Coworking is an emerging national trend where small businesses work in a collaborative, shared work space. If your small business requires you to meet with clients often, but you can’t afford to lease office space, Pat Shaver’s article about sharing office space may be your answer. By coworking, small businesses share the costs of office space. Many facilities allow startups and businesses access to an office, office equipment, conference room and a permanent mailing address.
The Launch Pad, mentioned in Shaver’s article, is a 6,600 square-foot building that offers private offices and cubicles. Each office is furnished. Kitchen facilities, Internet, cleaning services, office supplies, parking for tenants and more is available. The Launch Pad charges each business rent of $400-$750 per month, depending on office size. You can rent a cubicle for $175 per month. Each business has a month-to-month lease.
There are over 1000 coworking locations worldwide. A facility may be available in your area.
No matter where you conduct business, you need the latest small business tips. Here’s this week’s advice and strategies:
Starting a Business:
- Is it possible to start a business with only $100 in the bank? Yes! Most people spent *some* amount of money, even if it was just the cost of a $50 business license or a $10 domain name. But far more important than money was the investment of sweat equity. “Sweat Equity” is mostly the ability to reach people (customers, subscribers, etc.) based on shared ideals and finding out what your target audience wants. A huge percentage of the population is comfortable discussing purchases of products and services online via social media, and purchasing online. Economic convergence has never been easier. Here are three steps a $100 startup can take to get off the ground.
Finance:
- Most hard-working small business owners are so focused on daily operations that they often ignore cash flow, which is the life blood of their business. If there isn’t cash to pay vendors or utility bills, the business may have to shut its doors. If you can’t afford to hire a bookkeeper or CPA to handle business finances, you need to set aside time to develop creative cash management. Use these simple tricks in cash management to stabilize the ups and downs of income vs. expenses.
Content Marketing:
- Marketing your business online has never been more important. Brick and mortar stores aren’t exempt—every business must have an online presence since most of the population has traded in the local phone book for Google search to find products and services. If you’ve looked into online marketing for your business, chances are you’ve heard about content marketing. It’s a necessity for today’s socially-driven Internet. What does content marketing actually do for your business? Watch this short video and find out.
Email Marketing:
- Entrepreneurs often wonder if email marketing is worth the time. Spam filters and claims by the media that email marketing is dead aren’t encouraging. Email marketing certainly is not dead! In fact, mobile devices have made it easier to use email accounts anywhere, anytime. I always click on promotional email from my favorite merchants, and even new merchants if their subject line grabs my attention. Building an email list, creative content, data management, and a call-to-action for revenue generation are a few secrets to a successful campaign. Here are ten tips to creating a powerful email marketing strategy.
Social Media:
- The social landscape of the Internet requires much more from businesses today when it comes to online marketing. Creative and relevant content that generates interest with your customers must be distributed through social media channels to be effective. Larry Weber, Chairman and CEO of Racepoint Global, an advanced marketing services agency, spoke with Forbes recently about using an influencer strategy: identify the key organizations and people in your niche that can inform your targeted customer base and engage with them. Influencers can be customers, industry experts, bloggers, journalists, regulators, bloggers, and more. Earn their influence organically or paid through sponsorships or blogging. Once the influencer develops an appreciation for the business’ unique story, he or she will become your brand advocate, knowing that followers can benefit from getting to know your company better. Learn how this strategy can help you build brand awareness and build partners for crisis management, product development, product promotion and more.
Ecommerce:
- Imagine buyers arriving at your online store and seeing only the products they want thanks to software that has anonymously figured out their buying intents and preferences based on prior visits to your site, links clicked on the site, commonalities of the site content they consume, and other variables. BloomReach’s SNAP software recognizes visitors with a 99 percent accuracy, and it uses big data to help them shop based on current intent, not demographics or buying history. Read how this innovative new software can get customers clicking the “add to cart” button right from the homepage.
Technology:
- If you’re a business who uses Pinterest’s visual-friendly platform to display products, you’re in for a treat. The company is enhancing its API platform so you can learn which of your products are popular, what images work best or which Pins are driving the most engagement and sales.
Are you a seasoned entrepreneur with a hot tip or blog that offers business advice? Have you discovered a technology or tool that has increased your productivity? Connect with me on Google+ so that I can make sure your tip or advice appears in the weekly roundup. See you next week!