Business Tips

The goal of every business is to maximize profit and there are some critical things I think Caribbean business owner/entrepreneurs and anyone considering a business should know:

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1. Know what separates your product/service from the competition and own it!

If you don’t know this, then you are not yet ready for business, especially in the Caribbean. Do you even know who your competition is? Hmmm, food for thought. Many people start businesses just expecting it to work itself out. Sometimes it does, but in most cases it does not. Just think about it. Are you really willing to take a chance on a failed investment?

Another great question to ask, even before going forward; is there a need for my product? If there is no need for the offer, it would be difficult to find someone who would pay for it. Your business should fulfill a need, something that is missing, something you are aware of that people want. Do not be afraid to do some research. This could be the missing piece to your success.

Product quality, key features, the benefits of your product and exceptional customer service. These are some of the things, you can consider when thinking of what separates your product from others that exist. As time goes on, keep building on the quality of your product, to make it the best in the market. Then, brag about it. Which takes me to the next point.

2. Brag about your product.

Market like you’re crazy!  Talk about it!  Write about it!  Share the best parts of your product; the parts that gives it the edge.  That thing that only YOUR BUSINESS can do for your customers.  Marketing helps you to keep your current customers and gain new ones. Social Media Marketing is for the most part FREE.  Do take advantage of this.  There may be a thing or two to learn but hey, there are lots of free courses available online.  If you do have the means to spend some money on some traditional forms of marketing, such as radio or television, by all means, Go ahead!! Marketing is an important part of business and many of our local businesses do not understand its importance. Don’t get caught up in that tide. The more people that are aware that your business exists, the more potential customers you will have, so go for it!

3. You do not know everything. Always be willing and open to learning.

You may be an expert in your field, but the world is ever changing.  There will be something that you do not know.  It is easy to become stubborn and refuse to hear from others, but this just may be to the demise of your business. A good place to start is with your customers.  Listen intently to what they are saying and put things in place to address important issues.

Related: 7 Ways to Improve Your Customer Service.

These last two points will go a bit more in depth and perhaps a new process you to be applied to your own business.

4. Know how to manage processes that are important to your business.

Now, every business is different which means that their processes will vary. I recently read an article on IGrafix.com which I thought was so interesting and worth sharing. They describe Business Process Management as 10Ws: What, Why, Where, When, Who, Way, With, Watch, Worry and Wealth. The article reads;

By understanding WHAT is done, WHY, WHERE and WHEN it is done, WHO does it, the WAY it is done, and WITH what resources, all while keeping a WATCH on performance, identifying what to WORRY about and how to mitigate those worries, a range of methods and tools can be applied to achieve the best results with the least cost and achieving the most WEALTH. – IGrafx.com

Optimizing all processes used by your business can determine whether your business just survives or thrives. Some processes to be considered are; creation of product/service, payment and delivery of product/service. It will be useful to also consider the tools and applications that can be used to achieve the best results.

5. Cash Flow Management. This is critical!

Cash Flow refers to the total amount of cash equivalents or real cash that moves in and out of the business. Your cash flow can be either positive or negative. Positive cash flow refers to increase in the liquid assets of a company, which will make it easy for the company to take care of its financial obligations, like saving for the future, paying its bills, or even reinvesting in the business, settling debts and so on.

When considering a business, ensure to project and plan your cash flow. Know the difference between your cash flow and budget. When planning your cash flow, it is important to understand what type of income will come into the business and when income will come in as well as when expenses are due to be paid and as much as possible, have realistic assumptions in hand. Many new businesses fail because they run out of money within the first 12 months. Plan ahead so this won’t happen to your business. Know what your next steps are. Try your best to reduce on expenses as much as possible, without compromising the quality of your product.

Remember: Don’t Quit!! You may not get it right the first time, but many successful Caribbean business owners and entrepreneurs had to try a few times before they got it right and still working on perfecting the right. Prepare yourself as much as you can to stay ahead of the game.

This post is sponsored by Corporate Solutions.

Business cards are a great way to advertise your business and an easy way to swap contact details, especially with potential customers. Although social media now allows us to find almost every business online, business cards are still an effective, on the spot marketing tool and if done well, can give a lasting first impression of your business.

Almost every time I pull out my business cards, I get asked “Who did your cards?” or “How can I get mine done?” and I am always so happy to share that they were done by two good friends of mine. The logo was designed by Kevin Parke and the cards were printed by Mark Forrester.

If you were following Islepreneur from the get go, you will know that I switched logos recently. The first one was designed by me, but I outgrew it and needed something a bit more modern and attractive with more colour, but not overdone.

I contacted Kevin Parke, creative genius and independent graphic designer, explained what I wanted and he went to work. He did a fantastic job with my new logo and I totally loved it! Parting from my old logo was tough, but I was able to let go. Eventually. It was part of the first phase of Islepreneur, so there was some emotional connections.

My cards were printed by Mark Forrester, owner and CEO of Corporate Solutions – Print • Graphics • Web. Corporate Solutions – Print • Graphics • Web, as the name suggests, provides branding material and packages for businesses. Printed material includes calendars, flyers, brochures, postcards and pens. They also provide high quality graphics and web designs to reflect your brand message. Believe me, you will not be disappointed.

I was very impressed with Corporate Solutions. Mark is very professional and listens well and can certainly sort you out even if you’re not sure about what you’re looking for. I did have a design for my cards, but due to some issues I was having, we could not access it, so he gave me some options. I settled on a double-sided print card on matte stock.

The cards took just about two weeks before I received them and did I tell you how much I was impressed with the quality? I was very happy with the finish. The cards are clean, smooth and the print is crisp. The colours are sharp and match the design.

I also love that the logo, my name and icons are lifted and glossy on one side which added some character and class to the card.

I highly recommend Corporate Solutions – Print • Graphics • Web for your branding needs.

Contact them via their Facebook page , email info@corporategrenada.com or call 417-7360 to get price listing and to possibly set up a meeting to discuss what you will like to get done.

Have you been in this situation?:

You step into a business place (store, financial institution, post office, etc.), excited to get that product you’ve been looking/waiting for. On entering the door, you  greet the first employee you see (looking all sharp and well put together in their uniform) and though they responded to you, their response and lack of enthusiasm to assist you at that moment and for the duration of your time at the business place leaves you saying to yourself: “Next time, I’m going somewhere else.”

Joseph Jaffe, Founder at Evol8tion, sums up customer service in these few statements:

Customer Service is everything and anything that touches a customer – directly or indirectly. Customer service means servicing customers and it’s so much more than just solving problems or addressing complaints. Customer service is part of a holistic customer experience that is capable of providing a critical competitive advantage in today’s increasingly cluttered and commoditized marketplace.

I have found that as business owners and employees, there are times that we really want to make a sale or get the job done and don’t consider how important it is to connect with our customers to make them feel welcomed and appreciated.

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I have had that experience more than a few times during the last few weeks and thought that I should share this post on a few ways in which business owners can improve their customer service:

1.Customer service starts from within.

In order to provide excellent customer service, it must start from within. You have to decide that you are ready to serve, to listen and exercise patience with the people you will be in contact with through your business.

2. Develop a model and implement it.

It does not matter the size of your business or your staff, it is important to formulate a strategy to best communicate with your customers. For example, you may have a greeting line followed by your name and then another line to start conversation with your customer. You may also need a strategy for dealing with issues with customers.

3. Be patient.

Customers can be difficult. We (yes we), at times, don’t know what we want and can take a while to make a decision. After we have finally figured out what we thought we wanted, we then have a change of thought and preference. Sounds familiar?

4. Meet your customers’ needs.

Be attentive. Listen intently. Read comments and queries carefully and try your utmost best to solve problems and/or come up with other alternatives.

Customers are happy when they get attended to, but they are most happy when business owners and employees take the time to listen and respond to their concerns with answers.

5. Mimic customer’s enthusiasm.

Customers who usually show lots of enthusiasm most times look for the same or a close enough response. It is sometimes a deterrent to that customer when they interact with people who do not show the same enthusiasm or even a smile.

6. Develop a customer service strategy for social media/online customer interactions.

Implement a strategy for social media interactions. Use auto-responses when there is no one to monitor your pages so that customers don’t feel like they are ignored. Let the customer know that you will be with them in a few hours or a day later.

7. ALWAYS SAY THANK YOU!

Never take it for granted that your customer will come back. Be grateful for each time a customer purchases from you or utilizes your services. Besides, they are the ones who’ve been keeping you in business..it’s only prudent to say thank you.

Get closer than ever to your customers. So close that you tell them what they need well before they realize it themselves.  ~ Steve Jobs

My reflection on 2016 continues.

In addition to the 10 things I learned in 2016, there was one more important thing I observed and wanted to share, but my previous post would have been too lengthy.  Read more…