Business Planning
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How to Convert Ideas into a Business
If you want to accelerate your business planning, leveraging the Internet is essential. It provides you the greatest opportunity to wield the Launch and Learn model and convert an idea into a successful business. Here are
multiple resources to support streamline business planning and effective time management.
Market Research
- Assessing the demand for your idea is a primary task, but some published market research is expensive. However, the Internet is replete with free research that you can use. Here’s one way to quickly access it: type in keywords for your targeted market into the Google search bar and add “pdf.” This will generate some of the most current and relevant data available.
- Use keyword search tools to evaluate both online and offline market demand.
Mentors
- Engage mentors to flatten your learning curve, foster connections and help you to maximize your offline efforts. SCORE offers exceptional online mentoring.
Business Plans
- The One Page Proposal and Executive Summary are abbreviated business planning templates that can evolve as necessary.
Market Testing
- Setting up a website to test your offering is simple and inexpensive. Using the insights from your keyword search, you can create a search engine optimized domain name.
- Next, set up a monthly hosting plan for less than $10. Competitive hosts also offer simple website templates and free ad money for top search engines.
- The third component for a test website is a free mailing list manager to capture email addresses.
- You can drive traffic to your site using free ad money from your site host, YouTube videos created from free screen recording software, forum discussions and other social media and/or original Kindle articles. Localized ad campaigns are also an option with your free ad money from web hosts.
- Via your beta launch, you can test buying patterns, poll visitors, crowd source ideas and split test content and design. Free testing tools are widely available.
About Jim Jacques
Jim Jacques is the President of United Virtual Office, a leading nationwide provider of virtual offices for entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses. A virtual office includes an address at a prestigious business location in the US, live virtual receptionist, courier services and more. Google +
6 Mantras for Hiring and Retaining Excellent Employees
Good employees are an asset for any business, as they are the major contributors to its success. Hiring and retaining a qualified, efficient team is vital for the smooth running of a business and its growth. Employee retention is a key challenge in organizations today. Lets list a few tips for hiring and retaining good employees.
Communicate your vision.
To lead a successful organization, your employees need to understand your vision. This is the guiding light for all they do and it inspires them to execute your strategy. Show value.
Show Value.
Telling your current and prospective employees about the value you bring to the table and what you expect from them, and involving them in business planning, results in value being added to the vision and your vision turning into reality.
Share your passion.
Sharing your passion with your business employees can make a world of difference in making your team productive. You passion, when shared with conviction, can have a positive influence on your employees and on those you may consider hiring.
Encourage questions.
Encourage your employees and prospective hires to ask questions. A curious mind is a definite asset to the company and it could help you to discover information or insights you hadn’t realized before.
Promise learning.
One of the reasons people leave their jobs is a lack of learning. Creating a learning atmosphere in your organization and encouraging your employees to share knowledge is guaranteed to make your employees more productive and more interested in their work.
Reward their work.
Employee recognition, apart from being a nice thing to do for people, communicates to your employees that you recognize the outcomes they have created for your business. When you recognize people effectively, you reinforce the actions and behaviors you most want to see repeated by your employees.
About Jim Jacques
Jim Jacques is the President of United Virtual Office, a leading nationwide provider of virtual offices for entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses. A virtual office includes an address at a prestigious business location in the US, live virtual receptionist, courier services and more. Google +