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Starting a Business? A Blog of Free Plans and Ideas

BookFresh.com's blog about starting and running your own business
  • Lower Your Prices?

    Many small business owners have spent a lot of time debating whether they should lower their prices during the recession or keep them consistent. While lowering prices may be a quick fix, it may make your business seem desperate-at least during the recession.

    Susan Reid of Small Biz Trends discusses that this may be the best time to lower your prices. As we slowly start to recover from the recession, consumers will begin to spend more money. As Reid puts it, “As consumer confidence grows, so should your business. And what better way to attract new customers than by offering them a smoking economic recovery deal by lowering your prices temporarily?”

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  • Go Green in 2010

    Turning your business “eco-friendly” is not just a nice thing to do anymore but a financial opportunity. The good people at Small Business Trends recently wrote about their “7 Green Business Resolutions”. Here are a few of their suggestions.

    Write a Sustainability Plan

    Write down your eco-friendly goals so you have a roadmap to refer to throughout the year. Before you spend thousands of dollars installing solar panels, look into the small cost-effective things you can be doing. Printing less, using energy-saving modes on computers and other electronics and turning off the lights during the day (if you have ample sunlight!)

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  • 2010-The Year of Social Media

    Happy Holidays! For many of us, this week marks the end of business in 2009. As we set our goals and strategies for 2010, social media is going to be a big part of any small business next year. AdWeek recently wrote about “5 Social Media Implications for Brands in 2010”. I wanted to share a few of their findings with you.

    A Must-Have Marketing Tool

    It is hard to believe but there are still some brands that have not fully embraced social media marketing. 2010 will be the year that brands realize that social media marketing is a must have make-or-break tool.

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  • Cyber Monday WEEK: Last Minute Tips For Your Site

    First it was Black Friday, then Cyber Monday. Now many online retailers are taking part in Cyber Monday Week, which includes a week of online savings and discounts. To take advantage of the increased e-commerce traffic this week, make sure you keep these tricks in mind!

    The National Retail Federation reports that 87% of all e-commerce sites will be participating in some sort of promotion or deal for Cyber Monday. The NRF also reports that 61% of consumer will be researching products before they actually make a purchase this holiday season. To help convert these consumer "researchers" to customers:

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  • Where Will Your Small Business Spend Money in 2010?

    Yesterday, Small Business Trends discussed a study about where small business owners plan to spend their money in 2010. More than 25% said they would not cancel their health care if given a public option. On the marketing side was some interesting data worth taking a look at.

    • 74.1% will increase their email marketing budget
    • 68.3% will increase their social media spending
    • 23.8% will avoid search engine marketing
    • 54.2% will not spend any money for banner advertisements
    • 79.6% will not run TV ads
    • 72.7% will be invest in radio advertising
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  • Cyber Monday: Accept Payments Online

    Have you thought about accepting online payments for your small business? Especially this holiday season when any extra revenue can help, offering payments online will provide convenient and easy way for you customers to do their holiday shopping.

    BookFresh has partnered with PayPal to make it easy for your customers and clients to pay online when they schedule a service at your business. They'll be able to pay with a credit card, a debit card, or directly from a bank account. It is immediate and secure.

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  • Small Business Guide to Facebook

    Unless you live under a rock, you are probably familiar with Facebook, the online social networking site. Many of us use the popular site to connect with old friends, acquaintances, and family, but what about for business? Facebook can be a great marketing and sales tool for small to medium businesses. For many, it helps find new customers, build relationships with current customers, and provides insight into demographics. The New York Times provides a small business guide for using Facebook to market your business. Below are a few tips from the guide:
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  • Know Your Market First

    We’ve spent thousands of hours creating our product, perfecting our services, and running our businesses. But how much time has been spent thinking about whether customers actually want what you are selling?

    The New York Times recently wrote an article about how important it is to really research and address the simple question “Do customers want what I am selling?”. Below are a few questions to help you find out.

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  • Small Business Tips to Reach $1 Million in Revenue

    Whether your business has revenues of $50,000 a year or $500,000 a year, new ways to increase can benefit all business owners. The New York Times recently discussed five tips for reaching $1 million in revenue from Nell Merlino, the founder and CEO of Count Me In for Women's Economic Independence. Her tips include:

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  • PR for Small Businesses

    For most small businesses, trying to get PR can be a difficult task. Today, Small Business Trends discussed “5 Killer Press Release Tips for Small Businesses”. These tips will help generate public relations buzz and hopefully keep the press releases we slave over out of the trash! Below are a few of the noteworthy tips from Small Business Trends .

    Publicize a Good Cause

    Publicizing community outreach and pro-bono work is a great way to drum up buzz about your company. Whether the entire office participated in a beach clean-up day or organized a toy-drive, these stories are noteworthy to local journalists.

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