Category: Growth Strategies

The Benefits of Having a Great Business Mentor on Your Side

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There are a very few successful people that are truly “self-made”. Mostly every success story is linked to someone that helped the person along the way. Although this is not always the case, most of the time the person that helped was a mentor. Understanding the benefits of having a great business mentor is something you need to think about.

Basically, a business mentor is an individual who is there for you to guide you in the right direction. He/she gives you direction through their experience and listens to your ideas. Mentors have years of experience in the field and they have gone through the problems that most new business owners will go through. They share that experience with you so you don’t have to go through those problems. In this way, a mentor can help save you a lot of time, money, and frustration.

Following are some benefits of having a great business mentor:

Expert Advice

The best thing about having a great business mentor that has experience in your industry is that they can give you a more reliable, specific advice. Because of their years of experience, they know the issues that you are facing, and how to deal with those issues in a quick and efficient way. The important thing to remember is that you are getting a sound advice. The mentor’s job is not about telling you what to do. They can simply offer advice on the basis of what they know, and what they have been through in the past. Every situation is different, so it is up to you to decide how to deal with each situation based on what you know as well as the advice that your mentor gives you.

A Different Perspective

Another benefit of having a business mentor is that they can act as a sounding board for your ideas. Your mentor can offer a different perspective that might help you to adjust or clarify those ideas so that you can present them to others. Apart from this, your mentor can also act as a sounding board as you try to determine what the best reaction is to a certain situation that you are currently facing. You may be in a position to deal with a difficult employee, and your business mentor can hear how you want to handle the situation. Your mentor will be able to play “devil’s advocate” to make sure that you are fully prepared before you meet with that employee.

Connections

Since your business mentor has years of experience in your industry, they are likely to have many connections within the industry as well. As your business grows and develops, your mentor may be able to introduce you to people that you wouldn’t be able to meet otherwise. Those connections could lead to promotions and/or opportunities that may not be available to your competitors. As a business owner, your connections are extremely important to the life of your business. Those connections become the suppliers or customers that will help your business to be profitable.

Emotional Support

You may be alone as a business owner, but your entrepreneurial journey doesn’t have to be isolated. Your business mentor can fill the gaps by offering emotional support. This is one of the most critical roles of a great business mentor. As your grow in your business as well as in your personal life, it is helpful to have someone who can ask you the difficult questions regarding how you are doing as a person. They can question you on whether you are making time for your family, how you are treating others, and most importantly, how you are doing ethically.

Developing Confidence

Restoring enthusiasm and confidence on the part of the business owner is the endgame of business mentoring. By encouraging, teaching, and assisting, a mentor can turn a burnt-out business owner into a fireball of productivity. As a business owner, when you realize that your business is not a ball and chain which requires 60 hours of your time every week but a vehicle that can significantly improve your own life and develop real equity, you will become far more productive.

These are just a few of the key benefits of having a great business mentor. But you should keep in mind that nothing is guaranteed. You still need to work hard in order to make sure that your business is successful. However, with an experienced business mentor by your side, your probability of success will certainly increase tenfold.

9 Marketing Ideas To Boost Your Business Profile

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Marketing is extremely important for the growth of a small business. Without any marketing plan, it would be like operating a business with a blindfold. As a small business owner, you must know the different marketing techniques and strategies that will work for your business. The idea is to understand marketing as a way to keep improving the way your business is doing. Smart business owners know that they must always work toward finding new ways to improve their sales, revenue, and profit.

Following are some marketing ideas and tips that will help you gain a competitive edge:

1. Know Your Market

Making sure that you have a solid grasp on your targeted market is the first step in developing a successful small business marketing strategy. Identify your customers. After that, identify the problems, aspirations, and dreams of your targeted customers. Learning about your targeted market will provide you insights regarding how to design your products and services in a way that meet and exceed the expectations of your customers.

2. Know Yourself

After learning about your targeted market, the next step is to know yourself (your business). Ask yourself what your business does and how it is different than your competitors. Also try to find the answer regarding how your business helps solve your customers’ problems. Once you have learned these important aspects of your business, you will be able to define your unique selling proposition – the aspects that make your business stand out from the competition. Make that unique selling proposition your business’ identity.

3. Check Your Competition

It is important that you learn what marketing strategies your competitors are using. You should analyze the marketing campaign of your competitors and try to look for something they are missing. Your aim should be to find a different, unique way to market your services and products so that you don’t go head to head with a competitor that has been in the market for years.

4. Create Social Awareness

It is highly recommended that you create a social media marketing channel so you can develop and generate leads more profitably. Focus more on the trendy social media platforms and start engaging targeted audience. Use your social media marketing channel for publishing out.

5. Communicate Well with Your Targeted Market

Simply being informative on your web page is not enough. You need to be virtually everywhere else to get as many people to have more knowledge about your brand, products, and services. Offer free valuable information related to your services or products so you can give your targeted audience the impression that you are the authority in the service/product that you are selling.

6. Keep Your Ads Short and Concise

As compared to longer ads, short and direct to the point ads are relatively more effective when it comes to attracting customers. They prove to be highly beneficial to small business owners as they don’t have to write a lengthy ad anyway. Furthermore, they are also relatively more cost-effective.

7. Put Business Information on Everything

Whether you are marketing your existing small business or starting a new one, getting your brand out there is everything. It is recommended that you make sure that your brand logo, name, and contact information are on everything you do. Include them on your invoices, website, and any paperwork you send out.

8. Email Marketing – Build Your List

Email marketing is an extremely important part of small business marketing and it is something that will not go away anytime soon. If you are starting from scratch, then building your list may seem like a difficult task, but the effort is worth it as email marketing is still one of the best ways of getting people interested.

9. Advertise Small

Don’t try to mimic advertising campaigns by big businesses as the cost will be simply too much for your small business. Besides, you really don’t need to spend so much on your advertisements because you are a new, relatively small business. So, it is recommended that you find out how to use your small ads properly and convert them to sales.

Final Word

As a small business owner, it is extremely important that you come up with ways to keep your customers coming back to you as well as attract new, targeted customers. Marketing for small business can be attention grabbing and inexpensive. Use the marketing ideas and tips listed above to come up with a personalized marketing plan for your small business. It is also recommended that you play around with different ideas until you find those that work best for you.

Video: Leverage – What Is It and How Do I Use It?

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In this video about leverage, we discuss how to use someone else’s money to propel you to your financial goals faster.

Good Debt and Bad Debt

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What’s the Difference Between Good Debt and Bad Debt?

Let’s talk about debt! While some of your debts might be considered an investment, others are not. It is important that we can recognise and discuss the differences between where your debt is best distributed and how it can affect your ability to secure finance for bigger projects such as starting your own business.

Purchasing a home, new business or car are all essential debts for making your life more comfortable and profitable, right? While they seem like reasonable expenses, there are a few crucial differences in the way lenders view these transactions.

For a lender to secure you a loan, they must carry out a detailed inspection of your existing debt, they will then weigh up what they consider ‘good and bad,’ and base their decision on these factors. Because of this, you must know what debts are favourable and which will hinder your access to further finance.

Bad Debt

When we look at your debts from an investment perspective, we must assess their value based on their financial return. For example, let’s look at buying a new car – it looks great and feels fantastic, but realistically it will only decrease in value over time. Because of this, new car loans are often considered risky and a ‘bad debt.’ Debts like these will affect your ability to secure new loans and finance because of how your money is tied up, here are some more examples of bad debt:

Credit Cards

Credit card debt has to be the biggest killer for your credit. Designed specifically to purchase smaller items, the debt that occurs is most highly avoidable and unnecessary.

While it may be tempting to put that holiday or new pair of shoes on your credit card, you must keep in mind these expenses will not provide you with any appropriate benefits. Serving a ‘quick fix’ towards the growth of your finances, credit cards tie your money up over a long term period, and offer you no financial profitability or gain.

High Interest Loans

While getting a personal loan can seem like a necessary step in acquiring what you need, it’s important to understand how their high-interest rates and long term payment plans can affect your ability to secure other funds.

For example, if you are thinking of starting your own business and accessing the finances to make it happen, your other loans will greatly affect your eligibility for securing funds. If these loans are tied up in items that don’t contribute to your affordability, you are limiting your new business venture and its buying power.

Good Debt

Our relationship with debt in New Zealand needs to be refined, which means understanding where your money is best spent and what loans will advantage your financial position. A great example is getting a student loan to complete your Master’s degree at university. Yes, this loan will cost you money in the short term, but it will also increase your earning potential in the long term. Similar to this example, creditors view these loans as ‘good debt’:

Morgages

Securing a mortgage to buy a new home is a great way to build equity and secure other credit avenues based on its inherent value. Mortgages taken out on your home or rental properties are considered very ‘good debt’ and can actually allow you to make more from your money.

One of the great benefits of attaining a mortgage is the low interest rates you will pay throughout the loan and your properties potential to increase in value over time. Securing this type of debt will enable you to access greater pools of resources, making further investments in business ventures or property straightforward and secure.

Buying a Business

Buying a business is another example of ‘good debt,’ with similarities to attaining a mortgage, this investment has growth potential, as it will generate income over time. With low-interest rates and asset finance available, getting your business up and running for success is an excellent way to secure low-risk debt.

Owning and operating a business can provide you with a steady cash flow that will pay off your loan and provide you with an asset-rich investment, all of these factors make a ‘good debt.’

If you are wanting to secure a loan to start or grow your business, talk to the team at Spinach today. We can provide you with comprehensive loans and business advice that will maximise your opportunities to grow your financial portfolio.