Blog: Small Business

Imagine for a moment you just started your own party planning business, and you are trying to find customers who would potentially use your services. Still, you don't know anything about marketing, directories, flywheels, and/or funnels. You do a quick Google search and find a company that you can pay to find some leads for you (a lead generating company). They have a plethora of established leads or potential clients, so they say. 

This company may have a website that offers free birthday cake recipes and craft wrapping bows ideas as a downloadable pdf. A prospect may enter their email address to access it and have it emailed to them. By entering their email, they agree (usually in the fine print) to have the email address shared with businesses in their area that offer these services. You are then handed (after paying a price) a lead for someone throwing a birthday party. The email and contact information may also be shared with other like-minded businesses who may be potential partners (craft businesses, entertainment, or bakeshops) or even your biggest competitors.

If I were to ask you the difference between search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM), you may or may not be able to tell me. Unfortunately, they are far too often used interchangeably. However, they are very different strategies! The similarity between the two makes it difficult for most small business owners to determine a better fit. Should you invest in one or the other, or maybe both? Let's look at what's the difference and which one you need for business.

Every small business, no matter your industry, seems to struggle at some point. Below are seven tips on how you can help save time and money and ultimately make your business more profitable.

Controlling overhead costs is critical for all small businesses, but those in the construction and trades it is even more critical. With increased competition, increased material cost, and slim profit margins, it has forced many businesses to take a good hard look at overhead cost management.