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Social media has become an integral part of any modern company’s marketing strategy. However, as each platform handles content a little differently, it can be difficult to come up with a consistent strategy for multiple platforms. To find out how to make sure your message carries through, we asked the experts of Young Entrepreneur Council to weigh in on the following question:

“What is the best way to make sure your social media content stays on-brand, no matter which site you’re currently posting on?”

Brand Consistency on Social Media

Here’s what YEC community members advise:

1. Define Your Message and Brand First

“It’s important to have a consistent message and brand when engaging on social media. The messaging and branding will need to be established prior to posting social media platforms. Social media is just another channel or tool to get your message and brand across.” ~ Jean Ginzburg, JeanGinzburg.com

2. Use the Same Version of Your Logo as All Your Profile Pictures

“We have logos for a reason — to make our brand recognizable anywhere, anytime. So even if someone scrolls right past your post, your business is still getting exposure every time you post. As for staying on brand message, post content that supports your mission and vision 100 percent of the time. Give thought to the things your brand believes in and then support it with content.” ~ Joey Kercher, Air Fresh Marketing

3. Assign a Dedicated Person or Team to Handle Social Media

“It’s easier said than done, but having the right team that can handle all of your social media is the best way to make it consistent. It’s much harder to fit the pieces together later through copy or edits. Even if it means you have to hire fewer people, find at least three: One to create content, one to produce the content and one to manage the content.” ~ Patrick Barnhill, Specialist ID

4. Schedule Posts in Advance

“Use a simple tool like Hootsuite to plan all of your social content in advance. When you are able to look at a 30-day picture, it can help you organize and plan, keeping everything on-brand. If you are just posting on the fly, it can result in a mix of content that drifts off into other lanes. Take the time to map everything out in advance for the most consistent content.” ~ Jonathan Long, Uber Brands

5. Get the Right Processes in Place

“There’s no one silver bullet. It is the combination of processes in place from how you hire to whether you have a social media strategy. If you don’t have your brand voice, tone and imagery examples documented, you can’t expect a new person to be able to meet unclear expectations. From creation to approval, if you have good processes in place it will make it easier for your people to succeed.” ~ Kevin Getch, Webfor

6. Assign Someone to Approve Content

“All content must go through a two- to three-step approval process prior to being published. Those approving content must have a strong understanding of the brand and its identity. This will ensure that your content is always on-brand, regardless of where the content is being published.” ~ Duran Inci, Optimum7

7. Establish Brand Guidelines

“Having a document that explains your brand and lays out clear guidelines for what to do and what not to do is crucial to ensure compliance. Brand books or brand guidelines can be extremely detailed, but you can also keep it simple and come up with a playbook on how your visual and content assets are to be used. This provides a great reference if you have any turnover in who is handling it for you.” ~ Joel Mathew, Fortress Consulting

8. Set Your Tone and Voice

“I have multiple businesses and the best way I ensure that all social media content stays on brand is by ensuring all content posted — whether it’s on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest — has the same tone and voice. I also ensure that all messaging is consistent across all platforms.” ~ Kristin Kimberly Marquet, Fem Founder

9. Keep Every Post Brand-Focused

“Know what your brand stands for and include that in every post. Think about that before you post anything, including sharing content from others like users. Always include some context that ties it back to your brand.” ~ Angela Ruth, Calendar

10. Don’t Rely on Automation

“Even beyond the brand, the end goal has to be in mind. Our team members start off with a brand abstract to help them understand who the audience is, what the goals are, as well as color scheme, tone, messaging and visuals. This keeps the brand consistent without having a robotic feel to it. We try to stay away from automation, as we don’t want to ruin the brand and what it stands for.” ~ Sweta Patel, Startup Growth Mode

11. Make a Checklist

“Uniformity cannot happen without guidelines, and a simple brand guide can easily be overlooked and forgotten after a first glance. By making a checklist regarding the look, voice and value of a social media post, consistency will be hard to avoid.” ~ Stanley Meytin, True Film Production

Image: Depositphotos.com

This article, “Keeping your Social Media Content On Brand Isn’t Hard, Read These 11 Tips” was first published on Small Business Trends

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Veem recently unveiled a program designed to help companies affected by the U.S. China trade war.  The company operates a financing and payments platform for businesses. The Veem Tariff Relief program offers users up to $1,000 in rebates to cover the cost of tariffs. This helps businesses when purchasing supplies or goods from overseas.

How the Veem Tariff Relief Program Works

So how to do small businesses qualify? They simply need to sign up for Veem’s payment platform. And then begin sending and receiving payments through it. The platform works much like Venmo on the consumer side. But there are many different codes. And small businesses need to organize their payments.

So basically, you enter in the code most closely meeting with what you’re purchasing from China or elsewhere. And if you’re required to pay extra due to tariffs, you can submit your invoice to Veem. Them the company reimburses your business up to $1,000. It’s also an annual program. So theoretically, you could receive another tariff reimbursement of up to $1,000 each year. This depends on your needs and how the trade situation evolves over time.

Small Businesses Lack Control

Of course, small businesses don’t have much control over the ultimate outcome of these trade policies. And the situation could change quickly. So plans need to adjust or cover the cost of items in case it does continue to be an issue.

Veem CEO Marwan Forzley explains the company’s approach in an interview with Small Business Trends:

“Business owners in general need to be open to the idea of using the latest tools available to them to source and find supplies from different markets. This could go on for a long time, and what is happening with China could potentially happen with other countries down the road as well. Global trade policies come and go, so it may or may not be something that is solved tomorrow. But overall, I think it’s smart for businesses to plan as if this isn’t going away anytime soon and find solutions and new technology that may be able to help them.”

Veem Serves More than 100,000 Businesses

Currently, Veem has more than 100,000 businesses on their platform from 110 countries around the world. The idea for this Tariff Relief program came from conversations with those customers. And it involved the uncertainty they were facing due to trade issues between the U.S. and China.

Forzley says, “We were doing general research and asking our customers about how they find and source products. While we were asking those questions, we found out that a number of them were being affected by the tariffs from China and were very worried about what would happen. It was giving them a lot of uncertainty since they didn’t know when the trade war would come to an end. And if they had to pass along the cost of those tariffs to customers, they would no longer be competitive in the market.”

Veem Designed to Solve Pain Points

Veem was actually built specifically to help solve some of the pain points for small businesses working in a global economy. Forzley pointed to the difficulty and fees associated with traditional bank wire transfers, which can make sending payments internationally a major pain for small businesses that don’t have all the resources and extra cash of their larger competitors. So issues like tariffs that impact international business agreements are especially relevant to Veem’s customer base. That’s why Forzley and the rest of the team found it so important to offer some kind of relief for their users.

Of course, this is just one solution and may not completely solve the cost issues for businesses that purchase a lot of supplies or goods from China. However, it is one example of an option that’s available to small businesses. You may be able to find other tools or resources as well that help you cover some of the added cost or make your business more efficient so you can afford to dedicate more time and resources to improving your company in other ways.

Trade issues and other large scale policies can of course have a major impact on small businesses, even when you don’t have much say in the overall outcome. However, you do still have control over many of the other factors that go into running your business. So it’s always important to be adaptable and try to come up with acceptable solutions to whatever issue you’re facing, whether it’s using a tool like Veem or stringing together another set of solutions.

Image: Depositphotos.com

This article, “Veem Unveils Tariff Relief Program to Ease Small Business Trade Concerns” was first published on Small Business Trends

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Some entrepreneurs are naturally creative. Others are mostly data driven. But you need both approaches in your marketing efforts if you want to be successful over a long period of time. Especially in today’s online business environment, you need to work hard to find ways to stand apart from the millions of other businesses out there.

Boutique Marketing Agency is a firm that specializes in mixing those two different approaches in a really unique way. The London-based company grew from a one-person operation into a full agency over time. Now, the team offers a full array of services aimed at helping all types of businesses. Read more about the company and its digital marketing philosophy in this week’s Small Business Spotlight.

What the Business Does

Offers a full service digital creative agency.

Founder Felix Garcia told Small Business Trends, “We deliver bespoke marketing plans across different platforms in PR, digital and media strategy.”

Business Niche

Mixing data and creativity.

Garcia says, “Our sophisticated approach to marketing is enhanced by creativity and data analysis. We have a fantastic reputation for creating unique and tailored strategies that transform brands, exceed expectations and deliver results across the metrics.”

How the Business Got Started

As a freelance business.

Garcia first got started simply freelancing in the industry. Over time, the company grew into a full service agency. But Garcia’s initial efforts were fairly small and focused. So it took some time for the company to grow from a one-man operation into a larger undertaking.

Biggest Win

Landing their first big client.

This initial opportunity came for the company back in 2016. It gave the team some extra credibility as well as a sizable financial boost.

Biggest Risk

Taking out a business loan.

At one point, the company needed extra resources to cope with a large workload. So they took out a loan to help manage those extra needs. Ultimately, this could have put additional financial strain on the company if the extra work didn’t lead to increased cash flow. However, the risk ended up paying off for the company.

Lesson Learned

You need to spend money to make money.

Garcia says that if he could start his business journey all over again, he would have invested more money into the company at the beginning, rather than trying to stay lean in the early years.

Team Tradition

Table tennis.

The team hosts an annual table tennis championship tournament every year at the office, since it offers a little team building and friendly competition.

* * * * *

Find out more about the Small Biz Spotlight program

Images: Boutique Marketing Agency, Felix Garcia

This article, “In the Spotlight: Boutique Marketing Agency Creates Big Impression with Small Shop Feel” was first published on Small Business Trends

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U.S. nail salons bring in more than $5 billion in revenue annually. These specialty beauty salons have been around for years. But the industry is still growing, meaning there are plenty of opportunities for new entrepreneurs to break in and offer unique services and experiences. If you’re interested in getting started with your very own nail salon, here’s a breakdown of the steps involved.

How to Start a Nail Salon

Create a Plan for Your Business

Meg King, salon and spa consultant for Empowering You Consulting said in an email to Small Business Trends, “The first step is to spend time creating a clear vision of your business. Yes, it should include how many stations, your menu of services, a detailed list of what you need along with what it will cost you to open. But another important step in creating a clear vision… one that is often overlooked, includes answers to these questions. What do you really want? How would do you define the culture you want to have in your business? What type of team members do you want to hire? Who’s your ideal client? The clearer we are on all the details the better we can manage our business plan for success.”

If you’re not sure where to start with your nail salon business plan, you might check out the Professional Beauty Association’s business blueprints, which are customizable plan templates available to association members.

Make Industry Connections

Ideally, some form of state-approved education and experience in a successful salon before jumping into your own business. You might also consider connecting with an industry consultant or finding a mentor who can help you understand what the day-to-day operations of a functioning nail salon look like. Groups or trade organizations like PBA can also help you gain valuable insights about the industry as a whole.

Obtain Permits and Licenses

The legal requirements for nail salons vary by location. But you’re likely to need a building permit, business license and state-approved training in order to officially open your business. If you’re not sure what is required in your area, connect with a local business attorney or check with your local government.

Analyze Your Finances

PBA Brand Manager Erin Walter said in an email interview with Small Business Trends, “There are numerous financial considerations to take in to account when looking at opening a business and it can be helpful to meet with a financial planner to navigate through some potential obstacles.”

Specifically, you’ll need to determine what you can afford in startup costs, what your business expenses will be and how much you think you can earn on an ongoing basis. Some of PBA’s business blueprints also offer insights into financial considerations like budgeting, compensation and credit card policies.

Find a Suitable Location

Before you can put many of the other aspects of your business into place, you’ll need to find a location for your shop. Ideally, it should be someplace centrally located and easily accessible for your target customers. However, this will also depend on your budget and space requirements.

Create a Service and Price List

Nail salon prices and services can vary widely. You might stick with just the basic manicure and pedicure, but you could also offer artificial nails, gel manicures, arm massages or various other spa services to your menu. Carefully consider what you and your staff will be able to provide and do some research on pricing to help you create a full menu of services.

Source Supplies

For a nail salon, you’ll likely need chairs, tables, nail polish, sanitation equipment, and various spa supplies. You may also want to carry a small inventory of nail products that customers can purchase. Shop around with various brands for your nail salon equipment and inventory so you can get the best possible value, while also considering the items that are likely to be most popular with your target customers.

Set Up Administration Processes

The day-to-day operations of your business will be significantly easier if you put processes into place early. Determine how you’ll schedule appointments, collect payments, manage payroll and nurture relationships with customers. Put software and other tools in place to make these things easier so when you get up and running, you can easily show your team how everything should be run.

Hire Nail Techs

Most nail salons have multiple nail technicians or other specialists on staff so they can offer services to multiple customers at once. You’ll want to find people who are trained and skilled in their area of expertise. But don’t forget to take personality into account as well. The conversations that take place during manicure and pedicure services are often a huge part of the customer experience. So you’ll need to look for people who are able to provide exceptional service to your target customers.

Promote Your Services Locally

When all those items are in place, you need to start actually promoting your business around your local community so potential customers can find you. Place local ads online or in print. You might also consider getting on social media and using some special events or promotions to build buzz early on.

Image: Depositphotos.com

This article, “How to Start a Nail Salon Business” was first published on Small Business Trends

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With the continuing development of online publishing platforms, it’s never been easier to get your book out to the wider world. However, the actual publication is only one part of a much-longer process: You still need to write, edit and promote your book, each part of which can present a significant number of challenges. To find out more, we asked a panel of Young Entrepreneur Council members the following question:

“What is the most important thing for entrepreneurs to remember when they are preparing to publish their first book?”

Preparing to Publish Your First Book

Here’s what YEC community members had to say:

1. Make Sure You Have Something Original to Say

“I think too many entrepreneurs today are writing books simply as a branding exercise. There’s nothing wrong with this, as long as you have a real message. Consider what your area of expertise is and what you’ve learned from experience. Don’t just rehash what’s already out there. If you don’t have the experience yet, think of partnering with someone else or creating a book of interviews.” ~ Kalin Kassabov,ProTexting

2. Research Every Book in the Industry

“When I first started writing my book, I looked into every single book in my industry and wrote notes on what I liked, what I didn’t like and what I saw myself improving. It was a tedious process and many times I found myself in a room reading all the time. But the research came in handy because it gave me clarity on my subject and the value I wanted to deliver through my book.” ~ Sweta Patel, Startup Growth Mode

3. Make Sure You Have a Great Title and Cover

“It’s a sad truth, but the title and cover of your book are going to be responsible for most of its sales and success. Have a great cover and title and a horrible book, you will likely make a bunch of sales. Have a bad cover and a bad title, but a great story, and your book will likely suffer in sales. Split test several titles and cover ideas before going live with your final decision.” ~ Zac Johnson, Blogger

4. Know Your Audience

“Don’t write the book for you, write the book for your audience. First, identify who your audience will be. Next, use content and verbiage your audience will understand. For instance, if your audience is a layperson, you want to avoid industry jargon and craft words in a way they will understand. Lastly, have an outsider review the book and provide candid feedback from their perspective.” ~ Matthew Podolsky,Florida Law Advisers, P.A.

5. Hire an Editor

“Even if you’re a great writer and pretty good and spelling and grammar, you should still consider hiring an editor. A professional editor will help you polish your book so that it’s in the best possible shape for readers. Plus, self-editing is hard. An editor will be able to find holes and areas where you can get your message across more effectively that you might never have noticed without them.” ~ John Turner, SeedProd LLC

6. Align the Book With Your Personal and Company Brands

“Make sure everything about the book reflects the brand you are building to get more traction, whether it is your personal or business brand or both. Consider how the cover art, title and overall content aligns with your brand.” ~ Angela Ruth, Calendar

7. Temper Your Expectations

“Remember that if your book does not take off and become a bestseller, it’s nothing personal. Writing and marketing a book are difficult, so do not take lackluster interest or sales as a business or personal failure. Instead, re-read your book, get feedback from people you respect and think about what you could have done differently. Look at it as a another learning experience.” ~ Blair Thomas, eMerchantBroker

8. Build Initial Traction

“Entrepreneurs should never neglect the pre-sales work that goes into launching the first book. Setting up a site, engaging your audience months ahead, building a pre-sales email list are some of the important elements. Working with industry leaders to gather reviews and including these reviews in the preface is equally important for credibility. Initial traction is paramount.” ~ Mario Peshev, DevriX

9. Be Prepared for the Work Ahead

“Publishing your first book means creating the biggest deliverable of your career. It’s important to know that creating, editing, publishing and marketing a book is a long and arduous process. No matter how much you rely on others to do ghostwriting and promotion, if the book is published under your name, the creation and sale of the product will require serious time and a commitment to success.” ~ Joey Kercher, Air Fresh Marketing

10. Remember: Publishing a Book is Only the Beginning

“From what I have learned, writing and publishing a book is only the beginning of the journey. Then you need to embark on selling it. This takes a whole new marketing plan which, depending on the book, may include such events are touring, signings and media spots. Be prepared to do that work. After putting in so much effort to write a book, it deserves that attention.” ~ Colbey Pfund, LFNT Distribution

Image: Depositphotos.com

This article, “10 Tips for Entrepreneurs Preparing to Publish Their First Book” was first published on Small Business Trends

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You’ve heard the horror stories: Small businesses being sued for trademark infringement and having to rebrand their businesses. That means redoing marketing materials, changing domain names and a myriad of other nightmarish tasks — all because the business owner failed to file for trademark protection. Don’t let this happen to you! 

Think of your trademark like planting a tree in your garden. The trademark represents your brand and you need to protect it and maintain it, so it grows and blooms. Here’s what to do. 

Understanding trademarks: What can they do?

First, it’s important to understand the distinction between the three types of protection available from the federal government. 

• A copyright protects original works of authorship both published and unpublished, such as artistic works like poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software and architecture. Copyrights do not protect facts, ideas, systems or methods of operation.
• Patents protect inventions or discoveries such as processes, machines, and designs for products.
• A trademark is a word, phrase, name or symbol that identifies a company, a product or a service and distinguishes it from competitors. 

You can trademark your company name, product names, logos and taglines. You can’t trademark an invention or a piece of software.

Trademarking Your Brand: Steps to success

To see if your business name is available to trademark, start by searching online for similar names and brands to make sure your company name isn’t already taken. Does it seem as if every name you want pops up in Google? Don’t fret: The only search results you really need to care about are those on the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) website. If your name, logo, tagline, etc. doesn’t show up there, you can begin the trademark application process. 

Most likely your brand involves more than just your company name, so you need to be clear on what exactly you want trademarked. The USPTO will want to know if your trademark consists of words only (called a “standard character drawing”) or if it includes stylization, designs, graphics, logos or color (called a “special form drawing”). 

During the application process you’ll be asked to upload files depicting your trademark. If you’re trademarking a special character drawing, the more detailed and original you can make this drawing, the better chance you have of securing the trademark. If your business has already begun, you’ll also need to show evidence of the trademark appearing in your marketing materials, correspondence and website.

You’ll also need to determine your business’s classification. You’ll be directed to search on a few words describing your what your business does, how it does it and where it does it. The system then tries to match your description with several options for classification. Here’s where you can really distinguish your trademark from similar trademarks already in the system — again, the more specific you can be, the better. If you’re not sure of your classification, ask an expert on trademarks or contact the USPTO for assistance so you get it right.

Protecting your Trademark: Use It or Lose It

Once your trademark has been approved, your responsibilities have just begun. Your trademark needs your care and attention if you want to maximize its full power for your brand. Use your trademark extensively so as to keep it in the public eye. Why is this important? The U.S. trademark system is based on use. If another company files for the same trademark and can prove you have not used your trademark consistently and in a high-quality manner, you could lose your rights to it. 

Between the fifth and sixth year after your trademark has been registered, you will be required to file a “Declaration of Use” to show you’re keeping your trademark in the public eye. Then, between the ninth and tenth year, you need to file a combined “Declaration of Use (or Excusable Nonuse)” and “Application for Renewal” in order to continue ownership of the trademark. You must refile for ownership every 10 years after that to maintain in good standing.

What happens if you miss the deadline for renewal? You do have a grace period of six months after the deadline to refile, but if you miss that deadline, you’ll need to start the trademark registration process all over again.  

If you follow the rules for care and feeding of your trademark, you’ll have nothing to worry about. Maintain your trademark registration, keep your trademark in the public eye, and you can sleep soundly with no nightmares about trademark infringement to keep you awake. 

Image: Depositphotos.com

This article, “How to Protect Your Brand with a Trademark” was first published on Small Business Trends

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To be an effective marketer in 2019, you need to improve on the basic strategies you already use. It’s no longer enough to simply have a social media strategy or to send out emails periodically. For tips on stepping up your marketing strategies in 2019 and beyond, here are some tips from members of the online small business community.

Pay Attention to These Advertising Trends in 2019

The advertising landscape is changing quickly, especially on platforms like Facebook. If you want your messages to be seen by relevant consumers, you need to pay attention to the current trends. In this Voy Media post, Kevin Urrutia goes over some of the advertising trends to note in 2019.

Think Above Customer Expectations with Social Media Marketing

It’s always important to consider your customers’ expectations when marketing. But when it comes to social media, it may be necessary to exceed them. In this post, Are Morch explores this concept for hotels, but much of the concepts apply to other businesses as well. BizSugar members commented on the post here.

Don’t Ignore These Sales Strategies for Lead Generation

When you’re working to increase your sales, you need to bring in leads from multiple sources. There are some lead generation techniques that tend to be overlooked by small businesses. To really make an impact on your sales numbers, read this DIY Marketers post by Stefan Aarnio.

Add Video to Your Social Media Marketing

There’s a good chance that your marketing strategy includes some kind of social media content. You may even have a YouTube channel or some video content on your website. But you can make a greater impact by combining these strategies. This Content Marketing Institute post by Joe Forte includes tips for adding video into your social media strategy.

Go Back to Basics to Promote Your Business

Your marketing plan may have evolved a bit through the years. But some of those basic strategies can still be useful to established businesses. To step up your marketing strategy, here are some basic methods from Ivan Widjaya of Noobpreneur that you may want to re-examine.

Use These Smart Social Media Marketing Tools

To step up your social media strategies, you need to choose the right tools. There are plenty of options available for smart marketers, including those outlined in this post by Rebekah Radice. Then you can see input from the BizSugar community here.

Create Loyal Customers Through Post-Purchase Emails

Your business almost certainly has some kind of email marketing strategy. But if you just send out a regular newsletter, it may be time to rethink things. With post-purchase emails, you can more effectively build a loyal customer base. Learn more in this Target Marketing post by Alexandra Braunstein.

Use Psychology in Your SEO Strategy

SEO isn’t just about inserting keywords into your website content. You also need to think about how people think and feel when they interact with your online content. In this Search Engine Journal post, Andy Betts dives into the role psychology can play in your SEO efforts.

Improve Instagram Engagement Through Captions

When you think about Instagram content, you probably focus mainly on the actual visuals. But your captions can play a major role in driving engagement as well. Here, Jenn Herman of Social Media Examiner offers some tips for creating Instagram captions that help you connect with potential customers.

Make the Most of Interactive Content Tools

Interacting with customers is essential for any type of business, whether you target consumers or other businesses. There are plenty of tools that can help you effectively interact with your target audience. Caitlin Burgess explains how you can make the most of these tools on the TopRank Marketing blog.

If you’d like to suggest your favorite small business content to be considered for an upcoming community roundup, please send your news tips to: sbtips@gmail.com.

Image: Depositphotos.com

This article, “10 Expert Tips for Improving Your Existing Marketing Strategies” was first published on Small Business Trends

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A sales commission rate is a percentage of the sales your small business pays to the employee who made them. Here’s an example. If your small business sets a commission rate of 5% and an individual on the sales team makes $70,000 in net sales, the formula works like this:

$70,000 (net sales) x 5% (commission rate) = $3500 (payable to salesperson)

Why You Need Sales Commission Rates

There are a few different reasons why it’s a good idea to have sales commission rates for your small business. A sales commission rate can allow for different compensations for different levels of sales to increase motivation.

These also clearly define how people are compensated for their efforts. Small businesses can set rates for full-time and outsourced salespeople so everyone is on the same page.  They can be fixed or on a series of sliding scales like in the following example.

Let’s say that you pay someone on the sales team 5% for every unit up to $100,000. With a tiered commission plan that rate could go up to 7% once the plateau of $100,000 is reached and surpassed.

The sales commission rate playbook has a lot of choices. Here are a few ways to start thinking about how to set one that makes sense for your small business.

Different Ways to Set Them

While you can set your own rates, there are a few different scenarios that you might want to consider if you don’t already have a sales commission rate in place.

For example, small businesses might want to consider a lower commission rate if they have an inside sales team that works from a set list for cold calls. If a sales rep has a list of prospects to get in touch with, you might want to consider a base salary to offset a lower commission rate since the closing rate might be low.

Commissions for Different Kinds of Sales Teams

Sales teams that are focusing on building relationships one at a time should consider a commission rate that takes into account individual sales. This works great for outside sales teams who are meeting people face-to-face.

If you’re thinking big picture even though you’re a small business, setting a commission rate based on volume by territory is the best way to go here.

Finding the Sweet Spot

Finding the sweet spot for this sales commission rate can be helped along when you make these territories protected. It’s a great way to prevent poaching and keeps all the sales reps motivated but in their own territorial lanes.

Sometimes there’s a difference in the commission rate depending on what you sell. Small businesses that sell services are more likely to offer a percentage of the net profits than manufacturing outfits.

Finally, some companies will pay a larger commission rate and even bonuses for bringing in new clients or breaking into and forming new territories.

Mixing a Base Salary with your Commission Rate

Small businesses also have the option of mixing a base salary with the commission rate. You’ll need to decide if your sales people are the major drivers of getting your goods and services sold. If the answer is yes, you’ll need to have a higher rate.

On the other hand, if your goods and services pretty much sell themselves and your sales people lean more towards customer service, providing them with more of a salary is a good idea.

Finding Some Benchmarks to Gauge

Of course, it’s helpful to have some benchmarks to gauge your sales commission rates by. If you want to attract the best talent for your small business, it’s a good idea to stay in the ballpark that was set by other people in the same industry.

Salespeople in the services industries generally make a higher commission rate then those who sell manufactured products. In fact, research shows they can make between 20 to 40% commission.

Keeping Rates Low for Manufactured Goods

The price of building products including the overhead keeps the commission rate down for salespeople who are working with manufactured goods. The ballpark here is around 9 to 10% for these salespeople.

More numbers indicate that the low-end equals out to about $50,000 a year with the top end peaking at $75,000 on average.

Considering These Specifics

Specifically, the going sales commission rate for storm restoration and roofing businesses is around 10%. Home improvement sales reps generally make the same. Pest control salespeople make as much is 25% on the sales they make.

Marketing people can make as much as 20% on the first payment from a client. Sometimes, this can drop back down to around 10% as the payments continue.

Remember, these are only examples. Most small businesses will want to set their own rates based on the information that’s being provided here and their own business model.

Looking for Help when Possible

With everything else that you have to do is a small business owner, finding the time to set the right sales commission rate might sit on a ‘to do’ list longer than you’d like. Technology can be a real help. GetApp has a great list of some of the most updated software options.

If you are already tech savvy as a small business owner, you might be using accounting software. If that’s the case you can find some templates for setting sales commission rates with some of the services you already use. Check out QuickBooks Apps. Their Easy-Commission app calculates customized commission rates for each rep.

Image: Depositphotos.com

This article, “How to Turn your Sales Commission Rates from Blah to Fantastic” was first published on Small Business Trends

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Online shopping isn’t normally considered to be a particularly social experience. But Betabrand wants to change that. The fashion brand integrates customers into its product development process. And this has led to some really interesting offerings like yoga pants that look like dress pants and a sweater that uses thermoregulating technology so you can enjoy the coziness of a nice sweater even when it’s warm out.

Read more about the company and its unique process in this week’s Small Business Spotlight.

What the Business Does

Designs clothes with a social component.

Founder and CEO Chris Lindland told Small Business Trends, “Betabrand is an online clothing brand that designs in a uniquely social manner. By inviting customers into our creative process, we make more inventive products much faster. Internet hits include: Dress Pant Yoga Pants, Black Sheep Sweaters, Under-the-Jack Packs, Tennis Western Boots and many more. This month’s top product: Unicorn sweaters.”

Business Niche

Involving customers in the design process.

Lindland says, “We invite hundreds of thousands of consumers to co-create products on our site. Major brands like The North Face, Timberland, Vivobarefoot, and Smartwool have used our community platform to design products of their own.”

How the Business Got Started

As a way to mix social media and ecommerce.

Lindland explains, “The goal was always to create a unique social commerce platform. Some of our first hit products for the Internet were Cordarounds, Executive Hoodies, and Disco pants”

Biggest Win

Creating the Dress Pant Yoga Pants.

Lindland adds, “We’ve sold over 1M pair and expect to sell another million this year.”

Biggest Risk

Taking a unique approach to a womenswear launch.

Lindland says, “We knew we’d have to expand beyond menswear into womenswear but weren’t sure if we could do so in time to hit a fundraising goal. So we made the marketing decision to launch all of our women’s products on models with PhDs and it attracted an enormous amount of traffic to the site. The result: We grew incredibly and now women are our primary consumers.”

Lesson Learned

Take risks.

Lindland explains, “In the clothing business, you benefit from doing one thing really well and building scale off of it. To demonstrate that our platform could create anything, we tried everything and that was sometimes hard to manufacture to. But we always pulled it off, so I wouldn’t change a thing. It would have made things easier, but not necessarily better.”

How They’d Spend an Extra $100,000

Experimenting with live media.

Lindland says, “I’d pour it all into experiments with live commerce online. I think there’s a fun future in that. And we’re already gearing up experiments for it.”

* * * * *

Find out more about the Small Biz Spotlight program

Images: Betabrand

This article, “In the Spotlight: Betabrand Puts New Fashion to the Test” was first published on Small Business Trends

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Tax season can be stressful for small business owners. There’s all the receipts you need to get together and that’s usually just a slice of the other invoices, documents and data that needs to be corralled and made sense of. Sometimes you just need to talk with someone who knows where a piece or two fits into the bigger puzzle.

If you’re in that position, here’s 9 ways to get free help with taxes from a real live person.

Where to Get Free Tax Help

H&R Block

What it is: There’s a variety of well-respected tax preparation companies that offer phone numbers that you can call to ask questions. For example, H&R Block has a comprehensive tax center on their website.

How it works: Follow the link provided to the Tax Tools and Tax Tips section and then click on the tab for the Help Center. If you scroll down a bit farther once you hit that page you’ll see a live support phone number.

Where To Find: If you’re looking for a brick-and-mortar location where you can go in and ask a question, there’s a link right here.

Human Services Agencies

What it is: Human services agencies in different municipalities and locations will offer free tax help from real people for those who earn under a certain amount as a family. Not only can they give you free advice but also help steer you towards different tax credits.   

How it works: Finding the right human service agency where you live is a good start. Begin your search right here. They will be able to direct you to any family or personal tax credits that make a difference to your return.

Where to find: There’s only one drawback here and that’s these are mostly government agencies that will work 9 to 5 hours. If you take a quick look at this one for San Francisco, you’ll see there’s even a general inquiry number that can point you in the right direction. 

United Way Tax Service

What it is: This is another online tax service but this one is from the United Way. Although the one that you can follow through this link is for the California area, there are others for your particular location. This system will point you in the direction of free tax tax service where you can ask questions.

How it works: Basically, all you need is your postal code to get started. You can even select languages and a radius from that starting point to find the help nearest to you.

Where to find: If you’re looking for this kind of free tax help from a real person, you can start out at the United Way’s main website. Check out the Find Your United Way tab in the far top corner.

Tax Advice Portals

What it is: These are online portals where you can ask a tax question and have it answered usually within 24 hours from a variety of participating accountants.

How it works: It’s as simple as it sounds. You just fill out an online form and write out your question in general and you’ll get an answer back. Make no mistake, these portals are about selling the accountants’ services but you will get some free information and maybe some fee quotes to play off each other at the same time.

Where to find:  Here’s an example of one of these portals. However, it caters to a UK audience so you’ll want to conduct your own online search.

Quora

What it is: This is an online site where people share knowledge, ask questions and get answers on a variety of different subjects for free. It’s not necessarily the right spot to get quality professional answers because it’s open to everyone and not just accountants. However, this is a great place to ask questions about where you can find free tax advice and get good leads.

How it works: Getting started is simple. You can search through the different spaces for questions that have already been answered or submit your own with an easy tab.

Where to find: You can start using Quora simply by following this link

NATP

What it is: The National Association of Tax Professionals is a comprehensive membership site for accountants and other kinds of tax preparers. It’s a good place to find out who the professionals are in your area since many accountants offer an initial consultation.

How it works: There are several ways that you can use this website to your advantage including a live chat and a 1-800 number. If you’re out in front of your tax deadline far enough, you can place a classified ad looking for help.

Where to find: The NATP website can be found right here.

Just Answer Tax

What it is: This is another online portal where you can ask a tax question and get answers from professionals in the industry.

How it works: Questions can be asked through a chat box and you’re able to see how many professionals are online to answer your questions right away. The website says that you can get help 24 hours a day seven days a week. Although it’s not a free service, there is a Q&A section where some popular tax questions are answered in that format for free.

Where to find: You can use some of the enrolled agents and certified public accountants on this website here.

IRS Free File Alliance

What it is: This is a service that is open to all Americans who made less than $66,000 a year. Basically, it’s a group of companies that offer free online filing under the IRS banner.

How it works: You need to go through the free file website to access the company’s platform. You’ll get a good deal but only if you click on the affiliate link. These types of sites will also allow you to find some contact info to ask questions.

Where to find: You can find useful information about the IRS Free File Alliance and some good contact information on the Internet.

Twitter

What it is: You can find just about everything you need on social media these days including free tax help. Twitter is a great place to ask specific questions using the right hashtag.

How it works: You can start a search using your own account or even do a Google search using geographically tagged keywords that will get you Twitter results in your locale.

Where to find: If you start by doing a quick search at the top of your own Twitter account and using keywords like free tax help, you’ll come across places like this where you can either ask a question or scroll down to find answers.

Image: Depositphotos.com

This article, “9 Resources Where Small Businesses Can Get Free Help With Taxes from a Real Live Person” was first published on Small Business Trends

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