Mom & Pop's

Losing the Message in the Images

What do your email ads say about your business?

I get a ton of e-mail daily. About 20% is good stuff; clients, colleagues and friends, notifications from social media and bulletin boards, and a little bit of advertising I can use. The rest is junk. The sad thing is that I might be interested in some of the junk if the business that sent it took a little time to think about my needs when they designed the e-mail.

I have my e-mail client (Thunderbird) set up to be as efficient as possible. I’ve trained it to sort for junk, of course. But I’ve also set a limit on the message size that is downloaded from the server and I have it set not to show images. Those setting make downloads faster and I can always get the rest of the message or the images if I want them. It also makes it easier for me to delete messages. Your message. Most of what I delete isn’t coming from scam artists or questionable sites (actually the “junk” folder gets most of those.) What I am deleting, sight unseen, is advertising from other businesses. Some of them I’ve requested info from.

Have you looked at your advertising e-mails without the images? If you are primarily using text, I’m skimming your e-mail. The same happens if you just use a few images and put your message in the text. I may not buy, but I’m at least looking. But if you’re caught up in big images and little text or putting the text in the images, then I won’t try to read what you’ve sent. I’m not going to spend the time waiting for the images to download. Deleted.

Here’s what too many businesses forget, I don’t owe you my time or consideration because you send me an ad. I don’t care how beautiful that ad is or how great you think the offer is, if I don’t read it, it is wasted effort on your part. So, look at your e-mails without the images before you send them. You might not like what you see.

Start Up Research

Okay, you’re sure you want to start a business. Your first step, in my opinion, is to do some research. Even if you know what business you want to start, what do you know about the business of business? Sure you can just open shop and go. But then you could be spending more of your time playing “fireman” – responding to emergencies. That can be more expensive, in money and emotion, than the cost of a little planning. During the first couple of years of my business, I read a lot of business books. Not just books on running a business but marketing too. I used the internet and early blogs to get ideas and find resources. Below are some of my suggestions.

The best resource for any new business owner is the Small Business Administration (SBA). Their website is a usable entry into a wealth of info for people thinking about starting their business to established business needing specialized information. The SBA also has area offices. They also provide funding to two programs that directly aid small businesses. The first is SCORE the second is the Small Business Development Centers (SBDC). Score provides mentors along with business info and help to small business owners. The mentor is a local business person (retired or active) who can provide guidance and resources to a business owner. The SBDC are info centers where a business owner can find a business counselor, low cost (or free) classes and training. I used the KS SBDC in Wichita when I started. After a basic class, I was assigned a counselor, Joann, who walked me through getting started. She helped me fine tune my business plan so that I could get a business loan. I learned how to write the business plan through one of their classes.

I’ll get to the Internal Revenue Service more in another post, but they have a lot of info for small business owners on their website and through some materials they still publish. What is no longer published is available on You Tube or their website.

The business section of any bookstore will have plenty of books to choose from but I have a few suggestions. These are the books I use and have kept in my office library. They are the ones I suggest to friends (in no particular order).

• “The E-Myth Revisited” by Michael E. Gerber is a great primer on thinking like a business owner.
• “Drive a Modest Car” by Ralph Warner is a NOLA book that focuses on making your business a long term success. I especially like the chapter on starting on a shoestring.
• Paul and Sarah Edward have written extensively on starting and running small businesses and have a wide variety of books to choose from. They specialize on home based business and write for “Entrepreneur” magazine.
• “The Girl’s Guide to Starting Your Own Business” by Caitlin Freidman and Kimberly Yorio.
• “The Art of the Start” by Guy Kawasaki.

While you’re in the bookstore, you might want to check the magazine rack. There are a lots of business choices but the only one I read when I was starting was “Entrepreneur.” But I would suggest focusing on the articles and remember that most of what the ads are trying to sell, you really don’t need.

The suggestions I’ve made have focused on starting general business start up but there are resources for most types of business and specific business issues too. You just have to look. But be careful and always taking into consideration the writer’s motivation. What are they selling? Do they have a personal issue they are venting about? You can still get good info if you can be objective about the source.

If you are serious about starting a business, you need to know about more than the product or service you want to sell. You need to understand the business of being in business. That is how these resources will help you if you use them.

 

Check Your Reviews

Have you Googled your business recently? Or, used Bing, Yahoo or your favorite search engine?

The first responses should be your own website and business Facebook page if you have them. You might also see links to Twitter and LinkedIn. Once you get past those, there should be a bunch more links before the search results become about everything but your business. These are directories, online “Yellowpages” if you will. These sites will get your basic business info; name, address and phone number (public info) and sell advertising around the listing. The idea is that if you are looking for a local business, say a beauty salon, you start searching with the location you’re interested in and get down to a list of salons in that area. Finally, you end up at the listing for a specific salon which looks interesting. (By running a search for your business, you’ve come in the back door.) So far so good, you get a free listing for your business. (And lots will let you pay to share more info.) But look around, is there are rating and review area?

The concept behind all of these sites is that they are helping consumers by allowing them to post feed back on the business. That is why Angie’s List was created, to allow consumers to research the companies they were looking to hire. Yelp! also focuses on consumer feedback and reviews. Some let the business dispute a review but most don’t. That becomes a task for the business owner.

Most small businesses rely on referrals to build their business. But we understand there are going to be customers who are not happy with us no matter how hard we work to please them. And they will complain. The problem with the internet is that it allows them to share their problems with more people. The problem for a business owner is that they can to this without you knowing about it.

My suggestion is to take a little bit of time and search your business and find these directory sites. I wouldn’t go too far into the search. In the first 3 search pages for my tax business, I found 15 sites allowing reviews. If I could, I “claimed” the site. Some let me add a little bit more info for free. But at all of them, I checked for a review. This time, I didn’t find any. But next time, and I plan on doing this every couple of months, if I find something, I will be proactive. I’ll see if the review is correct and if there is a problem I need to correct at the office, I will. If the site allows me to respond, I will do that as tactfully as possible. I will also encourage clients to review me when they are happy with my work.

These reviews aren’t going away. It seems I can’t download an app, look at a blog post or Facebook page without being asked for a like, rating or review. The issue is to take a little time and monitor what is being said about my business. I’d rather know about it now than deal with the consequences later.

No, You Should Not Start A Business

Consider this an intervention. My goal is to make potential business owners think about whether they should start a business.

I get asked occasionally, “should I start a business?’ Sometimes they have a specific type of business other times it’s a general question. I usually play nice and ask questions about that they are planning and clear up their misconceptions about being a business owner (no, it is not a tax loss generator). However, a part of me wants to bluntly answer, “No, if you have to ask if you should, you shouldn’t.”  If you are ready to own a business, you don't need to ask if you should do it. You do it! Yes, you want to get advice and talk to friends and family. But, if you have the passion, then little will stop your dream. I’m talking about someone who has had a dream for years to start a restaurant, farm, or manufacture their invention. That kind of passion is great and will get them through the tough times. The other startup group I see pulling though includes those who are looking at their business as a way to earn their living and providing for their family. Income and passion are powerful motivators. And motivation is something a business owner must find within themselves not from an outside source.

I see people who are excited about some business venture they have started. They spend hours planning the details and getting everything together until something happens. For some, the initial excitement dies or a new idea pops into their head. Some find that owning a business is harder than they thought and they aren’t willing to put in the extra effort or follow the rules. Unfortunately, there are some small businesses that will be hit with an outside force they can’t control and have to close or regroup. It’s the owner’s motivation that keeps the business going or re-starting. Excitement gets you though setting up the business but motivation is what sees you though employees not showing, potential clients canceling, bad weather, law changes and too much competition.

A new business owner needs to be honest with themselves about their motivations and what they are willing to do for their business. Can you get excited about what you’re doing? Are you willing to follow rules and regulations? Can you handle all the bad times? Can you put most of your energy into the business? Are the results worth the hassle? It doesn’t matter if your business is full or part time. What does matter is that you find the motivation to work the business not play the hobby. If you have that motivation, my “no” won’t bother you at all.

Biz Background Series.

This is the first of a series of posts about starting and operating a business. It was originally run on Our Taxing Times because I was regularly asked about how to start a business by different tax clients. They usually just wanted the tax info but in asking questions to target my answers, I found that they didn’t really understand the whole “owner” idea. This series should provide insight into the basics of starting your own business. It won’t answer all of your questions but it will point you to resources and give you things to think about.

First, I want to set some parameters about the main audience for this series. I will be focusing on a “mom and pop” type startup. The owner could be a guy starting his own repair service after years of working for someone else, the great cook who wants to open a catering business, the local retail shop, or a tax preparer. Full or part time, the basics are the same. And this series will stick with the basics.

And I am sure that some readers will not like what I have to say. Great, use the comment section to express your view. As for topics, I keep coming up with ideas, but right now here is the current topic list:

• Why you should not start a business.
• What are you going to do?
• Choosing an entity
• Tax start up
• Hobby vs. Profit
• Cash flow
• Record keeping
• Myths
• Contract labor vs. employee
• Office in home
• Emotional and physical support.
• Resources

Some of these will become ongoing issues in Mom & Pops as I explore the world of micro businesses.

Welcome

This blog was a 4am idea. One of those things you think about when you can't sleep. Then, in the light of day, you realize that it wasn't as good an idea as you thought. Except the more I looked into the idea, the more it seemed like a good idea. There might be tons of blogs written by small business owners but they aren't making the blog lists or first several pages of Google. This one might not either but I'm going to give it a try.

My name is Trish McIntire and I am the owner of McIntire Tax Center in a small Kansas town. I've been writing a tax blog since 2004, Our Taxing Times. I write about taxes, tax law changes, operating a tax practice and sometimes just about business. I've been spending my summer, so far, on a series on starting a business because so many of my clients seem to be thinking about starting a business or do have one. And it got me thinking.

What I didn't find as I tried to talk myself out of doing this blog was a lot of focus on the very small businesses. The trendy term is "micro" business. But most of us think of them as Mom & Pops, the small local shops and services in our neighborhoods. I found blogs on marketing and venture capital, several that were run by companies with something to sell to small businesses and a lot of general theory. But nothing providing tips and info to the micro business owners. That is my goal with this blog. To be a resource.

Because of the sources I follow for my tax blog, I get a lot of info that most business owners might not see. I plan on sharing those and other ideas I come up with. I'll rant sometimes but we all have problems we need to get off our chest. And it's good to know that others have problems too. And please comment. If you disagree with me, let me know. Warning, I won't do a blog war but I'll listen to what you have to say. If you have a tip or suggestion, let me know. I'm still waffling on the idea of creating a Facebook page to go with the blog. (I'm afraid if I add another Facebook page or Twitter account my friends will stage an intervention.) I may not blog every day, and I'll disappear for weeks during tax season, but hopefully I'll provide you will info that will help you in your business.