Posts

Managing your money as a startup: 5 things to consider

/in /by

StrategyDriven Managing Your Finances Article | Managing your money as a startup: 5 things to considerIn business, getting going can often be the hardest part. On average, over 20% of startups go bust during their first year. That’s why keeping on top of your money is so important. Businesses that look after their finances are much more likely to survive. Here are five important things to consider when managing your money as a startup.

1 – Take a paycheck

Don’t front all the cash yourself. Before starting up, talk to your potential co-founders about how you will work out who puts in what. You may not have money, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be paid for your time, especially if you are taking a lower salary to save money for the business. Make sure everyone has an interest in the venture and doesn’t just work for free.

2 – Understand your overheads

The most common mistake when it comes to working on a budget is leaving out overheads. When planning your expenses, be realistic. Things will go wrong – computers will break down, there’ll be unavoidable decorating bills, and staff costs can spiral out of control if you aren’t careful.

3 – Monitor your performance

Once you’ve started up, there are going to be times when your finances seem like a constant struggle. Every month should have its own spreadsheet so that you can keep an eye on where the money is being spent. If things go wrong, it will be clear why. This way, you should be able to fix any problems and stay ahead of the curve.

4 – Keep on top of invoicing

It’s all very well having a good financial structure, but it won’t do you any good if you can’t get your money in on time. Get in the habit of being on top of your accounting from the very beginning rather than waiting until it’s too late. Here are a few important things to consider when invoicing:

  • Working with an ISO vs. Third-Party Payment Processing Company – there are pros and cons to both approaches, so make sure you do your research to learn the differences before choosing which option works best for you.
  • Invoice numbering – different companies have different ways of tracking order numbers and invoices. Remember to brush up on these before you start trading.
  • Paper or digital – a lot of customers still prefer a printed copy. However, paper costs more and is less environmentally friendly. It’s best to find the right balance before opening your business.

5 – Invest

You do need to make money, but don’t forget that this is not the only goal. A good business will run itself smoothly. If you can reinvest profits back into the business, you can grow much faster than if you just let the money sit there. Even though it might seem scary at first, try not to focus too much on the present and think about what you’ll be able to achieve in the future if you invest wisely.

If you follow these steps, managing your money should be easy, and your startup should go from strength to strength.

Preparing Your Store so You Attract Customers and Keep Them Coming Back for More

/in /by

StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article | Preparing Your Store so You Attract Customers and Keep Them Coming Back for MoreTake in every part of your business, from the dingy store counter to the floors that have clearly seen better days. If your first thought is about how your business needs a makeover, keep reading for tips on making your space seem fresher while following the ADA guide, and keep your customers coming back for more.

Lighten the Rooms Up

When you walk into a dark space, you feel that you have no options. Unfortunately, many people don’t like this and will leave a store that is too dark. This can be costly for your business, especially if repainting isn’t an option that will help. Fortunately, the easiest way to brighten up a room is to tackle the floors.

Often, hardwoods can become dirty easily but are still salvageable. They need a good cleaning and refinishing. If you have painted concrete, you can also give this an update. Your first option is to repaint it with a lighter color and keep it clean. Or, for a lower maintenance option, you can install linoleum or similar material over the concrete. Just remember to keep the floor in touch with your main theme.

Move the Counters

One of the biggest problems stores face is the layout. Sometimes things are arranged in a way that cuts off sightlines and makes walking around confusing. Plus, many stores place their displays too close to the walls, which cramps up their counter attendants. If these problems sound familiar, you should consider investing in smaller counters, such as the ones Hestra offers, that can be placed in the center of your shop. That lets customers easily walk around your counters.

Start this process by setting up folding tables where you want your counters to go. Then, think about where you will place all your items. You don’t want anything important to be stashed into an unfrequented corner. You also want to avoid allowing anything to block your customers’ line of sight. Lastly, ensure nothing offputting is located at the entrance to your store. Remedying these problems can freshen up your shop’s layout, making it more attractive to customers.

Get Some Coolers Up and Running

Call your local distributor and have some coolers brought in. Have plenty of space that offers cooled items, whether it is fresh produce or something else. Many people are thrilled to see local products, such as cheeses, to snack on after shopping. When you figure out what cool products you want to offer, make sure they have enough light.

Don’t be afraid to paint your coolers, so they match your shop’s theme. Then, keep them out in the open, but don’t block your customers’ lines of sight. Also, get rid of any unnecessary racks for merchandise. At first, this may sound like a bad idea. However, having too many racks can make them get dusty and leave your inventory spread out, which can make your store appear old. Instead of relying strictly on racks, try fun ideas, like hanging merchandise on the walls. You can also try built-in options which may make your space seem more homely.

Give the Space a Makeover

Aside from these, figure out ways to make your space cosmetically appealing. The easiest things to do include figuring out ways to let more natural light in and painting the walls. Also, during your makeover, clean every surface thoroughly. Finally, if you’re changing the layout, think about how you want people to walk through your stores and place your displays accordingly. At the end of the day, make sure you highlight all of your products and that they are well lighted. By the way, lose the spinning racks because they will date your store.

Get Rid of Some Merchandise

If you want to bring in the new, get rid of the old. Even if you love something, don’t keep it in your store if it doesn’t sell. Instead, mark it down and don’t restock those items. They are simply a waste of space on your shelves.

Sometimes, it takes work to get your shop set up properly. However, taking the time to freshen up your space will help you attract new customers and keep them coming back to visit. So get started on your store’s makeover today.

5 Tips to Generate Sales for Your Dropshipping Business

/in /by

StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Article | 5 Tips to Generate Sales for Your Dropshipping Business

On the surface, running a sales-generating dropshipping business seems like a straightforward process.

Customers order and pay for your product, you pay the supplier after receiving the consumers’ payments, and the supplier handles the inventory and ships the items to the buyers.

Easy peasy, right?

Well, not quite.

With thousands of other dropshippers in the market, you’ll need the right strategies, the best dropshipping tools, and a can-do attitude for your business to beat competitors and gain massive profits.

In this guide, we’ll look at five tried and tested tips to generate sales for your dropshipping business.

1. Find the right dropshipping company for your business

A dropshipping solution or company can manage your order fulfillment logistics seamlessly.

Find ones that match your unique business needs and help you operate efficiently to ultimately grow your sales.

For instance, ecommerce solution Oberlo lets you source products from various suppliers available on AliExpress (among other platforms) and add them to your Shopify store.

You can choose the product you want to sell and import all the items’ listing information, such as the price, description, and images, in a few clicks. After importing, you can edit the product listing accordingly.

With this feature, adding products and fulfilling orders becomes efficient, allowing you to focus more on selling and increasing your profits.

Additionally, Oberlo syncs with your Shopify store, so your inventory automatically updates when your supplier changes your products’ available stocks.

For more tips on choosing a dropshipping solution, check out Neil Patel’s best dropshipping companies review.

Also, it helps to check if the dropshipping solution you want to use integrates with reliable and the best ecommerce platforms for your small business. That way, building, running, and streamlining your dropshipping business becomes so much easier.

2. Display customer ratings and reviews

Most new customers are normally skeptical of buying from you at first, especially if 15 other dropshippers sell the same items you do.

An excellent approach to build trust with your potential customers is by displaying customer testimonials, reviews, and ratings on your product pages.

Customer reviews can work like personal recommendations and show your prospects your previous customers’ positive experiences with your products, enticing shoppers to purchase.

Place a “Write a Review” section and rating option on your product pages to encourage customers to leave reviews about your products.

Display testimonials from satisfied customers on your homepage to help showcase your products’ quality and reliability.

AliExpress lets you import customer product reviews from the ecommerce platform directly to your store using the AliDropship plugin.

The plugin lets you import reviews for all products, a specific category, or for several categories at a time.

Posting positive customer reviews can increase your dropshipping business’ credibility and boost customer confidence in your products, leading to more sales.

3. Run social media ads

Know which social media platforms your target customers use and run social media ads. This helps you optimize your ad campaigns and advertising only to people who are most likely to buy your products.

Here are a few social media advertising tips:

  • Identify your objectives. Know your social media advertising goals to help you find the right social network to advertise and shape your ad campaign strategies.

For instance, if you’re selling jewelry to increase sales, run Facebook ads, and use the platform’s Life Events ad targeting parameter to target newly engaged users or those in new relationships.

  • Test your ads. Perform split tests on several ads to help you determine which ones give you the best returns on investment before casting a wider net.

This helps you optimize your social media advertising efforts and ensure you’re spending your budget on ad campaigns that have high chances of enticing your audiences to buy.

  • Design your ads for mobile. Ensure your social ad images and content adapt to different display sizes so mobile users can see your offers and promotions easily.

Failing to do so means missing out on engaging thousands of social media users on mobile and losing boatloads of sales opportunities.

While running social media cans can be relatively easy, keeping track of your campaigns on top of your other marketing efforts can be a lot of work.

One solution is to create an app to improve your internal workflows so you don’t spread yourself too thinly and wear yourself out.

Building your own app, such as a simple client portal, ensures you get the tailor fit solution that matches your exact needs.

Also, when creating your app using Azure DevOps, back up your codes and data with Backrightup.

The flexible service can automate running your backups and restoring your Azure DevOps instance, saving you time and effort from doing it manually — which can be tedious and laborious.

Doing so ensures your codes, instances, repositories, and other critical app data is secure and intact in case of server errors and malware that cause data loss.

4. Leverage videos

Using videos is one of the best ways to engage your potential customers and stand out from your competitors.

After all, videos allow you to showcase your products’ benefits and features and inform customers how to use your products properly through creative and fun content.

Here are several ways to use videos to help boost your sales:

  • Explainer videos. Use videos to highlight your products’ features and value. This helps you showcase your product’s benefits and makes it more interesting for shoppers to learn about your products.
  • Video ads. Evoke emotions through video advertisements. Video ads can require more time and effort to make, but these are excellent for telling stories, sharing scenarios that shoppers can resonate with, and presenting your products as the solution to customer pain points.
  • Video demonstrations. Create videos demonstrating the proper ways of using your products.

Your product’s technical aspects can be challenging to convey with words alone, making videos great for showing customers how to assemble a small piece of furniture or attach a certain accessory.

Video demos also help stir anticipation and excitement among your customers since they can get a glimpse of your product and get a good idea of its dimensions and functions, so they know what to expect.

Leverage videos to engage your potential customers better, build trust, and even add value to your products, and in turn, skyrocket your sales.

5. Work with a reliable supplier

Because your supplier manages product inventory and ships the items directly to your customers, you don’t get to see the actual product’s quality.

Find reliable suppliers that provide high-quality products, efficient shipping processes, and easy order tracking (among others) by following these tips.

  • Consider going through the order process yourself to ensure the product’s quality is up to the standards you expect to provide your customers.

This also allows you to test out factors, such as the ease of ordering, shipping period, and the returns process.

It also helps to use a dependable product data management software for ecommerce to stay on top of your inventory, catalogs, and other product information. This allows you to identify gaps and address issues in your product management and streamline working with your suppliers.

  • Scour online reviews and forums to see what other dropshippers and customers have to say about a specific vendor. This can help you find which suppliers to steer clear of and which ones to trust.
  • Check if the ecommerce platform provides a way to verify sellers. For instance, product finder and research tool Jungle Scout offers a database of global suppliers on Amazon.

The tool can help you source your products and validate known sellers on Amazon by checking their confirmed shipments and customer volumes.

You’ll also see the supplier’s top customers and resellers. This information can give you a good idea of the seller’s reliability.

Additionally, your suppliers’ policies should align with your dropshipping business’ to ensure you handle customer issues and returns efficiently, leading to happy customers.

Ready to boost your dropshipping sales?

It can take some elbow grease and grit to generate tons of sales for your dropshipping business, but the tips in this guide are excellent starting points to success.

Know the tools and strategies that work best for your dropshipping business, and you’ll be selling products like hotcakes and growing your profits in no time.

Effective Ways To Lower Your Shipping Costs Substantially

/in /by

StrategyDriven Tactical Execution Article | Effective Ways To Lower Your Shipping Costs SubstantiallyWhether you are a manufacturer, an online retailer, or a traditional retailer, or a small startup, you’ve probably already gotten on board with offering your customers delivery options to heighten customer satisfaction by enhancing buyer convenience. And while it’s definitely an excellent decision to ensure your customer has the convenient option of choosing deliveries, shipping expenses can add up and impact your financial wellbeing as a business.

Fortunately, there are a few straightforward and practical ways to lower your shipping costs effectively. And because lower shipping costs will benefit both your business and your customer base, there’s no reason not to consider these simplistic suggestions.

Buy Shipping Materials In Bulk

Buying your shipping materials in bulk is a sure way to save; whether you’re buying product stock or shipping materials, bulk buying will offer substantial savings. Most manufacturers of literature mailers, corrugated boxes, Gaylord boxes, and various other types of shipping boxes will provide a bulk discount. With that said, boxes are not the only relevant shipping materials you will need. You will also need box tape, bubble wrap, eco-friendly bubble wrap alternatives, and various materials.

When buying small orders of shipping materials, you will pay extra because the manufacturer must add in delivery fees, their own packaging fees, and a few other small additional costs. On the other hand, when you order in bulk, the manufacturer’s prices are driven down as they will only be sending off one large order instead of multiple smaller ones. This allows for substantial savings, which is why most manufacturers offer bulk buying discounts.

Choose Your Courier Carefully

Not all courier companies offer the exact standard cost for the same delivery. Unfortunately, courier charges can vary dramatically depending on the company. So, it’s never wise to settle on the first courier company you come across. Instead, you should compare your options carefully.

When comparing courier services to lower your shipping costs, you should also consider a few essential factors. Only considering the price means you may end up buying in on inferior service quality, which will harm your business’s reputation. So, be sure to evaluate the average courier service costs in your area, then slim down your options by reading through candidate courier company reviews from customers to determine professionality and quality of services. Next, you must also consider what delivery options the courier service has available. Your customers will enjoy a same-day delivery option, while standard shipping time frames should also be welcome. Basically, the more delivery options the courier service offers, the better for your customers and your business. Everyone likes to have options.

Go For Flat-Fee Shipping Rates

Once you have found the most suitable courier service for your budget, you must also determine if they offer flat-fee shipping rates. A flat-fee shipping rate can substantially drive down your delivery costs, as you won’t be paying per order, but rather one set amount for a bulk of orders. The only relevant consideration you will have to make before opting for a flat-fee shipping rate is determining how many monthly orders you can rely on.

If you don’t have enough sales per month, a flat-fee shipping rate will increase your shipping expenses. So, you must be sure you can rely on many monthly orders to take advantage of this payment option that most courier companies offer.

Let Your Customer Pay For Shipping

It may seem like a bad idea, although most retailers and manufacturers leave the shipping costs to the buyer. However, when doing this, you must be sure to provide your buyers with a variety of delivery options that allows them to determine which cost suits them best.

You can also consider allowing a free shipping option for orders above a certain amount, as this is common to enhance sales. Even though this offering won’t drive down your shipping costs, it will increase your sales, which can improve your bottom line.

Even if your customers are paying for shipping, you should still be sure to keep your costs low by buying shipping materials in bulk and offering quality delivery services. You will still need to appeal to your audience with superior options, so you must keep up with the market standards. Once you have found a supplier of quality shipping materials, selected a courier, and settled on a flat-rate shipping fee, you may even be able to profit from shipping if you can increase your customer base and your monthly sales. However, this will only be relevant if your customers pay for shipping costs or your shipping costs are worked into your product costs.

5 Ways to Effectively Motivate Your Team as a Manager

/in /by

StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article | 5 Ways to Effectively Motivate Your Team as a ManagerHiring capable candidates that are a good fit for your organization is just the first step of building a happy and motivated workforce. If you fail to take steps to ensure that your employees are content in your organization, you risk having demoralized and inefficient staff. In addition, when team members are unhappy with management, they are far more likely to leave a company. In this case, you will lose stellar employees and increase expenditure.

Many businesses attempt to motivate their employees through money and other benefits. While these are undoubtedly effective, studies suggest that these are not always the most critical factors. Peer motivation and recognition are often more important aspects of a workplace when it comes to motivating staff. With this in mind, here are some management tactics you can implement to keep your team loyal and motivated.

Make the Workplace Somewhere People Enjoy Being

Unsurprisingly, not many people relish the thought of being stuck in dingy and dull office spaces while they work. Consequently, as a manager, you should take steps to make your workspace a visually enticing and aesthetically pleasing area.

One of the easiest ways to make an office a more pleasant place is to focus on the lighting. You should take the time to ensure that the spaces are well-lit. A poorly illuminated environment can quickly become mentally taxing for employees, reducing productivity and contributing to dissatisfaction in the workplace.

You don’t need to spend a fortune when revitalizing your office. Consider finding interesting art and furniture on local sales pages or in thrift stores. Regardless of what you decide to purchase, bringing a degree of character into workspaces will help to ensure that your employees are stimulated and happy when they are at work.

Support Your Team

This may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised at how often managers forget this fundamental aspect of their jobs. Bad management is one of the primary factors contributing to staff turnover, so if your staff do not feel respected, listened to or supported, expect them to not stick around for long.

There are some fundamental aspects of managing a team that you should not overlook. For example, promoting honesty, support and communication in your organization is essential. However, if you are newer to management, you might be wondering where to begin when it comes to motivating your team. Consider reading up on the subject. Like any other skill, effective management takes time and knowledge to master, so reading material related to management could help you hone your management style.

Embrace Agile Principles

The agile manifesto helps to improve focus and motivation within your organization by focusing on continual improvement based on feedback. Additionally, it stresses the importance of technology as a tool to enable cross-team collaboration to create a workplace where teamwork and interaction between individuals are priorities.

Therefore, it is relatively clear how agile business management principles can help make your workplace where employees want to be. These principles are particularly suited to software development companies, but they can be applied across various industries. In fact, the majority of Fortune 500 companies utilize agile principles in their day-to-day operations. Therefore, if you want to create a happy and motivating environment, it is an excellent idea to promote engagement and collaboration using these. For more information about these agile principles and how they can help your company, check out Easy Agile.

Recognize Achievements

Often, all your staff expect from their employer is to be recognized and celebrated when they do their job well. As a result, you should not hesitate to offer honest praise to your team members when you notice them going above and beyond. For example, when employees put a lot of time and effort into completing a project, or you see them helping their co-workers, let them know that you appreciate it.

While this might seem like a minor thing, it can make a world of difference to your staff. The principle of recognizing efforts makes people feel more appreciated in the workplace and will compel them to continue to deliver maximum effort while performing their jobs. This is well documented, as employees whose hard work is regularly praised report that they enjoy their jobs more than those who are not.

Ultimately, this is one of the most effective ways of motivating staff. It helps individuals feel more connected with and loyal to a company, which will boost their performance while at work. Keeping your team happy and invested in the company is essential to avoid losing valuable team members. Losing employees can damage morale, reduce efficiency and lead to significant expenditure, so you should avoid it at all costs. Thankfully, simply recognizing their efforts is one of the most effective ways of developing a happy workforce.

Be Flexible in Your Scheduling

The ways of working have changed a lot over recent years thanks to technology. This was never as clear as during the Covid-19 pandemic, when many office workers were forced to work from home to prevent viral transmission. Restrictions on working from shared spaces provided many valuable lessons for both employers and employees. One of the most significant takeaways was that working doesn’t need to fit into a regimented nine to five schedule.

With modern communication and remote working solutions, it is possible to pick up and finish work when convenient. For many, this has been a massive boon for their work/life balance, as it allows them to fit their working hours into their busy schedules. Therefore, flexible working arrangements can be an excellent way to motivate employees and entice them to stay at your organization. So, whether you offer opportunities to work from home or schedule the working week on a flexi-time basis, a flexible approach is often the best one.

The Takeaway

Motivated and happy employees are a cornerstone of any successful business. Therefore, your management style should incorporate tactics to ensure that your team members enjoy coming to work and feel like they are a valued part of the business. This can be facilitated by following the tips outlined above. Additionally, take care to regularly hone your management skills to ensure that you are constantly improving your methods of motivating your team.