Smart small-biz freebie: Chasms has full user guides on everything from tablets to browsers and even gaming consoles. The best part? You can click through screenshots of the actual steps — a real lifesaver if you’re helping someone troubleshoot.
Secrets to growing your business quickly
I’m proud to say that I built my multimillion-dollar enterprise with no debt and no investors. It’s rewarding for me to help the many small business owners who call and need a hand getting their company off the ground or breaking past a big hurdle. I’ve been there myself.
Here’s my advice from the trenches.
1. Know your competition
Unless you’re going rogue with an all-new product or service, your customers already exist and spend their money elsewhere. Competitor research is one of the best ways to get a feel for what works and doesn’t work in your industry.
It’s also an intelligent way to understand your customer’s needs, including what they expect to pay and how much you can earn.
Find a handful of companies doing what you hope to do and be a student. “How much can I learn here?”
- Study their websites. What stands out and what isn’t so great? You can monitor website changes over time with Visualping. This free tool allows you to enter a website you want to track, and you’ll get email alerts any time that site changes. You’ll know if your competitor created an excellent new landing page copy or swapped out photos. Tap or click for a direct link to try it out.
- Follow your competitors on social media and subscribe to their newsletters. Take note of any posts that generate a high number of comments or shares.
- Sign up for Google Alerts for your business name, your competitors, and an industry term or two that makes sense. Tap or click here for steps to set up a Google Alert. I suggest you go with weekly alerts, as daily alerts can get overwhelming.
2. Brand yourself with a memorable domain
A strong web presence is essential; securing a great domain name is the first step. You want something easy to remember, clear, and concise. No one is going to remember a six-word URL.
Doctors, lawyers or other professionals who use their names for their businesses have an advantage. Hey, my website is Komando.com.
How much will a domain cost you? Let’s use GoDaddy as an example. For a .com address, you’ll spend about $25 annually, paying just a penny for your first year with a three-year purchase.
Of course, the best domain idea means nothing if it’s taken. Namechk shortcuts the process for you. Enter your idea and see if it is registered or open. We’re not talking just .com or .net, either. It checks for .us, .info, .biz and lots more.
Small-biz tip: How to onboard a remote employee
If you’re a small business owner, onboarding a new employee virtually can be a huge undertaking. Taking a new hire out to lunch, giving them a tour of the office and introducing them to coworkers is often an integral part of the experience, but that might not be possible if you hire remote employees.
💸 Thinking about opening an e-commerce store? Be careful who you trust. One guy lost $56,000 after paying Ascend CapVentures Inc. to open and manage an Amazon storefront on his behalf. They dangled six-figure sales projections but didn’t deliver. Even worse, they stocked his store with counterfeit products that got him banned.
3 security steps every small business needs to take right now
Business accounts can be hacked as easily as personal accounts. Imagine all your hard work being held at ransom by a hacker or your data falling into the hands of someone who can sell it to the competition.
You need to secure your business as best you can, and here are three crucial tips to get started. This tip is brought to you by our sponsor, NetSuite.
Fix your website! 4 ways to get more people to your site using SEO
A savvy business owner knows the value of website optimization. In today’s cutthroat digital marketplace, an SEO-friendly website with solid keyword research, meta tags, good page speed and backlinks helps you stand out. If you want to know how to improve search engine rankings for small business websites, you’ve come to the right place.
Speed matters: If your website is too slow, customers leave. Use Google PageSpeed Insights to analyze your site’s performance. Enter your URL for a detailed analysis and steps, like compressing too-big image files and optimizing CSS code. Aim for a score of at least 90 for mobile and desktop.
ChatGPT, find me customers: Use AI to find out what people are saying online so you can better target your company’s ads. Take a lesson from Shake Shack: They used a bot to scan 80,000 Reddit threads about chicken sandwiches, narrowed it down to the 30 most active and ran ads for their new sandwich. It worked — sales were 31% higher.
Have a Yelp page? Businesses that display their hours, phone number, website and a photo on Yelp get 7.6 times more pageviews per month. Dang. Log in and make sure yours is up to date!
🚨 Heads-up, small businesses: Hackers are breaking into WordPress-based websites and installing fake plugins packed with harmful code. When visitors come to your site, they might see a pop-up telling them to update their browser … but it’s actually info-stealing malware. They’re getting in with stolen credentials, so change yours now.
Attn., business owners: Do this! Verify your business with Apple, and your logo will now pop up in the iPhone’s Phone, Mail, Maps and Wallet apps. Start by signing into Apple’s Business Connect page with your Apple account. Add your company info, register for the service, and you’re good to go.
Facebook ad tip for small-biz owners: Use Engagement Custom Audiences to target people who’ve already interacted with your content (e.g., someone who has liked one of your posts or watched a video). This cuts the cost of getting a qualified lead. Love that! To get started, go to Ads Manager > Audiences > Create a custom audience.
Personalize your biz emails: Instead of sending a one-size-fits-all marketing blast to your customers, try segmenting your audience to send the right message to the right person. Most email service providers let you set up multiple lists. MailChimp, Constant Contact and all the other big ones do. Smart!
Small-biz tip: Getting the right domain is an important part of settling on your business name. Check for a site name across different top-level domains (think .com, .net. and .biz), and see how much they cost at iwantmyname.com.
Small-biz tip: Don't overlook this digital danger
Are you the type of business owner who forgets about ex-employees as soon as they’re gone? Failing to remove former employees’ access to your systems and data could lead to security breaches. Don’t let poor offboarding practices be the weak link in your cybersecurity chain.
5 hidden fees costing your small business money
Starting your own business can be exciting, but it often comes with a rocky road ahead. Those rocks will cut into your wallet through several expenses. Miscalculating the daily costs of running a company can hurt you in the long run.
Free advertising: I heard from a reader who runs a nonprofit and wants to get the word out. That led me to Google Ad Grants. Qualifying nonprofits get up to $10,000 a month in free search ads. More info here.
Small business owners: Simplify your life with one financial tool that does it all
Are your finances as organized as you’d like them to be? Come on, be honest. For most business owners, the answer is a reluctant no.
As your company grows, you will have more expenses, contractors, KPIs and hands managing it all. If your communication happens through email, over the phone, in messages, and via spreadsheets, you will hit a wall sooner or later.
Principle of least privilege: Business owners, ask your IT folks if your accounts are set up this way. It means users and systems only get access to what they need to get their tasks done. It’s a simple way to keep your info safe.