Small Business Inspiration: Sticking To Your Principles and Running a Successful Small Business

Posted on October 24th, 2008, 11:10 am
Filed Under (Biz Start Up, Brochure) by Lisa Rodgers

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Today, I am weighing in on my small business and how it all began.  In April, 2000, I got started in natural spa products after leaving a micro-managed job to pursue something on my own but what that was, I didn’t have a clue. Natural bath and body products were an interest and I was curious as to how they were made. I started selling/making natural soaps for a company in Seattle that was in need for independent reps. Later, the owner was no longer interested in the business so I decided to create Cactus & Ivy. Now, here I am, 8 years later. I am still learning and taking it all in. Going into business for myself was the best move I ever made. Well, second to my marriage. I wouldn’t be in this business had it not been for the love and support of my husband.

The most enjoyable moments in my career have to be working for myself. I left a world full of management looking over my shoulder at every sales move I made. I did not go into business for myself to make a killing….just a living. I am still a consumer to others and I wanted to make sure I offered an exceptional product for a fair price. I absolutely, positively love getting up in the morning to see what the day will bring. Cactus & Ivy is a fun place to work and I have vowed from the beginning that no employee will ever feel the way I did when I was in the corporate world rat race.

The greatest challenges I face are competing with the companies that can afford to purchase nifty packaging at large volumes or has the added capital to run ads for an abundance of exposure. Consumers are starting to look to the “indie” part of the natural products industry. I look at how we all started out. The “indie” manufacturer has always been providing the hand made, natural product and is now being recognized. The larger companies are starting to realize that natural is the way to go so they’ve stepped up to the plate and are providing the added competition.

To remain competitive, I send out mailings that include a postage paid card that can be returned if a prospective wholesale client would like to receive free samples. For the retail end of the spectrum, I choose options that will allow Cactus & Ivy to get in front of the consumer for a reasonable cost.  Every business has to be conscious of the money they spend for brand awareness, however, small businesses are usually operating off a very limited budget and we need the most bang for our buck.  We are very talented in the ways of promoting our business and tooting our own horn.  You have to be when you are working with limited capital.

Cactus & Ivy has is presently participating in The Green Retailer and Pure Zing.  I am constantly seeking beauty sites that welcome product submissions to review. In addition to budget friendly advertising, Cactus & Ivy is also a member of several organizations that also promote our brand.  We are a member of PETA’s Caring Consumer, The Leaping Bunny Program and the Indie Beauty Network.

Cactus & Ivy has never tested its products on animals, nor will we ever.  In addition, we only purchase raw materials from companies that adhere to the same standard.  That was an easy decision from the inception of Cactus & Ivy and something we don’t take lightly and is non-negotiable.

After joining the Caring Consumer program, we decided to remove all animal byproducts from our ingredients. We have replaced beeswax with candelilla wax and we no longer use honey. Each opportunity brings change and Cactus & Ivy wants to change with it. In addition to Cactus & Ivy products being “cruelty free” we are now “vegan” too!! We are phasing out old packaging and gearing toward eco-friendly in all aspects that we can. Once we are depleted of our raw materials, we will be replacing them with Organic, where available.

Every decision I make is based on what Cactus & Ivy can sustain.  I’d love to have the eco-friendly packaging now, however, my bottom line cannot afford to go that route just yet.  I continue to scour the internet sourcing better pricing on raw materials and packaging.  I am constantly thinking of our customers, because without them, Cactus & Ivy wouldn’t exist.

So, now you know a little about me and my company, Cactus & Ivy.  For those interested in starting your own business, I say go for it!  If you are looking to start a bath and body products company, know the market you are wanting to target. Create products with a purpose and not just because it’s a fad. Bring your own flair to the products and continue to look for ways to make it better.  Make sure you become a member of social networks and use them to promote your business.  You’d be pleasantly surprised at the connections you make.  I have been on Twitter for several months and just joined LinkedIn.  Both arenas are proving to be very beneficial, not only for business contacts but I have made some really awesome friendships that I cherish!

As in any business, competition is healthy. It keeps you honest. I’ve been in sales most of my adult life and I have always looked at “no” is just a two letter word. There are plenty of “yeses” to go around. Be persistent and never give up!  Live your dream!

I want to end my post with a big thank you to Daniel with Logo Design Guru for allowing me to be a guest writer on Logo Talk.  For those of you that don’t know, Logo Design Guru designed my logo and I couldn’t be happier.  Having a good logo to represent your brand is a must!  You want people to automatically associate your logo with your products or services.  The Cactus & Ivy logo was one (1) of eight (8) logos that was awarded the prestigious American Graphic Design Award in the 2007 competition.  Wow….it doesn’t get any better than that!

Have a fabulous day!

Lisa M. Rodgers is the CEO of Cactus & Ivy a cruelty free and vegan manufacturer of natural spa, bath and body products.

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Don’t Let the Fish off the Hook Small Business Internet strategies:Part III of III

Posted on October 16th, 2008, 01:10 pm
Filed Under (Biz Start Up, Interactive) by Joe Witte

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Are you attracting a lot of “fish” to your small business website but not catching them? Think of your website as a fishing rod and online marketing (Search Engine Optimization, Pay Per Click, online advertising, etc) as your bait. Online marketing attracts fish to bite your bait. But what reels them in? Leave that to page optimization or website conversion techniques.

What are conversions?  Conversions are the action of a random visitor “converting” to a lead, sale, phone call, or registration. Conversion rate is the metrics used to determine how often visitors turn into sales or leads.

Conversion rates vary in every industry, but typical conversion rates are between 0.5 and 8 percent, with the norm running between 0.5 and 2 percent. So, if you aren’t converting 50 percent of your traffic, don’t panic. No one is.

While your small business website that is not “Amazonian” in magnitude, you can still have a major impact on tracking and improving its performance, or “conversion rate,” of visitors once they come to your website.

The first step to catching these fish is observing them. There are two key ways to watch what people do on your site. The first is to ask people (friends or family) to go to your site, and observe what they do. What do they click on? Do they have a hard time finding the links or actions you want them to take? This will help you with any potential redesigns that may be necessary in order to increase conversions.

The next priority is to create a click stream analysis. A Click stream analysis allows you to determine what pages people are finding by conducting searches (entry pages), and where they go once they visit your website, and where they leave (exit pages). Google Analytics (a free tool from Google Inc.) is critical for small website owners to use and review to look at their site statistics. This will give you a huge amount of information to determine what pages people are finding, and where they are leaving.

You can then ask yourself, “Why do they leave once they get to my services page?” Then you can research and work on improving that page.

The second step to catching a lot of fish is to think like them. Get in the mind of your clients and try to figure out what they look for, what’s important to them, and what other sites they compare you to.

Does your site’s unique selling proposition (USP) stand out from your competition? Can they easily find testimonials? What do you want your prospect to do? Do you want them to register for your newsletter? Do you want them to purchase your product? Do you want them to call or fill out a lead form? As simple as it sounds, once you determine the best course of action that will lead to the most sales, then you can gear your website towards this objective.

If you want your clients to fill out a lead form, I’d recommend putting a simple lead form on every page. If you want them to purchase your product, lead them to the pages that show your product or service and show that you have the best pricing, service, and product. Be wary of trying to drive your customers directly to the order form. Just because they are online, doesn’t mean that they will buy without some research.

You must lead people to do what you want them to do, and it must be simple and easy to find. If someone has to look for more than 3 seconds to determine what you do, they’ll steal your bait and swim. A significant challenge for any company is balancing design aesthetics with functionality and conversion performance. Sometimes, a button may be ugly, but if people are clicking on it and converting, then it may be worth the distraction.

Here are some obvious, yet easily overlooked tips for every website:

1) Ensure your company’s phone number is prominently placed on every page. Our company underestimated the number of sales we drive via the phone. People want to talk to the companies they are about to give their business to.

2) Put a lead form on your home page. Be sure to capture the users name, email, phone and their interest.

3) Get to the point- let people know what you do, and how it will help them, and why you are better than your competition within the first 2 sentences on your website.

4) Include EXTRA buttons for the pages you want people to visit in addition to the navigation at the top or left. Give people multiple paths to go to the pages you want them to go to, and keep it above the fold.

5) Feature the items or services you want to sell.

6) Keep your website fresh. Give people a reason to come back and visit regularly. Think BLOG!

This is our final article of three covering basic internet strategies for small and local businesses. The first article discussed building your website, the second article covered the basics of search engine optimization, and this article we discusses way to increase conversions once someone has visited your website.

Joe Witte is a partner at Logo Design Guru and WebbyGuru, and has successfully started 3 small businesses including CentricSource and Travel Ad Network.

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Small Business Tips: Online Backup: Do I want this?

Posted on October 1st, 2008, 06:10 am
Filed Under (Biz Start Up) by George Bardissi

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Many people are starting to discover the phenomenon of online backup. What is it? How does it work? Is it secure? How much does it cost? Let’s dive into this from the top down.

Data storage, over the past few years, has seriously come down in cost. Many companies have since invested in creating data centers with massive storage capacity and with this capacity they offer companies around the world, that have a high speed internet connection,  the ability to use this storage space for secure off-site data backup. Is there an upside to this or does this make sense for my company? Many people forget that a company is only as good as its people and its information. This is why keeping data secure and backed up are two of the most crucial parts of information technology security as we know it today.

A traditional backup method, still in use, over the past several years, has been the tape backup solution. Companies would have a set of tapes and make sure at least one was kept off-site at someone’s house, out of the usual tape backup rotation. This is still a method in regular use today. However, there are many more methods in the mix today such as NAS (network attached storage), external hard drive backup and on-line backup just to mention a few. Keep in mind, there are many more types of back up methods, with others being created every day. Since online and off site backup has gained great popularity, it has become pretty inexpensive for what you get and gives your company an extra layer of data backup redundancy. Because there are an incredible number of data backup providers our limited column space won’t permit us to list them all and their cost factors. Instead, I would suggest that you Google data backup companies in your area.

Be assured you will get a very extensive list to choose from and compare prices on. Do I really need more than one data backup system? Well consider this, if for some reason your server were to crash or your data were to become corrupted causing your on-site data backup solution to fail, having a second and third backup method would be a way of making sure your data is protected. I caution against strictly using just one method of backup due to the fact that if that backup fails you are literally up the creek.

Also, other things to keep in mind are, if your internet connection fails then your on-line backup won’t work. Yes, on-line backup is secure because the data is encrypted before it is transferred over the internet and then kept secure in the data center where it is held. Retrieving data from the on-line storage software is very easy and does not require cumbersome software packages to get files back after data loss. If you use personal finance software such as Quicken, or Microsoft Money and use the online file backup for your data file they use this same technology as well. You may also see that manufactures are starting to offer one year free of charge on-line data backup with your PC purchase.

Of course, you would have to begin paying after the trial period. As time goes on and the cost of data storage continues to go down you will see off-site / on-line data backup and storage continue to surface in many areas and become very useful when, not if, something does go wrong. Remember, with information technology, it is a safe bet that something will, on occasion, go wrong. The question then becomes, “Will you be ready for it, when it happens?”

George Bardissi is the President and Owner of  Bardissi Enterprises, a Managed Information Technology solutions company, providing IT services to small and medium sized businesses.

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