reviewing information. Given today’s digital capabilities, everyone on your team who needs this level of detail could have access via smartphone or tablet throughout the event. setting up electronic folders per vendor plus a hard copy in a binder with dividers will allow for greater organization and help to eliminate any confusion. It’s crucial to highlight all due dates and payment on all documents within your folders, as well within your budget program or spreadsheet as you are viewing this particular document on a regular basis.

6. How will you get the word out?

When business event planning, ensuring sufficient time to execute the marketing needed to reach your desired target audience effectively is a must. As you work backwards to plan your event timeline, plan your marketing strategy by working backward from the actual event date using a 12 months, 6 months, 90 day, 30 day, 14-day, 7-day and pre-event week communication plan.

You might be able to use your credit card processing software to add event information to customer receipts and invoices. Likewise, you may be able to generated automated email marketing invitations to your event using your point-of-sale credit card processing solution. Seamless merchant services products like these make it easy to store customer contacts and reach out to them with event invitations, special offers, discounts and other brand communications.

Online programs like Eventbrite make it easy to set up a web-based event registration form in conjunction with business events. In addition to online registration, you will also want to decide whether you need to send email alerts, post cards or formal invitations to boost RSVPs and attendance – and each of these marketing tactics will need to be scheduled strategically as part of your overall event marketing and communication plan.

Once an attendee is registered, your communication plan should account for email confirmations, links to hotel or travel resources and you should plan to send a copy of the tentative agenda to registered guests shortly before the actual event. The more you stay in communication with those who register to attend, the less likely you are to have attendees drop out for no reason. Plus, keeping in communication just before the event can be a great way to get attendees to tweet out updates with your event or brand hashtag, manage expectations, create a sense of anticipation and set the stage for what you want to happen during the event.

Ready for more fascinating marketing and event stats that can help with business event planning? Check out this great slideshare from Hubspot: