I recently spoke to a woman whose daughter was being stalked and harassed. I’m proud to say I connected her with the right help, and the man responsible was brought to justice. Tap or click for the scary details. This nightmare could happen to anyone.
I’m proud to say that I built my multimillion-dollar enterprise with no debt and no investors. It’s rewarding for me to help the many small business owners who call and need a hand getting their company off the ground or breaking past a big hurdle. I’ve been there myself.
Here’s my advice from the trenches.
1. Know your competition
Unless you’re going rogue with an all-new product or service, your customers already exist and spend their money elsewhere. Competitor research is one of the best ways to get a feel for what works and doesn’t work in your industry.
It’s also an intelligent way to get in touch with your customers’ needs, including what they expect to pay and how much you can earn.
Find a handful of companies doing what you hope to do and be a student. “How much can I learn here?”
- Study their websites. What stands out and what isn’t so great? You can monitor website changes over time with Visualping. This free tool allows you to enter a website you want to track, and you’ll get email alerts any time that site changes. You’ll know if your competitor created an excellent new landing page copy or swapped out photos. Tap or click for a direct link to try it out.
- Follow your competitors on social media and subscribe to their newsletters. Take note of any posts that generate a high number of comments or shares.
- Sign up for Google Alerts for your business name, your competitors, and an industry term or two that makes sense. Tap or click here for steps to set up a Google Alert. I suggest you go with weekly alerts. Daily alerts can get overwhelming.
2. Brand yourself with a memorable domain
A strong web presence is essential; securing a great domain name is the first step. You want something easy to remember, clear and concise. No one is going to remember a six-word-long URL.
Doctors, lawyers or other professionals who use their names for their businesses have an advantage. Hey, my website is Komando.com.
How much will a domain cost you? Let’s use GoDaddy as an example. For a .com address, you’ll spend about $22.99 annually, paying just a penny for your first year. You can get a .me email address for $6.99 for the first year, then $21.99 annually. A .biz URL requires a two-year purchase for about $37 in total.
The best domain idea means nothing if it’s taken, of course. Namech_k shortcuts the process for you. Put in your idea and see if it is registered or open. We’re not talking just .com or .net, either. It checks for .us, .info, .biz and lots more.
It also scours social media sites to see if your preferred name is taken there. Consistency is vital because it helps people find you much more quickly. It’s why I’m @kimkomando on every social media platform, and by all means, I invite you to follow me. Tap or click here for pro tips on using Namech_k.
3. Speaking of websites, make yours smart
Search engine optimization (SEO) is more than keywords that get you to the top of Google’s search results. An optimized site is lightweight, loads quickly, and is tight enough to prevent visitors from getting stuck in a glitchy dropdown menu.
When in doubt, you can hire a professional developer for a site audit, which may reveal frustrating flaws turning customers off. You can also run these free online tests to see your site’s most significant issues.
A common issue is your website’s design. Remember that mobile performance is as important as your site’s appearance on a desktop monitor. Today’s website-building tools make creating a site that looks good and performs well on every device easy.
Weebly’s plans start at $12 a month. Wix begins at $32 monthly. Squarespace starts at $23 monthly or $27 if you take payments.
It’s worth browsing what those monthly charges get you. Squarespace’s Business plan, for example, includes advanced site analytics and a year of professional email through Google. Wix gives you access to drop shipping inventory and 100 GB of storage space.
4. Make it easy to get paid
Traffic is increasing, but you’re not making more money. Your customers might be running into a wall.
Are they frustrated by an inconvenient payment method? Is there a technical bug preventing them from finalizing the sale? Go through the entire checkout process yourself, using a VPN or an Incognito window to see your site as a visitor does. Take note of anything that doesn’t go smoothly.
If your payment processing options aren’t up to snuff, consider these:
- Square: Pay a flat fee plus a percentage of the sale. Cost depends on the type of transaction. For example, a customer entering a card number online will cost you 3.5% of the sale plus 15 cents.
- PayPal: PayPal’s checkout works similarly. A standard credit card payment is 2.99% plus a 49-cent fee.
- Stripe: For card charges, pay 2.9% plus a 30-cent fee.
5. Only pay for what you need to
There’s no way around some expenses, but I bet I can save you a bit of money with this gem: There are free versions of the most popular paid software that are just as good.
- Instead of Microsoft Office, check out LibreOffice or Google Docs and Sheets.
- For editing photos, I like GIMP, Pixlr X and Canva. Tap or click here to see the pros and cons of each option.
- DaVinci Resolve is excellent free video editing software.
- Audacity is a free audio editing program the pros use.
That’s not all. Here are nine free software copycats that work better than the real programs.
6. Get advice from other pros
The federal Small Business Administration has more resources than you may realize. Use this link to find free or low-cost training or business advice. If you’re starting, you can also find guides for creating a business plan, registering your company, and getting a handle on day-to-day operations.
SCORE can also connect you with business mentors who can help you start or grow your company — and it’s free. The nonprofit organization runs the nation’s largest network of volunteer business experts. You can get help via email, phone, or video if there’s no local chapter where you live.
Bonus: Say goodbye to spreadsheets that slow you down
Are you fed up with QuickBooks? You’re not alone. I hear from listeners constantly looking for a better way to get their accounting done.
That’s where our sponsor, NetSuite, comes in. It’s the world’s No. 1 cloud business system for good reason. If you’re bogged down in spreadsheets stored locally on your computer, you’ll love that you can access all your data in one place whenever you want.
It’s so much more than just accounting software. NetSuite gives you visibility and control over your financials, HR, inventory, e-commerce and more — all in one place, instantaneously. Whether you’re doing a million or hundreds of millions in revenue, you can save time and money with NetSuite.
See it in action for yourself. Head to Netsuite.com/kim and get a free product tour.