Flying Solo

Beware the fake marketing consultant

2012-02-22T07:30:00+11:00

There are many so-called marketing consultants to choose from, but how do you separate the good from the bad? These tips should set you on the right path.

Be wary of trendy titles

I once attended a networking function where someone whose job title was ‘Client attraction specialist’ claimed to be a professional marketer. After some querying, I realised this person had very little marketing experience and certainly no marketing qualifications. Meeting this individual and others at that same function opened my eyes to just how many fake marketers were out there. The more I thought about, the more I concerned I became.

Why does this matter for a small business owner?

As a professional marketer, this is something that leaves me irate. But why should it matter to you?

Marketing is the tool (or piece of the puzzle) that brings your product and your consumer together. It’s a vital part of business and one that can make or break your business at any time, but especially in the first few years.

You’re not alone if you don’t know exactly what marketing entails - prior to becoming a soloist, it probably wasn’t part of your job. There’s no way you can understand the inner workings of a marketer without experience and qualifications. That’s why you look for a professional.

The problem is that so many people seem to think marketing is something anyone can do. Or they confuse it with advertising or graphic design or even sales. If you don’t know exactly what you’re looking for, it’s easy to fall into one of the traps of the fake marketer.

This often results in having to hire another marketer down the track, which is simply a waste of money for small business owners, to whom money is of utmost importance.

How do you avoid the fake marketer?

Think about the things you want to achieve from your marketing and the ways a professional can help you achieve your goal. It’s impossible to hire the right person for a job without knowing what that job is, so make sure you have a clear idea of what you’re hiring your marketing consultant for.

I can’t stress how important it is to shop around and find someone you really trust and who will work wonders for your small business. When you’re considering hiring a consultant for your marketing, run over this checklist to see if they pass the test:

They have a brand
You believe their branding is effective
Their brand is registered
There is an obvious business-mindedness about them
They discuss social networking as a marketing tool
They offer constructive criticism about your marketing plans
You‘re not asked to pay 100 percent up-front
You‘re not asked to sign over copyright
You‘re not asked to sign a long-term contract
The price seems realistic

If you can’t tick each of the items on this list, reconsider your choice and start shopping around again.

What to do if you’ve hired a fake

If you’ve hired a fake marketer, don’t be afraid to catch them out! (These warning signs should help). My advice is to get rid of them and find a new marketer before you waste any more time or money.

If you’ve paid upfront (a huge no-no) be firm and tell them that their service isn’t good enough. A partial refund and new marketer will still see you losing less of your valuable time and money. Next time around, do your research and be better informed.

Have you ever hired a marketing consultant for your business? How did you know you’d found the right person?

What’s in a name? Plenty these days.

2012-02-21T07:15:00+11:00

Head to Google and type in your full name. It’s YOUR identity. But you might be surprised as to who claims it and how it makes you look.

At a recent BBQ I met a parent from the local school. The conversation inevitably drifted to work. As we both work for ourselves, the next day after a quick search online we’d connected on LinkedIn.

As I read about my new friend’s work history, education, clubs, contacts, testimonials and tweets it struck me: “We hardly know each other! This is all moving way too fast!”

In the past, meeting people wasn’t followed up by background checks. You could put your best foot forward and create a good impression. And neither of you had any choice but to take others at face value.

But no more. Today, just a name can unlock reams of personal information. As soloists, our name is very often inseparable from our profession. Like it or not, prospective clients, employers, landlords, investors, business partners and friends can sniff around…and they will.

While it takes a lot of time and money to rank in Google for generic terms like ‘marketing consultant Adelaide’ or ‘bookkeeper Brisbane’, the good news is that it’s usually not as difficult to dominate the search results for your own name. Unless you have a very common name or a famous namesake!

I’m no search engine optimisation guru, and I’m sure our resident SEO experts will chime in, but here are a few simple steps you can take to claim your personal brand name online.

Register your name as a URL (if it’s still available) – It’s unique, it’s inexpensive and even a simple personal website will rank well and may come in very handy one day. Mine ranks #1 on a search for my name.
Create a full LinkedIn account – This is an extremely fast, simple and free way to create a high ranking profile page, just sign up and follow the prompts. Despite minimal effort on my part, mine ranks #3 for my name.
Claim your Facebook page – You don’t have to reveal your life’s secrets, but it’s worth claiming your patch. As a result of my inactivity (or lack of friends) there is another Peter Crocker who is on page one of the Facebook search results.
Sign up to Google+ - Despite the fact that I’ve barely touched my account since I created it, it appears high for my name on page one of Google.
Check the facts – If there are other pages showing up for your name in search results, see if you can edit the content so that it presents you correctly.

Are you happy with your personal branding? What impression does a search of your name online create? Do you even think it’s important?

I’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions on how to claim your name.

Does your online marketing need a push?

2012-02-20T07:30:00+11:00

We've around 200 online marketing specialists in our Member directory, ready and waiting to help grow your business. Read more about them and check out their profiles.

Check out the online marketing category of the Flying Solo Member Directory.

Or, see all categories here.

Podcast: Your most pressing marketing questions answered

2012-02-19T07:30:00+11:00

In this podcast, Tim Reid and Luke Moulton answer some of their listeners most pressing marketing questions.

Here’s what they asked:

I have a large stack of business cards of colleagues and associates from the last few years who fit into my target market for my new online business. I will be leaving my current employment in two weeks and was wanting to kick start my list by emailing them, telling them what I was up to, maybe surveying them to get my product right, but generally trying to build up my list. Is this spam, if not what’s the etiquette around this?
Is attacking a competitor “head on” in public a good marketing strategy?
What are the five easy steps to ‘polish a turd’? Or are they in fact polishable?
What’s the best way for a visual artist to generate demand?
How would you target market a business to move into a more upmarket field without upsetting current clients?
What are some innovative ways to capture leads when you are a trader or presenter at a conference? ie. Any unique giveaway ideas (no more pens or magnets with logos!)?
What are good incentives to offer customers to provide testimonials without coming across as though your offering cash for comments?

About these podcasts: The Small Business, Big Marketing podcasts are characterised by plenty of banter between the hosts Tim and Luke who’ll typically kick off with nuggets of advice and tell shaggy dog stories as they warm up to the episode's topic. Sit back, relax and enjoy! And share your feedback below.

Duration: 38:18 minutes

Links to resources mentioned in the show: http://smallbusinessbigmarketing.com/small-business-marketing-questions

To subscribe to this show in iTunes, please head here.

Small business marketing trends

2012-02-18T07:30:00+11:00

The marketing landscape is constantly changing. Here are some of the most important emerging trends to be aware of and consider for your business, now and in the future.

Online and offline marketing merging

Even when we don’t buy online, our purchases from bricks and mortar stores are increasingly influenced by our online activities. For example, even if you didn’t buy your Christmas gifts or purchase your summer holiday on the web, chances are you looked up the best price before hitting the shopping centres or looked at reviews of your holiday destination before booking it. This online activity is important for small businesses to consider and highlights how critical having an online presence is to doing business.

Mobile and local search

We use our iPhones to work out what the weather is, how to get from “A to B” in the car and to do instant web searches on the fly. The web experience is now portable and experienced to a larger degree on smart phones and devices, so as a small business, you now have an opportunity to showcase your offerings in a format that’s easy to use on mobile devices. Booking online, being found on local search directories and soon the use of geo-location queries will become normal.

Social media advertising

Social forums such as LinkedIn and Facebook provide great opportunities to advertise to specific customer niches. For example, with just a small ad spend, you can now advertise on Facebook, targeting individuals of a specific age group and suburb and with specific interests. I believe social media advertising will continue to gain momentum as business owners discover the power of sending their messages to a select customer segment.

Email marketing gaining momentum

Email marketing is now become more social and colourful and looks more often than not like a website instead of a text-based message. The sign-up forms for email are more inventive and the content shared is less about selling, and more about becoming known as the “go to expert”. As small businesses come to understand the benefits of building a list of prospects to nurture, email marketing will continue to mature.

Your personal brand is exposed

Your brand and the person or people behind it are now more exposed than ever. Understanding that everyone is searchable on Google and that the profile built about you is indexed in the online world for LIFE is an important element small businesses need to understand and factor into their social media policies.

People are watching our activities and if we’re not consistent in who we are, and authentic in what we stand for and represent we’ll be held out to dry. However, those individuals that do the right thing will be celebrated, and a small gesture can be communicated virtually and build a company or business over night.

So beware and be vigilant in responding to people. Set up a Google alert on your name and your company’s name (you might as well set up an alert on your competitors’ names at the same time). Only engage in those social media tools that you intend to use and be active on.

Integration marketing tools and measurement

Recently my most popular articles have been on marketing apps and software that allow small business to email, build forms, build websites, blogs and establish or manage their social media profile. These apps often have a free version (you’ll find lots of them listed on my website), and are increasingly being set up so that they work together. For example, the integration of these tools means that I can post a blog article and share it with my LinkedIn groups, Twitter followers and key journalists at the click of a button. Marketing dashboards that aggregate views of visits, mentions, downloads and sales will be the next step, I predict.

Outsource or specialise

As small businesses grapple with the myriad of tools now at their disposal to communicate with customers, create lead generation campaigns and create a brand that is differentiated, those that understand that marketing is a key business function will increasingly decide to outsource to consultants and focus on what they do best - their core business. For those who don’t decide to outsource their marketing, it will become increasingly important to specialise in a few key aspects of marketing that deliver measurable results.

Have you embraced these emerging trends already? Which do you predict will be the most important for soloists?

Say thank you by creating connections

2012-02-17T07:30:00+11:00

Saying thank you to your customers doesn’t always mean giving a gift or special offer – you can also thank them for their business by expanding their professional networks.

One of the best ways to make your customers feel appreciated and valuable is to think of their business as though it were your business. This isn’t a light bulb moment in itself, but if you stop to think about where you’re positioned in your customers’ lives, other than simply providing the service or products that they pay you for, you can easily go one step beyond the call of duty.

It often helps to think of your customers as a business club. Rather than individuals with particular needs, you clients are a group of people with something in common: YOU! You are what brings these people together, and a simple way to say thank you is to create connections for them.

When you look at your customer base in its entirety, you might discover some amazing synergies. Find ways to tell your customers who you’re working with so that they can explore the possibilities for themselves. For example, if you have customers in similar industries, why not get them together for a drink to help them make new contacts? If you have clusters of customers, what fun ways might you be able to bring them together?

If you’re celebrating a milestone in your business, why not hold a small event where you can share your appreciation and let them know that without them, you wouldn’t be there at all. Thank them by making sure everyone there can benefit from everyone else in some way. Think widely.

Don’t just get everyone into the same room and leave them to it though. Make sure you make the introductions to everyone in the group to break the ice. Maybe even produce a ‘VIP list’ from the event and distribute it to the group who attended by email or mail as a follow up.

As part of your communications:

Provide a list of your customers on your website
Include a ‘Who’s New’ profile about your latest customer in your email or print newsletter
Profile your work with a particular customer or group of customers and write it up as a case study – with their permission of course
Think about how you can up-sell your offering through a small, free workshop for a group of customers. Offer a nugget of gold from your capabilities as the enticement
Provide information about your customers’ industries that they might find useful
Make email introductions between specific people or organisations

These are just starters. By analysing your customer demographics you might just find a way to say thank you that really hits the spot and makes you a valuable, memorable part of their lives.

Are you someone who actively creates connections for others? What have the benefits been for your own business?

Differentiating your business

2012-02-16T07:30:00+11:00

To win new business, you need to show new customers why they should choose you. To start with, look within your business for ways to improve your competitive advantage.

How well do you know your competition?

In order to differentiate yourself from your competitors, you need to study your competition intimately. Documenting their products, services, prices and promotional offers on a simple Excel spreadsheet will suffice.

Pricing: competitive or premium?

Pricing is something that every business has to come to terms with, and it’s important that you make a strategic decision about where you want your pricing to sit relevant to that of your competitors.

In many cases, you’ll want to be competitive without pricing yourself out of business. Use the information you collected when getting to know your competition to compare your price to others in the market place. If you’re aiming to be price competitive, look over your operational costs to determine whether you can offer promotions that match or beat your competitors’ pricing.

Don’t be tempted to price your goods or services too low though; if you position yourself as an el cheapo business, word of mouth will spread, and potential customers may avoid you, thinking, “You get what you pay for”.

Alternatively, when your competitors are all cutting their costs and sourcing their products from cheap manufacturers, you might decide to differentiate yourself by offering a much superior product for a higher price.

Bear in mind that when selling a premium product or service you often have a very small window of time in which to become the market leader before someone copies your offering.

Even if you don't have a superior product you can still use premium positioning to differentiate yourself, for example by offering superior service or a specialisation that justifies your high prices.

Should you specialise?

Consider specialising in one service or one product. This doesn’t mean that you only offer that one service, but that you’re going to position yourself as an expert in that product or service.

Deciding to specialise in a particular product or service should be supported by the fact that it will be a more profitable move for the business.

Are you top of mind?

When the day comes that your customer requires your service or products you want to be the first supplier they think of to fulfil their needs. It’s all about getting your name out there so that potential customers know who you are and why you’re different. This is one of the functions of your business branding, which should sell prospects on why they should use your product or service compared to your competitors.

What makes you special?

If you haven’t already determined your unique selling proposition (USP) now is the time to start looking at what you offer that sets you apart. Is it that you’re faster or cheaper than your competition? That you offer a premium product or service? Or something altogether different? Once you’ve determined what it is, spread the word in all your communications so that you’re always selling your USP.

How do you set yourself apart from your competitors? Please share your tips below.

The predesigned template trap

2012-02-15T07:30:00+11:00

Some predesigned templates act as a handy framework for you to simply insert your branding. Others pretend to BE your branding – and that’s a dangerous trap many soloists fall into.

What do you mean ‘predesigned’?

Predesigned templates are offered on many online printing sites, as well as website building and e-marketing sites. You can choose red flowers on a pink background, or corporate grey with green lines and text, or perhaps a sky design with red text. The choices can go for pages.

What’s good about these sites

Online printing services, for example, can be a wonderful way to get your hands on a range of marketing materials at an incredibly cheap price – particularly for small runs. This could mean business cards, rubberstamps, lawn signs or even mugs. Many online printers have website and email marketing services as well. Thankfully, they also have the option to upload your own design.

Business card example

Going down the predesigned template track, you choose one of their templates, type in your name, address, phone, email and web address and hey-presto! You are looking pretty darn spiffy. So what's the problem?

One problem is…

If you take the design and have someone else print the material then you’re often in breach of copyright – even if the template design is tweaked. So if you want to print with anyone else down the track and you have based the entire look and feel of your business on the template, you are in trouble. You need to re-brand.

The real problem

Others are also using the template you have chosen. This defies the whole point of branding, which is to present yourself as something special. If someone sees your design and recognises it as a generic design template – which is becoming more and more the case – you look like you haven't had enough money or care to have your own brand developed. In short, it reduces your image of professionalism.

Don’t be seduced by the price

I know enthusiastic soloists who have completely by-passed their own branding and embraced a online pre-designed template. Why? Because it's cheap and easy while making them look good. Or so they think. These people love showing off all the new marketing materials they’ve just bought …without their logo. The logo that's established their image over the years. I could cry.

Please, hire a graphic designer…

…preferably a graphic designer who understands branding. Feel free to show them the design template you love. They might be able to do something similar – but not the same. And remember, the design isn’t for you – it’s for your potential clients. So just because you love the pre-designed template doesn’t mean they will.

Have you had any experiences with predesigned templates? Good or bad, please share them below.

My work-life blend experiment

2012-02-14T07:30:00+11:00

Today is the first day of my holidays, and instead of wandering the streets of a city I’ve never been to before, I’m in a café with my laptop writing this newsletter.

I didn’t get all my work ‘done’ before my official holiday kick-off. It’s happened before, but this time it’s different because rather than stressing out about it, I’m bringing a bit of writing work on holiday with me. And I reckon my writing is benefiting from the fresh energy I feel here.

Besides this, the stress of getting everything done in time was taking away from my joyful anticipation of a trip that I’ve been looking forward to for ages. Flipping the script has taken the pressure off.

In the past, I would have burned the way-past-midnight oil for days on end so that I could start the holidays with all the jobs ‘out of the way’.

But my itinerary has flex in it, so instead of working to the point of complete craziness, I’ve schlepped my laptop on the plane, found somewhere to set up shop, and jumped online for an extra day of work before the holiday proper starts.

And I’m so glad I did! Instead of starting my trip feeling exhausted and wrung out, I’m well rested and light-hearted. I’m writing to you from the very funky Retro Café in Hobart, and it feels like the first time in ages that work has been fun and my writing has flowed.

There’s groovy art on the walls, friendly staff to chat to, and some fabulous people watching to indulge in. It’s made me remember that I can inject a bit of freshness and enthusiasm into my work whenever I like, just by shifting my desk to a dramatically different environment.

I’m often heard saying that one of the joys of soloism is that I can work from wherever in the world I like, but this is the first time I’ve done it willingly and with any kind of forward planning (as opposed to after begrudgingly acknowledging at the very last minute that there’s no way on earth I’ll be able to meet all my deadlines).

This feels like such a success that I think I’ll be taking working holidays on a regular basis. My instinct is that it will be a great thing to do when I want to be particularly creative. Kind of like an extended version of Madeleine Shaw’s concept of conducting her business planning on a train, which really tickled my fancy.

Are you already a fan of these busman’s holidays? If so, I’d love to hear your tips for making them work. What are the vital ingredients for success, and what pitfalls do I need to avoid?

Switching off from work

2012-02-13T07:30:00+11:00

A side effect of the 'constantly connected' way of working, is added pressure on the boundary between work and play. In this short video interview, Sacha Crouch has some very practical tips that will help.

Get more Facebook ‘likes’ than ever

2012-02-11T07:30:00+11:00

Facebook competitions are a good way of encouraging customers to ‘like’ your page and interact with your business – just make sure you set your competition up properly.

Facebook has Promotional Guidelines that govern any competition that you run on it, and it’s imperative that you comply with them, as well as the other regulations that apply to competitions. If you fail to do so, Facebook may pull your page down without warning. This in turn can lead to issues with the State Lottery, Fair Trading and/or Consumer Protection agencies.

Will it be worthwhile?

Before you decide to run a competition on Facebook consider whether doing so will be worthwhile. Is your brand or product targeted to those who use Facebook? Facebook is certainly popular, but it may not be an appropriate marketing platform for you. Having said this, with such a large number of dedicated users from all walks of life, you should not discount Facebook as a possible way of attracting new customers.

It is surprising how many businesses run Facebook competitions without being aware of the requirements. Although many will get away with not complying, those that don't will definitely know about it!

So what do the guidelines say?

Firstly, it's important to note that there are many laws that apply to competitions and that Facebook’s Guidelines do not give you a complete understanding of those laws. You must also consider consumer protection, privacy and trade promotion laws when designing and running a competition.

Here is a summary of some of the key points in the Guidelines:

You must use a third-party developed application to administer your competition. There are free applications around that you can use, such as Wildfire.
You can't enter people into your competition simply by them ‘liking’ your page or uploading content onto Facebook or tagging photos. You can have people ‘like’ your page, but then must have them take other steps, i.e. register to enter the competition using the third-party application.
You must acknowledge that your competition is in “no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook.” Your competition must also include a “complete release of Facebook by each entrant or participant.”
You mustn’t notify competition winners on Facebook. i.e. when you determine your winners, you can't notify or announce them over Facebook.

It is likely that you have seen a competition on Facebook that does not comply with some or all of the requirements listed above.

A Facebook competition may be a very worthwhile method of getting people to like your page and interact with your brand. However, remember that there are a number of requirements to consider when running a Facebook competition. If you’re going to go ahead with a Facebook competition, make sure that you check the current version of Facebook's Promotion Guidelines and comply with all other requirements.

Have you run a Facebook competition? Are you considering promoting your business on Facebook and, if so, what has held you back from doing so already?

Business communication tips

2012-02-10T07:30:00+11:00

Even professional writers find business communication challenging sometimes. Here are four tips to help improve your business communication skills.

1. Have a break

Leaving the office may not be possible for you. However as the saying goes, 'a change is as good as a holiday'. Small changes can make a difference.

What can you do to have a break?

You could simply go for a walk or work on another task. The benefits include:

You can consider your options for the communication task
You can analyse the task and break it into simpler components
You're more likely to view your communication task from a new perspective

Having a break is not about avoiding the business communication situation and hoping it will go away. It's about giving yourself permission to focus on something else for a short period of time. Rest assured, your brain will still be working on the task in the background.

2. Try something new

It's very easy to go into autopilot. Whether you realise it or not your previous experiences with clients will affect how you respond to them in the future - whether it's face-to-face or written communication.

Have you ever travelled to a location that you go to on a regular basis a different way to your normal route? When you do, you become more alert to your surroundings. You may even find a more efficient way to travel to that place.

The same goes for communicating with others. Be willing to try new ways to communicate effectively.

Take up professional development opportunities for new ideas. This could lead to viewing a situation in your workplace with a new perspective.

3. Do one task at a time

Many of us multi-task in an attempt to be efficient and to simply 'get everything done'. Is more productivity achieved?

Studies have found that people perform better when they focus on one task at a time.

How do you become more productive by doing one task at a time, especially if you're used to multi-tasking? It's about prioritising and setting boundaries. By focusing on a particular task you're ensuring that you're not going to be distracted by other tasks or people. This can include not checking emails or even diverting your phone to voicemail for a specific time period.

Communicating with clients either on the phone or in a meeting can often be accompanied by distractions that many of us take as the norm. Be in the moment in each communication that you have with others and you'll probably find your communication exchanges become more informative and productive.

4. Be kind to yourself

As soloists, it’s important to look after yourself. You are your business. How often are you kind to yourself?

Being kind to yourself helps you to stay energised and focused on your business goals.

Benefits

These four tips will help you to maintain the energy to focus and effectively deal with communication issues and increase your productivity. In addition you’ll find yourself better enjoying your role in your business, and even becoming a good role model to others.

When it comes to communication, what works for you?

Knowing when to change your business structure

2012-02-09T07:30:00+11:00

Having the right structure for your business is fundamental to both its initial success and its ability to grow, remain flexible, be tax-effective, protect assets, and minimise your costs.

Starting out

When you’re starting out, the structure you use for your business may seem a simple choice. If you’re a one-man band, operating as a sole trader is commonplace just because it is easy to do so; if you’re working with someone else, a partnership may seem more appropriate. These structures may have some risk but are cheap to maintain. However the structure you choose at the outset may not be the most efficient or cost-effective as your business grows or changes.

Successful growth businesses typically operate through a mix of company and trust structures, which help to create separation of assets and liabilities, improve tax efficiency, promote risk management for your business interests and allow for change as it occurs.

In the early stages of running a business, the philosophy is often to keep the structure simple and the costs low, and when a business stays small, it may be entirely appropriate to keep it that way.

If your business is growing and you’re considering expanding beyond your solo status, it’s time to consider whether your structure is geared for the business you envisage it becoming.

The challenge? Knowing the right time to put in place a more efficient structure.

When should you change?

If you have a very clear vision for your business and are planning for it to grow to a significant size, there is a lot of merit in putting the basic structure in place at the beginning. Equally, if your plan is to maintain a micro-business, keep your structure simple and don’t be seduced by advice that over-complicates what you need. Your business structure should be appropriate and consistent with your expectations for the business – be they large or small.

More often than not, business owners start off small but need to make changes when growth accelerates. Changing your business structure can be costly, so the earlier you identify the right structure – or the need to restructure - the better. As always, with opportunities missed there can be consequences and you may find yourself exposed to capital gains tax and stamp duty as well as the distraction of changing how your business operates.

What should you be looking for?

The most common indicator that it’s time for a change is a significant increase in the activity, profit and assets of your business.

Generally speaking, ‘significant’ means that if the earnings of the business or activity extend beyond the personal output of the soloist then business value is starting to accrue.

But there can be hidden value in a business that needs to be considered, and this has to do with the creation of intellectual property or new opportunities that could send the value of a business skyrocketing before the activity occurs.

If you identify these emerging features in your business it’s time to consider whether the structure you have established is appropriate for the longer term.

Why should you change?

Your business can be a large asset - maybe the biggest asset you own if things work out - but with that comes risk, tax, and complication. The structure chosen will facilitate control over these factors.

The material increase in your tax exposure as a result of increasing profits and earnings prompts a need for change and is when most people trundle off to their accountant. It’s normal that you don’t want to pay any more tax than is necessary, the right structure can help to manage the impact of tax and the timing differences between profit and cash appearing in your business.

Finally, if you’re expecting to sell your business or introduce partners or stakeholders at any point in the future, then structure makes a huge difference. To maximise your access to tax concessions and in particular the capital gains tax (CGT) small business concessions, you need to have your structure right well in advance of any sale or merger.

Don’t believe your accountant can wave the magic wand after the event without risk, managing this position after it is too late is only about mitigating the damage - the real opportunity is already lost.

Managing the transition

There are some ways to manage the tax costs associated with a change in structure. The first thing to do is to identify the structure that is right for your business. From there, quantify the cost of any change and the best way to put it into effect.

It is essential that you get advice before you make any major structural changes to your business. Ensure there is plenty of time and that you have a solution in place to transition the control and leadership as part of a total fully managed transition.

How did you determine the best structure for your business? What have the implications been?

Buyer beware: underhand pricing strategies

2012-02-08T07:30:00+11:00

After I recovered from the shock of the quote for some minor orthodontic work, I realised my orthodontist had used some very savvy pricing strategies on me, some of them not very ethical.

Deceptive pricing

I was presented with a hand-written note outlining the cost of the proposed treatment. At first, second and third glance it appeared to be around $2,000 (which I admit I thought was a lot of money). I repeated this figure out loud to the orthodontist and he sat absolutely still. I then systematically worked through the calculations, and gasped when I realised the quote was actually for $6,000. Again I queried the orthodontist, and he still didn’t move a muscle.

I repeated my question a second and a third time before he finally came out and agreed that the confusing hand-written numbers actually resulted in a proposed total for the work of $6000.

Personally I am not a fan of 'buyer beware' pricing, I like it to be plain and simple. Many successful (read ruthless) businesses employ this strategy to their profitable advantage, but I wonder how satisfied their clients are?

Price fixing

In shock I returned home and started ringing around for different quotes. Every single practice I spoke to quoted $6000. Of course they dressed the proposed cost up differently, but it still came back to the same original quote.

Cartel pricing or price fixing is illegal and can be reported to the consumer watchdog, but is difficult to prove – as in this case. I’ve got no evidence that the orthodontists are all in cahoots together, but you can understand why it smells a bit fishy, can’t you?

On the other hand, successful businesses are aware of what their competitors are charging and what the client is prepared to pay. Are you?

Divide and conquer pricing

The original quote was divided up into an initial consultation and a final consultation, with the remainder of the costs divided into monthly charges - even though we would only be seeing the orthodontist every six weeks!

This is a strategy in which the price is broken down into a seemingly insignificant amount, so that the whole procedure appears cheaper than it actually is. If you’ve ever seen anything advertised as costing 'less than a cup of coffee a day', you’ve seen divide and conquer pricing in action.

Pay for a quote

Although it was dressed up as the initial visit, I had to pay for the quote. This process actually made me reluctant to undertake proper price comparisons in case having more ‘initial consultations’ meant I was throwing good money after bad.

Interestingly the consultation was actually the pre-initial consultation; I still have to pay for the initial consultation!

Do you charge a flag fall when you provide a consultation for a larger project?

Share the cost

The orthodontist was quick to point out that my private health insurance would cover part of the cost, again trying to instil the perception that the procedure is cheaper than it actually is.

Are there factors that could offset your prices? Are their government incentives? Are there ways your clients can minimise your costs?

What do you think of these pricing strategies? Do you utilise any of them? What pricing strategies have you had success with in your business?

The easy-entrepreneur boom

2012-02-07T07:30:00+11:00

It’s a wonderful thing that we live in a time where the lure of the entrepreneur is at such a high. But is ease of access coming at the cost of creating businesses with staying power?

Cropping up all around our cities are fashionable and funky incubators and co-working spaces where shiny Macbooks whirr alongside takeaway lattes, smartphones and single speed bicycles.

Sadly though, recent ABS stats suggest that while there’s an increase in new business registrations, there’s also a spike in closures.

For anyone who’s been flying solo for more than a couple of years – and we know the majority of you have – you don’t need me to tell you that it takes much more than a spunky Wordpress site and a crowdsourced logo to create a business that puts food on the table week after week.

I’m concerned that what looks like an easy-entry into the world of working for yourself is actually setting up a lot of our new found entrepreneurs for failure.

What’s going to happen when the App doesn’t rock the world, when the trending on Twitter runs out of steam and the fandom on Facebook grinds to a halt? My guess is a couple more stabs at catching the wave, a bit more pressure on the credit card and a sheepish look through the job ads.

But does this mean entrepreneurs shouldn’t give it a red hot go? Of course not. Passion is what got me started all those years ago and it’s a flame that burns strongly to this day.

I am worried, though, that this trend is a version of the property investment boom where the dream being peddled is ‘build it fast, sell it for a motza’.

To those who pull it off, fantastic, congratulations. To the greater majority who don’t, please don’t give up on the idea of flying solo. Instead take your time and develop something that will last. I know of around 43,812 individuals who are willing to chip in and help.

What say you? Share your wisdom below.

Get the IT support you've always wanted

2012-02-06T07:28:00+11:00

Flying Solo's Member directory has over two hundred IT professionals, many of them offering a mobile service. Check them out and solve your IT dramas once and for all!

Check out the IT Support category of the Flying Solo Member Directory.

Or, see all categories here.

Podcast: How to use blogging for your business

2012-02-04T07:30:00+11:00

In this podcast discover how to make blogging a part of your marketing arsenal.

Tim Reid and Luke Moulton talk to Darren Rowse (AKA ProBlogger), one of the world’s most prolific bloggers on well … blogging! Listen in and you’ll discover exactly how to use blogging for your business.

Duration: 52 minutes

Links to resources mentioned in the show: http://smallbusinessbigmarketing.com/blogging-for-your-business/

To subscribe to this show in iTunes, please head here.

Introduction to cloud computing

2012-02-03T07:30:00+11:00

Proponents argue that cloud computing will deliver wonderful productivity gains at low costs. So what is it, and could it be useful for your business?

The cloud is arguably top of the list of seismic shifts in the computing world in recent times. Having grown from the fringes just a few years ago, cloud services were valued at more than $70 billion in 2010, and are projected to grow by almost 20 percent per annum for the next 5 years. It’s anticipated that cloud services will contribute more than $175 billion to the global economy by 2015. That’s a lot of dollars!

But what is it? The name “cloud” is taken from those cute little network diagrams with a couple of computers, a couple of squiggly lines and a fluffy cloud in the middle joining them all up. In reality there is something in that cloud, and for most small business users that will be a bank of computers in a server centre hosting your application.

In the past, businesses of all sizes have installed computers to store their data and run their applications. Businesses with more than a single employee have installed servers (and hired IT people to manage them) to allow their employees to share that data. With a cloud solution, organisations are able to effectively rent a small slice of capacity in a server centre (via the apps they sign up to), taking away all the issues around maintaining their own hardware.

This might mean paying for a hosted email service (rather than installing your own exchange server), paying for a file data storage service rather than storing data on your own file server (and managing security, backups and so on), or paying for an application such as customer relationship management (CRM), payroll or accounting rather than installing the equivalent applications on your PC or server.

This is generally taken to mean a little bit more than simply taking an existing (desktop) solution, putting it on a remote server, then paying to access that on a monthly basis. The ability to do that has been around for a decade or more, and you may have heard suppliers of this option referred to as application service providers (ASPs). Cloud solutions differ from ASPs in a number of crucial ways:

1. Most cloud apps involve sharing of the actual software. For example, with Gmail (one of the most widely used cloud solutions) users are moving from each having their own copy of a mail program (such as Outlook) installed locally on their PC, to sharing a common instance of an email solution hosted somewhere in the cloud. This is commonly referred to as “multi-tenancy” – lots of different users with their data in the same database, running on the same program (rather than lots of copies of the same program).

2. Most cloud apps allow you to sign up for a monthly fee, and exit again anytime you want to. This is very different from having to buy software upfront, which if it is not suitable for your business you are then stuck with (it is often very difficult to sell software second hand).

3. With what are generally referred to as “web 2.0” applications, users are able to share data on-line, in real-time. In this way the cloud opens up opportunities for collaboration (either within a business, or with clients or external service providers).

This is the first article in a three-part series. The next article will cover some of the claimed benefits and potential dangers of the cloud, and the final article in the series will look at some specific applications, and compare desktop and cloud solutions that might be suitable for small businesses.

Have you embraced cloud computing yet, or are you still considering your options?

How to hit the headlines

2012-02-02T07:30:00+11:00

You’ve perfected the content for your brochure, blog, newsletter or media release, now it’s time to craft a headline that stands out and draws your readers into your message.

Your headline should:

Grab your readers' attention
Engage them
Intrigue them
Compel them to read on

The power of a headline shouldn’t be underestimated. Use intrigue to lure your readers into your article or blog; a ‘How to…’ to resolve a problem; or a summary to set expectations.

A headline can be used in conjunction with an introduction or an image, and should be tailored accordingly – just as it should for the audience it’s targeting.

It may be short, but a headline is arguably the most difficult and creative part of the writing process. Here are a few tips on writing powerful headlines.

Know your readers

Who is your audience?

Your answer will determine the style, tone and length of all of your written content – including your headline. Just like the rest of your marketing communications plan, your headline should be tailored to meet the needs of your audience.

Characteristics

Always short and sharp, a headline should reflect the objective of your communications piece, whether the objective is to educate, persuade or inspire.

Your headline should suit the style of the content – it could be quirky, intriguing or motivational. Or you could simply go for the shock factor.

And to create impact, your headline could incorporate a notion of time, emotion, humour or urgency. Here are some examples:

Ask a question: Does your webpage contain a glaring mistake?
Solve a problem: Overcome writer’s block in seven easy steps
Arouse a passion: Help fight poverty now
Give a reason to read on: Ensure your business reaches its full potential

Context

Your headline could be a link on a webpage without accompanying text – your challenge is to stimulate enough curiosity or give a compelling enough reason for the reader to click through.

Or, it could be displayed alongside an image or above an introduction. This allows for more creativity and ambiguity.

How to write a killer headline

Allow your world to inspire you. Look at magazines. Listen to music. Look up some famous sayings.

Identify your keywords and relate them to back to your inspiration. Use a thesaurus.

Brainstorm and write down as many potential headlines as you can. Then play with the words – mix them with your other options or shuffle them around.

Try to find rhyming words or use alliteration. Or convert your keywords into a metaphor or well-known phrase.

Put yourself in your readers’ shoes – what would make you read on or click through?

Give yourself time to review your headline choices – and use the one you keep going back to because it has a great ring.

What techniques do you use to come up with hard-hitting headlines?

What’s your story?

2012-02-01T07:30:00+11:00

A week at a creative writing festival in Ubud got me thinking about the parallels between good copywriting and the craft of storytelling.

It felt rather self-indulgent to spend a week surrounded by inspiring ideas and mingling with creative minds, with daily massages thrown in for good measure - but it was just what I needed to recharge my soul and my laptop fatigue, and it also recharged my thinking about my copywriting business.

I’d always thought of creative writing as the opposite of what I do everyday, which is write the persuasive messages that other businesses need me to write. I assumed that fiction authors get to write about whatever pops into their imaginations.

But I’ve now realised that the ‘rules’ for telling stories are the same across all genres, from novels to websites. And perhaps if we focus more on telling stories about our businesses, we might make our marketing messages more compelling, and less like they fell off a business jargon production line.

What is a story?

To make a piece of writing or communication a story, something has to happen. Let’s think about the typical ‘About us’ page, which is one place where a business can tell its story. Does anything happen?

More often than not, ‘About us’ pages are self-absorbed twaddle about ‘driving shareholder value’ or ‘delivering on our promise’. There may be unsubstantiated claims, or abstract ideas like ‘excellence’. Without a story these have no meaning to the reader, who has typically arrived on that page looking for a reason to be interested in what you do.

Don’t be boring

Business clichés like the ones above are boring and lack substance. Give your story a hook and lure the reader in with concrete examples.

I recently met someone at a networking event who ran a small business developing software. Refreshingly, his first words to me were not “I deliver innovative end-to-end custom-built state-of-the-art software solutions”. They were “I just helped someone save two days a month on their accounts invoicing.” Now, that interested me – I wanted to find out more about how he did that and what his customer now did with those two days a month.

Give your story context

One of my blue-chip clients just won a global award for best website at a US digital summit. I’m not going to pretend I wrote that site, although I wish I had. But I did ask them what made their site stand out, and the answer was story-telling.

They are part of a huge multinational business, but this site tells local stories in a local context. Real stories about opportunities, risks and issues the reader – their local customers - can identify with. Exciting ways this business is making an impact. Tangible results that have made a difference to their clients.

Instead of having long navigation pages about their products and services, they’ve brought the business to life.

They could have talked about innovation until they were blue in the face, but instead they simply illustrated the idea with a few good stories – the who, where, why, what and how of innovation.

Why are stories important?

Stories keep us interested. They make things clear and easy to understand. And most importantly, we remember them.

You can use them just about anywhere in your business. An elevator pitch in 30 seconds? The introduction to a proposal? Your website landing page? A PowerPoint presentation? Yes please – keep those stories coming. Especially in presentations.

Putting your story together

Since time began, the equation for telling stories has been hero + obstacle + resolution = happy ending.

So, make your business the hero. Your customer’s problems or needs are the obstacles. How do you resolve them to create a happy ending? There’s your story.

How do you use storytelling in your business, and what response do you get from your customers?