Small Business Marketing - Specialize or Generalize?

There have been many great points raised on both sides of this discussion. In order to make a final decision, we must look at how the business world is moving and at the purchasing patterns of the consumers who will be utilizing your services.

The Internet has changed the way people look for services (personal and professional). For example:
· If you do a search in Yahoo for a Personal Coach you will get 1.4 million matches.
· If you refine your search to Personal Life Coach you will get 760,000 matches.
· If you refine your search to Personal Career Coach you will get below matches.
· If you refine your search to Weight Loss Coach you will get 80,000 matches.
(search result numbers are subject to change)

Once you have selected the area of specialization you are interested in, you can then drill down into the results by location or other qualifying factors. As we are spending more and more time online, our patterns are shifting and adapting to more effectively navigate the over-abundance of information available. Web users know that in order to avoid a list of millions of possible matches, they must be more specific in their requests.

Generalizing - The Benefits:
As a generalist you aren't limited in the type of clients that you can work with. Everyone is pressed for time; having one coach who can handle all aspects of your goals (personally and professionally) as opposed to multiple resources each with a unique area of focus would be of certain benefit.

Generalizing - The Challenge:
The trade off is assumed to be that if you are a generalist in all things you are not an expert in any of them or at least in most of them. To state that one individual can work on any aspect of any business and/or in any area of a person's life and still achieve success is unlikely and may be interpreted as unrealistic or exaggerated on the part of your potential clients.

Specializing - The Benefits:
As a specialist you can attract a client based on his unique needs then share the wide range of additional areas you can bring benefit too. Each person wants the best for themselves and they perceive their situation to be completely unique. Specializing places you in front of the right client at the right time.

Specializing - The Challenge:
Initial pool from which you can draw clients is potentially smaller (but more refined), your copy must be more targeted, and you may be vulnerable to economic swings in specific market segments.

The concept of moving towards a more specific or niche approach to positioning and promoting your practice is becoming the standard in business. Building an environment that allows you receive the benefits of being positioned under Specialist and Generalist is one of the foundations of www.ldurandconsulting.com

Top Small Business Ideas - 3 Ideas to Start Your Own Business

There are tons of ideas out there to start your own business. But what are the top small business ideas that will keep the money flowing for years to come? Following are 3 ideas that have brought people great success.

1) Become a consultant. This is a great business to start because it requires no upfront capital. All you have to do is have knowledge in something. No matter what your background, I'm sure you have knowledge so useful that others would be willing to pay for it.

2) Open a store. These days you no longer have to start with a huge investment to open your own store. You can easily start an online business that will let you sell items from the comfort of your own home, in your favorite pajamas. All you need is a small inventory to begin with and before you know it you can be making money hand over fist.

3) Take advantage of the pet boom. People are spending more money on their pets than ever before. Getting involved in this boom is a great way to start a lucrative business. From pet sitting, to designing custom products for pets, there is no end to the amount of money you can make by focusing on pets.

Any of these top small business ideas are great and can help you be well on your way to making more money than you thought was possible. You can be your own boss, set your own hours and finally live the life you've imagined.

10 Steps to Starting a Small Business

Perhaps you're tired of the 9 to 5 grind or you're just looking for a change in you life, starting your own small business can be rewarding and profitable. But, there is some planning to do and some questions to asked before you start.

The following 10 steps to starting a small business have been compiled based on my experience after having started 3 successful businesses that are currently doing very well.

1. Make sure you do something you love. Starting a business for the sole purpose of making money or avoiding the work force is a bad plan. Unless you're truly in love with the products or services you are creating you will fail. Few people know this. Think of it this way; if obstacles get in your way, which they always do, only your passion, purpose and love of what you do will overcome any and all obstacles.

2. Don't quit your job just yet. Most small business owners make the mistake of quitting their jobs before the money starts to roll and that's why 85% of small businesses fail in their first year of business - because they run out of money. Most small businesses can be started in your spare time then, when the money starts to come, you can quit your job - not before.

3. Plan the work and work the plan. Sounds simple and familiar yet a well formulated plan with a clear outcome are the keys to success. Most people start a business without first putting to paper a clear plan of execution. Download a business plan template from the internet and study it. Then when you're ready with a general plan, complete the full business plan.

4. Trial and error may be popular but it's a waste of time. Sure mistakes are great because you learn what not to do. But, what if you could learn from the mistakes of others before making them yourself? Wouldn't that make more sense? The quickest way to get where you're going is to going to someone who's already got what you want and ask them exactly how they got it. If they want to charge you for the information - pay it!

5. Marketing is everything. Based on my experience please don't spend a lot of time formulating your product or service. Spend most of your time selling it first, then once you've sold it, you will have more resources to develop your product. Give the customer what they want, not what you think they want.

6. Hi-energy is the key. Have you ever heard the expression, "how you do anything is how you do everything?" If you have a poor level of energy for most things that you do then your business will fail. You must raise your energy level to 100% and do things with all the positive energy you can muster.

7. Focus on what's going right - not on what needs fixing. If you focus on fixing problems you'll get more problems. If you focus on the things that are working you'll get more of the same. The law of attraction is an irrefutable law of the universe; use it to your advantage.

8. Help other get what they want first. If you are in business for personal gain only you will fail quickly. If, on the other hand, your business helps a great many people get what they want then you will succeed a hundred times more than they will.

9. Pay yourself first. You must always pay yourself first before anything else. Set aside money for you first and you will quickly realize that money will always be there. If you forget to do so or wait 'till there's money, there will never be any money.

10. Dream big. Nothing big ever got created with a small idea. Have a clear picture in your head of the outcome you want to produce and you will get there. Detach from what you belief are the failures and you will get there even faster.

I hope you've enjoyed these 10 steps to starting a small business. Naturally there are many others but these are in my opinion the most important and should be carefully considered before you start anything.

Small Business Start-Ups

This one entails a well planned way in order to succeed. Well laid plans for the business before it kicks on the ground is quite essential and a most definite to set up a strong foundation of the business.First one has to plan on the type of business to start up. Various points should be put into account when coming up with the business ideas.

Then a suitable name for the business should also be put in place and should match the type of business notion and the services and products to be given. Then the other big step is setting up a budget of the business. This one will require thorough market research and survey to come up with the right figures. Budgeting will incorporate all the business entities from the premises on which to operate and also from the products targeted in the business plan.

This will be followed by a genuine way to finance the business, take a step to register your business and put it in a formal legal structure in order to operate smoothly and within the law, in this you will acquire business licenses and permits. If necessary a new business may require selling itself, this is to be done through advertising the business products and services rendered to make it known.

With all these in place, you may seek advice from experts and also business consultants. Business magazines also will equip you will important details, all this wrapped together will give one enough courage to start-up a small business having a strong belief the foundation set is also strong enough and the business can kick off.

Free Small Business Manufacturing Ideas - 3 Keys to Success

There are many free small business manufacturing ideas out there that can lead to big returns. No matter what you're interested in manufacturing, there are several things to consider before getting started. Following are 3 keys to success.

1) Make a plan. Before starting any business venture, it's important to make a business plan. Start by outlining your big goals. Then break down each one into manageable steps and create a time line. Make it reasonable and achievable. This plan will be your gospel as you're starting your business so take it seriously.

2) Have reasonable expectations. A common pitfall when starting a small manufacturing business is having such high expectations that they can't be met. Of course you want to challenge yourself but if you make your goals too lofty, you'll be unable to reach them and will find yourself unmotivated and frustrated.

3) Get creative. You're starting this business up for free, so you won't have capital to invest in things like advertising and promotional materials. You'll have to really put on your thinking cap and think of ways to market your products that will be both effective and free. There are many options out there, the best one for you will depend on your business plan and product.

When you're looking into free small business manufacturing ideas, focus on making products that you'll be able to easily market and will provide a quick turn around. Take advantage of these 3 keys to success and before you know it, you'll be raking in the dough.

Best Ways to Invest $20,000 in a Small Business - Starting a Pet Taxi Business

One of the best ways to invest $20,000 is to start your own business. There are many other options for investing, but starting your own business provides an opportunity to begin a life long business that will support you and your family for years to come. One of the newest ideas for a small business is starting a pet taxi business.

It's a very easy business to run. There are many people who live in heavily populated areas who don't have cars but do have pets. When their pets become ill, need grooming or a simple vet visit, they can have a difficult time transporting their pet from their home to their destination and back. Buses often won't allow pets on them and regular taxis often frown on them - especially if the pet owner has a large pet.

All you do is provide a simple ride to and from their destination. You'll be able to charge much more than a typical taxi for your services, as you'll likely have crates and specialized dog seat belts for your vehicle. You also won't have to drive up and down the street praying for someone to need a ride. Your clients will call you when they need your services and you'll be on your way.

If you're looking for the best ways to invest $20,000, there really aren't many options as good as starting your own business. And if you love pets and have people skills, why not get in on the newest vein of the pet care industry - pet taxi services?

Free Small Business Manufacturing Ideas - Begin in the Basement and Expand


Human beings are the most creative creatures on the planet, and when you start to look for a product to manufacture for a small business, you will realize just how creative we are. There are lots of ideas, look around at some of the items that are on the sales market today. Did you know that there is a remote controlled toilet seat? And check out some of the items that are sold at tourist sites, such as pioneer matches, which contain a stick and a piece of flint. These items are raking in the bucks for the person who is providing them!

So, what ideas do you have? Naturally, they do not have to be quite as creative as those two, but you will need to choose something that people will buy. You could choose ideas in woodcrafts, like breadboxes, magazine holders, and different types of signage that people use to decorate their homes. You could choose candle making, there is always a market for a clean burning, wonderful smelling candle; and it does not seem to matter how many different companies are out there, people will always try a candle with a new look, even if it is just a different shaped jar. Choose to put together a community cookbook; the market is always open to them.

When you offer real recipes from real people or any crafts that are old fashioned such as embroidered scarves, crochet doilies, or quilts, people love and appreciate well-made items. Any of these free small business manufacturing ideas can quickly become large businesses with good marketing both local and online, make your customers aware, and your products will almost sell themselves. These are all great products that you can enjoy making.