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The secret to creating engaging offers for your Facebook ads is not really a secret. It’s knowledge. Know your prospects and customers, know your business, and know the value of experimentation.… (Show moreShow less)
Corporations spend millions on Super Bowl ads every year and few businesses have been bigger spenders than beer companies in general and Michelob in particular. So it was altogether very… (Show moreShow less)
George Bernard Shaw allegedly said, “Youth is wasted on the young.” One could make the same argument about entrepreneurship. While we are regaled with the success of wunderkinds like Mark… (Show moreShow less)
I would like to know if there is somebody who can help me build a website and social media presence for my business. What is the best way to go about doing this?
The market has been witnessing a massive shift from traditional taxi to convenient traveling solutions. The major reason for such a shift includes a rise in smart device sales coupled with next-generation millennials entering the global workforce. Let's check some stats on the ride-hailing market:
This has caused a rise in global demand for taxi app development solutions by a huge margin. Have a look at these ready-made solutions in the market.
They are one of the leading app development companies in the market with a strong track record of designing, developing, testing and launching amazing applications in the market. They specialize in developing white label Uber clone script with a special emphasis on infusing cutting-edge features to help cater to global users with ease. They develop Uber-like app for iOS, Android and web and dedicated applications for passengers and drivers. And yes, they develop and deliver powerful admin panels and dispatcher modules to help them monitor the app's functionality seamlessly.
Taxify
They focus on managing drivers, dispatchers, and businesses with an intact taxi booking solution. The ready-made solution was built for entry-level businesses to help them compete with the already existing competitors. It contains many great features, which aids users to book their favorite ride, drivers to list their vehicle and earn revenue, moreover, businesses to streamline their operations.
Infinite Cab
It is developed with a mission to help businesses to cope with the new-age digital transformation. Similar to other software, it minimizes the cost, effort and time needed for a customized mobile app development approach, while helping businesses deploy an Uber-like taxi app easily. With several built-in features, it helps users, drivers and businesses make the best out of their effort.
Be it sports equipment, home decors, electronic goods, fashion accessories or apparel - we can order anything from eCommerce sites. Thus, we have made online shopping an intrinsic part of our lives. And the eCommerce industry is roaring with success today.
Source: Giphy
If you are thinking of starting your online business venture but not sure where to start or how much to invest, you have come to the right place!
This article is going to highlight the complete eCommerce website cost breakdown. If your plan is to build an eCommerce site from scratch, you will find the list of the factors you need to consider before that.
Things to Consider for eCommerce Web Development Cost Estimation
To come up with the right budget plan for your eCommerce website creation, first, you need to be sure about your business objectives.
You want to earn money, fine! But that’s not enough to make a budget. To be clear about your objectives, you can ask yourself the following questions.
The next thing you need to sort out is to get a domain name and hosting option for your eCommerce website.
The performance of your eCommerce site depends a lot on the website hosting you choose for it. Among shared hosting, dedicated server, and VPN/VDS, choose the most feasible hosting option for your online store.
While choosing the domain name you should keep in mind that it should be consistent with your brand’s name. If your company’s name is XYZ, then choosing a domain name as PQR would make things complicated.
This will make your eCommerce website reliable and trustworthy. Why is this important?
Well, your online store will deal with payment transactions. So, keeping your eCommerce website secure for such huge payment transactions is important.
Domain validation, Business Validation, and Extended validation are different types of SSL certificates that you can choose for your business.
To create an eCommerce website, you have to get a payment gateway. And the process to get the approval to use the technology is very lengthy, onerous, and unavoidable.
To make your eCommerce website successful, you have to reach your target audience. And to do so, you need a strong and effective marketing and promotional strategy.
To apply the strategy successfully, you will need to integrate effective marketing tools. So, plan your marketing strategies before starting with the development process. And include a budget for the necessary marketing tools.
Not every eCommerce website functions in the same way. So, depending on your varying requirements, your budget to build an eCommerce website will vary.
To meet your specific requirements and to know how much time it would take to build so, you have to consult the experts. Otherwise, here is an overall idea about the integral and basic functionalities and features.
Having the product catalog page on an eCommerce site is an obvious fact. Make sure to put it up on your online store in a user-friendly way.
As per the eCommerce web development experts, it should take around 52-54 hours to build a user-friendly catalog page.
Creating dedicated product landing pages is essential for online businesses. Let your visitors check the detailed product images, descriptions, characteristics, along with any other details about the product on this page.
To enhance the shopping experience, you can add short product videos as well. Also, to increase your online store’s trustworthiness, allow your users to give product feedback on this page.
It would take around 50-53 hours to craft such a detailed product page.
Even though creating the sign-in page is crucial, keep in mind that you should allow visitors to make purchases even without registering to your site.
As per the developers, 24-26 hours is required to devise the sign-in page.
Many online business owners ignore putting up this page on their eCommerce sites. But for effective results, you can include it.
Be smart enough to have a dedicated page for FAQs with answers that usually users have in their minds while purchasing something online. Product delivery, payment process, shipping process, product return policy - the questions can be related to anything like these.
Within 12 hours, putting up an FAQ page is possible.
When you visit a shopping mall to purchase things, just like you put things in a basket, this cart page does the same thing. For instance, if you want to buy a pair of socks, you can click on the adjacent “add to cart” button. And the product will appear on your shopping cart automatically.
Experts would take around 36-38 hours to craft this page.
According to the report by Baymard Institute, 70% of shopping carts are abandoned from the checkout page. And it is very frustrating! So, how to avert it? Read on.
This page should take around 40-44 hours to be built.
You can’t run an eCommerce website without having a CMS. This is the administrative panel of your online shopping site from where you, being the store owner can control and manage everything.
eCommerce website development experts would take around 56-59 hours to devise this CMS part.
If your visitors cannot reach you when they need you, they would never make a purchase from your eCommerce site. So, never ignore adding this “contact us” page with all the contact details like office address, email id, skype id, contact number. If possible, provide a location map too.
Within 8-9 hours, experts can build this page.
Why would someone make a purchase from your online store if users do not know you! This is why telling them who you are is important. And this “about us” page is for that purpose only. This information is editable at any time you want. It would take around 12-13 hours to craft this page.
To apply your marketing strategies successfully, you will need to integrate some third-party tools. Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, etc. will help you to conduct successful marketing campaigns.
Experts would take around 12-13 hours to come up with this setup.
No matter how feature-rich your online store is and how better functionalities it offers, unless it looks impressive and doesn’t provide users with a satisfactory shopping experience, it won’t get the deserved success.
This is why it is mandatory to pay attention to web design psychology.
The time required for this web designing part is already included in the above-mentioned breakdown of time to build each segment.
So, What is the Final Cost of Creating an eCommerce Website?
So far, the cost breakdown to build an eCommerce website in terms of time looks like this.
Features and Functionalities | Required Time |
Sign-in page | 24-26 hours |
Catalog page | 52-54 hours |
Product page | 50-53 hours |
Shopping cart | 36-38 hours |
Checkout page | 40-44 hours |
FAQ | Within 12 hours |
About us | 12-13 hours |
Contact us | 8-9 hours |
CMS | 56-59 hours |
3rd-party integration | 12-13 hours |
Now, you have to consider some other factors as well. For smooth project coordination between the developers and designers, you need project managers. And to maintain the quality work throughout the entire project, you need Quality Analysts.
So, if you include 16-19 hours for the Project Managers and around 30-33 hours for the QA engineers, the total eCommerce website cost estimate in terms of time is around 348-373 hours.
Please note that this estimation is not the ultimate one. It definitely can vary depending on your varying project requirements.
Also, keep in mind that no website can run smoothly without proper maintenance and support. So, your eCommerce website budget must include the cost of website maintenance as well.
Start your online business and build impressive eCommerce websites by consulting the market-best experts at any trusted eCommerce web development firm.
What types of agreements your startup needs?
Why you need an Employment Agreement?
What is the Real estate Agreement?
How startup agreement help your business?
Why rental agreement is important?
What are the types of Business Agreements?
We are a lifestyle brand for women we are currently launching beauty products and goods. We are located in California, we launched in 2015 with a denim collection
and are now creating a line of luxury matte red lip paints in six different shades of reds for women of color all color.
I am looking for two partners who can take the vision of creating a timeless girl gang and help create a top 5 brand. I need the first partner to be a genius in branding and creating visuals ads someone who can make anything happen marketing-wise, next partner needs to be a master seller with the ability to sell water to a whale. I offer profit sharing and a stake in the company to the right person.
Feel free to e-mail me at mnjkitten@gmail.com for more information
I just survived Super Bowl Sunday as I’m writing this. I live about 100 steps from a small-town grocery store. Right outside, stuck in a little clump of February 1st snow, was a hand-made sign: Get Your Girl Scout Cookies Inside. ...
I just survived Super Bowl Sunday as I’m writing this. I live about 100 steps from a small-town grocery store. Right outside, stuck in a little clump of February 1st snow, was a 
hand-made sign: Get Your Girl Scout Cookies Inside.
It’s the second of February, for Buddha’s sake! Most people’s willpower for their New Year’s diet resolutions is as dirty and stunted as the snowbank that sign was stuck into. Sure, I went into the store for berries and carrots and a veggie platter.
But if you think I came out of that store having purchased just one box of Thin Mints, then you don’t know a single thing about my willpower.
I bought two boxes of Thin Mints, one of the lemonades, one shortbread, and whatever that coconut one is called.
Why? Because these girls did a bang-up job of selling me on this. They asked, “Are you having people over for the Super Bowl?”
“Yes,” I lied. My two kids and I were the “people.”
“Oh, then you know they’ll want these! Maybe for the halftime show!”
Entrepreneurship - Learn from A Kid
Kids are so much smarter than we are. They don’t worry as much (about the same things grownups worry about, at least). They don’t care about whether they need an LLC or an S-Corp. They don’t rush to Staples to print business cards and buy up some variant URLs.
They act like entrepreneurs:
That’s it. That’s how kids do what they do. They want money to pick up a new game for their Nintendo Switch? They walk around and ask, “What can I sell?” “Who needs something?”
My kids are 14 and almost 18. They’ve had Redbubble accounts and Bandcamp accounts and all kinds of platforms where they can sell art and music and creative products online for years now. They spread the word with their friends. But because they’re kids, especially teenagers, they make it all “no big deal” and just talk about it matter-of-factly.
Kids Don’t Care About Forever
One absolutely beautiful detail about how a kid treats entrepreneurship is that it’s about serving a customer and their need, not about building some kind of “forever” business. Grownups treat it that way because it’s the most often cited example. Companies form in someone’s garage and then go on to become blue chips and massive.
But plenty of companies do their job well and then vanish. Netscape changed the world by delivering the best and most people-friendly Internet browser back in the day. It changed the world. And then shut down, all within five years.
What we forget to think and believe and accept is that we are not our companies. That’s the point of entrepreneurship. We serve a need. We work to fulfill that need. We create or shut down companies to support the structure of that need fulfillment.
Kids Aren’t (as) Self Conscious
Kids just put it out there. Sure, they can be shy. But kids just say, “Hey, I made a thing. Want one?” They know that people either do or they don’t. And for the most part, they don’t tie their self-worth to the product they’re selling. Even (and this is vital) if what they’re selling is their own creative output.
Kids are willing to sell because they think you might also have a similar need or interest. They’ll tweak their product to match your need. It’s not exactly about landing the sale. It’s about whether you helped out.
Kids love to feel pride and a sense of accomplishment, but when they lose, they don’t fixate on it as much.
And that brings me to a very important point: kids are more used to failure when they’re younger because they’ve had fewer deeply life-changing experiences as a result of failure.
It's worth learning this part alone.
Entrepreneurship is Vital, Even for Employees
For well over a decade, I’ve taught big companies to think more like an entrepreneurial endeavor. Why? Because corporations get too locked into any one system and forget the simple rules of entrepreneurship: there aren’t any rules - just sell someone something they need.
Strip it down to these five guideposts:
From that, you’ve got a chance of teaching grownups to be as good at running a straightforward business as a kid might. It’s worth the effort.
Oh, and if I put the Girl Scout cookie boxes in the recycling, it’s almost like we didn’t eat all of them.
About Chris Brogan
Chris Brogan is an author, keynote speaker and business advisor who helps companies update organizational interfaces to better support modern humans. The age of factory-sized interactions is over. We all come one to a pack. And it’s time to accept that we are all a little bit dented. Chris advises leadership teams to empower team members by 
sharing actionable insights on talent development. He also works with marketing and communications teams to more effectively reach people who want to be seen and understood before they buy what a company sells.
Web: https://chrisbrogan.com Twitter: @ChrisBrogan
Bank of America, N.A. engages with Chris Brogan to provide informational materials for your discussion or review purposes only. The third parties within articles are used under license from Chris Brogan. Consult your financial, legal and accounting advisors, as neither Bank of America, its affiliates, nor their employees provide legal, accounting and tax advice.
Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. ©2019 Bank of America Corporation
The secret to creating engaging offers for your Facebook ads is not really a secret. It’s knowledge. Know your prospects and customers, know your business, and know the value of experimentation. When you do your research, as well as...
The secret to creating engaging offers for your Facebook ads is not really a secret. It’s knowledge.
Know your prospects and customers, know your business, and know the value of experimentation. When you do your research, as well as your due diligence, you are more likely to come up with successful Facebook ad campaigns for your business.
Here’s how to create irresistible offers for your Facebook Ads.
1. Know Your Audience Well
In order to craft the right offer that meets the needs of your prospects, clients, and customers, you first need to know who they are.
Facebook’s Audience Insights, accessible inside Ads Manager, is an excellent first step. As you fill out various parameters you already know about your audience, the tool will start showing you a variety of other data points that you may not have known. Of particular interest:, note the other businesses, brands and more that your audience is interested in. You can also garner demographic information from your Facebook Business Page Insights, too. But don’t stop there.
To really get to know your audience, do your homework.
- Create Surveys. One of the best ways to find out how to help your fans is to ask them. Use a tool, such as SurveyMonkey, or create a Facebook poll, to hone in on what your fans want and how your company can provide that. You can also ask more open-ended questions through Facebook posts.
- Research Topics. Every industry has people who share common challenges. Rather than ask your community, “ask the public.” Answer the Public is a search insight tool that shows you real Google and Bing searches. The tool helps you find common questions surrounding a keyword or phrase as it pertains to your product or service. For instance, say your business offers healthy cooking classes, Answer the Public will show you questions, which range from “which appliances cook healthy food,” to “which is the best oil for healthy cooking.” When you know your customer’s concerns, you can answer their questions in your ads before they have a chance to ask them.
- Review your FAQs. If you do not already have a file documenting all your frequently asked questions and regular requests from customers, start one today! Keep all emails and inquiries together and then, when you are looking to create new offers and ads, review your file for ideas.
Remember, there’s no such thing as having too much information about your community. The more you know about your audience, the more creatively you can craft offers just for them.
2. Decide on Your Offer
Once you have an idea of what your audience wants, use that information to create an offer. But what would your prospects consider irresistible?
- Is your community budget-conscious? Are they seeking tremendous savings? A one-time, limited offer? Only a certain number available? A one-day only promotion?
- Is exclusivity a factor? What about trends? Whether your audience likes things that are one-of-a-kind or they can’t stand missing out, offer them something that appeals to their basic human nature.
- Are they seeking solutions? Sometimes the best thing you can offer your community is a fix for their greatest challenge. When you can use your resources to create a much-desired solution, your product or service itself may be the only offer your customers need.
When considering any offer, ask yourself, “Would this make my audience stop scrolling through their feeds long enough to check it out?” If you answer “yes,” then you know you have a winner.
3. Craft your Compelling Facebook Ad
Once you have your actual offer ready, you’ll need to create your ad. Write an engaging headline and description, then choose a photo or video for the paid campaign. Using an eye-catching and relevant visual asset can make all the difference, whether an image or a video.
Keep in mind, any ad you create should be in the tone and style of your business, whether it’s formal, abstract, fun, educational, quirky or a mix. It needs to be in line with your branding for that all-important recognition factor.
No matter what your budget, you can still be creative. Embrace your scrappiness - or high production value - and come up with something that will blow people away. You want your ad to be so compelling, it makes people want to share your offer. Getting organic reach on your paid content (ads) is the Holy Grail!
One of my favorite examples is the video commercial from Chatbooks. It’s a fun, funny, and realistic slice-of-a-mom’s-life with a simple problem: no time to edit, organize and print photos. And, an even more simple solution: Chatbooks. The Facebook video alone has over 72 million views.
The company hired creative agency Harmon Brothers to come up with this hilarious storytelling video. The offer itself is compelling. But the video ad is so brilliantly done that it made for a very irresistible campaign that went viral.
Granted, getting millions of views on organic or paid content might be a tall order for most small businesses, but we can learn a lot about what really worked with Chatbooks’ campaign. And humor was a huge part of that! People love to laugh.
4. Include Dynamic Targeting
Facebook Dynamic Ads automatically show your products to people who have already expressed interest in it on your website, in your app, or on the internet.
To run Dynamic Ads you will need to install the Facebook Pixel on your website, sign up for a Business Manager account, and either create and upload your product catalog or automatically set it up through your Shopify, Magento, or BigCommerce account.
Dynamic Targeting is magic, because it seeks out certain customer segments and shows them an irresistible offer that seems tailor-made for them.
For instance, a Facebook ad for TushBaby, an ergonomic strapless baby carrier (with built-in storage) that makes it easy to tote around young children, ended up in my friend Ginny’s feed. While the packaging for TushBaby has a young mother on it, the ad Ginny was served had a photo of a grandmother using the product. Ginny is in her 60’s and posts about her grandchildren. The ad showcasing a more mature person with a grandchild was much more relevant to her.
A compelling and creative ad can only do its job if it is seen. Dynamic Ads give you the edge by showing your ads to the right audience.
5. Test, Test, Test!
Just as research will help you hone in on your prospects’ demographics, interests, and needs, experimenting with ads will tell you what content actually speaks to them.
Sampling. Before pulling the trigger on your Facebook ads, send your prospective offer via email to a sampling of your database. This experiment can give you valuable insights into your ad’s effectiveness prior to a monetary investment.
Split Test. Before going too crazy with big ad budgets, take advantage of Facebook’s split test feature. Try variations on your headline, description, and graphics (photo or video). It’s helpful to do multiple tests, and see which ads get the most shares and engagement, before committing to a long-term ad campaign. The good news here is that Facebook automates the split testing for you and chooses the winning ad in your split test campaigns.
Create a Focus Group. This option harks back to more traditional marketing days. Reach out to some of your most loyal customers and ask for their feedback. Chose three to five ads that you want to test out. Then, invite a small group to your office or shop for lunch, a presentation, and an incentive offer for their participation. Their feedback will be invaluable.
A Final Thought
Before pulling the trigger on any Facebook Ads, take the time to really create something special that shines a light on what your business has to offer. When you hit upon the right thing and have the perfect balance of organic and paid reach, you’ll know that your effort and energy was well worth it.
About Mari Smith
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Often referred to as “the Queen of Facebook,” Mari Smith is considered one of the world’s foremost experts on Facebook marketing and social media. She is a Forbes’ Top Social Media Power Influencer, author of The New Relationship Marketing and coauthor of Facebook Marketing: An Hour A
Day. Forbes recently described Mari as, “… the preeminent Facebook expert. Even Facebook asks for her help.” She is a recognized Facebook Partner; Facebook headhunted and hired Mari to lead the Boost Your Business series of live events across the US. Mari is an in-demand speaker, and travels the world to keynote and train at major events.
Her digital marketing agency provides professional speaking, training and consulting services on Facebook and Instagram marketing best practices for Fortune 500 companies, brands, SMBs and direct sales organizations. Mari is also an expert webinar and live video broadcast host, and she serves as Brand Ambassador for numerous leading global companies.
Web: Mari Smith or Twitter: @MariSmith
Bank of America, N.A. engages with Mari Smith to provide materials for informational purposes only, and is not responsible for, and does not guarantee or endorse any of the third-party products or services mentioned. All third-party logos and company names mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners and are used under license from Mari Smith.
Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender.
© 2019 Bank of America Corporation.
Bank of America, N.A. is providing these third-party websites and/or other sources only as a convenience, and does not monitor or maintain the information available on the external websites mentioned, nor represent or guarantee that such websites are accurate or complete, and they should not be relied upon as such. Bank of America provides informational reading materials for your discussion or review purposes only. Neither Bank of America, its affiliates, nor their employees provide legal, accounting and tax advice.
Corporations spend millions on Super Bowl ads every year and few businesses have been bigger spenders than beer companies in general and Michelob in particular. So it was altogether very interesting that in this year’s Super Bowl,...
Corporations spend millions on Super Bowl ads every year and few businesses have been bigger spenders than beer companies in general and Michelob in particular.
So it was altogether very interesting that in this year’s Super Bowl, aside from a very funny commercial with Jimmy Fallon, Michelob Ultra ran an ad about . . . organic farming.
Now, why is that?
Because Michelob knows that, these days, cause marketing is smart marketing.
Michelob Ultra Pure Gold is the first national beer to be certified organic by the USDA, and so the ad showed how the company is helping farmers transition in their efforts to grow certified organic produce.
Companies are realizing that younger consumers – Gen Z and the Millennials – want and expect more from the businesses with whom they shop; they want those companies to stand for something.
Indeed, a recent survey found that 91% of Millennials prefer brands that have a cause associated with it.
Hence, a beer ad about organic farming.
All of which then begs the question: How do you, as a small business, show these younger consumers with disposable dollars, that you too are committed to making the world a better place and not just selling them a better widget?
And the answer is: Pick the right cause. Cause marketing is a way for any businesses to show their commitment to not only the bottom line, but their desire to better the world in the process, and that is what your new, younger customers want to see.
In fact, as a small business, you are uniquely situated to very much benefit from this advent of cause marketing. Showing that you are committed to the bigger picture is almost easier for a small business because your relationship with your customers is so personal. They will know and appreciate your efforts.
That said, there is an art to picking the right cause. Like Goldilocks’ porridge, you do not want one that is too hot (because it will turn people off) or too cold (because no one will care) but instead, one that is just right.
Here’s how to choose wisely:
1. Be Authentic. Young consumers are savvy and crave authenticity. They will smell a phony cause a mile away, so the first step is to choose a cause that:
An outdoor adventure business can donate to environmental causes. A men’s or women’s clothing store can donate a portion of each purchase to its local Dress for Success branch. A restaurant could create a dish where the proceeds go to its local food bank.
Choose something different, memorable, but which also stays true to you and your brand.
2. Make it win/win. Choosing the right cause or non-profit to donate to or otherwise work with should mean you both will benefit from the arrangement. The non-profit of course gets funds and publicity, but at the same time, your business should generate some buzz too. The only way to accomplish both is by publicizing your participation and making sure the recipient organization does as well.
Ultimately, you’re going to want to do something that not only benefits your nonprofit of choice, but also you.
3. Encourage customer participation. Nearly 70% of millennials want businesses to “make it easier for consumers to do their part in addressing issues such as health, the economy, and environmental sustainability.” So being able to allow your customers an easy gateway to do so with your cause marketing is crucial to its success.
Steven D. Strauss is one of the world's leading experts on small business and is a lawyer, writer, and speaker. The senior small business columnist for USA Today, his Ask an Expert column is one of the most highly-syndicated business columns in the country. He is the best-selling author of 17 books, 
including his latest, The Small Business Bible, now out in a completely updated third edition. You can also listen to his weekly podcast, Small Business Success.© Steven D. Strauss.
Web: www.theselfemployed.com or Twitter: @SteveStrauss
You can read more articles from Steve Strauss by clicking here
Bank of America, N.A. engages with Steve Strauss to provide materials for informational purposes only, and is not responsible for, and does not guarantee or endorse any of the third-party products or services mentioned. All third-party logos and company names mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners and are used under license from Steve Strauss.
Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. ©2017 Bank of America Corporation
George Bernard Shaw allegedly said, “Youth is wasted on the young.” One could make the same argument about entrepreneurship. While we are regaled with the success of wunderkinds like Mark Zuckerberg, consider the...
George Bernard Shaw allegedly said, “Youth is wasted on the young.” One could make the same argument about entrepreneurship. 
While we are regaled with the success of wunderkinds like Mark Zuckerberg, consider the uber-successful entrepreneurs who started their businesses later—much later—in life. Colonel Harland Sanders started franchising KFC when he was 62 and Ray Kroc launched the McDonald’s juggernaut at 51. Martha Stewart who believes, “You should never retire; you shouldn’t even use the word. It implies going off into the sunset, and who wants to do that?”, started her magazine empire at 50. Coca-Cola, Red Bull and Nestle’s were all started by men in their 50s.
If you’re considering starting a business, whether you’re a Gen X’er in your 50s or a baby boomer in your 60s (or even 70s), these iconic role models should give you hope. And the numbers are on your side as well. According to the Trends for Boomers report in the 2019 State of Small Business study from Guidant Financial and Lending Club, “Boomers rule American small business.”
Motivation for startup
What’s the impetus behind the boomer business surge? The Guidant reports says boomer men start businesses because they want to be their own boss, while boomer women start to “pursue their passion.” Bridget Weston, CEO of SCORE, says “Research from our Megaphone of Main Street data report series shows baby boomers tend to start businesses out of necessity, such as getting laid off from a job. They might face challenges like age discrimination in the workforce, and business ownership is a rewarding way to capitalize on the valuable skills they have honed over the course of their careers.”
Aliza Sir, director of Financial Security at the AARP Foundation, says we’re experiencing a wave of “encore entrepreneurship.”
Data from the Kauffman Indicators of Entrepreneurship show the percent of the U.S. population that starts a new business is highest in the 45-55 year-old category (39%), with 55-65 year-olds a close second (38%).
Boomer business struggles
Guidant’s data show the most challenging part of running a business for boomers is lack of capital or cash flow. Their second biggest challenges vary. For newer companies (0-3 years in business) it’s marketing and advertising, companies in business 4-7 years cite time management and administrative work (bookkeeping and payroll), while companies in business more than 8 years struggle with recruiting and retention of employees.
Better odds of success
A study conducted by two MIT professors and the U.S. Census Bureau shows:
· Businesses founded by a 50-year-old are 2.2 times more likely to be successful than those founded by a 30-year-old and 2.8 times more likely to succeed than those founded by a 25-year-old
· Businesses founded by a 60-year-old are 3 times more likely to succeed than those founded by a 30-year-old
Boomers are in this for the long run—73% of those surveyed by Guidant are focused on growing their current businesses, 19% want to open an additional location, while only 8% are considering selling their businesses.
Some entrepreneurs are taking advantage of the trend. Tom Kamber started Senior Planet in 2006 to serve those who are “aging with attitude.” In their six locations across the country, boomers can take (mostly) free classes where they learn the computer skills (digital photography, social media, website creation) that can help them launch businesses.
Talking to The MIT Technology Review, Kamber says he believes that while age is not a barrier to entrepreneurial success, sometimes technology can be. “When you’re a senior, and you’ve got an idea, and you want to make it happen,” he says, “somebody’s got to help out a little bit.”
Ready to make the leap?
Before you jump into boomer entrepreneurship, consider the risk. Starting a business at any age entails some risk, but the older you are, the less time you have to recoup any losses from a startup gone wrong. You can mitigate the risk by:
· Teaming up. Starting a business with a partner can expand your capabilities, reduce your risk, and make the startup journey a little less lonely.
· Purchase an existing business or franchise. It’s often less expensive and less risky to buy an existing business. Before you close the deal, have an attorney and accountant vet the business.
Suggested Reading: What Every Entrepreneur Should Know Before Buying a Business
Here are some tips to help you succeed:
· Location. If possible, launch your business from home or a local coworking space to save on overhead.
· Create a business plan. No matter what type of business you’re starting, you need a business plan to help guide you.
· Tap into your network. You should have plenty of contacts and connections who can help you launch.
· Be tech savvy. Your business needs a mobile-friendly website. You’ll also need to know about social media, SEO and other digital marketing tools.
No matter your motivation, whether it’s necessity or choice, whether you’re pushed out of your last job, or just decide your time has come, make the leap. I started my own company in my 50s—and I have no regrets.
About Rieva Lesonsky
Rieva Lesonsky is CEO and Co-founder of GrowBiz Media, a custom content and media company focusing on small business and entrepreneurship, and the blog SmallBizDaily.com. A nationally known speaker and authority on entrepreneurship, Rieva has been covering America’s entrepreneurs for more than 30 years. Before co-founding GrowBiz Media, Lesonsky was the long-time Editorial Director of Entrepreneur Magazine. Lesonsky has appeared on hundreds of radio shows and numerous local and national television programs, including the Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN, The Martha Stewart Show and Oprah. 
Lesonsky regularly writes about small business for numerous websites and for corporations targeting entrepreneurs. Many organizations have recognized Lesonsky for her tireless devotion to helping entrepreneurs. She served on the Small Business Administration’s National Advisory Council for six years, was honored by the SBA as a Small Business Media Advocate and a Woman in Business Advocate, and received the prestigious Lou Campanelli award from SCORE. She is a long-time member of the Business Journalists Hall of Fame.
Web: www.growbizmedia.com or Twitter: @Rieva
You can read more articles from Rieva Lesonsky by clicking here
Bank of America, N.A. engages with Rieva Lesonsky to provide materials for informational purposes only, and is not responsible for, and does not guarantee or endorse any of the third-party products or services mentioned. All third-party logos and company names mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners and are used under license from Rieva Lesonsky.
Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. ©2019 Bank of America Corporation
With the majority of new hires under the age of 39, what’s important to Millennials and Gen Zers needs to be important to your small business. Not only are Millennials currently the largest generation in the workforce, but Gen Z...
With the majority of new hires under the age of 39, what’s important to Millennials and Gen Zers needs to be important to your small business. 
Not only are Millennials currently the largest generation in the workforce, but Gen Z is the biggest generation on the planet, comprising 32% of the global population. That’s a lot of potential talent looking for workplaces offering benefits in sync with their lifestyles. And since these two generations are in their prime childbearing years, you can be sure they’re checking out your parental leave policy when deciding whether to work for you.
Millennials and Gen Zers are having children later in life. According to childcare marketplace Winnie.com, the younger generations feel by waiting to have children, they get more time to enjoy adulthood and become more established in their careers. The result is they have children when they’re ready. And, because for them parenthood is a deliberate decision, employees expect their workplaces to accommodate their needs for life/work balance.
Federal laws are lacking
More than a million millennials become new parents every year, according to Pew Research, but the United States remains the only country among 41 nations that does not mandate any paid leave for new parents. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is more than 25 years old and seems sorely lacking in providing equality in the workplace, especially when it comes to being able to care for a newborn.
The FMLA merely provides “certain” employees with up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave per year—so employees won’t lose their jobs if they choose to stay home to care for a baby, but companies are not required to offer any compensation.
The issue of paid parental leave recently received a boost of attention when MSNBC anchor Katy Tur shared with her audience challenges following childbirth, including an underweight newborn, painful C-section, post-partum exhaustion and more. Tur used her spotlight to call out Congress for the “shameful” lack of federal paid family leave in America.
Although the FMLA was designed to “help employees balance their work and family responsibilities by allowing them to take reasonable unpaid leave for certain family and medical reasons,” without requiring companies to compensate employees, many workers must return to work earlier than desired to pay their bills.
Currently five states require companies to provide paid parental leave to certain employees.
For example, the 2019 California law called the New Parent Leave Act is for employers with at least 20 employees and enables some workers to take up to 12 weeks leave to take care of a new child (biological, adopted, or foster). There are some stipulations such as how long the employee has worked at the company and how many hours have been worked before the leave. Employers are also required to continue group health coverage during the leave and employees must be able to return them to the same jobs they had before they left. You can read more about California's short-term disability and paid leave programs.
The demand is real
While employees of any generation would consider switching jobs for better benefits, millennials and Gen Z want better parental leave policies for both genders and frequently, for non-traditional families. According to Glassdoor, it’s important for company benefits to reflect how inclusive the business is to all family scenarios.
Companies should consider not only providing paid parental leave for the traditional male/female partnership but also family and medical leave to care for domestic partners as well as the children of a domestic partner, regardless of biological status.
Perhaps because businesses understand providing paid maternity and paternity leave will help them attract and retain talent, 40% of companies in the U.S. now offer paid parental leave compared to only 25% in 2015. Big companies like NBC where Tur works, Microsoft and Bank of America offer generous parental leave policies.
Small Business Tips for Paid Parental Leave
But, it’s hard for a smaller company to offer similar benefits. One way you can possibly “pay” for parental leave is as an extension of your state’s temporary disability insurance program. Small percentages of money are withdrawn from every employee’s paycheck and the leave is fully funded by the workers. Usually, the paid family leave insurance fund pays about two-thirds of the employee’s weekly pay. The benefits of paid parental leave are two-fold. Employees get the support they need to keep their jobs and start a family and employers benefit from workers who are more motivated, more productive, they have greater loyalty.
And call your Congressional representatives to ask for better, federally mandated parental leave policies.
About Rieva Lesonsky
Rieva Lesonsky is CEO and Co-founder of GrowBiz Media, a custom content and media company focusing on small business and entrepreneurship, and the blog SmallBizDaily.com. A nationally known speaker and authority on entrepreneurship, Rieva has been covering America’s entrepreneurs for more than 30 years. Before co-founding GrowBiz Media, Lesonsky was the long-time Editorial Director of Entrepreneur Magazine. Lesonsky has appeared on hundreds of radio shows and numerous local and national television programs, including the Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN, The Martha Stewart Show and Oprah. 
Lesonsky regularly writes about small business for numerous websites and for corporations targeting entrepreneurs. Many organizations have recognized Lesonsky for her tireless devotion to helping entrepreneurs. She served on the Small Business Administration’s National Advisory Council for six years, was honored by the SBA as a Small Business Media Advocate and a Woman in Business Advocate, and received the prestigious Lou Campanelli award from SCORE. She is a long-time member of the Business Journalists Hall of Fame.
Web: www.growbizmedia.com or Twitter: @Rieva
You can read more articles from Rieva Lesonsky by clicking here
Bank of America, N.A. engages with Rieva Lesonsky to provide materials for informational purposes only, and is not responsible for, and does not guarantee or endorse any of the third-party products or services mentioned. All third-party logos and company names mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners and are used under license from Rieva Lesonsky.
Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. ©2019 Bank of America Corporation
If you are a professional – a lawyer, web designer, consultant or some similar occupation (as opposed to owning a product-based business) – I don’t need to tell you there is a lot of competition out there. So how do you...
If you are a professional – a lawyer, web designer, consultant or some similar occupation (as opposed to owning a product-based business) – I don’t need to tell you there is a lot of competition out there.
So how do you compete when everyone else in your field is trying to reach the same clients and eyeballs?
You have to create a great personal brand.
Creating a great personal brand is the secret sauce to getting noticed, standing out, attracting top-tier clients, and making more money. Indeed, once you build your personal brand to the point where you are spoken of in the same breath as those at the top of your field, then you do not have to compete on price. In fact, you can charge more because your clients will value your work above others’.
Charging a premium for your services is but one of many reasons you should consider working on your personal brand. In addition, a great personal brand:
Consider Martha Stewart for a moment. Her personal brand was so strong that she could go to jail, come out, and not miss a beat.
Having a great personal brand is even more important for us mere mortals when online reputations are so central and when online networking and social media play such a vital part in our lives and businesses.
So, how do you create that valuable personal brand?
To help us understand, I recently chatted with an expert in the field.
Dan Schwabel is a leading expert on personal branding, with a very popular blog, The Personal Branding Blog and a successful book on the subject (Me 2.0). Dan says the key to personal branding is authenticity; “your brand must honestly represent you and your value and values.” It must also be, he says, “transparent, and visible.”
Here’s how you create that powerful, authentic, personal brand:
1. Be bold and authentic: “Wallflowers and shrinking violets don’t build brands,” Dan notes on his site. “People who are bold and enthusiastic do. For executives looking to make their mark and build a brand, being a hands-on, in the trenches type of person translates into authentic experience.”
2. Help, and then help some more: “If you want to really stand out, you must be useful and add maximum value at all times. Do this by offering free info, training, and content about your industry and share that info while speaking at events and on podcasts.”
3. Use all available tools: Apropos of #2 above, the way to build a brand is by consistently getting your name, message, tips, content, and information out there using all of the tools available to us today – a personal website, blogging, social media, podcasts, videos, etc.
4. Get a logo and catchphrase: Old school tools work. A well-done logo creates an immediate graphic representation of you and your business. For example:
5. Monitor: “Google alerts” let you see what is being said and written about you online. “Twitter search” does much the same for its service. By following these prompts, you can positively inject yourself into any online conversation about you, your services, and your business.
A top-notch personal brand can skyrocket your business to the next level. Yes it takes time, but the results will pay dividends for years.
Steven D. Strauss is one of the world's leading experts on small business and is a lawyer, writer, and speaker. The senior small business columnist for USA Today, his Ask an Expert /servlet/JiveServlet/downloadImage/38-3352-408614/Steve%2BStrauss%2BHeadshot%2BSBC.pngcolumn is one of the most highly-syndicated business columns in the country. He is the best-selling author of 17 books, including his latest, The Small Business Bible, now out in a completely updated third edition. You can also listen to his weekly podcast, Small Business Success.© Steven D. Strauss.
Web: www.theselfemployed.com or Twitter: @SteveStrauss
You can read more articles from Steve Strauss by clicking here
Bank of America, N.A. engages with Steve Strauss to provide materials for informational purposes only, and is not responsible for, and does not guarantee or endorse any of the third-party products or services mentioned. All third-party logos and company names mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners and are used under license from Steve Strauss.
Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. ©2017 Bank of America Corporation
Whether you’re a mentor or a mentee, being part of a mentoring relationship is powerful. The American Psychological Association says having a mentor can be “lifechanging.” According to Bridget Weston, the acting CEO of...
Whether you’re a mentor or a mentee, being part of a mentoring relationship is powerful. The American Psychological Association says having a mentor can be “lifechanging.”
According to Bridget Weston, the acting CEO of SCORE, the country’s premier source of free business mentoring and education, “Entrepreneurs who work with a mentor are five times more likely to start a business than those who do not have a mentor. And, small business owners who receive three or more hours of mentoring report higher revenues and increased growth.”
Mentorship can take many forms. But for small business owners, getting assistance from successful entrepreneurs (like at SCORE) or corporate giants can be especially helpful.
Imagine getting advice (and more) from one of the most successful American companies—Procter & Gamble, a multinational consumer goods corporation, founded in 1837. Sound like an impossible dream? It’s not. P&G Ventures is the internal startup studio within Procter & Gamble. Established in 2015, it “partners with entrepreneurs and inventors to discover and create consumer products, brands, and businesses that solve people’s needs in categories new to P&G.”
P&G Ventures has created a unique partnership model, “providing funding and access to their experts, resources, and capabilities to help partners find their best customers, prove their technology, and create their brand.” The idea is to marry P&G’s many decades of business expertise with the “scrappy entrepreneurial approach.” As a result, the partners are able to develop their products with the full force of P&G’s consumer insight, branding, and regulatory expertise behind them.
The core belief at P&G Ventures is that great ideas can come from anywhere—which is one of the reasons they created the Innovation Challenge, an annual event taking place during the Consumer Electronics Show.
Lauren Thaman, Director of Communications at P&G Ventures, says the Innovation Challenge is a great opportunity to reach entrepreneurs and inventors. Companies that are chosen to participate in the Challenge are flown to Las Vegas, given access to CES and pitch their idea. The winners are chosen and get $10,000 on the spot.
That’s when the mentoring kicks in. P&G executives are there to offer advice. Thaman says they’re “committed to helping entrepreneurs. Sometimes they don’t know what they don’t know. [We help] them understand what’s possible.”
Sometimes partners get seed money; other times they need marketing help. The partnerships, says Thaman, are a “win/win for the partners and us.”
Committed to women
Mentorship at P&G Ventures goes far beyond the Innovation Challenge. P&G Ventures teamed up with Vinetta Project, a chapter-based organization that connects women founders to capital and resources to scale their businesses.
Betsy Bluestone, the Commercial Discovery Leader at P&G Ventures says gender equality is incredibly important to P&G, and they weren’t seeing a lot of deal flow from female founders. So they teamed up with Vinetta Project to help female founders scale.
Vinetta Project holds pitch events, dinners and boot camps. They pair founders with “coaches” within P&G. Bluestone says this helps them “understand the challenges [the founders] are facing.” They had their first official cohort last year, but Bluestone says, “many of the relationship continue informally.”
Madelaine Czufin, Director of Platform for Vinetta Project says, “There’s a funding gap. Less than 3% of VC [venture capital] money goes to women.” By creating a platform that provides programming, networking, mentoring and more, it’s about “what will allow female founders to get access to growth.”
Bluestone underscores the power of mentoring. “People don’t think about strategic partnerships or how corporations can be a supportive partner” for small businesses. Helping with “brand building can be as valuable as giving money. Plus, there are “other ways to provide resources to help their businesses grow, such as paying for clinical trials or doing consumer testing” for their products.
Vinetta and P&G are “looking to support product driven, consumable companies with recurring revenue models” in eight areas:
1. Sleep
2. Menopause
3. Pain
4. Aging
5. Male Wellness
6. Performance
7. Skin
8. Non-Toxic Home
As a Vinetta Project mentor, Bluestone advises her mentees to “think about what your potential exits are and to build relationships with those targets early.”
About Rieva Lesonsky
Rieva Lesonsky is CEO and Co-founder of GrowBiz Media, a custom content and media company focusing on small business and entrepreneurship, and the blog SmallBizDaily.com. A nationally known speaker and authority on entrepreneurship, Rieva has been covering America’s entrepreneurs for more than 30 years. Before co-founding GrowBiz Media, Lesonsky was the long-time Editorial Director of Entrepreneur Magazine. Lesonsky has appeared on hundreds of radio shows and numerous local and national television programs, including the Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN, The Martha Stewart Show and Oprah. 
Lesonsky regularly writes about small business for numerous websites and for corporations targeting entrepreneurs. Many organizations have recognized Lesonsky for her tireless devotion to helping entrepreneurs. She served on the Small Business Administration’s National Advisory Council for six years, was honored by the SBA as a Small Business Media Advocate and a Woman in Business Advocate, and received the prestigious Lou Campanelli award from SCORE. She is a long-time member of the Business Journalists Hall of Fame.
Web: www.growbizmedia.com or Twitter: @Rieva
You can read more articles from Rieva Lesonsky by clicking here
Bank of America, N.A. engages with Rieva Lesonsky to provide materials for informational purposes only, and is not responsible for, and does not guarantee or endorse any of the third-party products or services mentioned. All third-party logos and company names mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners and are used under license from Rieva Lesonsky.
Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. ©2019 Bank of America Corporation
Businesses have been using Twitter for years to communicate directly with prospects, customers and clients. Whether your company uses Twitter for customer service, promoting your business, sharing deals, or jumping into conversations as an expert,...
Businesses have been using Twitter for years to communicate directly with prospects, customers and clients. Whether your company uses Twitter for customer service, promoting your business, sharing deals, or jumping into conversations as an expert, things are about to change … but likely for the better.
In January, Suzanne Xie, Twitter’s director of product management, revealed changes coming to Twitter in 2020. The focus, like Twitter, will be on conversations.
Specifically, users will be able to designate who - if anyone - can reply to a tweet. According to Xie, Twitter will be adding a new setting on the compose screen with options for Global, Group, Panel, and Statement tweets. What does that mean?
● Global lets anybody reply (the way it is now)
● Group is for people you follow and mention
● Panel is for people specifically mentioned in the tweet
● Statement simply allows you to tweet (no replies)
After doing research on limiting replies, Twitter will take what they learn and use that information in order to launch the feature globally later in the year.
Why Limit Twitter Replies?
At first glance, it looked like Twitter was limiting replies to create community and promote privacy - the same reasoning Facebook and Instagram were hiding likes. However, upon a closer look, it appears to be more of a play to combat harassment and fake news - no more bots and trolls tagging on to your conversations. It basically lets users decide who they want to talk to … in which situations … about what topics.
“The primary motivation is control,” explained Kayvon Beykpour, VP of Product at Twitter. “We want to build on the theme of authors getting more control and we’ve thought… that there are many analogies of how people have communications in life.”
For instance, there are certain things you discuss with your friends versus acquaintances versus professionals versus colleagues. You don’t want strangers chiming in when it comes to a conversation in real life. Shouldn’t the same be true online?
Using the Limiting Replies Feature
While there’s no telling when - or if - the new feature will impact your business, here are a few ways to adjust how you use Twitter in relation to the four types of tweets.
1. Global. Tweet the way you do now. Share information as it relates to your business, operations, products, services, and promotions. Also good for when you participate in Twitter chats.
2. Group. Tweet to your tribe and @tag special guests. Also good for featuring resources, sharing contests, and promoting winners.
3. Panel. Tweet with a curated group of experts. Could this become the new AMA?
4. Statement. Announce and share content that does not require a reply. Use this to share links that lead to content on blogs and other social media platforms and promote engagement there.
Other Twitter News
In November, Twitter enabled the ability to follow topics, rather than just users. When you see a tweet from someone you follow about a certain topic, under that tweet Twitter may prompt you to follow that topic. It will help businesses stay up to date on content that’s relevant for their industry.
Twitter is continuing to pay more attention to its lists features. Twitter will also start making lists easier to find on screens, and users will be able to customize the display of lists. Making lists more accessible will help users stay organized and allow them to more easily target the right people when using the new limited replies feature.
“Twitter has been on a long-term mission to overhaul how people have conversations on its platform, both to make them easier to follow and more engaging without turning toxic,” TechCrunch wrote.
About Mari Smith
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Often referred to as “the Queen of Facebook,” Mari Smith is considered one of the world’s foremost experts on Facebook marketing and social media. She is a Forbes’ Top Social Media Power Influencer, author of The New Relationship Marketing and coauthor of Facebook Marketing: An Hour A Day. Forbes recently described Mari as, “… the preeminent Facebook expert. Even Facebook asks for her help.” She is a recognized Facebook Partner; Facebook headhunted and hired Mari to lead the Boost Your Business series of live events across the US. Mari is an in-demand speaker, and travels the world to keynote and train at major events.
Her digital marketing agency provides professional speaking, training and consulting services on Facebook and Instagram marketing best practices for Fortune 500 companies, brands, SMBs and direct sales organizations. Mari is also an expert webinar and live video broadcast host, and she serves as Brand Ambassador for numerous leading global companies.
Web: Mari Smith or Twitter: @MariSmith
Bank of America, N.A. engages with Mari Smith to provide materials for informational purposes only, and is not responsible for, and does not guarantee or endorse any of the third-party products or services mentioned. All third-party logos and company names mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners and are used under license from Mari Smith.
Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender.
© 2019 Bank of America Corporation.
Bank of America, N.A. is providing these third-party websites and/or other sources only as a convenience, and does not monitor or maintain the information available on the external websites mentioned, nor represent or guarantee that such websites are accurate or complete, and they should not be relied upon as such. Bank of America provides informational reading materials for your discussion or review purposes only. Neither Bank of America, its affiliates, nor their employees provide legal, accounting and tax advice.
Right out of law school, I got a great job in a big law firm handling insurance defense. Being young and arrogant, I used to say that my job was to “deny claims.” Now, years later, that embarrasses me. Denying claims...
Right out of law school, I got a great job in a big law firm handling insurance defense. Being young and arrogant, I used to say that my job was to “deny claims.”
Now, years later, that embarrasses me.
Denying claims was not my job and not what I was expected to do. I was
expected to read the file and figure out whether the claim was legitimate and whether the company had reasonable grounds to deny the claim.
Here is what I know now: By the time a business insurance claim gets to the point that it is being litigated over, you are in trouble. Either the business bought the wrong insurance and filed a claim that wasn’t covered, or it filed a frivolous claim, or it didn’t have enough coverage, or something else went wrong.
Here is what else I know: Insurance companies do NOT want to deny claims. They are in the business of covering risk and accidents and expect to pay legitimate claims; that is what they do and that is what keeps them in business.
So, what you need is to have a “legitimate claim.” Let’s look at how that works:
Let’s say your business was injured or damaged in some way. The first thing you need of course is a policy. But not just any policy, you will need a policy that covers – and doesn’t exclude – the type of damage you have. (More on that exclusion word in a sec.)
Small business can get all sorts of different types of coverage, for example:
The first thing is to buy the insurance that provides the widest net for the types of foreseeable risks that your business may encounter.
As for exclusions, almost every policy will exclude certain risks/coverage. It is akin to a health insurance policy that excludes certain types of drugs, surgeries, etc. Make sure the exclusions in your business policy do not prevent the type of claim you may have.
Next, consider the amount of coverage. The amount and types of things covered are often constrained by what you can afford. Of course, you can’t insure against everything but the risk is not buying enough insurance. If you buy some cheapo policy that limits coverage of a claim to $10,000 and your damage is $100,000, you are out of luck.
Best practice: Buy as much insurance as you can afford.
Finally, consider the deductible: One common way to reduce costs is to have a high deductible. Smart, until you need to file a claim.
This is how it is supposed to work: You buy some insurance. Something happens that damages your business. You file a legitimate, covered claim. Your insurance reviews it and pays you the amount of your damage, less the deductible.
As you may gather, a lot can go wrong in that process. It could be that your deductible is too high, or your coverage is too low, or your type of claim is excluded, or that you may have waited too long (the statute of limitations has run).
There are two additional things you can do to protect yourself:
And hopefully, your attorney will understand insurance better than I did when I began those many years ago.
About Steve Strauss
Steven D. Strauss is one of the world's leading experts on small business and is a lawyer, writer, and speaker. The senior small business columnist for USA Today, his Ask an Expert 
column is one of the most highly-syndicated business columns in the country. He is the best-selling author of 17 books, including his latest, The Small Business Bible, now out in a completely updated third edition. You can also listen to his weekly podcast, Small Business Success.© Steven D. Strauss.
Web: www.theselfemployed.com or Twitter: @SteveStrauss
You can read more articles from Steve Strauss by clicking here
Bank of America, N.A. engages with Steve Strauss to provide informational materials for your discussion or review purposes only. Steve Strauss is a registered trademark, used pursuant to license. The third parties within articles are used under license from Steve Strauss. Consult your financial, legal and accounting advisors, as neither Bank of America, its affiliates, nor their employees provide legal, accounting and tax advice.
Bank of America, N.A. Member FDIC. ©2017 Bank of America Corporation
Do you ever feel that you’re the only business out there who can’t invest much right now, and who believes a recession might be around the corner? And if your hunch becomes reality, does your business have all it needs to...
Do you ever feel that you’re the only business out there who can’t invest much right now, and who believes a recession might be around the corner?
And if your hunch becomes reality, does your business have all it needs to survive – and perhaps thrive? There are three questions you should ask yourself when thinking about what you have versus what you want:
The first question is this: who does this help?
If something helps customers (especially the acquisition of more customers), that’s likely where your dollars should flow versus when it’s something that improves the quality of business and life for employees.
The second question, will this make us money?
Let’s say you run a business that accepts cash and credit/debit cards, but your customers are saying that if you accepted alternative funding like Venmo or PayPal, they’d be more inclined to do business with you. Naturally, it’s worth considering.
Hardest of all to answer is can we make do?
I’ve never met a company that doesn’t hate its current website design. Usually the second day after you launch a new website, you start to hate it. The layout is wrong, or you worry people can’t find what they need and so on. Almost always, your site is “good enough” to earn attention and guide people where they need to go.
And sometimes, thinking about making do requires creativity.
Resourceful People Thrive in Tough Times
It’s amazing what we think we need until we’re forced to consider operating without it. When I launched my business in 2009, I had an office in Massachusetts and an office in Maine to house my small team. We rolled along doing our work for a while before three important details dawned on me:
1. Rent costs a lot.
2. No customers ever came to our offices. We went to them.
3. Working at home is almost everyone’s preference.
I saved about $8,000 dollars a month almost instantly. Now, your business might not be something that can be run virtually. You might have to find another area to be resourceful and clever. But it’s out there.
Does your business really need a printer? Think about the money saved in ink and paper expenses monthly. Are you traveling to four or five conferences this year? Can you skip two?
Make Do In Marketing and Advertising with Technology
Marketing and advertising can cost a lot of money. Or it can be free. You might be inclined to think that paid efforts are better than free. Sometimes, that’s a very true fact. Other times, our free efforts land us more success than when we spend.
Is what you sell something visually appealing like food or clothes or even construction? Instagram is a great platform to earn some attention that can translate to business.
Have you used LinkedIn to publish interesting articles and videos? More and more people are slowly learning that LinkedIn isn’t that old site where you stick a digital copy of a resumé. It’s a thriving content hub where people go to learn and explore.
Recommended Reading: Top 5 LinkedIn Strategies to Grow Your Business
Do you have a YouTube channel? YouTube is the No. 2 search engine in the world (Google is No.1 and they own YouTube). Publish how-to videos and interviews with satisfied customers and behind-the-scenes videos and so much more. This costs nothing more than some time, getting a little better with your smartphone, and being brave.
Recommended Reading: Tips and Tricks for Fast, Easy Video Content
Don’t forget Facebook. In my small town, a very small local store throws events so often that you wonder whether they ever have a “regular” day without one. The events are free to post on Facebook, and with just a little bit of ingenuity around thinking up themes, they have a constant stream of people stopping by the store for the themed experience that matches their interest.
Read articles from Mari Smith, Premier Facebook Marketing Expert
Spend a little time on Twitter search (search.twitter.com) and type in your locale and see what comes up. A restauranteur friend of mine used to “stalk” people coming to Milwaukee and then personally invite them into one of his four restaurants. It got him on ESPN, then another larger news story, and eventually brought him so much success he can hardly catch his breath. All from Twitter searches (and good food).
Constraints Are your Creative Best Friend
To stay on the theme of restaurants a moment longer, it turns out that most of the restaurants succeeding right now are those with smaller and more specific menus. Barring the typical Chinese Restaurant experience which has endless pages, most of the growing food chains in the U.S. sell just a few items and do it well.
By looking at your business the same way, you might find areas to consider cutting to focus on growing one aspect even more.
Constraints are great for being creative. If you must do more with less, it pushes you to consider methods and means that might otherwise have gone unnoticed.
Can you make do? Of course you can!
You’ve got a lot to offer your customers, and they look forward to seeing you ride out any potential recession and make it through to better times again.
About Chris Brogan
Chris Brogan is an author, keynote speaker and business advisor who helps companies update organizational interfaces to better 
support modern humans. The age of factory-sized interactions is over. We all come one to a pack. And it’s time to accept that we are all a little bit dented. Chris advises leadership teams to empower team members by sharing actionable insights on talent development. He also works with marketing and communications teams to more effectively reach people who want to be seen and understood before they buy what a company sells.
Web: https://chrisbrogan.com Twitter: @ChrisBrogan
Bank of America, N.A. engages with Chris Brogan to provide informational materials for your discussion or review purposes only. The third parties within articles are used under license from Chris Brogan. Consult your financial, legal and accounting advisors, as neither Bank of America, its affiliates, nor their employees provide legal, accounting and tax advice.
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