It’s already 2nd quarter.
How did your company perform in the 1st quarter (January, February, March)?
Are you holding yourself accountable to your goals for 2022?
This is an online event for local business owners. It is time to reimagine the possibilities within your company.
Business Owner Testimonials:
“Love these meetings”
“Always help me refocus”
“A great wealth of information”
Below are sound bites from 3 of the presenters during this online event.
BANKING TIPS
Presented By: Lawrence Barnes
File taxes each year
- Small businesses showing a profit improves chances of securing funding
Don’t be afraid to be a personal guarantor
- Have your personal credit established
- Utilize a business credit card, this accelerates the growth showing for your business
- Pay off old debt, this increases income to debt ratio
- Banks dive into personal credit history as well as the performance of a business when determining loan approval
- Most loans require a personal credit score between 680 & 690
Keep an efficient and organized paper trail
- An accountant charges for reconciliation if you don’t have a paper trail
Operate your business like it’s a multi-million dollar enterprise
- Position your business as a thriving company
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Cash App vs Business Account
Many businesses are using cash app
Cash App/Venmo Pros:
Convenient
Cheap
Fast
Cash App/Venmo Cons:
Lacks a paper trail
High risk of fraud
Limited recourse for fraud
Accountants won't base tax returns on Cash App/Venmo because they don't where the money is coming from
Opening A Business Account:
Pros:
File Taxes
Keep adequate records
Move money while mitigating risk (Ex: setup accelerated ACH); this is treasury management
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Steps For Opening a Business Bank Account:
Register Your Entity (Ex:
Sunbiz.org)
Apply for EIN (IRS.gov); Free of charge
2 forms of identification
Visit trusted small business banker
INSURANCE TIPS
Presented By: Renee Scott
Don’t forget the need for commercial insurance to protect your company
General Liability
Professional Liability
Both protect you in the event of a lawsuit (yes, even if you are a service professional - ex: consultant or life coach)
MARKETING TIPS
Presented By: Roslyn Rice
Time to revise that marketing plan.
Roslyn provided 6 high level ideas on reimagining a marketing strategy.
1. COMPANY STRATEGIC INITIATIVES
- Understand the stage of your business (ex: ideation, startup, or established)
- Review the strategic objectives of the company
**A marketing plan must support the company pillars.
2. CUSTOMER ANALYSIS
Understand who you are selling to?
What problem are you solving in the marketplace?
Consumers buy solutions to their problems.
Review the demographics (ex: income, race, age, gender, etc.) of consumers shopping your products or services.
Also review the psychographics (ex: hobbies, political beliefs, values, goals, pains, etc.)
A well implemented plan can guide and influence shoppers along their purchasing journey.
3. COMPETITION
- How is the competition solving problems for their consumers?
- How are they positioning their brand (ex: value pricing, product expert or customer service excellence)?
- What is their pricing model?
4. STRATEGY
- Steps 1 -3 will help business owners start to discover how the company should approach the market.
- Build clarity around the unique product solution needed in the marketplace.
Once you’ve redefined that unique value proposition, network.
Build S.M.A.R.T. goals to increase awareness, engagement or video views.
Strong & specific marketing goals aid in increasing leads, reach and drives traffic to your website.
**Every marketing activity won’t produce an ROI but it will provide a foundation to accelerate growth.
5. BUDGET
Revise for the upcoming quarter budget with the investment you will make to market & promote your brand.
Business owners have limited resources and need to find ways to stretch marketing dollars.
Review historical data.
- What are the high volume revenue producing months?
- What products or services performed well?
- How many existing clients?
- How many new clients?
Answering these type of questions helps you align your budget with your priorities and target markets.
6. CHANNEL
- Determine where you will publish content (ex: website, press kits, social/print media, radio, paid ads, etc.)
- In every social media post do not forget the Call To Action.
- What do you want the prospective customer to do - Ex: Share, Tag, Donate, Call Now, Shop Now Or visit your website
Provide an action for your customer to take.
You can view the full REIMAGINE on DPI’s YouTube channel available
HERE.
In our next blog, we will provide Part 2 from our REIMAGINE 2022 online webinar.