Starting a business can be both thrilling and intimidating. The good news is that while every business is unique, most must adhere to specific basic guidelines.
While this is not an exhaustive list of everything your new business may need to complete, here is a 10-point business startup checklist of some of the most important steps:
Written By: Chad J. Treadway | Wednesday, December 14, 2022
Chad is a Partner and our Chief Smarketing Officer. He will help you survey your small business needs, educating you on your options before suggesting any solution. Chad is passionate about rural marketing in the United States and North Carolina. He also has several certifications through HubSpot to better assist you with your internet and inbound marketing.
You’ve probably heard that storytelling is essential for business, marketing, and life in general. You may have also heard that it’s a powerful tool with the potential for a tremendous lasting impact.
With that being said, think about what Zig Ziglar said, “Those of you who read the Bible know (and whether you are a believer or not, most people respect the fact) that Christ was a powerful persuader.” He goes on to say, “when people asked Christ a question, He either responded with a question or a parable—both of which are tools for persuasion.” (Source: Selling 101 by Zig Ziglar)
In other words, we love a good story! Jonathan Gottschall in The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human, states, “We are, as a species, addicted to story. Even when the body goes to sleep, the mind stays up all night, telling itself stories.”
Knowing this, do you not think that telling stories from your school’s rich history will excite, entertain, and encourage your community? Stories can and should be at the heart of effective school marketing and are critical to your school’s long-term success.
In this post, we will cover the following:
Written By: Adam Bennett | Monday, December 12, 2022
Adam is the president and founder of Cube Creative Design and specializes in private school marketing. Since starting the business in 2005, he has created individual relationships with clients in Western North Carolina and across the United States. He places great value on the needs, expectations, and goals of the client.
If you are a small business owner or in charge of marketing your small business online, you have likely heard of local SEO and organic SEO. But you may ask yourself what the difference is and why local SEO is essential for your small business.
In this post, I'll explain the difference between local SEO and organic SEO and how they're related.
Written By: Chad J. Treadway | Wednesday, December 07, 2022
Chad is a Partner and our Chief Smarketing Officer. He will help you survey your small business needs, educating you on your options before suggesting any solution. Chad is passionate about rural marketing in the United States and North Carolina. He also has several certifications through HubSpot to better assist you with your internet and inbound marketing.
Employees are the cornerstone of every prosperous company. This is the reason why a corporation must have strong human resources. There are eight essential HR components listed in this post on Grasshopper.com for your company's success.
The ability to recruit and keep talented people depends on a well-organized human resource process. To run your small business, you should prioritize the following main duties.
- Personnel paperwork to protect yourself and the company, you must gather and save three documents for each employee in a safe place.
I-9 File, a general file for the employee that contains the resume, payroll data, and W-4
A personnel medical record, if applicable (Disability and medical info)
- Occupational Handbook This explains your expectations for employees and includes information about your policies, benefits, and firing.
- Required Posters: The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) mandates that businesses post posters in the workplace detailing their employment practices, pay obligations, and workplace safety. Employers are accountable for ensuring that remote workers have access to the posters.
- Hiring procedure: Choosing the appropriate people for your company may make or ruin it. Therefore, be careful to design an effective hiring procedure. A thorough job description, an interview, and reference and background checks.
- Performance evaluations: In a start-up or small business environment, investing time in your workers' professional development can keep them interested in and, most importantly, devoted to your company.
- Employee Training & Development: Providing your staff with professional development opportunities can help to keep them interested in working for your business.
- Recognition of Employees: Employee recognition is quite helpful. Without splurging, there are numerous original ways to recognize individuals who go "above and beyond."
Understand that different individuals interpret recognition differently, so steer clear of a one-size-fits-all strategy and try to be as accommodating as you can to everyone.
- Employee Benefits: According to research, employee satisfaction is correlated with the standard of the benefits offered.
- Medical Insurance
- Disability and Life Insurance
- Retirement
- Dental and Vision Insurance
Two additional employee benefits that small business owners are mandated by law to offer are:
- Social Security
- Workers Compensation
