elisewalton

33: The Holidays and Your Business

You can develop an effective marketing strategy during the holidays. There’s no need to compete with the marketing gimmicks and promotions that others use. You can stand out by simply focusing on your own products and services.

Show Notes

Prepare in advance. It’s important to be ahead in planning and strategizing
Have special loyalty offers for the holidays
Initial promotion can be done through social media using free promotions
You can also use Facebook ads and Google ads
Use in-store or in-shop promotions as another method
Use gift certificates or gift cards and sell to customers as their holiday gifts to family and friends
Decide if you will maintain your business hours and announce it on the shop, on your website, and on your social media accounts. This will help your customers plan their visits
Promote your gift certificates to your clients after their therapy session, not during the session
Update your website with your holiday promos and gift certificates and holiday hours
Have your GCs readily available for handing out
You can also sell your GCs on your website
Sell your products as your customers' gifts to their family and friends
By selling your products on discount, you will move your inventory and you also provide samples for impulse buyers and other customers

Resources:

Giftcardcafe.com

Our resource center: www.gamechangeyourbiz.com

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enNovember 24, 2016

holidays

31: Ways to Finance Your Business with Elise Walton

In the previous episode, Elise talked about the ways to expand your business and each of these ways requires resources. An alternative to expansion is simply just growing your business, which, similarly, still needs financing if you want to grow fast. Financing has an important role in making your business grow. The strategic use of financial instruments, such as loans and grants, is the key to success of every business. In this episode, Elise Walton gives you another game- changing strategy for your business.

Show notes:

Ways to finance your business

1. Get a bank loan. Banks have funds for small business lending.

2. Use your credit card. This method is risky though so it needs to be used sparingly and wisely.

3. Crowdfunding. This facilitates the asking for and giving of support for projects. Usually, project creators offer incentives for the one pledging support.

4. Angel investor or group of investors. Angel investors prefer to fund companies with experienced and credible management team.

5. Tapping into your Retirement Plan. Based on long-standing provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, you can finance a new business or franchise by rolling your retirement money into your new business. You pay no income taxes or early withdrawal penalties, avoid debt and have money available immediately to rent a space, pay a franchise fee, hire employees, buy equipment and pay yourself a salary.

6. Securing an SBA loan. Your business may need to meet other criteria depending on the type of loan.

7. Raising money from friends and family. You will have to treat the money as a loan.

What is an SBA Loan?
What you need to apply for a bank loan
Using your credit cards wisely
What is a Crowdfunding?
How crowdfunding can help your business and projects
Finding Angel Investors
When to pull out your retirement funds
Government guidelines that your business needs to qualify for a loan
Tips for treating your friends and family as investors
Marketing strategies

Resources:

Our resource center: www.gamechangeyourbiz.com

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/Game-Change-Your-Biz-735650646569921/

enNovember 10, 2016

30: Growing and Expanding Your Business

You’ve set up your business and you’re now excitedly watching it pick up momentum day after day. Your current business is under effective control. You start thinking of growing and expanding it because you feel that’s the next best thing to do. Elise discusses several ways to grow your business. Choosing one, two, or more of these methods of expansion will depend on a lot of things - your type of business, available capital, time, and other resources you are willing to invest. Here are your choices:

Opening another location. Spread your business to another location or city. This is the most popular approach among business owners – opening a new office or store in another place.

Franchising. If you have a highly successful business, people will be interested in buying out a franchise of your business. Franchise out not only to gain more capital and exposure but also to expand your business without requiring you to manage the new franchise. Before doing that, you’ll need to hire a lawyer to draft the franchise agreement and all other legal documents and to provide legal advice in the implementation of your franchise business.

Collaborate or form an alliance. Look at the big picture without leaving your primary goal. Aligning with similar businesses by forming an association or organization can be a powerful way to expand quickly.

Diversification. To diversify means having another product or service; or selling someone else’s product. You can also teach a class or speak on the same specialty. Diversifying is a great strategy for growth that can often fill seasonal voids of your own product or service.

Merger or acquisition. In this method of business expansion, make sure the business you are acquiring or buying is profitable, it has no debts, and the company’s mission and vision are aligned with your own. Do your research to find out if the business merger is beneficial.

Globalization. Export your products or import others’ products to expand globally. You will need to sign up with a foreign distributor who will resell your product in their domestic markets or vice versa, you can sell their product in your market. International business can be done through the internet but this calls for more responsibility. Due diligence is a must. You would need to do your homework through research.

You’ll find one more method of expansion for the small business and more detailed tips as you listen to Elise:

The rest of the Show Notes:

She describes the resources you’ll need for business expansion
Your sweat equity, what it is
Import and export of products
Targeting other markets
Speaking or writing about your business can expand your business
Using your creativity in growing your business
Search engine optimization of your business
Business expansion through the internet
Doing market research
Using trade journals and magazines
Importance of an attractive and optimized website
When you just need to keep on growing your business without diversifying location
Other opportunities for expansion
Choosing the best opportunity and method

Resources:

Game Change Your Biz resource center: www.gamechangeyourbiz.com

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/Game-Change-Your-Biz-735650646569921/

enNovember 03, 2016

expandingyourbusiness

23: A Website as a Powerful Marketing Tool for the Massage Therapy Business

Elise talks about the importance of a website for any business, but especially for the massage therapist who has a mobile or brick-and-mortar business. As people no longer use yellow pages, a business without web presence is missing out on one of the most powerful marketing tools available in this technological age. People search online, via Google, to find anything they need. They research products, companies and providers before they make a purchase.

Elise tells the story of how many websites she made before she finally settled on a domain name registrar and hosting company for her current website. Listen to the details she provides on the following:

How the internet has improved her business
Her very first website was Yahoo
How she used Wix website to set up her own website in a couple of hours
How her website captures her target audience
How to help your clients find you through your website
People use Google to search for the most convenient method of purchase
They Google to find out the closest store, the best price, and the easiest people to deal with
Websites help build your reputation as a massage therapist
Websites help build your credibility
People learn about your business through your website
You can choose to have online booking through your website
Your hosting company can host multiple websites or businesses
Your website will include all the information you want your audience to know about your company.
All the pages that you should have on your website
Your website will help convert leads to sales
Elise says you can have your own website for a very affordable fee
You can even start with a $100 only

Check out her website for the rest of the valuable resources and tips: Game Change Your Biz

gamechangebusinessofmassagetherapy

enSeptember 15, 2016

massagetherapybusiness

22: Find or be found by your Perfect Client

Have you ever wondered before what type of client you want to have-- your so-called “avatar”? Is it just the ones who come to the door? Or is it the perfect client?

We business owners know that there’s a good client and there’s a bad client. And then there’s your perfect client. Yes, there is. He’s your dream client. This type of client for the massage therapy business is the one 1) who needs the massage therapy service 2) can afford to pay for it; 3) the business survives and thrives because of his patronage, 4) He is easy to work with, 5)He doesn’t make unreasonable demands, 6) He brings in the most money because of his regular visits, and 7) Is the best fit for your business from the outset. Elise talks about the “perfect client” for the massage therapy business in this episode.

Get the details of the following from the podcast:

Defining your perfect client/avatar/dream client
Knowing your specialties: Are you offering Swedish, Shiatsu, Deep Tissue, Hot Stone, Reflexology, Thai, Sports massage, Manual Lymphatic Drainage? -

What you offer will determine who your perfect client is.

Have a written profile of your avatar or avatars, find specific client for each niche
Consider the following in identifying your perfect client:
Demographic factors
Your specialty techniques
Your own location
Not all clients are healthy, some have health issues but they can still be your perfect client
Work up a treatment plan for them
Chances are your perfect client/s will find you depending on your geographic location and online presence in the social media, your website,
When your perfect client finds you, and if it’s their very first massage, educate them about the benefits of massage therapy
Show your client/s how you will help them
If you have an optimized website that contains all your services, your ideal client will find you
Join networking events, offer discounts, ask for referrals from your present clients;
Give incentives to referrers
You can be sure that you found your perfect client, or that he has found you, if you know that he recognizes your worth as a therapist and happily pays you for your service.

Listen to the podcasts at our resource center: www.gamechangeyourbiz.com

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enSeptember 08, 2016

20: Effectively Managing Your Staff

Here are practical suggestions to help the business owner build a team of engaged and happy (even inspired) employees. These management practices can put your employees in a productive mindset and also help you gain more loyal customers because efficient staff will attract and retain more customers. Listen to the podcast to get the details of the following highlights.

Show notes:

Selecting and training support staff
Hiring employees or independent contractors or both
Setting goals and making action plans for employee development
Providing training and retraining for all staff – the front desk staff and service staff
Importance of continuing education – providing for employee training
Appointing staff to coach and supervise new employees
Regularly update everyone’s knowledge of the office protocol, procedures, and processes
Building strategies on employee development
Setting expectations
Building a work environment that promotes productivity
Designing economic incentives for your employees
How to inspire your staff to be committed to your company’s success
Beating challenges on how to motivate employees
Motivating yourself so staff is also motivated
Following the licensing requirements of the State so your employees know that 1) you are aware of state policy and requirements; 2) your employees know they are connected with a legitimate business; 3) your customers are assured of their safety inside your premises
Setting up standard operating procedures to make your employees consistently efficient and, later on, may help them become more creative. Office rules and regulations or standard operating procedures will eliminate confusion, help maintain good practices and keep employees efficient
After the training, provide a copy of office manual to staff and make them sign an acknowledgment form that they have read and understood the rules and procedures. This will make them observe and maintain good practices
Building trust among your employees. Employee trust can ooze down to customers and be translated to customer loyalty
Customer satisfaction resulting from great customer service from a well-trained staff can lead to great word-of-mouth advertising and referral business

Get more valuable tips from:

Website Game Change Your Business

enAugust 25, 2016