In the movie "You've Got Mail", the sub-plot aside from the love angle is that the heroine (played by Meg Ryan) was forced out of business when the big-time bookstore owner (played by Tom Hanks) moved into town.
Meg's character owned a quaint little bookstore which she inherited from her mother. Although the prices of her books were a little steep, she makes up for it in service. She packs the books in a specialized bag, and she knows all of her customers by name.
Tom's character, on the other hand, moved into town to build a branch of a big chain-bookstore which offered discounted prices and a huge building, as compared to Meg's little bookshop on one corner of the town's streets. dallas cpa
In the end, Meg was forced out of business because her customers went to Tom's monstrous bookshop.
Nowadays, this situation will not hold true anymore.
More and more small organizations are paving the way and giving big businesses a shot of their own medicine.
In the movie, the reason why Meg Ryan was forced out of business is because she cannot profit anymore. Her prices are steep as compared to the other big business' discounted rates.
Her only edge is that she gives personal service, she knows her customers by name and she has a very small staff, about 2 or 3 employees. dallas cpa
As a small organization you may turn around and have these qualities as your edge to compete against the big sharks in business.
Here are some tips on how you can hold your own against a big business:
1. Small businesses have big competition.
This means that you need to know how to survive out there.
No matter what nature of business you have, it is better to learn about the competition so that you will be able to survive.
Here are some tips on how you can survive the big competition:
>Keep your business alive.
When it seems as if your cash flow is in a downward slope, keep a tight rein on your budget.
Do not spend on unnecessary business purchases and always balance your books.
If you are one to buy on impulse or if you are the type to listen to those who sweet-talk you into purchasing "necessary" items, control yourself.
Get a second and third opinion if possible, as these impulsive buys may lead to the end of your small organization.
>Do not be afraid to seek professional help. dallas cpa
The fall of most small businesses start with decisions on problems which are not carefully analyzed.
Although you think that you already have a contingency plan, make sure that you have foreseen the results of a certain business decision.
In the long run, it is better to seek professional help rather than embark on a plan that could start the downfall of your business.
>Keep your books straight.
The better option is for you to hire a professional outside accountant to figure the returns of your investment and handle the other financial aspects of your business.
>Take advantage of every free business counseling whenever available. dallas cpa
This does not just help widen your knowledge, but it will also give you an idea of how other businesses are ran by small-scale owners. dallas cpa
>Know exactly where your business is headed.
In your day-to-day operation, make sure that you know where you want your company to be 5 or 10 years from now.
Be always aware of the trends in the industry that you are in, practice good money management and learn how to recognize potential problems before they arise. dallas cpa
2. Learn how to market your small organization.
Marketing is not about trying to sell your products and services to everyone.
It is about knowing who to market your products to.
In marketing, it is good to remember these fast facts:
> Know about your customers.
>Communicate with your customers.
>Build a good and personalized relationship with your customers.
This will be a great edge for you to have against the bigger companies.
They might offer discounted prices but it is harder for them to keep track of customers on a more personal basis. >Do not stop the marketing process. dallas accountant
As a small organization, you need to routinely review the markets that you need to pursue so that you can better reach out to your customers.
Remember, small organizations are big businesses these days so do not be afraid to work hard for the company that you have - not matter how small.
If you work hard, make wise business decisions, learn how to market your small business and personalize your customer interaction, your small-scale business is sure to rise to the top. dallas accountant
Monday, November 23, 2009
Starting a Home Business - Shift Your Mindset!
One of the biggest changes you will go through when starting a home business is the shift in mindset. A shift of mindset needs to occur before you can truly appreciate working from home. To run a successful business of your own, you need to learn to how to stop exerting time for money or exchanging dollars for hours, but rather how to have your efforts continually working on your behalf even when you're sleeping. This is especially true in internet business. An online business can provide a vast array of benefits and certainly opens up the doors to a much larger customer base who you can promote to.
Those of us who have been working a day job have all been conditioned to spend time to make money. It can be difficult initially to get away from this type of mindset and appreciate the much bigger picture out there. If you structure your business in the appropriate way right from the start, you can set yourself up so that your business virtually runs on autopilot. This is ideally where you want to get to in your home business. To have a business of your own, that requires little time on your part but continues to bring in income on a consistent basis. This will free up your time and allows you to concentrate your efforts on getting your next business off the ground. dallas accountant
What do I mean by structure your business correctly? Well, let's look at an example. An accountant or solicitor performs a service and generally charges a fee for that service at an hourly charge rate. It doesn't matter how good the solitor or accountant is, they can only ever earn a limited amount of income each week because there are only so many hours in one week. Everyone has the same amount of time. It's just a matter of what you do with that time. Sure, they can always increase their charge out rate to earn a higher income, but no matter what way you look at it, they can never earn anymore than the number of hours in one week multiplied by their charge out rate. And realistically, they will never get anywhere near this due to sleep and all the other things that go on in life. dallas accountant
Lets compare this to someone who is selling an information product online. Once you've completed all the ground work and created your information product, which might be an eBook, eLearning Video Course or an Audio Recording you have a product that can be sold every second of the day without you even having to be there. You really could be earning income while you're sleeping. Sure, there's a lot more that goes into it than that, but once the wheels are in motion, you would find it hard to stop even if you wanted to.
By creating and selling a product rather than providing a service you have essentially created something that can generate revenue without any involvement from yourself whatsoever. Affiliates could sell the product on your behalf and receive a commission, then simply forward on the balance to you (the product creator). Think of it like a royalty for someone who has written a book. The beauty of internet business is that you get to keep most of the profits from selling an information product compared to a book where the author only receives a small percentage. dallas accountant
Those of us who have been working a day job have all been conditioned to spend time to make money. It can be difficult initially to get away from this type of mindset and appreciate the much bigger picture out there. If you structure your business in the appropriate way right from the start, you can set yourself up so that your business virtually runs on autopilot. This is ideally where you want to get to in your home business. To have a business of your own, that requires little time on your part but continues to bring in income on a consistent basis. This will free up your time and allows you to concentrate your efforts on getting your next business off the ground. dallas accountant
What do I mean by structure your business correctly? Well, let's look at an example. An accountant or solicitor performs a service and generally charges a fee for that service at an hourly charge rate. It doesn't matter how good the solitor or accountant is, they can only ever earn a limited amount of income each week because there are only so many hours in one week. Everyone has the same amount of time. It's just a matter of what you do with that time. Sure, they can always increase their charge out rate to earn a higher income, but no matter what way you look at it, they can never earn anymore than the number of hours in one week multiplied by their charge out rate. And realistically, they will never get anywhere near this due to sleep and all the other things that go on in life. dallas accountant
Lets compare this to someone who is selling an information product online. Once you've completed all the ground work and created your information product, which might be an eBook, eLearning Video Course or an Audio Recording you have a product that can be sold every second of the day without you even having to be there. You really could be earning income while you're sleeping. Sure, there's a lot more that goes into it than that, but once the wheels are in motion, you would find it hard to stop even if you wanted to.
By creating and selling a product rather than providing a service you have essentially created something that can generate revenue without any involvement from yourself whatsoever. Affiliates could sell the product on your behalf and receive a commission, then simply forward on the balance to you (the product creator). Think of it like a royalty for someone who has written a book. The beauty of internet business is that you get to keep most of the profits from selling an information product compared to a book where the author only receives a small percentage. dallas accountant
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