Congratulations! You’ve made it all the way to step 30 of 30 Steps to Build a Better Business.  The last thing that you need to do at the end of any action you’ve taken to improve your business, is to plan what you’re going to do next. Maybe you’ve gotten the basics in order and you’re ready to move on to bigger and better improvement projects. Or  perhaps you need to monitor the changes you’ve put in place for a while and tweak them until they’re just...

Advertising and marketing are the most common methods for getting your business noticed by the public. But they require your own effort and money, and the person receiving them is aware that you are the one telling them how great your business is. In this step to Building a Better Business, we’ll briefly discuss some proven methods for getting an unbiased third party to help you increase the general public’s awareness of your business. While marketing and advertising is effective, your...

Today’s step to Building a Better Business is a lesson straight from the 90’s comedy-movie classic, Boomerang. Take a look at the good advice John Witherspoon has to offer Eddie Murphy in this scene from the flick:   Coordinating is the key to more than impressing others with your, um… fashion sense, it’s also the secret to creating a solid, professional look for your company’s marketing materials. Take some time to review the marketing materials you currently have...

I’m not a big proponent of incurring a lot of debt to fund or build your business. But even if you’re a small business owner that is completely committed to bootstrap-financing your venture, there will come a time when you’ll need more cash than you currently have to continue growing your business, or you won’t want to tie up all of your cash in the business. At times like that, you’ll need ready access to business credit. One of the very first tasks you accomplished...

Whenever I got out of town on a long trip, and especially if I’m going out of the country, I make sure  that before I leave, I’ve given some vital information to people I can depend on in case of any emergency. As a small business owner, you should have a similar contingency plan in place for your business. Should you ever become incapacitated, stranded on a desert island, or hung up in an airport on the other side of the country in a snowstorm, you’ll definitely appreciate...

Birds of a feather, flock together. And when they do, they tend to share all sorts of resources and information with each other that make them better prepared than birds that are flying solo. In this step to Building a Better Business, your goal is to find a flock, or an association, to join and join it. Almost every industry, profession, or trade that exists has a related association. To find an association that is relevant for your business, perform an Internet search on the term that best describes...