Small Business Owners Toughing Hard Times
By Roberta Robinson
The United States of America has seen tough times over the past few years. Layoffs, early retirement, and unemployment are terms we all hear every day. Mortgage Foreclosure and bankruptcy chapter 7 or 11 or 13 have claimed many. But, The American Economy has a powerful weapon in its arsenal. That weapon is the small business owner or nonprofit Director. Are you one of those? Do you work for one of those? Have you become one of those?
Many Professionals and CEOs, as well as managers and highly paid workers, have had to reinvent themselves. Too old, too expensive to insure, or just being part of too much overhead has caused the loss of “jobs” in America in record numbers. Many of these resourceful and talented people have become the backbone of the new American economy. The Small Business Administration estimates that 54% of the jobs in America come from small businesses. 66% of the “new” jobs in America are accounted for by small businesses. People like you and me.
The battle this small army faces is the challenge of less access to capital funding to start a new business. Return on Investment takes on a whole new meaning when banks are not willing to invest in small business loans anymore. Many business owners find themselves tapping into their own personal assets to keep their businesses running. The phrase “Everyone gets paid before me” is more true today than ten years ago. What do small business owners need to know to not only survive but to prosper in this economy?
My sister who is a life coach once asked me in the midst of a marketing campaign “Who are you targeting as an audience?”. I realized that we had to identify who we really could best help as clients and that we had to know our “Brand”. The key to a small business owner’s success is to know what they have to offer, why they are different, who they want to reach, and then to develop that brand. Then they have to focus on targeting the right audience at every opportunity.
Survival of the small business depends on the focus and deliberate action of its owner. The owner must be able to focus on a business plan, business goals, and budget, must wear many hats, and when to outsource. What can you outsource more effectively for a better return on investment than you can do yourself? We highly recommend against borrowing from personal assets to fund the business if at all possible. We have seen many business owners file for personal bankruptcy and lose not only their business but their home and retirement.
Before things get out of hand take a hard look at what expenses contribute to business growth and what expenses are too much overhead. Look at the return on investment. We found a wonderful virtual social media agency that promotes our business through social media. If you look at our business page http://www.facebook.com/robinsonlawpc/app_178879648907854 you will notice that there are links to our website.
These links helped us SEO this Website on Google. For only $100.00 a month we were able to outsource facebook page building, external links to our website, youtube video channel links, sweepstakes and post and leap or content writing, and an automated schedule. That was a good return on investment. You can check out the total social media agency for more information on virtual social media as a good return on investment for your advertising dollars at http://www.totalsocialmedia.com/index.asp. Protect your personal assets and look at the return on investment in every business decision that you make!
