Where would the world be without marketing? Thanks to advertising and well-thought-out strategies, businesses can grow, expand, and make a profit. But for a lot of companies, marketing isn’t a simple task to take on, which is why they approach marketing agencies.
When you have a marketing agency, you have the power to influence the success and profitability of other companies. But before you can do that, you need to think about your own growth.
To become a recognizable growth marketing firm, you need to use your knowledge and skills, but also help yourself with some tried and tested strategies listed below.
Don’t refrain from proposal templates
As a business that deals with clients, you should already know the importance of proposals. They inform your potential clients about what they can expect from your agency, what kind of services you will provide, how much you will charge, and so on.
A proposal is one of the most important documents you’ll ever make, which is why you need to make sure you do it right. A poorly-written proposal will get you nowhere, even if you offer amazing services.
For instance, if you primarily offer SEO services, instead of racking your brain thinking about how to write the perfect proposal, you can simply use an SEO proposal template that will ensure you present your agency in the right way.
The template contains the following elements:
Beautiful cover page. When you present your potential clients with a template that contains a professionally-designed cover, they will be tempted to look through the whole thing.
Overview and goals. In this section, you will explain the results you’re hoping to achieve when working with your client and how they should expect their business to look once you’ve completed all your services.
Scope of services. This is a detailed description of all the services you will provide for your client.
Estimated timeframe. This part presents a rough estimate of how long you expect the project to last before you achieve the desired goals.
The pricing page. Once you’ve finished describing everything you can do for the client, you need to finish with how much you plan to charge for those services. In this section, you can include your fees, taxes, discounts, as well as optional extras.
Don’t be afraid to ask for referrals
Your existing clients are a much more powerful tool than you probably realize. If you provide exceptional services to existing clients, they’ll be more than happy to refer you to other people. All you have to do is be brave enough to ask them for referrals.
This can be very powerful since people find word-of-mouth to be 2 to 10 times more reliable than paid advertisements. Instead of advertising yourself, your satisfied clients will be doing that job for you.
But only ask for referrals after you’ve done a great job and provided your clients with satisfactory results. And try to wait for at least a month or two to pass after you’ve completed your services so they can see you’re an agency that deserves to be recommended to other businesses.
Know when you should delegate
Ambition is a great thing, and business owners usually have a lot of it, but that isn’t necessarily always good. If you want to be successful, you need to realize that you can’t do everything at once, and you shouldn’t. You need to delegate tasks from time to time to avoid burnout.
You probably have a team filled with competent and intelligent employees who are just as capable of performing most of your daily tasks as you are. So don’t be afraid to ask for help and accept it when it’s offered to you. That way, you’ll have time to focus on more important things and responsibilities.
Optimize keywords on your website
As a marketing agency, you know the importance of search engine optimization. And if you want your website to bring in more people, you need to treat it like you would treat a client’s website and find ways to optimize it.
While there are a lot of different SEO strategies that are equally important, let’s focus on keyword optimization. If you want to show potential clients you can ensure that their website gets a high-ranking position, you need to do the same thing for your own.
To optimize keywords, you need to start a blog. This blog won’t only help with your keyword optimization but will also show your website visitors you’re an expert in your field.
For example, let’s say you want to focus on the importance of social media marketing. You can write a blog post in which you will explain why Instagram followers are important for businesses, how to build a name for yourself online, how to gain and keep followers, and more.
While you’re optimizing keywords, you shouldn’t forget about long-tail keywords. People nowadays are becoming way more specific in their searches and more than half of search queries feature long-tail keywords.
Conclusion
As a marketing agency, your job is to help other businesses grow, but what about your own growth? If you want to be as big of a success as the companies you help reach their goals, you need to put yourself first and use the growth strategies you just read about here.
Bookkeeping requires organization, efficiency, and precision. You’re working with serious clients and you need to do your best to build your company and make it successful. That requires lots of experience and knowledge. We offer you a small portion of it.
Read the whole article, as we’ll talk in detail about creating a business plan, going through the legal paperwork, organization, and how to advertise bookkeeping services that will bring you clients. Let’s begin!
Creating a Bookkeeping Business Plan
Your bookkeeping business plan is an important document that will help you launch and grow your business. To create it, you first need to define your business goals. Ask yourself: What is the ultimate goal with your bookkeeping business? Is there a specific amount of money you’re trying to achieve? Serve a specific number of clients? Build a team of employees? Be clear about your goals so you can create a plan to achieve them.
Afterward, do thorough research on the bookkeeping industry. What are the trends in bookkeeping? Who are your potential customers? What do they need and want from a bookkeeping service? What are your competitors offering? By understanding the bookkeeping industry, you can create a unique selling proposition for your business.
Last, but not least, plan your finances. How much money do you need to start your bookkeeping business? How will you generate revenue? What are your operating expenses? By creating a financial plan, you can ensure that your business is profitable from the start.
Legal Paperwork
There are a few things you’ll need to take care of from a legal standpoint before you can start your own bookkeeping business.
You first need to obtain a business license. Having a valid license allows you to operate your business legally. The next thing on your legal list is to get insurance for your business. This will protect you financially in case of any accidents or mishaps that might occur while you’re working. Finally, create individual contracts for your clients. The contract will outline the terms and conditions of your bookkeeping services and will help to ensure that both you and your clients are on the same page from the start.
You can also get a certificate, especially through online courses that can provide you with one either completely free of charge or for a fee. Although having a certificate isn’t essential, it can help you stand out from the crowd, so if you have some extra time, make good use of it.
Organization Is Key
The organization is key for your own bookkeeping business. It will help you keep track of your expenses, income, and clients. When you have many clients, you cannot create a Google spreadsheet that will track all of them. Here are some tips to get started:
Keep a dedicated notebook or folder for your bookkeeping business. This will be your “bookkeeping bible” where you track everything related to your business.
Establish a method for tracking your income and expenses. This could be as simple as creating a spreadsheet or using accounting software.
Stay on top of your bookkeeping by setting aside time each week to update your records. This will help you catch any mistakes and keep your finances in order.
Keep your clients organized by creating a system for tracking their contact information, invoices, and payments. This will help you stay on top of your bookkeeping and provide excellent customer service.
How to Advertise Your Bookkeeping Services
There are many ways to advertise your bookkeeping services. The following are the most successful ones. Whatever marketing strategy you choose, make sure you are promoting your bookkeeping services professionally and effectively.
Create a website or blog including information about your services.
Create social media profiles where you’ll promote relevant and engaging content.
Distribute flyers and brochures to local businesses or post them in public places.
List your services in online directories and classifieds websites.
Hold informational meetings to attract potential clients and partners.
When advertising your business, it’s important to be clear about the type of services you offer and your rates. You should also include contact information so that interested parties can reach out to you. Be sure to stay up-to-date on industry news and trends so that you can provide the most relevant and valuable services to your clients.
Conclusion
Your bookkeeping company will be successful if you remain professional and organized at all times. Once you get through the legal paperwork and build your online presence, you’ll need to maintain the company and continue looking for new ways to improve it. Articles such as this one will be of great help at different stages of your journey.
Outsourcing your business’ IT needs can seem like an odd move to some people, it is often one of the things that many companies are hesitant to do at first. One of the main things that often gets outsourced first is the payroll processing work.
Why do so many company owners like to outsource their IT work, and what makes that option so worthwhile, especially when payrolls are involved?
Expertise
If you outsource some work to an existing expert, then you are not spending time and money having to train somebody yourself. Depending on the kind of work they are doing, this can be a significant benefit.
For example, training up your own professional paystub maker from scratch requires in-depth learning about how to create a paystub, how to make paystubs functional, and how payroll software works. Outsourcing to a paystub generator gives you the same results for a fraction of the cost.
Using a third-party pay stub maker in this scenario is the cheaper option, but it is also more practical, convenient, and easier to integrate into your existing workflow. Using a new tool is a lot easier than trying to get a new employee to join your IT team.
Flexibility
Hiring an IT specialist means that you usually get somebody who can only do specific things since they are specialized in particular parts of their chosen IT niche. This makes it incredibly hard to switch them to another set of duties, especially ones that require particular certifications or licenses.
Using third-party outsourced help allows you to hire specialists for short periods of time or keep them on standby waiting for the next set of instructions. If you are not using them, you do not have to keep paying them, and you can freely switch to using another company or freelancer as needed.
This leaves your normal IT employees free to tackle other duties on their own and ensures that they are not being spread thin across multiple different roles that they are not actually qualified to take on. Some companies might even offer training to your employees to prep them for future IT work.
Risk
While it might sound strange at first, outsourcing can be lower-risk than trying to build your own IT team. The more people you add to a team, the more points of failure there are, especially if you are not too familiar with your employees and they do not know each other that well. If you have any experience in business management, this might make the benefits of outsourcing very clear.
Outsourcing gives you an experienced group that is fully prepared to get to work straight away. Since they are not employees, you also have more protection if they mess something up – the fault does not lie with your company and employees, but theirs.
Minimizing risk is always important in a business context, and hiring a bunch of experienced IT professionals to tackle projects for you is an excellent way to avoid taking any risky chances. If your current team is not prepared for something, do not push them into trying it anyway because it might backfire and cause even more problems.
Online pay stub generators are a great tool for tracking all the details of your pay stubs. Such online pay stub generators are available in the form of a website and often in the form of an application that is installed on your computer. Online paystubs are a great way for small business owners and freelancers to keep track of their expenses, however, not all pay stub generators are always easy to use, and often it can be very intimidating to use them.
PaystubsNow is a safe online tool that makes it easy to create and view pay stubs in a few simple steps. This article is a tutorial about the use of PaystubsNow to view paystubs. Let’s find out its benefits together and right now!
Importance of Online Pay Stub Generators
Pay stub generators (also called pay stub sites) are online sites that enable businesses to collect payments and pay their employees. They also enable businesses to monitor employee pay and monitor pay periods. Pay stubs can be viewed by anyone, including small businesses that only have a single employee or that have only a few employees. Pay stubs can be viewed in real-time by both employers and employees.
Creating a pay stub is often a simple task, and if you are doing it for a small business, pay stubs are the tool for creating and improving their online presence.
PaystubsNow
Many online pay stub generators are a useful and reliable tool for small business owners, they can be a great help in building a business, but if you are looking to make any money, you must take the steps outlined to ensure that you are using a reputable generator.
People with anentrepreneurial mindsetare often called creative ones. They are constantly exploring the best possibilities. However, some small businesses and freelancers are struggling to obtain accurate pay stubs for their employees, or even pay stubs themselves. PaystubsNow – a tool that can generate pay stubs for you – can help a freelancer save time, money, and hassle. A paystubsNow is an online service that allows employees to create and view their pay stubs in a user-friendly format.
For small business owners, a lack of paystubs is a major problem. If you don’t have pay stubs, you’re out of luck. PaystubsNow is a platform that provides a wide range of services that are available on a computer, iPad, Android, and iPhone. All you have to do is import your paystub data into the app, and it will automatically generate your pay stub. Today PaystubsNow is a fully integrated online pay stub generator and payer management tool that is used by thousands of small businesses. It is the best way to generate pay stubs and manage their bill payment.
PaystubsNow is a great tool for any small business owner who needs to generate a pay stub online quickly and easily. It generates a pay stub for the user from their credit or debit card and sends it to any paystub site where they are approved. PaystubsNow can be used on any website made for small business owners and is compatible with multiple payment methods. PaystubsNow is a straightforward tool that gives you an easy-to-use solution for creating and managing simple pay stubs.
How to View Pay Stubs
This online tool allows users to easily view the pay stubs of their customers and easily order the pay stubs of their employees, and this is a very powerful method to help their business grow. PaystubsNow is an online tool and W-2 viewer which allows you to view your paystubs in just a few minutes. View your pay stubs to verify your income, find out if you are paying enough taxes, and find out if you are paying too much or too little in taxes. With paystubsNow it is possible to edit each pay stub individually. Users can also check and view their pay stubs from previous years in one session.
To view your pay stub just select the section named “How often are you paid?”, select your state, type your address, enter the last four digits of your checking account, enter all earnings data, and the number of pay stubs you need to view. Finally, read and agree with the policy of the online tool and get a preview of all your stubs. You can preview each of your pay stubs individually, easily, and safely.
Benefits of Online Pay Stub Generators for Small Business
The advantage of online pay stub generators is that they are very easy to use. As a small business owner, you likely have a spreadsheet, especially if you use PayStubsNow. We’ve been using them for years, but this is a big change. Companies that have already set up their pay stub generators for small businesses, such as PaystubsNow, can benefit from this. The greatest advantage to using online pay stub generators is that they are convenient and efficient. There is no need to print the pay stubs and mail them to your employer because all you need to do is to fill out a form on the website. So, here are seven compelling arguments for working with apay stub generator:
Saves Money
Saves Time
Improves Experience for the Employee
Cuts Downs on Waste
Enhanced Security
Looks Modern and Professional
Peace of Mind
PaystubsNow is a dynamic and interactive environment that allows you to create and share a unique pay stub. You can also create and share a pay stub that is accessible via the web or through a mobile application. All pay stubs are created using the PaystubsNow platform, which is a web-based creation tool.
Final Thoughts
When you know that there is a safe and effective online tool that helps you with the creation of all your pay stubs, it is the right time to use it. PaystubsNow offers a variety of features that makes creating and printing pay stubs easy.
Many people dream of having their own businesses. And with the Great Resignation we’ve been seeing recently, this is a very popular trend.
However, starting your own business isn’t as simple as having a great idea and a potential customer base.
You’re going to need capital.
Assess How Much You Need
Every small business has different needs. This means that no financial solution is one-size-fits-all. Your personal financial situation and your vision for your business are responsible for shaping your venture’s financial future.
When you know how much start-up funding you’ll require, it’s time to figure out how you’ll obtain it.
You’ve got two options: investors and loans.
So, in this article, we’ll have a look at the pros and cons of both so that you can make the best decision about which option you need to go for.
Acquire Venture Capital Investments From Investors
Investors can allocate funding to begin your business in the format of venture capital investments. Venture capital is usually offered in exchange for an ownership stake in your business, or alternatively, an active role in the company.
Venture capital differs from traditional financing in a couple of important ways. Venture capital would normally:
Focus on high-growth companies
Invest capital in return for equity as opposed to debt (it’s not a loan, but we’ll have a look at this form of financing later)
Take much higher risks in exchange for possible higher returns
Have a longer investment horizon as opposed to traditional financing
Nearly all venture capitalists will, as a minimum, want a seat on the board of directors. So, you need to be prepared to give up some portion of control and ownership of your business in return for the funding that you need.
What Are The Advantages Of Venture Capital Investments?
Obtaining venture capital has a number of different advantages. For fast-growing small businesses that want to scale quickly, it could be the only viable option. Besides money, venture capital firms offer input and introductions to potential future investment partners. In addition, they may help secure future funding.
Here are some of the pros of this kind of investment.
The money is yours to keep—no matter what. Venture capital investors are gambling on your business. If it succeeds, they win big; if it fails, they take their losses.
Venture capital investors can assist in accelerating your businesses growth
Venture capital investors can connect you to other business leaders who can assist you in taking your business to the next level.
What Are The Disadvantages Of Venture Capital Investments?
While the attraction of raising vast sums of money so that you can scale and grow your business is enticing, receiving venture capital ultimately means that you will be giving up some level of your control in your small business.
As well as maintaining growth, you’ll have to pass a due diligence process. In addition—as we said earlier—you’ll have someone from the venture capital firm sit on your board of directors so that they can oversee your actions.
Here are a couple of the disadvantages of venture capital investment:
Your ownership stake in the business is reduced
Finding venture capital investors can distract you from your business
Venture capital funding is relatively scarce and difficult to obtain
Small Business Loans
A vast number of traditional and alternative lenders offer small business loans. These types of loans can help your small business to grow, finance new research and development, assist you with expanding into new territories, boost sales and marketing efforts, and give you the opportunity to hire much-needed employees.
There are a number of types of small business loans available. Your choices vary depending on your business requirements, the length of the loan, and the particular terms of the loan.
What Are The Pros Of A Small Business Loan?
There are many reasons that many entrepreneurs opt for small business loans to begin or grow their operations. These include:
Convenience
Small businesses can access large amounts of capital
Lower interest rates
What Are The Cons Of A Small Business Loan?
Even though small business loans have plenty of advantages that make them enticing, they also have a couple of downsides. Here are some of them:
Interest rates depend on your credit score
Lenders often require collateral
Banks prefer to lend money to established businesses
Loans From Family And Friends
If you don’t want to go for a small business loan, it’s quite common in the early stages of a small to medium enterprise (SMME) for parents, siblings, or friends to support your venture. This choice is most suitable for businesses that need initial support to get off the ground. They can then prove their concept and that they’re financially viable before approaching a lending institution or venture capitalist.
The advantage of getting funding for your small business from people you know is that it’s a quicker process that tends to have more flexible terms.
Depending on the amount of interest you pay your friends and family, this could be a great investment for them. Or they may offer an interest-free loan, which is even more advantageous to you.
However, before you decide to go for this type of loan, be warned that mixing business with family and friends’ finances has the very real possibility of damaging relationships if things go wrong. You’ll have to carefully assess the possible impact of failure prior to going forward.
Alternative Funding Options
There are many other ways of funding your small business.
If you’re currently employed, you could save a portion of your salary every month until you have enough capital to get your business off the ground.
Or you could dust off your laptop and look for additional ways to make money online.
You could also start your business as a side hustle to get it going and save your profits with the intention to expand.
Alternatively, you could look into SBA government business loans and financing options for small businesses and see if there are any that are suitable or that you’re eligible for.
There’s also the option of taking out a personal loan or using your credit card if your credit limit is high enough.
Whatever financing option you opt for you need to do your homework and ensure that your business is viable, that you’ll confidently meet all repayment requirements, and that you’re not overextending yourself. When you do this, you set yourself up for a better chance of success.
When starting a new enterprise, there are so many variables and logistics to consider that it can be hard sometimes to keep track of everything. However, one thing is for sure – you’ll need plenty of startup capital to ensure success. What will you need that money for, though? We’ve compiled a list of seven costs you should know before launching your brand.
Another point to keep in mind is that you’ll need comprehensive accounting practices to keep track of all your finances. Otherwise, it’s easy to misplace funds and get sidelined by various expenses. Remember, you likely won’t make a profit right away, so you have to plan accordingly. So, with that in mind, let’s dive into the seven initial business costs to consider when starting.
Incorporation Fees
No matter where you live, you’ll have to file paperwork with your state and county governments. Depending on the business type you’re starting, you’ll have to get multiple permits and certificates. Here is a quick rundown of the various fees you might incur.
Business Entity Type – You can form a sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC, or corporation. In each case, you have to file your entity type with your state. The cost varies from state to state and ranges between $50-$500. You can use an online filing service to handle this for you.
Registered Agent Services – A registered agent is someone who acts on your company’s behalf and can receive official business-related mail. While you can act as your own agent, you may want to get a third party to be one for you. You’ll often pay for these services monthly.
Seller’s Permit – If you sell products, you’ll need a seller’s permit. This permit ensures you’ll collect sales tax and report it to your state. Fortunately, this is a one-time fee and doesn’t need an annual renewal.
Other Licenses and Permits – For example, if you’re selling alcohol, you’ll need a license to do so. Similarly, if you’re running a restaurant, you’ll need a health permit.
Equipment
When it comes to business equipment, there are a few types of machines you might need, such as:
Appliances – Restaurants need coolers and freezers, while offices might need refrigerators and coffee makers.
Devices – Examples include printers, copiers, and computers.
For any business, it is essential to weigh out the costs of purchasing the right devices in comparison to running costs. Multifunction printers are becoming increasingly popular in offices due to their ability to integrate multiple functions such as printing, scanning, and faxing – thus providing an all-in-one solution for businesses. Such devices bring great value for money and reduce the need for additional equipment and resources. Two highly recommended multifunction printers are Konica Minolta copiers and HP printers. Konica Minolta copiersprovide a more eco-friendly solution with toners that have a lower environmental impact, while HP Printers offer better connectivity with wireless integration capabilities that allow employees to scan directly from their mobile device or laptop. With careful consideration of the features offered by both Konica Minolta copiers and HP Printers, any business can make an informed decision about what type of multifunction printer will be more cost-effective for their office needs.
Vehicles – Will your employees need to make service calls? What about a cargo truck to haul equipment to job sites?
Industrial – You may need machinery to run your operations, such as CNC machines and manufacturing equipment.
Overall, it’s best to list the specific machines you need to get started. Also, keep in mind that you might begin with a relatively small operation and then grow as you find new clients.
Another consideration is whether you’ll rent, lease, or buy your equipment. Renting or leasing is cheaper upfront, and you don’t have to pay for equipment maintenance. However, since you don’t own the machinery, you’ll pay more in the long run.
Payroll
Even as a small business, you’ll likely need employees to run your operations. So, you have to consider the costs of paying your employees. Setting a budget can help you stay on target, especially if you’re not earning a profit yet. Remember that you have to pay your workers no matter what. So, even if you don’t get money from clients right away, you can’t withhold funds from your employees.
On top of their wages, you also have to consider the cost of payroll services. Since it’s so hard to manage the payroll on your own, hiring a service to send checks and itemize each line item is much more convenient. Consider how these costs can affect your operating funds.
Finally, you might have to weigh the pros and cons of hiring a manager to handle operations. While you can save money by doing it all yourself, you can only do so much. Having managers or supervisors can enable you to take on more tasks and responsibilities, expanding your operations and increasing your bottom line.
Insurance
No matter what, you always have to plan for a rainy day. If something terrible happens, can your business recover? With insurance, it can. Otherwise, you’ll have to pay lots of money out of pocket, putting you on the brink of bankruptcy. There are several forms of business insurance you should consider, such as:
General Liability Insurance – This coverage pays for lawsuits related to personal injuries or property damage that occurs to other people while on your business property. This policy does not cover you and your employees.
Property Insurance – Protect your building from damage from people, vehicles, and environmental incidents. However, you have to buy separate policies to cover floods and earthquakes.
Business Income Protection – This coverage pays if you can’t make money while your business undergoes repairs after a covered peril. For example, if a telephone pole crashes through the roof of your storefront.
Professional Liability Insurance – If you sell products, you should get this insurance to protect claims of injury or damage caused by those products.
Worker’s Compensation – Employees can get injured on any job, whether it’s an office environment or a factory. If that happens, liability protection won’t kick in. Instead, you need this insurance to avoid expensive lawsuits and medical bills.
Office Space
Even if you’re running a business from home, it helps to have a dedicated office space to handle work-related tasks. Fortunately, it’s pretty easy to find office space for rent, no matter where you live. The monthly rent for your space depends on factors like:
Size – Bigger offices cost more than smaller ones.
Location – High-profile areas will be more expensive, but they might also be more convenient, especially for meeting clients.
Office Type – Do you just need four walls and a roof, or do you need warehouse space as well? Mixed-use offices are often more expensive.
Website
These days, all businesses need a high-quality website. Even if you don’t sell products online, you need a site to connect with your customers and show off your brand. Plus, if you’re investing in any marketing materials (which you should), a website is essential in capturing new leads and converting them to customers.
Fortunately, it’s pretty easy to build a website, thanks to platforms like Wix and WordPress. However, if you’re not savvy about such things, you’ll need to hire a web developer, which can get kind of pricey. Before hiring anyone, though, be sure to have a list of must-haves. For example, if you sell products online, you need a payment portal to handle transactions. Having this list ready ensures you can get a fully functioning website faster.
Inventory
Finally, you have to buy the inventory to start your business. In some cases, this inventory might be products to resell. In other instances, you may need to purchase raw materials to make products (i.e., food dishes or crafty items). Either way, you need to supply yourself with enough to make your initial batch while avoiding inventory mistakes. From there, you can use your sales income to buy more inventory, and so on.
Another point to consider with inventory is finding the best suppliers. That way, you can provide better products for your customers, leading to higher sales and a stronger bottom line.
Overall, you should attach a dollar amount to each of these costs. Also, consider how long it might take you to earn a profit since you’ll have to cover your expenses out of pocket until then. The more planning you do, the easier it is to succeed.
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