Small Business Thread

[Maximum Carnage]

Growing our own business.

That's what we're all in the business to do, right?! Obviously! I figured we could have a forum in which we could brainstorm ideas, help each-other out, solve problems, and possibly even network!

What I'm interested in doing is promoting myself. Networking. Advertising. Selling in different ways than one would usually do. However, I'm completely new to all of this! I'm used to having a supervisor, a manager, his manager, their manager, and then corporate managers above and beyond. Now? That's all on me - I'm responsible for my sales, my appointments, my customer satisfaction ratings, my growth, etc. etc.

First off, a little about me and my own business; I just moved to Orlando, Florida within this last month. I work for a company called Cellular Sales - they are the largest and most profitable Verizon Wireless retailer in the United States, and in my state they actually out-perform Verizon corporate!

Previously, everyone were independent contractors within the company. Now, with the massive growth of the company, we are now "employees" - different class, all the same responsibilities. It's 100% commission, I have a set schedule at particular retail stores in which commission from random foot traffic is shared, but everything I bring into the store is obviously my own.


So what do you guys think? What are some creative ways to get your name and business out there? To sell in a creative way, and to bring you some more money?

 

[tzarinna]

I would say networking. There are groups that get together to self promote aka network. meetup.com is a good one, there could be someone that could offer even more ideas. I'm not sure if you're able to sponsor a group and offer discounts to members. There are geek and possibly tech groups that might be interested in sponsorship. My sponsor for my group was Peet's coffee, it wasn't a lot of money but it was cool to have someone pay for the up keep of my group.

 

[SWAT]

You did't build that...

 

[Maximum Carnage]

What are you talking about SWAT?

 

[SWAT]

... Do you get it now?

 

[Maximum Carnage]

Ah, thanks for making this political. Even though that has nothing to do with what I'm talking about here..

 

[Maximum Carnage]

Anyway, I'm planning on making a Facebook page for my business. Some of my friends think I should make it under my name. I think, however, I should put it under the branding: My Company - and of course, Verizon.

From there, I think it'd be an easy way to connect with customers out there.

 

[Scarlet spidey]

Having a Facebook page for a business is pretty much a no brainer these days.
I'm not sure what you mean about having it under your name or not. When you make a FB page for a business it's in the company name but you control it with your personal FB.

 

[MissMarvelous]

A dearly friend of mine (although lately I've been wanting to choke him to death) and I, are trying to start a small business. But we are currently facing a lot of "out of stock" messages or zero replies from possible service suppliers.

In the meantime, he's more focused on bringing even more ideas to the table (I can say for certain that we have plenty of those to start with), instead of searching for other suppliers (no raw materials and no suppliers mean: no product to sell). That leaves me with the pressure of gathering all the information we actually need right now.

He has a marketing degree which is a great tool to have but what's troubling me is that he's focused on the theory of the product while I'm focused on making it real.

Have anyone ever worked with family and friends before and went through the same situation?

Any other good piece of advice is also welcome!

 

[Iceman]

A dearly friend of mine (although lately I've been wanting to choke him to death) and I, are trying to start a small business. But we are currently facing a lot of "out of stock" messages or zero replies from possible service suppliers.

In the meantime, he's more focused on bringing even more ideas to the table (I can say for certain that we have plenty of those to start with), instead of searching for other suppliers (no raw materials and no suppliers mean: no product to sell). That leaves me with the pressure of gathering all the information we actually need right now.

He has a marketing degree which is a great tool to have but what's troubling me is that he's focused on the theory of the product while I'm focused on making it real.

Have anyone ever worked with family and friends before and went through the same situation?

Any other good piece of advice is also welcome!

Communication between the key members of a business is crucial. I think you need to be able to feel free to bring this up (and doing so will also show how possible it is to bring anything like this up in future) for the health of the business, even if only in meetings. It will take skill to bring it up in the right way to be constructive rather than critical, and your ability to do so and your friend’s ability to receive it well and take the message on board will be a good indicator of how well you are likely to work together.

 

[MissMarvelous]

Communication between the key members of a business is crucial. I think you need to be able to feel free to bring this up (and doing so will also show how possible it is to bring anything like this up in future) for the health of the business, even if only in meetings. It will take skill to bring it up in the right way to be constructive rather than critical, and your ability to do so and your friend’s ability to receive it well and take the message on board will be a good indicator of how well you are likely to work together.

I did! I told him about it before exploding and he reacted quite well... He promised to get some key spreadsheets done and such.

He calmed me and asked me nicely not to bring bad vibes into OUR project and he was right. However, I expect a little bit more of him though.

Working with friends and family (I worked for my brother once and it didn't last long) is not easy.

 

[joombo]

I started business a few months ago too. I built a website to attract more customers and it worked for me.Plus I started using call recorder app for busines calls. I think it's a must have tool for business too. It helps to save the most important info.

 

[cregsim]

Anyone started their small business recently?

 

[Dommy]

I have an idea, but I haven't made it a reality yet. I'm thinking about starting a service-oriented business that leverages the increasing need for specialized software in niche markets. For example, I’ve noticed how indoor storage business software has been gaining traction, as more people turn to self-storage solutions. It’s all about finding a way to streamline operations, cut costs, and improve customer experience. Has anyone else looked into niche markets like this, or tried to integrate technology in creative ways to grow their business?