“If you use Emotion and Love to drive your sales and your business, you will create Loyalty Beyond Reason. And I promise you, you will build relationships and enjoy a business that exceeds beyond your wildest expectations”

First of all, before you decide to start your cleaning business, make sure this kind of work is right for you. You will need to be in good physical condition. Cleaning is very hard strenuous work. You will need to have good customer relation skills. You will need to have basic office skills and some accounting skills.

If you are planning on leaving your full time position to start a cleaning business, make sure you have at least six months of savings. Or keep your full time job and start out part time.

Research all the aspects of the cleaning service business. From customer service to advertising, taxes, employees, insurance and bonding, what to charge and how to clean a home professionally. Cleaning your own home and cleaning professionally is totally different. Learning how to clean professionally takes a lot of time. When a client pays for your services they expect to come home and find their home spotless.

Getting those first clients takes time, persistence and patience. You will not get a hundred clients overnight.

Obtaining Those First Clients The hardest part of starting your own cleaning service is obtaining those first clients. Most clients want to know how long you have been in business and want references. The best thing to do is let clients know that, yes, you are new to the business but that you have thoroughly researched all aspects of the cleaning business and assure them that you know what you are doing and that you are quit capable of cleaning their home to their specifications. Be confident. I can’t stress this enough. Clients love to see confidence. It relieves their worries and lets them know that their home is in good hands.

References: To get a few good references when starting out, ask some friends or family members if you can clean their home for free or at a discounted rate. The sound of working for free may not be appealing but it will be worth it to get some good testimonials.

When cleaning those first homes, go for quality, not how fast you can clean the home. Cleaning efficiently takes a long time, but you will get to the point where you can do a thorough cleaning in a short time. After cleaning make sure you go back and double check all rooms to make sure you didn’t miss anything. Impress those first clients and word of mouth will spread soon.

Advertising Your company image is everything. Before you start advertising, decide what image you want to portray on your advertising material. Your image is very important. Be consistent with all your advertising. If you have a logo be sure to use it on all your advertising materials. I think it is best to have a website developed before you start advertising. When advertising, stick with the same logo and colors.

Advertise in Local Paper: Start by running a text ad in your local newspaper. Try to come up with an eye catching ad. Do not sell your services on low rates, sell your services on your quality of work and what you can do for the client that other companies don’t. There is a lot of competition in the cleaning service. You have to stand out from the rest.

Magnetic Signs or Lettering for your Vehicle: Having your business name and contact information on your vehicle is a great way to advertise. We use the vinyl lettering. The lettering looks much more professional than the magnetic signs.

Flyers: You can print nice flyers on your home computer, but I would suggest investing in some professional flyers. Hang flyers at Hair Dressers, Laundromats, Restaurants, Bakeries, Grocery Stores, etc. Put flyers on car windows at local groceries stores and businesses. You can even go door to door in neighborhoods you would like to work in. You cannot put them in mailboxes. but you can put them in the front door.

Door Hangers: Door hangers are a great way to get new clients. Pick the neighborhood you would like to work in and hang the door hangers on the doors. When people get flyers or ads in their mailbox they usually throw them away with the junk mail. But if there is a door hanger on the door they will take the time to look at it.

Business Cards: Start passing out your business cards to friends and family members. You can also ask your local businesses if you can leave some cards on their counters.

Referral Program: A great way to obtain new clients is through a referral program. Offer existing clients a discount when they refer a friend. You can give your existing clients a discount when the friend uses your services three times.

Website: These days people live very busy lives so they use the convenience of the internet to shop for the services they need. A lot of working women will shop for services while at work. Everyone that has a business should have a website. It shows clients that you are serious about your business and allows them research your business in their own time.

Cleaning Products: By using all natrual products, you can offer your clients a healthy cleaning experience and protect ourselves against harsh chemicals. Clients love the natural cleaning products with essential oils. They come home to a healthy clean home filled with the wonderful scents of aromatherapy essential oils.

Tip: Always carry hand sanitizer and wash your hands often while cleaning homes. Wear gloves when cleaning bathrooms. You will be exposed to a lot of different germs in clients homes.

Remember most customers prefer that you bring your own cleaning supplies. That way they do not have to worry about going to the store for cleaning supplies before you clean. Some customers have special cleaners for certain appliances or floors in their houses. These customers usually will have these cleaners on hand for you to use. We almost always use the customers vacuum cleaner. That way you do not have to carry a heavy vacuum from house to house.

What to Charge I mentioned earlier that you should sell your services on your quality of work and not your low rates. If your rates are too low, clients will think that your work is sub-standard and that you are not experienced. Also you want to attract the clients that can afford your services. I made the mistake of pricing my work too low when I first started out. Cleaning is hard work, charge what you are worth. As the old saying goes “You get what you pay for.”

Some companies charge by the hour, some charge by the room, some charge a flat rate per home and some charge by the square foot. I think it is better to charge by the home, not by the hour. If a client knows they have to pay one set fee, they don’t care if you take 2 hours or 5 hours. Also your clients will know what they are paying up front and won’t have to worry about added expenses.

No two houses are the same. And there is no set charge for all homes. You have to clean for awhile yourself to get some experience and to work out a system to clean efficiently. Only you know what you want and need to make. Decide what you need to make hourly to cover all expenses and still make a good profit.

A word of advise: Make sure when you start your company that you charge what you would charge if you had employees. Some people make the mistake of under charging when they start out just to get customers and then later on when they grow and need to hire help they aren’t making enough money on their houses to pay help. Don’t under price your work. Cleaning homes is very hard physical work and you didn’t get into this business to work for nothing.

New Construction Cleaning If you decide to do this type of work you will need more equipment. You will need ladders, window cleaning kits with long extensions, a shop vac, etc. These types of jobs are usually 2 to 3 person jobs. New construction cleaning requires a lot more cleaning. You may have to remove stickers and labels from windows and bathroom showers, sinks and toilets. Some require that you clean the vents to remove dust from construction work. There will be ceiling fans to clean, scrubbing floors, and cleaning woodwork to remove dust. New construction cleaning rates depend on the area you live in.

Insurance and Bonding. You need to be an honest person and somewhat personable. People will need to trust you to be in their homes. Most clients are concerned about having someone new in their house, with good reason. You should be bonded and fully insured. Liability insurance rates depend on your insurance carrier and where you are located. Each person you hire will increase your liability insurance. It’s well worth the cost. You can pay quarterly or yearly. You can purchase your bond through your local insurance company. You will need to renew the bond every year. *Note: if you hire employees and cover them under your insurance, they must be an employee on payroll and not a sub-contractor. If you employ them as a sub-contractor your insurance will not cover them. If they are a sub-contractor they are required to carry their own insurance. You

Hiring Help If you start out cleaning the homes by yourself, you will eventually get to the point where you need to expand your business. Start out with one part time employee. Train her and let her take your place one day a week. Then have her take your place 2 days a week and so on. This will give you the free time that you need to market your business and obtain more clients. After you get more clients you will be able to hire more part time help. Eventually you will be able to stop doing the cleaning yourself and just run the business end, which is the only way you will be able to grow your business. When training new employees, always, either train them yourself or have a lead person train them. Make sure there is a lead person on each and every cleaning job. Employees have a tendency to slack off when they are on their own.

Growing Your Business You will eventually get to the point where you have enough employees and lead people and you will be able to stop working in your business and start running your business. You will find that after awhile it will get to be too much trying to clean everyday and at the same time giving estimates, answering calls, scheduling, doing book work, obtaining new clients, etc.

Remember one of the most important qualifications for a cleaning service is TRUST. A client has to know they can trust you alone in their home. After you acquire a few cleaning positions ask the clients if you can use them for a reference. Most of the time they are more than willing to let you use them for a reference. This is how you build your business and acquire new clients is through referrals. Be dependable. Most clients will want to be set up on an every week or every other week schedule on the same day of the week. Try to always keep this same schedule unless the client asks you to switch to another day. If you have to cancel a cleaning date, make sure you try to reschedule at the earliest possible date to make up the cleaning.

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If you’re reading this article, you’re most likely already thinking about business ideas for 2011. Most of the articles you’ll see on the Internet about this subject will talk about trends in the business world, what consumers want and what’s happening with the economy. All of that is important, but you might want to consider two other things too. Together they make up something we call the e-center.

But, first a little history on how the whole concept of the e-center came about.

We asked our most highly successful clients what made their first business a success. They identified these seven traits:

Passion
Hard work
Perseverance
Persistence
Not accepting, “I can’t”
Listening to your customers
Connecting with others

First on the list was passion, but that’s not enough by itself to be successful. There are plenty of people wandering the streets who are passionate about something, yet no one is giving them any money for that passion.

There are actually three key ingredients to finding that sweet spot in the market where making money becomes effortless: Your Entrepreneurial Abilities, Your Emotional Charge, and the Economics of Your Marketplace. We touched on that in the last chapter.

When you find that sweet spot where all three intersect, you can focus on that spot as the core competency of your business. There, you’ll be able to find that your work days feel like play while the money rolls in. It’s only when you forget one of those three key ingredients that your business will feel like drudgery or that you are always struggling for money.

Finding Your e-Center

Your Entrepreneurial Abilities: What can you do best in the world?

First, what is it that you do that you do extraordinarily well? Or, what is something that you could be phenomenal at with some practice and training? In Good to Great, author Jim Collins referred to this entrepreneurial quality as being the “best in the world.” That’s probably the best definition that there is.

What do you, and your company, do that is best in the world? Where do your unique talents and abilities lie? What are the things that you do, or your company does, that others notice as extraordinary and different from the average, run of the mill accomplishments?

That’s it, plain and simple. Don’t be afraid. You’re not asking for criticism or negative feedback. We predict you’ll be astounded by the positive results.

As the responses come back, look at them. What resonates for you? What is it that you and your business do that could make you the best in the world?

Your Emotional Charge: What are you passionate about?

Now, look at what you’re passionate about. It’s okay if it’s something wildly different from the items in your Entrepreneurial Abilities circle. Passion isn’t a mild, “I like doing this.” Passion is jumping out of bed, alive every morning, excited to be doing the work you’re doing. Passion is knowing that what you do is important to you and to others as well.

Have you ever had a day where you worked really hard, yet you had more energy at the end of the day than you did when you started? That’s the type of passion that we’re talking about. What is it that gives you that kind of fire? What are you passionate about?

Your Economic Marketplace: What do your customers want and need?

There are books on the marketplace that will tell you that if you simply do what you love, you’ll get rich. The problem with that is, no matter how much you love it, if you can’t convince your prospective customers that you can give them something they want or need, nobody’s going to buy it.

It’s possible to create marketing campaigns that build demand for something brand new. For example, who knew you would need a Pet Rock?, until Gary Dahl told us about them in 1975? Or for that matter, who had even heard of an iPod? or the concept of one, prior to 2001?

In both cases, though, there was a human need or want that was just waiting to be fulfilled.

The easiest way to sell something is to offer a solution for something that people already know they need or want. In other words, you don’t have to spend as much money building the demand. You may have to work at getting the word out about your product or service, but at least you don’t have to explain to people why they need your solution.

Find the spot where your Entrepreneurial Abilities, Emotional Charge, and Economic Marketplace intersect.

That’s the Sweet Spot of your business. When you can focus on what you do best, what you love to do and what your customer wants, you have a wining formula for business ideas for 2011 and beyond.

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http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Diane_Kennedy

The business Development Strategy is used to underpin your main Business Plan and essentially it sets out a standard approach for developing new opportunities, either from within existing accounts or by proactively targeting brand new potential accounts and then working to close them.

This document highlights the key issues you should consider prior to compiling your own plan and will hopefully guide you logically through a proven framework.

The key word is ‘Strategy’, because you are creating a workable and achievable set of objectives in order to exceed your annual target.

Your Starting Point:

The key words are Who? What? Where? When? Which? Why? How?

For example:

Who – are you going to target?

What - do you want to sell them?

Where – are they located?

When – will you approach them?

Which – are the appropriate target personnel?

Why – would they want to meet with you?

How – will you reach them?

If you have conducted regular account reviews with your key accounts during the previous twelve months, you should be aware of any new opportunities that will surface during the next twelve months. You will also, when assessing what percentage of your annual target usually comes from existing accounts, need to review data over the last two or three years. (It is likely that you can apply Pareto i.e. 80% of your business will probably come from existing accounts and in fact 80% of your total revenue will come from just 20% of your customers/clients)

You will be left with a balance – i.e. “20% of my business next year will come from new opportunities” – therefore you can then begin to allocate your selling time accordingly.

Ideal Customer Profiling:

Pro-active business development demands that we create an ideal target at the front end – i.e. an Ideal Customer Profile. The essential characteristics you will need to consider are:

- Industrial Sector

- Geographical Location (Demographics)

- Size of organisations (Turnover, number of employees etc)

- Financial Trends

- Psychographics – i.e. Philosophical compatibility

Many strategic sales professionals merely profile their best existing clients and try to replicate them – there’s nothing wrong with doing this but we should always remember that we are seeking an IDEAL and we can always improve on what we already have.

‘New’ Opportunities From Within ‘Old’ Accounts:

Because it costs approximately ten times as much, to first locate and then sell to a new customer as it does an existing one (although these costs are rarely reflected in the cost of sales), it is essential that we fully develop our existing accounts working upwards, downwards and sideways, thus making the most of the (hopefully) excellent reputation we have developed already.

Most corporate accounts have several divisions, departments, sites, even country offices and you must satisfy yourself that you have exhausted every possible avenue. Don’t be afraid to ask the question “Who else should I be talking to in your organisation”?

Developing New Opportunities:

There are a number of ways in which we can target new opportunities e.g.

o Direct Mail

o Telephone Canvassing

o Researching Archived Files For Customers Who Used To Buy From Your Company

o Exhibitions

o Seminars

o User Groups

o E-Mail Campaigns

o Referrals

o Qualified Leads

o Advertising

Not all of these will be appropriate to your particular industry, but you should not be afraid to experiment – i.e. challenge the paradigm – and do not accept that just because a particular idea has not worked in the past that it will not do so in the future. (Remember when you were learning to walk – it didn’t work first time then!)

The important thing is to make an early decision in terms of what you are going to try and then build this (those) ideas into your master plan.

A Typical Business Development Plan:

You should plan out the whole year and review / revise quarterly.

o List your existing accounts and plan what activities / actions need to be completed in order to fully exhaust all opportunities. You may for instance, plan to cover more bases within the decision making unit or contact associated companies or offices. The Strategic Account Profile can be used as a prompt.

o Begin to target new accounts using business directories etc. and set targets per week / month / quarter i.e. I normally allow for eight hours per week as a minimum (Don’t forget to continually refer back to your Ideal Profile)

o Then build in what assistance you need from your marketing function – i.e. qualified leads, seminars, exhibition attendance etc.

o Finally share your plan with your manager and then commit to it.

You should also measure it against S.M.A.R.T.E.R. i.e. is it.

S.pecific

M.easurable

A.chievable

R.elevant

T.imed

E.xciting

R.ecorded

Linking With Your Commercial Plan:

I have suggested that your Business Development Strategy, would link with your Master Business Plan but logically you should also integrate it into your Commercial Kit(this is a document that outlines your monthly,quarterly and annual targets) – specifically the areas that deal with new business generation, account management and development, four tier account lists etc.

These three documents when combined should drive and guide you through the next twelve months and beyond.

Summary:

As I have said often enough “People do not fail because they planned to fail but rather because they failed to plan”

The man who knows where he wants to go is more likely to get there, he just has to decide how to get there. All plans are essentially maps and guides; the strategic element is the ‘How’.

Do be prepared to change course, flexibility is key, and don’t be afraid to experiment, look outside the square.

Copyright ? 2008 Jonathan Farrington. All rights reserved

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Enterprise resource planning is a business management system that integrates all facets of the business, including planning, manufacturing, sales, and marketing. As the ERP methodology has become more popular, software applications have emerged to help business managers implement ERP in business activities such as inventory control, order tracking, customer service, finance and human resources.

Small business are usually family enterprises and hence not too many of them use ERP software as they have an accounting system in place. Many companies provide ERP solutions to small-sized business houses. Few players in this field are Microsoft Business Solutions, NetERP, Compiere, and The Intuitive Enterprise Solution.

Microsoft Business Solutions has recently offered to provide ERP solutions to small and medium sized businesses. This would connect the small and medium sized businesses with large organizations, their employees, customers and suppliers for improved efficiency.

NetERP is an ERP solution from NetSuite. It is a business application that supports back-office operations. This can manage financials, purchasing, inventory, Web presence and payroll with the ERP components that are compactly integrated.

Compiere is an Open Source ERP software that suits small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the global marketplace. It covers different areas like Customer Management, Supply Chain Management and accounting.

The Intuitive Enterprise Solution is an ERP software application that helps small and mid-size manufacturing businesses achieve increased productivity and at the same time, lower costs. Intuitive ERP focuses to build flexibility and control, organizes information and also automates business processes across an enterprise. This product offers complete integration of planning and materials management and procurement. It also facilitates reduction in cost of manufacturing and financial business processes and thereby improves productivity, quality and control.

It is believed that accounting systems can manage a small-scale business effectively. However, the trends are changing today with many small enterprises investing in ERP, as it is cross-functional and enterprise wide.

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It is true that the only reason for people to create a website for their business is to increase the business and earn more money. However many of them do not find this technique to help in the growth of their business. When they see that their website has not helped the business to grow, they start looking for solutions to enhance the website. It is a fact that if you have the right ideas, then you can make your website to work in favor of your business.

The main reason why a particular online business is not doing well is the fact that it has not been successful in attracting customers. This could be because most of your potential customers are not aware of your existence. Therefore, it is important that you improve your website in such a way that people looking for your product or service do not miss it. The next step is to create an interest about your online business in the minds of people. Many people opt for larger and varying fonts or multiple colors to attract the attention of potential customers. However, that is not what gets their attention and neither will it help in increasing traffic to your website. You should work on the content of your website and embed it with some key phrases. This will ensure that whenever a customer searches for that particular word or phrase, your website pops open for him.

For instance, let us consider the scenario where you have a business in a certain niche product online. The truth is the competition is tough even for the niche goods. As your business is online, customers all over the world will use it. This means that the transactions can flow in from any part of the world. Internet has made it easy for us to buy any niche good from a seller who is miles away from us with ease.

To start with, you can write some articles about the services or products that you are offering to your customers. It is important that you do not write all about the business but concentrate more on the product and the words used mostly by the customers to search for that product. You can find the keyword that would ensure your website is on the top of the searches. To help you with this search, there are many tools available online. Before you start using any of these tools, research and get information about the same. Then choose the tool that is reliable and well known.

After writing the article, post them in various e-magazines and provide a link to your website in the article. Whenever a customer searches with a keyword used in your article, the search engines will list your article in the top searches. People can read your articles posted in these magazines and then click on the link in the article to visit your website if they are interested in buying your service or product.

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If you are looking for a web hosting package for the small business you are about to set up, then it is good news to say that there are many website hosting services available. Now, this advantage can also turn to a disadvantage because it can be quite challenging to pick a single hosting service out of the entire bunch. Practically, there are hundreds of hosting companies and since you would only be setting up a single site, you would need only a single host provider. The key is to choose a specific hosting offer that meets your exact needs but does not drain your set budget. Keep in mind that the price of the hosting package should be reasonable enough that you can maintain it over the months or years.

One option to take when choosing a web hosting service provider is to get one company to host the web space and to provide you the domain name. A person intending to have a website does not only need web space but would also need a domain name that can also be related to the business or company name. Now, there are hosting packages that include domain name registration and one can consider getting these bundles so he can have much savings.

Since, there are practically hundreds or thousands of web hosting packages available nowadays, it would be wise to first search for the top web hosting services around. The best place to start is by checking sites that are offer web hosting service reviews so you go about your hosting shopping with direction. There are review websites that can give you a summary of each hosting service features, price and customer reviews. These sites can help you a lot especially if it is your first time to choose a web hosting package.

One of the features you should look for is reliability. When choosing a web host provider for a business that either small or big, reliability is one important factor to consider. You want the service to be up 99%(or more) of the time since a web server that is down can only mean problems for you, the business owner. The only way to test a provider for reliability is by actually getting their offered package but it can also help that you first read around user testimonials and reviews so you can get an objective view of a company’s service.

It is also important to look for excellent customer support. It is realistic to say that there are down times for almost all web host services and when such problems arise, you would want to easily contact customer support so you can have them fix the issue. Choose a company that offers 24/7 customer and technical support so your site would not have to be down unnecessarily.

Of course, the web owner should also look at the website hosting package price. A person can pay the hosting service per month but, in order to have more savings, he can also opt to sign up for longer periods of time. Usually web host service packages are available in 3 months, 6 months, 12 or even 24 months.

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Today’s technology has many advantages and a great many disadvantages. I often wonder how our society survived without a mobile telephone. I wonder how I survived without the Internet. I was connected when Prodigy was first introduced on the scene. The pharmaceutical company for which I worked provided a laptop to help me manage my territory or I may have not been so well connected.

One disadvantage of a mobile telephone is the lack of telephone etiquette. People seem to have no manners when talking on their phones. Personally, I do not care to hear another person’s conversation. If I’m having dinner alone in a restaurant, I believe I am having more fun than a family whose parent (usually the Father) is interrupted by a call and does not tell the caller about the personal family time he’s having but continues to talk on the phone. Of course, it’s not my business. I have no idea the understanding that exists between those family members. I do know the call is about business because people tend to talk extremely loud when talking on their mobile phones. That really annoys me.

I have addressed my leisure time away from the workplace where I have observed others and their inconsideration to the general public. At the workplace, impoliteness and rudeness to others when on the phone or not, is totally unacceptable from employees. Since I am a trainer and consultant, I find it extremely difficult minding my own business when I hear conversations employees have with customers, clients or patients. I think of the many opportunities I have to offer assistance to the companies who have not made the connection between untrained employees in the area of proper telephone etiquette (or any area if the employee is untrained) and lower profits. Every connection an employee has with a customer, patient, client (or potential one) is vital to the profits of any company. I therefore offer to you, 20 Telephone Etiquette for Businesses Tips. I’m aware many of these tips are common sense yet I’m also aware common sense is not very common, oftentimes. This list was initially written for dental and medical healthcare professionals but is applicable to any business.

Make sure you speak clearly and are smiling as you answer the phone; also identify yourself.
Before placing a caller on hold, ask their permission first and thank them.
It is better to return a call than to keep someone on hold too long. If the phone rings back to you, you’ve kept them on hold too long.
Do not forget to return the call as you promised.
Do not permit the phone to ring into the office more than three times.
Always use a pleasant, congenial and friendly tone.
Never interrupt the person while he/she is talking to you.
Never engage in an argument with a caller.
Do not handle an unhappy caller’s concern openly at the checkin-checkout desk.
Do not make it a habit of receiving personal calls at work.
Do not answer the phone if you are eating or chewing gum.
Do not give the impression that you are rushed. It is better to return the call when you can give the person the time they need to handle the reason for their call.
Learn how to handle several callers simultaneously with ease and grace.
Return calls promptly that have been left on voice mail and ansafones.
Always get the best number (and an alternate) and the best time to have a call returned to the caller, especially if a manager or another team member must return the call.
Do not ever leave a message with someone else or on an ansafone or voice mail regarding details of a delinquent account. Instead, leave a message asking the person to call the “Accounting Department.”
Always make collection calls in private and away from the patient flow or public areas.
If possible, provide a telephone for patients/customers/clients to use. An area providing privacy is preferred.
Do not call a patient, customer or client’s home before 8:00AM or after 9:00PM, unless they’ve given you permission to do so.
When hanging up the phone, make sure the caller or person called hangs up first if the phone is slammed on the receiver. Otherwise, always hang up the phone, gently. I recommend a remote, handless headset for the business staff. They are wonderful. This will solve hanging up as you push release on the headset to hang up the phone. Also, it does not tie your staff to their desk. The team member checking on insurance really appreciates this device. (The phone can also be answered if away from your desk.)

Contact me if you’d like to know the make and model of the remote, handless headset recommended. I am not asserting this list answers (no pun intended) all of the issues surrounding excellent telephone skills but it’s a very good start. If a tip does not apply to you or your business, I commend you. If even one does, I encourage you to begin immediately to eliminate it.

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If you want to start a winning business, make sure that it is in a field that interests you, and that you enjoy the work. Just as important, you want to take a look at industry trends to see how you can best position your business for success.

In short, trends generally form to meet the needs of the market. The more you can satisfy your customers, the more success you are likely to have. Therefore, understanding and acting on current trends in the spa industry can greatly affect your salons’ profits.

While you don’t usually want to start a business around a short-term fad, incorporating current spa business trends into your operating strategy can help put your company at the leading edge of your competitors. You can also make changes to your spa business plan to make it more profitable. As a business owner, you can adjust and revise your business strategy as the market changes and new spa trends emerge.

Here are some trends going on in the spa business right now:

Lower-Cost Services

Spas are no longer limited to only the wealthy. Now people on a budget can get an hour-long spa treatment and spend as little as $50. In fact, in the current economy, lower-cost spas fared better than those exclusively offering higher-priced services.

In addition to full-body massages, more spas are offering treatments that cost less, but are still profitable. Some of the trends we are seeing include hot stone massage, scalp massage and reflexology. Also, shorter appointments require less labor and resources, but still provide relaxation for the customer.

Another benefit to these lower cost spa packages offer is that they require less time. A customer may want a relaxing spa treatment, but may not have all afternoon to spare. In this circumstance, time is the issue rather than cost. Nonetheless, this new trend is providing a needed solution for consumers.

More Amenities

These days, consumers can choose from a wide variety of spa treatments. Services are no longer limited to just a facial or body massage. Now spas offer hand massages, meditation space, reflexology, body wraps, scrubs, aroma therapy, hot stone massages, anti-aging hand and foot treatment and more.

By following this trend, spas can provide specific solutions to their customers’ needs. Businesses do not need to offer all services, or even many. Some spas focus on just one type of service and specialize in that.

Focus on Health and Wellness

As a large portion of the population ages, medical spas and salons that offer anti-aging services are becoming more popular. Medical spas can offer laser treatment, microdermabrasion, laser hair reduction, acne resurfacing, skin tightening, infrared saunas, Botox treatments and even acupuncture.

This trend focuses on a growing market, which means that the services and business opportunities in this area are likely to increase as well. At the same time, more people are recognizing that spas not only offer relaxation but healing benefits as well. Spas offering both relaxation and healing benefits in a single amenity instantly increase the value of that service.

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There are many opportunities that come with owning a pest control business. For example, you can base your whole business around servicing apartment complexes. Or your could specialize in treating for one certain pest, such as bedbugs.

One of the most underutilized forms of a pest management business is partnering with other service businesses. Most pest businesses just put an ad in the yellow pages and wait for calls to come in. In this day in age, if that is your only marketing strategy, it won’t be long before you’re left behind by the competition.

Think about this… if someone is willing to pay for one service, such as getting their lawn mowed or getting their windows cleaned, chances are that they will also pay for a pest service.

With just a little creativity, you can find ways to capitalize on these customers with only a little bit of extra work. Consider contacting service companies in your area and coming up with an agreement where you pay them a fixed amount for each customer that they refer that signs a service agreement with you.

You could also form agreements with other service companies where you sell bundled packages to new customers. For example, instead of just getting their house sprayed for bugs each quarter, a lot of customers would love to have their windows washed each quarter as well.

Another idea is to offer to pay for fliers to be designed and printed for them, as long as you get to dedicate 25% of the flyer to promoting your service.

Once you start thinking of creative ways to market your services, you’ll find there are endless ideas and ways to get your message in front of targeted customers that will love your service.

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http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nate_Heller

Meeting new people and building new relationships is one of the most powerful things a small business owner can do to grow their business. A small business owner’s or entrepreneur’s personality is much more closely tied to the success of their business because their prospects and customers relate the business to the person. Rather than a large, faceless corporation, you are the face of your business. That’s one reason I advocate tying your personality to your marketing and advertising.

As you’re out and about in the community or as you attend business networking events, you’re going to meet lots of people. This gives you the perfect opportunity to discover a new customer, a potential joint venture partner, a new business referral partner or another business that you will become a customer of. You never know if the person sitting next to you on the plane or standing next to you at a networking event will become your best customer or biggest referral partner.

If you’re like me, you get a bit nervous approaching people you don’t know and striking up a conversation. It’s one of things we least like to do. We would rather just focus on creating a great product and providing exceptional service, hoping that new customers will magically appear.

The good news is that most other people are just as uncomfortable as you are to strike up a conversation with a stranger. Knowing that, you can relax and take the pressure off of yourself and the other person. The secret to talking business with a stranger is to talk about other things first. It starts with preparation and that preparation is done before you leave the house.

1. Read the headline news and the business news every day, whether you sit down with the newspaper, fire up your laptop or view your smart phone news app. Check out the leading stories of the day, especially what’s happening in your local town or neighborhood. There’s always a leading human interest story or breaking news about a local or national business. Form an opinion that you can share later when you meet that new contact.

2. Don’t leave home without your brochures, business cards or other form of information about your business. This seems obvious, but I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve met people, asked for their information and they tell me they’ve run out of cards or forgotten their cards. Put a business process in place so that new cards get ordered on a regular basis.

When you meet someone, your goal is to get to know them a bit first before launching into a business discussion. Start by asking a question or making a statement that the person can agree with. Talking about the weather may be a clich? but it’s always an easy way to make a connection, especially when you live on the east coast like I do. We can agree that it’s too hot, too cold, about to rain, about to snow or every now and then on an unexpectedly gorgeous day, we can complain about being stuck inside.

After you’ve established a rapport, then you can ask an open ended question:

- At a networking event: “What made you decide to attend this meeting?” This gives the other person an opportunity to tell you what their business is and potentially a problem they are trying to solve. It gives you an opportunity to ask questions and show an interest in them.

- Standing in line at the post office, grocery store or mall: “What brings you here today?”

- On the plane: “Are you traveling for business or pleasure?”

As they’re talking, stay in the present moment and be genuinely interested. When you’re distracted thinking about the work waiting for you back at the office or your next appointment, that comes across as you not wanting to be there. Body language, arms folded and a rushed air about you is a big turn off to the other person.

As they’re talking, think about people in your network who may be interested in their services or might be a good connection for them and offer to make an introduction.

At this point they’ll probably ask you what you do and you can offer your business card and give them your elevator speech. Always have a current project or customer success story to illustrate what you do. Just talking about how great your products are is borrring! But when you can share the story of how you helped a customer overcome a problem or an interesting thing you uncovered or the fascinating thing you learned this week, it makes for a rich conversation. If it’s interesting, the person will want to hear more and ask questions.

In all candor, this approach doesn’t work all the time. You may meet someone who just isn’t interested in you or what you have to say. They may be distracted. They may hijack the conversation, talk about themselves and never ask you anything. Don’t take it personally. If they aren’t interested, move on to the next person. If they’re obnoxious and talk about themselves, they probably wouldn’t be a good customer or business partner for you anyway. Your goal is not to make a connection with everyone you meet, but to stay open to the possibilities of finding a potential customer or business partner.

Talk to people everywhere you go, cocktail parties, weddings, running errands, airplane rides, supermarket lines, sporting events, festivals, bookstores, etc. It gets easier, the more you practice and I guarantee it will help you grow your business.

Article Source:

http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Linda_Griffin