How to Write a Business Plan

By Jeanette Mulvey, BusinessNewsDaily Managing Editor

While it may sound complicated, a business plan is nothing more than an organized outline of your idea of how your business is going to function. And experts agree: you need one.

“A business plan is like a road map,” explained James Jacobs, the retired president of a Dallas-based financial services firm and a SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) advisor. “It’s a road map that helps you identify where you want to go and how to get from point A to point B.”

A business plan should include a variety of pieces and some will be more detailed than others depending on the kind of business you’re running and your reason for writing the business plan.

There are certain pieces of the business plan that are must-haves:

Executive Profiles
Business Summary
Marketing Plan
Income and Expense Projections

There are several resources available to assist you in creating a business plan. Business plan templates abound on the Internet, many for free.  SCORE offers a comprehensive, free plan on its web site.

There are also a variety of books on the subject available at the bookstore, library or from your local Small Business Development Center (SBDC).

There are also business plan software programs — starting at round $100 — that will walk you through the process by asking you questions and generating a formal business report. The software is particularly useful for the financial portions of the plan.

“Unless you have a background in finance, that part of the business plan can be most difficult,” said Dolores Stammer, Regional Director of the New Jersey SBDC at Centenary College in Hackettstown, N.J.

Stammer strongly advised that future business owners approach the financial part of the business plan by breaking down their total sales expectations into individual sales.

“Once they see how many of something they need to sell in a week, they often realize their total revenue projection is impossible,” she said.

Knowing why you’re writing your business plan is also important, Stammer said.

“If you’re writing it because you’re going to apply for a loan, then you need to be very specific in the financials,” Stammer told BusinessNewsDaily. “If you’re writing it to keep yourself focused on your goals, then you should be clear about what those goals are.”

Regardless of who will eventually read your business plan, it’s essential that you know it intimately,” Jacobs added. “Be confident. Know your plan inside and out. And, don’t just do it once. You should be reviewing your business’ strengths, weaknesses, opponents and threats [what business strategists call SWOT] once a year

Helping Women Prosper....

3 Big Expenses Your Small Business Can Cut Today

By Patrick Egan, BusinessNewsDaily Contributor

Money, as they say, does not grow on trees. In business — as in life — it’s a lot easier to save a dollar than to earn one.  Here are three big ways you can cut your budget and increase your bottom line.

Marketing—Getting your dollar’s worth

There’s no end to the number of ways you can publicize your business’s name and products. But not all expenditures yield the same return, and small businesses need to recognize that.


“No enterprise is immune to advertising mistakes,” said Dan Weinbach, executive vice president with the Weinbach Group, a marketing and public relations firm based in Miami.  “But the impact these mistakes have on smaller organizations is more severe, as their dollars are limited.”

Weinbach recommends that small businesses think twice before spending money on sponsorships, congratulatory ads, one-time mailings and holiday cards.

[For more: 5 Marketing Costs You Should Cut Today]

Payroll costs — Finding the right person

When looking to cut waste, it’s a safe bet to start with your biggest expense: payroll. And the first step to cutting payroll expenses may simply be getting the person with the right skills into the job.

That’s because the cost of filling a position can run anywhere from 20 percent to 150 percent of the job’s salary. Those figures include far more than the cost of some ads and new business cards. Every minute of training and orientation and interviews saps precious time from the business. And that is a price of hiring, said Richard Deems, founder of WorkLife Design, an organizational consulting firm.

Making sure you hire the right person for the job will ultimately save you money.

“We hear all the time, ‘I’m not attracting the people that I want,’” Deems told BusinessNewsDaily. “Words are crucial to getting the right people,” he added, explaining that help wanted ads too often don’t get the job done.

Crafting an effective ad seems pretty simple, according to Deems’ business partner and wife, Sandra Deems.

“What do I want to get off my desk and onto someone else’s?” Sandra recommends using bullet points, not prose, to make sure you’re clear.

Once you’ve got quality people in-house, you have to pay attention to worker retention. While all workers appreciate a fatter paycheck, the real challenge is keeping your employees motivated.

Benefits — Attracting better employees

Offering benefits will help you attract better employees. However, you should be prudent about how you spend your benefits dollars.

“When businesses boom, they spend a lot of money on perks,” said Janet Boulter, founder of the Center Consulting Group. “They think that’s what they need to do to retain employees.” But she says that’s not true.

The biggest, and most delicate, employee benefit is health insurance. Boulter suggests transparency in discussing the subject with employees. Tell them exactly how much it costs.

“Employees get this perception that businesses can afford it. They believe it’s an entitlement,” Boulter said. By letting employees know the costs and having some input on what’s important, businesses can save money by tailoring their insurance to the needs of their employees.

Done properly, a conservative approach to benefits can save money today and help avoid layoffs when times get tough. It is also important to make sure you apply for for the health insurance tax credits mandated with health care reform. The credits begin in 2011.

5 Ways to Grow Your Business (On a Budget)

Credit: Dreamstime.com

Now that your company is up and running, it's time to expand. Growth is every business owner's goal, but expanding your business is not always easy. Luckily, building your business doesn't necessarily have to break your budget.

According to Steve Smith, business coach at GrowthSource Consulting, growth starts with a discovery process.

"Sit down and look at the three primary areas where growth will occur. There are a lot of things you can do on a one-time basis, but before they can work, you need to ask yourself what you want this business to be. Have a vision that's real," Smith said.

Here are five ways to grow your business – inexpensively.

Give something away. — No matter what kind of business you're operating, take a look at your competitors and see how you are unique. Jessica Swanson, founder of Shoestring Marketing, encourages small business owners to tap into your unique selling propositions.

"It's very important that you begin to grow an email list, so offer an incentive. If you sign up, you get a freebie. That way, you also give readers information about what your company is all about," Swanson said.

Giving away a freebie, even from your website, is a great way to reach out to prospects.

"If you're not marketing-savvy, your best bet is to make sure the freebie is of interest to your prospects. Then, you can also upsell inside of that freebie by offering related items," Swanson said.

Get smart about your online presence. — It's time to take a serious look at your business website. Laura Posey, small business growth expert at Dancing Elephants Achievement Group, encourages small business to go beyond a basic page.

"It's not enough in today's market to be lazy about your website. You need a way for people to bring their business to you," Posey said.

Posey encourages business owners to entice their site visitors with a call to action.

"Whether visitors can purchase online, download something or contact you, it's important that every page on the website has an action to take," Posey said.

Consider a joint venture partnership. — Once you've established the ideal client you want to go after, the next thing to do is find other business that are trying to serve the same end user.

"First, you'll have a partner to share your marketing costs with. If you can find two or three partners, you have expanded your network for prospects," Smith said.

Looking for a collaborative relationship will also help you hone in on your niche market.

"As you expand your network, figure out your niche and market to that. Make sure that your message is consistent and is going to people who need it," Smith said.

Reach out to your target market. — Social media is a huge component of marketing, but what about the basics? According to Jim Hunter, founder of Foursight Consulting, you can spend a lot of time on social media and not get the results that you need.

"Most people rely on passive word of mouth — hoping that the message will get across. Small business owners need to be proactive by getting out and meeting prospects, learning about them and creating relationships," Hunter said.

Hunter recommends going to places where your target market is, such as conferences or networking events.

"The only reason to go out and market is to get a return. Get clear on who is most likely to buy from you right now," Hunter said.

For example, Hunter worked with an insurance agent that was trying to reach a minority group. He researched the neighborhood, purchased inexpensive door hangers and hired high school students to leave the hangers.

"That's how he launched into his target market. Now, he's very successful in that area," Hunter said.

Ask for referrals. — Set up an incentive program to offer current customers a reward, cash or gift for any customer they can refer.

"Offer the program in a postcard or direct mail piece, a flyer that is handed to the customer when they make a purchase, as a link on your website, or in your invoices," Hunter said.

This is a positive cash flow way of investing in that no money is spent on marketing until the customer is sold and a sale is created.

"It's a great way to grow if you have existing customers," Hunter said.

By Jennifer Vishnevsky, BusinessNewsDaily Contributor

5 Mistakes Female Business Owners Make

Female business owners have a lot going for them. For one, women are starting new businesses one-and-half times faster than men. They are also leaders in using their businesses to give back to the community. Still, there are many unique challenges to running a business and some key pitfalls female business owners, especially, should avoid.


Sales specialist Julie Steelman has some advice on how women can avoid these common mistakes. She is author of a new book, "The Effortless Yes: Get the Sales You Want and Make All You'll Ever Need" (Franklin-Green Publishing, 2011), which features a seven-step approach to help sales-averse entrepreneurs to learn a new way of selling.


Steelman shares her solutions to the top five business mistakes women make. 


Mistake 1: Running your business impulsively
It's great to have heart, intuition and creativity. But those don't necessarily lead to profit and profit growth. If you're averse to numbers, think of your financial statement as a garden. Your money needs care, watering, weeding, fertilizing and pruning. Don't avoid looking at your sales numbers or how much you've spent. Money is the life force of your business. Tend to it.


Mistake 2: Setting prices too low
Some female owners set their prices according to what they think their customers will pay — and then resent them for paying too little. Instead, come up with a price that takes into account the percentage you want to make on each sale, how much your costs are, "invisibles" such as the things you do above and beyond the call of duty for customers, and how much your competitors are charging. Consider whether you'll focus on volume selling or selling less at a higher price. Find a price that feels right to you, one that you can broadcast with 100 percent confidence.


Mistake 3: Avoiding sales and selling
Here's something many female owners don't know: Women are natural-born salespeople. Being a masterful salesperson requires many of the traits women possess innately, such as great communication, a strong conscience, and the desire to serve. It's time to rethink selling, because you can't run a successful company if you don't have robust and growing sales. Think of selling as a conversation. Be enthusiastic and genuine. Share stories about how you and others were transformed by using your products and services. Help your customers solve a problem.


Mistake 4: Underutilizing social media
Do your eyes glaze over when you hear the phrase social media? Change the way you think about it. Think of social media as a way to help others and provide value to your customers and potential customers. If you post blogs, videos and podcasts, that's fine. But those one-way communiqués don't start conversations. Instead, host interactive events, chats and conversations that engage your customers and serve their needs. If you're a social media novice, it's time to learn how to really take advantage of it and hire someone to help you do it.


Mistake 5: Getting by instead of getting ahead
When you start using some of the smart tools that the big boys of business use, you'll find all the money you'll ever need. Female business owners sometimes feel that making payroll and earning a small profit is good enough. You deserve much more, and you can get there by mapping out a plan for this year that increases last year's revenue by 25 percent. Figure out how many sales you need in each month, taking natural fluctuations into account. For low sales months, plan promotions that will help you meet your sales quota for that month. Having the goal of increasing your business by 25 percent each year will change the way you feel about yourself and your business.



By BusinessNewsDaily Staff

5 Things You Should Do Now to Ride Out the Recession

Credit: Brett Critchley | Dreamstime.com

The latest developments in the economy are enough to make anyone nervous. For a small-business owner, the uncertainty can keep you up all night. You can't control Wall Street's roller coaster ride, but there are some things you can do to ride out this latest wave of economic turbulence.

Malcolm McRoberts, senior vice president of small-business services at Deluxe, has some advice for small-business owners. Deluxe is a company that provides small-business services and products such as Web design, Web hosting, and forms and checks. Here are five tips from McRoberts:

Rise above the negativity. Many argue that Standard & Poor's recent downgrade of the nation's credit rating was politically driven rather than based on the country's inability to manage debt. Some argue the U.S. economy has been growing slowly and consumer spending habits are steadily rising. Now is a good time to revisit your company's business plan and have an open discussion with customers and employees on next steps for the remainder of the year.

Turn to current customers. Now is the time to focus on your current customer base, its needs and what has worked in the past. Consider revisiting or instituting a customer rewards campaign or a referral program offering discounts on future products or services.

Focus on affordable marketing. Small-business owners do not need to spend a fortune on marketing. For less than $5,000, you can refine your search engine marketing (SEM), redesign your online ads to better showcase your company's products, design a new logo and more.

Hold off on hiring. Given the unpredictable economic climate, it's probably best to hold off on any major staffing increases unless your revenue truly warrants it.

Examine your cash flow and find a financial adviser. Talk to your accountant or bookkeeper and come up with a plan in the event of a dramatic dip in sales. Investigate loan options now, just in case you need one. Find an experienced business mentor, someone who is a third party, who is able to offer you financial advice.

Deluxe is currently running a contest called Project REV 2012 in which small-business owners and entrepreneurs can enter to win $15,000 in Deluxe marketing products and services.

5 Ways to Grow Your Business During the Recession

Credit: Dreamstime.com

While most companies are focused on surviving the recession, smart companies are making efforts to grow during the recession. 

Thor Harris, small business wealth expert and president of Percepture, a marketing, branding and strategic media relations company, gives  BusinessNewsDaily readers advice on how to expand your business while others around you are floundering.

Expand your sphere of influence. Networking is key. Set a goal of attending an outside event where you can make new business contacts two nights a week. Do not attend industry-focused networking events. There are too many similar people looking for the same potential clients at these kinds of events.

Cut the fat out of your current budget. Look at everything you can trim that is nonessential and reevaluate your entire budget.

Tap in to your attorneys and accountants for business referrals. Remind your contacts that you will give them a percent of any new business they throw your way.  Same with your current clients, ask them for recommendations and referrals.

Use social media tools. LinkedIn is an excellent way to tap into new prospects, but most people don't use it or know how to. Learn how to use LinkedIn.

Take a break. Running your own business is hard. Take one full day off a week and turn everything off. Recharging your personal batteries is a must.  

Harris has managed public relations and innovative marketing programs for some of the world's largest companies and best-known brands —  including Daimler-Chrysler, Sony, Foot Locker, The Islands Of The Bahamas, Ingersoll Rand, Konica Minolta, Century 21 and ChevronTexaco. He sits on the Board Member of the American Red Cross, Business Marketing Association, and the New Jersey Entrepreneur Network and is a member of the NJ Technology Council and the American Chemical Society.

By BusinessNewsDaily Staff

Small Business Matters

Do you have the mindset to be an entrepreneur? Many of our veterans do.

In fact, of the 24 million military veterans in the U.S, four million are small business owners.

Moreover, statistics show that the success rate of these veteran-owned businesses is higher than other startups - perhaps a reflection of the discipline, skills, and leadership experience acquired in military service.

Providing further help, there are a number of tools and services from the SBA, VetBiz and other non-profit organizations specifically designed to help veterans with the formation and expansion of their business ventures.

This following list summarizes some of the general business guides, financing options, incentives, and other resources available to help veteran-owned businesses succeed.

Getting General Business Advice

If you are a current or prospective veteran business owner, familiarize yourself with the SBA’s Office of Veterans Business Development (OVBD) Web site - here you can find assistance, outreach and support for veterans interested in starting or expanding a small business.

Financing for the Veteran-Owned Small Business

In the past 20 months, the SBA approved more than $250 million in loan guarantees to more than 2,800 veterans and their spouses.

Much of this funding comes from the SBA’s Patriot Express Pilot Loan. Launched in June 2007, the program is a streamlined loan product based on the agency’s SBA Express Program, but enhanced with guaranty and interest rate characteristics.

Loans are available up to $500,000 and qualify for SBA’s maximum guaranty of up to 85 percent for loans of $150,000 or less, and up to 75 percent for loans over $150,000 (up to $500,000).
The loan can be used for business purposes, including start-up, expansion, equipment purchases, working capital, inventory or business-related real estate purchases.

For more information about the loan, qualification criteria, and how to get started visit the Patriot Express home page here.

For information about other available loans from the federal government as well as programs in your state, use this government-developed Loans and Grants Search Tool.

Franchising Incentives for Veteran Entrepreneurs

If you want to be your own boss but are wary of the startup risks, buying a franchise offers an appealing alternative.

For veterans considering buying a franchise there are also added incentives. The VetFran program, started by the International Franchise Association, provides financial incentives to veteran franchise buyers that are not available to civilian franchise investors. Some of the 200 participating franchisors waive training fees, others discount franchise fees, but all agree to offer incentives for veterans.

A current list of participating companies and the discounts these franchise systems offer is available on this Web site, www.franchise.org, under 'VetFran Directory.'

If you like the idea of a franchise, make sure to do your research first. This guide provides helpful advice on buying and evaluating a franchise and also includes information on how to avoid common scams.

For more click here

The big push for small business is jobs

The SBA's chief lays out the steps Washington is taking to create jobs on Main Street.

FORTUNE -- Small Business Administrator Karen Mills' Washington D.C. office overlooks a railroad where trains whiz by hauling freight. It's a reminder, she says, that American industry is still working. These days we could use that reminder. American manufacturing is in the tank, and small business lending -- a much-cited economic driver -- fell again in the second quarter, on the heels of a lackluster five years. On the upside, loans backed by the Small Business Administration are on the rise, with banks breaking records in SBA lending last year. Mills sat down recently with Fortune's Anne VanderMey to talk about what her office is doing to give small business a leg-up and help bring American unemployment back down to earth. Edited excerpts:

Q. What are the SBA's big projects right now?

A. Well, the big push is jobs. As you probably know, half of the people who work in this country work for small businesses. And it's more than that, because two out of every three net new jobs come from small business. So we mean it when we talk about small business being the engine for the economy. We are focused, and have been from day one, on making sure that these small businesses have the tools that they need.

What can the government to do drive that job creation?

It's not government that creates jobs; it's small business. Our job is to make sure they have the access to capital, the access to contracting opportunities, and the help, advice and mentoring that they need to go out and be successful.

So we're providing capital, we're providing mentorship, and we're doing it in conjunction with existing infrastructure that is out there instead of reinventing the wheel. We're working with big companies like IBM (IBM) and GE (GE) to find ways to help small business thrive as part of their supply chains. We're also developing public-private partnerships like Startup America, which Steve Case is leading, that provide mentors for entrepreneurs.

We've streamlined the website, boosted our venture capital-style small business investment fund, cut in half the time it takes for small businesses on a government contract to get paid, and cut the licensing time for a loan down from 18 months to less than six. We also  just closed a record year in SBA lending -- $30 billion. In October 2008, the credit markets just froze, and small businesses were telling me, "I need a loan to save my businesses." We stepped in with the Recovery Act and raised our loan guarantees to 90%. That was exactly the right medicine, because our loan volume came rushing back. We were also able to bring back about 1,200 banks that hadn't made a loan since 2007. So now you had more businesses with more local points of access. They could walk in and say, "Well, if you don't want to just give me a loan, how about a loan with an SBA guarantee?" With the passage of the Small Business Jobs Act, we're continuing these 90% guarantees that have led us to a record quarter. This really is the best year ever in SBA history.

But loan volume for the smallest businesses, the ones asking for loans less than $150,000, actually fell 13% in the last two years. Is that a concern?

Exactly right. Our loan buying has been at record levels, but there are still gaps. One of the gaps is in the smallest loans and in the underserved communities. So we saw this about a year ago and we launched two important programs, Small Loan Advantage and the other is called Community Advantage. The objectives of both are to open up points of access and streamline the paperwork, without increasing the risk. We wanted to make small loans easier for the banks, where bigger loans can be more cost-efficient.

We've also opened up our flagship 7(a) lending program to community development financial institutions. Those lenders operate right there in the community and these are the people who know who's the great entrepreneur -- the one who we really should back, even if it doesn't look on paper like a traditional loan. That expanded access is going to provide more opportunity for these smaller businesses in these more underserved communities.

For more click here.

My Grand Experiment: Turning Off AdWords

By PAUL DOWNS
Monday, October 24, 9:36 a.m.: As I explained in my last post, I recently found myself with a surprising new problem: all the work we can handle. Because our backlog of orders is as high as I want it to be, I decided to take the opportunity to run an experiment: What would happen if I stopped running Google AdWords?

I have been spending $500 per day on sponsored search, and I believe the results have been well worth the money: $1.8 million in sales as of this morning. But I also believe this is a rare opportunity to see whether AdWords is doing the heavy lifting in our marketing or whether our search engine optimization efforts are yielding results as well.

In January, I started keeping track of the number of inquiries we get each day. The most we have received in a single day has been seven, which has happened three times. There have been 11 days when we received no inquiries. The daily average is 2.65. The weekly number has ranged from eight to 22, with an average of 13.5. So far this year, we have had a total of 569 inquiries.

My own prediction is that our number of inquiries will fall below average, and I would be surprised if it’s not a significant drop. If the number remains close to the average, it would imply that I could be spending a lot less on AdWords than I am now (here’s a previous post I wrote about my experiences with AdWords). I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard from so-called S.E.O. experts that there is no need to pay for traffic, that I could just run a good S.E.O. campaign and the inquiries would come for free. The experts imply that people tend to ignore the paid links at the top of the page, in favor of the free links further down. I am deeply, deeply skeptical about this. And that’s why I’m running the test, starting today.

2:41 p.m.: We get a call from a furniture dealer in Tampa who is looking for a table with a logo. He says he was told to call us by a client who went to Google to look for tables with logos. He couldn’t remember whether the client had searched this week or not. Out of curiosity, I checked the search string “logo conference table.” We are the fourth and fifth free listings. Nos. 1 and 2 are competitors, and the third is an irrelevant result. Score one for S.E.O.

5:30 p.m. No other calls today.

Total for Monday: one inquiry.

Tuesday, October 25, 8:45 a.m.: I find an e-mail from a potential client who submitted our Request For Info form through the Web site at 8:35 the previous evening. He’s looking for a 12-foot square conference table. I search Google for “square conference table” (using Safari) to see where we land, and our “square and u-shaped tables” page is the eighth free listing on the first page of results. I’m loving the preview feature that Google has added to its results pages — to the right of each result is a gray arrow. Roll your mouse over it, and you see the whole page that the link points to. It’s a fast way to see what you are getting into before you click a link.

My salesman, Don, follows up with the potential client by e-mail. It turns out it’s a monastery where the monks have taken a vow of silence; the client requests that we not communicate by phone. Also in my in box this morning is an e-mail from a guy who wants me to convert a walnut tree in his backyard into a dining set. This most likely came through our old Web site, which listed lots of dining furniture. I send him an e-mail with a link to a lumber dealer who can evaluate the condition of the tree for him and give him the news that it takes several years to process the lumber before anything can be made from it.

5:30: No more calls or e-mails, and it’s time to go home.

Total for Tuesday: two inquiries. Week to date: three.

Wednesday, October 26, 9:39 a.m.: Incoming phone call from a local seminary. (Hmmm. The second inquiry this week from a religious organization.) The seminary is looking for a U-shaped table. The caller says he searched Google and found our site. I tried a search for “u shaped conference table” (using Chrome) and found that we were the top free listing.

5:30: No other action. Calling it a day.

Total for Wednesday: one inquiry. Week to date: four.

Thursday, October 27, 3:56 p.m.: An e-mail arrives from a possible client. I call her and learn that she searched “conference tables,” which returned a bunch of cheap-looking stuff she didn’t like. Seeing the suggested search string listing at the bottom of the page, she clicked on “custom conference tables” and found us. We are the top free listing for that search. When I first designed the new site, I imagined that “custom conference tables” would be a very heavily searched phrase, but our search stats reveal that “boardroom tables” gets more than 100 times as much traffic. I have since added a landing page to the site that specifically shows boardroom tables. This shows up near the top of the second page of free results. We do extremely well with “custom boardroom tables” — it’s the first free result — but unfortunately it gets less than 1 percent of the traffic that “boardroom tables” gets.

Total for Thursday: one inquiry. Week to date: five.

For more information go here

Search for Business Licenses and Permits

Every business needs one or more federal, state or local licenses or permits to operate. Licenses can range from a basic operating license to very specific permits.

Regulations vary by industry, state and locality, so it's very important to understand the licensing rules where your business is located. Not complying with licensing and permitting regulations can lead to expensive fines and put your business at serious risk.

How to Get Licenses and Permits

SBA.gov's Business Licenses and Permits Search Tool allows you to get a listing of federal, state and local permits, licenses, and registrations you'll need to run a business.

In the search box below, type in the location of your business, and choose from a list of common small business types. Click "Search" and you'll get a results page showing federal, state and local licenses you'll need along with links to web pages, application forms and instructions. For local permits, links to local government websites and contact information are provided.

If your type of business is not listed, select "General Licensing" and follow the links to your state and local licensing agencies to find licensing requirements for your specific businesses.

For more information go to SBA

Developing a Marketing Plan

Marketing takes time, money, and lots of preparation. One of the best ways to prepare yourself is to develop a solid marketing plan. A strong marketing plan will ensure you’re not only sticking to your schedule, but that you’re spending your marketing funds wisely and appropriately.

What can a Marketing Plan do for Your Small Business?

A marketing plan includes everything from understanding your target market and your competitive position in that market, to how you intend to reach that market (your tactics) and differentiate yourself from your competition in order to make a sale.

Your small business marketing budget should be a component of your marketing plan. Essentially, it will outline the costs of how you are going to achieve your marketing goals within a certain timeframe.

If you don't have the funds to hire a marketing firm or even staff a position in-house, there are resources available to guide you through the process of writing a marketing plan and developing a market budget.

Bend Your Budget When Necessary and Keep an Eye on ROI

Once you have developed your marketing budget, it doesn’t mean that it’s set in stone. There may be times when you need to throw in another unplanned marketing tactic -- such as hosting an event or creating a newspaper ad -- to help you reach your market more effectively.

Ultimately, it’s more important to determine whether sticking to your budget is helping you achieve your marketing goals and bringing you a return on investment (ROI) than to adhere to a rigid and fixed budget.

That's why it's important to include a plan for measuring your spend. Consider what impact certain marketing activities have had on your revenues during a fixed period, such as a business quarter, compared to another time period when you focused your efforts on other tactics. Consider the tactics that worked as well as those that didn’t work. You don't have to cut the tactics that didn't work, but you should assess whether you need to give them more time to work or whether the funds are best redirected elsewhere.

Granted, some tactics are hard to measure -- such as the efficacy of print collateral (brochures, sales sheets, etc.), but you need to consider the impact of not having these branding staples in your market tool kit before you reign in your graphic design and print funds.

Marketing plans should be maintained on an annual basis, at a minimum. But if you launch a new product or service, take time to revisit your original plan or develop a separate campaign plan that you can add to your main plan as an addendum.

At the end of the day, the time spent developing your marketing plan, is time well spent because it defines how you connect with your customers. And that's an investment worth making.

Making Your Website Mobile Friendly

As more consumers use their smartphones and other mobile devices to search for places to eat and shop, small businesses without a mobile version of their website could be losing potential customers and revenue.

Just having a website isn’t enough, said Alex Kutsishin, chief executive of FiddleFly, which helps companies tweak their websites for the mobile Internet.  “Searching a website that’s not optimized for mobile is like having to stop and pull out cash in the E-ZPass line,” said Kutsishin. “It’s all about convenience right now.”

According to a mobile Internet report issued by Morgan Stanley, more users will connect to the Internet from mobile devices than desktop PCs within five years. As the popularity of mobile search continues to grow, Kutsishin predicts Internet search providers like Google (GOOG: 579.28, -12.40, -2.10%) and Yahoo (YHOO: 15.79, -0.12, -0.75%) will rank websites without a mobile site lower in search queries.  The search engines are going to “make sure they feed customers the most credible information on the most convenient platform, which is why being mobile is important,” says Kutsishin.

Because they are viewed on much smaller screens, mobile websites need to designed specifically for use with the “mobile thumb.”  That means people need to be able to reach any part of the mobile website with their thumb while holding the phone in one hand.

“A sign that it’s a good mobile site is if you don’t have to turn the phone sideways or zoom in,” said Kutsishin. He also advised the buttons on a mobile site be bigger, the fonts larger and zooming shouldn’t be necessary to click on a link or feature. The site also has to be quick to upload information, images and videos—users need to be able to find the most important information as fast as possible.

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If you need some help with your website we can help you.

Small Business Innovation Research Program

SBIR is a highly competitive program that encourages small business to explore their technological potential and provides the incentive to profit from its commercialization. By including qualified small businesses in the nation's R&D arena, high-tech innovation is stimulated and the United States gains entrepreneurial spirit as it meets its specific research and development needs.

Competitive Opportunity for Small Business:

SBIR targets the entrepreneurial sector because that is where most innovation and innovators thrive. However, the risk and expense of conducting serious R&D efforts are often beyond the means of many small businesses. By reserving a specific percentage of federal R&D funds for small business, SBIR protects the small business and enables it to compete on the same level as larger businesses. SBIR funds the critical startup and development stages and it encourages the commercialization of the technology, product, or service, which, in turn, stimulates the U.S. economy.

Since its enactment in 1982, as part of the Small Business Innovation Development Act, SBIR has helped thousands of small businesses to compete for federal research and development awards. Their contributions have enhanced the nation's defense, protected our environment, advanced health care, and improved our ability to manage information and manipulate data.

SBIR Qualifications:

Small businesses must meet certain eligibility criteria to participate in the SBIR program.

• American-owned and independently operated
• For-profit
• Principal researcher employed by business
• Company size limited to 500 employees

The SBIR System:

Each year, eleven federal departments and agencies are required by SBIR to reserve a portion of their R&D funds for award to small business.

• Department of Agriculture
• Department of Commerce
• Department of Defense
• Department of Education
• Department of Energy
• Department of Health and Human Services
• Department of Homeland Security
• Department of Transportation
• Environmental Protection Agency
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• National Science Foundation

These agencies designate R&D topics and accept proposals.

Three-Phase Program:

Following submission of proposals, agencies make SBIR awards based on small business qualification, degree of innovation, technical merit, and future market potential. Small businesses that receive awards then begin a three-phase program.

• Phase I is the startup phase. Awards of up to $100,000 for approximately 6 months support exploration of the technical merit or feasibility of an idea or technology.
• Phase II awards of up to $750,000, for as many as 2 years, expand Phase I results. During this time, the R&D work is performed and the developer evaluates commercialization potential. Only Phase I award winners are considered for Phase II.
• Phase III is the period during which Phase II innovation moves from the laboratory into the marketplace. No SBIR funds support this phase. The small business must find funding in the private sector or other non-SBIR federal agency funding.

SBA Role:

The US Small Business Administration plays an important role as the coordinating agency for the SBIR program. It directs the 11 agencies' implementation of SBIR, reviews their progress, and reports annually to Congress on its operation. SBA is also the information link to SBIR. SBA collects solicitation information from all participating agencies and publishes it quarterly in a Pre-Solicitation Announcement (PSA). The PSA is a single source for the topics and anticipated release and closing dates for each agency's solicitations.

For more information go to www.sba.gov

Untapped Potential for Expanding Women's
Entrepreneurship Holds Promise to Grow the U.S. Economy

Jobs and economic escalation will follow as more women break through
"glass walls" to start high-growth ventures

Women who are capable of starting growth companies that serve global markets may be the nation's secret weapon for achieving sustained economic growth.

Research shows that startup companies -- particularly high-growth startups -- are the most fruitful source of new U.S. jobs and offer the economy's best hope for recovery. However, despite the fact that about 46 percent of the workforce and more than 50 percent of college students are female, and that women have risen to top positions in corporate and university hierarchies, they represent only about 35 percent of startup business owners. Their firms also tend to experience less growth and prosperity than do firms started by men.

"Overcoming the Gender Gap: Women Entrepreneurs as Economic Drivers," a new paper released today from the Kauffman Foundation, explores the reasons behind lower business startup rates among women and proposes actions that would help to realize the promise of female entrepreneurs in escalating the economy.

Read more and view the infographic

Developing a Marketing Plan

Marketing takes time, money, and lots of preparation. One of the best ways to prepare yourself is to develop a solid marketing plan. A strong marketing plan will ensure you’re not only sticking to your schedule, but that you’re spending your marketing funds wisely and appropriately.

What can a Marketing Plan do for Your Small Business?

A marketing plan includes everything from understanding your target market and your competitive position in that market, to how you intend to reach that market (your tactics) and differentiate yourself from your competition in order to make a sale.

Your small business marketing budget should be a component of your marketing plan. Essentially, it will outline the costs of how you are going to achieve your marketing goals within a certain timeframe.

If you don't have the funds to hire a marketing firm or even staff a position in-house, there are resources available to guide you through the process of writing a marketing plan and developing a market budget.

Bend Your Budget When Necessary and Keep an Eye on ROI

Once you have developed your marketing budget, it doesn’t mean that it’s set in stone. There may be times when you need to throw in another unplanned marketing tactic -- such as hosting an event or creating a newspaper ad -- to help you reach your market more effectively.

Ultimately, it’s more important to determine whether sticking to your budget is helping you achieve your marketing goals and bringing you a return on investment (ROI) than to adhere to a rigid and fixed budget.

That's why it's important to include a plan for measuring your spend. Consider what impact certain marketing activities have had on your revenues during a fixed period, such as a business quarter, compared to another time period when you focused your efforts on other tactics. Consider the tactics that worked as well as those that didn’t work. You don't have to cut the tactics that didn't work, but you should assess whether you need to give them more time to work or whether the funds are best redirected elsewhere.

Granted, some tactics are hard to measure -- such as the efficacy of print collateral (brochures, sales sheets, etc.), but you need to consider the impact of not having these branding staples in your market tool kit before you reign in your graphic design and print funds.

Marketing plans should be maintained on an annual basis, at a minimum. But if you launch a new product or service, take time to revisit your original plan or develop a separate campaign plan that you can add to your main plan as an addendum.

At the end of the day, the time spent developing your marketing plan, is time well spent because it defines how you connect with your customers. And that's an investment worth making.

For more information go to www.sba.org