There’s no question that this has been a tough year for everyone. It seems that as soon as we see a hint of light at the end of the tunnel, something intervenes to block that light. For me, personally, I could not run my business during a year described as the “The Great Resignation” in the middle of a pandemic while being a mom to my young daughter if it weren’t for the support my team provided. As your business wraps up for the year, it's a wonderful time to show your employees how much value they add to you and your company. Regardless of your budget there are many ways you can spread holiday cheer! Today, I am sharing four ideas for expressing appreciation to your employees during the holidays. Look at Revamping Your Holiday Schedule - During the holiday season of my first year as a business owner, I noticed overworked and exhausted employees. Whether it was general work burn out, preparing for the holidays, or managing holiday expectations with family and friends, I knew I … [Read more...]

According to the Job Turnover and Labor Survey from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Oct 24, 2021), over 4.2 million Americans quit their jobs in August 2021! While comparing this data to previous years, the number of quits has more than doubled since 2011. Also, according to a 2016 survey by the Society of Human Resource Management, the cost to hire is $4,129 per employee and the average time to fill a job is 42 days. With quits on the rise and high costs associated with turnover, the big questions people ask us all the time are why are employees leaving their jobs and what can we do to prevent it? When employees leave a job, it might not always be because of pay. It could be more of a burnout, stress, or quality of life issue. Employers must address the root causes of burnout, stress, and quality of life in their organization if they want to have any chance at retaining talented workforce in the years to come. Currently the Baby Boomer Generation is heading towards retirement … [Read more...]

The Holiday Season is almost here. For some consumers and retailers, it has already arrived. Below are a few tips to maximize your holidays sales. Many can be implemented all year long. These ideas are as valid now as they were 20 years ago when I had my shop, glave & company, on Caroline Street in Fredericksburg. Below are some ideas: It’s the time of year to bring in higher end merchandise. Consider expanding into a higher price point for a specific line that your customers love. They love being part of something unique and only available during the holidays. Who doesn’t love stocking stuffers? Your guests love small items that will fit into a stocking. Give them ideas and purchase inventory with this in mind. It can’t be any easier for the shopper if you prewrapped items in your brand. Showcase the item alongside a display of prewrapped gifts. Picking up more than one for hostess and teacher gifts becomes easy for your guest. Become known as the Tiffany’s for your … [Read more...]

Are you ready for the Holiday shopping season?  Your customers are ready to shop, and you need to be ready to meet their needs.  Holiday shopping in 2021 promises to be different than it was pre-covid, and to some extent, it will be a different experience than in 2020.  These insights have been summarized from “The State of Smooth: 2021 Holidays Unwrapped,” published by Klarna.  Consumers are in the mood to spend.  2020 holiday sales exceed $188 billion, which was 32% more than was spend in 2019.  2021 sales are expected to be even higher.    Projections are for holiday sales to grow by 9%.  50% of consumers plan to spend between $250 and $1,000 on gifts.  29% plan to spend in excess of $2,000.  Early shoppers will spend 16% more than those who shop at the last minute.  Consumers are shopping earlier.  In fact, 25% of all shoppers have already started their shopping, and another 20% will start before Black Friday.  Nearly everyone else will begin their … [Read more...]

20% of companies’ products represent 80% of their sales. 80% of pollution originates from 20% of all factories. 20% of employees are responsible for 80% of a business’s results. The “80/20 rule” is formally known as the Pareto Principle, named after the founding sociologist Vilfredo de Pareto. This rule can be summarized as follows: 80% of outcomes result from 20% of inputs. How does this rule take shape for small business owners? Customers: The 80/20 rule can be used to identify your best customers. Generally speaking, 20% of your customers represent 80% of your sales. Knowing this, you will want to identify the characteristics of the best 20% of your customers. Remember, companies cannot be all things to all people; the more you understand and market to your core customer, the more sales you can generate. Creating a customer persona of this customer helps you to identify and understand this person on a deeper level. Inventory: Again, we can see the 80/20 rule at work when … [Read more...]

When I think about cybersecurity attacks, I typically think about larger businesses being the targets.  However, businesses of all sizes are vulnerable to cyber-attacks.  I asked local cybersecurity expert Todd Mitchell, owner of CyberSecurity4Biz, to explain ways in which small local business are vulnerable.  Todd told me, “Attackers often target point-of-sale (POS) systems, installing malware that steals credit card information when the POS system is used.” Todd provided these examples of other vulnerabilities: Retail and Restaurants websites and applications rely directly on incoming traffic for revenue; thus, distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) extortion is potentially lucrative. A sophisticated DDoS attack can bring down a site in a matter of minutes. Payments are processed, so credit card fraud is constantly being attempted. Customers must be able to access their accounts, which gives hackers the ability to stuff credentials (i.e., they attempt to hijack accounts … [Read more...]

A frequent conversation that I have with clients is how much they should charge for the services they will offer.  This is particularly true of those whose business will be to provide consulting or a professional service.  As an employee of a company, they know how much their salary is, and they may have a good idea of how their current employer bills for their time.  However, they don’t often know the true total costs incurred by their employer.  As a self-employed person, you will have to cover all of the costs of your employment just to maintain your current income level.  Total costs include both direct costs—salary, benefits, and mandatory contributions for social security and Medicare—and indirect costs, such as office space, office supplies, business insurance, and support staff.  It is an interesting, and worthwhile, exercise to calculate these costs.  Let’s calculate your true employment cost, using these assumptions:  Annual salary is $50,000    3 weeks paid … [Read more...]

Applying for a commercial loan to start or grow your business is very different than applying for a mortgage or a car loan.  A commercial lender will expect you to be prepared by knowing:  How much money you need to borrow  How you will repay the loan  What is your plan for business success  Amount of Financing Needed  Many people have undergone a pre-qualifying process before shopping for a home, so that they know how much they can borrow. This allows them to focus their home search on homes in their price range.  Commercial lending, however, is much different.  A lender expects you to tell them how much money you will need.   There are many questions you will need to answer to determine your start-up costs and your financing needs.  Will you lease an office or storefront?  Or will your business be home-based? If you will lease a space, you will need some money to transform the space from what it is currently to what you would like it to be. You may also be … [Read more...]

Owning a small business is not for everyone. Before starting a business, people should ask themselves if being a business owner is the correct choice for them. Below is a list of things to consider before starting your first business:  Time Commitment: Starting a small business will be extremely time consuming. You are likely to work long hours and work more than five days a week. The time commitment to get the business started and maintain the business is sometimes more than people are expecting. It is not the same as having a job where you work your 40 hours per week and then you are done. You need to be prepared to work as many hours as it takes to get the job done.  Emotional Strain: Being a business owner is not for the faint of heart. There will be days that are hard and make you just want to give up. For each of those days, there will also be days that make you proud to be a business owner and that bring you great joy. You should be prepared for the emotional challenges … [Read more...]

Most salespeople and marketers are familiar with the ‘sales funnel’. The sales funnel is a model that represents the customer journey: from awareness of your brand to purchase of your product/service. As a business owner, it is important to understand the principles behind the sales funnel to reach your customer base and strategically move them along the journey towards purchase. Businesses should use different platforms, content, and different calls to action at each point along the sales journey. Awareness. Top of the funnel. Social media is a good place to spread the word about your brand values, your product/service benefits, and other content that will engage and entice your customers. Don’t push sales here, at the top of the funnel you want people to learn about your brand and convince them to see more. Some good ‘calls to action’ (CTAs) for this part of the funnel and journey include “learn more” and “visit our website”. Interest. They heard about you and they were … [Read more...]